Translated by Kitchennovel dot com

  The thought leapt out at her, like a demon released from its bottle. That fragrant [Yang Zhou Fried Rice], just the thought of that meal made Sally’s mouth water. Ugh, and she just had a large bowl vegetable noodles!

  “No! Just one meal will set me back more than a whole month’s worth of salary. I still need the money for my travels!” Sally shook her head vehemently, trying to dislodge this desire out of her mind.

  However, the more she tried not to think about it, the more firmly this thought seemed to lodge within her head. That savoury ham, the melting sensation of chicken egg, and above all, the light fragrance of Spring of Life that emanated from every single grain of rice. This was actually the first time she felt homesick ever since she started on her travels.

  Though father and those haughty old farts who aimed to get her married to one of their snooty sons were unbearable, her relationship with mother was not bad. Now and then, memories of being snuggled in mother’s arms would overwhelm her, especially during times of loneliness.

  If she had not ran away from home, there was no way she could have descended to menial jobs like folding up blankets, earning a few dozen coins cleaning tens of rooms. This was something that was totally unthinkable in the past. To think that she would have to work several days to earn just a single gold coin……

  “I’m so hungry……” Sally flopped face down onto the bed, her eyes blank as plate after plate of rainbow rice danced across her minds eye. Clearly, she was an elf who had her dreams shattered.

  “I wonder if that restaurant has anything new to offer? That little kid…… sure is cute, ah……” within the empty room Sally’s voice echoed a little too loudly.

  “Apologies, [Juicy Burgers] are all sold out half an hour ago. Also, it’s almost the end of our morning business hour. The restaurant will be closing its doors soon, if dear customers wish to have breakfast at our restaurant next time, please try to come a little earlier.” at the entrance of the restaurant, Mike smiled at the dozen or so customers who were trying to talk their way in.

  “Boss Mike, please, I’m only here for one plate of [Yang Zhou Fried Rice]. I’ve just overslept a bit this morning, please, can’t you be a little lenient? I can’t function without your cooking, I can’t find anything better to eat so early in the morning, ah.” a tall and thin man smiled as he pleaded with Mike.

  “That’s right, ah, Boss Mike. I’ve travelled over half an hour by carriage just to come here. It’s fine if I can’t have the [Juicy Burger], but you could at least let us have a plate of [Yang Zhou Fried Rice’, ba? Surely you won’t just let us go home starving, ba?” a fatty chimed in from the side, his expression clearly unhappy.

  “That’s right, that’s right……”


  The rest of the customers started to put in their two copper coins in as well, though it was their own fault for not coming on time, they were hoping that Mike would give way if an entire group of people were to plead with him.

  “Apologies, it’s unfortunate, but the business hours of this restaurant is extremely strict. So please come back again.” Mike declined the lot without hesitation, flipping the sign on the door. When it looked like some of the people were about to speak up, he held up a hand, “If I were to make [Yang Zhou Fried Rice] for you guys now, I won’t have time to prepare the ingredients for the lunch rush. This would not be fair to customers who comes during the lunch hour. So, please come a little early if you wish to have breakfast here, ba.”


  “Alright, then I’ll come over here for lunch, ba.” the thin man finally relented when he saw that Mike had no intention of giving in. He turned around and left.

  “Boss Mike, you’re…… I guess you’re a man of principle, huh?” the fat man glanced down at Amy, who was holding Ugly Duckling in her arms. He muttered a few choice words under his breath, laughed hollowly to himself, before heading towards a waiting carriage.

  When the other customers saw that Mike was serious about keeping to his ridiculous rules, they could only helplessly leave. That Boss Mike turned out to be surprisingly uptight.

  “That Boss Mike is certainly different from other restaurant managers.” Abbe Mia thought as she studied Mike from the corner of her eyes. Under a shaft of sunlight, the slim and heroic looking face looked stern, but kind. The thin, 八 shaped moustache on his upper lip lent an air of maturity that felt very dependable. To be able to work under such a boss was really her great fortune.

  When the last of the customers finally went away, Mike stretched his waist luxuriously. They had managed to sell a total of 200 [Juicy Burgers], with 95 new customers. If these numbers were anything to go by, he could only imagine the sudden influx of people coming in for the lunch and dinner rush. The people would probably start to besiege the restaurant much earlier than before and storm in for seats as soon as the doors opened.

  “Daddy dearest, can we hear a new song from Little Mushroom Elf today?” Amy looked up at Mike with an expectant face.

  “Boss Mike, please wait!” Mike was just about to answer Amy when a weak voice floated over from a distant.

  “En?” Mike looked up at the voice. From a distance, a delicate looking figure could be seen running over from a distance. The slightly irregular clackitty clack of wooden clogs, the loose, sail like clothes fluttering in breeze, it was the customer with kidney problem that had bought 2 [Juicy Burgers] earlier, Wayson Neo.

  “Excuse me, dear customer, I’m sorry to inform that the restaurant on its break.” Mike stared as the thin figure wobbled over to bend down, hands planted on his knees as he panted to catch his breath.

  It was less than an hour since he last saw the man, this little brother’s face was completely ashen. The way he ran was in the floaty, uneven way that none athletic people tended to do. Mike made an odd face, it looked like this man’s body condition was no different from his own.

  However, though their strength was similarly weak with rather thin bodies, his own skin condition was much and there was brightness in his eyes.

  On the other hand, Wayson Neo was rather depressing to look at. He looked like someone who would collapse at the slightest touch. Who knew what had happened to him in that one hour’s time.

  “Not selling?” Wayson Neo’s voice pitched higher at the end, a hand over his heart as he nearly collapsed to the ground. Suddenly, his eyes brightened, and he started to mutter and nod to himself, “Not selling is good, not selling is good.”


  “En?” Mike looked down at this man with some puzzlement. Did something traumatic happened to him? What’s with all this rambling?

  “Boss Mike, would…… would you kindly help me up?” Wayson Neo held up a limp hand, knees knocking together, clearly on the verge of prostrating himself on the floor.

  “Eh…… this customer, if you really wish to buy [Juicy Burgers], you may come again in the afternoon. There’s no need to be so polite about it.” Mike was a little shocked as he stared at the half sprawled Wayson Neo who had withdrew his hand when no help came forth.

  Wayson Neo looked at his own knees as he slid slowly to the floor with vague surprise, he had already exhausted his strength for the day. It was actually quite comfortable to lie down on the floor like this. He turned his face to give Mike a bitter look, “Boss Mike, just what kind of weird medicine are you selling! That tigress in my house is always a little lazy and relaxed in the morning. However, once she ate your [Juicy Burgers], she suddenly grew very vigorous. I was nearly eaten alive!”