Half an hour later, Mag was happily fooling around with Amy and Ugly Duckling, seemingly having already completely forgotten about the bet he’d made.

  Irina wore a serious expression as she examined Mag, who was drawing peals of joyful laughter from Amy.

  This man was completely different from the Alex in her memories. It felt as if there were countless secrets surrounding him, and she couldn’t help but wonder just what could’ve happened to him in the past three years. How could he have changed so drastically during the three years they’d been apart?

  Most importantly, was his cooking really edible?

  A series of questions popped up in Irina’s mind as she surveyed Mag with curiosity in her heart.

  In the past, Alex didn’t know how to tell interesting stories, he didn’t how to make faces to amuse their daughter, and he certainly didn’t know how to cook.

  This was a very strange feeling; he was clearly one of the most important people in her life, yet she felt as if she were looking at a complete stranger.

  Getting to know him again was going to be quite an interesting experience.

  Mag wasn’t in a hurry, but Sinclair was running around like a headless chicken. If it weren’t for the fact that Mag had warned him not to ask any questions, he would definitely be asking him whether he was giving up on this bet already!

  Mag’s cutting skills had greatly impressed him. To be able to dice large slabs of beef into over 1,000 cubes of identical size in such a short time really was an extraordinary skill.

  However, he was very perplexed by the sight of Mag drowning the beef in so many different condiments. How could roast beef be cooked with so many different condiments? Wouldn’t that completely drown out the flavor of the beef itself?

  Furthermore, he was also very distressed by the sign that had been plastered onto the cart.

  Not only was he selling his roast beef in cubes, he had imposed a purchase limit of one cube per person!

  One cube wasn’t even enough for a mouthful!

  Many of the bystanders had begun to leave. There were some curious customers who approached Mag to inquire about his sign, only to be politely turned away by Mag with the excuse that his stall wasn’t open for business yet.

  Who would stay in the middle of such a busy street just to wait for a single cube of beef?

  The only subjects that could attract the attention of the passersby on the streets were Amy and Irina.

  News of this bet had already spread through most of the stalls on the Renhe Food Street, but there wasn’t much support for Mag. Instead, many vendors were afraid that Mag was just a troublemaker who would negatively affect their businesses.

  In the kitchen of Cary’s Rotisserie, Ike was listening to the report being delivered to him by his employee with a cold smile on his face. “You can play with your daughter all you want now, but I’ll teach you a lesson to remember at close of business!”


  Another fat chef in the kitchen held up a rolling pin, and chimed in, “Head Chef, can I join you?”


  “Sure. Anyone who wants to come with me can beat that obnoxious bastard to your heart’s content!” Ike announced, drawing a chorus of cheers from the other chefs in the kitchen.

  Meanwhile, Sinclair was feeling very flustered outside, and as his eyes darted around in his urgency, he suddenly caught sight of the watch on Mag’s wrist. He was very surprised to see that Mag was able to afford such a small and intricate magic clock, and his eyes lit up as he enquired, “Boss Mag, can you tell me the time?”


  “It’s about to hit 12 pm soon. The meat has been marinating for about half an hour, and that should be enough time already.” Mag glanced at his watch before making his way over to the stall while repressing the amusement in his heart. It was quite clear that Sinclair wasn’t actually asking for the time, but was instead euphemistically reminding Mag to get to work. Half an hour wasn’t enough time to marinate the beef, but it would be too late to start if he delayed any longer.

  “Go, Boss Mag, I believe in you!” Sinclair raised his fists like a cheerleader as he offered words of encouragement.

  “Boss Sinclair, please don’t ever do that again.” Mag shook his head with a slightly disgusted expression.

  “Go, Father, I believe in you!” Amy cheered in her mellow voice as she raised her fist into the air.

  “See? That’s how it’s done.” Mag turned to Amy with a warm smile. As expected, Amy was much more suited to cheer him on.

  “Everyone picks beautiful looks over my beautiful soul.” Sinclair sighed with a hurt expression.

  “Beautiful looks are pleasant to behold, while your beautiful soul sits in the body of a heavily bearded man. It’s not a difficult choice to pick one over the other,” Mag said in a calm voice as he added some coal into the charcoal oven.

  “Boss Mag, you’re so cruel!” Sinclair pouted as he clasped a hand over his heart.

  “Please don’t ever do that again, either.”


  Sinclair put on a serious expression as he said, “I’m entrusting my stall to you; I hope you won’t disappoint me.”


  “You’re running a failing business, so you really should be thanking me for repurchasing your beef and paying you twice the wage rate for being a cashier for today,” Mag retorted with a shrug.

  “Boss Mag……”


  “Please stop putting on these weird expressions, and please stop talking to me.” Mag was suddenly struck by the feeling that Sinclair should’ve pursued a career in acting rather than selling roast meat.

  “Alright.” Sinclair immediately adopted a blank facade as he stood beside his cart.

  After silencing Sinclair, Mag was finally able to focus his attention on cooking. He placed a hand over the charcoal oven to test the temperature before placing cubes of beef onto the roasting rack.

  The cubes of beef immediately began to emit a sizzling sound as soon as they came into contact with the scorching roasting rack.

  Mag applied a layer of oil to the cubes of beef using a brush held in his left hand, and its aroma soon began to waft through the air.

  “Is he finally making a start? Look at those tiny cubes; he’s selling them for one silver coin per cube? Why doesn’t he just go rob a bank if he’s so desperate for money?”


  “I’ve seen beef cooked in slabs, steaks, and even whole calves roasted at once, but I’ve never seen beef sold in cubes. Most importantly, he’s only selling one cube per person?”


  “The roast beef from Cary’s Rotisserie is truly delicious, and their restaurant is constantly being frequented by nobles. Even dukes are not an uncommon sight in their rotisserie; how is a roadside stall going to compete?”


  All of the bystanders and stall owners nearby immediately burst into spirited discussions.

  Can you really cook delicious roast beef like this? Sinclair was looking at Mag with a skeptical expression. He wanted to raise that question on multiple occasions, but he suppressed the urge to do so. In any case, no one was a fan of the roast beef that he made, so he had no right to express doubts about Mag’s cooking.

  “Make sure to draw line per customer; I’ll be watching.” Mag handed over a stack of paper and a pen to the employee from Cary’s Rotisserie, who was on the verge of falling asleep.

  “Is there any need for that? It’s not like you’ll be getting any customers anyway,” the employee scoffed with a derisive sneer.

  Mag slapped the stack of paper directly into his face as he smiled, and said, “Make sure you don’t miscount.”


  “You!!” The employee had been completely slapped awake, and he was glowering at Mag with a furious expression as he held a hand to his cheek.

  Even though he’s changed quite a bit, his personality appears to be much the same. Irina slowly put down the chair in her hands.

  “This is a bet between me and your boss, so you’d better do as you’re told.” Mag pursed his lips as he picked up his bottles of cumin powder and black pepper powder. I was saving your life there, you idiot! If that chair had landed on your head, you’d end up as dead as that Black Berserker Rhino from earlier today!

  I’ll return that slap with interest when you lose! The employee gritted his teeth as he clenched his hands tightly around the pen and paper Mag had thrust at him.

  The aroma of the sizzling beef on the roasting rack was really beginning to spread now.

  The cumin and black pepper powders were like the perfect catalysts, elevating the aroma of the beef to the next level. All of a sudden, an aroma that had been merely pleasant a moment ago suddenly became downright irresistible!

  What’s that smell?!

  Everyone around the roast beef stall turned their attention toward Mag almost at the exact same time!