“Have you got the construction team?” Mag casually asked Rena after walking one round in the hot pot restaurant.

  “Mm-hmm. Firis introduced a few very formidable elven architects to me. I think I would like to let them do the final presentation of the effects and conclusions. It will be 50% cheaper than using dwarven architects. Furthermore, I prefer their design concepts,” Rena smilingly said.

  “That’s rather good.” Mag nodded slightly. There was no need to doubt the elves’ aesthetic taste. Letting them neutralize this philistine feel brought upon by the golden tone in the hot pot restaurant was the best. He continued, “Then, please make the arrangements to start the renovation as soon as possible. Regarding the restaurant’s ownership issue, I will ask the city lord’s castle and the Gray Temple to give you an explanation.”


  “Alright. I will decide the final plan with them later at noon before we start the renovations.” Rena nodded before hesitantly saying to Mag, “There is another thing I would like to discuss with you.”


  “Please do.”


  “That is……” Rena grasped her shirt, and hesitantly said, “I have been testing the hot pot bases in the past few days, but when I was making the spicy hot pot, I realized that I couldn’t achieve the mala spicy effect without the Sichuan Peppers. I couldn’t find any spices that could replace it on the market, so I am thinking……”


  “It’s indeed not easy to find a replacement for the Sichuan Pepper. I can supply you with Sichuan Pepper before you find a suitable replacement,” Mag replied with a smile.

  “Thank you very much.” Rena was elated, but she quickly gravely said, “I am willing to pay you according to its original price.”

  Sichuan Pepper was such a precious spice that it couldn’t be found on the market at all, so it had to be very expensive. Rena definitely couldn’t get it from Mag for free.

  “Sure.” Mag nodded. Given Rena’s hot pot restaurant’s size, he indeed couldn’t afford to supply it for free.

  “System, didn’t you say your Sichuan Pepper is a superior product that only one is selected out of every 10,000? In this case, can you sell me the remaining 9,999 discarded products at a low price?” Mag smilingly said in his heart.

  “Host, according to this system’s principles—”


  “I don’t care about your principles. I only want you to follow my principles. As a candidate for the God of Cookery, my principle is not to waste a single grain of food or spice. Therefore, name your price,” Mag interrupted the system calmly.

  “10 copper coins for 5—”


  “Alright, 10 copper coins for 500 grams. Deal! I believe the people from the alternate world will thank you for enabling them to have scrumptious and fairly priced spicy hot pot.” Mag smiled, and agreed very readily.

  “I—”


  “You did the right thing, and I admire you for how you learned to be flexible. We will all earn money together, right. You don’t have to thank me,” Mag said with alacrity.

  “A-alright then. Changing the alternate world’s dietary structures and habits is also one of your missions. Recycling and reusing the spice that is meant to be discarded and destroyed is also a good method,” the system murmured as it reluctantly accepted this result.

  “If you have the need, I can supply you with 500 kilograms of Sichuan Pepper first. Let’s just charge 100 copper coins for every 500 grams.” Mag smiled at Rena.

  “100 copper coins……” Rena’s eyes brightened as she stared at Mag with disbelief. “So cheap?! D-did you deliberately lower the price for me?”


  Mag smilingly shook his head. “You want to make the hot pot into a food for common people, so controlling the ingredients’ costs becomes the most important issue. The Sichuan Pepper naturally couldn’t be too expensive. It’s alright for me to earn less. After all, I have shares in the hot pot restaurant too.”


  “Host, I f*ck your mother!!! ———!!” The system’s furious roar reverberated throughout Mag’s mind.

  “Being a system, you have to be civilized. Don’t be so foul-mouthed.”


  ***

  Mag stayed in the new hot pot restaurant for a while before he brought Hannah to the factory in the north of the city.

  “Oh my heavens! What is this giant metal beast that can breathe out steam?!

  “How can this wheel run on its own?

  “Doesn’t this loom need to be pushed by someone? This is amazing!”


  Hannah behaved like Alice in wonderland when she entered the factory as she began touching things everywhere with her mouth agape the entire time.

  Mag briefly explained to her the steam engine’s principle, the concept of the whole textile factory, and how the workers’ division of labor and collaboration made producing textiles more efficient.

  Hannah was looking at Mag with glowing eyes and unconcealed admiration on her face after they came out of the workshop. “Did you really invent the steam engine?”


  “Yes.” Mag nodded.

  “You are so formidable! You are such a genius!” Hannah said with amazement on her face.

  “Standing on the shoulders of the forebears always gave people such a false impression.” Mag shrugged.

  However, Hannah didn’t think too much about the meaning of his words. Instead, she curiously pursued, “Are these gigantic machines really powered by steam? Why does the airy, light steam possess such immense strength?”


  “Yes. Don’t underestimate the power of steam. They could perhaps have a more stable and long-lasting output than magic, and they could be obtained with a low price.” Mag nodded with a smile as he was very satisfied with Hannah’s two straight-to-the-point questions.

  Hannah was also looking at the gigantic factory with ponderment. After a moment of silence, her eyes lit up. “So this is the so-called factory. In this case, can I turn the brewery into such a big factory? We can split the different brewing procedures into a few workshops, and let different workers take charge of the juicing, brewing, fermenting…… And then, we will be able to greatly increase the brewing efficiency, and produce rum on a large scale.”


  “This is why I brought you here. I will invest a sum of money for you to design and build the machines for brewing rum, and build a large rum brewery factory in Chaos City. You will be in charge of controlling the quality of the rum. If you are not well-versed in factory management and sales, I can find someone suitable to assist you.” Mag smiled at Hannah. “What do you think about it?”


  “I……” Hannah looked at Mag with a slightly gaping mouth. After a while, she gulped. “I simply came to Chaos City to build my third-generation brewing machines……”


  “And then?”


  “And then……” Hannah gave it some thought as her gaze landed on the factory building in front of her. Her eyes gradually lit up. “And then build a giant brewery factory which could allow the whole world to drink the rum from our Old Sim’s family!”


  “Very good. I am investing into this project!” Mag nodded as he took out a check, signed it, and gave it to Hannah. “This is 2,000,000 copper coins, take this as the brewery’s start-up fund. I will be adding on another 8,000,000 copper coins later. You and I will own 50% of the brewery each.”


  “50% each?” Hannah held that check, and hesitantly said, “But I only have 300 copper coins. Wouldn’t you be losing out like this?”


  “Your abilities and techniques are priceless.” Mag chuckled.