“Ding! This system seriously reminds the Host that you cannot invite your kin and kith to increase the numbers of new customers. Otherwise, the total number will be multiplied by three.” The system’s voice immediately popped up in Mag’s mind.

  “Huh???” Mag cocked an eyebrow as he realized things weren’t simple.

  “Can we call all our friends? I know many children.” Amy began to count on her fingers. “Jessica, Daphne, Ignatsu……”


  “Can I invite all the Night Elves?” asked Firis.

  “20,000 Night Elves!” Mag raised his eyebrows. No way was he going to allow that to happen. He cleared his throat, and said, “In order not to take up too many seats, it’s best that we only take up two tables at most. Let’s invite our friends after a few days.”


  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Mag heaved a breath of relief, and said, “Rena, have you prepared any business opening promotion?”


  “Mm-hm. I planned to give a free plate of duck intestine to every table.” Rena nodded.

  “Alright. However, I suggest we only do such free dish promotion for one day. Word of mouth and consistent taste should be why a restaurant is able to thrive.” Mag nodded.

  “Mm-hm.” Rena nodded thoughtfully. She had planned a week of opening promotions at first, but Mag’s words were a sharp reminder, so she decided to cancel all the activities after that.

  Mamy Restaurant had never lowered its price or given out any free dishes, but it still retained its number one restaurant position in Chaos City with its exquisite taste.

  Mana Hot Pot Restaurant’s menu price was already very low compared to Mamy Restaurant, and she was very confident about the taste.

  Mag smiled at all of them. “All of you have worked hard today. Let’s go back and rest.”


  “Boss, did you say that Shirley is back? Then, will they join us for the hot pot tomorrow? I haven’t seen that cutie Anna for a few days,” said Yabemiya.

  Mag smiled and nodded. “I will invite them tomorrow. I think they will be coming.”


  ***

  “Oh my. This hot pot restaurant is huge. It’s even twice as big as ours. When did such a hot pot restaurant pop up?”


  “Isn’t that so? Our business will be all taken once this hot pot restaurant is opened.”


  Outside of Mana Hot Pot Restaurant, a man in a mink coat and a man in a cotton coat huddled and mumbled with jealousy.

  “Boss, it looks like they will be opening for business formally tomorrow. Their space will be able to accommodate over 1000 people eating at the same time. If their price is even lower, then some of our customers will definitely be stolen by it. What do we do now?” the manager in the cotton jacket said worriedly.

  “What can we do? You can’t stop them from opening for business.” Cassia rolled his eyes, and flicked a glance at the luxuriously renovated hot pot restaurant before boarding the horse-drawn carriage parked at the side.

  “Do a big promotion tomorrow. All the dishes in our hot pot restaurant will be buy-one-get-one-free, and our wines will be free flow,” Cassia said in a deep voice after getting into the carriage.

  The manager worriedly said, “This…… Boss, then we won’t be earning much.”


  “We still have to do it even though we won’t be earning. We have to crush this new hot pot restaurant with the strength of our promotion and attract all the customers over. We can earn money in the future. Go to the market and pick out all the cheap ingredients. Keep our cost to the lowest,” Cassia gravely said. “Furthermore, send someone to their restaurant to investigate and see what they are selling. The few markets in the south of the city belong to us, so it’s not difficult to cut off their supply chain.”


  “Yes.” The manager swiftly nodded.

  “I want to see which other hot pot restaurant apart from Mamy Restaurant is able to take our business in Chaos City.” A cold smirk appeared on Cassia’s face.

  ***

  Mana Hot Pot Restaurant was brightly lit. The main kitchen on the second floor was filled with the rich aroma of the hot pot soup bases. A few one-man-tall pots were brewing the broth, and the elves were busy in an orderly manner as they prepared for the first day of business.

  “Be careful. Separately pack the hot pot bases in advance. We must control the portions carefully.” Rena was instructing everyone in the kitchen with a hint of nervousness in her expression.

  Rena approached a middle-aged elf and smiled. “Anita, you will go with me to the market at 3am later. Go and rest for a while now.”


  “It’s fine, Boss. I’m not tired at all.” Anita shook her head. Instead, she looked at Rena with heartache as she said, “You have been working the whole day, so you should go and rest now. Leave the ingredients to me. I’ve already remembered all the shops and stores.”


  “I’ll go and rest for a while, but I’ll have to go and purchase the ingredients with you.” Rena shook her head tiredly. “Apart from the hot pot soup base, the most important part of the hot pot is to control the ingredients’ quality. We have to do this part well, otherwise our business won’t last long.”


  “Alright.” Anita nodded. Although they had only worked together for a short while, she knew very well that this young boss could be very stubborn in certain areas.

  ***

  Mana Hot Pot Restaurant was situated near the southwestern corner of Aden Square. Due to Mamy Restaurant’s powerful driving effect, the originally quiet southwestern corner began to prosper. The entire stretch was filled with restaurants, and it slowly became a popular dining spot in Aden Square.

  Meanwhile, there was a unique batch of restaurants among them like Fox Grilled Fish, Cayman Roast Duck, Elvin Beef Kebabs…… They were all taken out from the Mamy Restaurant’s menu, and turned into brand-new restaurants.

  These restaurants were priced in the middle range to attract those customers who were interested in Mamy Restaurant’s legendary dishes but couldn’t afford the steep prices.

  One had to say that there were plenty of such customers, and they contributed a lot of revenue to those restaurants.

  However, those customers didn’t look very satisfied when they came out from the restaurants. Those who had violent tempers would even spit at Mamy Restaurant, and said with disdain, “What stupid grilled fish. How dare it cost so much? It’s only so-so.”


  Mag went to invite Shirley and Anna on his bicycle with Amy. On their way back, they happened to pass by two men who came out of a hot pot restaurant called Cassia.

  A man dry heaved against a tree trunk, and angrily said, “What stupid hot pot and duck intestine. It smelled full of duck poop. I think this boss is stupid, and take us all as idiots.”

  “I heard this hot pot was invented by the boss of Mamy Restaurant. This plate of duck intestine would cost 100 copper coins at his restaurant. Fortunately, we hadn’t gone to his restaurant, or else we would have been cheated,” the other man chimed in with an exasperated expression.

  The man leaning against the tree trunk turned around, and said, “Isn’t that so. I think that Mamy Restaurant is only so-so. I heard they even eat pig’s brain. Can that thing even be eaten?”


  A fireball that was the size of a thumb shot through the tree he was leaning against earlier, and left a hole that was the size of a bullet.

  The other man trembled and stared at the father-and-daughter duo who rode past them slowly on a weird thing.

  “Why do you look like you had seen a ghost?” That man chuckled as he patted his shoulder. He was completely unaware of what had happened.