He Lingyu had not been idle either. She brought out good food and drinks for the three who had contributed the most.
“Brother Mu, Fatty, Xiao Yan, you have worked hard these past days. Let’s use juice instead of alcohol and raise a toast!”
She truly was grateful. She still could not leave the restaurant, and without their help, how could so many customers have been brought back?
Mu Qingfeng gave a brief summary of what they gained at Jiaowo Base. “Jiaowo Base is far bigger than Gaofei Base next door. If we can satisfy them this time, the benefits after cooperation will be huge, and the restaurant’s tasks will be completed much faster.”
He knew exactly what interested He Lingyu most. That alone was enough to make her eyes light up.
“Don’t worry, I will definitely satisfy them! Once the restaurant upgrades, I can also help Brother Mu get revenge sooner!”
She had said the first part loudly and firmly. The last part was more like a murmur to herself.
But who was sitting here? Three ability users. They all heard it. Fatty and Xiao Yan instinctively looked at Mu Qingfeng.
Mu Qingfeng kept his expression steady. He calmly picked up another bite of food, but the slight tremor in his eyes betrayed him. He could fool others, but he could not fool himself.
He had not expected her to remember what he said when he joined the restaurant, and to keep working toward it. He had thought she simply wanted to achieve other goals, that theirs was a relationship of mutual use.
“Burp!” An ability user let out a long, satisfied burp. It was obvious he was pleased.
He Lingyu secretly watched their expressions, then quietly let out a breath. With everyone smiling, they should be satisfied, right?
“Captain Shan, Captain Shi, how was it? Are you satisfied?”
Mu Qingfeng already knew the answer. The plates on the table were empty.
Still, since they had eaten well and might become long term partners, neither captain minded.
“Of course we’re satisfied. We’ll report honestly to our leader when we return. Would it be possible to let us…” take a look around?
They could not ask so bluntly, but the meaning was clear.
“Of course. Let our boss introduce things properly,” Mu Qingfeng said.
He brought He Lingyu forward and made it clear he was just an employee, and that it made more sense for the owner to explain.
Only when she stepped up did the two captains remember there was another boss. He Lingyu’s presence had been so low key, they had almost forgotten. Did she not want to cooperate?
That could not be right. If she did not want to, why would she send people to their base?
The truth was simple. He Lingyu was just socially anxious. Still, she could not refuse the role, she had to return to the modern world someday.
So she resigned herself to explaining the restaurant.
“At the moment, only the restaurant and the inn are open. The rest is still upgrading, so things may change later. We’ll also add more dishes in the future.”
Shan Zhi understood. Opening a restaurant in the apocalypse was already difficult, and they also had to ensure safety and expand. Going slowly was understandable.
As long as the restaurant stayed open and there was always good food, that was enough. And if more dishes were coming, that meant new food would keep appearing.
How could they not be tempted? They almost wanted to rush back and tell their leader to cooperate immediately.
But in front of outsiders they still had to look calm and cool.
“Mhm.”
They walked to the inn. “Could we stay here tonight?”
“Of course!” He Lingyu agreed immediately. “But there aren’t many rooms right now, so everyone will need to squeeze in a bit.”
She was happy for two reasons. One, it helped maintain a good image for cooperation with the base.
Two, if they stayed here, it meant they would also eat dinner here.
Wouldn’t that complete her main quest on the spot?
Over the past two days she had been farming Shang Da and Feng An for all they were worth, but she had only made progress a few times.
Two people could only eat so much, but these were different. Fifty people. A full fifty.
Just their arrival had already pushed her progress halfway.
Level four, hehehe.
He Lingyu felt someone poke her. She came back to her senses and saw it was Mu Qingfeng.
He leaned close and whispered, “If you keep smiling at them like that, I have no idea how to explain it…”
Her smile froze. She looked over and sure enough, she saw the strange expressions on their faces.
“Haha, I was just so happy about cooperating with Jiaowo Base,” He Lingyu said with an awkward laugh.
Then she tossed Mu Qingfeng one sentence, “I’m leaving it to you,” and fled.
Mu Qingfeng watched her retreating figure and could not help tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Sorry about that. Our boss gets shy very easily. Come on, I’ll help you check in.”
Shan Zhi raised his brows but said nothing and went to inspect the inn first.
“My goodness! Your inn is decorated really nicely!”
Shi Hu could not help exclaiming when he saw the colorful styles. “This one’s great, I like this one. Simple and elegant. I’m staying here!”
He was pointing at the log styled Room 101 that Mu Qingfeng had decorated first.
“I like that one too!”
“I think the pastoral one is pretty good!”
“That dark one is nice too!”
Everyone had different tastes, but not a single person wanted the pink princess themed room.
These rough men were embarrassed. Even if someone liked it, he would not admit it.
So the ones who lost the battle for rooms were forced into the pink room.
After the rooms were assigned, Mu Qingfeng did not stay. He gave them time to discuss among themselves.
He was confident no one would refuse cooperation.
How could anyone refuse a restaurant like this? Hadn’t he himself been slowly falling for it too?
When he returned to the restaurant, he saw He Lingyu holding a little girl’s hand while talking to Fatty.
When she saw him, her eyes curved with a bright smile and she waved him over.
“Hongdou, this big brother is called Mu Qingfeng. You can call him Brother Mu or Brother Qingfeng.”
After introducing Song Hongdou, He Lingyu said to Mu Qingfeng, “This kid’s name is Hongdou. She’ll live at our restaurant from now on. Earlier she even said you’re handsome!”
Hongdou tugged at He Lingyu’s clothes and hid behind her, too shy to come out.
“Look at her, she’s already learned to be shy at such a young age,” Hua Yue said, laughing along.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was warm, and everyone wore smiles to varying degrees.
He Lingyu felt dazed. This kind of warmth was something she had never had in her first twenty plus years, yet after coming here, she had gained so much in such a short time.
The evening clouds were beautiful, and beeping sounds came from outside.
Shang Da and Feng An had returned on the electric tricycle. The children’s room on the second floor had already been decorated and Hongdou had moved in, but Shang Da still thought it was too bare. Whenever he had time, he rode the tricycle with Feng An to look for children’s supplies.
Given how long they were gone today, they must have found a lot.
“My goodness! That’s an electric tricycle?!”
“That’s right, our restaurant’s new ride!” He Lingyu lifted her chin proudly.
“If we’d had this earlier, I wouldn’t have…” Fatty thought of his golden egg again, sighing as he stroked the tricycle’s shell.
Everyone tacitly avoided asking where the tricycle came from.
No one asked why the restaurant’s backup power supply was so abundant either.
This was the first time the trio met Shang Da and Feng An.
He Lingyu introduced both sides.
“These three are our other employees, Mu Qingfeng, Yao Zhien, and Jun Buyan. These two came out of Gaofei Base and live at our restaurant now. Hongdou was brought out by them too.”
After they exchanged brief greetings, He Lingyu suddenly remembered something important.
“I only left one inn room for Shang Da and Feng An… I forgot about you guys.”
She slapped her forehead, annoyed. For a moment she had forgotten that Fatty and Xiao Yan had not signed contracts, so they could not move into the third floor.
Fatty was about to comfort her and say it was fine, when He Lingyu thumped her fist into her palm.
“I have a way!”
“The main quest is still short by forty customers. After the Jiaowo Base people finish spending tonight, the quest will be done. Then we can sign contracts!”
It should work… probably.
Mu Qingfeng did not ruin her excitement. He wanted to ask whether completing the main quest would definitely unlock staff slots.
But he let her be happy for now. Maybe it really would. After all, she was someone who could even obtain an electric tricycle as a reward.
Fatty believed it completely.
“My goodness! So I’ll be officially hired tonight! Great, I’ll finally get staff meals!”
In the end, it was still about food.
Shan Zhi and the others had not been idle all afternoon either. They toured the nearby area and found that there were very few zombies, almost none. It was a safe spot, and they felt even more satisfied.
At dinner time, they entered the restaurant under everyone’s eager gaze.
Especially He Lingyu, the light in her eyes was brighter than the ceiling lamps.
Shan Zhi paused. Why did it feel like they were sheep walking into a wolf’s mouth?
He Lingyu did not feel socially anxious at all now. She grabbed the menu and marched up to Shan Zhi.
In an overly attentive tone, she said, “Captain Shan, what would you like to eat?”
Shan Zhi did not understand what was going on, but he sat down and ordered anyway. Who would refuse good food?
After they inserted their coins, He Lingyu’s computer finally displayed the words she had been waiting days to see.
[Main quest completed. Restaurant upgraded to LV.4.]
[Reward: First floor area doubled. Number of dining tables x3. Staff dormitory expanded, furniture added.]
[Reward: New foods added, fish, crayfish, crab. New drink added, beer.]
[Reward: Land expanded, courtyard enlarged, fish pond reservoir added, unnamed building permission unlocked (update time selectable). Vegetable growth time, 24 hours.]
[Reward: Staff slots +2. Family slot +1.]
[Reward: Livestock unlocked, pigs x2, chickens x10, ducks x10, geese x10 (delivery time selectable).]
[Reward: Inn expanded with a second floor (update time selectable).]
[Reward: All livestock related dishes can be unlocked (recipes required).]
The long list of rewards made He Lingyu’s eyes blur, but it also fired up her heart.
Was the next mission to find recipes?
“Everyone, our staff meal update is here for tonight. Guess what it is?”