The restaurant was filled with chatter from the Jiaowo squad. He Lingyu deliberately lowered her voice, so only the few gathered around her could hear.
Fatty guessed first. “Could it be a huge braised pork knuckle?” He loved meat the most.
Jun Buyan rolled his eyes. He truly could not deal with Fatty. “Sister He, just tell us already. Otherwise I’m afraid this fatty’s drool will drown me.”
He Lingyu could not help laughing. “Alright, I won’t keep you guessing. Tonight’s staff meal is spicy crayfish and spicy crab. And there’s beer too.”
Just hearing her say it made their mouths start watering.
“But the menu hasn’t updated yet, so we can only eat after they finish. We still have to wait a bit. So for now, let’s sign the contracts!”
He Lingyu grinned and pulled out two contracts, waving them at Fatty and Xiao Yan.
“The quest is done?!” Fatty shouted in delight. He did not keep his voice down, and several people in the restaurant turned to look.
He quickly covered his mouth, clasped his hands toward the customers in apology, then turned back to confirm.
“That’s right. And it’s thanks to you two. Otherwise I really don’t know when this task would have been completed.”
He Lingyu signed her name on the employer line. Fatty and Xiao Yan signed immediately too. They trusted their boss, Mu Qingfeng’s judgment would not be wrong.
Now the restaurant had four employees.
Still, He Lingyu was curious about what the “family slot” meant.
There was no time to research it now, so she decided she would look into it later that night when things were quiet.
[Ding. Side quest updated.]
Huh? The game was working this hard now?
He Lingyu was surprised, but she looked forward to it anyway.
[Side Quest: Establish cooperation with a base and open a cooperative route. Reward: ???]
Mu Qingfeng saw it too, standing beside her. Without showing anything on his face, he shifted slightly and blocked the computer from the others.
But He Lingyu did not mind them seeing it. She had never tried to hide anything. Inside the restaurant, she was untouchable anyway. Even if others saw it, what could they do?
She was the one bound to the restaurant. They could not steal it.
She had always assumed the others simply did not want to look because there was nothing on it except tasks, and it was not like they could play games.
In reality, everyone knew the computer held something unusual, so they avoided it on purpose.
“There’s a new task. Cooperate with a base and open a cooperative route. We’re close to the cooperation part, Jiaowo Base is about to partner with us. But what does it mean to open a route?”
He Lingyu frowned. Did the road to Jiaowo Base have an obstacle?
“Uh… it’s not going to make us build a road, is it?” Even Fatty sounded disbelieving.
The restaurant fell silent.
Under everyone’s stare, Fatty wiped cold sweat. “No, no, no, I was talking nonsense. It definitely isn’t that!”
Jun Buyan thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. Based on how tasks have worked so far, it won’t give us something we can’t do. Building roads is impossible even if a whole construction team showed up.”
“So instead of building a road, it’s probably asking us to find a safe and wide route.”
He Lingyu nodded. That made sense.
“When we went to Jiaowo Base this time, we mostly took shortcuts. We didn’t use the highway. Could it want us to find a highway route?” Mu Qingfeng added his thoughts.
He knew each task solved a real current problem. So what problem did this one point to?
“If we find a highway that vehicles can use… does that mean ordinary people could travel too?” He said it, then denied it himself. Even if ordinary people could endure the long distance, they still could not handle zombies.
But what if the reward was a vehicle that could transport people back and forth?
Once an idea started spreading, it was hard to stop.
“That makes sense!” He Lingyu latched onto it. “What if the reward is a vehicle?!”
Mu Qingfeng’s thoughts aligned with hers. He looked at the lively girl and let out a quiet breath. Even when they had the same idea, she was like the sun, always optimistic, while he was the shadow where sunlight could not reach, wrapped in pessimism.
Still, when he saw the two contracts on the counter, Mu Qingfeng smiled. Who could say what the future held? She had always been good at bringing luck to the people around her.
After the meal, Shan Zhi said to He Lingyu, “Boss He, we plan to leave early tomorrow to return to the base. We want to bring some food back for our leader. We hope you can pack a portion for us.”
“Alright. I’ll prepare it tomorrow.”
When the restaurant finally quieted down, they quickly carried the dishes into the kitchen.
Then they looked at each other.
“Time to eat!”
Of course, that did not mean washing dishes. Once the dishes entered the kitchen, they would automatically reset and return.
It meant eating.
He Lingyu pulled up the staff meal and took out spicy crayfish and spicy crab, covering the whole table.
Naturally, there was also the essential wheat juice, or rather, beer.
“My goodness! Then I won’t hold back!” Fatty rubbed his hands, put on gloves, and dug in, one in each hand, savoring the aroma.
The others did not fall behind, one bite of crayfish, one sip of beer.
“Cheers!”
Early the next morning, He Lingyu woke up thinking about the meal she needed to pack for the Jiaowo Base leader.
She did not know where the leader was from or what he liked to eat.
She also had to consider travel time, so after thinking for a bit, she decisively asked Hua Yue for help.
“Auntie Yue, save me!”
“What’s wrong, Xiao Yu’er?”
“Auntie Yue, what should we pack for that leader?”
He Lingyu looked at her pleadingly, blinking like a puppy. Then she remembered something and added, “Here’s our new menu.”
“So many new options. That gives us a lot to choose from.”
Hua Yue looked at the dishes listed. With poultry, fish, and meat alone, they could make many meals.
“But there’s a problem. We can cook these meat dishes, but we need recipes, or we need to know how to make them, so…”
He Lingyu could cook, but only simple stir fries that would keep her from starving. Anything more complicated, she could not do. She had tried learning, she just lacked the talent.
Since it was for an important leader, it could not be something plain and simple. For a moment, He Lingyu felt stuck.
“It looks like we’ll need to find a cookbook or a chef later,” Hua Yue said, then paused and smiled. “But for now, I can solve this. It’s only one meal. I still know how to make a few dishes.”
Her daughter had once been a little foodie, and Hua Yue had often learned recipes to cook for her. It was enough to handle this situation.
“Ah! Auntie Yue, you’re an angel sent to me by heaven. I love you so much!” He Lingyu hugged her and spun in a circle.
“Then let’s start. What do you want to make?”
“We don’t know his preferences, so we should cover different flavors, and pick dishes that aren’t time sensitive, food that can be reheated.”
That was true. If it needed to be eaten immediately, it would taste and look worse by the time it arrived.
“So I’ll make sweet and sour ribs, guobaorou, spicy diced chicken, fish fragrant shredded pork, and finally a shredded salad.”
Hua Yue had heard from Fatty that Jiaowo Base had scientists who found ways to purify land, so the leader probably had access to vegetables. Meat dishes, on the other hand, were likely rarer. Making more of them could win his favor.
These were also among Hua Yue’s best dishes.
The game’s system did not truly make them cook by hand, so when He Lingyu told Hua Yue to recite the recipes and she would write them down, Hua Yue let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The food produced by the kitchen was perfect in color, aroma, and taste. If she truly had to cook it herself, the pressure would be huge. If the leader disliked it, it would be disastrous.
“First, blanch the ribs in cold water to remove the blood…”
Hua Yue’s thoughts flowed smoothly. She explained each dish step by step, and He Lingyu scribbled rapidly.
When she finished the last word, the icons for those dishes on the computer fully lit up. They were no longer blinking faintly.
Suddenly, He Lingyu caught the aroma drifting from the kitchen.
She exchanged a look with Hua Yue. It worked.
They brought the dishes out to cool slightly. He Lingyu sniffed and sighed. “It smells amazing. Auntie Yue, you’re incredible.”
“Oh, not at all. I only described the process. I didn’t even lift a hand.”
Adults her age never seemed comfortable receiving praise. When He Lingyu turned into a compliment machine, Hua Yue grew a little awkward, though her face was full of smiles.
“Boss He, is it ready?”
Before long, Shan Zhi and Shi Hu came over.
“Ready, ready. I’ll pack it now.”
He Lingyu used the restaurant’s takeout containers, the first time she had used them.
After the food was packed, Shan Zhi and the others did not eat breakfast. They took a few buns and set off.
“The earlier we leave, the sooner we return. I look forward to the day we cooperate.”
He Lingyu saw them off at the door, then turned back into the restaurant.
“Everyone, I have an announcement. The restaurant is about to upgrade. Please stay in your rooms, and come out again in half an hour.”
He Lingyu clapped her hands and spoke to those who had not reacted yet.
She had held back all night, and now that the Jiaowo Base team had left, she could not wait to start the expansion.
That way, when their people came again, she could claim it was built over time, not that a building rose in an instant.
“My goodness, it’s starting already? I’m so excited!”
Fatty was the first to show his excitement. Mu Qingfeng and Jun Buyan exchanged a glance, said nothing, and nodded before returning to their rooms.
Since He Lingyu did not want them to watch, they would not ask.
In truth, He Lingyu was just afraid they would not be used to it.
She also could not deny she enjoyed the thrill of building and upgrading.
Before long, He Lingyu clicked, start upgrade, start update, on the computer.