What was going on?
He Lingyu jumped in fright. She had not even moved, so how did someone get launched outside?
Was this some new kind of scam?
Before she could think it through, someone voiced what she was wondering.
“Hah, serves him right. He tried to sneak food without paying. They even accept paper money here, what’s there to be stingy about?”
“Exactly. The boss is a good person, but Zhang San is truly shameless!”
Two women whispered to each other. The man on the ground was in too much pain to notice them. He Lingyu heard clearly only because she was nearby.
Any sympathy she had vanished. She carefully set the food down on a table, then walked over.
“Sir, you can’t eat without paying. If you insist, we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Zhang San had not expected the boss to call him out so directly. His face turned a patchy mix of red and green.
He did not want to be kicked out like this. Under the crowd’s disgusted stares, he forced a dry laugh. “Heh, heh, heh. I just got too excited when I saw the food. I’ll pay right now, right now.”
Then, with everyone watching, he shoved a fifty yuan note into the box.
He Lingyu’s expression changed instantly. She smiled sweetly. “Right this way, sir. There’s plenty of food, so there’s no need to fight over it.”
She counted quickly. Hua Yue had brought back far more than fifty people.
The mission should have completed in one go.
But the restaurant was too busy. He Lingyu had no time to check.
After a while, the sky darkened. The lights inside turned on automatically, and Hua Yue came over to tell He Lingyu something.
He Lingyu jerked her head up. Then she said, “Auntie Yue, keep an eye on the restaurant for me. I’ll go take a look.”
Hua Yue nodded. She pressed down her unease. It should be fine, right? The second floor had appeared the same way before.
He Lingyu slipped out and walked around to the back of the restaurant.
A new building stood there.
It did not match the restaurant’s exterior. It looked more like a place people could live in.
He Lingyu glanced at the sky, then at the dark, unlit building.
She pumped herself up, squeezed her eyes shut, and rushed inside.
Thankfully, the lights came on the moment she entered.
The interior revealed a counter again, and another computer, but this one did not show game prompts. It displayed only a simple interface.
Both sides were lined with rooms, and the screen showed green indicators that matched the number of rooms.
If she was not mistaken, this sudden new building was an inn.
She checked a few rooms. They all shared the same layout, clearly set up like hotel rooms.
So now the game was not only making her run a restaurant, it was also making her run a hotel?
He Lingyu accepted it surprisingly fast.
One sheep to herd was herding, two sheep was also herding.
Besides, thinking of the crowd in her restaurant, it would be unrealistic to send them back to their base after dark. If something happened on the road, her restaurant’s reputation would be ruined.
But if they were satisfied and went back singing her praises, then making the restaurant bigger and stronger would be only a matter of time.
As that thought formed, a smile crept onto He Lingyu’s face.
Against the empty rooms, it looked a little eerie.
She returned to the restaurant and explained it to Hua Yue, asking her to tell everyone they could stay the night, though several people would have to share each room.
Hua Yue was stunned, but she did it anyway.
The customers were delighted. They had assumed they would either rush home in the dark or hide nearby for the night. They had not expected the owner to offer lodging too.
Even if it cost money, paper bills barely counted as money anymore.
They had not seen other buildings when they arrived, and they convinced themselves they must have missed it because they were distracted by food.
Humans were very good at lying to themselves.
Once everyone was settled, the night grew deep, but He Lingyu felt wide awake.
She went straight to the counter and lit up the computer.
When she saw the words confirming completion, even though she had expected it, her brow still twitched.
[Congratulations, you have completed the main quest. Upgraded to LV.3.]
[Reward: Added foods: roast duck, meat dumplings. Added drinks: fruit juice. Food can restore stamina.]
[Land: Restaurant expanded to three floors, staff dorms increased, additional buildings added to the courtyard.]
[Vegetable maturity time: 30 hours.]
[Member slots increased. Recruitable slot x1.]
[Restaurant smart systems upgraded. Payment box upgraded to an intelligent alarm system. Automatic task board updates added.]
He Lingyu could not even describe it as surprise anymore.
This upgrade was a massive overhaul, adding a lot of useful features.
For example, the payment box. From now on, it could enforce payment on its own. No one needed to stand guard for freeloaders.
And the task board. She did not know exactly how it worked yet, but she knew the game would not add something useless.
It might even be the best part of this upgrade.
Could it mean she, as the owner, could post tasks herself?
But the restaurant did not need that many staff right now, and she did not have that many tasks to assign either.
It felt contradictory, yet He Lingyu was not bothered. She was excited instead.
There would be no answers tonight.
Better to sleep early and wait for the game to hand her new missions tomorrow.
She wondered whether she still counted as a beginner now. There should still be some kind of beginner guide, right?
The next morning, when He Lingyu woke, Hua Yue had already organized breakfast for everyone.
The soundproofing was shockingly good. The downstairs crowd had been loud, yet He Lingyu had not heard a thing from her room.
Even though the rooms looked a bit like slapdash construction.
“Xiao Yu’er, they’ll head back after breakfast,” Hua Yue said with a smile. “But they already promised they’ll bring more people next time.”
Only then did He Lingyu notice Hua Yue changing.
It was as if Hua Yue now understood she had real value here. She was no longer stuck in that anxious state from the first two days, afraid she could be replaced at any moment.
Now she could finally smile without holding back.
He Lingyu was pleased. Before, it had felt like an invisible barrier stood between them. Now it was gone.
He Lingyu no longer had to weigh every sentence, worrying she might upset Hua Yue.
Back at the orphanage, He Lingyu had been sensitive by nature. She knew exactly what emotionally fragile people looked like, and she understood them. Even when she spoke casually, she had still been careful.
Now she could finally relax. She looped her arm through Hua Yue’s. “That’s amazing! Auntie Yue, you’re incredible!”
Hua Yue flushed a little. At her age, she still was not used to such straightforward praise.
“Alright, Xiao Yu’er.” Hua Yue smiled, then lowered her voice. “What are we doing today? And… I think the yard looks different again.”
By now, Hua Yue had gotten used to the changes. She was not shocked at all.
He Lingyu did not go outside immediately. She went to the computer first. If the yard had changed, then the rewards should be in, which meant new tasks should have appeared too.
Sure enough, the mission list refreshed.
[Side quests unlocked.]
[Please update your tasks on the task board. You may choose from options such as: renovating the inn rooms with a new style, building a luxury doghouse, cleaning the third floor of the restaurant…]
The examples went on and on, all things He Lingyu could post.
She did not rush to post anything yet. Instead, she stepped into the yard to take a look. Everyone was still eating breakfast, so there was no need to hurry.
Yesterday’s rewards had only said the courtyard would gain new buildings. It had not said what kind.
That bothered her. An inn was already pushing it, so what was this now?
He Lingyu walked into the yard.
The expansion was bigger than she had expected. Without it, there really would not have been space for another building.
The new structure did not match the style of the restaurant or the inn. He Lingyu could not immediately remember what it was for, only that it looked familiar, like something she had seen in a TV drama.
One thing she could be sure of.
It was filthy.
It needed cleaning immediately.
That also meant she did not need to go upstairs to know what the new third floor looked like. When the second floor had opened, she had cleaned it herself. She knew the pattern.
Now that she had a task board, she had no intention of doing all the hard work herself again. Better to create a little GDP and make everyone happy.
She returned to the dining hall and started clicking at the computer, hands moving so fast they nearly blurred.
[Ding. Task posted.]
The task board on the wall outside updated automatically. A few people who had finished breakfast and were wandering around spotted it instantly.
“Hey, what’s that?”
“Looks like a task board. It says ‘Clean the third floor, reward: one free meal…’”
They did not even finish reading. The meaning hit them immediately.
This was far better than doing backbreaking labor at the base and still not getting a hot meal.
And today’s menu even had meat.
Meat.
In the apocalypse, getting meat was nearly impossible. Even if you found it, you might not live long enough to eat it.
A deal like this?
The two of them exchanged a look and rushed to act, wanting to claim every task at once.
But did they think He Lingyu had not predicted that?
To prevent exactly this, she had set it so each person could only accept one task at a time, and they could not accept a new one until they finished the current one.
Accepting a task was simple. Pick the task you wanted on the board, then press your handprint in the box beside it. Each task had a time limit, and if it was not completed on time, it would refresh.
The board was “smart,” but overall it still felt like the game was managing it. The game had its own way of judging completion, which also discouraged slacking and cheating.
While those two hesitated and tried to choose the best task, He Lingyu had already explained the system inside.
People did not even bother finishing breakfast. They sprinted to the door, did not care what the tasks were, and slapped their handprints down first.
Some cheered when they claimed one, others stomped in frustration when they missed out.
Hua Yue eventually came outside to smooth things over. “Don’t worry, everyone. The tasks aren’t one time only. There will be more updates in the future. And if you didn’t get one today, please help spread the word when you return to base. Thank you.”
A wise elder really was a treasure. He Lingyu could never have said something like that herself. She also did not want to stand there with so many people staring at her.
While the crowd buzzed with excitement, a group approached from the distance.
And among them were a few familiar faces.