Yan Jin looked at the three remaining unfinished tasks. During the recent wolf pack attack, the two big white geese had contributed greatly. After gritting her teeth for a moment, she decided to buy them a proper nest.
[Ding. Temporary Mission 1 completed: Build a comfortable nest for the “Guardian Divine Beasts,” the big white geese.]
[Mission reward: Luck +1]
As the luck settled upon her, Yan Jin sensed a faint, special aura and smiled slightly.
As for the two remaining missions, the one about recruiting staff gave her pause. In the apocalypse, human hearts were unpredictable.
Moreover, her inn contained far too many secrets. Anyone she recruited had to be carefully selected. She could not simply fill the positions with random people. This was not a task that could be rushed.
In her heart, Bai Ruozhu held a place equal to that of family. Yan Jin would never restrict her freedom with an employment relationship.
The other task involved collecting ingredients. That would have to wait for an opportunity. At present, she only had three ingredients, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and mutton. If she wanted more ingredients, she would have to wait for the crops she had planted earlier to be harvested.
Knock, knock, knock.
Yan Jin gathered her thoughts when she heard someone knocking outside the courtyard gate. She hurried over to open it.
Yu Chen stood outside with another man and said to Yan Jin, “Boss, this is my friend. He wants to stay here. Do you still have a room?”
Yan Jin’s eyes widened.
Only then did she notice the man standing beside Yu Chen. He was plump and round. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed into thin lines, making him look like a Maitreya Buddha statue.
While Yan Jin was observing him, he was also studying her.
The young woman before him had delicate features and wore clean clothing. She did not look like someone struggling to survive in the apocalypse. That made him trust Yu Chen’s words even more.
“Hello, my name is Qi Hua.”
“Hello, I’m Yan Jin, the owner of this inn.”
Yan Jin led the two men into the courtyard. After entering, Qi Hua discreetly began observing the surroundings.
The inn looked simple, yet he could faintly hear geese honking somewhere nearby. Someone was even watering a patch of sweet potato plants. The scene felt surprisingly peaceful.
After the two followed Yan Jin into the building, Yu Chen asked impatiently, “Boss, are there still rooms available?”
“There are, but you’ll need to wait a moment. I have to tidy it up before you can check in.”
The two men nodded happily when they heard that rooms were still available. Their previously anxious hearts finally relaxed.
After making an excuse to slip away, Yan Jin secretly opened the system interface and decorated Room No. 2.
Only then did she return, seeing the two men waiting nervously.
“All right. Come over here to handle the check in. How long will you be staying?”
Qi Hua scratched his head and took out a handful of crystal cores. “I’ll stay for one month.” After all, he could no longer return to the base, so he might as well stay here.
“Okay, just a moment.”
Yan Jin happily collected the crystal cores, processed the check in for Qi Hua, and handed him a dark bluish green card. Intricate patterns flowed faintly across its surface when viewed from different angles.
“The duration of your stay and the cost can both be checked inside the card. Keep your room card safe and do not lose it. If you need anything, you can come find me.”
Qi Hua carefully examined the card in his hand but could not see anything particularly special about it.
Yan Jin noticed that it was already getting late. She still needed to cook dinner, and her stomach was already rumbling loudly.
Inside their rooms, Yu Chen and Qi Hua soon caught the rich fragrance drifting from the kitchen. They wondered what the boss was cooking that smelled so tempting.
It smelled amazing.
The two exchanged glances in the corridor, smiled, and walked together toward the kitchen.
Yan Jin blanched the lamb ribs she had purchased and marinated them simply. The products from the system truly were different.
“Sister, what are you cooking this time?” Bai Ruozhu asked while helping Yan Jin and breathing in the aroma.
“Braised lamb ribs.”
As she spoke, she placed rock sugar into the pot. Once it melted into a bright reddish brown syrup, she added the lamb ribs and stir fried them evenly.
The lamb ribs soaked up the oil and took on the glossy color of the caramelized sugar, quickly becoming shiny and translucent. Then she added the prepared aromatics and poured in boiling water to continue simmering them.
She also made a cold dish by cutting tomatoes into chunks and mixing them with white sugar. The sweet and tangy flavor made it another delicious dish.
“Boss, how much are you selling these dishes for?”
Yan Jin had already expected the two men to be drawn in by the aroma and had reserved portions for them.
“Braised lamb ribs cost 80 gold coins, tomatoes cost 10 gold coins, and roasted sweet potatoes are the same as before.”
Yu Chen took out his room card as usual. Qi Hua, standing beside him, looked troubled at the plate of meat before him. He only had crystal cores and no gold coins. How was he supposed to buy anything?
Yan Jin smiled slightly. “If Mr. Qi needs it, you can exchange crystal cores for gold coins at the counter.”
Qi Hua’s eyes lit up when he heard that. That was perfect. It would save him a lot of trouble.
With a pocket full of crystal cores, he had long grown impatient.
He pulled Yan Jin toward the counter and placed a large handful of crystal cores into a slot on the counter.
A notification sound immediately rang out.
[Ding. Level 1 zombie crystal cores, 20 pieces. Price: 2000 gold coins.]
Yan Jin handed their cards back and said, “Place the card on the screen and try it.”
Qi Hua followed her instructions. As soon as he placed the room card on the screen, a message appeared.
[Would you like to renew your stay?]
“Your check in information has already been recorded in the system. So when you place the card again, it will ask whether you want to renew.”
Qi Hua selected “No.”
“Everything in the inn can be paid for using the gold coins stored in the room card.”
“Oh, and if you hunt mutated beasts, you can bring them here. We buy them at a high price.”
Yan Jin reminded Yu Chen and Qi Hua, since she still needed them to hunt mutated beasts in order to unlock more meat varieties.
Images of beef and steak flashed through Yu Chen’s mind, and he swallowed involuntarily.
He had already decided which mutated beast he wanted to hunt. Unfortunately, he could not take down a mutated bull by himself.