Chapter 84: "You guys are quite professional.
Xue Can withdrew his hand, a little regretful. "It’s fine. It’s only been a few minutes."
"Are these two in charge of security?"
"Yes." Xue Can shot a look at the two men beside him, signaling for them to greet Shen Lu.
"Hello, Boss Shen. I’m Ye Fan of the Gale Mercenary Corps." The man with the buzz cut spoke first. He wore only a black tank top, and his bulky muscles gave him a powerful presence.
"Hello, Boss Shen. I’m Lin Zhou of the Gale Mercenary Corps." The other man was a bit more refined in appearance, but his pupils were different from a normal person’s—he had double pupils.
Shen Lu couldn’t tell what Ye Fan’s superpower was yet, but as for this Lin Zhou... ’His superpower is probably related to his eyes, right?’ she guessed.
Shen Lu shook hands with them both. "Hello, I’m Shen Lu. I’m glad you’ll be in charge of the restaurant’s security for the next month. I hope we’ll have a good working relationship."
Xue Can pointed at the black cloth. "Boss Shen, if it’s convenient, may we go inside and take a look at your restaurant?"
"Oh, of course." Shen Lu walked toward the restaurant’s entrance. The ground floor of the unfinished building was still surrounded by the black cloth, but the words "Under Renovation..." had changed to "Renovation Complete."
Of course, while others could see the black cloth, only Shen Lu could see the words.
She reached out and touched it. The black cloth instantly fell away, revealing a brand-new storefront.
Xue Can raised his eyebrows in surprise. ’What kind of new technology is this?’
Especially that black cloth. He hadn’t even been able to poke a hole in it earlier. He had been about to try burning it with his superpower, but then Shen Lu arrived, so he never got the chance.
Now, with just a touch from Shen Lu, it was as if it had vanished into thin air, completely gone without a trace.
’Boss Shen has quite a few secrets and valuable things.’
Shen Lu was unaware that Xue Can, standing beside her, was re-evaluating her yet again. She was simply admiring her restaurant with pleasant surprise.
The original mottled gray exterior wall had been transformed into a lovely cream yellow. Through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, one could easily see the furnishings inside.
She took a step toward the entrance, and the closed glass doors immediately sensed her. After confirming her identity, they opened automatically.
One by one, the overhead lights turned on, brightly illuminating the interior.
"Feel free to look around." Shen Lu wasn’t worried about Xue Can and his men stealing anything. The restaurant had 360-degree surveillance with no blind spots. If they really had sticky fingers, Shen Lu would shove the surveillance footage right in Xue Can’s face.
"Alright." Xue Can nodded. The three men dispersed on their own, leaving Shen Lu free to inspect her new restaurant.
Shen Lu had divided the 800-square-meter ground floor into four areas.
At the front were two dining areas. The right side was a fast-food section, similar to a cafeteria, while the left side was a booth area for stir-fry dishes. A front desk and waiting area separated them in the middle, and the back kitchen was behind it all.
Shen Lu liked spaciousness, so the back kitchen was a full 150 square meters. The back door of the kitchen led to a warehouse, and next to the warehouse were the staff dormitories.
After a lap around the dining areas, Shen Lu headed straight for the back kitchen.
It was certainly big enough. There were over ten stoves of various sizes.
As Shen Lu looked around, she began planning what each burner would be used for, and dozens of recipes popped into her mind.
’Finally, I can make some other dishes to sell.’
Halfway through her inspection, Shen Lu noticed a problem.
Besides the stoves and worktables, there were no kitchen utensils!
There were no woks for stir-frying, clay pots for stewing, knives and cutting boards for chopping, or bowls and plates for serving.
Shen Lu deadpanned. "You’re not going to make me buy these too, are you? Give me a break! Are you determined to drain every last bit of my popularity value?"
[Host, don’t be anxious. Why not complete the main quest and see what happens?]
’See what happens?’
’Are the utensils going to magically appear on their own?’
Shen Lu opened the restaurant naming field and entered the name: Little Deer Restaurant.
DING! The quest completion notification sounded.
[DING DONG. Restaurant 1/1 detected and successfully named. Quest complete. Reward: one Lottery Ticket, +2000 popularity value.]
[DING DONG. Restaurant area detected to be over 400 square meters. Quest exceeded. Bonus Reward: one complete set of kitchen utensils.]
’Oh, so that’s how it is.’
Shen Lu opened her temporary inventory. It was more than half full. There were kitchen utensils of all shapes, sizes, and purposes. There were over a dozen knives alone—for boning, slicing, chopping bone, and carving. It was even more thorough and complete than she had imagined.
Shen Lu took out the utensils one by one and placed them in their proper spots. The once somewhat empty kitchen was gradually filled, creating a particularly satisfying sight.
[DING DONG~ New quest issued: Please upgrade the restaurant’s scale to accommodate 2000 people dining simultaneously, with a customer satisfaction level of four stars.]
’Okay, the new main quest is updated. Unlike the simple ones before, this one has more detailed requirements.’
Shen Lu asked, "Where do I check this satisfaction level? It’s not on the panel."
[The Host can take a look at the front desk.]
Hearing this, Shen Lu left the back kitchen and walked to the front desk area.
The front desk was part of the waiting area. On the waist-high wooden counter, a few small trinkets were scattered about. Shen Lu had only given it a brief glance when she came in, but now she noticed a star-shaped decoration on the counter.
There were five stars in total. A white light outlined their frames, but their centers were a dim gray, as if waiting to be lit up.
Shen Lu touched the star decoration and asked, "Is this like the popularity value, where customers give a rating?"
[Yes, Host. We will automatically capture the satisfaction level of dining customers toward "Little Deer Cuisine." The maximum score is five stars. A score below one star will result in a severe penalty. Please manage your business diligently~]
"Boss Shen, we’ve seen enough." Xue Can had approached Shen Lu from behind at some point. "Do you have any other requirements? If not, they can start their posts now."
"They can move freely in the dining areas, but they shouldn’t enter the back kitchen or the upstairs residence unless necessary. Also, they shouldn’t resort to violence easily. If they have to act, their main priority should be to restrain the other party, not to injure them."
Shen Lu rubbed her chin. "That’s all for now."
Xue Can nodded. "Okay, I’ll tell them."
Shen Lu watched him turn around and give a few instructions to his two subordinates outside the main door. Lin Zhou and Ye Fan nodded, and then they just... disappeared.
Shen Lu leaned over curiously to look. The two men were really gone.
"They’re hidden nearby. They’ll appear if anything happens," Xue Can explained.
"You guys are quite professional." ’I thought they would stand at the entrance like door gods.’
"It’s what we do."
Xue Can had other matters to attend to. After telling Shen Lu to contact him if she needed anything, he left.
Shen Lu planned to close up and head to No. 3 Landfill. There were only a few days left in her novice welfare month, and she had to fleece the system for all it was worth.
Just as she was about to leave, she got a call from Boss Zhou. He asked if Shen Lu was home and if he could deliver the appliances early.