Chapter 85: Great, the More the Merrier
The last two escorting city guards had no intention of stepping into the white light.
Upon laying eyes on the building mentioned in the briefing, their curious gazes swept across the interior from behind their visors before they took up positions on either flank.
They planted two red flags into the ground to mark their posts, rested their hands on their sidearms, and assumed sentry stances.
They yielded the path to the citizens who had followed them from Seed City.
“This white light… what is it?”
“There are plenty of people inside!”
“Citizens from Seed City—several look familiar!”
“It’s real! Everything the guards said is true!”
The crowd began crossing the threshold into the white light.
The moment they stepped through, many noticed the stark contrast between inside and out.
The air here was completely free of poison! The drifting green haze had vanished.
It was even cleaner than the air inside the city walls!
Then… the food the guards mentioned was really in here?!
The newcomers looked around in astonished wonder at the benches outside and the signboards reading [Lounge Area] and [Exchange Point].
There truly was a place to exchange City Coins!
A few could hardly wait and rushed forward to give it a try.
Yet they were stopped by the patrons of the Chinese Restaurant.
As the newcomers fully entered the white light, the diners inside filed out to see what was happening.
One side was euphoric; the other, thoroughly bewildered.
“Why are the city guards escorting you out here?”
“Can you really buy food in here? Not ration bricks, but actual potatoes and sweet potatoes?!”
“What are the guards doing out there? Did the authorities find out?”
“People back in the city said we could trade toxic crops for City Coins here—is that for real?!”
“Why are the guards just standing there? They aren’t going to arrest us the moment we walk back out, are they?!”
“Quit blocking the way! Are you not letting people through the door?!”
Both crowds were brimming with questions, shouting over one another.
The scene descended into utter chaos.
“Quiet down, quiet down! One question at a time!” Auntie Yun stepped forward from the regulars to take charge, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“You lot ask first!”
“The guards said the Chinese Restaurant here sells roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, and all that—can we actually buy them?” In the newcomer crowd, someone craned their neck and yelled out.
It hit right at the question burning in everyone’s chest.
“Of course it’s real!”
“Can’t you see me eating one right now?!” Someone hoisted a roasted sweet potato high into the air.
“What do you mean, ‘the guards said’?”
“How did they find out?”
“Then quit blocking the door! I’m going in to buy some!”
A chorus of overlapping voices erupted once more.
“Hold on, hold on!”
Auntie Yun had no choice but to restore order again: “We haven’t asked our questions yet!”
“Then hurry up and ask!”
“Why are the city guards trailing behind you?”
“The administration said they’re escorting us out to buy food!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’s that supposed to mean’?”
“Isn’t it our turn to ask now?!”
“Yeah!”
“Fine, ask, ask!”
…
After a bout of chaotic back-and-forth, both sides roughly walked away with the answers they needed.
—The administration had officially announced the location and operations of the Chinese Restaurant in the plaza this morning, and even deployed a squad to escort citizens back and forth.
—The Chinese Restaurant truly was everything the guards had claimed: not only could you buy dirt-cheap food that purged toxins, but you could also trade those toxic crops for cold, hard coin!
The newcomers were delirious with joy: such an incredible blessing was actually real.
The Chinese Restaurant’s regulars were flabbergasted: the authorities had actually started providing armed escorts for them!
Did this mean they wouldn’t have to painstakingly coordinate secret group departures anymore?
With guards holding the route, wouldn’t they be free to come and go as they pleased?
They didn’t have to sneak around anymore?!
The newcomers poked their heads into the shop in awe, while the old regulars strolled up to the boundary of the white light, curiously eyeballing the guards “standing sentry.”
Both sides felt as though they had discovered a whole new world.
Inside the shop, the menu mounted behind the cashier counter laid everything out with absolute clarity.
The price and buffs of each dish, what required payment upfront before self-serving, and what was tallied by skewers after dining.
Outside, distinct signs marked where to exchange goods and where to rest.
Even so, a flock of “veteran regulars” enthusiastically volunteered as “tour guides.”
“First time here? Try it out—the boss gives way more coin for crystals than the city does.”
“Huh?”
“The boiled corn is fantastic! Only one coin more than a roasted potato, and it speeds up stamina recovery! Eating one before digging vegetables is a huge help!”
“Buy whatever you want with peace of mind. Nobody dares rob you inside the Chinese Restaurant—anyone who breaks the house rules gets thrown out by the boss!”
“Oh, right, make sure you read the house rules posted outside the entrance! If you disrupt regular business, not a soul will save you.”
“Right, right…”
“This is the one-pot stew!” someone recommended, lingering by the self-serve cabinet. “There’s actual meat in there—all kinds of vegetables stewed together. Fragrant beyond belief!”
“Grab roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes from here, sugar-roasted chestnuts from here, rice porridge over here, boiled corn over there… Huh? You ask how I know so well? Because I’m a veteran customer, of course, haha!”
“You’re asking what this is? This is Malatang skewers! The flavor? It’s incredible—spicy, numbing, savory, and rich. Ridiculously satisfying to eat. Come, come, try it if you don’t believe me.”
“The second floor? I don’t suggest going up there right now; I’m afraid you’ll drool your heart out when you don’t have the coin for it.”
“Aiya, how come you came without a basin or a cart? You’ll have to make way more trips when hauling crops later. You’re asking about me? I brought my own—one burlap sack earns many times more than you will.”
Long Shi smugly showed off his oversized burlap sack: “Pardon me, gotta head out ahead of you all—time to make some bank.”
The newcomer, holding out crystals and about to feed them into the Item Exchange Box: “…”
Who asked you?
Long Qian reached out, snatching the insufferably smug Long Shi by the collar.
Her group had finished their meal and joined the crowd of diners heading toward the farmlands to harvest crops.
A few newcomers who had just arrived from Seed City tagged along, eager to see how the harvesting worked.
“We can earn coin just by digging up toxic vegetables and bringing them back?”
“That’s right.”
“Are there any rules on the varieties?”
“Nope, though different crops fetch different payouts. Potatoes are the most common and easy to dig. But stuff like wild garlic…”
The guide up front explained as they walked.
Long Qian trailed behind, casting a glance over the newcomers.
Today’s developments had caught everyone off guard.
The authorities were fully aware of the Chinese Restaurant’s existence.
Judging by the guards’ conduct… the administration’s stance toward the boss leaned toward cooperation.
What kind of shift would this trigger across Seed City?
…
Ling Jing had naturally noticed the fresh wave of patrons gathering inside and out.
The chatter downstairs was more than enough for her to piece the whole story together.
Right now, however, she couldn’t spare a single second to dwell on it.
Caicai was swamped taking orders, serving dishes, bussing tables, and wiping surfaces.
Whenever cleared bowls and plates came back, Caicai scrubbed them at blistering speed in the kitchen sink.
Ling Jing, meanwhile, was tethered to the stove stir-frying.
Between wok tosses, whenever Caicai was tied up, she had to dart out to set dipping plates, tally skewers, and replenish sticks for the Malatang diners.
Thank goodness most of the ground-floor items were automated.
The second floor had just rung in eight more orders of stir-fry.
Her spatula was practically smoking from the heat.
She had asked the authorities to help promote the diner, and they had certainly overdelivered on their mission.
Clearing a Malatang plate, Ling Jing stole a glance out the front window.
A snaking queue had already formed before the Item Exchange Box.
Great, just great. The more the merrier.
She swiftly set down a fresh dipping plate for a newly seated customer.
Move, move, move!
Ling Jing patted Caicai on the chassis as it slotted freshly washed dishes and chopsticks into the sanitizing cabinet: “Pick up the pace a bit more, Caicai!”
“Understood, Boss! ∠(@-@)!”
Time to rake in the cash!
