Chapter 157 – 1 Beancurd Per Person Only
Chapter 157 – 1 Beancurd Per Person Only
Translated by Kitchennovel dot com
Abbé Mia’s technique was really good, and her strength was very well controlled. She was much stronger than the standard female masseur, and slowly, but surely, the accumulated fatigue on Mike’s shoulders disappeared. Mike, who had been pretending to sleep, fell asleep for real.
“En?” Mike blinked his eyes opened and looked at the wall clock, it was already 2:30 in the afternoon. He shifted his body and found that someone had covered him with a thin blanket. Amy had fallen asleep with her head pillowed on her arms, she also had a blanket over her with Ugly Duckling curled up on her lap.
“Looks like we really fell asleep.” Mike smiled, and shook his head. He carefully pushed his chair back and stood up for a luxurious stretch, feeling wonderfully refreshed and comfortable.
The gentle sounds of china clinking in the kitchen came over, the dining hall had already been cleaned and the floor was so shiny that he could see his own reflection. It had clearly been polished clean with a dry towel, not a smudge of water mark could be seen.
It looked like Abbe Mia was almost done with her work. Mike folded the blanket, draped it over the back of his char, and made his way towards the kitchen.
It would be a waste not to properly utilize a waitress who could give good massages, ah!
While it’s possible to reduce fatigue by eating [Yang Zhou Fried Rice], he can’t spend all day eating. Furthermore, his fatigue was concentrated on his shoulders and upper arm, not something that he could just get rid of by eating [Yang Zhou Fried Rice].
“Abbe Mia, there’s an additional job I’d like you to do, would you like to try it? It’s not much, but I provide you with a 600 copper coin dinner, same as the lunch meal.” Mike said with a smile as he watch Abba Mia put the china away with care.
“You’re awake.” Abbe Mia was a little shock by Mike’s voice, she was even more stunned by Mike’s words. It was already a wonderful thing for her to work in such nice restaurant, and to be provided with 600 copper coins worth of lunch for free was already quite amazing. With her current salary, high though it was, she wouldn’t be able to eat more than a few plates of [Yang Zhou Fried Rice] per month. However, Mike was saying that he’s willing to provide her dinner too? A dinner worth 600 copper coins?
“What would you like me to do? There’s no need to pay me with extra money. I’m still pretty free for the amount of salary you’re already giving me.” though she really did want to have something delicious for dinner, Abbe Mia still shook her head firmly at Mike’s offer.
“That’s not right, this job is out of the scope of our agreement. Since I add to the job, I’ll have to add to the reward.” Mike said as he shook his head at Abbe Mia’s protest. This girl was just too kind and easily satisfied.
In fact, massages aside, Mike was already quite happy with Abbe Mia’s performance. Every evening she would cheerfully buy a few Crispy Biscuits for her dinner. For this wonderful maid who could do the job of three waitresses, it’s fine to just add an extra meal for her.
“But...” Abbe Mia was still not convinced by Mike’s arguments.
“It’s decided, ba. However, I still haven’t mention what the job is, so you might not want to do it at all.” Mike interrupted her. Seeing her confused face, he laughed, “Actually, it’s nothing too complicated, the restaurant is getting busier each day, and I’m afraid my body is a bit overwhelmed, to the point that I can’t simply eat away my fatigue. I’d like you to massage my arms and shoulders after our work hours, just to elevate the fatigue a bit.”
Abbe Mia, who had thought that Mike wanted her to help out in the kitchen blinked her eyes a few times at the unexpected request. Finally she shook her head and said, “Boss, how could I ask for payment for this? How about this, I’ll give you a massage whenever you like, after all it’s not like it’s a really hard or time consuming thing.”
“Well, then I’ll consider this as your agreement. Let’s start tonight, ba.” Mike smiled, after a little paused, he continued, “we’ll be adding [Beancurds] to the menu tonight,”
[Gulp], the moment she thought about the [Sweet Beancurds] this morning, Abbe Mia couldn’t help but swallow. She looked at Mike’s warm and friendly gaze and hesitated for just one more moment, before nodding her head quickly, “Thank you, Boss. I will do my continue to work hard and will give you the best massage I can.” she was once again intensely grateful for her current working situation.
“Very good, that should be the way.” Mike was very happy with Abbe Mia’s earnest attitude. She had brought a bright, youthful energy to the restaurant, the dining room was spotless, the kitchen was also sparkling. He nodded approvingly, “Go and have your rest, ba. When Amy wakes up, you can practice dancing with her.”
“Boss, why don’t you let me help you in the kitchen, though Mia is really stupid, Mia will do her best to learn.” Abbe Mia looked beseechingly at Mike. It really embarrassed her to be resting outside while Mike worked by himself in the kitchen. It really felt like she had gotten the better end of the bargain, and now the restaurant was going to provide for her dinner as well, it really made her feel like she should work harder than she should.
“Host, the [System] will warn you right now. Your cooking skills cannot be taught to others, otherwise you will be punished. The punishment is a deduction of your stamina points by 0.5 each time you teach someone,” the [System’s] severe voice rang out in his head, it sounded rather uncompromising actually.
“[System] are you deliberately trying to make me die from exhaustion?” Mike frowned, he had been quite touched by Abbe Mia’s offer. It would be great to have someone to help with the chopping and cutting up of ingredients, however, before he could say anything, the [System] had already thrown down this rule.
“The host is a mere rookie, you’ve only mastered three recipes, not worthy to be someone’s teacher.” the [System’s] calm voice rang out.
“En? From your words, you’re saying that chef status could also be measured? And, I’m still a rookie?” Mike frowned, no matter what he had still managed to make two dishes that made the other world people go crazy. The recently mastered [Beancurds] had even sparked this other world’s first Sweet vs Savoury Battle. By Level 10 mages no less. To think that the [System] still considered him a rookie.
After some thought, Mike focused on the other important part of the [System’s] words, “Hey, so you’re saying that once I’ve mastered a certain number of dishes, I can eventually become as Master and teach others these recipes?”
“The host’s level is too low, you’re unable to access this information. You must increase your restaurant to Level 2 before authorization is granted.” the [System’s] voice came robotically.
Mike frowned again, to think that the [System] would use this kind of tricks to force him to level up. He mildly answered, “Whatever, I don’t want to know.”
“I don’t need your help just yet, I can still deal with it. You go on and play with Little Amy.” Mike can’t afford to have his stamina deducted, since the [System] already blocked his way, there was nothing he could do about it just yet.
Moreover, things like dough kneading and [Beancurd] making all required specialised skills. Skills that had been inserted straight into his mind, but yet had to spend hours in the [System’s] test kitchen to master. Having Abbé Mia around to help out would probably be more troublesome.
“Alright, just... let me know if you wish me to help out.” Abbé Mia nodded her head firmly. This aspect of Mike’s character was already clear to her, he would not change his mind once it’s made up. Thus, without further entreaties, she went out of the kitchen.
Mike picked up his apron and put it on firmly around his waist. Tonight would be the real début for the [Beancurds], therefore he must prepared a whole lot more ingredients than usual.
“New mission from [System]: Limit one [Beancurd] to one customer for ten days. No penalty for failure — If you succeed in this mission, you will get one free draw from the [Master Chef Lucky Dip]!”