Universe Infinite Canteen

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Bringing back a 4-star ingredient was indeed rare, yet it left Ma Lu entangled, delaying his decision for today's menu. Experience magic at m v le mpyr

Old Wang wasn't in a hurry, just waiting in the kitchen.

Ma Lu looked at a few recipes in front of him, among which "Giant Lizard Stew Rice" had a Deliciousness Index of up to ★★★.

It was the highest star level among the dishes which met the cooking conditions currently available.

According to Ma Lu's pricing standards, "Giant Lizard Stew Rice" had to sell for at least 40, and then there were some ingredients that were not cheap either, so to ensure profits, it would be best to go for 50.

But such a price point was clearly no longer suitable for sale around the university, as he had already started to feel the pressure when he sold the sand bass burgers for 35 last time, and he didn't know how much the sales volume would decrease if he marked up Giant Lizard Stew Rice above 50+.

This was also why Ma Lu was planning to open a shop, but even if he started preparations now, being up and running within a month would already be considered fast.

So, Ma Lu and Old Wang would have to keep setting up their stall for at least one more month.

Although selling at the regular price was not out of the question—as the main ingredient didn't cost anything, The Universe's Number One Snack Stall's profit margin was already at the pinnacle among peers.

Ma Lu wouldn't earn any less than before, but as an operator with principles and a baseline, he couldn't just backstab his own customers.

If with the same or even less money they could eat a meal that was more delicious than before, wouldn't the people who had previously supported him turn into the ones who had been taken advantage of?

No matter what, he couldn't let his loyal customers feel disheartened!

However, the path to raising prices had indeed come to an end, and Ma Lu's gaze shifted to another recipe.

"Giant Lizard Grilled Sausage" had a Deliciousness Index of ★★☆

Ma Lu pointed to this dish and asked Old Wang, "How big is this grilled sausage? What's the meat content?"

"About 1 jin, with a meat content of around 90%."

"That big, can it be made smaller?"

Old Wang shook his head, "The size will also affect the taste when grilled."

"No matter, we can cut it up for sale once it's grilled."

Ma Lu had already realized that he had indeed fallen into a bit of a thinking trap before; university students generally didn't have much spending power, and since raising the price didn't work, why not go in the opposite direction and reduce the portion size?

Selling smaller portions, he could even lower the prices, and now that his Collection Bag had been upgraded to Level 3, he could bring back even more ingredients.

Ma Lu took out his phone and did some calculations—he had brought back 600 jin of Lava Giant Lizard Meat this time.

If the sausages were calculated at 50g each, one would need 45g of Lava Giant Lizard Meat, enough to make 6666 sausages. Selling them at 16 per sausage, if he sold out, he would make 106,656.

That would be an increase of about 32.4% compared to the sand bass burgers, a result with which Ma Lu was satisfied.

Indeed, it was best to focus on the base market. However, this meant that the requirement for sales volume was now higher; he would have to sell over a thousand sausages every day.

Hmm, no big deal, Aerospace University does have a whopping 40,000 faculty and students.

Following the old routine, Ma Lu went to the agricultural market first to buy the rest of the ingredients, handed them all to Old Wang, and then went back to his room to catch up on some sleep.

When he woke up, he found that the fan group was bustling with activity. Everybody had almost figured out the The Universe's Number One Snack Stall's pattern of updating their menu, knowing that Ma Lu would change the menu at most once a week.

Now, looking at the time, it was about due, so everyone was speculating about what the new product for the upcoming week would be as well as guessing its price.

Regarding the first question, guesses ranged from pizza to pork knuckle rice, to marinated large intestines—a veritable cacophony.

However, on the second question, there was a surprising consensus—everyone felt that the new product would continue to see a price increase.

——The greedy boss just knows how to make a quick buck, getting pricier with each sale!

Once the first brave soul stood out to boldly indict, immediately, they received a lot of echoes.

——Exactly, if it gets pricier I genuinely won't be able to afford it!

——Right, prices can't go up anymore, we are still students, without jobs, where would the money come from?

——Don't worry, you won't have money after you start working either; look at your senior—he's out here setting up his own stall.

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——"And to think you're a senior," not even a school alumni discount. That's really disheartening.

In the midst of a chorus of indignant denunciations, only Hou Yihan was meekly defending Ma Lu.

——It's not like that, the boss uses high-quality ingredients, and the cost is definitely high, so he's actually not making much.

However, her voice was so faint that hardly anyone paid attention.

But the people in the group who were vocally criticizing knew that The Universe's Number One Snack Stall had good ingredients and tasted great; the high prices were justified.

So, in fact, most were just using this method to put pressure on Ma Lu, because if it were expensive and not tasty, everyone would simply not buy it, right?

This was a fighting tactic that our country's youth had honed through countless bloody battles with mobile game developers.

But Ma Lu also played mobile games and saw right through their scheme at first glance.

So, he posted a message too.

——16

As soon as Ma Lu showed up, the group got even livelier.

——Ah, senior's here.

——Senior, someone was just badmouthing you. I've written down their IDs for you. Just let me try the new product for free, and I'll give them to you.

Others asked,

——What's 16? Do we have to be at least 16 years old to eat this new product? Is it that thrilling?

——No, 16 is the price of the new product.

Ma Lu continued typing.

At that, several chat groups erupted.

——F**k, seriously?! Feels even more thrilling!!!

——So cheap! I'm dying, a new product without a price hike and even a price drop? Has senior been possessed?

——Can someone pinch me? Am I dreaming? This... this must be a historical low, right?

——Yes, the fried meat pancakes used to be 18.

——Wow, senior, are you doing charity work? The next time they vote for Aerospace University's Top 10 Inspirational Figures, I'll definitely cast a vote for you.

——Huh, does our school even have such an event? I didn't know about it.

......

Messages were furiously flooding the screen, cheers all around; those who had been hardest on Ma Lu were swiftly retracting their previous messages.

The atmosphere in the group was livelier than a festival, until 3 minutes later someone remembered to ask a key question.

——By the way, senior, what's this week's new product?

——Volcanic Grilled Sausage.

As Ma Lu sent out these four characters, the WeChat group suddenly quieted down.

Then someone slowly typed out a question mark.

More and more people lined up neatly, following the first and adding their own question marks.

——Those who want to try it, see you at the usual place in half an hour.

After sending this message to the group, Ma Lu put his phone back in his pocket and went to help Old Wang carry the ingredients to the tricycle; by the time the two men arrived at the West Gate, a sizable crowd had already gathered.

Ma Lu also greeted Squid Brother, parked the tricycle with practiced ease, and set up the stall in less than half a minute.

Old Wang, as always, remained silent. He took out the same griddle he had used to fry burger patties before, waited for it to heat up, greased it with cooking oil, and then took out four stuffed sausages.