After entering the royal capital, Ange took the food cart he had just bought from the System Backpack and drove it to the park he had scouted yesterday.
Ange still knew how to drive. Although he felt a bit rusty from not driving for a long time, he only drove from outside the park to inside, which was not far at all.
Technically, he had no identity or license; he was an unregistered citizen. Luckily, with the System Backpack, he could carry anything. Otherwise, driving on the street would have gotten him caught in minutes.
Sure enough, just as he had learned yesterday, the park was already filled with people early in the morning. There were young people jogging, older men and women dancing in the square, and other vendors selling goods.
After parking the cart, Ange looked at the energetic elderly people dancing nearby and thought, Even in the Pokémon world, you can't escape grandpas and grandmas dancing in the square.
The key was that each of these seniors had a Pokémon dancing with them, mostly stylishly dressed Deerling.
Ange opened the cart and started working.
The food cart he bought was specially made, spacious like a small kitchen. One side could open like a shop window, allowing customers to take their food.
"Komala, stay put. When a customer pays, you help me collect the money," he said, placing Komala on a nearby counter with a storage box for money.
Komala hugged its pillow and swayed, not responding to Ange. He was used to it by now and didn't care whether it understood, busily working on his own.
Yesterday, he said he would sell mantou, but today he planned to sell more than that, including buns.
Ange's cheat, also called the Pokémon Feeding System, gave Happiness Points for feeding Pokémon, but not for feeding humans.
In short, he could only choose either Pokedollars or Happiness Points.
So his food didn't have to be limited to mantou like at home. Buns were more competitive than mantou.
Of course, his mantou were made using special recipes from the System, making them tastier than ordinary ones.
While kneading dough, Ange thought, If it weren't for buying ingredients to make money, I wouldn't bother setting up a stall here. It's exhausting. How many good days have passed?
As the sun fully rose, Ange steamed his mantou and buns.
He prepared three types of buns: cabbage, chive, and radish fillings, all from his home garden, fresh and crisp.
At first, he only planted a small patch of each vegetable, thinking it was enough for the family. But the System's seeds grew incredibly fast, producing more than his family of four could eat.
He stored the harvested vegetables in the fridge, and when it was full, in the System Backpack. Now he had plenty, so running out soon was not a concern.
Luckily, he had listened to Diancie's advice and prepared in advance. Otherwise, after the newbie period ended, if the System suddenly stopped supplying ingredients, he would have been caught off guard.
Although the System reserved a month's worth of ingredients and seasonings for him, the ingredients were limited to flour for mantou.
After steaming, Ange set up two tables and some stools outside the cart for people who wanted to sit while eating breakfast.
He also placed pickled radish cubes and spicy chives on each table as free side dishes.
The pickling recipes came from his grandfather in his previous life. He loved his grandfather's pickles as a child. Though he learned the method, the flavor was slightly off.
As time passed, the buns' rich aroma spread with the steam, even catching Ange's attention.
My skills are improving! Ange felt proud internally.
Komala, swaying with its eyes closed, sniffed the air. It hadn't eaten breakfast and was drawn by the smell.
What is that smell?
Passersby, young joggers, dancing seniors, and other vendors unconsciously followed the aroma.
Finally, they noticed Ange.
An elderly man carrying a fluffy Growlithe approached and asked, "Young man, what are you selling? Why does it smell so good?"
Ange smiled, "Sir, buns and mantou. Would you like to try some?"
"Buns? Mantou?" The man looked puzzled. "What are those?"
The food the people of Kalos ate was more like the Western style from Ange's past life. In the Azoth Kingdom, this was even more true. The man had never heard of buns or mantou.
"Sir, just taste it. You won't be disappointed," Ange confidently promoted his cooking.
"Alright, I'll try them," the man agreed promptly.
"Would you like a bun or mantou? How many?" Ange asked.
"Let's try one bun and one mantou first. If it's good, I'll buy more," the man said.
"Sir, there are three bun flavors: cabbage, chive, and radish. Which would you like?" Ange asked again.
The man didn't know which tasted best and randomly said, "Then… cabbage."
"Alright!"
Ange quickly ran into the cart, lifted the steamer lid, and took out one mantou and one bun, wrapping each in a fresh leaf.
These leaves were unique to the Nebel Plateau, edible, and emitted a faint fragrance. When food was scarce there, Pokémon relied on these leaves to survive.
For this reason, Ange chose to wrap the buns with them.
The main reason, though, was that he had no other wrapping materials. Though the System Store sold some, he had just a few Happiness Points left.
The man mistakenly thought this was Ange's creative idea.
When the steamer lid opened, the buns' aroma became even stronger, immediately filling the air.
"My goodness! This smells amazing!" The man swallowed and exclaimed.
"Here, sir," Ange handed him the bun and mantou.
The man looked at the leaves, "Rom leaves, huh? Clever kid. These only grow on Nebel Plateau. That must have been hard to get."
The man was well-traveled and immediately recognized the leaves.
"Hehe~~" Ange chuckled and gave a thumbs-up. "Good eye, sir."
"Hahaha! Indeed!" The man beamed and started boasting, "When I was young, I traveled everywhere."
He squeezed the bun and mantou, feeling their soft and springy texture, making them look appetizing.
"Try it while it's hot, sir. If you like it, support me more," Ange said.
"Alright." The man bit the bun. Instantly, the soft dough, crisp cabbage filling, and hot, juicy center exploded in his mouth. The rich aroma filled his mouth and nose, making him feel transported to another dimension.
What a divine taste!
"Good! Delicious! So delicious!"
The man shouted suddenly, startling other customers drawn by the aroma.
It was autumn, the weather was cooling, and having a hot bun first thing in the morning was indescribably satisfying.
Is it really that good? Isn't this exaggerated? The other waiting customers wondered.
But smelling the tempting aroma, they couldn't help but feel drawn in.
"Young man, give me ten more, ten of each bun flavor," the man loudly said, feeding half-eaten buns to his Growlithe as well.
Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)→In almost an instant, Growlithe was captivated by the smell of the bun.
But after taking another bite of the mantou, it realized it still preferred the mantou.
Ange had actually noticed long ago that no matter how delicious the food he made from his own recipes was, it was far less appealing to Pokémon than the mantou made using the system's recipes.
Clearly, the system's recipes were very particular about preparation. No wonder it was also called the Pokémon Feeding System.
When it was time to pay, the old man asked, "How much in total?"
Ange replied, "330p, Sir. The mantou are 10p each, the buns are 20p each."
The old man exclaimed, "Goodness, that's not cheap, but… it's worth it!" He paid happily.
In fact, given the cost of the buns and mantou, selling them for 10p and 20p was indeed expensive, but they were delicious.
Besides, no one had seen food like this before, so no one thought the prices were unreasonable. Even if they thought it was pricey, they just turned away quietly without saying anything.
"I'll have one of those buns, the cabbage one."
"Two mantou for me."
"I want the radish bun."
…
After the old man, other customers stepped forward, each wanting to buy one or two to try with their Pokémon.
But after just a bite or two, they regretted not buying more. When they tried to get more, the crowd was too packed to get through.
"Everyone, don't crowd, please line up!" Ange shouted. It took a while to restore order.
"Attention, attention! There are free side dishes on the table. They taste even better with mantou," Ange reminded loudly.
"Cash only, no online payments," Ange said while handing buns and mantou to customers.
Some people without cash had no choice but to leave in disappointment.
Ange couldn't help it; he didn't have an account.
Komala kept collecting money nearby, looking a bit flustered. Though it kept its eyes closed, its senses were sharp. When one or two customers tried to sneak away without paying, it alerted Ange in time.
Ange didn't scold anyone. The ones who tried to escape felt embarrassed and ran off after dropping the money.
Though Ange was confident in his food, he hadn't expected business to be this busy. He was almost running in place, wishing he had two more hands.
Melony was jogging when she suddenly smelled a faint but enticing aroma. She tried to ignore it because she was dieting, but the scent grew stronger, making her swallow repeatedly.
Finally, reaching a corner of the park, she saw a long line of people.
"Excuse me, what are they selling? Why are so many people here?"
The old man had just finished eating buns and mantou with Growlithe. He wanted to take a walk to help digestion. At his age, eating too much without exercise caused discomfort. He still carried half of a bun to take home to his partner while it was warm.
At that moment, a young woman called out to him.
"Oh~ They're selling buns and mantou, so fragrant and delicious!" the old man replied, savoring the memory.
He waved the bun in front of her, releasing a rich aroma. She swallowed hard.
Buns? Mantou? What's this? Melony felt her legs moving on their own. When she came to, she already had two big, white, plump buns in her hands.
Where am I? What did I do? she thought, biting hard into the bun.
Forget dieting, I'll worry about that later. I'll buy two more tomorrow! After finishing the bun, Melony thought with lingering satisfaction.
After eating too much, I'll jog a bit more later.
Not far from Ange's stall, another stall sold crepes. The middle-aged man running it looked envious as he watched Ange's booming business.
"Slurpuff, are those things called buns and mantou really that good?" the man asked his partner.
"Pelo???"
Slurpuff was caught off guard, quickly pulling back its eager gaze and wiping the suspicious sparkle from its mouth.
"Hey!!" the man shouted, "You were drooling at someone else's stall, weren't you?"
"Pelo~ Pelo~~"
Slurpuff denied it vigorously, thinking, What are you talking about? I wasn't, don't accuse me falsely.
"You still say no! I saw it!" The man looked heartbroken. "You've never drooled over the crepes I make!"
"Pelo~ Pelo~~"
Slurpuff rolled its eyes, thinking, Don't you know your own skill level? Look at their customers, then look at ours. Isn't the difference obvious?
It sniffed the air secretly again. So fragrant, I really want to eat it.
The man felt wounded by Slurpuff's gaze. He muttered angrily while walking toward Ange's stall. "I need to see for myself how good it is. I don't believe it!"
"Pelo~ Pelo~~ Don't forget to bring me some!"
Slurpuff shouted at his back.
Soon, the man returned with a bun and a mantou. After eating, he crouched in the corner, feeling defeated.
"It's really that good… it's really that good…" he muttered, drawing circles on the ground with a stick.
Slurpuff finished the last bite of its mantou and patted the man on the back.
"Pelo~~ Pelo~~ Hurry up and work. Your skills aren't as good, and you're not diligent. No wonder your business isn't as good."
Man: …