"Daddy, what's wrong?" Amy asked, puzzled, looking at Mai Ge who was standing frozen beside the table with a plate in his hand.
"Oh, nothing. Amy, have some water first, play in the restaurant for a while. Daddy will go make the fried rice." Mai Ge quickly shook his head with a smile, moved the water glass in front of Amy, and hurried towards the kitchen.
"What a beautiful crystal glass!" Amy happily held the transparent glass, looking at it from the side, reluctant to drink the water inside.
"All ingredients in the kitchen are supplied by the system from farms, fisheries, and ranches across the continent, sold to the host at the price of origin, without any transportation fees. The prices are absolutely fair, no cheating." The system's calm voice came again as Mai Ge entered the kitchen.
"One copper coin for a green pea, and you call that no cheating?" Mai Ge scoffed. If he wasn't worried about angering the system and being maliciously punished, his sharp tongue would have already been burning fiercely.
The monetary system of the Nolan Continent has been gradually improved over the past century. During the period of racial wars, most transactions were conducted through barter. However, after the signing of peace agreements, commerce developed and currency reappeared. After a series of conflicts and struggles, the currency issued by the Los Empire became the common currency of the continent due to its ample supply, appropriate exchange rate, stable issuance and resistance to devaluation, and the highest degree of popularity.
The lowest tier was copper coins. Mai Ge recalled that in this Chaos City, one copper coin had roughly the purchasing power of one yuan. Ten copper coins could be exchanged for one silver coin, ten silver coins for one gold coin, and ten gold coins for one dragon coin.
In his previous life, a bowl of Yang Zhou Fried Rice costing 296 yuan wouldn't have been a big deal, but now he was the restaurant owner. A bowl of Yang Zhou Fried Rice costing 296 copper coins in ingredients—could he really sell it for 500 copper coins? He'd probably be beaten to death on the spot by angry customers, right? After all, in this Chaos City, all sorts of races existed.
"These green peas come from a deserted plain deep within the Twilight Forest, the territory of the orcs. They receive 16 hours of sunshine daily, and each plant produces only one hundred peas. The ten best are selected for sale; they are sweet and nutritious."
"These prawns are purple striped prawns from the Soro Islands in the Staro Sea northeast of the Los Empire. The surrounding waters are complex and sirens are present, so there has been no human activity to catch them. The annual production is no more than 100,000 prawns, and the prawn meat is extremely delicious."
"This rice comes from the plains deep in the Wind Forest in the territory of the elves. It is irrigated by underground branches of the Fountain of Life and is grown without any artificial pesticides or fertilizers. The yield is no more than 300 catties per mu."
...
Mai Ge listened as the system rattled off place names from all corners of the world, along with its bizarre methods of farming and cultivation, his jaw slowly dropping.
Growing green peas in the territory of orcs, a race with an extremely strong sense of territory, was one thing, but the area near the Solo Islands was a notorious deadly sea, roughly equivalent to the Bermuda Triangle on Earth. It was said that even dragons would get lost there, and this system was raising prawn there?
And the Fountain of Life was considered sacred by the elves, and the system was using it for farming? Even if it was just diverting water from one of its underground branches, this extravagant method of cultivation was something even the elves had probably never tried.
As for the others: the wild tree mushrooms grown in the Undead Islands of the demons; the ham cured from the Shadow Boars unique to the forest troll territory; the winter bamboo shoots dug from the black soil of Vik Ridge, the goblin holy land; the eggs come from chicken farms near the dwarven settlement of Aisen Ironforge; even the scallion is grown on a salt flat near Lordamere, and is said to taste better than ordinary scallions.
Mai Ge, whose previous body was a vanguard general of the Los Empire, was quite familiar with the continent's layout and important regions. Although he hadn't inherited the family business in his previous life, he had been exposed to it from a young age, giving him a certain perspective. He easily compared the value of these ingredients from his memories.
Fifty copper coins for a purple striped prawn is expensive?
No, even at ten times the price, Mai Ge wouldn't think it's expensive.
These ingredients, even if sold in their place of origin, would definitely fetch more than this price; these are rare finds that money can't buy.
Bringing these ingredients here from their origin only intensifies the price; preservation and air transport in this world aren't as advanced.
In inland cities, to eat seafood, unless a mage uses magic to keep the seafood alive along the way, that's far more extravagant than the legendary "Imperial Concubine's Smile" incident. He vaguely remember the royal family of the Los Empire having a dedicated seafood supply team, though the transport was carried by a large bird called the Red Eagle—consider it air transport in this world. A fresh fish could sell for a hundred times the price in the capital compared to the port.
A single prawn, and a rare purple striped prawn at that, in the inland city of Chaos City, if it encounters a wealthy diner who wants to eat it, selling it for a thousand copper coins wouldn't be too much, right?
"Does the host still suspect this system of overcharging?" the system's voice rang out.
"No, no, no, System, you're too kind. You probably won't find another person more kind than you in this world." Mai Ge said sincerely. This method of selling was almost too kind. Looking at the ingredients in the refrigerator, a bold idea suddenly came to his mind. He tentatively asked, "System, may be I shouldn't run a restaurant and just switch to selling ingredients? I think that would be much more profitable."
"The ingredients provided by the system can only be used in the restaurant and cannot be sold separately." the system calmly replied, then continued, "New mission issued: The host must purchase 3,000 gold coins worth of ingredients with cash within ten days. Completion of the mission unlocks a new recipe: La Zhi Rou Jia Mo (Chinese Hamburger). Failure of the mission reduces physical fitness - 0.5."
"Three...three thousand gold coins!" Mai Ge had anticipated the system's refusal to allow him to sell ingredients, but the newly issued task almost made him cry out.
Three thousand gold coins, which is three hundred thousand copper coins—that's a huge sum!
And this isn't even sales revenue; it's the cost of purchasing ingredients!
One serving of Yang Zhou Fried Rice costs three gold coins, meaning he needs to sell one thousand servings within ten days. If he fails, his physical fitness will decrease by 0.5, putting him back in a semi-crippled state.
"System, are you deliberately trying to cripple me again?" Mai Ge couldn't help but complain inwardly.
Although he was confident in his Yang Zhou Fried Rice, selling one thousand servings in ten days for a restaurant that hadn't even opened yet was simply an impossible task.
In the Nolan Continent, fried rice wasn't a popular cooking method; at least, in his previous body's memory, he had never eaten it.
"The mission has been issued. Please complete it as soon as possible." The host showed no intention of discussing it with Mai Ge.
"Alright, let's put that aside for now." Seeing there was no room for negotiation, Mai Ge smiled and said, "System, I'm penniless right now, and I haven't even had breakfast. How about you provide me with another round of free ingredients? If I starve to death, we won't be able to continue our grand chef god project."
"Considering the host's current situation, the system is launching the Elephant Food Credit. With the host's current credit score, you can spend 3000 copper coins in advance, repaying by the 10th of the following month. You can also choose to repay in installments, but a certain percentage of interest will be charged." The system's voice sounded.