The old woman blushed.
They exchanged embarrassed glances and fell silent.
“I’ll go see what is going on there,” the woman said as she untied her flowered apron, and walked towards Mag’s restaurant.
“We should all go and try their food. Maybe we can find out their secret,” the balding man said with a smile as he watched his two counterparts walking off.
Smiling, the others echoed their agreement, and walked towards Mamy Restaurant together.…
More new customers. Mag smiled, trying hard to hide his pride. He opened the door.
They looked to the door as they heard the beautiful sound of the door opening. Many had been waiting for a long time, but they knew Mag’s rules, and nobody knocked at his door.
“I’ve been waiting for the whole morning, Mag. My legs are asleep,” Vicennio said sullenly as he leaned on the doorframe, his voice feeble. He was at the head of the line.
“I’m sorry, but rules are rules.” It was all Mag could do not to laugh as he watched Vicennio, who looked much better now.
Women have strong sexual desire.
“Thanks to your rules, I can’t move my legs,” Vicennio said as he tried to lift his foot. He was still holding onto the doorframe; he didn’t want to fall to his knees again. “Come on, give me a hand.”The customers behind him laughed.
Mag helped him in, and seated him at the table by the door.
“I’d like three plates of Yangzhou fried rice. Two for here and one to go,” Vicennio said. Then, he grabbed Mag’s hand as if he suddenly remembered something. He lowered his voice. “Are you sure this dish is much milder than roujiamo? My life is at stake here.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Mag answered as he withdrew his hand, patting Vicennio on the shoulder.
Vicennio gave a nod. “I’ll trust you on this.”
“Come on in, everybody,” Mag said to the customers outside, smiling.
“Welcome to Mamy Restaurant!” Yabemiya said, walking up to the customers with a smile, and started taking orders.
“Us old men are not as resilient as young people, Mag,” Krassu said. “We suffer a lot standing here for a long time. Can you do something about it?”
Their talking caught Urien’s attention. He had had Black Coal and Green Pea look after his shop, and had waited here for almost a half hour.
The other customers were craning their necks to look at Mag, waiting for his answer.
Mag shook his head with a smile. “Sorry. There is nothing I can do. You can eat as much as a young man. You’re strong, though you may not look like it.”
Krassu glanced at Mag. I’m Amy’s master. How can he be so ungrateful?
The tables were filled up in a short while. The remaining customers had to form a new line, which went from the counter to the outside of the restaurant.
Mag was a little surprised when he saw the end of the line. The last seven people look familiar.
As he turned to walk towards the kitchen, he suddenly remembered. That big, greasy guy is the owner of that pork steak restaurant. I have seen him slaughter pigs before. And the other six are restaurateurs too, I think.
What are they doing here? Do they plan to go on a rampage in my restaurant? Mag raised an eyebrow. Mamy Restaurant was pretty popular in the Aden Square already; it was attracting more and more customers despite its poor location.
It was great news for Mag, but the same thing couldn’t be said for other restaurateurs at the Aden Square. Mag had managed to win over their customers, and most of them were rich.
In fact, Mag had seen this coming. After all, he came from a business family. He might have never been a businessman before, but he had seen too much in the business world to fret.
He was confident that there would be copycats. His dishes were nothing like the food in this world; they were bound to challenge their concept of cooking.
Mag didn’t find copycats annoying, though; they were a sign that he was affecting this world’s eating and cooking habits. He found it amusing.
He didn’t worry his copycats could cook half as well as him.
He would gladly become a pioneer, but he wasn’t about to teach them the skills. He didn’t like the idea of sharing his market.
They can try to figure out how to cook these dishes. There’s nothing I can do to stop them, thought Mag.
But it will take them years to find out the right way. The ingredients I use are extraordinary, and we always have new dishes. There’s no place like Mamy Restaurant. A smile touched Mag’s lips.
A rainstorm is coming? Mag shook his head. No. It’s a sprinkle at best.
