When Mag and Amy walked past that magic potion shop again, the lean old man in his black robe was bathing his two birds with a watering pot.
Hearing footsteps, Urien lifted his eyes and took a glance at Mag, and then at Amy. Suddenly, a little green flame appeared in his deep eyes.
Mag turned sideways to hide Amy and nodded at Urien with a smile. Then, he took Amy’s hand and walked towards his restaurant.
“Father, why didn’t we say hello to Black Coal, Green Pea, and that old magic caster?” Amy looked up at Mag and asked a question curiously after they walked off.
“We’ve burnt down his birdcage yesterday, so it would be a little awkward if he asked about it. Besides, I’ve already said hello,” Mag answered with a smile. Although the bird had it coming last day, it was still a little embarrassing; after all, they were still neighbors.The way Urien looked at Amy had made Mag a little vigilant; he had seen greed in his eyes.
If he were still that formidable knight, his sword might have already been at his throat, and he would have asked, “What are you looking at?”
However, he was not nearly as strong now. If he had done that, he might get a watering pot thrown at his head, and then probably a fireball.
Mag decided to keep a wary eye on him before finding out his true intentions. I can’t let Amy go out alone.
“System, how much for the strength?” Mag asked in his mind suddenly.
“System will warn you seriously: strength is not for sale! Accomplish your missions and you may get chances to improve your strength!” the system stressed solemnly.
“1,000 gold coins.”“It’s not for sale!”
“5,000.”
“You don’t have the right to buy strength.”
“10,000 gold coins.” Mag raised his offer again.
The system was silent for a while. Then a few fireworks cracked in his head suddenly and turned into a line of colorful words: “Permission granted! Strength+0.5, status: available; price: 10,000 gold coins.”
“Holy moley! That is one million copper coins! You’re so greedy! I have to sell 3,000 plates of Yangzhou fried rice to earn that money,” Mag said in his mind. Then he smiled. “I don’t have enough money right now; can I buy it on credit? Hahaha…”
“…”
An ellipsis went across Mag’s head. “Serious warning: every transaction will be made with cash. No credit allowed!” the system said grimly.
Mag felt rather good after teasing the system. He calculated that he needed about a month to sell 3,000 plates of Yangzhou fried rice. He couldn’t make 10,000 gold coins in a short time.
Yet the new dish was about to come out soon. La zhi roujiamo should be much easier to make than Yangzhou fried rice. He could stew the meat in advance and make a lot of bread at a time. Maybe he could make money more efficiently.
Mag wanted to improve his strength very badly. He wanted to have the strength to protect Amy and to lift her up.
His body could allow him to hold Amy in his arms, but he couldn’t lift her up, so first and foremost, he had to become a normal person.
Mag poured Amy a glass of water when they got back. It was already 11 am. He wanted to make their lunch.
“Father, come here! I think the ugly duckling is about to hatch out!” said Amy excitedly from behind the counter.
“Already?” Mag walked over to her, a little surprised.
Amy was squatting on the ground. She looked up at Mag, put a finger on her lips, and said in a low voice, “Shh, Father, keep it down and don’t scare it. I heard some sound just now. It will hatch out soon.”
“Really?” Mag was a little dubious. Are eggs supposed to hatch at this time of the year?
Amy nodded solemnly. “Yes. Listen.”
Mag came up to her softly and crouched down. He listened carefully, but he didn’t hear anything in a long while.
He wondered if Amy had misheard; after all, she was very expectant. When he was about to rise, suddenly he heard a rustle. He stopped moving immediately. The sound was like a cat clawing at the wall; when he listened close, it was like a hard beak rubbing against the shell. It sounded three times and then stopped.
“Did you hear that, Father? Is the ugly duckling about to hatch out?” Amy asked Mag, expectant and delighted.
Mag nodded. “Yes. Maybe in a day or two.” Mag was a little surprised at its short hatching time. He didn’t know what would come out of that shell. He stroke Amy’s head and rose to his feet. “I’ll make lunch for us now. You stay here and watch the egg.”
“Okay,” Amy answered. She covered the egg with the blanket again and watched it quietly.
Mag and Amy had their lunch, washed the dishes, and opened the restaurant. As always, Mobai came first, and then Habeng, Haga, and Conti arrived. There were other customers who had come several times too. They all smiled and addressed him as Mag.
When they wrapped up in the night, Amy told Mag they had sold 90 plates of Yangzhou fried rice. It was probably as many plates as he could make in one day.
On account of its good reputation, the restaurant had a few regular customers now. To be sure, only a few could afford to eat two plates three times a day as the likes of Mobai did, but many could afford to eat once every one or two days.
Before she went to wash up, Amy crouched down beside the blanket-covered egg, and said seriously, “Ugly duckling, sleep tight and come out tomorrow, or I’ll burn you with my fireball.” Then she went upstairs.
Mag smiled as he wiped the tables. If that little creature in the egg could understand, it would shudder with fear right now.
After he cleaned up the restaurant, Mag went upstairs and found that Amy was already asleep. He tucked her in. Then he took a bath, changed into his sleepwear, and lay in bed.
Mag closed his eyes and opened that experience bag for la zhi roujiamo with ease. In no time, he digested the knowledge of making la zhi roujiamo traditionally. Now he had learned everything by heart—from the processing of ingredients to the cooking steps. It was all etched into his mind. All that was left was practical experience.
Mag lay in his bed for a while, then opened his eyes suddenly and asked, “System, aren’t you supposed to give me a new mission now?”
