I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

"Bosses, all the Ink Glaze Eggs for today are sold out!" Li Zhibai announced regretfully.

Upon hearing this, the store erupted in groans of despair.

"No way? That's it?"

"I haven't succeeded in the challenge yet!"

"Boss, couldn't you have stocked up on more? Sixty-seven eggs are not enough for anyone. I could easily eat ten by myself."

"Exactly! It's the last day of the long holiday, you can't treat us like this!"

"Old Lu succeeded, and we haven't succeeded yet..."

"......."

Li Zhibai really wanted to sell more, but they were truly out of stock. He had no choice but to explain again, "Dear customers, these aren't ordinary eggs. Production is limited; we only have this many each day. Once they're sold out, that's it. If you want some next time, come earlier!"

After confirming that none of them were left, everyone left with a heavy heart and regret, since there was no more chance to challenge them and there was no point in staying any longer.

Only Lu Qianshan regained his radiant appearance and walked with a noticeably more arrogant air than the others. Yu Shen and the others felt like they had eaten lemons when they saw his smug look.

After seeing off these suckers, Li Zhibai glanced at the time; it was already three in the afternoon.

Ke Yi and Ding Ling's high-speed train is at around 6 o'clock, so they still have enough time.

He went back into the kitchen and began preparing the farewell banquet that he had promised for the two girls.

Before long, a table full of delicious food was laid out, including fragrant mixed noodles, crystal steamed dumplings, Bodhi Jade Vegetarian Dish, braised pork with secret recipe, vegetarian dishes... all the signature dishes were served.

The two little girls had been waiting with wide eyes, and as soon as the dishes were served, they immediately picked up their chopsticks and started eating.

"Mmm...it's delicious."

"Cousin, your cooking is absolutely amazing! I'll definitely crave your cooking every day after I go back to school."

"Cousin, if I don't want to be a doctor anymore, do you think it would be okay if I learned to cook from you?"

"No, you have a better future as a doctor."

"Why? I think being a chef is pretty good."

"When a doctor can cure a patient's illness, and the patient is cured, you can recommend them to eat at my restaurant, that would be even better!"

Koy: "..."

She was speechless. Her cousin truly lived up to his nickname, Li Heizi, never forgetting his original intention of ripping off customers.

After finishing their meal, the two girls dragged their suitcases and reluctantly left the store.

"Cousin, let's go."

"Okay, be careful on the road, and text me when you get to school."

"Cousin, are you really not going to take us to the station?"

"I still need to work and make money. It only takes you about 20 minutes by taxi. Go by yourselves."

"Will you miss us?"

"Of course I want to! After you leave, I'll lose two key members who helped me attract new customers. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache so much I can't breathe. You should leave now! I'm afraid I'll try to stop you!"

Koy: "..."

Ding Ling: "..."

Such poor acting skills!

Then, Li Zhibai took out two red envelopes that he had prepared in advance from his pocket and stuffed one into each of their hands.

When Ke Yi saw the red envelope, he was taken aback: "Cousin, aren't you not paid?"

"There is no salary; this is a commission for bringing in customers, it's extra."

Li Zhibai didn't give them a chance to refuse: "Alright, alright, let's hurry up and go, or we'll miss the train."

The two girls nodded with red eyes and reluctantly got into the ride-hailing car that had just stopped at the door.

"Cousin, we're really leaving."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

"I won't be able to eat my cousin's cooking anymore, sob sob..."

"How about we come back for free work during winter break?!"

"Good idea!"

Li Zhibai: "..."

No, why are you all clinging to this?

Li Zhibai waved goodbye to them, and as he watched the ride-hailing car disappear from sight, he felt a little sad.

The two girls really helped him a lot these past few days while they were at the shop, and now that they're gone, he's feeling a bit lost.

"Why……"

Li Zhibai sighed, turned around and walked back into the shop, took out a calculator from the drawer, and began to calculate the accounts.

Today, because we sold more than 60 eggs, our total sales exceeded 40 yuan. Combined with the revenue from the previous 6 days, the total revenue for the 7-day holiday has reached 179 million yuan.

If we stay open for a few more hours in the evening, we could easily reach 180 million, and even have a chance to hit 200 million.

Looking at the string of numbers on the calculator, Li Zhibai's earlier sadness vanished instantly.

The higher the pout, the more upwards the lips.

"Hehehehehe..."

He finally couldn't hold back and burst into wild laughter.

[Host, mind your image.]

"I'm making so much money, why would I care about my image! Almost 200 million in seven days, 800 million in a month, 10 billion in a year!"

"At this rate, I'll be able to buy a house in Jiangcheng in no time."

"No, why buy a house? Just buy an entire building and rent it out!"

"Hehehe..."

system:【……】

[Host is really good at arithmetic!]

..........

In the evening, A-Che came again.

He seemed to know that Ke Yi and the others had already left, and worried that Li Zhibai wouldn't be able to handle everything alone, so he came over to help right on time.

Li Zhibai was already used to it, but before the other person started working, he casually reminded him, "Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come at noon."

Upon hearing this, A-Che's heart tightened, and a sour feeling welled up in his chest.

Are you going to be kicked out even if you work for free?

Or does the boss not like things that are free?

But he really has no money right now!

Li Zhibai didn't notice his odd behavior and continued, "Starting tomorrow, I'll only be open at 6 PM. I won't be open at noon. If you still want to help out, come in the afternoon."

Ah Che paused for a moment, then changed the opening time to 6 pm?

So you're saying we're not trying to get rid of him?

He breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, "Okay, I'll come this afternoon."

Li Zhibai: "By the way, there's something I need to make clear to you. If you come to help every day from now on, I'll pay you 30 yuan an hour. That's about the going rate for temporary workers in Jiangcheng, so I won't treat you unfairly."

A-Che shook his head: "I don't want money."

Li Zhibai was puzzled.

Free of charge?

There really are people who treat money like dirt these days.

No wonder you only have white wealth.

What he didn't know was that the reason Ah Che refused to take the money was because he didn't want to turn their relationship into a simple employer-employee relationship.

Once they've received the money, they're just boss and temporary worker to each other.

What A-Che wanted was a master-disciple relationship.

What he wants is to learn to cook from the other person, to make more delicious dishes, and to become a real chef.

Therefore, he preferred not to have the money.

He can earn the money himself.

.........

After closing time in the evening.

Li Zhibai returned to his apartment, took a hot shower, lay down on the bed, and exclaimed, "So comfortable!"

He was exhausted during the seven-day holiday. He worked from morning to night almost every day, sometimes until midnight. If he hadn't taken extra care of his health, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep going.

After all, he did all the work in the kitchen by himself, and he also had to spend a lot of brainpower thinking about how to rip off customers. With this double burden, he was much more tired than a regular chef.

Now I can finally sleep in.

[Host, now you understand why this system limits the daily spending quota, right?]

Li Zhibai nodded: "I roughly understand."

He had always felt that the system's traffic restrictions were blocking his path to wealth, and he was somewhat annoyed by it.

After a week of intense work, he suddenly realized that if he continued like this, he probably wouldn't even have time to develop new dishes.

Because he's the kind of person who'd rather die than care about money.

If you really let him do it freely, he'd be happy to work 20 hours a day. As long as he can make money, what does it matter if he only sleeps 4 hours a day? He'll just work hard!

The system probably figured out his personality long ago, which is why it urgently added restrictions to him.

The goal was simple: to give him enough time to collect the Heart of Gourmet Food and to develop new dishes, so he wouldn't become complacent and stagnant.

After thinking it through, he had to admire the system for its foresight; it was just that the debt of 60 million would have to be carried for a little longer.

Li Zhibai looked at the ceiling and began to plan what to do next.

The first thing to do is to awaken Yu Shen's love for food.

Yu Shen has accumulated 9 fragments so far, and he only needs the last one.

If all goes well, we should be able to collect all the fragments within the next few days and activate the prerequisite quest for Yu Shen's Gourmet Heart.

Once you complete the task, you can obtain the 5th Food Heart and unlock the new product.

This means he can once again sharpen his knives and prey on pigs and sheep.

Hehehe......

The second thing is the Ink Crystal Dawn Egg.

The system requires a total of 100 items to be sold in order to unlock the next reward. 72 items have been sold so far, and the remaining 28 must be sold as soon as possible.

"Looks like we need to check on Uncle Huo; he hasn't come for a meal in days."

"Especially for an elderly man like him who is so frugal, this kind of bad spending habit is unacceptable!"