The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland novel Chapter 222

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Aren’t They Making Themselves a Little Too at Home?

Shen Lu’s mornings were always hectic. Making over a thousand meals was by no means a simple or easy task.

Fortunately, she had enough staff in the restaurant for now. That, combined with various time-saving and labor-saving kitchen appliances, meant they could just about manage.

Everyone immediately noticed the upgraded malatang machine and assumed Shen Lu had bought a new one.

Shen Lu didn’t explain. Sometimes, explaining too much just caused more trouble.

The only side dish removed today was the bok choy, which was replaced with steamed pumpkin.

A red date was placed on each piece of steamed pumpkin, which not only added flavor but also improved its appearance.

Steamed pumpkin was a dish that could be considered either a vegetable or a dessert. The line was blurry, depending on when it was served.

But for a fast-food place, such distinctions didn’t matter.

The steam oven was busy today. It had to steam fish and pumpkin, and it hadn’t stopped running since 8:30 in the morning.

After she finished stir-frying the "strange-flavor" eggplant, the system issued the daily quest.

[Ding! Quest issued: Sell 610 Braised Pork set meals, 510 Kung Pao Chicken set meals, and 160 Steamed Fish Head with Diced Chili set meals. Achieve a total revenue of 115,000 Star Coins and maintain a customer satisfaction rating of three stars or higher. Time limit: eight hours.]

Shen Lu did a quick calculation. That was a total of 1280 set meals, which meant she needed 1280 customers to come in and make a purchase to complete the quest.

She wasn’t too worried about the number of customers. It was the satisfaction rating that really had her on edge.

Over the past two days, more and more people had completed their ten check-ins and come to the front counter for the prize drawing.

She didn’t know if it was just their bad luck, but unbelievably, not a single piece of Li Zexing merchandise had been won yet.

Looking at all those disappointed faces, Shen Lu was tempted to rig the drawing. ’Someone has to win, for crying out loud!’ she thought. ’Otherwise, my satisfaction rating is really going to drop below three stars!’

"Boss, what should we do with these leftover eggplant cores?" Cai Su asked, coming over.

Shen Lu looked at the basket of eggplant cores, also a bit troubled. The strange-flavor eggplant didn’t use the cores, but right now, there were no other dishes that could use these scraps.

Yesterday’s eggplant cores had been used for the staff meal, but they couldn’t eat that stuff every day. Even if Cai Su and the others were willing, Shen Lu wasn’t.

"Let’s mix it with some meat for dumpling filling. We can have dumplings for lunch," Shen Lu decided quickly.

"Dumplings? There are so many of us," Cai Su reminded her in a low voice.

Plus, there were the three big eaters—Wang Daguo, Ye Fan, and Lin Zhou. Each of them could wolf down a hundred dumplings on their own. How many would they have to wrap to feed everyone?

"Then let’s make meatballs. It’ll be a new addition to the malatang."

Shen Lu’s mind worked fast. With Cai Su’s reminder, she immediately thought of another solution.

"Okay, I’ll go chop the meat," Cai Su said. She went to the pantry, got a piece of pork, and started making the meatballs as Shen Lu had instructed.

At 11:30, Little Deer Cuisine opened for business right on time.

Not even ten minutes later, a customer came to Shen Lu to redeem a prize.

Shen Lu pulled the lottery box out from under the counter and let the customer draw.

The customer looked nervous, hesitating to open the small slip of paper they had drawn. It was only at their companion’s urging that they carefully unfolded it.

"I won! I won!" The customer’s eyes reddened with excitement. "It’s the Brother Xing doll keychain!"

Shen Lu breathed a sigh of relief. ’Finally, someone won.’ She offered a genuine smile. "You’re incredibly lucky. There are only five of the doll keychains in total."

"I didn’t think I’d win either! Everyone was saying this place was a scam and that you barely had any merchandise."

In their excitement, the customer who won the doll keychain spoke without a filter.

Shen Lu just smiled without saying anything and handed her a doll keychain.

"Alright, hurry up and buy your Insect Cakes and go back to the hospital. Don’t let yourselves go hungry. And also, don’t come here around noon in the future. I’m very busy."

’Telling them not to come at all is probably unrealistic,’ Shen Lu thought, ’so I’ll have to settle for the next best thing.’

"Got it. I’ll come in the afternoon next time." Liu Qiang turned to leave, but then, as if remembering something, he turned back. "By the way, you don’t have any unsold dishes, do you? Insect Cakes are a bit dry on their own. Some side dishes would help them go down easier."

Shen Lu couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She pointed at the endless stream of customers. "Take a look for yourself. Does this look like a place that has leftovers?"

Liu Qiang sighed in disappointment. Without another word, he took the money and left in a hurry.

After the lunch rush, Shen Lu didn’t even have time to eat. She called Ye Fan and took Fu Cheng to the hospital.

While the doctor was still evaluating Fu Cheng, Shen Lu received a money transfer.

Fu Cheng: [Transfer: 500,000 Star Coins]

Shen Lu blinked, looking at Fu Cheng in confusion.

’Why would he suddenly transfer so much money to me?’

Fu Cheng: Please help me pay the fees.

’Oh, so that’s why.’

Shen Lu accepted the money and gave him an "OK" sign.

Rehabilitation was a long-term process, starting with a minimum of one month. The exact duration would depend on the patient’s actual condition and would be adjusted accordingly.

The doctor’s initial assessment was that Fu Cheng would need at least half a year to see significant results.

And that was only if his Spiritual Sea didn’t erupt into turmoil.