Jiamucheng was vast, and there were fewer Players during the beta testing period. Lin Bai decided not to waste time searching for more Players, choosing instead to head towards the Tooth Line.
I don't know what the game's time ratio with reality is!
If it was one-to-one, it would greatly benefit him. After all, Players couldn't remain online for extended periods. But it was more likely not the case. No game would adjust the time to match reality, as it would limit what could be done in a day. Therefore, he shouldn't waste time playing hide-and-seek with Players. To enjoy a good life in this alien world, he had to ensure that he grew faster than the Players. The System was his only shortcut to growth. Therefore, the priority of System tasks had to be set to the highest.
「An hour later.」
Lin Bai stood beside a shop deep in Tongque Lane, speechless.
The shop was a two-story building. The total area of the two floors was just about eighty square meters. It seemed a bit small for a restaurant. The small space would have been fine, but it looked rather dilapidated. Its entrance was sealed by spiderwebs, giving it a gloomy, vintage look. The key issue was its location: incredibly remote in this bustling city. The area around it was so deserted that the nearest shop was about two hundred meters away.
No matter how I look at it, this is not a suitable place to open a restaurant, he thought.
"Sir, it's a steal getting such a large shop for merely one hundred taels. You've hit the jackpot," said the young clerk from the Tooth Line, his face adorned with a fawning, insincere smile. "I'm not just boasting, but only our Tooth Line has such prime properties. Elsewhere, your money would barely cover the rent for a storefront, and it might not even be enough. Here, for the same price, the land itself is yours. You won't find another deal like this. Yes, it's currently in bad shape, but that's only because it hasn't been tidied up yet. Spruce it up a bit, and it won't be inferior to Huibin Pavilion.
"As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush. Manage it well, and customers will flock. Clear up the vacant lot in front of the shop, and there's room for seven or eight carriages. Which other restaurant in Jiamucheng has such a spacious private lot out front?"
Anything this unusual must have a catch, Lin Bai thought. The harder the young clerk from the Tooth Line tried to sell, the more Lin Bai suspected the shop. These brokers... expecting them not to rip people off is like thinking I'm the one who's been kicked in the head by a donkey.
But he was short on funds. Two hundred taels of silver might seem substantial, but for starting a business, it was quite inadequate.
"That'll do," Lin Bai interrupted the verbose young clerk.
"What?" The young clerk froze, then broke into a wide grin. "Excellent, sir! Please wait a moment while I go and arrange for the transfer of the deed."
"No need to rush the deed," Lin Bai said. "First, I'll need you to find some craftsmen—carpenters, Blacksmiths, and the like. I want to renovate the shop..."
Normally, I understand that being penny-wise can lead to being pound-foolish. However, my needs are different right now. If this were the real world, I'd prefer to save up and open a business in a bustling commercial district. But now, the Players and the System are my fortune. To survive in a world being ravaged by the Fourth Calamity, everything must be oriented towards System tasks—the faster, the better. I can't afford to wait; I must outgrow the Players.
Moreover, the Cooking God System only requires me to open a restaurant. It doesn't specify that the restaurant must be grand. Otherwise, the meager reward of ten taels of silver wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket compared to the investment. Who would be foolish enough to complete its task then?
Ultimately, all I need is a fixed den for grinding tasks! So what if it's remote? So what if it's dilapidated? As long as it has a storefront, even if there's only one dining table inside, it can still be called a restaurant...
Having finally managed to sell this obscure shop, the young clerk pocketed the deposit and dashed off to find the people Lin Bai had requested.
The young clerk from the Tooth Line might not understand the concept of sunk costs, but he knows that the more a customer invests, the less likely they are to back out, Lin Bai mused.
The Tooth Line functioned as an intermediary in this ancient world. The carpenters, Blacksmiths, painters, and other craftsmen Lin Bai asked for were quickly gathered by the young clerk. The clerk was quite astute; seeing that Lin Bai wasn't one for manual labor, he even found handymen to help with the cleaning.
It's not like I earned this money through hard work, so I don't mind spending it, Lin Bai thought, perfectly content to let others do the work.
Two hundred taels of silver might not be a big deal for a magnate like Luo Congwen, but for ordinary people, it would take at least five years of frugal living to save that much. Besides the cost of the property, the expenditure on renovation wasn't actually that high.
In front of the new shop, the craftsmen seemed a bit uneasy. They occasionally cast Lin Bai sympathetic glances, as if looking at a fool.
Lin Bai took it all in. I'm increasingly aware that this shop has significant issues. But I know I won't get any information out of these people. The craftsmen are in cahoots with the Tooth Line; they're all on the same side, and I'm just an outsider! So what if there are problems? The money I... acquired... wasn't much to begin with. As the saying goes, 'a single coin can fell a hero.' Besides, I'm just opening this restaurant to grind System tasks, not to actually make a living from selling food...
"Shopkeeper, you're... *cough*... calling this crummy place the 'Chef's Restaurant'?" The carpenter glanced around at the barren surroundings, desolate for a hundred meters in every direction, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
"Of course." Lin Bai's face radiated confidence. "Don't underestimate this shop. Before long, it will be world-famous."
The carpenter smirked, looking at Lin Bai as if he were an imbecile. "Whatever makes you happy, Shopkeeper."
"Make the signboard rectangular, but with a piece missing from the upper-right corner. The name on it will be 'Chef's Divine Food Stall,' all in gilt lettering. For that final character, the one meaning 'Stall': I want you to start with the standard character for 'Shop.' Remove the 'roof-like' radical from its top. The character that remains is what we'll use for 'Stall.' Don't add any color to this modified character. Then, for this 'Stall' character, ensure the 'box-like' radical at its bottom is left open, not sealed shut." Lin Bai picked up a branch and sketched the design on the ground, detailing his requirements for the signboard.
This is something I learned from the Incomplete System. If it can reward me with the 'Nine-Days True Scripture,' then I can certainly open a 'Chef's Divine Food Stall' that's... artfully incomplete.
The carpenter was baffled. The Blacksmith and the young clerk from the Tooth Line were also stunned.
"Shopkeeper, I... I can't make that," the carpenter, Zhang Achun, finally said, his brow deeply furrowed after a long moment of stunned silence.
"Is your craftsmanship not up to par?" Lin Bai raised an eyebrow, a look of contempt naturally appearing on his face.
[Anger from Zhang Achun +1]
"It has nothing to do with craftsmanship!" Zhang Achun's face fell. "Making such a signboard would damage my shop's reputation!"
"Master Zhang, if you're displeased with the pay, just say so. I appreciate directness. I'll give you an additional 19.85% for labor." Lin Bai snorted, looking at Carpenter Zhang as if he were a greedy merchant.
Having enjoyed the benefits the System brought, I'm now pursuing the extreme of task completion. Compared to seeking positive emotions, negative emotions are so much easier to provoke. Just insist on being blunt, insist on speaking my mind. Not being afraid to offend people is enough. As for that 19.85%, I learned that from the Incomplete System. If arithmetic weren't so troublesome, I'd even have considered saying 3.1415926...
Nineteen point eight-five percent? Either add ten percent or twenty percent! If that's too much, even fifteen percent is a round figure! What the hell is with this number that isn't whole? Am I supposed to hire an accountant just to calculate my wages after this job? Zhang Achun's jaw tightened. He stared at Lin Bai, thinking, This guy must have a screw loose! No wonder he got swindled by the Tooth Line people!
"Twenty percent," Zhang Achun said, taking a deep breath and offering a round number. "And you're not to tell anyone this signboard was made by my shop."
"Twenty point one three seven percent," Lin Bai countered calmly, insisting on the peculiar decimal. "And I have a few other requirements."
"Speak," Zhang Achun bit out.
I don't know if this lunatic is doing this on purpose, the carpenter thought, barely suppressing the urge to smack Lin Bai across the face with the sole of his shoe. Still, earning money isn't shameful. I'm a craftsman; I won't lower myself to the level of a madman.
"The tables you'll make for the shop can't be standard squares either," Lin Bai continued, enthusiastically outlining his vision for the new shop's decor to the carpenter. "Each table must either have a missing corner or a hole in the middle. The positions of the missing corners should vary, and the holes shouldn't be round. The four legs of each table must not be the same height; one leg must be shorter than the other three. The same goes for the stools..."
"Wait a minute!" The carpenter was sweating buckets now, his gaze fixed on Lin Bai as if he were examining a very sick patient. "The signboard... well, whatever. But if the table legs are different lengths, they'll be unusable, won't they?"
"I can prop them up with bricks," Lin Bai said with a smile. "Just make them according to my requirements. You don't need to worry about the rest."
The carpenter let out a shaky breath. ... He visualized the finished products in his mind and squeezed his eyes shut in agony. I'll make absolutely sure there's no mark from my shop on this set of furniture. Fortunately, this wreck of a place probably won't get any customers anyway, so I don't have to worry too much about my reputation being ruined. It's what the customer demanded; it doesn't count as me earning money through dishonest means...
After instructing the carpenter, Lin Bai turned to the Blacksmith. "Master Blacksmith, I'll trouble you to make a batch of bowls, each with a different-sized notch, and chopsticks where every single one has a unique length and thickness..."
The Blacksmith's temples throbbed visibly. He managed an awkward laugh. "Shopkeeper, restaurant bowls are typically porcelain, and chopsticks are usually bamboo. Perhaps I'm not the right person for this job."
"Iron bowls are sturdy. I'm worried porcelain bowls won't withstand customers potentially dropping them," Lin Bai said with an apologetic smile. "And if someone painstakingly evens out bamboo chopsticks by hand, the loss would outweigh the gain. It's always good to take precautions!"
The young clerk from the Tooth Line was speechless. "..."
The carpenter was speechless. "..."
The Blacksmith was speechless. "..."
Is this guy actually trying to open a restaurant? Or is he just trying to make everyone thoroughly uncomfortable?! they all thought.
[Depression from Zhang Achun, Feng Liu, Zhang Shutang +3]
[Collected ten instances of negative emotions (10/10). Reward (Distributed)]
[Allow ten people to experience incompleteness... (3/10)...]