Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu's mood this time upon returning wasn't as relaxed as on previous occasions, because he had witnessed a young life pass away before his own eyes, and what's more, the boy was burned alive, which unavoidably moved him.

However, he had no real options, Ma Lu might have taken over the identity of a fallen new knight, but he had only completed two missions so far and was still at the very bottom of the Order of Knights, without much say in the matter.

The most critical issue was that his own strength was still lacking, during his development period it was best to keep a low profile, otherwise, not only he but also Yun Que and the Hellhound could fall into the same danger.

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Therefore, Ma Lu just took one look and immediately turned to head back to his apartment.

And among the crowd, a pair of eyes watched as he walked away.

......

When the countdown on the Traveler's Bracelet hit zero, the thrilling adventure in the Different Dimension officially came to an end, yet Ma Lu's battle had just begun.

Today was the grand opening day of the Universe Infinite Canteen!

Awakening on his couch, Ma Lu first headed to City B's administrative center to collect the freshly issued food business permit from the food and drug service window.

With that, all the required licenses for operating his business were in hand.

Then Ma Lu and Old Wang rushed to the restaurant without delay.

Although the plans to advertise the new shop through the Deliciousness Index had fallen through, Ma Lu wasn't too flustered because he still had control over more than twenty WeChat groups, with members totaling over ten thousand.

He also reached out to several food bloggers who had previously filmed at his snack stall, and when they heard that The Universe's Number One Snack Stall had upgraded to a restaurant, they all showed varying degrees of interest.

Even though the craze for the volcanic fried sausages had died down after two months, and the buzz from related videos had greatly diminished, thanks to the superior taste and a host of loyal fans, The Universe's Number One Snack Stall still maintained a considerable exposure on the internet.

Given these circumstances, launching a follow-up video was also a good choice, especially for those bloggers who were recently struggling to find content; they happily accepted Ma Lu's invitation upon his request.

In addition, Hou Yihan, Shen Yue, and other influencers also helped to promote Universe Infinite Canteen for free in their respective schools. Nevertheless, Ma Lu had publicly announced that the restaurant's prices would significantly increase, so he estimated there wouldn't be too many target customers among college students.

All in all, with these three approaches combined, Ma Lu didn't have to worry too much about attracting customers for at least the first week after opening.

Actually, by the time he arrived at the restaurant, there were already quite a few people waiting outside.

Upon seeing Ma Lu and Old Wang, the crowd gathered around, offering congratulations while curiously inquiring about the menu inside.

Ma Lu brushed them off with a promise to keep it a secret for now, then grabbed He Xiaoqian from the crowd and pulled her into the shop with him.

Having prepared for so long, the new shop was finally opening, and He Xiaoqian was excited too.

She had just been chatting with people outside and discovered that there was an older brother who wasn't from City B.

He had come here on a business trip before and had tasted the meat sandwich from The Universe's Number One Snack Stall by chance, which left him amazed. From that moment, he became a dedicated fan.

This time, upon hearing about Ma Lu's new shop opening, he had driven over early in the morning with his wife and daughter from a neighboring city to be one of the firsts to taste the new dishes.

He Xiaoqian was also moved by his enthusiasm and asked Ma Lu, "Boss, where is our menu? Could I take a look at it first so I can make recommendations to the customers later?"

"Ah, the menu, just wait a bit longer."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for me to decide on it."

"......"

He Xiaoqian was stunned; although she had always worked in the workshop and had never been a waiter, she knew that something as fundamental as the menu should not still be undecided on the day of the opening.

Moreover, there was now less than half an hour left until the opening time set by Ma Lu.

She wanted to say something more, but Ma Lu had already pulled Old Wang toward the kitchen. However, as he reached the door, he stopped, as if remembering something.

"Although the opening time hasn't arrived yet, since the customers are already here, let's open the door and let them in to sit for now, but tell them they can't order yet."

"Uh, open now? But what if they want to see the menu?"

"Find a way to stall them," Ma Lu winked at He Xiaoqian, "I believe in you."

"But..." He Xiaoqian had barely said two words before Ma Lu and Old Wang's figures had vanished behind the blue curtain.

As soon as Ma Lu entered the kitchen, he used the Phase Shifter and arrived in front of the refrigerator holding the ingredients.

In it were the ingredients he had not used up last week and the week before, plus the vegetables he brought back this time, and a batch of freshly slaughtered meat from the tabletop farm; these were all the raw materials he had at hand.

For the first day of the new store's opening, Ma Lu didn't plan to make things too complex.

He would ensure the taste first; there was no need for a large number of dishes. Firstly, his store wasn't big, and secondly, fewer dishes would improve the turnover rate and reduce He Xiaoqian's workload.

After all, He Xiaoqian was also a novice and needed time to adjust. Having too many dishes could easily overwhelm and confuse her.

Ma Lu entered all the ingredients into the Traveler's Bracelet and then used the search function to start looking for recipes.

He quickly settled on a cold dish and a hot dish for Old Wang to test-cook.

Ma Lu tasted them with his chopsticks; the flavors were pretty good, but he felt like something was missing.

Ma Lu thought about it and concluded it was probably because he had eaten a lot of Old Wang's cooking recently and had gradually become accustomed to the latter's skills—it wasn't as astonishing as it was at the beginning.

Moreover, the biggest issue was that these dishes weren't that different from the snacks he sold at his stall before.

Ma Lu scratched his head; done for—he realized high-end dining was not so easy to pull off.

The blame was mainly on himself. When he was running the stall before, he set his standards too high. In an effort to earn more money, he had been selling dishes with a Deliciousness Index of three stars without any issues.

Presenting these one or two-star dishes now seemed a bit like skimping, yet for those who had never experienced The Universe's Number One Snack Stall, these dishes might already be tasty enough.

But the problem was that the first batch of customers waiting outside were all regulars from Ma Lu's previous business, and most likely hardcore fans. Naturally, these people would compare the dishes and prices of the Universe Infinite Canteen with those of The Universe's Number One Snack Stall.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

If the price had significantly increased while the taste had regressed, it would inevitably cause disappointment among many, and the word of mouth from the first batch of customers was undoubtedly vital for the new store's start.

If the first shot was not executed well, turning things around later would require much more effort.

Time was ticking away, and less than 15 minutes were left until the opening.

Ma Lu crossed out one of the dishes with a Deliciousness Index of ★☆ and added another with a ★★☆ index.

But it still wasn't enough; they were missing a signature dish with enough impact to amaze everyone.