Chapter 430: The Grand Feast

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: The Grand Feast

’As an excellent and conscientious boss, shouldn’t I be giving my employees some benefits on a regular basis?’

’For example, a weekly group dinner, one day off per week, a short trip once a month?’ Back when she was an employee, she often dreamed of having such a considerate boss.

It was time to get all those perks and benefits in order.

Just the thought of it made Lily Hart’s eyes crinkle into a smile. She would absolutely not admit it was because she wanted to eat, drink, and have fun too.

Nearby, Sylvia Jarvis and Cynthia Whittaker had already opened a hot pot shop on the delivery platform and uploaded all the menu items and soup bases.

Mission accomplished!

Sylvia Jarvis, full of energy, pulled the daydreaming Lily Hart back to reality. "Should we give it a try?"

It was almost noon, time for lunch.

Lily Hart nodded in agreement. "Let’s eat at the lottery shop. It’s spacious there."

"Okay," Sylvia Jarvis agreed. She and Lily Hart started ordering, and assuming there would be a lot of people for lunch, she went all out.

She ordered nearly every item on the menu, frantically adding extras of the tastier ones, and even got three pots with three different soup bases.

After paying, the page showed that the merchant was preparing the order.

The hot pot shop barely needed staff to prepare the food; the ingredients were ready to go as soon as an order was placed. Two minutes later, four insulated delivery boxes appeared in front of Lily Hart and Sylvia Jarvis.

Lifting the lid of one, they saw it was packed to the brim with ingredients in takeout containers.

Everything was washed and sliced, ready to be dropped straight into the pot.

Lily Hart had set the delivery address as the lottery shop. Over here, Sylvia Jarvis tapped "Begin Delivery," and the four large insulated boxes in front of them vanished.

The progress bar on the page showed it was complete.

Delivery Successful!

Seeing this, the two of them left the courier station side by side. Sylvia Jarvis carefully closed the door again, which made Lily Hart feel a little gratified.

Every time they passed a shop, the incredibly extroverted Lily Hart would enthusiastically run inside, shouting for the manager to come to the lottery shop for hot pot at noon, telling them she’d ordered a ton of food.

Some of the shop managers were being invited by Lily Hart for the first time and were quite flattered, readily agreeing and promising not to be late.

And so it went, with Lily Hart shouting her invitations and Sylvia Jarvis following along, amazed at her social skills. She could strike up a conversation with anyone.

Lily Hart led Sylvia Jarvis onto the RV, and Sylvia’s eyes flashed with amazement. A wave of warmth washed over her; it felt so much like a real home.

There were throw pillows scattered messily on the sofa, along with a couple of cute blankets and even a few small stuffed animals that seemed to be staring at her with wide eyes.

And it wasn’t just stuffed animals—perched on the back of the sofa were two fat cats.

An orange one and a white one, both exceptionally cute. They stared at her along with the toys, as if sizing her up.

’She was the new stranger in this "home."’

Seeing her expression, Lily Hart began making introductions. "This is our new friend, Sylvia Jarvis. This is Lily, and this is Nana."

Then she pulled King out from under a pillow. He was still groggy with sleep. "This is King. Don’t mind them; they all have their own personalities."

Sylvia Jarvis nodded blankly, a little embarrassed as she greeted each of them in turn. "Hello, Lily, Nana, King."

Lily and Nana meowed in response, acknowledging her, while King just lifted an eyelid to glance at her.

He went right back to snuggling into the pillow to sleep. He’d been incredibly sleepy lately after secretly eating a Crystal Core.

Sylvia Jarvis found a corner to sit in. As she scanned the RV’s interior, she spotted the four large insulated boxes, which seemed to have been placed in a random spot.

She got up, opened one of them, and started taking out all the containers, arranging them one by one on the dining table.

She stacked identical items together, opening the top container of each stack or consolidating them into a single box.

When Lily Hart came out of the bathroom after washing her hands, she saw Sylvia Jarvis bustling about.

’Wow, this girl is so diligent.’

The two then started working together. Sylvia Jarvis brought the food to the table while Lily Hart was in charge of opening the containers and getting the hot pot bases boiling.

With all this, the table seemed a bit small. After all, all the shop owners were coming. A quick count showed seventeen shop owners, plus her, plus six kids.

Add to that all the night market stall owners—fourteen of them.

’There isn’t enough room.’

But that was fine. The RV’s living room was huge, with more than enough space for another dining table.

She immediately ordered an extra-large table that came with a set of eighteen chairs with backrests. ℯℯ𝑙.

’It still wasn’t enough, though.’

’No matter. Squeezing in together is warmer and brings everyone closer.’

Lily Hart had ordered at least two of every item, so she could put one portion on each table and ensure everyone had something to eat.

As lunchtime approached, people started to arrive one after another.

Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, and the others were already regulars and made themselves at home, either helping out instinctively or finding a place to sit and wait for the meal to start. The other shop owners, however, were comparatively reserved.

Most of the shop owners were visiting the RV for the first time. Unsure what to do with their hands and feet, they kept fidgeting and adjusting their clothes.

They felt a bit out of place in the cozy RV.

Lily Hart greeted them warmly. "Don’t just stand there, find a seat!"

Frost Shaw and Roman Rowe exchanged a glance, noticing their reservation and nervousness. They both went over and personally led them to their seats.

Seventeen shop owners, fourteen stall owners, six kids, plus Lily Hart.

A total of thirty-eight people. Even though some were quiet and not very talkative, Lily Hart still felt the RV was bustling with noise.

’So many people! The living room is big, but it can’t handle this many!’

It actually felt a bit crowded. Two tables still weren’t enough, so Lily Hart brought out the one from the conference room.

That was finally enough for everyone to have a seat.

’Organizing a group meal really isn’t easy. Next time, I’ll just hold it at the hot pot shop.’

Lily Hart sat at the head of the table, looking around at the circle of familiar faces. ’This is great,’ she thought. The pot in front of her was already boiling, the meatballs inside tumbling joyfully.

Because there were so many people, there weren’t enough hot pots. Lily Hart dug out all the pots from her kitchen and put them to use.

It took a total of eight pots to be barely enough. Even though they were short on pots at first, it looked like there was definitely enough food.

Lily Hart always tended to order extra, confident that everyone would finish it all anyway.

This was also her first time gathering with all the shop and stall owners, and the first time she realized, ’Wow, my team is this big?’

Everyone’s eyes were on her. Lily Hart opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated.

Instead, she just raised her drink. "A toast to everyone. Thank you for all your hard work lately."

Though it was just a short sentence, everyone could feel her sincerity. They all raised their glasses in unison and drained them in one go.

Since everyone still had to work in the afternoon and had only temporarily closed their shops, they were all drinking soft drinks.

The hot pot meal left everyone happy and full, and they managed to finish every last dish Lily Hart had ordered.

After the meal, everyone instinctively pitched in to clean up—clearing the dishes, taking out the trash, wiping the tables, and so on.

Once everything was tidy, Sylvia Jarvis, not forgetting her original goal, found Brock Finch (from the chicken cutlet shop) and sent him an invitation to join the platform.