Chapter 323 - 305: The Rewards Are So Tempting, the Customers Are All Very Excited

Chapter 323: Chapter 305: The Rewards Are So Tempting, the Customers Are All Very Excited

When the news spread, everyone who had eaten at Li You Restaurant and knew what was going on was pleasantly surprised.

The tournament was starting the day after tomorrow, which was much earlier than anyone had expected.

This was great news!

Of course, the sooner the better. Everyone was eager to take part in such an interesting and grand event.

Soon after, many people headed straight for Li You Restaurant.

What for?

To sign up, of course.

Even though many of them weren’t very skilled, or barely knew how to play, it was the taking part that counted.

For something this fun, they had to enter and experience it, even if they were just going to be cannon fodder.

Inside the restaurant.

A steady stream of people poured in.

"Hahaha! Boss, I’m here to sign up!"

"Me too!"

"..."

Li You noted down each registrant’s information.

After signing up, some people who had other things to do left immediately. Others went outside to watch people play the game.

At this moment, all eight spots at the four arcade machines were occupied.

They were, of course, playing *The King of Fighters ’97*. The one-on-one matches served as a warm-up for the upcoming tournament.

An even larger crowd gathered to watch, all of them captivated.

Even those who previously had no interest in this type of game were now watching with great relish.

After he finished with the registrations, Li You joined the crowd to watch.

A customer spotted him and said, "Boss, you must know how to play. How are your skills? How about we play a match?"

Li You said, "You guys go ahead. My skills are no good. I’m no match for you."

"How can you say that, Boss? Come on, one match, just one match!"

The other customers chimed in, egging him on. "Go on, Boss! We’re all rooting for you."

"Yeah, Boss, quick! Let’s see how good you are!"

"Get in there, Boss!"

"..."

Amidst the crowd’s cheering, Li You felt his own excitement build. He smiled. "Alright, let’s play one match."

"Hahaha! Awesome!"

The customers were thrilled.

"Boss, come on, we’ll give you our spot." Two customers at one of the machines voluntarily gave up their seats.

Li You and his opponent both thanked the two customers before taking their seats.

The game restarted, taking them to the character selection screen.

Li You chose three characters: Yagami, Athena, and Clark.

His opponent picked Yagami, Monkey, and Terry.

The match began.

Soon, Li You could feel that his opponent was indeed stronger than him.

But not by much. He still had a chance to win.

Unfortunately, he lost the first game.

Another game.

And so, to the cheers of the onlookers, Li You and his opponent played a total of five games.

Li You won two and lost three. In the end, his opponent’s skills were just a little bit better.

His opponent laughed heartily, clearly exhilarated.

Li You, of course, was also happy. The point of this kind of competition was to have fun; winning or losing wasn’t important.

The spectators, naturally, didn’t forget to critique Li You’s skills. He was decent, but not what you’d call an expert.

This was Li You’s own assessment of his skills as well. ’I can stomp noobs, no problem, but I’m toast the moment I run into a real pro.’

Li You felt that being good at this game also required talent. He’d played quite a bit in the past but could never become a true expert.

’This must be what a lack of talent feels like.’

Of course, whether he could become a true expert didn’t matter.

What was important was having fun.

It was already three in the afternoon. On a normal day, the restaurant would be nearly empty and very quiet by this time.

Today, however, it was still bustling with activity.

This was a good thing. Li You liked it when the place was lively.

Of course, it wasn’t the same group of people there the whole time. People were constantly coming and going.

After all, everyone had their own lives and couldn’t stay here forever.

At the same time, more people were continuously signing up for the tournament.

By five in the afternoon, the number of registrants had reached 136.

The sign-ups were growing much faster than he had imagined. The final number of participants would likely be much higher than his initial estimate.

But that was fine. At worst, it would just mean extending the duration of the tournament.

If it took longer, it took longer. It just meant the excitement would last a little while more.

As for the prizes, Li You had already decided on them.

Only the top ten finishers would receive rewards.

The specific prizes were as follows:

Tenth Place: One 20% off coupon (no spending limit, applicable to any purchase amount, and no expiration date).

Note: All discount coupons follow these same rules.

Ninth Place: One 30% off coupon.

Eighth Place: One 30% off coupon and one voucher for two pounds of spicy crayfish (redeemable for two pounds of spicy crayfish with no other charges. Can be used on separate occasions).

This means it can be redeemed incrementally. For example, redeeming one pound at a time would be completely free.

Note: All spicy crayfish vouchers follow these same rules.

Seventh Place: One 30% off coupon and one voucher for five pounds of spicy crayfish.

Sixth Place: One 40% off coupon, one voucher for five pounds of spicy crayfish, and one voucher for a serving of Agastache-flavored Crucian Carp.

Fifth Place: One 40% off coupon, one voucher for six pounds of spicy crayfish, and one voucher for a serving of Chopped Pepper Fish Head.

Fourth Place: One 40% off coupon, one voucher for eight pounds of spicy crayfish, and one voucher for a serving of Longjing Shrimp.

Third Place: One 50% off coupon, one voucher for ten pounds of spicy crayfish, and one voucher for a serving of Steamed Mandarin Fish.

Second Place: One 50% off coupon, one voucher for ten pounds of spicy crayfish, and one voucher for a serving of Cabbage in Supreme Broth.

First Place: One 50% off coupon, one voucher for ten pounds of spicy crayfish, one voucher for a serving of Agastache-flavored Crucian Carp, one voucher for a serving of Chopped Pepper Fish Head, one voucher for a serving of Longjing Shrimp, one voucher for a serving of Steamed Mandarin Fish, one voucher for a serving of Cabbage in Supreme Broth, and one pint of liquor (takeaway allowed).

These prizes were quite substantial.

Li You was willing to make the rewards generous to thank his customers for their long-standing support of the restaurant.

Of course, business at the restaurant was going to boom over the next few days because of the tournament.

When you got down to it, it was basically a case of the wool coming from the sheep’s back.

It just meant Li You was going to be busy. It looked like he’d have to braise more chickens and steam more Salted Pork with Preserved Vegetables over the next few days.

In any case, now that the prizes were set, it was time to announce them to the customers.

He believed that announcing the prizes would trigger a new wave of discussion and excitement.

He would write the prizes on a sheet of Xuan paper and post it outside the restaurant’s entrance.

This would definitely have to be written with a brush.

But Li You’s own calligraphy was too embarrassing to show anyone; he needed to find someone with a good hand to help him write it.

Right, Ling Xiaoru.

As a painter, Ling Xiaoru also had beautiful calligraphy.

On the painting by her that hung in the restaurant, there was a small line of characters written with a brush, and the script was gorgeous.

He could also ask her to bring her own ink, brushes, paper, and inkstone, which would save him a lot of trouble.

So, Li You gave Ling Xiaoru a call and explained the situation.

Ling Xiaoru readily agreed, saying she would come over right away.

Li You told her not to rush and that she could just come over at her usual time.

But less than half an hour later, Ling Xiaoru arrived, carrying her tools: brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.

Upon seeing Li You, she said excitedly, "It’s so lively outside! Everyone seems to love playing that game. There must be a lot of people signing up for the tournament, right?"

Li You nodded. "A lot. So far, over one hundred and thirty people have registered."

Ling Xiaoru wasn’t surprised. "It looks like your tournament is going to be a huge success, Boss. By the way, what are the prizes? Quick, let me see."

Li You had already written the prizes down on a piece of paper. He handed it to Ling Xiaoru.

After reading it, Ling Xiaoru said in amazement, "Boss, these prizes are really generous!"

Li You said, "It’s fine. Everyone has been so supportive of the restaurant for so long, so the prizes should be substantial."

Ling Xiaoru nodded. "Once these prizes are announced, everyone will be even more fired up. Steamed Mandarin Fish... that’s a dish you haven’t even officially released yet. And the most exciting part is the pint of liquor you can take away. This must be the first time customers can take liquor from the restaurant home, right?"

Li You said, "If you don’t count giveaways, then yes, it’s the first time."

Ling Xiaoru said, "Giveaways definitely don’t count. With prizes like these, everyone will be aiming for first place. Hmm... no, that’s not right. Even without these prizes, everyone would still be aiming for first place."

Li You laughed, acknowledging that Ling Xiaoru had a point.

Ling Xiaoru smiled back and said, "Alright, I’ll start writing."

"Okay."

Ling Xiaoru unrolled the Xuan paper, dipped her brush in ink, and began to write.

Her script was vigorous and powerful—absolutely beautiful!

Li You was deeply impressed.

When Ling Xiaoru finished, Li You gave her a thumbs-up. "What amazing calligraphy! You could be called a calligraphy master."

Hearing Li You’s praise made Ling Xiaoru very happy inside, but what she said was, "I’m still a long way from being a master."

Li You said, "I think you’re pretty close."

This made Ling Xiaoru even happier.

Then, Li You picked up the Xuan paper, ready to post it outside the entrance right away.

The crowd of customers watching the arcade machines outside was growing larger, as it was now dinnertime.

Customers were arriving for dinner. Seeing all the commotion, they decided to watch a few matches before going inside to eat.

Now, seeing Li You come out with a sheet of Xuan paper covered in writing, they all watched him with puzzled expressions.

Once Li You had posted the paper and they could clearly see its contents, the customers were all surprised, shocked, and thrilled.

It was an announcement of the prizes for the tournament.

Everyone knew there would be prizes.

But they never expected them to be this generous.

’The boss really spared no expense!’

The customers, amidst their surprise, delight, and excitement, instantly burst into discussion.

Even though the vast majority of them probably had no chance of winning a prize, it didn’t diminish their excitement in the slightest.

"These prizes from the boss are insane! It’s so tempting. Too bad my skills are awful; there’s no way I can make the top ten. Is there some kind of training method to become a pro in one day?"

"If you find one, be sure to share it with me. I’m so hyped!"

"The champion even gets a pint of liquor, and they can take it home! This is the first time you can take liquor away, right? Who’s going to be the champion? It’s definitely not me, but why am I so excited to find out?"

"The overall prize pool is huge, but the first-place prize is on a whole other level compared to the rest. It’s a massive jump. Being the champion is just too awesome!"

"That’s for sure. Even though there’s only one rank between first and second place, the difference in significance is like the chasm between heaven and earth. They’re not even comparable."

"True. It’s like that in any competition."

"The word ’champion’ carries so much weight; ’runner-up’ can’t even compare. It’s normal for the prize to have such a huge gap."

"Who’s going to be the champion? I can’t wait to find out!"

"It’s not just about the champion; the other top spots are just as exciting. There will probably be two or three hundred people competing this time. Making it into the top ten out of that many people won’t be easy at all."

"Of course. Anyone who can stand out from that crowd has to be an absolute pro."

"All in all, this tournament is going to be an epic event. I’m so looking forward to it!"

"You bet!"

"..."

...