Chapter 81 - 76: End of the Cold Wave and a New Home

Chapter 81: Chapter 76: End of the Cold Wave and a New Home

Leo had indeed kept his word. The very next day, Ning He received news from Old Wood that the academy had granted her a four-month guarantee period.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Although she hadn’t come up with a good solution yet, the timeframe was quite generous. Perhaps things would take a turn for the better down the line.

However, she definitely couldn’t go to the trading hall anymore. With Connie’s supplier halting their goods, the profits from her malatang had plummeted by half. If she hadn’t been using system points to exchange for spices, she would likely be operating at a loss. But business wasn’t impossible. After all, the cold wave hadn’t ended, and the freezing temperatures stimulated everyone’s craving for malatang. She could still sell two to three hundred portions a day, netting a pure profit of five to six hundred original coins—much better than the other food stalls.

Yet, this situation couldn’t last. Her points were limited, and she had spent quite a few during the food festival; she needed to use them sparingly. Thus, Ning He couldn’t help but wish for the cold wave to end soon so she could use her black soil to grow her own spices.

Ning He spent a day fulfilling her promise to Leitel, making the roasted pepper sauce all at once with Youzhen’s help. It amounted to a total of six large jars, each weighing three catties. Roasting the peppers alone took four hours, leaving Ning He with a sore back.

When it was time to deliver the goods, the location was set at Leitel’s house to avoid prying eyes, as the items were too conspicuous. The few old friends were all present. One skinny old man even brought Ning He a beautifully packaged orange. Smelling the long-lost citrus aroma, Ning He was so moved that, in a moment of impulse, she actually offered the roasted pepper sauce for free. Fortunately, the plump middle-aged man stopped her and paid her three thousand original coins based on the standard price of two hundred per catty. Otherwise, since all the raw materials for this batch of sauce had been purchased, she would have lost two thousand!

The final three jars were passed on to Leo by Leitel as a thank-you gift for his help. From this transaction, Ning He netted one thousand original coins, making all her hard work worthwhile.

Before Ning He left, Leitel handed her a list detailing the approximate number of guests for the banquet and the types of dishes required, along with an advance payment of two thousand original coins.

"...Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If the money isn’t enough, just come find me. Make what you’re best at. There’s no need to copy those large restaurants; they serve up the same routine every time. We’ve long grown tired of it," Leitel reminded her.

The old man with the walking stick chimed in, "Exactly. Even serving the little meatballs, deep-fried dough sticks, and sugar cakes from last time wouldn’t be a bad idea. It’ll give those people a change of pace. Just go for it boldly!"

"Hmph, it’s not your banquet, so why are you spouting blind ideas? I bet you’re just craving them yourself!" the skinny old man said, seeing right through him.

The old man with the walking stick glared at him, and the two began to bicker again.

Ning He carefully tucked the list away. "Rest assured, everyone. Since I’ve taken this on, I’m confident I can do a good job. Let me prepare for a bit, and I’ll arrange a tasting session for you all in a while."

"Haha, then we’ll be waiting for your notice!" The gray-haired old man’s eyes lit up.

Ning He tentatively planned the tasting session for half a month later, deciding to handle the other matters she had on hand first.

When the cafeteria’s second-month settlement ended, Ning He’s stall successfully retained the first-place banner, and her score held a massive lead. Clearly, the new sugar cakes added this month had won people’s hearts.

Previously, this small, bright red banner had little presence in the cafeteria. The ones who obtained it were basically the highest-level stalls that didn’t need to upgrade. If other stalls occasionally got lucky and snagged it, they either lacked the stamina to maintain it or didn’t have the actual strength to upgrade anyway. Therefore, aside from adding a bit of honor, very few people cared about the upgrading function it represented.

But after Ning He obtained it twice in a row, people finally remembered this fact. This included the few Level 1 Stalls next to hers, as well as the students of the Mecha Academy.

Ever since tasting malatang at the food festival, Juno and her group of students had been yearning to have it again. However, they usually couldn’t leave the school grounds at will. They had originally hoped Ning He would sell it in the cafeteria, but when the new red bean buns were introduced this month, they gorged themselves while sighing in lament, suddenly remembering that Ning He’s stall couldn’t sell ingredients other than staple foods.

That very day, Juno posted a thread on the academy’s forum, complaining about why an amazing Third-level Chef like Sister Ning could only run a Zero-level Stall. As a result, an expert in the comments section replied with information about how stalls could be upgraded.

Suddenly, when everyone looked at the banner hanging at Ning He’s stall again, their gazes changed. Before Chef Ning’s stall finished its upgrade, they absolutely could not let the banner fall into anyone else’s hands!

With the addition of new items, the daily production process had increased. Fortunately, Youzhen was very capable and took over the making of fermented rice pastries and red bean paste all by herself, ensuring that Ning He and the other two didn’t get overwhelmed.

In the new month, business remained booming, completely selling out every single day. Moreover, whenever they announced they were sold out, the students waiting in line would high-five and cheer, dispersing with bright smiles. It left Ning He completely baffled.

As for the several Level 1 Stalls serving breakfast, they had plunged into a massive sense of crisis. Anyone could see that Ning He could whip up all sorts of varieties even with bland staple foods, leaving their sales in the dust. Once she upgraded to Level 1, they would absolutely be reduced to mere background characters. By then, with daily profits too low to make ends meet, they would have no choice but to leave the cafeteria.

This was completely unacceptable to those who had worked securely in the academy for decades. After all, the students were rarely picky and easy to deal with. With subsidies, they were also generous with their money—simply the optimal customer base. Inside the cafeteria, one could steadily earn one or two thousand a month without much effort. Outside, however, they would have to compete with countless restaurants and street vendors. It went without saying which was the better option!

In short, they absolutely could not just stand by and watch Ning He’s stall upgrade to Level 1!

Thus, Ning He soon discovered that the neighboring Level 1 Stalls had also introduced new items, and some had even slightly lowered their prices. However, when she ordered a portion with great interest to try it out, she found herself rather speechless.

Mashed peas and potatoes had been changed to mashed peas and chickpeas;

Pita bread rolled with leeks had become pita bread rolled with spinach;

Fried potato strips had become fried taro strips;

Pea and green pepper fried rice had turned into eggplant and green bean fried rice;

Cabbage and corn soup had morphed into radish and greens soup...

Was this innovation? Well, it seemed like it was, but at the same time, it wasn’t.

Anyway, on the first day these stalls launched their new items, the students gave them enough face to try them, and it wasn’t like there were no good reviews. The first taste always offered a bit of novelty. But three days later, this small craze died down, and these freshly baked dishes were soon forgotten by everyone.

Ning He didn’t pay too much mind to it. Uncle Bari had found renovation workers to do some minor remodeling on her new apartment, and Ning He went to check on it every few days. Additionally, Macken sought her out once to act as Uncle Hansha’s assistant. She earned eight hundred original coins from that, which was just enough to cover the renovation costs.

After lasting for a month and a half, the cold wave finally dissipated completely one morning. When Ning He stepped out of the shelter, the thermal tents had already been removed. The long-lost warm air enveloped her entire body, and the sunlight was so toasty it felt as if it could melt a person.

Children returned to school, and the shops on the streets gradually reopened one after another. Everything in Beiluo City was back on track.

With the help of Connie’s group and Uncle Bari, Ning He officially moved houses. Knight and his little friends were extremely reluctant to see her go. Ning He left them her new address and a box of candies, successfully stopping their tears.

As soon as she moved into the new house, Ning He couldn’t wait to spread out the black soil on the second floor. Except for a small patch reserved for growing fleshy spices that required a soil depth of forty centimeters, the rest only needed a layer of twenty centimeters. Ten cubic meters of black soil covered just about half the floor. In the other half, near the stairs, Ning He set up a kitchen and a storage room, which perfectly concealed the secret planting base behind them.

Now that everything was ready, Ning He finally started preparing for the tasting session for Leitel’s banquet.