Chapter 436: Hairdresser Apprentice

"I'll be sure to keep this confidential." Mag nodded with a smile, before carefully reading through the contract.

The contents of the contract were actually quite simple. The terms stated the two parties involved, the area that was being granted to Mamy Restaurant, and the things that they were allowed to do in that area.

Aside from that, there was a non-disclosure agreement and a three-year rental contract. One copper coin per year was virtually nothing, so the plot of land was essentially being rented to Mag for free.

There were no issues with the contract, so Mag signed it.

"Mr. Mag, your performance last night was truly brilliant. If you wanted to, you would make a brilliant politician." Dicus picked up the contract, and extended genuine praise toward Mag.

"I'm just a chef." Mag shook his head with a smile. He looked at Dicus, and asked, "The restaurant is going to open soon. Are you going back to the city lord's castle right away or would you like some breakfast first?"

"I came here on an empty stomach," Dicus replied with a smile.

"Alright, please come in and have a seat. The restaurant will be open soon." Mag nodded with a smile.

"By the way, the reservation fee for last night will arrive after the application goes through our finance department, so it should be here today," Dicus added.

"No problem." Mag nodded with a smile. He wasn't worried about the city lord's castle refusing to pay him. Furthermore, he felt like he deserved the 300,000 copper coins. After all, he had expended a lot of brainpower to facilitate the successful conclusion of the conference the night prior.

As soon as the clock struck 7:30, Mag opened the restaurant door with a smile, and greeted, "Welcome, everyone. Today, our restaurant will be releasing a new product. It's called ice cream, and there are four flavors that you can choose from. As the name suggests, ice cream is quite cold, so it's not suitable to be consumed on an empty stomach. As such, I suggest everyone try it for dessert after your main course. The ice cream will be limited to two per person per meal."

"Another new product? Long live Boss Mag! This rate of new releases is awesome!"

"I don't know what ice cream is, but I'll be sure to order one today. Boss Mag has never disappointed us."

All of the customers' eyes lit up upon hearing that, and they discussed spiritedly among themselves as they walked into the restaurant.

"B-Boss Mag, long… long time no see." A tall and broad figure made its way over to Mag with a bashful smile. Mag turned around, only to discover that it was Haga, whom he hadn't seen for a long while, and Habeng was trailing along behind him.

"Haga, is your arm alright?" Mag faltered slightly upon seeing him before his attention was drawn to Haga's arm, which was in a crude sling.

Haga hadn't visited his restaurant ever since he'd gone back to fight in his race's civil war. He had heard from Habeng that the war had recently concluded, and that Haga had led his brethren to victory, but it appeared that the victory had come at a price.

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"I… I'm fine. It's just… a minor injury." Haga shook his head with a bashful smile. His common language still wasn't very fluent. He then began to look around the restaurant as if he were looking for something.

"Amy is attending lessons in Chaos School. She was talking about you just a few days ago; she would be really happy to know that you're back," Mag said with a smile. Haga and Haga were among his first customers, so Amy had a strong impression of them.

"Oh, I see. Studying… Good, good." Haga scratched his head and nodded. He then discovered that he was blocking the line of customers behind him, and hurriedly strode into the restaurant.

"Boss Mag, congratulations on getting all five of your dishes into the top 100 on the Aden Square food competition rankings. That's something that has never been done before." Bernice stopped at the door, and turned to Mag with a dainty smile.

"You're far too kind, Boss Bernice. I heard that your restaurant has made it into the top 10 this time. In comparison, Mamy Restaurant is still far inferior." Mag shook his head with a smile. Bernice was the owner of one of the restaurants in the Aden Square—she was part of the group of restaurant owners who had come to sample his food together. After that, she would occasionally visit his restaurant, so they gradually became familiar with each other.

"You're making me blush, Boss Mag. If your restaurant weren't limited by its scale, then all of your dishes would be able to make it into the top 10." Bernice shook her head with a smile as she said, "Also, I heard that the Catering Association is preparing to change the rules of the Aden Square food competition. They're no longer going to use customer votes as the only decisive factor on the rankings, so perhaps Mamy Restaurant will dominate the rankings next month."

"Thank you for your kind words. Please come in, Boss Bernice." Mag shook his head with a smile. Even though she was delivering glowing praise, he didn't get complacent. If it weren't for the system's mission, he wouldn't have spent as much as a single copper coin on tickets. He didn't care about things like rankings.

"Another new product? Last time, Master Marsh told me that the sweet tofu pudding was really delicious, but I just overheard the other customers say that all of the other dishes are also really good. Which one should I eat?" Kenny patted his bulging wallet with a conflicted expression on his face.

Kenny was an apprentice from the nearby Lace Hair Salon. He was 15 years old, with a thin figure and a head of soft blonde curls.

He had been an apprentice for over three months, and the hairdressers supplied him with food and shelter. He was responsible for washing the customers' hair; in the beginning, he had been scolded by the customers for things like using water that was too hot and being too rough, but he had since become a lot better at his job. In fact, he had even been praised by a customer the day before.

There was another half a year to go until he could officially start learning hairdressing skills from his master, and the job was a little arduous, but Kenny was determined to persevere. If he could become a hairdresser, then he would have the option of staying at his current workplace as a hairdresser or going back to his village to open a hair salon. That was his dream.

He had received his salary the day prior, and sent most of it back home, but he wanted to give himself a little reward as well. As such, he decided to visit this restaurant that sold Master Marsh's favorite sweet tofu pudding. Apparently, just one tofu pudding would cost 200 copper coins; that was roughly half a month of wages for him.

Kenny gripped his wallet tightly in his hand, and even though it was quite hefty, there were only copper coins in it—a total of 200.

He took a deep breath, and made up his mind as he strode into the restaurant. There were two gorgeous waitresses at the door, and he was momentarily stunned by their beauty before immediately bowing his head in a shy manner. He had never seen such beautiful big sisters before.

Soon, his attention was drawn to the luxurious decor in the restaurant. The dazzling crystal chandelier, the exquisite artwork on the walls… all of it was slightly overwhelming to him. It was his first time coming to such a lavish place.

Yabemiya looked at Kenny with a smile, and said, "There's an open seat over there. Here's a menu, you can have a look and order what you'd like to eat."

"Oh… Oh, thank you." Kenny looked at Yabemiya's warm smile, and his nerves were instantly soothed a little. He opened the menu, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Is this the tofu pudding? It looks really delicious!

"And this roujiamo dish looks really awesome too!

"This fish… I've never had fish before; it also looks super delicious!"