Chapter 5: Wandering Merchant Appears

Zhu Yu changed into his work clothes and returned to the hot pot restaurant to reignite the stove that had gone out last night.

When passing by the small bar, she accidentally discovered a new drink - pure milk.

It is said that pure milk can relieve spiciness, and Zhu Yu couldn't help but associate it with the spicy beef oil hotpot base that had just been launched on the shelves.

If the game develops according to this rule, then every time a new hot pot is unlocked, it is very likely that new food or drinks will be triggered in the hot pot restaurant?

Zhu Yu was so excited that he wanted to move up to the next level right away.

However, when she saw that the next promotion required 500 experience points and she only had single-digit experience points, her excitement disappeared in an instant.

After calming down, she walked over to the counter, sat down, and started working.

Now that players all know that the hot pot restaurant's soup base has additional effects, there will definitely be many players who want to try it.

Zhu Yu invested thirty gold coins in one go to buy clear soup base, and sure enough, the thirty servings of hot pot were sold out in just a few seconds.

Looking at this situation, she felt that perhaps she could find out the daily takeaway limit for each type of hot pot base today.

She had asked System 996 indirectly last night, trying to find out the upper limit.

However, 996 stopped talking after reminding her that there was a limit on takeout.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu shook his head helplessly and continued to be busy with the cycle of "purchase - put on shelves - sell - sell out".

During the operation, Zhu Yu suddenly thought of a problem.

“996, is there a restriction in the game that prohibits the resale of hot pot?”

System 996 answered this question straightforwardly. It immediately jumped out and said, "Of course, the game has already considered this issue."

Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at System 996. She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she felt that its light ball seemed to be bigger and brighter than yesterday.

Forget it, let's not think about it for now. Fortunately, the game has a mechanism to prohibit secondary resale. Otherwise, she would be furious if she set the lowest price for the sake of the players and then some players bought it and resold it to others at a high price.

After selling more than 200 servings of hotpot and earning more than 200 gold coins, Zhu Yu was finally ready to put the spicy beef oil hotpot on the shelves.

As a basic type of hotpot, she plans to keep the price of clear soup base hotpot on the shelves at two gold coins per serving.

As for the hot pot varieties that will be unlocked later, such as the spicy beef oil base, she decided to adjust the prices after finding out the daily takeout limit.

Therefore, in the case of unknown quantity, Zhu Yu chose to temporarily adjust the purchase price of the spicy beef oil hotpot base by one gold coin compared to five gold coins, and put it on the shelves at a price of six gold coins per portion.

[Spicy beef oil hot pot base is now available]

As soon as the spicy beef oil hotpot base was put on the shelves, a red game announcement immediately floated in the chat channel.

[Player 3876]: Damn! I was just browsing the trading hall when I suddenly saw the spicy beef oil hot pot base on the shelves! 6 gold coins each, hurry up and grab it!

[Player 7236]: Ahhh, someone who can't live without spicy food is crying with excitement!

[Player 0091]: I was just considering whether to continue with the clear soup, but then the spicy beef oil hot pot base came along. I had to try it!

[Player 7024]: I have already placed the order! The clear soup I had yesterday was pretty good, I guess this time the spicy beef oil base will have better hidden properties!

[Player 2210]: Aren't you guys too quick? I just opened the trading hall and the spicy hotpot base was sold out...

[Player 1123]: Waiting for the new product.

[Player 9124]: Waiting for the new product.

[Player 6890]: Waiting for the new product.

…

Zhu Yu was fully aware of the popularity of the new spicy beef oil hotpot base.

After all, in this snowy and icy weather, who can resist a steaming pot of spicy hot pot?

This is simply the perfect warming food.

Just as Zhu Yu's operating system was restocking the spicy hot pot base, the door of the hot pot restaurant was pushed open.

"Oh my, the hot pot restaurant is finally open!"

Qian Jianguo strode into the store, followed by a large group of people.

"Boss, my kid told me that you just launched a new spicy hotpot in your store?"

Zhu Yu was overjoyed when he saw so many players coming in.

However, she still showed the standard NPC smile and answered:

“Yes, you can choose your seat and order after you sit down.”

Zhu Yu glanced at the approximate number of people and continued:

"I see that there are more than a dozen players. I suggest you split into two tables and order a large hot pot for multiple people."

“Also, you can go to the bar and get your own drinks after ordering.”

"Yes, if we live nearby, we can come here often."

Qian Jianguo happily took his friends to find a seat and sat down.

It was only at this time that Zhu Yu noticed that the average age of this group of players was... a little older?

She used the hot pot restaurant owner's privileges to view the personal panels of these players. She was shocked when she saw it.

Could it be that these players were pulled into the game when they were traveling in groups after retirement? After all, most of the players in which group would be in their 50s or 60s?

Moreover, most of them were assigned to living professions. Zhu Yu observed that the one with the strongest combat ability was the only young man in this group of players, and his profession was warrior.

A soldier with his family, the picture is so beautiful that I dare not even imagine it.

However, after hearing the leading player say that they lived nearby, Zhu Yu couldn't help but praise it in his heart. It was indeed a good idea. A group of professional life players living near the safe zone was simply the best strategy in this kind of survival game.

She continued to check the occupations of these players. She had to say that if life players could ensure their own safety, the income in the game was actually no less than that of combat players. In fact, if the occupation was scarce and important enough, the income might even be more.

No wonder the young man named Qian Le only had helplessness towards his elders but no trace of worry on his face.

Huh?

Zhu Yu's gaze rested on a player named "Cheng Yuying".

Her occupation is "tailor", and you can tell what she does just by hearing the name of this job.

Zhu Yu secretly noted down her player game number, thinking that if he ever needed clothing in the future, he could try searching for her in the chat group and adding her as a friend.

Qian Le, who had no idea that his mother had been spotted by the hot pot restaurant owner, was now focusing all his attention on the large copper pot in the middle of the table.

The red oil in the hot pot rolls in the boiling soup, large pieces of bright red peppers and Sichuan peppercorns sway in the waves, and the rich aroma rushes straight into the nose.

The aroma of butter mixed with the spicy taste instantly perked everyone up.

Qian Le's mother Cheng Yuying came closer, sniffed, and exclaimed, "Oh, this fragrance is so authentic!"

Qian Le couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks, picked up a thin piece of tripe, and put it into the bubbling, steaming red soup.

A few seconds later, the tripe roll wrapped in red oil was picked up by him. He quickly dipped it in the garlic oil dish next to it, blew on it, and immediately put it into his mouth.

"Hiss - so spicy! But it's so enjoyable!" Qian Le couldn't help but sigh, a thin layer of sweat on his face.

"It's really good! I was sweating while eating this hot pot. It's so cold, it's more comfortable to sweat a little!"

Everyone's chopsticks were flying in the red oil soup, and various ingredients were boiling in the pot.

While enjoying hotpot, Qian Le did not forget to educate his elders about the content of the game.

"Did you know that the hot pot here has special effects? The clear soup base we had last night can keep your physical strength constant for an hour."

"Is this hot pot so magical? I am old and have worked all morning, but I don't feel tired at all."

After hearing this, the veteran player nearby immediately became interested and took over the conversation.

They talked about this topic for a while, and Qian Le suddenly thought of something and whispered to his mother:

"Mom, do you think that 996 player mentioned in the group has already discovered the additional effect of the clear soup hot pot? Is that why she got up so early to kill monsters and level up? She didn't even tell the group, how unkind."

Cheng Yuying glanced at her son and said unhappily, "You know nothing. Stop making excuses. They are just more diligent than you. And whether they tell you or not, it's not their responsibility to make any difference."

"Okay, okay, I won't talk about this anymore. Mom, your tripe is overcooked, take it out quickly..."

After being scolded, Qian Le shut up and continued to eat hotpot.

******

I don’t know if it’s because more and more players are coming here according to the coordinates she sent in the group. Compared to the deserted shop when it just opened yesterday, the store is obviously much busier today.

Zhu Yu sends off wave after wave of players, and at the same time puts hotpot takeout on the shelves.

She also took some time out of her busy schedule to check the group chat from time to time, hoping that some players would discover and discuss the additional effects of the spicy hot pot as soon as possible.

In addition, after a whole day of unremitting efforts, Zhu Yu finally discovered the daily takeaway limit for the clear soup base and spicy soup base.

The upper limit for single-person clear soup base is 1,500 servings, and for spicy soup base is 1,200 servings; while the upper limit for multi-person servings is 250 and 200 servings respectively.

This number was obviously less than she expected.

Sure enough, the game wouldn't let her complete the task so easily.

Zhu Yu decided to set the limit for each player to purchase only one portion of each type of hot pot per day, so that more players would have the opportunity to grab the hot pot they need.

After doing all this, it was almost closing time.

When Zhu Yu walked to the front door and was about to close the shop, he suddenly saw a man in a dark cloak standing upright not far outside the shop.

Just as she was wondering, the light ball of system 996 suddenly appeared in front of her and hurriedly reminded her in her ear:

"Host! That's the wandering merchant! Please invite him in and see what you want to buy!"