Chapter 5 Officially Open for Business Anyway, let’s have a beer first

Guard Justin finally received his salary at the end of the month and planned to go to a tavern for a drink.

Orion, who was patrolling the square with him, bared his teeth and patted his shoulder. "This limited-time market is finally over, and I happen to have some extra cash, so I'd like to treat you to a drink. I recently found a great little restaurant in Honey Alley."

Justin looked skeptical. "Honey Lane? When did they open a tavern there?"

Orion gave a thumbs-up. "The beer and fried chicken there are incredible. Just follow me."

The two took the underground train, turned into Honey Lane, and arrived at the Old Oak Tavern.

The shop was very clean, the oak bar was polished to a shine, colorful flowers were placed in ceramic jars, and each round table was covered with floral table mats. The bright sunshine outside shone in, illuminating the entire shop like a muffin covered in honey.

The menu is hung on a small blackboard on the wall, along with the daily recommended set menu.

Justin walked around and exclaimed, "This shop looks so clean." Then he worriedly said, "Will the prices be very high?" The taverns they went to were usually hidden in dim alleys. Ordering a potato stew and a glass of wine would cost no more than 20 copper coins.

Orion expertly rang the bell on the bar. "Don't worry, this place is cheap and good."

After the bell rang three times, Ye Wan pushed open the kitchen door. "Good day, Orion. Oh? Did you bring a friend?"

Orion was the guard who had captured the deceitful witch that day. The next day, Ye Wan sent him some sandwiches as a thank you gift. The gratitude was secondary; the main purpose was to promote his own restaurant. After all, the guards loved drinking and were an important customer base.

Orion smiled heartily and sat down at the bar. "Anyway, how about a drink of that first?"

"Okay." Ye Wan smiled and went to get the wine dispenser on the wall.

Justin was curious: "That? What that?"

Orion smiled mysteriously: "You'll know soon."

Ye Wan came over with a tray, and the beer in the large glass was shaking out fine foam. The aroma of the beer was strong, and the top layer of white foam was as dense as a hill.

Just one look at it makes one drool.

Orion began to take it, then excitedly asked, "And that one?"

"We didn't buy any clams today, so we can't make steamed clams with butter and wine. We'll try something else." She said as she brought over two plates of side dishes: cucumber and crab sticks.

Justin looked at the bubbling glass, then at the refreshing cucumber crab sticks, and swallowed.

The two men clinked their glasses, tilted their heads back and drank a glass of beer.

"Cool!"

He then picked up some crisp cucumbers and tender crab sticks, which were chopped with small pieces of garlic and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. They slid smoothly and refreshingly into his stomach.

“It’s so delicious!”

Justin quickly finished a small dish of food and wine, and suddenly felt great anticipation for this small restaurant.

He looked up at the blackboard, hesitated for a moment between the fried chicken and the sausage stew with mustard potatoes, and then returned his eyes to the daily set menu.

Orion took the lead and said, "Boss, give me the daily set meal."

Ye Wan in the kitchen responded loudly.

He said to Justin, "The daily set meal is large and cost-effective, and it's different every day. I recommend it."

Justin scratched his head. "Then I'll have the daily set menu too."

Fresh chicken thighs were marinated with mirin and pepper for a whole morning, then strung together with green onions and roasted in the oven. Ye Wan also brushed the chicken skin with a layer of honey grapefruit sauce, so that the chicken would not only be tender but also have a crispy layer of sugar crust when roasted.

The small restaurant currently does not have a high-temperature charcoal stove, so Ye Wan always bakes the chicken in the oven and then directly uses a blowtorch. This way, the chicken skin will tighten in the high temperature, and then the oil will roast it to a crispy texture, perfectly simulating the flavor of charcoal grilling.

The staple food was rice with shiitake mushrooms and asparagus. In order to make it have a smooth flavor, Ye Wan also added a small spoonful of lard. The rice cooked in the iron pot was smooth and oily, and the shiitake mushrooms were fried to release juice, and all the fresh and fragrant essence was stewed into the rice. Finally, sprinkle some black pepper on it.

So today's set meal is shiitake mushroom and asparagus rice, grilled chicken skewers and seaweed egg drop soup.

In fact, it is also good with miso soup, but there is no condiment stall selling miso in Cinderella Plaza, so Ye Wan decided to go to the Royal City Center next time.

The set meal was served quickly. Justin curiously picked up a skewer of grilled chicken. The chicken skin was crispy and broke open with a "crack", revealing juicy chicken meat. The meat was tender and chewy, and the sweet caramelized green onions effectively reduced the greasiness of the chicken skin.

"Delicious!" He scooped another spoonful of rice. The asparagus was sweet and the mushrooms were fresh. He could taste the mellow aroma of lard and the softness of the rice.

"But..." Orion offered a suggestion: "There are too few dishes on the menu, only three or four. Guests will feel that there are too few choices."

"I know that too." Ye Wan sighed softly.

She is the only one busy here. Pancake is a smart and sensitive guinea pig, but he can only help to watch the fire. She can't recruit anyone, and she is in debt and has no money to hire anyone.

Orion gave her a practical suggestion: "You can go to the main city's recruitment office and post a job posting. Occasionally, some adventurers will stop by for a short period of time and be willing to help out in exchange for free housing or something."

There is an empty room on the second floor of Ye Wan's house, a small attic on the third floor, and a warehouse in the back yard. However, the yard is overgrown with weeds, some of which are taller than her, so she has not had time to clean it.

Ye Wan felt that what Orion said made sense. She carefully inquired about the address of the recruitment office, and then gave Orion and Justin a bowl of free orange jelly as a thank you.

After closing the shop at night, Ye Wan cleaned up the dishes, rubbed his shoulders and returned to his bedroom.

Muffin was chewing a carrot, his pink nose twitching moistly. When he saw her return to the room, he jumped onto her shoulder.

After Ye Wan finished washing up, he sat at the table and combed his hair. Then he asked Songbing for his opinion: "They are closed tomorrow morning. How about we go to the recruitment office in the main city?"

"Squeak!" Pancake smiled happily with his eyes curved.

The next morning, Ye Wan hung a sign at the door of the restaurant saying "Owner is temporarily out" and left with the pancakes.

This world is very friendly to small animals. They can board trains and other things. They just need to be wrapped in bags to prevent them from shedding hair or disturbing other passengers.

Pancake cooperated and crawled into Ye Wan's woven bag, leaving only its little head exposed. She stared at its head for a while. This little head really looked like a glutinous rice dumpling.

Ye Wan couldn't help laughing out loud. Pancake puffed up his mouth angrily, then turned his head out of the bag with difficulty, leaving only the back of his head facing her. No matter how she apologized, he refused to pay any attention to her.

Unexpectedly, the train could not go directly to the recruitment station in the main city, so she had to take another public carriage, which was not expensive, only 5 copper coins.

There were four tall and strong draft horses in front of the public carriage, and the carriage was large and enclosed, which could accommodate fifty people.

Ye Wan paid the money and got on the bus with the muffin. There were wooden benches on both sides of the cabin. There were not many people on the bus today. There were only a few elderly people sitting there, all of whom were secretly looking at Ye Wan, looking at her black hair and eyes, and the strange jeans and sneakers.

Ye Wan had no choice but to walk quickly to the back and sit down awkwardly. She also looked at her wrinkled jeans and then sighed.

Four horses were galloping on the road. Ye Wan looked out the window and saw that the carriage had arrived at a busy shopping street. There were shops lined up on both sides, and there were dwarfs wearing huge hats carrying goods.

A tall housewife wearing a burlap apron was shouting out her business while holding a large baking tray of rye bread, and the fortune-telling stall was spraying purple spray from time to time.

Ye Wan was very happy to see this and nodded Pancake's head gently: "Look, Pancake, it's amazing."

Pancake forgot his previous unpleasantness and stretched his neck to look out excitedly: "Squeak!"

Soon the public carriage stopped at the job recruitment station. Ye Wan got off with a pancake in his arms. What came into view was a magnificent Baroque house. The exterior walls were all made of white marble with fine shimmer, sparkling in the sun. It was majestic and magnificent.

Everyone coming in and out was dressed formally. A tall lady came out under the guidance of the butler. She was wearing a Kevlar skirt that was full of lace, decorated with shell ornaments and sparkling jewels. She looked noble and elegant.

Ye Wan suddenly felt a little timid, and she asked Songbing worriedly: "Will we really not be kicked out?" Songbing also looked at her worriedly.

Suddenly, a harsh voice came from behind: "Excuse me, please move aside."

The man was tall, with wheat-colored hair that looked like a pile of weeds. He wore a black eye patch over one eye, and a terrifying scar snaked from his forehead through the patch to the corner of his mouth. His clothes were torn in several holes, and he ignored the glances of those around him as he quickly opened the door and entered the main city recruitment office.

Ye Wan felt relieved. If the homeless man could get in, then she should be able to get in too.

She walked past a patrolling guard, around a row of sturdy Roman columns, and then opened the gate.

The hall is even more magnificent, with gilded reliefs painted on the walls and a huge crystal chandelier on the ceiling. Countless light spots dance on the tiles under the refraction of sunlight.

Ye Wan noticed that there were many oil paintings hanging on the wall, all of which were still. Only the painting behind a European-style sofa showed a man with curly hair snoring with his head down. The administrator saw him and quickly went over to wake him up.

The curly-haired man was helpless at being woken up. He picked up another book and stood there motionless.

Seeing Ye Wan staring at him, he secretly winked at her.

Ye Wan smiled, she thought of Barbara who was traveling.

The administrator turned around and saw her, then came over to apologize. "Excuse me, ma'am. According to regulations, the figures in the paintings cannot be moved during working hours... Good God, there are always unexpected things, right?"

He explained to Ye Wan, and then asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ye Wan quickly said, "Yes, I heard from a friend that you can post a job announcement here. I opened a restaurant and I'm short of people..."

The administrator took her to a huge background wall and handed her sticky notes, a pen and thumbtacks: "Just write down your requirements here. I hope you can find an employee that suits your needs." After that, he left.

Ye Wan found a European-style sofa in the corner and sat down, then carefully wrote a recruitment notice and posted it in a conspicuous place. She was attracted by the notices posted by others.

They were all strange tasks, such as going to the land of the bell tree to find wedding turkeys and wild boars wearing ornaments; digging up three sparkling moon flowers in the moonlight forest. These seemed quite ordinary, but there were some that made Ye Wan feel like he had entered an infinite flow of horror copies.

For example, going to the place where the dead are resurrected to uncover the secret of their infinite resurrection, and going to the volcanic dungeon to deliver 100 volcanic pizzas to the city lord. These tasks sound very dangerous, but the rewards are very high.

Oh my god, Pancake, look at this! "Ye Wan said excitedly, "As long as you catch a dragon lizard in Love Canyon, you can get a bounty of 1,000 silver coins. Let's go and try it! This way we can pay off our debt immediately."

Ye Wan had seen a dragon lizard when she was climbing a mountain. It was not even as thick as her finger. If she looked carefully, she might be able to find it.

Muffin nodded frantically over her shoulder.

"I advise you not to, little girl." A cold, metallic voice sounded from behind. "You and your little mouse will be torn to pieces by the dragon lizard."