Chapter 021 Recruitment and Expansion
"I'm fine," Russell whispered. He felt as if ants were biting his back, making him feel anxious. "How about you?"
"I, I'm fine too." Sophia lowered her head helplessly.
Hearing this, Mario looked at Russell's tired and diseased legs in confusion, then looked at Sophia's thin and bruised face, and fell into deep thought.
So this is pretty good?
Seeing how awkward the two were, he quickly went to the kitchen and got a bowl of ice jelly, some potato chips, potato tarts, and mashed potatoes, placing them between them. "Come on, have a try."
Russell actually wanted to say don't spend the money, but after taking a look at Sophia, he inexplicably felt a sense of responsibility - he needed to liven up the atmosphere.
He bravely asked, "Is this ice jelly? It's crystal clear, and it looks nice."
"Yes," Mario urged, "try it."
"It's expensive, isn't it?" Russell asked anxiously. "I'll pay you back when I make some money. I... I'm not very hungry."
After saying that, he pushed the ice powder in front of Sophia.
Sophia was like a frightened rabbit, saying in panic that she didn't deserve it, and pushed it back. The ice jelly seemed like a hot gold bar, making the two of them politely give in.
Russell: “…”
Well, the situation seems to be getting more awkward.
"This is free, don't give it up." Mario stopped the farce, "Because I'm Lin Muqiu's employee, this is the work meal she gave me."
"So that's how it is." Russell nodded, feeling a little envious.
It is really a happy thing to be able to follow Lin Muqiu, and I can also get working meals, which is really lucky.
Because... this work lunch looks so delicious.
He secretly glanced at the ice powder, and his Adam's apple moved slightly.
Finally unable to resist the temptation, he carefully scooped a spoonful. At that moment, surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he blushed and invited Sophia, "You eat too."
Sophia refused repeatedly, panicking, "I... I'm a slave..."
Russell scooped a spoonful and handed it to her. She looked at the spoon in front of her and trembled her lips. She was afraid that she would dirty the spoon, but she was more afraid of hurting his feelings, so she tasted it very carefully.
Feeling the cool, smooth and tender ice jelly surrounding her mouth, she felt very happy for the first time, and even her fingers trembled a little.
For the first time, she couldn't tell whether she was happy because she was eating or happy because she met him.
A touch of tenderness filled her lips and teeth and melted into her heart.
She just felt that this was the most delicious jelly she had ever eaten in the world. Even if she was beheaded tomorrow, she would not feel any pain.
She couldn't help but shed tears.
"What's wrong?" Russell was at a loss. "Did I scare you?"
"No...it's just so delicious."
Sophia replied hoarsely.
She had no idea where Russell and her destiny would eventually lead, but the happiness that this small portion of ice jelly brought her was enough to make her unforgettable for the rest of her life.
At this moment, Russell was also thinking about something.
Bob's shop was taken away. Did she have no place to live? In fact, he wanted to tell her that he had an extra room to take her in, but he was afraid that gossip would harm her.
It's really difficult.
*
With the reports from everyone, Bob and his gang were convicted within a day. Because Kedero had been secretly collecting evidence when Lin Muqiu was carrying out the Mission Impossible plan, he was able to verify the list of victims very quickly, which shocked the whole town.
In the end, each victim received reasonable compensation, mostly sixty or seventy silver coins, and the confiscated shop from Bob and his friends was donated to them.
Everyone was overjoyed and sincerely thanked Lin Muqiu and the mayor. Having suffered the pain of being framed before, they wouldn't aid and abet the evil like Bob did. This would likely improve the town's morale.
However, the first thing they did after receiving compensation was to immediately run to Lin Muqiu's store to eat and drink something good, as if this was the real compensation.
Bob Andrew and the killer will be executed tomorrow, while the others whose crimes are not so serious will be forced to work as a substitute for punishment and will be released only after mining for 1247 years.
But even in the magical world, not even the strongest person can live that long.
As for Lin Muqiu, he lived up to everyone's expectations and was rewarded, inheriting Bob's shop.
There is nothing controversial, only one point is more difficult to resolve.
"Sophia was indeed forced into a desperate situation, and she didn't participate in any murder or robbery, but..." Kedero sighed, feeling a little embarrassed.
"If we don't punish her, people will complain, right?" Lin Muqiu understood and raised an eyebrow. "After all, she's been helping Bob cook, so she probably knows everything about Bob."
Kede Luo nodded and said, "I wanted the whipper to beat her that day just to use a trick of inflicting pain on her in front of everyone so that they wouldn't mind."
Lin Muqiu suddenly understood, "I see. Mayor, it's me who doesn't understand. I'm sorry."
Kedero waved his hands, unconcerned. "It's okay, you're doing the right thing. Besides, even if you hadn't spoken up that day, that kid named Russell would have stopped you. Alas, it's a pity for that kid. I sent someone to investigate. He's young and loyal, a really good man. Although his incident didn't happen in our town, we should still give him some compensation. His incident is easy to resolve, but Sophia's is really difficult to deal with."
After thinking for a moment, Lin Muqiu smiled and said, "I have a solution."
"Hmm? Go ahead."
"Why not let Sophia take care of Russell's daily life? Russell is a victim, and he deserves care. Looking after him until his leg injury heals is a punishment that's both big and small, but it should at least silence the gossip. Besides, since Russell, the biggest victim, has agreed, the others will surely be too embarrassed to say anything more."
"Your idea is quite unique." Kedero was a little surprised. "But, is Russell willing?"
Lin Muqiu showed an expression that said "you don't understand".
Kede Luo looked at the other person's strange expression and reacted for a long time before he vaguely understood something, "Ah...Okay then."
Only after Lin Muqiu left did he turn his attention back to village affairs.
[Territory: Level 1 village (level 3 can be upgraded to town)
Territory Public Resources: 39,469,699 Copper Coins (Upgrade Condition: 3,000 Gold Coins)
Territory population: 1642 (upgrade condition 2500)]
He sighed. It was a shame that the town had been stuck in the number of residents for many years, which restricted its upgrading.
After all, if the town is upgraded, the town’s area will be larger, and there will be more controllable areas. More importantly, the walls and terrain will be automatically upgraded, which is crucial for resisting summer tsunamis and high tides.
Otherwise, when a natural disaster strikes, the city will suffer from severe water seepage and the low-lying areas will be flooded.
But for some reason...
A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.
It seems that the population of settled people has increased recently?
At first he thought it was because of Lin Muqiu, after all, she was an ice mage.
But after taking a closer look at the number of immigrants, he found that most of them were civilians from lower-class towns. To be honest, he really didn't think that civilians would come for the mage - after all, ice mages were too expensive.
He speculated again, wondering if it was related to Lin Muqiu's shop. But after thinking carefully, it still didn't seem right: even if the food was delicious, he wouldn't abandon his status as a resident of another town just because of this, right?
He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought. He couldn't help but feel a headache and even wanted to eat potato chips to relieve the stress.
But there was only one thing he was sure of, he believed that this good thing was inseparable from the appearance of Lin Muqiu.
*
Lin Muqiu was extremely excited. After all, at such a young age, he was going to inherit another shop.
Tomorrow... just tomorrow, I will get the key to the house.
Tomorrow, she will definitely count the money carefully.
She had no other hobbies in her life except saving money, counting money, and making more money.
Of course, the more real estate, the better.
She grinned and returned to the store happily. As soon as she entered the door, she went straight to the kitchen to tinker with it. Her head was full of new products, new products, making money, making money!
The moment she brought the new product to the lobby, she noticed that Russell and the others were still there, deep in thought. She couldn't help but smile softly and asked, "Is it really that delicious?"
A voice came from the side above Russell's head. He was startled and looked up to see a familiar face.
He was delighted, it turned out to be Lin Muqiu!
Lin Muqiu brought over a few glasses of juice with a smile, "Won't you choke on one serving of ice jelly for three people? Do you want to try the new stuff? It's also resistant to natural disasters."
There were watermelon juice, apple juice, strawberry juice, and pear juice. Each one had plump fruit pulp at the bottom, with one or two pieces of ice added on top. It looked refreshing and delicious, perfect for summer.
As soon as the dishes came out, many people around were almost glued to them, and they couldn't wait to try them on the spot.
As a resident of a small town, it is such a blessing to enjoy the summer evening breeze and eat snacks every day.
The only concern is the price.
Everyone looked down at their wallets, their faces filled with pain.
They used to buy Lin Muqiu's food to save money, but since when, they've found themselves spending more and more, even eating it as a snack! Especially eating potato chips while watching a movie made by Lin Muqiu is a great way to kill time!
I feel hungry if I don’t eat for a day!
What’s even more terrifying is that they are still looking forward to it, and they just hope that there will be as many dishes as possible!
Seeing everyone's hungry expressions, Lin Muqiu understood what he meant and immediately explained the question everyone wanted to ask the most: "It's very cheap, 10 copper coins per cup, and only townspeople can buy it."
Then she said to Russell, "But I don't want your money this time."
Mario was a little excited, "Manager, you are so nice!"
"Oh, that's not the case," Lin Muqiu said calmly, "The mayor invited you to drink."
Mario: “…”
As soon as the new dish came out and they heard that it was only available to the townspeople, everyone immediately became interested and clamored for a drink.
No one even asked how effective this drink was in fighting the heat compared to ice jelly. Everyone just had one consensus: Lin Muqiu's product was definitely worth it!
The new product was immediately snatched up, and it seemed as if the sale would begin in the next second.
When Lin Muqiu saw this scene, a smile appeared on his lips.
Now that you have almost absorbed all the customers from your own town, it is time to offer more dishes and expand the map to attract customers from the neighboring town.
However, it would be better if all the food could be made with special effects, but unfortunately... Alas, she hasn't figured out the special cooking skills yet, let alone teaching the store staff.
Before Mei Meng finished her work, a nervous voice came from the kitchen:
"Master, I...I made a strange dish."
Yun Yi blushed and ran out with the potato tower in her hand.
Lin Muqiu was stunned. He took it and tasted it. Then a prompt sounded:
【Premium Potato Tower: Blue (Grade)
Effect: Temporary constitution +4, lasting for five hours. Long-term use can enhance physical fitness and immunity, and has a healing effect (created by Yun Yi's personal cooking skills)
Description: This is a special potato tower with good color, aroma and taste.
As soon as it entered his mouth, Lin Muqiu's pupils couldn't help but tremble.
Wow, the food this person made actually skipped the green level and went straight to the blue level, and even has special skills?!
Had she exploited him too much? Making him work day and night, to the point where his cooking skills had unknowingly surpassed hers?!
She felt as if she were in a dream and glanced at him, her eyes filled with guilt.
Yun Yi:?
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