Universe Infinite Canteen

When Ma Lu saw Angie again, she was still dressed like a mummy: hat, sunglasses, mask, and a trench coat.

The difference this time was the addition of a cane in her hand.

Hopping in on one foot from outside the door, she looked around the room, and upon spotting Ma Lu, headed straight for him like a missile, all the while exclaiming as she hopped, "How on earth did you do it?!"

"Do what exactly?" Ma Lu asked without batting an eye, picking up his thermos and quietly edging closer to the cash register where the Beaver Copper Statue stood.

"After eating your salted pork with eggplant dish, I actually could ride a horse!" Angie said, gripping Ma Lu's clothing excitedly, "Even though I can't anymore."

Ma Lu neither confirmed nor denied, instead asking, "What happened to your leg?"

"Fell off the horse while riding, broke my bone."

"It's just a dish, you're overthinking it."

Angie, with contempt, said, "I didn't ask you to compensate for my medical and lost wages expenses, hmm... but I did lose quite a bit of money because of this injury. You didn't tell me beforehand that this ability had a time limit, so you should bear some responsibility, right?"

"I was going to tell you, but you had a dark expression on your face after hearing what I said. And,"

Ma Lu paused, "I thought you'd come back to see me immediately after you realized it was effective."

Taken aback, Angie's pretty face blushed. Indeed, on that very day she had discovered a great improvement in her riding skills, but soon attributed it to her own talent and was quite proud of herself for several days.

It was her wish to show off to her peers that led to her horse tripping, and ultimately, to her current predicament of having to hop around.

Upon reflecting, Angie realized she'd been too careless. Had she noticed a different feeling while riding that morning and been more cautious, maybe taking a slow lap first, she wouldn't have suffered the misfortune of falling from her horse. To add insult to injury, it seemed paparazzi had captured the moment, too.

But a woman, of course, can never admit she's wrong.

Angie only said, "I wanted to get in touch with you, but I didn't have your phone number. Afterward, I was busy with appearances everywhere. If I hadn't accidentally broken my leg, I'd already be in Guangzhou by now."

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone, "But this is good, let's add each other on WeChat now."

"WeChat... there's really no need for that."

"Why not?" Angie had already snatched Ma Lu's phone, waved it in front of his face to unlock it.

Then she opened WeChat, deftly scanned her own QR code, and handed the phone back to him.

"This way, when I want to eat the salted pork with eggplant dish, I can just contact you directly to order. If I'm not in City B, I can have someone air-freight it to me."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"Money is not a problem," Angie said.

"Money is indeed not the problem, the problem is that Universe Infinite Canteen's dishes are time-limited, and the salted pork with eggplant will be taken off the menu after this week."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"500,000." Angie named a figure.

"......"

Ma Lu was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll reserve some of the ingredients for you, but they can't last too long. You'd better eat them within a month."

Angie shook her leg, which was in a brace, "I won't be able to take this off for a month."

"Then there's nothing I can do."

"Can't you stock up on more ingredients?"

"Clearly not."

Disappointed, Angie wasn't put off by her recent fall from the horse but hadn't lost her interest in riding either.

She still remembered that exhilarating feeling of man and horse becoming one on the set not long ago, especially the expressions of shock and envy on the faces around her, which greatly satisfied her vanity.

She had planned to experience it again once her leg healed, to redeem herself in front of her peers and to verify whether the salty pork with eggplant casserole was indeed so miraculous.

However, Ma Lu told her that the dish would be gone in a month. Wouldn't that mean she would completely miss out?

Seeing Angie standing there motionless for quite some time, Ma Lu said, "If you don't have anything else, I'll go back to attending to the customers..."

"Don't go," Angie said dissatisfiedly. "Do you know how many people go to great lengths just to exchange a few words with me? You should cherish this opportunity."

"Miss, I'm not a freeloader; I need to work..."

"Fifty thousand," Angie pushed her sunglasses up, launching another gold attack, "I'm buying your time. That's enough for your daily revenue, right?"

"Not enough."

"What?" Angie looked surprised and glanced around again. "Your little restaurant makes that high a daily turnover?"

"Mhm, my daily turnover is always over 100,000, and on good days, it can reach 150,000."

Upon hearing this, Angie looked at Ma Lu with new respect, sizing him up again, "Is running a restaurant so profitable?"

"Not as profitable as being an idol."

"But being an idol doesn't feel as fun as running a restaurant. Plus, it's ruined my normal life. I have to wrap myself up tightly wherever I go, just like a vampire."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

"How is it not? Some extreme fans are super crazy," Angie said, before suddenly remembering this guy didn't care about the entertainment industry and so didn't continue on this topic.

"How can I taste the salty pork with eggplant casserole?"

"It depends on luck. Have your money ready, if I can collect the ingredients, I'll contact you."

Read latest stories on empire

The five-star ingredients were of the sort that are quite rare but not unusually so; there would still be a certain chance to encounter them later on. Of course, this also depended on how long Ma Lu would stay in that dimension.

Angie was very curious about Universe Infinite Canteen and subsequently asked Ma Lu many questions, including why the dishes here were so delicious, who exactly Old Wang was, and why the ingredients were hard to come by...

Unsurprisingly, she got no answers.

But Angie was not yet disheartened and proposed to become an investor in the restaurant, willing to invest 60 million in buying 51% of the restaurant's shares.

Ma Lu also refused.

Although 60 million was not a small figure, with that money on hand he could have financial freedom immediately, but Ma Lu wasn't done enjoying the thrill of being Boss Ma; he didn't want to become an employee again.

Besides, Angie seemed the type of boss who understood nothing and liked to meddle. Ma Lu didn't want to find himself a living ancestor.

However, there was one good thing about this woman—she was indeed quite generous with her money.

Upon hearing that the restaurant also had a mysterious limited-time special drink, she waved her hand generously again, activating her cash ability, and transferred 10,000 yuan.

So Ma Lu went to the fridge and got her a glass of freshly brewed Cat Pee Beer.

Angie found a secluded corner outside the door, pulled down her mask a bit, and drank that bottle of golden liquid like a thief.

Then she came back and asked Ma Lu to pack five bottles, saying she wanted to take them back as gifts.

She also suggested a visit to the kitchen, but this time her cash ability failed to activate.

With all sorts of exotic ingredients and the Valkyrie People in the back kitchen, Ma Lu definitely couldn't let her in.

It wasn't until Angie's driver and assistant arrived, recapturing her after she had escaped from the hospital, that Ma Lu's ears finally had peace again.