"In that case, we can sell it, but we can't just sell it like this. Ten times the price is obviously too low. Half a jin can only sell for about ten thousand copper coins. If we change it to an auction, the price will rise sharply, and we might be able to sell it for an astronomical price." Mai Ge thought to himself, and then said to the system, "System, give me ten jin of tea leaves first. I will buy them from you in advance at five times the price, which means we will split the ten times price 50/50. Just put the goods in the wardrobe on the second floor."
"Ding! 50,000 copper coins deducted successfully!"
"Ding! Ten jin of tea leaves delivered to the second floor wardrobe! Please inspect!"
The system's cheerful voice rang out without the slightest hesitation.
"Very good." Mai Ge's lips curled slightly, then he looked at Bluer and shook his head, saying, "The restaurant has a rule: we only sell finished food. If you want to buy ingredients, you can only do so through regular auctions. Perhaps there will be an auction for tea leaves in the future, guests can keep an eye out for it."
"Auction?" Not only Bluer, but the other guests in the restaurant also showed interest. The restaurant's ingredients aroused their curiosity.
If the ingredients are auctioned off, it's unclear what the price will be, or whether anyone will buy them. After all, for most people, buying ingredients at a price higher than the food itself is less appealing than eating the food already prepared by Boss Mai at Restaurant Mai Mi. It's delicious and saves time, since no one can learn Boss Mai's cooking methods. Even if they get the same ingredients, they certainly can't make the same delicious food.
"As expected, no merchant is honest." Bluer quickly figured out the connection. If it were an auction, given the quality of this tea leaf, if tea lovers knew about it, the auction price would definitely be ten times higher than it is now. This boss was obviously planning to use the auction to make a fortune.
"Host, you didn't follow the rules! If it were an auction, the price would definitely be more than five times higher. This is fraud!" the system's angry voice rang out.
"Didn't I already give you half of that ten times price? System, a system should know how to be content. That's how you find happiness in life. If you're too concerned about gains and losses, you'll lose the true meaning of life." Mai Ge thought to himself. Anyway, he already had the tea leaves. He had the initiative in deciding when the auction would take place. Once more people paid attention to this top quality tea leaf, he could release a limited quantity for auction, which would be a good way to make money.
"Miss, your ice cream is about to melt if you don't eat it soon." Mai Ge reminded Bluer, then turned and headed towards the kitchen.
Bluer paused, watching a drop of green ice cream slowly slide down, dangling from the edge of the snowball before it fell. Forgetting all ladylike manners, he quickly bent down and turned his neck to catch the drop.
A refreshing, sweet flavor melted in his mouth. The taste of green tea was irresistible, crisp and refreshing without any bitterness. Although he felt a little regretful, but he had to admit that this matcha ice cream was absolutely delicious!
"At the auction, no matter how high the price, I'm determined to get this tea leaf!" Bluer thought firmly to himself, taking a big lick of the ice cream before quickly becoming completely absorbed in it.
"It seems Miss Cheryl really likes that tea leaves. Next time Boss Mai auctions tea leaves, I'll secretly bid for a portion and give it to her. She'll be so happy, won't she?" Constantine thought to himself as he watched Bluer happily eating ice cream. He propped his chin up with one hand and grinned foolishly as he watched Bluer eat, feeling happier than if he was eating himself.
"Sister Cheryl, you have to be careful of that man over there. I think he has dangerous intentions towards you." Amy finished her blueberry ice cream and leaned closer to whisper to Bluer.
Bluer glanced at Constantine, who was staring at him with a lecherous grin, and nodded in agreement with Amy's words, saying, "It's alright, big sister is super awesome."
"Your Yang Zhou Fried Rice." Yabemia gently placed Bluer's second serving of Yang Zhou Fried Rice in front of him.
"Thank you." Bluer nodded, looking at the half-eaten ice cream in his hand, then at the steaming Yang Zhou Fried Rice on the table. He hadn't eaten like this in many years. This restaurant seemed to have a strange magic, making even someone as self-disciplined as him succumb to it, losing his dreams. This feeling was just too frustrating.
"But...it's so delicious! Forget about controlling my food intake for now! I'll finish eating first!" Bluer put all his inner struggles to the back of his mind and continued to eat the delicious food in front of him.
"Will the Third Young Master be able to get to know Miss Sally? But in his current state, it's really not suitable for him to get to know her, otherwise, I don't know how to smooth things over later." In the carriage outside the restaurant, Engelwey thought with some hesitation.
"Burp—"
Half an hour later, Bluer emerged from the restaurant, burping contentedly. He patted his stomach, glanced back at the restaurant's sign, and said resolutely, "Next time, I'll definitely resist eating so much!"
"Sister Cheryl, come again next time! There's so much delicious food waiting for you at the restaurant." Amy's voice came from inside.
"Don't even think about tempting me, I will never fall for it." Bluer said calmly, but couldn't help swallowing as he turned away. That little one was just too unfair, as long as she ate a little something in front of him, his appetite would increase several levels. She was practically a complete food shill.
"Third Young Master, what progress did you make with Miss Sally during this trip to the restaurant?" Engelwey asked expectantly as he watched Bluer lift the curtain and climb into the carriage.
"She's quite pretty, though not as pretty as me, but she hasn't grown up ugly." Bluer nodded, then fell silent.
"And then?" Engelwey waited a while, then couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing more." Bluer said, shrugging.
"That's it? So you went in for almost an hour just to make sure she's still pretty and hasn't grown up ugly?" Engelwey looked at Bluer with a ridiculous expression, feeling that his intelligence had been insulted.
"Yes, isn't that crucial? Think about it, if she'd gotten ugly, wouldn't she be incredibly insecure when she saw my real appearance? She'd like me, but wouldn't dare approach me, which would significantly increase the difficulty of the mission." Bluer nodded matter of factly.
"I think you only remembered eating." Engelwey rolled his eyes.
"Huh? How did you know?" Bluer looked at Engelwey with surprise, then couldn't help but exclaim, "The food at their restaurant is unexpectedly delicious! Especially the rainbow fried rice and that dessert called ice cream, they're the best things I've ever eaten in my life!"
"Let's go back." Engelwey said dejectedly to the coachman outside, suddenly realizing that placing his hopes on this unreliable third young master was an extremely foolish decision.
...
"System, let's talk about how much you'll charge for the music the restaurant will play." After the guests left, Mai Ge pulled up a chair, sat down, a cup of tea beside him, and casually crossed his legs.