Chapter 2

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lu Feng

The electronic voice echoing in his mind sounded to Lu Feng like the most beautiful sound in the world.

"System?!"

The sudden surprise made Lu Feng blurt it out involuntarily.

【I am here.】

The system's electronic voice rang out in his mind once again.

"Mr. Lu, what did you just say?"

A puzzled male voice came from the other end of the phone.

Only then did Lu Feng remember he was still on a call, and that Jiang Boss on the other end was still waiting for his reply.

"Nothing, sorry about that, Jiang Boss. I'm not transferring the restaurant anymore."

Lu Feng said to Jiang Boss on the phone without the slightest hesitation.

"What do you mean? Lu Boss, nobody wants this shop anyway, keeping it is useless to you. If it really won't work, I'll add a bit more money."

Jiang Boss's voice on the other end sounded somewhat dissatisfied in tone.

However, he didn't think Lu Feng really didn't want to transfer it.

Before he decided to rent this shop, he had looked into it; the rental listing had been posted for a long time, and no one had rented it all along.

Because apart from the location having a slight advantage, the other conditions of this shop could be described as quite ordinary.

From the phone call, he could also tell Lu Feng wasn't very old.

His own age was right there; fooling a young junior wasn't that a piece of cake?

At that time, he could just pick a few faults and maybe press the price down a bit.

The cake shop he took over last month, the previous owner was also a young person.

The owner's family member was hospitalized from a car accident, urgently needing money, so they transferred it at a low price.

The renovation cost over five hundred thousand, but in the end he only used eighty thousand to take it over.

The re-renovation didn't cost much either; in just a few months he earned a fortune.

"No need, Jiang Boss. I'm not asking you to add money either; I want to run this shop myself."

Lu Feng frowned slightly.

No matter how you put it, that was something his parents left for him.

What do you mean "nobody wants it anyway"?

"Lu Boss, you..."

Before Jiang Boss on the other end could finish speaking, Lu Feng directly hung up the phone.

He threw the mobile phone to one side.

Recalling the system voice in his mind just now, Lu Feng still found it somewhat hard to believe.

He wasn't a transmigrator.

How could he possess a system?

Lu Feng hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised his right hand and swung it toward his own face.

Slap!

Because he was afraid of pain, Lu Feng didn't actually use lethal force on himself.

Hiss...

The distinct pain from his face made him involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air.

It's not a dream!

"System, are you there?"

Lu Feng forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart and shouted into the air.

【I am here.】

"What's inside the Newbie Gift Pack?"

【Please proceed to the restaurant under your name, Host, and sign in to receive the Newbie Gift Pack.】

"I didn't ask how to claim it; I'm asking what is inside the Newbie Gift Pack?"

【Please proceed to the restaurant under your name, Host, and sign in to receive the Newbie Gift Pack.】

Right.

This system doesn't look very intelligent; it's not even as good as some AIs online.

Might as well go take a look at the shop.

Lu Feng stood up quickly, locked the door behind him, and hurried downstairs.

Originally he could just take the bus there.

To get the system's Newbie Gift Pack sooner, Lu Feng gritted his teeth, bore the cost, and hailed a taxi.

Heading straight for Garden Road No. 39.

……

After getting out of the taxi, Lu Feng stood before the shop entrance, gazing up at the somewhat dilapidated signboard above.

Compared to those few spacious fan dian around, this little xiao dian looked rather inconspicuous.

Lu Feng let out a faint sigh, his heart a jumble of mixed feelings for a moment.

After his parents passed away, he hadn't come this way in several years.

Garden Road Pedestrian Street hadn't changed much from how it looked a few years ago.

That pair of already faded couplets at the store entrance was still there.

It was the Spring Festival of the year his parents passed away that Lu Feng had personally pasted them up all by himself.

Back when Lu Feng was in university, he would still help out in the shop.

However, his cooking skill was truly nothing to show.

He only did things like scrubbing plates, cleaning up sanitation, and such miscellaneous work.

At this moment, his ears still seemed to hear his parents' sighs from back then because business was bad.

Now his parents were already gone, leaving only this empty, hollow shop.

Lu Feng's nose felt a faint sourness.

He adjusted his mood.

Lu Feng fished out that slightly rusted key from his pocket.

Hualala!

"Cough cough cough..."

The rolling shutter door had just opened when a cloud of dust mixed with a moldy smell wafted out, choking Lu Feng into coughing repeatedly.

The shop's layout was still the same as before, only everywhere were thick cobwebs and dust.

The dilapidated tables, chairs, and benches in the hall were piled together in a mess.

There was also a table toppled to one side, two of its four legs broken.

That was after his parents passed away, he was alone in the shop drowning his sorrows in alcohol, and smashed it broken after getting drunk.

Lu Feng came to the kitchen, the same chaotic mess.

Bowls and dishes were piled haphazardly on the shelves, covered in dust.

Lu Feng twisted the faucet on the sink.

The faucet went kaka a few times after opening, the water flow slowly growing from small to large.

The water flowing out was mixed with yellow iron rust; after a while it slowly turned clear.

"Too messy, better clean up a bit first."

Looking at the shoe prints he had stepped out on the floor, Lu Feng muttered to himself.

Actually, hiring a cleaner to clean would be more suitable.

But Lu Feng had just lost his job; hiring a cleaner would probably cost quite a bit of money, and he was stingy about it.

The money spent on the taxi just now still made his heart ache.

Relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself; do it yourself and you'll have food and clothing.

Most important is saving money.

Three dark blue aprons hung at the kitchen doorway; Lu Feng casually grabbed one.

Clutching the apron, he shook it hard a few times, seeing it was a bit cleaner.

Putting on the apron, Lu Feng picked a not-too-dirty large basin, gave it a quick rinse.

Filled it with a full basin of water, grabbed a towel, and started cleaning.

On the spacious snack street, the sound of clattering rang out from this long-silent small restaurant.

Pedestrians occasionally passing by the entrance, hearing the movement from inside.

Couldn't help but glance a few times at this somewhat dilapidated restaurant.

Before he knew it, three hours had already passed.

Lu Feng was drenched in sweat, panting heavily as he threw down the blackened towel in his hand, his whole body covered in dust.

He randomly pulled a chair in the hall and sat down exhausted.

Before Lu Feng could even sit down and catch his breath, the chair under his butt went kacha with a sound.

"Fuck!"

The next second, Lu Feng landed squarely on the ground.

Lu Feng grimaced as he climbed up from the ground, kicking the already fallen-apart chair far away.

Enduring the stabbing pain in his butt, Lu Feng reached out and pushed the few chairs next to him.

The chairs made ji zhi ji zhi sounds.

"Looks like the tables, chairs, and benches all need to be replaced."

Lu Feng shook his head, found a relatively stable chair, and carefully sat down.

Fortunately, no accident appeared this time.

The originally filthy and disordered small shop, after Lu Feng's round of tidying, looked quite a bit cleaner.

Looking at the fruits of his labor from three hours of busy work, Lu Feng's heart couldn't help but rise a small sense of achievement.

"Time to sign in and claim the newbie gift pack."

【Ding!】

【Sign-in successful, whether to open the newbie gift pack immediately?】

Lu Feng chose yes without any hesitation.

【Newbie gift pack claimed successfully.】

【Congratulations to Host for obtaining: one Shop Renovation Card, can freely upgrade and renovate current shop, making your shop brand new.】

【Congratulations to Host for obtaining: Max-level Xiaolongbao Technique, one set of Xiaolongbao Steamer Set.】

【Mission function activated; mission will be released after shop renovation is complete.】

As the system voice ended, Lu Feng felt a thread of coolness rise in his mind.

The methods and techniques for making xiaolongbao surged into his mind like a sudden enlightenment.

However, that was not what he cared about right now.

Lu Feng, who had been full of joy, was instead dumbfounded.

"System, are you playing with me?"

"I just finished cleaning and am exhausted half to death, and now you tell me the shop can be renovated for free?"