Chapter 64

Chapter 64

After the meal, Lu Huai had not yet bid farewell when Chef Wang and the construction team arrived one after another.

"Lord, please handle your matters first," Chef Wang signaled for him to wait aside.

His issue was about the restaurant and would likely take some time. Yun Wan quickly paid the day's wages to the construction team and was informed that they might not continue collecting resources for Shennong Star tomorrow.

"Are you leaving?" Yun Wan asked.

"Yes," they nodded, realizing they had been here for two or three weeks.

"Want to take some local specialties with you?" Yun Wan suggested.

"Can we?" Qiao Yue was pleasantly surprised. She felt bad about eating alone and had long wanted to buy something to bring back.

The construction team members had been a great help to Yun Wan. Thanks to their efforts, the resource collection tasks on Shennong Star were almost done, with just ten thousand spots remaining, which would soon be finished.

Correspondingly, Yun Wan’s plant variety had greatly expanded. On Shennong Star, they discovered various vegetables and fruits not yet seen in the interstellar market, even including watermelons.

As they got ready to leave, Yun Wan felt a little sad.

"Of course," Yun Wan gave the construction team special perks. Besides unlimited vegetable buys, she also opened up the purchase permissions for sour and spicy noodles and Spicy Dried Radish, giving each person two sweet potatoes as keepsakes.

The construction team was thrilled.

"Thank you, Lord."

Even the usually thrifty part-timer splurged on gifts, seizing this opportunity.

Many things were simply unavailable outside! They felt really lucky to get the chance to buy them here.

Unlike their initial hesitation and indifference, the construction team now felt fortunate to have taken on the Shennong Star assignment among so many others.

Although this planet was not prosperous and even somewhat harsh, it was uniquely beautiful, touching their barren hearts and making them realize that the world was more wonderful than they had imagined.

Or perhaps, no matter how the world was, this remote little star would always shine like a pearl.

They wished they could stay in this paradise forever, but life went on, and they had to bid farewell to this place.

Though they were leaving, it wasn’t sad, for they knew that one day, they would return here.

"Safe travels," Yun Wan waved at them with a smile.

Apart from the reluctance, the sudden drop in manpower also stressed Yun Wan out regarding the upcoming opening of the Shennong Star restaurant.

Chef Wang came for this reason.

"Lord, I’ve pretty much got the recipes down. We can get the dishes ready and open up."

Yun Wan nodded.

Thanks to the continuous efforts of the construction team, the vegetable fields had grown two to three times larger. The outer city planting area was up and running, and the vegetables planted earlier were ready for harvest.

"We’ll start preparing the dishes tomorrow and begin operations the day after. There should be plenty of time."

"Great!" Chef Wang wished he could start harvesting tonight, but the Lord was already busy, and he didn’t dare make such a demanding request.

"Since we're newly opened, there might not be many guests, but we still need people to greet guests at the landing point. Chef Wang, do you have anyone to recommend?"

Chef Wang was pondering over the candidates when Lu Huai, who hadn’t left yet, seized the opportunity. "Boss, we can help!"

"Oh, you guys are still here?" Yun Wan only then noticed the four muscular men squeezed in the corner of the safe house.

"Would that be too much for you?" Yun Wan asked.

He’s still training, and now he’s offering to help. Isn’t the workload a bit too much for him to handle?

"It’s fine, the three of them can help too," Lu Huai was very reliable. "They can take care of the heavy lifting."

The three guards nodded without hesitation.

Feng Feng originally didn’t want to get involved with Yun Wan, but after eating her food and accepting her help, he couldn’t say no after just enjoying a free meal.

With the construction team gone and four strong young men to help, Yun Wan couldn’t be happier.

It’s like a godsend.

She’s been lucky; for as long as she’s been on Shennong Star, she hasn’t really lacked manpower.

"Then it’s tough on you, about the pay..."

"No need for wages," Lu Huai blurted out, then explained upon realizing, "Just cover our meals."

As soon as he said it, Lu Huai felt a bit shy.

Would this make the boss think he’s just in it for the food?

"Alright, then we’ll provide two staff meals a day!" Two meals a day are worth about the same as their wages, and in some ways, it’s even better than paying directly with Starnet coins.

With the team in place, the next day, the vegetable harvest kicked into high gear. Lu Huai and the other three arrived early in the morning by the vegetable field, clearly ready to get to work right away.

"Harvesting isn’t exactly easy. We’re here to see how we can help," Lu Huai explained their purpose.

Yun Wan welcomed them in, and indeed there was work they could help with, such as moving vegetables from the field to the restaurant, and also the cooperation with Ji Lian, which required packing and shipping according to the orders.

Now she was completely swamped, unlike the leisure she had when she was watching Ji Lian’s jokes. She was so busy that after half a day of packing, the pile of orders barely budged.

Oh no, at this rate, we’ll never finish shipping!

The more she laughed earlier, the worse she feels now.

Fortunately, with a few more people to help, Lu Huai and the others were in good physical condition and had strong practical abilities. Although they were a bit unskilled at first, once they got the hang of it, they packed more than twice as fast as Yun Wan.

One-tenth of the vegetable field was left unharvested to ensure fresh vegetables could be provided to the restaurant every day. The harvested vegetables were divided into three parts: one part was sent to the restaurant, one part was packed and shipped according to Ji Lian’s orders, and the last part was sold on Starnet to reward the fans.

All these tasks were handed over to the experienced Lu Huai and the others, as she had more important tasks to do.

After harvesting the field, the most important thing was to seamlessly start a new round of planting.

Yun Wan again made a large purchase of various plants within the system and set the robots to sow.

Many plants brought back by the construction team had already completed breeding, like wheat and potatoes, which needed to be replanted. She set the fruit seeds aside, planning to deal with them after the busy period.

Yun Wan continued to busy herself in the vegetable field.

"Do you want some water?" Lu Huai, who had somehow come to her side, handed her an unopened bottle of pure water.

Yun Wan urgently needed to hydrate and didn’t hesitate, taking the bottle and gulping down a mouthful.

Lu Huai didn’t leave but continued, "Boss, with the restaurant opening, the foot traffic on Shennong Star will increase, but it seems there aren’t many combat robots."

"Ah! That’s right!" Yun Wan slapped her forehead.

In the midst of all the busyness, she had forgotten the most crucial security measures!

"What do you propose?" Yun Wan looked at him.

Since he brought up the issue, he probably had some ideas to share.

"I have some robots, their performance is decent, quite useful. Could I get a VIP card for the restaurant?"

Lu Huai spoke word by word.

"VIP?" Yun Wan felt she was being quite unprofessional as a boss, letting customers figure out their own ways to spend.

Truth be told, VIP cards weren’t part of the restaurant’s initial plan.

She wanted to take it slow once the restaurant was on track, but suddenly it felt like she was being rushed! However, having someone eager to spend money felt pretty good.

"Sure."

That night, Yun Wan saw the robots Lu Huai mentioned, enough to fill three entire starships.

To an outsider, it might seem like a star war was about to break out, ready to blow up Shennong Star!

With a single command from Lu Huai, the robots landed on Shennong Star in perfect formation, ready for Yun Wan’s arrangements.

"This is the control unit."

Yun Wan hesitated slightly as she took the control unit.

She gazed at the endless rows of robots for a moment; these were all military-grade combat robots, far more advanced than anything she’d purchased on Starnet.

Compared to these, the ones she bought on Starnet seemed second-rate.

She confirmed with Lu Huai, "All this is worth a VIP card for the restaurant?"

"Yes, and three starships."

"..." This guy plans to eat and drink at the restaurant for the rest of his life! Even a family of three couldn’t spend that much in a lifetime!

Yun Wan couldn’t help but advise, "How about I pay you half in cash? What if you get bored with the food? And you couldn’t possibly spend it all in a lifetime..."

"No need, I’ll manage," Lu Huai said succinctly.

"...Really no need?"

After double-checking, Yun Wan realized she had met her biggest supporter!

He was investing in her, and the restaurant would be his go-to spot for life.

He must be a superfan!

Previously thinking Lu Huai was cold, she finally understood what his special liking was like!

She adored fans like him and wouldn’t mind having a dozen more!

These robots and starships combined cost over a billion, and Yun Wan is curious how Lu Huai plans to spend such a vast amount of money in his lifetime.

Thinking about it, spending so much on food seems really wasteful!

"No take-backs if you change your mind!" Yun Wan emphasized again.

"Mm." Lu Huai's lips twitched slightly, finding Yun Wan's money-mindedness endearing.

After a busy day, the restaurant's setup was finally done. The opening announcement was made on the livestream, and at dawn the next day, Shennong Star officially rolled out the red carpet for its first batch of new guests.

*

After leaving Chef Wang's small shop, Chen Hu immediately followed Shennong Star's livestream, only to find out it was actually a barren planet. New dishes would have to wait until the restaurant was built.

This was the longest wait of Chen Hu's life.

He was anxiously waiting, and the first thing he did every morning was open the livestream to check the progress, while also buying some ingredients and participating in a raffle.

He was quite lucky, winning a much-desired bowl of sour and spicy noodles from among millions of participants.

He gobbled it down in just two bites. It didn’t just fail to satisfy his craving; it made him even more eager for the day Shennong Star's restaurant would open.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting and anticipation, he finally saw the opening announcement on Shennong Star's livestream one evening.

Without wasting a second, Chen Hu packed his bags, submitted his application, bought a ticket, and set off for Shennong Star.

He departed late at night and arrived at four in the morning.

The landing site was empty, with a few robots patrolling around.

Although it looked desolate, there were robot guards every few dozen meters along the way, making it very safe.

Guided by the shadows of these robots, Chen Hu found his way to the restaurant.

A big neon sign flickered on top of the restaurant. As he entered, the wind chimes tinkled softly, and the warm yellow light spilled over the interior. The decor was beautiful, with some cute stuffed animals, and real flowers on the tables emitting a delicate fragrance, creating an elegant atmosphere.

"A guest has arrived?" Chef Wang was still in the kitchen picking cabbage when he heard the commotion in the hall. Looking up, he spotted Chen Hu.

He looked familiar, probably a regular from Chef Wang's small shop.

"You're here early!" Chef Wang remarked.

With such an early arrival, Chef Wang realized their initial guess of a small number of guests for the day might be way off.