Chapter: Temporary Closure
At the end of the day, Cheng Yu hung a sign on the restaurant door: Temporarily Closed.
A young man with a mushroom-cut hairstyle stared at the sign, his expression bewildered. "Boss, business is booming. Why are you closing?"
"I've made enough money. Time to retire!"
Every young person dreamed of retiring at twenty.
"Brother Yu, how am I supposed to live without you?"
A middle-aged, pudgy man grabbed Cheng Yu's hand with his own chubby fingers, gazing at him with tear-filled eyes like a heartbroken lover.
The scene had the energy of two tragic figures parting ways, unable to speak through their sobs.
"Get off me. I'm not into men."
Cheng Yu yanked his hand away from the middle-aged man.
"I feel sick if I don't eat Boss Cheng Yu's fried rice at least once a day."
"I'll always support Boss Cheng Yu."
"The spatula in your hand is my unwavering faith."
Cheng Yu wasn't actually retiring. Selling buns was just more convenient for farming positive emotion points.
After all, in this world of swords and magic, you needed real power to survive.
When the carriage pulled up in front of the restaurant, Mina loaded all the kitchen equipment and bags of rice and flour onto it, then rode along to transport everything to the manor north of Bailu Town.
Cheng Yu went to check out the manor's kitchen. There were six stoves—plenty of space. Tomorrow, he'd steam the buns here, and the cavalry could pick them up directly.
But one steamer wasn't enough to handle 800 buns at once.
Cheng Yu opened the system panel and exchanged four large steamers from the shop. Each steamer was ten tiers tall—the kind used at rural banquets.
Each tier could hold 20 buns. That meant he could steam exactly 800 buns.
After exchanging the steamers, Cheng Yu handled the fillings while Mina kneaded the dough.
They worked in tandem and quickly finished the prep. Next came wrapping the buns.
If prepping the fillings was a workload of 1, wrapping the buns was a 10.
It took them the entire afternoon to make 800 buns.
The buns were neatly arranged in the steamers, which were then stacked on the pots. Cheng Yu added water to the pots and set everything up in advance.
Tomorrow morning, all they'd need to do was light the fire and steam them. Much faster.
The taste might not be quite as good as freshly steamed buns, but in a food desert like the Celsis Continent, having a delicacy like buns at all was already a luxury. Who needed more?
There were no phones or electronic devices in this world. Cheng Yu went to bed at seven PM.
The next morning, before the sun even rose, smoke curled from the manor's chimney.
The kitchen filled with steam and the rich aroma of steamed buns.
Smelling the fragrance, Mina swallowed hard. She wanted to eat a few.
But these were meant for the cavalry, so she held back.
At seven o'clock sharp, the cavalry arrived as scheduled.
Previously, only a few soldiers had come to buy buns. But since they were picking up 800 this time, over a dozen riders showed up.
The cavalry captain, Karl, had red hair, a leather jacket, long riding boots, and a helmet tucked under his arm. He dismounted, looked around, and smiled. "Boss Cheng Yu, your manor is nice."
"It's alright. More comfortable than the place I rented in town."
"Are the 800 buns ready?"
"All set."
Karl handed over 1 gold coin and 60 silver coins—equivalent to 16,000 copper coins.
"Mina, pack the buns for the cavalry."
Cheng Yu carefully counted the coins, then exchanged some small paper bags from the system shop and had Mina pack the buns.
"Boss Cheng Yu, your manor is quite nice, but the defenses are a bit lacking."
Karl wandered around casually, surveying the property. The house was made of wood. There were no solid walls around it—just wooden stakes and fences. Basically no defense at all.
"This is my private manor, not a bandit stronghold. The defenses are fine as they are."
Cheng Yu didn't understand why Karl was concerned about his manor's security.
Karl continued as he walked. "I heard from a friend this morning that several demon soldiers slipped through the border defenses last night and made it south of the Snow-Capped Mountains. They might be hiding in the woods between the northern fortress and Bailu Town."
"Your manor has weak defenses. It might not hold up against a demon raid."
The northern border was too long. The imperial army could only resist large-scale demon attacks. Small groups that slipped through the cracks were harder to deal with.
The manor sat north of Bailu Town. If demons who'd crossed the border wanted to enter the town, the manor would be the first target.
Cheng Yu suddenly understood why Marcus had been so eager to sell the manor.
That damn profiteer!
He cursed internally.
Mina finished packing the buns. Karl and his men said their goodbyes and rode back toward the northern fortress.
After seeing them off, Cheng Yu quickly opened the system panel. After exchanging seasonings, cleaning supplies, steamers, and other daily necessities over the past weeks, he had 3,688 positive emotion points left.
He'd originally planned to use those points for more everyday items. But after hearing from Karl that demons had crossed the border last night, he couldn't shake his worry.
"Exchange 18 strength points and 18 defense points," Cheng Yu said to the system.
The cold electronic voice replied: [Host has spent 3,600 Positive Emotion Points. Strength +18, Defense +18]
Host: Cheng Yu
Cooking Level: Max
Strength: 387
Defense: 387
Skills: None
Equipment: Dragon-Pattern Golden Knife
Cheng Yu clenched his fists. His strength had increased noticeably. He felt a bit more at ease.
Thirty-eight times the strength of an ordinary human. If he ran into a demon soldier, his chances of survival were at least a little higher.
After the exchange, the balance in the upper right corner showed 88 points remaining.
Time passed, and night fell. Cheng Yu went to bed at seven as usual.
There were no stars, no moon. The night was dark as ink.
Eleven o'clock.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A violent collision echoed through the manor.
"What the hell?!"
Cheng Yu lived on the second floor. The crashing noise from downstairs jolted him awake.
He opened the system shop, spent 50 positive emotion points on a flashlight, and headed downstairs.
Karl had warned him about demon soldiers crossing the border. An ominous feeling settled in Cheng Yu's chest.
Bang!
Another deafening crash.
The thick wooden door—nearly 20 centimeters wide—was smashed inward. A towering figure stepped into the living room.
It was a middle-aged man, over two meters tall, with red hair and dark, rough skin. His features were harsh and ugly. A pair of black horns curved backward from his head, and he wielded a broadsword.
"A demon!"
Cheng Yu had never been in a real fight. Panic flickered through him.
Seeing Cheng Yu's fear, the demon man laughed triumphantly. "Hahaha! Weak humans occupy the warm, fertile south. You don't deserve this land!"
The demon charged forward, swinging his broadsword down toward Cheng Yu's head.
"Move, damn it!"
Cheng Yu reacted quickly, dodging to the side and avoiding the strike.
The demon was surprisingly agile. After missing his first attack, he raised his sword and swung again.
At that critical moment, Mina leaped down from the second floor. Her hands shifted into white wolf claws, and she blocked the attack meant for Cheng Yu.
The broadsword struck her claws. They were cut open, blood spattering across the floor.
After beastfolk used their transformation ability, their claws were reinforced. The sword only sliced through the flesh on the back of Mina's hands—it didn't sever them completely.
Mina pushed forward with all her strength, forcing the demon back several steps.
"Mina, are you okay?"
Blood dripped from Mina's hands. Cheng Yu's chest tightened.
Beastfolk women didn't cry easily. Mina's eyes were firm. "It's just a scratch."
The demon caught sight of Mina's beautiful face and leered. "Another pretty orc. Today's my lucky day."
"You go. I'll hold him off."
After spending so much time together, Mina's favorability toward Cheng Yu had reached 70 points. She wanted to protect him.
Two fangs protruded from her mouth as she snarled at the demon, ferocious and ready.
Seeing Mina's bleeding hands, rage surged through Cheng Yu's chest. He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. "I'll handle him."
"You?"
Mina was stunned.
It was always slaves who protected their masters. How could a master protect a slave?
"Yeah. I'll teach him a lesson."
Cheng Yu stepped forward, gripping his kitchen knife.
[Host has gained +20 Favorability from Mina]
Mina's favorability had climbed to 90 points.
Cheng Yu pointed the kitchen knife at the demon. "You broke my door. Don't think you're leaving without paying for it."
"You're worried about money when you're about to die?"
The demon sneered. He'd met a real miser today. He gripped his broadsword with both hands and swung it down at Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu moved fast. He struck with the knife.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Using Cheng Yu's overwhelming strength, the Dragon-Pattern Golden Knife sliced clean through the broadsword.
The blade didn't stop. It continued forward, straight toward the demon's throat, and severed his head in one clean stroke.
Blood sprayed. The demon's headless body collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud, eyes still wide open.
"Am I really that strong?"
Cheng Yu stood there, stunned at having killed the demon in a single blow.
Mina was equally stunned. She wasn't even sure she could've beaten that demon—but Cheng Yu had killed him in one strike.