The system's voice sounded: "This system only provides restaurant renovation, excluding areas outside the restaurant."
Mai Ge habitually stroked his chin with his right hand, looking at the dilapidated staircase and the pitch-black second floor. Thinking of the bed covered with a little straw he had just seen, he knew they couldn't stay there tonight. He couldn't let his precious daughter suffer anymore; he had to improve their living conditions tonight.
Moreover, he didn't feel much hostility from the system. The so-called punishment was more likely meant to supervise him in diligently learning to cook and completing the Chef God mission as soon as possible.
Since that's the case... Mai Ge's eyes darted around, and he said inwardly in an indifferent tone, "System, I think your statement is wrong. I'm providing this entire small building as restaurant space, so you should renovate the whole thing. I can't accept a restaurant with such inconsistent styles. Besides, if the second floor isn't renovated and reinforced, and a brick falls and kills a customer, that would be a huge problem. If it doesn't kill them, that would be even more troublesome. I might even be beaten to death by someone who can't be killed by a falling brick! Then what's the point of learning to cook and becoming a Chef God? You figure it out."
The system fell silent, seemingly thinking. After a while, the system's voice sounded again: "Given the extremely high danger level of the building, the system has analyzed and decided to rebuild the small building and carry out renovations. Please confirm the renovation style, host."
Mai Ge was secretly delighted. It seemed the system could indeed be negotiated with. It wouldn't be fun if he was completely controlled by it. However, he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface.
The restaurant's decor style had already been decided, and the second floor's decor was chosen to be similar to his home in his previous life – understated, luxurious, and comfortable, with nothing lacking. The second floor had three rooms, a toilet, and a bathroom. Amy's room was decorated in a light pink style, which he confirmed with the system.
The system's voice sounded: "Reconstruction and renovation will take thirty seconds. Please leave the room, count down begins in one minute..."
Thirty seconds was enough! Mai Ge was startled for a moment, but hearing the sixty seconds count down, he quickly moved towards the door, somewhat awkwardly stepping over the threshold and closing the door behind him. The sky outside was already dark.
"Dad, are you here to pick up Amy?" Amy's sweet voice sounded from behind him.
Mai Ge turned around. Amy was holding two large yellowish-brown sweet crispy biscuits, looking up at him with her long eyelashes fluttering. Her little face was full of joy and excitement. Her father had never come out to pick her up before, but today he seemed to have specially come downstairs to the door to pick her up.
"Yes, I came to pick up Little Amy, and I'm also going to perform a magic trick for Little Amy." Mai Ge said with a smile, squatting down and gently hugging Amy.
"Performing magic tricks?" Amy looked up at Mai Ge with a puzzled expression, then her eyes lit up. "Is it magic? Can Daddy make lots and lots of delicious food?"
"Yes, that's right. Daddy is going to make a beautiful big house for Little Amy, and a beautiful restaurant too. From now on, I'll make you lots and lots of delicious food everyday." Mai Ge said softly. She really was a little foodie.
"Really?" Amy's mouth was slightly agape, seemingly unable to believe it.
"Close your eyes and count down from thirty times." Mai Ge smiled and nodded.
"Thirty, twenty nine..." Amy obediently closed her eyes and began counting.
Mai Ge looked at Amy tenderly, listening to her soft voice counting down. The ground was shaking slightly, and there were occasional sounds of things falling behind him, but he didn't look back.
Thirty seconds of counting down passed in the blink of an eye.
Amy opened her eyes, her little face full of anticipation.
"Now, let's take a look at our new home." Mai Ge took the two sweet biscuits from Amy's hand, held her little hand, and stood up, turning towards the small building with a look of anticipation.
A beam of warm light shone from the doorway, falling perfectly on the two figures, one large and one small, standing at the entrance.
"Wow~~" Amy's mouth dropped open wide. She stared at the house, which had suddenly transformed, looking like a magnificent palace under the lamplight. After a moment of stunned silence, she turned to Mai Ge and happily exclaimed, "Daddy, did you really create this? It's such a beautiful house, like a crystal palace! And there are glowing stones! Daddy, you're amazing!"
"Yes, this will be our home from now on, and it will also be a restaurant." Mai Ge said with a smile, feeling incredibly pleased by his little girl's admiration.
It was still a two-story building, but now it had transformed from a dilapidated two-story wooden house into a European-style two-story villa. The side facing the square had floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing a view of the restaurant inside, illuminated by a European-style crystal chandelier – comfortable and stylish.
However, because the previous shaking seemed to have caused a small commotion, Mai Ge pulled Amy's hand and pushed the door open, saying, "Let's go home first. Daddy will tell you about those things later."
"Okay, Daddy is the best!" Amy rubbed her head against Mai Ge's hand and happily skipped through the door.
Mai Ge casually turned off the light outside the door. Just as the two entered, a short, bearded dwarf stumbled out of the house next door, looking around drunkenly and muttering, "Which idiot troll came here to dance again! Damn guys, can't a man get any sleep..." After saying that, he went back inside and slammed the door shut.
"Daddy..is this really our house?" Amy stopped at the doorway, looking at the magnificent dining room, and then looked up at Mai Ge, still somewhat disbelieving.
She had never seen such a beautiful house before: the smooth, polished floor, the sparkling crystal chandelier, the neatly arranged new tables and chairs, and a delicate cutlery box on the table. Further inside was a long counter taller than her, and behind the counter was another room, but she couldn't see what was inside.
"Of course." Mai Ge smiled and nodded, waving his hand, "This is our new home. We can open a restaurant on the first floor, and the second floor is where we live..."
"That's great!" Before Mai Ge could finish speaking, Amy had already run out, spreading her arms and running a circle around the restaurant, then sitting down at the innermost table and waving to Mai Ge, saying, "Daddy, let's sit here and eat sweet crispy biscuits! Little Amy is hungry."
"Okay." Mai Ge smiled casually. Eating was indeed the most important thing.
"The task of owning a restaurant is complete. Because the host requested additional modifications to areas outside the restaurant, this task reward is canceled. The system is issuing a new task: Learn the first dish – Yang Zhou Fried Rice. The task time is three days. After the host is ready, you can click to enter the Chef God Trial Ground for the trial. The reward for this task is +0.5 to physical fitness, and the penalty for failure is -0.5 to physical fitness." The system's voice sounded again.
Mai Ge stopped in his tracks. A door suddenly appeared in his mind, with four glittering golden characters on it: Yang Zhou Fried Rice. This must be the so-called Chef God Trial Ground.
Of course, what Mai Ge cared about more was the reward for success mentioned by the system. What he urgently needed to improve now was his physical condition. In his current state, he couldn't even hold a kitchen knife properly, let alone cook. He didn't expect the system to arrange a task reward to enhance his physical fitness so quickly, and he suddenly felt a little excited.
Although he didn't know what level this +0.5 to physical fitness would reach, the system shouldn't be trying to trick him. It's just Yang Zhou Fried Rice, how difficult could a bowl of fried rice be?
Back in Yang Zhou, he had tried several authentic Yang Zhou Fried Rice dishes, but he seemed to have given them all rather harsh reviews. To be honest, the fried rice tasted quite good, but back then he had a habit of finding fault with everything. It's said that one old restaurant even closed down for a while after he reviewed it, but things like that happened so often that he didn't pay much attention to it.
"Daddy?" Amy looked at Mai Ge, who was stunned there, with a puzzled expression.
"Coming!" Mai Ge quickly suppressed the urge to push open that door, sat down opposite Amy, handed her a biscuit, and said with a smile, "Here, try the sweet crispy biscuit that our Little Amy loves so much."
Mai Ge carefully examined the sweet crispy biscuit. It was about the size of an adult's palm, one centimeter thick, and seemed to be made of flour coated with corn, green beans, potatoes... a bunch of miscellaneous coarse grains baked in a charcoal oven. It felt like a rough piece of tile in his hand.
"Mmm-hmm." Amy held the biscuit in both hands, brought it to her mouth, and took a bite, making a crisp crunching sound. Then she happily chewed it, like a little hamster, eating it with great relish, looking very cute.
"Is it that delicious?" Mai Ge was a little skeptical, but watching Amy eat was truly appetizing. He couldn't help but pick up a biscuit and take a big bite, chewing it a few times, and then he froze.
"Is this supposed to be a baked tile? Did I break my tooth or the biscuit? After biting it, it cut my mouth, and when I tried to swallow it, it got stuck in my throat. This thing could be used to poison someone! And they actually sell hundreds of these a day! The culinary culture of this world is probably a bit of a wasteland! No, it's stuck in my throat!" Mai Ge glared, threw the sweet crisp biscuit onto the table, and ran to the kitchen sink, clutching his throat.