Chapter 316: Chapter 316: New Pizza on the Menu

[BING~ New Mission: Sell 1,020 Braised Pork set menus, 920 Kung Pao Chicken set menus, 580 Steamed Fish Head with Chili set menus, and 80 Steamed Ribs with Black Bean set menus. Achieve a total revenue of 250,000 Star Coins and a customer satisfaction rating of three stars or higher. Time limit: eight hours.]

[BING~ If you sell over 200 units of the new pizza, you will receive a bonus reward. Failure of this bonus mission will only result in the cancellation of the bonus reward; there is no penalty.]

’How long has it been since I got a bonus mission?’

Shen Lu couldn’t remember. Hearing that second BING~ today sent an involuntary jolt through her.

But after reading the details, her brow furrowed slightly.

This bonus mission was for pizza. While the number wasn’t outrageous, pizza wasn’t sold as part of a set menu. It was a side dish ordered separately.

Side dishes were optional extras that people might or might not order. Plus, it was a brand-new item on the menu today. Shen Lu had only asked Xin Yu to prepare enough dough and ingredients for 50 pizzas.

But now the mission required her to sell over 200 pizzas—a four-fold increase!

Shen Lu pressed a hand to her forehead and grumbled, "System, are you trying to make things difficult for me or for Xin Yu?"

[(〃’▽’〃)]

[It’s a sign of my faith in you and your staff’s abilities!]

There was no reason to turn down a bonus reward that fell into her lap. Shen Lu had Little Mantis pause what it was doing and go help Xin Yu with the pizzas.

Xin Yu immediately grew anxious, thinking he must have done something wrong for the boss to send a robot to help him.

"B-Boss, d-did I do something..."

"Don’t panic, just listen to me." Shen Lu took a deep breath. "Have you heard of an organization in the Lower City District called the Commerce Association?"

Xin Yu nodded blankly. "I’ve heard a little about it."

"There might be disguised members of the Commerce Association coming to the restaurant to eat. Since the pizza is a new item, they might order a lot out of curiosity, so..."

"I understand, Boss! I’ll work hard to make every single pizza perfect. I won’t give them any reason to complain!" Xin Yu thought Shen Lu meant that people from the Commerce Association were coming to cause trouble, and he immediately made her a promise.

"No, that’s not it. I mean we need to prepare more. Fifty is too few, we need at least 200. Time is tight, so I’m having Little Mantis help you. Keep up the great work!"

Shen Lu silently apologized to the Commerce Association.

There was no helping it; when you had to come up with an excuse on the fly, you said whatever came to mind. Fortunately, Xin Yu was simple-minded and had absolute faith in Shen Lu, so he didn’t doubt the flimsy excuse for a second.

At eleven-thirty, all the cooked dishes were placed in the service window. Xin Yu’s pizzas were arranged in a newly opened window just for side dishes.

To avoid biting off more than he could chew, Xin Yu had only prepared two types of pizza for the time being.

One was a yogurt and fruit pizza, and the other was a green pepper and ham pizza. One was sweet and sour, the other savory and spicy.

The pizzas were six inches—a single serving—and priced at 70 Star Coins. Since it was the launch day, as per tradition, there was a 30% discount, making them 49 Star Coins each.

Just as Shen Lu had expected, the moment the doors opened, the restaurant was packed to the gills.

Most of the customers were regulars. As they passed the front counter, they tried to chat with Shen Lu, only to stop and stare when they saw a big, burly man standing there instead.

"The boss? Boss Shen is busy in the kitchen today," Wang Daguo explained tirelessly to every single person who asked.

Deng Ying and Cai Su, who were serving food from the window, were spinning like tops. They were constantly dishing up plates and calculating totals. It was easy enough for customers with a Light Brain who could just scan to pay, but it was more trouble for those using cash, as they had to make change.

Shen Lu finished stir-frying a fresh pan of Kung Pao chicken and hauled it over to the window, pouring it into the serving tray.

It was chaos. Utter chaos.

They were severely understaffed.

Shen Lu glanced at Huo Qian and Wu Jun, who were maintaining order in the crowd. After a moment’s thought, she called Wu Jun over to temporarily help in the back kitchen.

It wasn’t for anything complicated—mainly just carrying dishes and relaying messages.

For instance, if the service window was running low on a dish, the kitchen would need to prioritize a refill.

This used to be Xin Yu’s job, but today he was in the back kitchen making pizzas at lightning speed. His hands were practically a blur as he slapped the dough, so he obviously had no time to carry dishes.

Wu Jun, however, was delighted to accept the new assignment. He told Huo Qian to be careful on her own, then eagerly changed and trotted off to carry dishes.

"Xin Yu, we need 12 yogurt and fruit pizzas and 20 green pepper and ham pizzas out front! Chop chop!"

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! Xin Yu patted the pizza dough, his hands moving so fast they were a blur. "I know, I know! I’m doing it! I’m really doing it!"

Xin Yu and Shen Lu had discussed it a few times and ultimately decided on hand-tossed pizzas.

Hand-tossed pizza had a thinner crust, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, giving it a richer texture. The only problem was that it was a hassle to make, as each crust had to be shaped and baked to order.

’If I’d known it was going to be this busy,’ he thought, ’I never would’ve agreed to this damned hand-tossed pizza. Deep-dish would have been so much easier.’

’The crusts could be prepared in advance. All you’d have to do is throw on the toppings, and you could pump out dozens in less than half an hour. Talk about maximum efficiency!’

But he’d already committed. Now, besides gritting his teeth and slapping dough to get the pizzas out as fast as possible, Xin Yu had no other choice.

’I can’t let the boss’s business fail on my watch.’

After kneading the dough for 150 pizza crusts, Little Mantis also joined the slapping brigade.

As a robot, it was fast and applied perfectly even pressure, shaping each crust to near perfection.

This allowed Xin Yu to focus solely on adding the toppings and putting the pizzas in the oven.

The pizza production speed shot up, greatly easing the pressure from the waiting customers out front.

However, many people who bought pizzas didn’t eat them on the spot. Instead, they got them to go.

They had the rules of Little Deer Cuisine figured out completely: you couldn’t get takeout for someone else, but you could buy food for yourself and have it packed to go.

A pizza was like a vegetable dish and a main course all in one. They could take it to snack on in the afternoon or bring it home for their families to try.

After all, during bad weather, any food was precious, and prices elsewhere had skyrocketed.

Why else would they choose to come to Little Deer Cuisine the moment the sandstorm died down a little?

The food being delicious was one reason. But more importantly, the prices here didn’t go up. The new pizza was even getting the customary 30% launch-day discount!

Forget 30% off—even a 10% discount would have been tempting enough.

"Boss Shen is amazing, really. My workplace is close to Fragrant Sky, and they opened today too. I glanced on my way here, and they’ve raised the prices on all their dishes. Only Boss Shen keeps her prices the same."

"Boss Shen has a real conscience."

"When is Boss Shen going to start doing delivery?"

"When will she get rid of the purchase limits?"

"When will we be allowed to get takeout for other people?"

"When are you going to open for dinner?"

"Hey, this green pepper and ham pizza is pretty good. I’ll try the yogurt and fruit one next time."

"I’m saving a slice of this yogurt and fruit pizza for my daughter. She’ll love the sweet and sour flavor."

"Holy crap, if you’re done eating, can you stop hogging the table? Get up and go!"

"The chicken leg! That last braised chicken leg is mine! Don’t even think about taking it!"

"FUCK! You’re trying to steal the meatballs from my malatang?! I waited in this line forever just for a bowl of fish balls, I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch!"

...

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