Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 14: Crunch Crunch

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

When Ma Lu returned to his rental apartment, Old Wang had already processed one of the Two-Headed Jackals, skinning it, removing the internal organs and bones, and chopping the meat into minced meat.

He took the plastic bag that Ma Lu handed over, glanced inside, and then turned back to the kitchen.

Ma Lu sat down on the sofa, pulled out his phone, and spent some time arguing with netizens on the forum. Before he knew it, more than twenty minutes had passed.

At that moment, he smelled a delicious aroma. Ma Lu sniffed twice, and his already empty stomach growled even more.

Unable to sit still any longer, he got up and walked into the kitchen, just in time to see Old Wang lifting a patty from the frying pan.

The patty was fried to a golden brown, still sizzling as it left the oil. After draining the oil, Old Wang placed it on an empty plate, added sliced cabbage on the side, squeezed some lemon juice over it, and finally drizzled half a spoon of special tomato sauce on top.

Ma Lu could hardly wait any longer. He grabbed a pair of disposable chopsticks left over from takeout, picked up the patty, blew on it twice, and then took a big bite.

The breadcrumb coating created a crispy texture, crackling between his teeth while locking in the patty’s moisture.

As the crust broke, the meat juices burst forth like a flood, instantly filling his mouth with rich, meaty flavor.

The minced jackal meat was more chewy and firm compared to pork, providing a more satisfying bite, though some might find the texture a bit tough. However, Ma Lu didn’t feel it was difficult to chew; in fact, it had a slight crunch, and there was a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste.

“Ah, it’s lotus root! So that’s why you had me buy lotus root for this?”

“And onion,” Old Wang added.

“No wonder there’s no gamey taste, and the lemon juice pairing is great—it really cuts down the greasiness of the fried food.”

Ma Lu commented as he took a second bite, then let out a small exclamation.

But this time, he was too absorbed to speak; he kept taking bite after bite, quickly finishing the patty on the plate.

Still not satisfied, he even ate the cabbage on the side, licking his lips eagerly. “What’s up with this sauce? Why does it make the patty taste even richer?”

“I added meat broth to it, made from the bones of the Two-Headed Jackal, though the simmering time was a bit short. Ideally, it should be cooked for a day and a night.”

“I see. So the reason I can’t stop eating is thanks to the tomatoes, right?” Ma Lu put down his chopsticks, letting out a satisfied sigh.

“This is the best patty I’ve ever eaten. And it’s only rated at ★☆ for taste—how much better can the higher-rated dishes be?”

“To taste higher-rated dishes, you need to gather higher-quality ingredients or level up my chef skills to further unlock and enhance the potential of the ingredients,” Old Wang replied.

“Got it, got it. I’ll make sure to find them.” Ma Lu hooked an arm around Old Wang’s shoulder. “But there’s something more important right now.”

“What’s that?”

“The taste of the Fried Jackal Patty exceeded my expectations. I think we should set up a stall immediately and let more people enjoy this deliciousness!”

“But aren’t we still unprepared for opening the shop?”

“I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, start preparing enough ingredients for 100—no, 150 patties.”

After setting the first-day sales target with Old Wang, Ma Lu ate another Fried Jackal Patty before getting to work.

First, he tossed a few bottles of mineral water into the freezer, then spent 40 yuan on the local second-hand market app to buy a used gas stove, convincing the seller to throw in a connecting line. He also found a vendor selling greaseproof paper bags, but they hadn’t been online for two days.

Ma Lu left a message for the seller, then headed straight to the print shop at the entrance of his apartment complex. There wasn’t time to redesign the sign, so he simply printed out the words "Fried Meat Patty" on A4 paper, set the font size to the maximum, bolded and darkened it, and also printed out QR codes for WeChat and Alipay payments.

He turned toward the two-yuan store on the opposite street corner, but it wasn’t open.

Well, Ma Lu checked the time; it was only 7:15 a.m., probably too early. So, he took the subway to pick up the gas stove in person, and by the time he returned, the two-yuan store had finally opened.

Ma Lu bought some small boxes for seasoning, little buckets for condiments, and two folding stools, spending a total of 30 yuan. He also bought two packs of cigarettes from the convenience store next door. Just then, the seller on Xianyu who had been offline finally appeared.

However, he was already on his way to work and no one was home; he’d only be available for the transaction in the evening.

Ma Lu thought it over and decided to place the order anyway. The price was too good to pass up—900 greaseproof paper bags for just 15 yuan, and the pictures suggested they were of decent quality.

It seemed like they wouldn’t be of any use today, but that was alright. Ma Lu found a small shop selling pancakes on the roadside and bought a hundred pancake bags for 30 yuan, then another 60 from a shop selling scallion pancakes.

He originally intended to buy some plastic bags as well, but then someone messaged him on WeChat, asking if he was home.

Ma Lu replied that he was.

The person with a profile picture of Yui Hirasawa sent another message:

(Translator's Note: Character from the anime K-On!)

—Remember what you promised me? My dad just left, and I’m bringing a box of figurines up. Help me find a place to store them.

Ma Lu typed:

—Sure. By the way, Brother Yang, do you have any extra plastic bags left over from when you sold cold seafood dishes? Bring some up with you.

This time, there was a long pause before the response came, almost half a minute later:

—Are you blackmailing me?

—No, no. Come up, and I’ll treat you to some Fried Meat Patties.

—Alright, I’ll see if I can find some.

Seeing this reply, Ma Lu decided not to buy plastic bags just yet and headed back to his rental apartment. As he stepped out of the elevator, he spotted Brother Yang peeking out cautiously at the stairwell with a box in his arms.

“Don’t worry, your dad’s not lying in wait for you here.”

“You know nothing about my dad.” Brother Yang snorted. “When I was in elementary school, he’d often ambush me. He’d pretend to go to work during summer break, then come back within ten minutes and catch me playing on the computer.”

“That sneaky?”

“That’s the kind of person he is. Better watch out if you ever run into him.” After making sure there was no danger, Brother Yang stepped out of the stairwell quickly, urging as he approached, “Hurry up, open the door.”

“Got it.” Ma Lu took out his keys and unlocked the door. Brother Yang dashed in, dropped the box, and pointed to the two rolls of plastic bags tied with rubber bands, “Here, what you asked for. Where’s my patty?”

“Coming right up.” Ma Lu went to the kitchen and asked Old Wang to fry some up.

This time, since all the ingredients were ready and the patties were prepped, it only took less than four minutes to fry them.

As a veteran in the small stall business, Brother Yang didn’t miss the chance to give some sharp advice to his junior while waiting.

“This line of work isn’t easy. You’ll see when you really set up your stall. Don’t set your expectations too high on the first day. If you get even one customer, consider it a victory. The important thing is to take that brave first step, and then you’ll find that doing this isn’t any better than getting a job.”

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