Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 39: Sandfish Burger

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

“I got something good this time!”

As soon as Ma Lu returned to his rented apartment, he eagerly pulled out a piece of Thousand-Toothed Sandfish meat from the 【Collection Bag】 and handed it to Old Wang.

No. 6 also excitedly rolled over from the balcony to join in, but upon seeing that Ma Lu was holding raw meat, it quickly lost interest.

Old Wang took the piece of meat, examined it carefully, and pressed it with his fingers. The indentation immediately bounced back as soon as his fingers left.

“Great quality, very fresh. Have you decided what you want to make?”

“Yeah, let’s make Sandfish Burgers. We’ve been selling snacks all this time, so it’s a good idea to try a main dish for a change. But if we’re doing this, it’s best to take pre-orders.”

Main dishes are different from snacks; they’re more filling, so the window for selling them is shorter. After mealtime, customer traffic drops off sharply.

The crucial selling time each day might only be one or two hours. If enough portions aren’t sold during this window, it could become risky, and there’s a high chance they won’t sell out.

The good news is that Ma Lu has already set up group chats, and not just one—combined, Group 1 and Group 2 have over 800 members.

Opening up pre-orders should secure a good number of orders.

But that’s not enough; to serve a large crowd in a short period, the speed of food preparation also needs to increase.

Ma Lu’s initial idea was to pre-make a batch of burgers and store them in a warmer, ready to serve on demand.

However, Old Wang rejected this plan.

The reason was simple: even if reheated, pre-made burgers would never taste as good as freshly made ones.

Given the higher costs, Ma Lu also planned to raise the price from 28 to 35 yuan.

A 7-yuan increase doesn’t sound like much, but crossing the 30-yuan mark could deter some potential customers.

Especially for most broke college students, spending over 30 yuan on a meal can be a tough psychological hurdle.

Ma Lu’s ace up his sleeve was the high ★★☆ taste rating of the 【Sandfish Burger】.

This meant there could be no compromise on taste.

“How long does it take you to make one burger on-site?” Ma Lu asked Old Wang.

“Around 4 minutes.”

“That’s way too long.”

“If you can find a bigger griddle and add another heat source of the same power, I could cook 16 patties at once, reducing the average prep time per burger to 49 seconds.

“And if we get an extra helper to handle spreading the sauce, adding the toppings, and packaging, we could further cut that time to 30 seconds. With practice, we could even get it down to 20 seconds.”

“I can help you, and I’ll take care of getting the griddle and stove.” Ma Lu snapped his fingers. “We can use Mankton buns for the burgers. I remember the supermarket sells them, and they’re discounted when they’re close to the expiration date—less than 0.8 yuan each.”

“No, we’ll bake the buns ourselves; we have an oven, after all.”

“Ah, that might save some costs, but won’t it be too much work for you?”

Old Wang shook his head. “I’m not suggesting this to save costs. The patty is, of course, the core of a burger, the sauce gives it soul, and the toppings provide nutrition and varied textures. But the first bite a customer takes is always the bread.

“If the bread isn’t right, there’s no motivation to keep eating—just like seeing an unattractive face at first glance; you’d lose interest in exploring the person’s inner qualities.”

"And a good burger should be harmonious, like a symphony where each instrument works together. Any discordant element can be jarring.

“So, if you plan to start selling before noon, you’d better hurry,” Old Wang reminded.

Ma Lu hopped on his tricycle and raced to the farmer’s market, buying all the necessary toppings as quickly as possible and hauling them back home.

He then turned to his trusty online marketplace, finding the dual-burner gas stove and large griddle Old Wang needed and arranged for a delivery service to bring them over.

Meanwhile, Ma Lu took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep, setting his alarm for 10:30.

When he woke up, Ma Lu headed to the kitchen, and before he even entered, he was greeted by the delightful aroma of freshly baked bread.

It was a sweet scent mixed with caramel and wheat, with a hint of butter, likely due to the butter added to the dough.

The smell immediately soothed Ma Lu’s nerves, which had been tense over the upcoming rush.

No wonder bakery ads often associate bread with happiness—freshly baked bread really does have that magical effect.

When Ma Lu walked into the kitchen, he caught the moment when a new batch of bread had just come out of the oven, two trays with a total of 24 buns.

Old Wang brushed a layer of butter on their golden-brown crusts to keep them soft for the upcoming hours.

When they were no longer too hot, Ma Lu grabbed one and squeezed it, finding it was indeed different from the store-bought buns—soft, full, springy, and with even air pockets inside.

Ma Lu didn’t even wait for Old Wang to fill the buns; he ate one straight away, marveling, “I get now why you insisted on baking the buns yourself. The difference in texture is night and day.”

“I’ll teach you how to arrange the toppings,” Old Wang said, with no trace of pride on his face, maintaining his usual serious demeanor like a cold, precise machine.

Well, he was technically a mechanical lifeform.

Ma Lu got a little lost in thought for a moment, then watched as Old Wang placed two meatballs into the frying pan.

He didn’t add any extra oil because the fat rendered from the patties was enough for the frying process. While the meat was cooking, Old Wang instructed Ma Lu on how to slice open a bun.

Ma Lu spread the sauce inside, added fresh lettuce and tomato slices—typical burger toppings with nothing too different from others.

The process was simple enough, and Ma Lu picked it up quickly, though he was a bit clumsy at first. But after making a couple more, he noticeably sped up.

Meanwhile, Old Wang flipped the patties, sprinkling them with salt and pepper, and topped each one with a slice of cheese.

The once-solid cheese melted quickly under the heat, becoming gooey and sliding gently over the patties, eventually merging into one.

The cheesy aroma in the air grew even richer.

Old Wang watched the patties carefully, and once they reached the ideal color, he swiftly took them out and placed them on the prepared buns. Ma Lu added the final toppings and covered the patty with the top half of the bun.

And with that, the Sandfish Burger was officially complete.

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