Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 97: Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria

Translator: StellarNovels Editor: StellarNovels

Zhuang Bufan circled around the tricycle, curiously touching the iron frame on top.

“Did you guys weld this on yourselves?”

“No, I bought it second-hand. It came like this,” Ma Lu replied.

Not long after Ms. Chen left, the two of them came down from upstairs. Zhen Ye initially wanted to pay Zhuang Bufan for his legal services, but he politely declined.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want the money; it was mainly because he and Ma Lu had graduated in the same class this year and were still interns.

All the talk about being a legal representative was just a tactic to intimidate Ms. Chen.

In reality, he wasn’t allowed to take on cases, nor could he charge consultation fees—if word got back to the bar association, it would be big trouble.

Before leaving, Zhuang Bufan reminded Zhen Ye that if her aunt didn’t transfer the money within ten days, she could contact him again.

At that point, he would ask a senior attorney from the law firm to represent her in court and help her recover the funds. However, the standard legal fees would apply, starting at a minimum of 20,000 yuan, and if taken on a contingency basis, it could cost as much as 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.

So, when Zhuang Bufan warned Ms. Chen earlier, he wasn’t just bluffing—if it came to that, her parents’ inheritance would definitely be recalculated.

Wiping his brow, Zhuang Bufan tried to cool off by pulling at his collar. He had rushed over the moment he got Ma Lu’s message, and his shirt was now soaked through.

“I heard about your food stall at the west gate. It’s been all over the alumni groups.

“They say your business is booming, and you’re making a fortune. Everyone’s been speculating about how much you’ve made, but it seems their guesses were conservative. It hasn’t even been that long, and you’re already planning to open a restaurant.”

“Haha, it’s going okay,” Ma Lu said. “I’ve only made a few hundred million; my main goal is to give back to my alma mater.”

“Have some shame.”

Zhuang Bufan scoffed, then muttered, “Is running a stall really that profitable? Maybe I should try it too.”

“You’re doing well as a lawyer; why would you want to run a food stall?”

“In B City, you can’t hire a personal driver or a nanny for 4,000 yuan, but you can find an intern lawyer for 3,000 who’s passed the bar exam, is skilled in driving, can clean, run errands, and even pick up your kids from school—and they’re on call 24/7.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it tough too.”

At that moment, Old Wang finished grilling some flatbreads and stuffed them with tender, slow-cooked Earth Dragons meat.

Taking the flatbread, Zhuang Bufan thanked him, saying, “I’m serious. If running a stall is this profitable, I’d really consider it.”

“No, you couldn’t do it,” Ma Lu shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t make it taste as good as we do.”

“Really? It’s just a roujiamo. How good can it be? Or do you have some kind of secret recipe?” Zhuang Bufan took a bite.

The next moment, his whole body shivered. “Damn, this is a roujiamo? How can a roujiamo taste this good?! No way, was every roujiamo I’ve ever had before just a lie?”

“That’s why we were able to save up and open a restaurant in just over a month.” Ma Lu patted Zhuang Bufan on the shoulder.

“Give up. Even if you knew the recipe, you couldn’t replicate it.”

“This taste is... incredible!”

In just a few bites, Zhuang Bufan devoured the roujiamo, then closed his eyes to savor it a bit more. But soon enough, he looked back at Ma Lu.

“Quick, give me another one! I ate that too fast and didn’t get to enjoy it.”

“Let’s make four more,” Ma Lu said to Old Wang. “You can eat one, pack up two, and I’ll take one to Zhen Ye—she probably hasn’t had lunch yet.”

Zhuang Bufan had been a real help, rushing over as soon as he got the call, and since he couldn’t charge for his services during his internship, Ma Lu figured the least he could do was treat him to some good food.

After eating another roujiamo, Zhuang Bufan felt quite full. He left content, carrying the two packed roujiamo.

Ma Lu took the other roujiamo to Zhen Ye, paid her four months' rent according to the contract, and then returned to the Civil Aviation University with Old Wang to set up their food stall.

…………

With the shop settled, there were even more things to do.

Besides their daily business at the stall, Ma Lu had to handle various permits and licenses, and also coordinate with the construction team to start the renovations.

The day after signing the contract, he first went to the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau to submit the required documents and filled out a pile of paperwork.

Naming the restaurant was part of the process.

Ma Lu initially wanted to carry on the name of his food stall as "Universe’s Best Restaurant," but it didn’t pass the review, so he changed it to "Universe’s Second Best Restaurant," which also didn’t get approved.

Ma Lu decided not to try "Universe’s Third Best Restaurant" because while second place could be seen as humble, third felt too embarrassing.

So, for his third attempt, Ma Lu renamed it "Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria."

Ma Lu wasn’t sure if the universe was truly infinite, but given the limited lifespan of humans, today’s universe might as well be considered infinite.

Moreover, the existence of interdimensional travelers like Old Wang proved that there were dimensions beyond dimensions, and universes beyond universes.

Due to his work, Ma Lu had also traveled to other dimensions, moving from initial discomfort to being completely at ease, and even starting to enjoy the process.

According to Old Wang, the Insect Egg would later unlock other travel routes, and Ma Lu hoped to explore more dimensions, collect their exotic ingredients, bring them back for Old Wang to cook, and turn them into profit!

If possible, he wished for this journey to never end.

That’s the meaning behind "Infinite Cosmic".

As for the “Cafeteria” part, Ma Lu added it on a whim to avoid name duplication issues.

Luckily, this time the name was approved.

(Translator's Note: We’ve finally reached the part where they mention the name of the novel. Universe and Cosmic mean roughly the same thing so I plan to use them interchangeably. I merely chose Cosmic here for the alliteration with Cafeteria)

However, it would still be a few days before he could pick up the business license. In the meantime, Ma Lu didn’t just sit idle; he met with the foreman, visited the shop for an on-site inspection, and finalized the renovation plan.

The day he received the business license, the construction drawings and budget were also completed.

The estimated renovation cost was 67,000 yuan, but after reviewing the designs and quote, Ma Lu made several cuts.

“Here, here, and here—we don’t need those... and this can just be covered with wood panels. I’ll contact the lumberyard myself to arrange direct delivery.”

He successfully slashed the total budget from 67,000 to 32,000 yuan, bringing the renovation cost to less than 360 yuan per square meter.

The costs were so low because Ma Lu’s requirement for the overall style was simply "no style." No national style, industrial chic, Instagram aesthetic, or business look—none of that was necessary.

The existing decor from the previous hotpot restaurant would be used as much as possible; anything that couldn’t be reused would be patched up and used again.

And if something really couldn’t be used, then it wouldn’t be used at all.

As long as the fire safety and hygiene were up to standard and the food tasted good enough, the customers could deal with the rest themselves.

This budget left the foreman, Old He, speechless for a solid half-minute before he finally spoke.

“Last month, I did a renovation for a Sha County snack shop, and their cost was 900 yuan per square meter. If Old Yan hadn’t introduced you, I wouldn’t even want to take this job.”

“No choice, we’re in the early startup stage and have to save where we can. How about this, Master He? I’ll see if I can get you another job refurbishing an old apartment upstairs. You can handle both jobs together, and maybe the labor costs will be a bit cheaper.”

Ma Lu offered him a cigarette. Old He took it, didn’t light it, but tucked it behind his ear and sighed, “Alright then.”

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