A Stay-at-home Dad's Restaurant In An Alternate World

Mag stared at the broken cleaver in his hands, and then stared at that smug fat head fish. He was so taken aback that he asked in his heart, “System, does this stupid fish of yours have an iron head?”

“Please remain calm, Host. This Fat Head Fish lives in Lake Karasana at the extreme north of Norland Continent. The lake is frozen throughout the year, and the oxygen level in the water is extremely low. In order to survive, these fat head fish will use their heads to break the ice every day to obtain oxygen. After tens of thousands of years of evolution, their heads become extremely tough, and thus they are also called Icebreaker Fish. They are a 3rd-tier magic beast.” The System gave a brief introduction.

“They only have to move to live in another place. Why did they have to do that?” Mag pursed his lips. He peered at the broken cleaver in his hand, and said, “Where"s that cleaver from last night? Seems like this golden-rimmed cleaver had outlived its usefulness. That cleaver from last night was quite good to use, just give me one of that.”

“Ding! Breaking the cleaver has triggered a hidden mission: one has to have his own personal best of the best cleaver in order to be the G.o.d of Cookery. Could the Host please proceed to the Issen Castle and find the best knifesmith and custom-make a personal Knife of the G.o.d of Cookery!” The system"s voice sounded.

“You are actually trying to do that?” Mag c.o.c.ked an eyebrow before he shook his head decisively. “I reject this mission, System! I am a chef and this is already Year 9012, who would deliberately go to the dwarves to custom-make their cleavers now?

“As a professional a.s.sistant, do you need to make your daddy make a trip personally when money can easily be used to solve this problem? Spit it out, how much does the cleaver from last night cost?”

“The cleaver that Daddy used was called “Crus.h.i.+ng the Foes”. It was a cleaver that this System had specially designed for the Host. It used the highest-grade t.i.tanium alloy…” The System"s bootlicking voice suddenly faltered. After clearing its throat, it seriously continued, “Host, please respect this System. Don"t humiliate me with money. I am an upright and principled system. For this mission, you have to—”

“Double,” Mag said calmly.

“—personally—”

“Triple,” Mag continued calmly.

“—go—”

“Quadruple.”

“…go… go… go…”

“Fine, if you are not selling, I am not going to make this fish.” Mag flicked his hand nonchalantly, and that fat head fish went back into the tank in a perfect parabola.

“Wait a sec!” The System raised its voice, and then continued with much difficulty, “Host, you have to complete this mission! The time limit is three days. If the mission fails: the Host will lose all his rights to use the knives in the kitchen as he would be deemed looking down on the knives! If the mission is successful: the Host will gain a chance to return to his peak power briefly!”

Mag, who was about to walk away, halted, and asked with uncertainty in his heart, “System, do you mean it would be similar to the previous time where my power returns to 10th-tier straight away?”

“Yes. It"ll return to the peak condition that this body was once at for 10 minutes,” the System confirmed.

Mag"s eyes lit up before he piteously said, “10 minutes is a little too short, right? If the enemies talk too much, I will faint even before we start fighting. You know, some villains really talk a lot. Why don"t we make it slightly longer?”

“You cannot blame the villians for talking too much. Otherwise, all the superheroes" stories would have been tragedies,” the System murmured before saying, “However, what the Host said makes sense. Hence, this System will adjust to this condition accordingly, and add another five minutes.”

“15 minutes.” After some pondering, Mag nodded in agreement. “Alright, I accept this mission.”

Looking at the three days countdown that appeared in his head, Mag began to make congee with pork and century egg.

Anna came down when the congee was almost ready. She went into the kitchen, and said, “Uncle Mag, let me help you.”

“Anna, don"t wake up so early in the future. Sleep more as you are still growing,” Mag said to Anna with a smile.

“It"s alright. I have slept enough. Uncle Mag wakes up even earlier than me.” Anna shook her head as she pulled open the bowls" drawer and took out a pile of big bowls carefully. Then, she walked out of the kitchen.

Mag looked at Anna"s little back. This little one was perfect, apart from being too sensible. She was so sensible that his heart ached for her.

Mag opened the door at 6:30 am sharp, and carried the big pot out. Then, with Anna"s help, he distributed the congee with pork and century egg to the cleaners.

When they were almost done eating, Mag loudly announced, “I have something to tell you folks. I need to go on a trip today and it may take 2-3 days, so for the next couple of days, you folks have to bring your own breakfast. I inform you folks in advance, and hope you all don"t forget about it.”

“Please go on your trip in peace, Mr. Mag. We can take care of ourselves,” Old Jack said with a laugh, and the other cleaners chimed in too.

“Didn"t he promise us there will be breakfast every day? It"s only been two days and it stops,” Elton grumbled unhappily as he drank a mouthful of the congee.

This congee was delicious and free. Normally, he would alway go hungry in the morning, and now the congee stopped after two days.

He gazed at Mag and moved his eyes around. Then, he laughed and stood up as he said to Mag, “Erm… Mr. Mag, we won"t have any breakfast once you leave. Why don"t we do this: since a bowl of your congee with pork and century egg sells for 200 copper coins, you can give each of us 400 copper coins to buy our own breakfast for these couple of days. The stuff that you give out will be of equal value, and we can have hot breakfast too. This problem will be solved.”

Many cleaners lifted their heads when they heard about 400 copper coins, which was almost a month of their wages. Even though they felt Elton"s method didn"t seem quite right, on second thought, his words weren"t wrong, either. That was 400 copper coins. They could buy lots of meat if they got it.

Mag looked at Elton and then suddenly laughed. This cad was much more despicable than he had imagined.

“Elton, you nasty, old cad!” Old Jack stood up immediately, pointed his finger at Elton, and furiously scolded, “Mr. Mag made us breakfast out of his own good will. He even got up early on his day off to stay true to his promise. What does he have to gain from you? The dirt on your body?

“Now, he has to leave for an errand, and you actually have the cheek to ask him for 400 copper coins for breakfast? What do you think you are? Why don"t you use your face to sweep the floor?

“You don"t want your face, but we still want ours. We couldn"t bring ourselves to make such a request. I even feel I have let Mr. Mag down by eating this congee next to you.”

“Yes. Mr. Mag is a great person. Please go on your trip in peace. We will take care of our own breakfast,” many of the cleaners chimed in.

Some of the cleaners who were tempted earlier blushed and lowered their heads in shame.

Old fart has thwarted my plans. Elton eyed Old Jack viciously. He saw that everyone was dissuaded by Old Jack"s words and he had become the bad guy, so he began to smile and say to Mag, “I am just saying it for fun. It"s just a joke. Don"t mind me, Boss Mag.”

“It"s fine. From tomorrow onward, you don"t have to come.” Mag smiled, and said to Elton, “This is not a joke.”