Even with Kra.s.su and Urien shooting daggers out of their eyes at each other across the table, Mag"s first meal back in Chaos City was quite a warm and enjoyable one.The men were drinking to their hearts" content while the women wore gorgeous smiles as they sampled his delicious dishes, and a content smile appeared on Mag"s face as he carried a chunk of fish into Amy"s bowl using his chopsticks.
Never would he have thought that he would have friends that were concerned about him and looked forward to his return home. This was a very wonderful feeling.
After lunch, everyone took their leave one after another, and the restaurant fell silent again.
Amy and Anna sat at the entrance while playing with Ugly Duckling, and their laughter was even more pleasing to the ear than the bell hanging by the door.
Mag rose to his feet, and prepared to carry the empty beer gla.s.ses away. However, Yabemiya got there before him, and she smiled as she said, "Leave everything to Babla and me. You just came back, and you already had to cook for everyone, so you should take a rest."
"I"ve already learned how to use the dishwasher." Babla stacked a pile of plates and bowls together before carrying them over to the kitchen.
"She"s a fast learner," Yabemiya remarked before covering her mouth with her hand as she whispered in an amused voice, "She"s just a little shy."
Mag withdrew his hand at the sight of the Miya"s bubbly smile, and he nodded with a smile. "Thanks for your hard work."
"It"s all part of my job," Yabemiya replied with a smile before packing up the beer gla.s.ses onto a platter and also carrying them to the kitchen.
Mag withdrew his gaze, and made his way over to the entrance of the restaurant.
"Boss Mag! You"re finally back!"
As soon as Mag emerged out of the restaurant, two excited voices sounded in unison, following which two fatsos with a combined weight that surely exceeded 250 kilograms came charging toward him, creating quite an intimidating sight to behold.
"Yes, I"m back." Mag looked at the oncoming Harrison and Gjerj, and he reflexively stepped off to the side in fear of being knocked off his feet by this pair of enthusiastic fatsos.
"I"ve missed you so much! I thought you"d abandoned me." Harrison immediately switched directions in response to Mag"s sidestep and grasped tightly onto Mag"s hand with a pitiable expression, putting on his best impersonation of an abandoned wife.
Mag immediately withdrew his hand and stumbled back half a step as gooseb.u.mps appeared all over his body. He had to hold back not to kick Harrison away.
Mag managed to repress that urge, but Gjerj was unable to do so. He planted his foot firmly into Harrison"s sizeable backside and kicked him aside before appearing in front of Mag with a tense expression on his face. "Boss Mag, is the restaurant open for business today?"
Even though Harrison had just received a kick up the backside, he was not angry in the slightest as he made his way over to Mag again, having also adopted a nervous yet expectant expression. "Boss Mag, I"ve been going hungry for days waiting for your return. Look at me; I"m all skin and bones!"
Mag glanced at Harrison"s portly figure, and it was quite apparent to anyone with a pair of functioning eyes that he was far more than just skin and bones. He shook his head with a smile, and replied, "My apologies, but I"ve only just gotten back, and I"m rather weary after my journey. I haven"t prepared any ingredients, either, so I"ll be reopening the restaurant tomorrow instead of today."
"Tomorrow?" A disappointed look appeared on Gjerj"s face. The hope in his eyes faded, and even his shoulders slumped down as if they were bearing a heavy weight.
Harrison glanced at Gjerj before grabbing onto Mag"s hand again in an urgent manner. "Boss Mag, I don"t mind coming back tomorrow to eat, but can you make a Yangzhou fried rice for Miranda? In the days that you"ve been away, she"s barely eaten anything. The midwife says that she"s due in the next few days, and this is her fourth child, so she could be in a lot of danger in her current condition."
Mag was initially about to withdraw his hand again, but a hint of surprise appeared on his face as he turned to Gjerj. In the few days that he"d been away, Gjerj really did appear to have aged several years. The dark rings around his eyes were quite heavy, and his face was also rather bloated as he looked into Mag"s eyes with a beseeching expression on his face.
This was the father of three children, as well as the husband of heavily pregnant woman; the thought of the burden on his shoulders tugged viciously on Mag"s heartstrings.
"My apologies, I was unaware of that. I"ll cook your wife a Yangzhou fried rice and some chicken soup. I wish her and the child a safe delivery," Mag said in an apologetic voice.
An elated expression appeared on Gjerj"s face as he bowed deeply to Mag. "You"re not at fault, Boss Mag; I should be thanking you."
"Boss Mag, you"re a good man!" Harrison released Mag"s hand before patting Gjerj on the shoulder, and a wide smile appeared on his face as well.
"You"re also a good friend," Mag said with a smile as he made his way into the restaurant. As he did so, he invited, "Come in and have a seat."
Amy, who was sitting off to the side while playing with Ugly Duckling, suddenly looked up at Gjerj with an expectant expression as she asked, "Uncle Blue Fatty, is Aunt Miranda going to give birth to a little baby? Is it really going to be a little sister?"
Anna also looked up at Gjerj with a curious look in her eyes, clearly also very interested in the prospect of a little sister.
Having received a promise from Mag, Gjerj was clearly feeling a lot more relaxed. He looked at Amy with a smile, and nodded as he said, "That"s right, she"s about to give birth, and it"s definitely going to be an adorable little princess, just like you."
Amy clapped her little hands together with elation. "That"s great! I have to go and see her after she"s born. I love little sisters!"
Mag entered the kitchen and carried out the magic high-pressure cooker that he"d bought a few days ago. Taking into consideration that Miranda hadn"t eaten much in the past few days, Mag decided against cooking his braised chicken. Instead, he cooked a nouris.h.i.+ng chicken soup with goji berries and dates to replenish her body.
After that, Mag cooked a Yangzhou fried rice for her as well. Gjerj ordered this dish every time he came here as it was Miranda"s favorite.
Furthermore, the Spring of Life had been added to this dish, so it also had very good nouris.h.i.+ng and recovery effects, making it ideal for Miranda in her current condition.
"This is chicken soup, get her to drink lots of this." Mag carried out the chicken soup in a large earthenware pot.
"Thank you." Gjerj carefully accepted the pot with both hands as if he were cradling some kind of prized treasure.
"I"ll take this one. I"ll make sure that it gets to Miranda as soon as possible." Harrison also accepted the container with Yangzhou fried rice from Mag with both hands in an extremely careful and delicate manner.
Mag instructed, "The chicken soup can be consumed at night as well after being heated. Come over at around 5pm today, and I"ll have another portion of Yangzhou fried rice ready for you. Make sure she gets as much nutrition as she can during these few days."
"Thank you so much." Gjerj bowed to Mag as he cradled the pot of chicken soup in his arms, and there were tears s.h.i.+mmering in his eyes.