Chapter 1301: Host, You Are Committing A Fraud!
The congee with pork and century egg was a very simple dish if one didn’t have to make the century egg. Simply place the washed rice into the pot, and cook it until it was soft before putting in the century egg and sliced pork. Then, scatter some chopped spring onions over it, and a helping of congee with pork and century egg was ready to be served.
Mag covered the big pot as he placed a small pot on the stove, and said to Rena, “Have a taste, Rena. Our breakfast today depends on you now.”
“S-so, am I supposed to start now?” Rena asked Mag, feeling rather taken aback. Mag simply explained the steps to her once. He had just placed the rice into the huge pot.
“Mm-hm. You can do it.” Mag nodded. He had to teach Rena how to make the congee with pork and century egg within two days, or else the cleaners wouldn’t have any breakfast after he left for the Boundless Sea Realm. The customers also couldn’t be eating hot pot for every single meal.
“Okay.” Rena nodded as she looked at Mag’s trusting gaze. She started to wash the rice and cook the porridge. This was something that she usually did, but the amount of water that she used wasn’t as stringent as Mag required.
“Don’t underestimate the detail of the amount of water used. That is the fundamental of the congee,” Mag said.
Details were very important when it came to cooking. Otherwise, why could the professional chefs make the dishes much more scrumptious than normal people when they used the same ingredients and followed similar steps? It was their control of the details.
“Mm-hm.” Rena nodded seriously and committed Mag’s words into her heart.
Mag’s greatest consolation was probably Rena’s talent at cooking. She could make an 80-90% similar congee with pork and century egg after watching him do it once.
“Do not stir too vigorously after you put the century eggs into the pot, as it would scatter them. We have to preserve the shape of the century eggs and make sure the color of the porridge looks clean.” Mag scooped up a bowl of the congee with pork and century egg that Rena made. He blew at it gently before putting it into his mouth. After tasting it carefully, he said, “It’s still a little salty. The century egg has its own aroma and the sliced pork is salted, so we don’t need to add too much salt into the congee. Most people prefer to have something light early in the morning.”
“Alright.” Rena nodded, feeling a little depressed. She still wasn’t good enough.
“This is already very good for your first attempt. You will be making our congee with pork and century egg tomorrow,” Mag said with a smile. “And I will continue teaching you how to make the soup base for the hot pot after the breakfast service. We will try to master all the different flavors of the soup bases today.”
“Mm-hm. Okay.” Rena nodded. She didn’t have a single doubt about Mag’s decisions.
After the lunch service was over, Mag made a trip to the factory. The dwarf construction team was working methodically. A four-storey dormitory building made of black stones had basically taken shape, and they were in the midst of capping. Their efficiency indeed couldn’t be matched by a human construction team.
The factory’s workshop was also in construction. The construction team had reinforced the walls, and replaced the roof’s beams and leaking tiles.
Mag deliberately made a trip this afternoon because Scheer was having her people send the steam engines over. He came to lock the 10 steam engines in the fortified warehouse. Presently, he had no time to do a comprehensive renovation of the factory. He could only handle the rest after he came back from the Boundless Sea Realm.
However, the Night Elves would have a place to stay once the dormitory was ready. At least they were able to settle in first.
“System, I will order the beds and life necessities directly from you then? This is going to be a big order,” Mag said to the system after he came out from the factory.
It would take a lot of time to custom-make 1000 beds, and he, too, would need to shop around for 1000 sets of life necessities. Hence, Mag decided to buy them from the system straight away.
“My crayfish have all escaped, so I am not in the mood to sell beds!” the system said in an aggrieved voice.
“You should be selling the beds especially after your crayfish have escaped. Otherwise, wouldn’t you be losing out even more if you lost the crayfish and missed out on selling the beds? You could recoup some money by selling the beds and life necessities, and then go rear some crayfish again. Isn’t that great?” Mag said smilingly.
“Your words seem to make sense too,” the system said hesitantly.
Mag curled his lips slightly as he continued, “That’s right. 1000 wooden single beds, and it would be great if they were made of the wood from Wind Forest. They should look simple. And the life necessities should be simple too, but the quality shouldn’t be too lousy. How much are they going to cost?”
“The wooden single beds would cost 500 copper coins each, and one set of life necessities would cost 200 copper coins. They will include: towel, toothbrush, rinsing cup, slippers, and pajamas. How many sets does the Host need?” the system asked.
“I will order 1500 sets then,” Mag said after a brief moment of hesitation. Although there were only about 1000 Night Elves currently, since Chaos City had opened up to the elves, more and more wandering elves were going to come and settle down in Chaos City. Some of them might choose to join the Night Elves, so Mag decided to prepare for them in advance.
“The total cost is: 1,050,000 copper coins,” the system replied.
“So expensive?” Mag c.o.c.ked an eyebrow.
“This is a fair price. Do you know how much power this system has to waste to chop a tree in Wind Forest, make it into a bed, and then transport it by air to Chaos City? You wouldn’t be able to find another shop giving you this price in Chaos City.”
“Alright. Take away a zero then.”
The system paused for a while before it unwillingly said, “Alright, I will take away a zero!”
“You help yourself to 150,000 copper coins. Don’t deduct extra,” Mag said naturally.
“Okay… huh? Host, what do you mean? Why has it become 150,000 now?”
“Didn’t you agree to take away a zero?” Mag said matter-of-factly.
“Host, you are committing a fraud! Serious fraud!!!” the system roared.
“Don’t get anxious. It’s just business. Let’s talk it out, talk it out. Apart from the beds and life necessities, I would like to connect a water supply to their dormitory. I would like to build a bathroom and toilet for them on every level. Help me connect the pipes, install the shower and toilet bowls, and build an underground reservoir. The water pressure must be strong enough to reach every level of the dormitory, and the volume must be able to sustain the factory’s daily operations. Calculate how much would it cost?” Mag continued.
“If you refuse to tell me which zero that is going to be, I am not going to calculate it!”
“Fine, fine. Then, we will take away the 50,000 from that and make it into 1,000,000. Now, let’s calculate how much this set of pipes and tap water system is going to cost.” Mag stopped teasing the system. Even the dwarf construction team wouldn’t be able to connect a water supply. They could at most build him a reservoir, but they couldn’t pressurize the water and send it upstairs.
“The average height for the three dormitory buildings is 16 meters. We have to build a huge reservoir if we need to supply 1500 people for their daily water needs and sustain a textile factory’s daily operation. At the same time we need to have a set of electrical pressurization systems. Then, the showers and toilet bowls for every level… The total construction price is: 6,660,000 copper coins,” the system said after a quick calculation.