AK - The Alchemy Kingdom

Chapter 138: Spring I

Year 4, Spring, Second Month, First Week.

Toni, are you sure they would open at this time?

Nemera was impatiently waiting for the store to open, while the nervous defender was confused if they were just hanging out or if this was a date. The pair had just come back from an escorting mission on the other side of the mountains and were given a week of rest before they had to report for duty. The pair of defenders was clearly standing out amongst the crowd of citizens. Although they had time to freshen up, they didnt dare to come to the food section without their protective equipment.

One month ago, when they left for their mission, the now calm section was in chaos, not the destructive and life-endangering one but chaos nonetheless. The Council had planned to use the first week of Spring exclusively for transition. At this time, all the services would still be public, but the food stalls would training the payments proceedings with the customers, without really charging, of course. Unfortunately, everybody wanted to test their badges and the section was drowned in madness.

And this wasnt the only part of their plan that went sideways. The recently created City Planning Department also decided to use the first week to receive citizens interested in opening food and crafting shops. The idea was to pass the responsibility of providing food to the private sector, while the Council would only manage the production.

Since everyone already knew about it, the interested should be going to the department to make the final arrangements. However, the Council didnt expect a crowd of curious citizens would actually appear, instead of only those who were really interested. Even though most visitors never had cooked with magic ingredients or had worked with crafting, fairness had to uphold and the city planners had to receive everybody. The consequence was that the Council had to extend all public services another week and work overtime to see everyone.

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Fortunately, after much effort and patience, four restaurants and eight stalls were officially opened in the food section. Of course, the citizens had only received their first wage and couldnt front the costs of buying the shops and stalls, so the department had come up with plans for both renting and buying the stores. After much discussion, the Council agreed it wouldnt be fair to charge rent and never allow them to own the store, so they decided on giving a loan for the business owners to cover the costs of the shops.

In the end, they had to find a balance to give the bolder citizens the option to buy the store, while giving the others an option to rent the place and try their luck first. For renting, a store would cost from 120 to 300 crystals a month and a stall, 30 to 50 crystals. While buying a stall would cost from 150 to 250 crystals depending on the design.

The process to buy a store was a little more complicated, first, they would need to choose the location of the store and buy the land. Then, they would need to pay for constructing the store according to their requirements.

The stalls, both bought and rented, would be located in the fast service sector of the food section. Similarly, the stores available for renting would be built in a specific sector and the renters could only choose from a few options of basic structure. The models werent bad in any way, just standardized. The simplest store would have a medium room, a counter and a small room, while the more expensive could have bigger and more rooms. All the stores were all made of wood, which for now, was the only option for construction in the city.

Unsurprisingly, only one business was bold enough to build a store and take on debt, the Grannys Stake House. They decided to go all-in and bought a sizable property in the best sector of the food section for 500 crystals. Unexpectedly, the old couple paid for it upfront with their first wages and money they borrowed from their children.

Since they had already spent a lot with the location, they wouldnt be saving on the store, so they decided on a project of 3500 crystals and paid for it with a loan, which would be repaid in ten installments of 400 crystals.

The news of their investment quickly spread through the city and everybody waited anxiously for the stores opening. In the second month of Spring, Grannys Stake House finally opened. The restaurant wouldnt open for breakfast, only for the midday and evening meal, so their first customers arrived two hours before noon. Although this time wasnt very popular since most would be working, at least 32 people were waiting outside when steak grannys husband opened the restaurants doors.

After greeting the owner, everyone ran inside to see what 3500 crystals would buy. At first sight, the store wasnt very different aside from being bigger. The first room was a big salon with roughly 15 wooden tables of different sizes, one small counter with the paying tools they already knew, and a long counter with many cups and pots. Behind the long counter, was a doorway that probably led to the kitchen and other staff rooms.

The customers stared around for a minute before arranging themselves on the tables. The first big surprise came when they sat, the wooden chair wasnt new but the seat was especially soft and comfortable. Only after sitting, they noticed the seat was actually covered in fabric, which was probably hiding some hay. The sensation, which they never longed for, was strangely welcomed and pleasing.

While they got used to the unexpected comfort, the owner went behind the counter and started to fill some clay pots with water. Most didnt realize, but he was pressing an activator below the counter to pour water into the pots. At this time, a young man, who people recognized as the steak grannys youngest son, came out of the backroom and join his father in taking the freshwater pots to the occupied tables. Everybody was awed with the service so they thanked the hosts sincerely.

The pair went from table to table and patiently describe their options and prices, which were also written on a board beside the counter. The customers were pleased to know the water was free, but become a little scared with the prices of the meals. Although their menu had an affordable option of a vegetable soup for one crystal, the meat options went from three to ten crystals. However, after they discussed amongst themselves, they realized they couldnt charge the same as the stalls, after all, their service and location were much better.

Most customers ordered common steak and soup, while a few dared to ask for the six and ten crystals options. The six crystals option was a double size stake, prepared with earth-infused herbs and accompanied by a soup with more earth ingredients. In fact, all soups were prepared with earth ingredients, like magic roots and bones of earth beasts. However, everyone was anxious to see how the ten crystals option would look like.

When the young man returned with two small steaks and soups made from MQ earth meat, the customers didnt mind being polite and indiscreetly stared at the meal. Nemera and Toni, who had ordered a ten crystals meal each, could only laugh awkwardly before starting to eat.

The pair had never tasted MQ earth meat and almost couldnt contain their delight. Every bite brought a new complex flavor, the natural saltiness of earth meat was further enhanced, without going overboard. A trace of bitterness and metallic taste were also present, but without being unpleasant. However, what Toni liked the most was the thin layer of fat, present between the meats fibers, which would slowly melt amongst their bites.

The defenders had specifically come here after this delicacy, which they had helped escorting from the other side of the mountains. Hopefully, every month a cart filled with MQ meat would be transported from Adventurers point, and they would have a small but constant source of MQ ingredients. Fortunately, they could only afford to eat a small portion of MQ meat and only a few would pay for it. Even Toni, who earned quite a sum monthly, wouldnt be able to buy the meal every day.

After a month of dealing with the badges and payment tools, everybody was used to making the operation. So, one by one, the customers left their tables and paid for the meals at the small counter. Nobody forgot to use the updater to update the number on their badge that represented how much they had left.

In the first weeks after everyone got their badges, cases of people forgetting to update their badges reached the dozens every day. So the Council had to call the business owners and remind them from requiring the update, otherwise, they would be prohibited to sell. The action was seen as exaggerated by some, but the Council had to do it to ensure the proper function of their financial system.

The customers that came in the evening had another pleasant surprise, the store was illuminated by lighting effect. This was a costly option that only Grannys Stake House would dare to install from the beginning. Later, after the other stores realize people would prefer to go to a better-illuminated restaurant at night, they would surely pay to install the effect on their shops too.