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

“I’m… not selling the kite.” Mag shook his head, and smiled at the resentful Daniel as he said, “But if your little girl wants to play with it, then we can lend it to her. We’re pretty much done with it anyway.”

“Yeah, little sister, you can play with it for a bit. I’m already tired.” Amy drank all of the water from her cup before waving at Yaya.

“Can I really play with it, big sister?” Yaya looked at Amy with a slightly incredulous expression.

“Of course. But it’s still mine, so I’m only borrowing it to you.” Amy nodded with an earnest expression before reminding Yaya of the kite’s ownership rights.

“Thank you, big sister!” Yaya was overjoyed as she spread open her little arms, and said, “Father, I want you to hold me as well! I want to fly the big beautiful kite!”

“Alright, I’m coming.” Daniel picked Yaya up, and turned to Mag with a grateful look as he said, “Thank you so much, brother.”

“No need to thank me. What’s important is that the children are happy.” Mag passed the line reel to Daniel, and a hint of warmth flowed through his heart at the sight of Amy’s benevolent smile.

Mag, Amy, and Ugly Duckling played together in the square for an entire morning. Even though they had loaned their kite out to the other little kids, Amy was very happy to play with the other children, and the sound of their laughter brought smiles to all of the parents’ faces.

“He’s a good person, after all. Even though he made all the kids cry, he’s now making them all laugh.”

“Indeed. His daughter is quite a generous girl as well. If it were my child, she definitely wouldn’t let anyone else touch her kite.”

The parents that were familiar with each other discussed among themselves in quiet voices, and all of them wore smiles on their faces as they looked at Mag.

“Alright, time to go back and eat.” After noon struck, Mag recovered the kite with a smile. It had cost him 598 copper coins, after all, and he was not generous enough to give away it for free. Amy bade farewell to the new friends that she had made before heading back to the restaurant with Mag.

Mag took a glance at the rankings as they passed by the magic screens, and discovered the braised chicken and rice and roujiamo were still at 29th and 30th place, respectively, while the tofu puddings had continued to advance, with the sweet tofu pudding taking out the 43rd spot, while the savory version came in at 44th.

We weren’t open for business today, so those rankings will definitely fall. If I want to maintain the spots in the top 30, then I’ll have to increase the portions of braised chicken and rice and roujiamo served. I’m pretty much already at the limit of the roujiamo production capacity, but I could make an extra pot of braised chicken and rice. Mag withdrew his gaze from the rankings board. His target was only for one dish to make it into the top 30 anyway, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to provide more of that dish during the voting period.

…

As expected, the next day, Mamy Restaurant’s rankings had fallen. The braised chicken and rice and roujiamo had fallen to 38th and 39th place, respectively, and the other three dishes also weren’t doing as well as before.

“29! Boss, our rotisserie finally made it to number 29!” An excited voice suddenly erupted among the crowd as the employee looked at Ricky with elation etched on his face.

“29! It really is 29! I’ve been dreaming about this 29 for so long! Hahaha! That Mamy Restaurant or whatever must have been shut down! Their fraudulent actions must have been exposed, leading to their being wiped from the rankings!” Ricky chortled like a madman. However, his guffaws came to an abrupt halt as his laughter aggravated his injuries, causing him to grimace with pain, but the excitement on his face was still plain to see.

“Tsk, that’s only because Mag takes a day’s break once every six days. Otherwise, you think you can make it into the top 30?”

“Exactly! Mamy Restaurant wasn’t wiped from the rankings. Even after closing for business for one day, they’ve still taken the 38th and 39th spots. They’ll be sure to overtake you again tomorrow.”

Harrison and Gjerj pursed their lips, turning to leave.

“How… How could this be?” Ricky’s smile immediately froze on his face. He turned toward the second magic screen, and an incredulous look appeared on his face as his gaze settled on the 38th and 39th dish.

He had thought that after filing the report to the Chamber of Conference, that restaurant would have been removed from the rankings for sure. However, its ranking had only slipped as they had taken a holiday.

Business is booming for them, so unless the boss is retarded, there’s no way that he would just take a break for no reason. Those two must have been lying to me. He must have run out of money, and was unable to buy those rankings, which is why the dishes slid down the rankings board. That must the case! Ricky consoled himself as he muttered bitterly, “Seeing as they’ve already slid down, there’s no way they can get back up again. Let’s see how you’re going to exceed me now!”

…

Mag was already mentally prepared for a drop in the rankings, so when Yabemiya rushed in in the morning with a frantic expression and told him about the rankings, he was actually a little surprised that the two dishes didn’t drop out of the top 40. He swindled an earthenware pot from the system, and prepared to cook three pots of braised chicken and rice that day.

I can’t give up on the Haagen-Dazs ice cream recipe, but it looks like I’ll be completing the wheel mission two days in advance. I’m looking forward to seeing what I’ll get. An expectant smile appeared on Mag’s face as he looked at the countdown in his mind.

…

Just as Mag had expected, after adding a new earthenware pot, the supply of braised chicken and rice increased by close to a third. Thus, on the third day, the braised chicken and rice managed to claim the 29th spot on the rankings again, successfully forcing Ricky’s Rotisserie down to 30.

The roujiamo’s ranking also enjoyed a steady rise, arriving at number 32, so it was only a matter of time before it cracked the top 30 again. In comparison, the Ricky’s Rotisserie ranked 30th was quite pitiable. There were even many people who were beginning to speculate when it would be forced out of the top 30 again.

…

“Arrrgh! I’m so mad! My rotisserie was forced down a spot again. Your Chamber of Commerce must give me an explanation!” Ricky stormed the Chamber of Commerce with a thunderous expression.

A worker put on a professional smile, and replied, “My apologies, Mr. Ricky. Secretary Mars is very busy today, and does not have time to attend to you. I’ll relay your message to him, so you don’t need to worry. Your ranking is still in the top 30, and our Chamber of Commerce will ensure that every board member is satisfied.”

Ricky opened his mouth to say something, but he thought about it, and closed his mouth again. He nodded, and said, “Alright, then. I trust that the Chamber of Commerce will have my back.”

…

That night, Mag had just locked the restaurant door when the system’s voice sounded in his mind. “Ding! Congratulations on completing the tofu pudding mission! The reward for the mission’s completion is a chance to win a prize from the God of Cookery lucky draw. You have already unlocked the God of Cookery upgrade wheel; would you like to draw a prize tonight?”