Chapter 21 – Closing the Shop
Grandpa Song, sitting at his table, had his eyes on Lin Jiu the whole time, not even noticing his own grandson had entered the restaurant. He coughed loudly a couple of times, trying to get his attention.
Sure enough, Si Xu turned his head when he heard the familiar sound and saw his grandfather dining with Secretary Jin.
“Grandpa? You’re here?”
Si Xu had shared the Demon Fish Shop in his WeChat moments, hoping his family would come by if they had time to try the food. He hadn’t expected his grandfather to visit so quickly.
Lin Jiu: “…”
He never imagined that the old man was Si Xu’s grandfather!
Thinking back to how he’d left the old man locked outside at lunchtime, Lin Jiu felt a bit guilty. On top of that, he wasn’t sure if his secret as a fan had been uncovered, which made him feel even more nervous. He kept his head down, focusing on cutting the fish.
Grandpa Song put on an air of dignity, “It’s rare to see you share food recommendations in your moments, so I came to try it out.”
Si Xu smiled, “How’s the taste?”
Grandpa Song maintained his formal tone, “Not bad, a rare delicacy.”
Jiang Ge chimed in, “Grandpa, let me tell you, following Ah Xu around means you get to eat a lot of off-menu delicacies. Would you like to join us for more?”
Grandpa Song, taken aback, glanced at the menu for the day and then at the young owner. He replied sternly, “You just want to freeload. The shop has its own rules. You shouldn’t make things difficult for the owner.”
Jiang Ge nodded quickly, “I know, I know. The owner doesn’t mind at all.”
Si Xu noticed that Lin Jiu’s ears had turned red, likely from embarrassment. He poured cold water on Jiang Ge’s suggestion, “Follow the rules. Eat what’s on the menu.”
Jiang Ge protested, “I wanted grilled crab legs and grilled silver carp! Why do we have to stick to the rules? Aren’t we friends?”
Si Xu ignored him and said to Lin Jiu, “One large seafood rice and a sashimi platter.”
“One moment.” Lin Jiu replied, delivering Shao Yunxi’s seafood rice and sashimi platter first before returning to prepare dinner for Si Xu and Jiang Ge.
“Is the private room available?” Si Xu asked.
“It is.”
Lin Jiu had barely finished speaking when Shao Yunxi let out a dramatic groan, “You just said the private room wasn’t available! How come it is now that someone else asked? Don’t play favorites, boss. Your dining rules clearly state ‘no reservations.’ Did they make one?”
Si Xu and Jiang Ge, unaware of what had just transpired, both looked at Lin Jiu curiously.
Even Grandpa Song was watching with interest, waiting for the young owner’s response.
Now, not only were Lin Jiu’s ears red, but his face was also burning. Luckily, the mask he was wearing hid it, so his cool, detached image wasn’t completely shattered.
Keeping a straight face, he said, “Different customers receive different levels of service.”
Shao Yunxi persisted, “How do you determine customer levels? Do I need to buy a membership? Or can you tell me what level I need to reach to get delivery service? The roads in Old Town are terrible, and there’s nowhere to park. Coming here is such a hassle. Delivery would be great.”
“Sorry, the shop doesn’t have a membership system or offer delivery. Customer levels are based on spending and appreciation of the shop. The specifics depend on the shop’s evaluation system.”
Now that Lin Jiu had the Demon Hunter system and its sub-system, the Demon Hunter Chef system, everything in the shop was well-organized. Every customer who had dined there left their information, including name, spending, and appreciation score, all clearly displayed.
Currently, Si Xu has the highest spending and appreciation score. The Demon Hunter Chef system even highlighted Si Xu’s information in gold, showing just how much the system valued him as a VIP customer.
Shao Yunxi thought for a moment, “What about the second floor?”
“Both the second and third floors are reserved for those who meet the required level.”
Shao Yunxi understood and stopped pressing the issue, focusing on enjoying his meal.
Grandpa Song and Secretary Jin finished their meal. After hearing about the customer levels, Grandpa Song refused to let his grandson pay for him. He wanted to pay for himself to accumulate spending and appreciation points and raise his own customer level in the shop.
They left before Si Xu and Jiang Ge had finished eating.
Afterward, Si Xu and Jiang Ge went to the private room, and Lin Jiu quickly brought them their seafood rice and sashimi platter.
Jiang Ge asked, “Does this place not serve alcohol? With such great food, it feels like something’s missing without some drinks.”
The shop didn’t serve alcohol, fruits, or vegetables. The only green garnish was Lorlora leaves, which could be used for decoration or eaten. They were similar to Earth’s perilla leaves.
Lin Jiu had bought the Lorlora leaves using magic points, but he was hesitant to waste more magic points, so he hadn’t considered stocking alcohol or fruits.
“The shop currently doesn’t offer alcohol or fruits and vegetables,” Linc Jiu said. Perhaps it might in the future, but not for now.
Lin Jiu hadn’t bought fruits or vegetables for a reason. He planned to visit the magical sea dimension again and find a small island with plenty of wild fruits and vegetables, which he had tasted before and found delicious.
He wanted to claim a small island as his base, where he could pick his own fruits and vegetables or even farm them. This way, he’d have nutritious and tasty produce without spending too many magic points.
Before leaving, Lin Jiu took a moment to check on Si Xu’s complexion. Although he was still thin, his overall health had noticeably improved.
According to the Demon Hunter system, the higher the danger level of a sea demon, the more magic essence its body contained. The magic essence was rich in nutrients, and the highest-grade magical seafood currently available in the shop was stone skeleton fish roe. The stone skeleton fish had a two-star danger rating, followed by the silver carp with a one-star rating. Other ingredients like horned shrimp, rainbow snails, demon claw crabs, and black star clams all had lower nutritional value than the stone skeleton fish roe and silver carp fish.
Lin Jiu considered serving Si Xu a special portion of stone skeleton fish roe since it would benefit his health, but he was worried Si Xu might insist on paying, which could feel like forcing a sale. In the end, he decided against it. Though other magical seafood wasn’t as nutritious as the fish roe, it still far outclassed Earth ingredients.
There was no need to rush Si Xu’s recovery; slow and steady progress would be better. Si Xu and Jiang Ge had sent him a flower basket and promoted his shop on social media. He owed them a favor, and he couldn’t repay it casually. He planned to prepare a special meal for them on a chosen day.
Thanks to Si Xu and Jiang Ge’s promotion, the shop was busy all evening. Lin Jiu worked until 9 PM before closing for the night. Even then, latecomers arrived asking if they could still eat.
Of course, Lin Jiu had to turn them away—he had run out of ingredients, and even the pot of marrow rice had been completely consumed. Despite feeling bad for the customers, there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t cook another batch of rice so late, so he suggested they come earlier next time.
The latecomer was frustrated. He had heard about the shop’s excellent seafood from a friend and had driven a long way after finishing work at 7:30 PM. He got stuck in traffic and struggled to find parking, arriving just past closing time.
After work, Lin Jiu rode his bike home, pushing it into the elevator and parking it inside his apartment.
He was unaware that his Demon Fish Shop had been mentioned on Weibo.
The reason? Mi Youyou had grown more and more upset after leaving the shop. Shao Yunxi hadn’t followed her, and she had stormed off on her own. Old Town was pitch-dark at night, with no taxis available. She had to walk out of the area in high heels, stumbling along until she could finally hail a cab. By the time she got home, her feet were covered in blisters. She tried calling Shao Yunxi, but he didn’t answer, which only made her angrier. So, she vented her frustrations by posting about the Demon Fish Shop on Weibo.
“Tonight, I came across a scammy restaurant! They only had two dishes on the menu, and the prices were outrageous—3,998 yuan for a seafood rice and 8,998 yuan for a sashimi platter! If the ingredients were good and tasted great, fine, but the food was awful! The ingredients weren’t fresh at all! Worst of all, the owner has the worst attitude, discriminating against us celebrities! In all my life, I’ve never met such an arrogant owner! What a terrible experience! This place is on my blacklist forever—never going back!”
While Mi Youyou’s acting might be awkward, it was undeniable that she was attractive. She had gained quite a few fans with her portrayal of a beautiful, quirky mermaid princess in the fantasy drama. After the drama aired, she participated in a reality show, where she played the role of an innocent “little white rabbit,” which won her even more fans. Although she wasn’t a major star, she had a decent following.
Upon seeing their idol’s complaints, her fans immediately jumped to her defense, asking which restaurant it was. They were ready to expose the “dishonest” establishment and make sure others didn’t fall into the same trap.
Under pressure from her fans, Mi Youyou maliciously revealed the name and address of the Demon Fish Shop.
Meanwhile, Lin Jiu remained completely unaware of the storm brewing on Weibo. After arriving home, he took out the remaining black star clams, but luck wasn’t on his side—he didn’t find a single black star pearl. In the past, this would have been considered good luck since he didn’t like pearls in his clams, but now he actually wanted them and was disappointed.
Lin Jiu glanced at the large black star pearls he had stored. After thinking it over, he decided against using them for now. It was too risky to let such large pearls come to light—it could attract unnecessary trouble.
The next day, Lin Jiu put the black star clam meat he had opened the previous night into a thermal box, along with the magical seafood he planned to use for the day. He tied the thermal box to his bike’s handlebars and set off for the shop.
This was all for show—since no fresh seafood had been delivered to the shop in a while, but the restaurant was still serving seafood, people might get suspicious. Bringing in a thermal box would make it look like a normal delivery.
As Lin Jiu rode toward the shop, he noticed a small group of people standing outside, taking pictures of his storefront. Chen Dong from the neighboring Chen’s Noodle House and Zhang Liu were also at the entrance, chatting with a few others. When they saw Lin Jiu approaching, Chen Dong waved goodbye to the group and went back inside his shop.
Zhang Liu glanced at Lin Jiu, then quickly followed Chen Dong inside.
The group outside suddenly rushed toward Linc Jiu. One of them, holding a recording device, blocked his bike and asked, “Are you the owner of the Demon Fish Shop? Is it true that your dishes are overpriced and taste terrible?”
Face slapping incoming!