Chapter 20: Grass Jelly 

On the day of the interviews, only four people showed up. The last one, though selected by the system, had second thoughts and simply didn’t show up.

Nan Tu asked a few common questions. Since the system had already done an initial screening, the interview mainly focused on whether the candidates had compatible personalities and if they had any difficult-to-get-along-with quirks.

Nan Tu was particularly satisfied with one of the candidates, a woman named Hong Lanzhi. She was in her forties and had the strength to work as a construction worker. The construction site was dusty, and the desert here didn’t help, but Hong Lanzhi kept herself tidy and fresh. Moreover, small details about her suggested that she wasn’t just putting on an act for the interview.

Cleanliness was definitely a plus for working at the restaurant.

When faced with Nan Tu’s questions, Hong Lanzhi responded appropriately, unlike the other two, who were very nervous. It was clear she had experience and wasn’t easily frightened by the strange things at Nanlai Restaurant. After all, working in a plane-spanning restaurant required someone bold and tight-lipped.

As for why she applied to Nanlai Restaurant, it wasn’t because of the lamb skewers. Hong Lanzhi had her own reasons.

Once the third camp was completed, it would be responsible for sheltering mercenaries, and many staff members would be needed. Hong Lanzhi’s daughter worked at a hospital in Tianling City and was about to be transferred to the medical facility here.

Hong Lanzhi only had one child, and after many hardships, she had seen enough separations. How could she bear to send her daughter into the dangerous Anjin Desert?

But her daughter was very insistent, and the transfer orders had already been issued. There was no turning back. Hong Lanzhi came up with a plan. She would go to the third camp first.

If things went as they had before, the camp would suffer beast attacks during its construction. Whether the camp was completed or not, Hong Lanzhi was willing to give her life to stop her daughter from setting foot in the Anjin Desert.

But after these few days, the camp’s construction was going smoothly. Coincidentally, she saw the job posting for Nanlai Restaurant and thought that her daughter would likely have to work here. If she could stay at the third camp, mother and daughter could reunite, and they would have each other’s backs in the vast desert.

That was why she applied to work at Nanlai Restaurant.

There was still one more candidate to interview.

Ning Zhao was still young, under thirty years old. His facial features were handsome, though there was a hint of fatigue in his expression. This surprised Nan Tu, as she had expected retired mercenaries to be older.

He didn’t speak much, and his answers were short and firm.

“Have you ever been a mercenary?”

“Yes.” It seemed that Nan Tu knowing this wasn’t surprising to him. Before she could ask more questions, he took the initiative to say, “The last mission I went on, my teammates died, and I got injured in my leg. I quit after that.”

Nan Tu instinctively glanced at Ning Zhao’s leg, remembering that there had been a slight limp when he walked over.

So, he had been dragging his injured leg, carrying his teammates to safety?

Ning Zhao honestly said, “I can walk just fine, just can’t engage in high-intensity combat.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “I can work, no problem.”

Nan Tu didn’t question that; if his injuries were serious enough to affect his ability to work, he wouldn’t be hired as a construction worker here. The labor for construction work was definitely more strenuous than working at a restaurant.

She took out the application form that had been marked over and confirmed, “Is your skill with knives something you’ve developed from fighting mutant beasts?”

Ning Zhao’s face reddened slightly, a rare sight. “I wanted to make sure I got the job, and since I don’t have many other skills, I saw that having cooking experience was a priority, so I wrote that.”

It was a bit of an embarrassing slip of the tongue because his mind hadn’t adjusted quickly enough.

After considering the performance of the four applicants, Nan Tu decided to keep Hong Lanzhi and Ning Zhao. It was rare to hire people, so if they were suitable, she would keep them to avoid the future headache of having to hire again. As for the other two applicants, Nan Tu didn’t want them to leave empty-handed, so she gave them some snacks to take home. The two men, though they didn’t get the job, left happily with the treats.

Once the selections were made, Nan Tu directly informed Lin Gaochen of her decisions. Lin Gaochen even took the extra step of looking into the backgrounds of these two to make sure there were no issues that could cause trouble for Nan Tu.

After checking, he told Nan Tu, “Hong Lanzhi is diligent and honest, and she has a good reputation among the workers. As for Ning Zhao, he is a hero of Tianling City. He encountered a sudden attack from several level-five mutant beasts in a low-risk area. This was actually a precursor to a beast tide, and if he hadn’t risked his life to deliver the warning, Tianling City would have suffered significant losses that year. You can trust his character.”

Nan Tu muttered, “He’s a hero, and because of his injury, he can’t continue as a mercenary. Surely Tianling City would ensure his livelihood?” If Nan Tu remembered correctly, Ning Zhao had been one of the workers involved in the camp’s construction when applying for a job at Nanlai Restaurant.

Lin Gaochen replied apologetically, “At that time, we provided the best medical care possible, but Ning Zhao’s leg couldn’t fully heal. He received official financial assistance, but he gave all of it to the families of the fallen teammates who were still alive. I can’t stop him from earning a living to support himself. And I think he wanted to see the third camp completed with his own eyes.”

So, she had misunderstood Tianling City.

As for why Ning Zhao was applying for a job at Nanlai Restaurant, Nan Tu speculated that perhaps after being a mercenary for so long, he had become unaccustomed to the life of an ordinary person, even after being injured. Staying at the third camp at least kept him close to the life he once knew. The job as a construction worker wasn’t a long-term need, but working at Nanlai Restaurant was different.

No matter his reasoning, Nan Tu would provide food, accommodation, and a salary—he wouldn’t starve under her care.

————

The veteran employee, Xin Huan, gave a brief training session to the new hires. The most important task was teaching them how to identify customers from different planes and charge them the correct meal prices.

Hong Lanzhi covered her mouth, her voice still a bit off-pitch as she spoke through her hand, “Customers from other worlds?” She knew the restaurant owner had special abilities but hadn’t imagined it was to such an extent!

Ning Zhao’s usual calm expression cracked slightly too.

“Why panic? No matter where they come from, we just serve them,” Xin Huan said confidently, taking on the role of an experienced employee. “The customers are just here for a meal, so don’t say anything unnecessary. If they ask something you don’t understand, come to me. If I can’t help, then ask the boss.”

She then shared more details, all based on her own experience. Despite their heads still spinning from the shocking news, Hong Lanzhi and Ning Zhao tried their best to remember Xin Huan’s instructions.

After selecting employees, Nan Tu considered that revealing the restaurant’s secret of connecting planes to her staff was a necessary step to avoid complications. This is why she was particularly careful when choosing employees.

Out of caution, Nan Tu only recruited from the post-apocalyptic planes because the people there couldn’t pose any threat to her. If anyone developed malicious intentions, she could simply close the portal and stop business with that plane, making it impossible for anyone to interfere with her. She would still have business in her current world.

Putting these considerations aside, having more hands made the work much easier for Nan Tu, giving her more time to focus on other matters.

For example, the day after the new employees were hired, the snack stall outside Nanlai Restaurant introduced the new “No. 2 Set.”

“No. 2 Set?”

Nan Tu explained, “It comes with one serving of grass jelly and five skewers of lamb, priced at two level-one crystal cores.”

The appearance of the new set meal was a pleasant surprise, especially for those with low alcohol tolerance. Ice-cold beer was refreshing and thirst-quenching, but it was still alcohol. After the new set meal appeared, the foreman repeatedly emphasized that no one should show up to work drunk. If caught, they would be sent back to Tianling City and have their wages deducted for causing a bad influence.

The workers didn’t seem too concerned. It wasn’t that the foreman’s words lacked authority, but getting one of the set meals was difficult enough—there was only one bottle of beer in each meal. To drink themselves to a drunken stupor, they’d need to queue up many times.

But some people, like Zhao Feng, had a poor tolerance for alcohol, and even half a bottle of beer was enough to get them drunk. His mind was still clear, knowing that if he got drunk, he would lose his job, and without a job, he couldn’t keep buying meat skewers and beer to drink. It was simply not worth it.

So, he controlled himself, making sure to only drink half a bottle each time, saving the rest for after work.

This time, he had hoped to only drink a few sips of beer to cool off, but now there was another option.

“Is the grass jelly cold?” he confirmed.

Xin Huan immediately said, “It’s all been chilled, refreshing and heat-relieving, cooling down and relieving summer heat.”

Hong Lanzhi said loudly, “Not only that, they even added honey and mint water. It’s sweet and cool, really delicious.”

Before setting up the stall, Nan Tu let them try the grass jelly and also eat some skewers. Hong Lanzhi felt embarrassed, thinking she had started eating before even working, and wanted to refuse. But Nan Tu said, “If you don’t know how good it tastes, what will you say when customers ask about it? Are you going to make it up on the spot? Besides, this is one of the restaurant’s benefits.”

Only then did the two new employees obediently finish eating. While eating, they even praised how delicious it was. It really proved what everyone said during Nan Tu’s hiring—working at Nanlai Restaurant, even if there’s no salary, just eating here is worth it.

After Hong Lanzhi said that, those in the queue behind them started getting a little restless, craning their necks, wanting to get a look at the refreshing grass jelly.

Too much time had passed, and people behind were already urging him to hurry. Zhao Feng quickly said, “Then I want a No. 2 set!”

A bowl of grass jelly was shoved into his hands, followed by a handful of skewers. The serving speed was astonishingly fast. Xin Huan, having taken the money, didn’t even lift her head and said, “Next!”

“I’ll have a No. 2 set too.”

“No. 1… forget it, No. 2 set!” This person had just gotten the set, then turned to line up again at the end of the queue. Clearly, he still couldn’t forget the No. 1 set.

By now, Zhao Feng had already walked far away, looking down at the grass jelly in his hands. The glossy black cubes gleamed under the light, sparkling with moisture. When he gently shook his hand, the grass jelly slightly trembled. The faint aroma of honey lingered in the air.

Zhao Feng didn’t hesitate to scoop up a spoonful and put it into his mouth. Instantly, the sweet scent of honey and the fresh, herbal taste of the grass jelly spread out. Following that was the deeply penetrating coolness of mint. His lips pressed together, his throat moved, and a piece of grass jelly slid smoothly into his stomach. His mouth and throat both felt chilly. Even breathing out felt icy.

Refreshing.

With that one bite, it felt like his whole body was lying in a mountain stream, being cleansed from the inside out by the flowing water, washing away all the heat and fatigue.

Zhao Feng ate very fast. By the time he came back to his senses, there were only a few pieces of grass jelly left in the bowl and one skewer of meat in his hand. He licked his lips, now knowing to savor it. He opened his mouth and, with an unusually refined gesture, bit off a small piece of meat from the tip of the skewer, chewing it slowly.

Each skewer was crispy outside and tender inside, rich in oily fragrance. The cumin aroma was strong. The mildly spicy chili powder stimulated the taste buds just right. The melted salt grains cleverly enhanced the meat’s deliciousness, making Zhao Feng want to exclaim, perfect.

After the grass jelly and lamb skewers were both eaten, he patted his belly and muttered to himself, “Stomach, you’ve suffered with me for so long. Now, we’ve finally made it through the hard days. Don’t worry, I’ll buy it for you again tomorrow.”

If not for relying on Nanlai Restaurant’s afternoon stall, these hot and exhausting days really would have been unbearable. Looking at the anxious expressions of the people still in line, each one seemed as desperate as disaster victims waiting for government grain relief.

But Zhao Feng, who had already gotten his set meal as he wished, was no longer one of them. He stood up contentedly and walked back to the construction site with a light step.