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

After he put Amy and her kitten on the crib and tucked them in, Mag went downstairs to prepare ingredients for dinner. He stopped at the counter and put the music box in the compartment again. It came in very handy when he wanted his little girl to sleep.

Mag decided to make 128 roujiamos this evening. The dough needed two hours to be well kneaded, making it more urgent for him to improve his strength. If he could increase the strength by 0.5, the kneading time would be halved.

While kneading, Mag thought about his future plans. He was having a pretty comfortable and happy life with Amy now, but fathers always wanted to give their daughters a better life.

The restaurant was all he had right now, and he would always rely on it. It had brought him recognition and respect, as well as money. He felt happy doing this business.

His restaurant was running smoothly and had new customers every day. It wasn’t packed with customers yet, but he was already busy enough.

He was close to the goal of selling 1,000 roujiamos. At this rate, he needed only two more days. Then he could unlock tofu pudding and add it to his menu.

The thought of tofu pudding made his mouth water and made his kneading hands feel stronger.

“Father…” Amy said at the door with Ugly Duckling in her arms after Mag had finished kneading, her eyes still drowsy. The kitten slid down along her dress by itself.

Although it was only a few days old, it was very energetic. The little doze seemed to have charged it up. It started running and jumping happily in the kitchen.

“Sit. I’ll bring you a glass of water,” Mag said with a smile as he turned to look at Amy. When he was about to reach for the glass, the frolicking kitten suddenly bumped into his feet. It froze on the spot right away and looked up at Mag for a little while and fell on its back, motionless. It looked at Amy with watery eyes, face aggrieved.

“An… An accident scammer?!” Mag couldn’t refrain from laughing as he saw this. This little rascal, that was an Oscar-level performance there. It has given up on being a master and is trying to start an acting career?!

“Ugly Duckling, I saw what happened. Don’t get up if you like the floor. I won’t hold you anymore if you get dirty,” Amy said solemnly as she looked at the cat.

“Meow…” The cat got back on its feet with agility. It cast a sullen look at Mag and ran back to Amy, rubbing itself against her leg.

After Amy drank her water, she went to play with the music box along with her kitten. She must have inherited her mother’s musical gift since she could hum along with the song after she heard it only a few times. It seemed she could learn how to sing it in a day or two. Her sweet and childish voice was so cute.

Mag took a look at the time—it was only half past four, but some customers were already looming outside. Now and then, they would peer into the window to look for Mag.

They knocked at the door sometimes, but Mag ignored them. It was too early to open the door; besides, he wanted to have some rest—he had to make supper for themselves.

People outside were starting to line up, about half a dozen. Some were calm, but others were becoming restless.

“Why is it still not open? I didn’t have any lunch and came early to eat roujiamo.” A young man walked back and forth anxiously. He wanted to knock on the door, but drew back his hand again—someone had done what he had attempted to do, and there was no response.

“Calm down. No need to rush,” Krassu said slowly. “The owner here is very punctual. He won’t open a minute earlier than five and won’t cook for you after nine. Be patient, young man.”

Krassu’s smile couldn’t hide the sulkiness in his voice. He was a 10th-tier magic caster, and now he had to wait in line every day in front of a restaurant. This would become breaking news in Rodu.

If it were not for the Yangzhou fried rice and the little girl, I would never come here,thought Krassu. He was lucky that he hid for a dozen years; now, even in Chaos City few people could recognize him. He didn’t have to lose too much face.

“Mag’s roujiamo is worth the effort. You can’t find it anywhere else,” Harrison said, grinning. He had invited his friends to come with him, but they were all busy. He was also a little busy this evening, so he came here early.

A carriage stopped near the people. “Harrison, you’re so early. You came alone?” Gjergj said as he came out of the carriage, a little surprised.

“They’re all busy this evening. I’ve got some business to deal with as well, so I arrived early,” Harrison explained. Then, he asked curiously, “The Yangzhou fried rice, your wife liked it, I hope?”

Gjergj handed a dragon coin to him. “Here, a dragon coin.” Then, he smiled, and said, “She didn’t like it. She loved it! She hadn’t eaten much for several days, and she finished the whole plate. Not even one grain of rice was left. And she asked for more! So I’m here to buy some for her supper. She has decided to eat the fried rice for her every meal.”

Harrison took the coin and patted his friend on the shoulder. “All thanks to Mag. She’s giving you more pocket money now?”

Gjergj nodded, smiling. “Yes, but I can’t hang out with you guys for a while. I have to stay home with my wife.”

Harrison gave a nod. “Right. Then I’ll drink more.”

…

After he had some rest, Mag made two plates of Yangzhou fried rice and put the bai ji bread in the oven.

During supper, Ugly Duckling gave a sorrowful look again, staring at them with longing eyes. It looked so melancholic that even Mag wanted to give it some fried rice and roujiamo. But before he could say anything, Amy’s vicious tongue had already made it look away as always.

After Mag cleared the table, it was just five o’clock. He opened the door and was stunned out of words.

Two dozen people were waiting outside. They formed a very long queue. Their faces lit up when they heard the door open.