Encouraged by Artoria, his mood improved slightly.
Actually, he wasn't too frustrated. Compared to innate abilities, Charlotte Linlin—Big Mom—was truly the one with supreme power.
Having a body with strong regeneration was already satisfying; the rest was just effort.
Being able to reach goals through effort was a blessing in itself.
Around five in the afternoon, Chef Tom served a lavish meal from the kitchen.
Tom's serving style had become increasingly showy: a plate in his left hand, one in his right, and another balanced on his head. Zhang Da Ye worried he might suddenly turn it into a juggling act.
Since moving into the tavern, Zhang Da Ye never worried about leftovers.
Even when Tom misjudged portions, too little was just enough, and too much was always eaten cleanly.
Zhang Da Ye had discreetly asked Artoria if she was full, and she always gave a definite yes.
But outside of training, she always snacked, with an appetite that was puzzling.
After dinner, the tavern opened for business, planning to close around eight. While earning money was important, evening training couldn't be skipped; strength was more important than money.
"Da Ye, I'm here again!" a young shipworker greeted enthusiastically.
"Welcome!" Zhang Da Ye recognized him as one of the guests Goodman brought at noon. He hadn't learned names then, so he didn't know.
The young shipworker was forward, leaning close to Zhang Da Ye and whispering, "Will Tom perform tonight?"
Zhang Da Ye glanced at Tom, who was lying on a mat at the bar, legs crossed, sniffing a slice of fish, savoring it before eating.
Artoria sat nearby, reading a newspaper. Seeing the shipworker wasn't hostile, she sipped tea and continued.
"Tom, want to play the piano tonight?"
Tom paused mid-chew, shaking his head. Playing piano while lying down wasn't comfortable.
"Sorry, Tom doesn't want to perform," Zhang Da Ye said.
"No, please, make him play!" the young shipworker pouted.
"Tom's piano is nice, but are you really obsessed?" Zhang Da Ye thought the kid might need an anti-addiction system.
"It's not that," the shipworker glanced around and said, "I'm betting with friends. If they see the cat play piano, I win 30,000 Beli. I'll split half with you. Please!"
Zhang Da Ye shrugged. "Tempting, but this isn't a circus. I won't force Tom. If you want to see it, convince him yourself."
"Fine… I'll persuade him!" The shipworker strode toward Tom.
Zhang Da Ye ignored him and continued serving incoming customers.
Minutes later, the shipworker ran back with a pile of items, tossing them on the bar.
Zhang Da Ye recognized cat food, canned fish, and small dried fish.
Tom's eyes lit up as he pounced on the food.
The young shipworker waved at Zhang Da Ye before running off to summon his unlucky friends.
Zhang Da Ye poked Tom, lying atop the snacks. "Bribed already? Haven't they stocked plenty for you at home?"
Tom smiled sheepishly, gesturing that the three should share.
Zhang Da Ye patted Tom's head, dug into his inventory, and retrieved the clothes he had previously drawn for Tom, letting him wear them at will.
When the young shipworker returned with friends, signaling Tom, he changed instantly and, to the stunned patrons, began his performance.
Perhaps motivated by the treats, Tom seriously played the challenging Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2—the piece disrupted by Jerry before.
Without interruptions, Tom performed flawlessly, ignoring his fallen false collar.
At the bow's end, the audience fell silent, then erupted in cheers.
Not everyone understood music, but they could tell it was good and felt the emotions. Especially exciting was that such a masterful performance came from an unassuming little cat.
With everyone chattering excitedly, Tom was set to become a star at 59GR.
Zhang Da Ye glanced at Artoria, tearing open cat food and eating it. Even with ulterior motives, she seemed manageable.
But…
"Artoria, that's cat food…"
"I'm just… testing its quality for Tom," she mumbled, cheeks pink. "Not bad—tastes like fish and chicken. Hmm."
Zhang Da Ye rubbed his forehead. Don't analyze cat food so seriously… now I want to taste it too.
Artoria finally put down the half-eaten bag, opening a can of fish instead.
Zhang Da Ye was relieved. At least it was something a normal person could eat—the cat food was clearly awful.
Back at the bar, some patrons wanted more. Mimicking the young shipworker, they bought small snacks to bribe Tom.
But Tom genuinely didn't want to play. He was tired.
Zhang Da Ye persuaded them to stop. Most left satisfied, having drunk a little more and contributed Beli to the tavern.
After the last customer, Zhang Da Ye calculated the first day's earnings. After costs, the net profit was just over 120,000 Beli, much thanks to Tom.
Estimating food costs without expensive ingredients: 20,000–30,000 Beli daily. Feeding three food lovers, including himself, was manageable.
Even if future business wasn't as booming, halving income still left enough surplus for clothes and daily necessities.
Uh… wait, taxes and the 2 million Beli debt from buying the tavern hadn't been considered…
So a day's profit barely covered two days' meals?
"Is running a tavern really this low-profit?" Zhang Da Ye worried. At this rate, he doubted he could repay the 2 million Beli debt.
In reality, he forgot that even the Straw Hat crew, seven people, had daily food expenses of only 30,000–50,000 Beli when they first arrived at Skypiea…
Nami had said that, with only 50,000 Beli left, it could last one or two days. Luffy scolded them for not being frugal, then got blamed—most of it was his own food.
(TL/N: 50k Beli = 1k USD. Divide Beli by 50 is the USD rate. Feels stupid high but thats what the author says :v)