"That pig butcher…" The old woman blushed, but couldn't finish her sentence.
The crowd exchanged glances, falling into an awkward silence.
"I'll go see what delicious food the owner has made that can captivate so many customers." The proprietress, wearing a floral apron, also took off her apron and walked towards the restaurant.
"Come on, let's all try it. Only by knowing ourselves and our enemy can we figure out a way to deal with them." The balding uncle looked at the two people walking away and smiled at the crowd, and began to untie his apron.
Everyone laughed upon hearing this, echoing the sentiment. They took off their aprons and marched in a large group towards the Restaurant Mai Mi.
…
"Another wave of new customers." Mai Ge looked at the long line outside the door, a slight smile playing on his lips. He tried not to appear too smug as he unlocked the door.
Hearing the noise, the long line of customers all looked towards the entrance. Many had been waiting for quite some time, but regulars knew the restaurant's rules, so no one knocked on the door to disturb Mai Ge.
"Boss Mai, I've been waiting at the door all morning, my legs are numb." Visenio, who was first in line, looked at Mai Ge with a resentful expression, his voice weak and feeble, and he barely managed to stand by holding onto the door frame.
"The opening hours are written on the door. The restaurant operates according to those hours." Mai Ge looked at Visenio, whose complexion had finally improved after a morning's rest, and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
The saying "women are like wolves and tigers" is not without reason.
"Alright, help me up, my legs are numb, I can't walk anymore." Visenio didn't dwell on the issue, lifted his leg slightly, then pulled it back, and looked at Mai Ge. After his experience that morning, he didn't dare to let go of the door frame immediately.
The customers behind him chuckled knowingly at the conversation. This guy was really going all out to be first.
"Okay." Mai Ge reached out and helped Visenio into the restaurant and seated him at a table near the entrance.
"I'll have three servings of Yang Zhou Fried Rice, two to eat here and one to take away." Visenio said as soon as he sat down. Then, after a moment's thought, he quickly grabbed Mai Ge's hand and asked in a low voice, "Boss Mai, are you sure this dish is mild? I can't handle it."
"Don't worry, it's definitely milder than the Rou Jia Mo." Mai Ge said, withdrawing his hand and patting Visenio on the shoulder to comfort him.
"Alright, I'll trust you this time." Visenio nodded, with a look of resignation.
"Please come in, everyone. Order and take your seats in order." Mai Ge opened the door to the side, smiled at the guests outside, and then stepped aside to make way for them.
"Welcome." Yabemia quickly came out of the kitchen, smiling, and began taking orders from the customers in the order they entered the restaurant.
"Boss Mai, I think you should give us old folks a separate lane. It's really too much for us old folks to stand in line with these young people." Crassus, who was also at the front of the line, walked to the restaurant entrance and said to Mai Ge.
Yulian, who was in the queue, immediately looked up. He had asked Black Charcoal and Green Bean to watch the shop at noon today, while he came early to queue up and had been waiting for almost half an hour.
The other guests were also craning their necks to look at Mai Ge. If they could be older and thus be able to get ahead in line, then there would be no point in coming early.
"Sorry, everyone who comes in is a customer, and the restaurant treats everyone equally. Besides, you ate two plates of Yang Zhou Fried Rice in one meal, which is no less than what a young person would eat." Mai Ge smiled and shook his head. There was no room for negotiation on this matter. This wasn't a hospital, so why would he open a special lane for the elderly?
Crassus glanced at Mai Ge with a hint of helplessness. After all, he was Amy's Master and his status was not low, but this guy was still so stubborn and unyielding. There was really no way to deal with him.
The restaurant's seats quickly filled up, and the remaining customers had to stand in line. However, many people had come specifically to buy Rou Jia Mo to take away, so the long line stretched all the way to the counter inside the restaurant and even outside.
Mai Ge's gaze fell on the last group of people, a hint of surprise in his eyes. The last seven people looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
Turning towards the kitchen, Mai Ge suddenly remembered that the greasy, fat man was the owner of the pork chop restaurant in front of the restaurant. He often saw him slaughtering pigs in front of the restaurant, which left a deep impression on him. The others also seemed to be restaurant owners.
What are they here for? To cause trouble? Mai Ge raised an eyebrow. After the buzz surrounding the restaurant over the past few days, it had become quite well-known in Aden Square. Although the restaurant was located in the corner and still didn't have enough foot traffic, but the long queues that formed at the entrance before each opening were the best advertisements, visible from afar and attracting many curious customers.
Such popularity naturally makes them a thorn in the side of their competitors, as customers are the most important thing for a restaurant. Mai Ge's restaurant can now serve hundreds of customers per meal, and they are all high quality customers, which will naturally have some impact on other restaurants.
Mai Ge had anticipated being targeted by his competitors, after all, his family had been in business in his previous life. Although he had never been involved, but he had heard about it before and was not flustered by this situation.
He could even foresee that imitators would soon appear in Aden Square. In addition to bringing guests the ultimate enjoyment and experience, Yang Zhou Fried Rice and Rou Jia Mo should bring chefs around the world a completely subversive cooking mode and concept.
Mai Ge isn't actually averse to imitators, it's an interesting thing to start by influencing the world's eating habits and cooking methods from a single restaurant.
This confidence and self-assurance come from strength. If they can copy even half of what he makes, then he loses.
He can bring new directions to cooking to chefs around the world, but he won't be so saintly as to teach them how to make Yang Zhou Fried Rice and Rou Jia Mo step by step. There's no such thing as everyone making money together when it comes to making money.
As for what they might do after they finish eating, or what they might do if they buy Rou Jia Mo and Yang Zhou Fried Rice to study at home, Mai Ge couldn't stop them. He can't exactly have the system install a self-destruct device inside a Rou Jia Mo, can he?
"How to coat rice with eggs, how to braise meat, how to knead dough to make fluffy Bai Ji Mo, how to turn soybeans into melt in mouth tofu pudding... They have directions, but without several years of research, probably not many people can actually make them. The ingredients provided by the system are the finishing touch, and the continuous introduction of new dishes is the restaurant's core competitiveness. The food offered by Restaurant Mai Mi is unique on this continent, no other restaurant offers it quite like it." Mai Ge smiled.
"An impending storm?" Mai Ge shook his head. "It's not even a ripple."