A week has passed, and nothing much happened except Apollo going to Liam's house to tell him about the good news.
In the past days, Apollo has bought seeds and the aforementioned water from Atlas and has already planted them. The mountain isn't recognizable after Apollo owned it, he cut down a few trees in the middle to make space and built a small shack so he could rest there if he wants.
The place where he built his 'Farm' is in the middle of the mountain, making the center have a bald spot. He also bought livestock and fed them with the food he purchased from Atlas. The seeds have already grown on the fifth day of planting them.
While observing in these past few days, Apollo saw the difference when he ate an already riped tomato from his farm, the taste doesn't affect him but when it's introduced to the public, he knows it will be a hit.
Apollo didn't slack while he isn't doing anything, he learned a few languages while watching his farm in his shack. Apollo didn't want to learn them for fun but to widen his horizons, he doesn't want to be in an awkward situation when he has a foreign customer.
The renovation is all done, and Apollo already harvested some crops and is in his house preparing. As he is always in Liam's house chatting with Liam, he didn't realize that James bought a few kitchenwares and utensils; although he could just buy from Atlas, he liked this small gesture.
The place where his house is located isn't really a place full of traffic, the nearest neighbors is a few blocks away from his house. The reason he picked this place is because it is near his mountain and near a famous beach.
As Apollo is cooking egg fried in the open kitchen, someone knocked on the wooden wall and poked her head out. Apollo looked towards the door and saw a woman in her twenties, black hair, wearing casual clothes.
The woman looked at Apollo in the eyes, her eyes shining as she stared at Apollo, "A-are you open for business?"
Apollo smiled, "Yes but this egg fried rice is the only thing in the menu at the moment." he continued cooking.
She took a seat behind the table, facing Apollo's back as she glanced at him with a barely noticeable smile on her face.
The fried rice finished cooking and Apollo served it on a plate and placed it in front of the woman's table. "Enjoy."
The woman, Kate, nodded as she took the spoon in the bowl and took a spoonful of fried rice. She didn't have any expectations as she only wants to eat to satisfy her hunger, but when the spoon reached her mouth, it tickled her nose as the fragrance entered her nostrils.
A smile grew from the corner of her mouth, but it didn't last long as the spoon entered her mouth. A small moan could be heard in the restaurant, she repeatedly took a spoonful and put it in her mouth. Kate wouldn't have stopped if she hadn't heard a *Clang* from her bowl.
She hurriedly asked Apollo, "Hey mister, could I have another bowl? By the way, what's the price?"
Apollo had his head down and sat on a chair opposite of her, "Okay. The price depends on what you think it is." he said as he took her bowl and refilled it.
Kate smiled as she received the bowl, she didn't notice at first but when she finished eating the first bowl, she felt her fatigue disappear. She only thought of it as time doing it's work but as she finished the second bowl, she knew it isn't a coincidence, she felt her hand starting to feel tired as she ate the second bowl nonstop but she felt it disappear once she finished eating the second bowl to the last grain.
If it isn't a coincidence, she would definitely pay $100 if not, $1,000 if it could really make her fatigue disappear. She wiped her sweat as she sat with her back leaning against the chair and her right arm laying on her stomach, she didn't feel tired or feeling that her stomach was about to burst out, but she just felt like it.
She looked at Apollo, who has his head laid down on the counter with a smile of admiration on her face, 'How could he make such an ordinary dish taste so godly?' she thought.
Kate didn't disturb him, she took a $100 bill from her wallet and placed it underneath her bowl. Before she left, she stayed for a while. She didn't really post much on social media but she decided to share this restaurant to people, so she posted it on her Twitter account.
She left the restaurant with a smile hanging on her face as she walked back to her hotel.
...
Apollo didn't get many customers other than Kate who ate in the morning. As $100 seems a bit too much for the egg fried rice, Apollo decided to price it at $45, it may seem a bit too much on a regular person's perspective but the ingredients he bought from Atlas were all top tier and has benefits when eating.
The water he used came from god knows where, all he knows is that it came from a place filled with Qi and could relieve fatigue.
In the afternoon and night time, a couple of customers came and left with frown on their faces; it wasn't because they were disappointed because they couldn't eat, it's because of the $45 price tag the egg fried rice has.
They didn't think that a dish so simple could be priced at $45, even an egg fried rice cooked by a master chef with top tier ingredients would only be priced at $20.
...
9:00 am, Kate came again but with unfamiliar faces on her side.
They're at the front of the restaurant chatting with themselves, "You guys would definitely love the food here." Kate said with full of excitement.
The girl beside her snorted and rolled her eyes, "Is it the food or the cook?"
The guy beside Kate eavesdropped and heard their conversation, his smile reached his eyes as he shook Kate's arms, he whispered, "Is the cook really what Abbie said?"
Kate pushed him aside, "Stop it, Noah, I thought you liked Abbie, why are you hunting for guys now?"
Noah's face turned ugly, he looked at Abbie but looked away as he crossed his arms facing away from Abbie and said loudly, expecting Abbie to hear it, "If only that SOMEONE would appreciate my love, then I wouldn't need to hunt for guys."
Abbie pretended not to hear it and pulled Kate towards the restaurant with no sign. Noah followed them, seemingly pissed because Abbie didn't hear his provocation.
The two scanned the restaurant but didn't found anything weird; they sat down beside each other and ordered.
Apollo already cooked the fried rice earlier so he only needed to put them on a bowl and serve them, because the cookware was bought from Atlas, it of course has some benefits and this one's benefits is that it could preserve the heat from the food.
Apollo put them in a bowl and placed it in front of them before saying, "Oh, the price is $45." which made them gasp.
Noah looked at Abigail and she did the same, he took back his gaze and looked at Kate, he moved his chair near her and whispered in her ear, "Why is the egg fried rice so expensive? Isn't it just... egg fried rice...?"
Kate is already munching down her food and didn't pay attention to her surroundings. Noah and Abbie shakily picked up the spoon and took a spoonful from the bowl and ate it.
As the fried rice entered their mouths, their bodies suddenly stiffen but turned to jelly right after. The egg fried rice touched their taste buds and two faint moans could be heard echoing throughout the restaurant.
Steam could be seen coming out of their mouths as they tried to pick up another spoonful to satisfy their cravings, Apollo watched awkwardly in the corner as the three stuff their mouths with egg fried rice nonstop. 'Is it really that good?' Apollo thought while gazing at the three who are eating like hungry animals.
The three finished at about 9:45 as they kept ordering egg fried rice.
They walked out with hands on their bulging bellies, Abbie suddenly burped but covered her mouth immediately, Noah smirked and tried his luck, "You know, I could treat you with egg fried rice every day if you just reciprocate my love for you."
Abbie's face turned ugly as she slapped Noah's arm, "Hmph! If you can cook as good as the owner, I would think about it."
Kate grinned as she looked at them, "Yeah, if you can cook as good as the owner, I would make you marry Abbie, and would pay for all the expenses."
Abbie's gaze turned to look at Kate, her eyes full of killing intent. Kate turned stiff and grew an awkward smile as she looked to her side, whistling as if nothing happened.