Adam worked as a stevedore in the port of Neranka. Towering over others, his strength enabled him to haul more than double the goods of his peers each day.
Accordingly, his appetite was as tremendous as his strength. The Dragonflame restaurant sold sandwiches, larger than a man's hand, generously filled to the brim. While an average person would be sated with just one, Adam needed two for a meal.
He pushed open the door of the Dragonflame restaurant, not even glancing at the menu on the wall, for the dishes listed were far beyond his financial means. Despite earning over three silver coins daily, an impressive sum amongst the port workers, Adam had to be frugal. He had a sickly mother to care for, and a debt-ridden, gambling father to handle. However, since his father had drunkenly tumbled into the sea, their days had been less grueling. Adam had begun to plan on marrying Bella, his neighbor. If possible, he wished to get engaged this year, buy Bella the light green linen dress she had her eyes on, and prepare a silver ring.
Despite his frugality, Adam didn't choose to eat the large loaves of dark bread the neighboring restaurant sold for five copper coins. Although it could fill his stomach, without meat, he wouldn't have enough strength, which could affect his job of handling cargo. So he chose to spend a bit more on sandwiches.
"Two sandwiches," Adam told Donne, the restaurant worker.
Instead of turning to fetch the order as usual, Donne remained seated, unmoving, "We've recently introduced a mystery meal at the restaurant, I think you might be interested."
Adam, not understanding, chose to remain silent.
Unfazed, Donne continued, "For just ten copper coins, you get a meal with two dishes and a serving of rice. We sell a hundred mystery meals daily, and one in a hundred includes a braised rabbit dish. If you're lucky, for ten copper coins you can enjoy a two-silver-coin worth meal. Even if you're not that fortunate, a standard meal will fill you up."
Donne repeated this sales pitch many times today and delivered it quite fluently. Recognizing Adam as the renowned big eater, he revised, "But I reckon you might need two."
Adam wasn't swayed by the braised rabbit or chicken. He simply thought, ten copper coins, even for a standard meal, wouldn't be a loss.
So, he said, "I'll take a mystery meal and a sandwich."
Having successfully sold another mystery meal, Donne hopped off his chair in a cheerful mood. "That'll be thirty copper coins."
Adam quickly received his order. He normally didn't dine in the restaurant when he only ordered sandwiches, as he felt somewhat ludicrous sitting at the dainty silver tables and feared his dusty clothes might soil the pristine white chairs.
However, today he had no choice. The mystery meal came on a plate that he couldn't take outside. Adam sat down, feeling a bit awkward. Only then did he really look at the food? It was a dish of bitter gourd and scrambled eggs, another of carrot and shredded meat, accompanied by a large bowl of rice.
Adam was satisfied. The meat in the carrot dish was thinly shredded, but it was still meat after all. The egg in the bitter gourd and scrambled eggs was spread thin, but it was understandable. For only ten copper coins, it seemed like a great deal.
What did it matter if bitter gourd and carrot were not his preferred vegetables? When he was a child, to fill his belly, he'd eaten even dark bread mixed with sawdust, clenching his teeth as he swallowed. Adam ate swiftly, clearing the vegetables and rice from his plate in no time. He then promptly stood, as if he had been sitting on a hot iron plate. After ensuring he hadn't dirtied the chair, he picked up his sandwich and swiftly left the restaurant.
Facing the sea breeze, he went to his usual eating spot—an unfinished dock where many dock workers like him usually had lunch. Some brought their own food like Adam, while others had food delivered from home. Adam's mother had offered to send lunch for him, but the distance from home to the port was too far, and the climate in Neranka was too hot. Any food prepared in the morning would turn sour by noon, so Adam decided to buy his lunch nearby.
Like everyone else, he sat on the ground in silence. Upon tasting the first bite of his sandwich, he suddenly felt it was even more delicious than usual. The sauce, vegetables, and bacon muted the faint bitterness lingering in his mouth from the bitter gourd, easing the tension in Adam's face.
The other workers seated beside him started discussing the day's news. Someone brought up the mystery meal at the Dragonflame restaurant, and the unanimous opinion was—it was cheap!
The two-dish, one-rice meal was hardly more expensive than the lowest-grade dark bread. Most of those present had tried the mystery meal. The rest had tried to, but by the time they got to the restaurant, the mystery meals were sold out, so they had to settle for rice balls or bread instead.
As the discussion continued, one worker asked, "Has anyone actually seen this braised rabbit dish? Or is it just a marketing gimmick?"
"Yeah, didn't they sell out all the mystery meals today? Did anyone actually get the braised rabbit dish?"
The dock workers began to whisper among themselves. A man strolled over leisurely, shaking his leg as he leaned on the dock's railing, casually asking, "Did I hear someone was looking for me?"
"Who's looking for you? We're looking for the one who got the braised rabbit in their mystery meal... Is that you?" One worker quickly caught on.
"You're bluffing. If you really did get the braised rabbit dish, that usually costs several silver coins, then tell us, what did it taste like?" Everyone laughed, refusing to be so easily fooled.
Nigel, seeing that nobody believed he was the lucky one who got the braised rabbit, grew frustrated, "I did get it! Why else would I be late today? I got the braised rabbit for just ten copper coins, so I ordered an iced barley beer to enjoy with the rabbit."
He smacked his lips as if still savoring the lunch.
Those nearby crowded around him out of curiosity, "What was that one-and-only braised rabbit mystery meal like?"
"Did anything unusual happen when you bought the mystery meal, or did the shopkeeper give you a hint?" One man suggested that Nigel didn't just have good luck, but might have met some hidden condition to get the braised rabbit dish.
Nigel shrugged, "It's all two dishes and one rice. The only difference is that one of my dishes was replaced with braised rabbit. I have no idea where they got this rabbit, but the meat was tender and fragrant. No wonder it costs two silver coins. If I were one of those noble lords, I'd eat braised rabbits every day. Moreover, the braised rabbit tasted even better with rice. I spent an additional three copper coins to get an extra serving of rice, and with a glass of iced barley beer, it was bliss!"
He responded to another person's query, "Don't even think about it, it's totally random. I just asked for a mystery meal, and the shopkeeper gave me the braised rabbit dish. We don't even know each other!"
The break was over, and the workers headed back to the docks, continuing their discussion along the way.
One of them said, "I don't even hope to get the braised rabbit, just pray that I don't get stir-fried okra tomorrow. Eating okra is like…"
Someone immediately covered his mouth, "Stop talking. You think you can avoid okra when you have to choose two out of three dishes?"
Some were disappointed about the limited availability of the set meal, "They ran out by noon, so I have to go back to drinking barley porridge in the evening." He didn't have family, and he couldn't cook. If there were always such affordable and filling set meals, he'd be willing to eat bitter gourd and okra for every meal.
"You better go early then. If you go too late, you might not even get lunch."
The workers walked away, chattering and laughing.
The next day, when they arrived at the Dragonflame Restaurant early, they found that the number of set meals for the day had increased to 300.
Donne was still standing there, "300 mystery meals, including one braised rabbit dish and three braised chicken dishes. The chances of getting a meat dish are even higher than yesterday, and it's still just 10 copper coins each!"
In order to increase sales, they had to appeal to both the sailors and workers as well as the nobles. The noble ladies who came for afternoon tea that day received Donne's recommendation, "The restaurant will also be introducing a series of new desserts such as strawberry daifuku, granita, grape taro oreo, and multi-meat iced mango."
The ladies were delighted and immediately said, "Bring us one of each." If there was anyone in the Neranka nobility who hadn't yet visited Dragonflame Restaurant, to taste their famous ice cream and soda, they would be the butt of many jokes. They took pride in being the first to try the restaurant's new desserts and would come by every few days to make sure they weren't being left behind by the trend.
The promotional event lasted for two days, and Donne came to inquire with concern if selling such cheap set meals would cause a loss. The original intention was to deal with the surplus vegetables, but after calculating the accounts, Ina found that they hadn't lost money, they just earned less.
In two days, they sold 400 mystery meals, including two braised rabbit dishes and three braised chicken dishes. The cost of the regular mystery meal was very low, with only five copper coins. The major cost of the mystery meal was the attractive braised rabbit and chicken, but the portions of these two types of meat in the set meal were not as large as when ordered separately, so the promotional claims were somewhat exaggerated. The braised rabbit in the set meal was not worth two silver coins.
After calculating, they made more than ten silver coins from the mystery meal sales over these two days. Although the profit from the 400 set meals was less than the profit from one noble lady's meal, it temporarily solved the problem of vegetable surplus for the restaurant and boosted the sales volume, which was more valuable than a few silver coins.
As Ina looked over the transaction records, the number of transactions from all branches on the first day reached 700, unlocking the first two tiers of rewards and obtaining 300 achievement points. The "Daily Fortune" bonus drew a transaction of 20 copper coins, which turned into 20 silver coins after being multiplied by 100. This was within Ina's expectations; it would have been incredibly lucky to draw a large reward on the first try.
However, on the second day, with the increase in the quantity of the mystery meals and the spread of news about the new desserts among the nobility, the number of transactions barely reached 1000. All three reward tiers were unlocked, and they received 800 achievement points for the day, almost a tenfold increase. If they could reach 1000 transactions every day, plus the regular daily task rewards, Ina estimated that they could accumulate at least 30,000 achievement points in a month, equivalent to 30 draws!