Baroness Jessie also received desserts from the North Wind Trade Association. When she saw them, the servants had already taken out the desserts and re-arranged them. There were cherry tarts, a few drinks whose names she didn't know, and some fresh fruits.
This was not originally a precious gift, but when Baroness Jessie saw the luscious, fresh lychees, strawberries, and cherries that the servant had taken out of the box, she felt a subtle joy.
The barony was one of the least noticeable among the nobility, especially in the Silver Empire, where wealthy businessmen and nobles were everywhere. The baroness had received gifts from commercial associations before, but it usually took a long time for the gifts to be delivered to Baroness Jessie in order of value, and it was absolutely impossible for fresh food and fruit like this to appear.
These fruits were not only of good quality, but they were also out of season. The North Wind Trade Association must have put in some effort to acquire these fruits. Baroness Jessie was even more delighted with their thoughtfulness. She directed some of the desserts and fruits to the maid, "Take these to Miss Janet for a taste."
After the maid left, Baroness Jessie moved closer to the small table. The maid had inserted straws and small spoons into the drinks according to the instructions of the man who delivered the gifts from the North Wind Trade Association. She was also told that the drinks were best consumed as soon as possible, as their taste might change.
Although Baroness Jessie was somewhat unaccustomed to this method of drinking tea with a straw, she herself was quite laid-back. Coupled with the novelty of the fresh fruits, she didn't think the North Wind Trade Association was making fun of her. She elegantly tucked her hair behind her ear and scooped up a small portion of the creamy-looking part floating on top with a small spoon. The cold, sweet taste made Baroness Jessie's eyes light up. She took a couple more bites, then stirred the "ice cream" into the drink below according to the instructions, and took a gentle sip.
Hmm?!
The first taste was the refreshing flavor of mango. Large chunks of fruit and sweet jelly tea entered her mouth together, creating the perfect level of sweetness and the most elastic texture. Baroness Jessie couldn't help but sip it in large gulps. The flavor of the ice cream perfectly blended into the liquid, bringing a sense of coolness and smoothness.
"Malt!" Baroness Jessie called out the maid's name, her voice so loud that it lost the elegance expected of a noblewoman, "Is the North Wind Trade Association selling this drink now?"
The promotion of the tea restaurant was very successful. With Ina's thermal boxes and the North Wind Trade Association's information and execution, the well-known noble ladies in the Empire all received desserts they liked and eagerly inquired when the tea restaurant would open for business.
Mr. David from the North Wind Trade Association specifically came to find Ina, telling her that now is a great time to open the business, as the noble ladies were still longing for the novel drinks and desserts even days after receiving them. Mr. David also specifically asked Ina if there were any issues with ingredients, that could be solved by the North Wind Trade Association. Although the association couldn't provide special ingredients like ice cream, they did have their own sources for regular fruits and tea.
However, what Ina was worried about wasn't the ingredients. The restaurant now has one each of lychee, cherry, apple, and hawthorn trees that are in their fruit-bearing season. The area for strawberry cultivation in the summer house has gradually expanded, always providing a steady supply of fresh fruits for the restaurant. Mangoes and coconuts are the most common fruits in Neranka and are very easy to buy.
As for tea and milk, the tea garden in Mist Town is also a plant from the system's reward pool, its growth speed and maturation pattern are different from ordinary plants. Every other month, the tea garden will enter a month-long maturity period. During this period, the tea garden will mature anew every day. Even though the current tea garden only has a pitiful ten tea saplings, the yield of tea leaves can rival that of a tea forest spanning several dozens of acres.
The output of milk from Keira Ranch can no longer meet the daily consumption of the restaurant, but Ina still buys the remaining portion after the residents of Mist Town have made their purchases. She had Morton, the butler of Fatil Vineyard, contact a nearby ranch. Not only milk, but yogurt, condensed milk, cheese, and cream are all on Ina's procurement list.
These dairy products are delivered to the Neranka branch every morning, where Dusì receives them and checks them into storage.
It seems that everything is ready for the tea restaurant to start a business, but there is just one thing missing - they don't have enough staff.
The expansion speed of Dragon Flame Restaurant seems to have been too fast. In just a few months, Ina has opened three stores and her businesses are flourishing everywhere. She also plans to promote takeout services at the Star Academy in the future. However, the staffs she has cultivated are still in their infancy, having only received a few days of enlightenment education. When asked by Ina, Dusì takes out a book to check the enlightenment status of the Rize people.
Dusì pointed to a name in the book for Ina to see, "Maya, is young and smart, learns to read the fastest, and also has a passionate and cheerful personality, she enjoys interacting with people. But she is currently in charge of the fried skewer food cart at the academy, and other food cart leaders will consult her if they have any questions, so I think that as long as these people have not fully adapted to their work, we should try not to assign Maya to work elsewhere."
"Yafa, she's the best at arithmetic and hardly ever makes mistakes. But her personality is serious and she's not talkative, so she may be better suited for accounting and checking work."
When they saw the next person, both Dusì and Ina smiled, "Uncle Quint, he used to be a good hunter, and now he's an excellent team leader for planting and a diligent student. Perhaps only those who have experienced many hardships and reached his age can have such perseverance, and his performance actually surpasses most of the younger people."
"But wouldn't he be a bit too old to run a tea restaurant catering to noble ladies..."
Ina gave a bitter smile. Of course, she wouldn't make it difficult for Uncle Quint, who was of advanced age, to manage the tea restaurant. While she was worrying, Dusì suddenly brought up an unexpected candidate.
"Do you remember Xavier? He is now in Mist Town."
Ina certainly wouldn't forget Xavier, as she had just released him not long ago. This undead mage should, in theory, not be eager to return to Mist Town, the place where he had suffered a great defeat, right? How did he end up back in Mist Town after all the twists and turns?
"I think Xavier still wants to work in the restaurant, he's just too embarrassed to say it." Dusì often saw Xavier wandering around the town, and he went to Dragon Flame Restaurant for meals every now and then. When there were many people, he subconsciously stood up to help customers order, he had already become a restaurant employee. Dusì couldn't help but chuckle thinking about this.
However, when Dusì asked him, Xavier didn't directly agree. He is probably too proud to ask.
"Leave this to me." After hearing this, Ina confidently said.
———
After Xavier finally got Ina's permission to leave the Dragon Flame Restaurant, he hurried back to his familiar mage tower, feeling incredibly relieved.
He thought he had escaped the clutches of the restaurant, and he could continue his regular life easily and happily.
However, Xavier first found himself constantly recalling his experiences in Mist Town while doing his experiments. Sometimes he would remember the scene of having a barbecue on the beach or the picture of the busy restaurant. What was even more frightening was that the Lich, who didn't need to eat at all, would have terrifying thoughts like "It's lunchtime now, it would be nice if there were sweet potato cheese balls and garlic butter shrimp."
This uncontrollable distraction caused Xavier's experiments to fail many times, and he had to temporarily stop.
Then, facing the quiet, empty mage tower, Xavier felt a sense of strangeness in this place where he had lived for over a hundred years.
"It's too quiet, isn't it, Orldington?" Xavier asked the little skeleton that had accompanied him for many years. Orldington stood there, making a gesture of confusion. They had lived here for so long, longer than the lifespan of a human, why is it only now that they found it quiet?
Yes, Orldington probably couldn't understand him. It was just a silent little skeleton, and Xavier had lived alone for many years, never feeling that there was anything wrong with it. But now, was the emotion engulfing him called loneliness? Xavier sadly lowered his gaze.
Suddenly, his vision blurred, and Orldington returned with a big red woolen scarf, which quickly wrapped around its own spine, and pulled Xavier's hand cheerfully, wanting to take him outside.
"You mean, you want me to go back to them?"
After much hesitation, Xavier finally showed up in Mist Town. But he didn't have the courage to step into the Dragon Flame Restaurant until he realized that Ina was rarely seen in the restaurant in town. Then he finally walked in for a meal.
Xavier was always indecisive. How should he bring it up? Would Ina think he had ulterior motives? Or would she mock his behavior of returning?
He squatted in the tea tree forest behind the restaurant, allowing little skeleton Orldington to play nearby. The people of Mist Town were not afraid of Orldington, so Xavier could safely summon the little skeleton. No wonder Orldington was so eager to return to the Dragon Flame Restaurant. In the mage tower, it couldn't even appear in rooms with windows.
Ina suddenly appeared behind Orldington. She knocked on the little skeleton's shoulder blade. When Orldington turned around, she took out a pure black crystal and handed it to it. The little skeleton accepted it with confusion, pointing to its chest. Was this for it?
Orldington felt the strong dark energy in the crystal. If it ate it, its power would definitely become stronger. But this must be a very precious thing, why would she give it to eat?
The little skeleton tilted its head in confusion and didn't rush to consume the crystal. It seems to understand more than Ina thought. Ina had to explain in a low voice, "If you eat it, Xavier can continue living with us."
Orldington was happy now. It put the crystal in its mouth and crunched it up. The shattered crystal turned into pure power, making Orldington's bones rattle. Although it still looked white as before, its solidity greatly increased.
Seeing his summon undergoing such a significant change, Xavier immediately walked over. He looked at Orldington in surprise, then turned to ask Ina, "Miss Ina, what happened to it? Why did it suddenly get stronger?"
Ina kept a straight face and said, "Orldington just ate a Ravenstone the size of my fist, which is worth about 5000 gold coins on the market, Xavier, do you have enough assets to compensate?"
Xavier seemed to understand something. He shook his head, but the corner of his mouth accidentally revealed a slight smile, "I don't have that much money, Miss Ina."
"Oh, then you might have to work for me for a hundred years to repay this huge debt."