Universe Infinite Canteen

At first, Ma Lu needed assistance from Old Wang now and then, but as time passed, his movements became increasingly fluid.

He didn't need to think—the actions came instinctively, knowing what to do next.

Old Wang, too, could focus on handling the meat patties, which took their serving speed to the next level, reducing the average cooking time for a burger to 18 seconds.

From 11:50 to 12:40, in just 50 minutes, The Universe's Number One Snack Stall sold a total of 137 burgers.

And after the lunch rush, when the flow of customers predictably decreased even more noticeably than before, they still managed to sell another 80 burgers by 5 p.m.

Although burgers don't count as snacks, as word of mouth fermented once again, some girls would buy one together in groups of two or three, sharing it as an afternoon tea snack—which not only prevented it from being too filling but also brought down the cost per person, making it less expensive.

During the dinner rush, Ma Lu got busy once again, pushing to sell the remaining 80 burgers.

Since it was their first day serving full meals, and since toasting bread also took time, Ma Lu, even though he had brought back 200 kilograms of meat, had only prepared ingredients for 300 servings; they sold out by 18:21 and closed up shop.

Despite not increasing their preparation, thanks to the higher prices, The Universe's Number One Snack Stall's daily revenue still broke through ten thousand yuan, reaching 10,500.

That was a full 25% higher than their previous highest daily revenue. However, the costs were also higher, with just butter and cheese together exceeding 700 yuan, not to mention the lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.

Add to that the 193 yuan spent on purchasing a new gas stove and griddle, and the 115 yuan for replacing the gas canister, the total expenses rose to 1,124.2 yuan.

Which resulted in a profit of 9,375.8 yuan.

To celebrate this historical moment, Ma Lu immediately opened the shopping app and ordered a set of latex mattresses.

He had always felt that the palm mattresses in his bedroom were a bit hard, not even sure if they were 3cm thick, clearly cheap items purchased by the landlord just to appease tenants.

Before, when his job situation was uncertain, he had made do with it, but now that he had money, he definitely needed to replace it.

After that, Ma Lu let Old Wang pick out two kitchen appliances, and he didn't forget about Number 6, for whom he bought a Redmi phone.

Number 6 liked to eat phones, and wasn't fussy about the brand; regular consumer concerns such as system fluidity and the impact of bugs on the device's secondhand value also didn't matter much.

Thus, Ma Lu always picked the brand that offered the best value for money, ideally with a discount.

However, he hadn't decided what to upgrade next.

The Traveler's Bracelet and the Chef's Knife were not top priorities, and the Collection Bag had already reached Level 3. To upgrade it further would cost him 400 new points.

The cash-to-new points exchange ratio was around 100:1, which meant Ma Lu would need to spend forty thousand yuan to increase his carrying capacity by another 100 kilograms.

It wouldn't be a loss, as nobody ever complained about bringing back too much.

But 40,000 is a substantial sum.

Moreover, even though everyone who tried the Sand Tiger Burger raved about it and there were no shortage of people lavishly recommending it on social media or elsewhere,

it was indeed somewhat "harder to sell" compared to the Fried Jackal Meat Cake and the Deep Sea Supreme Emperor Grill.

The issue definitely wasn't with the taste, for with a Deliciousness Index of ★★☆, it was unquestionably number one among all the dishes ever sold by The Universe's Number One Snack Stall to this point.

The reactions of the customers could confirm this.

But for college students accustomed to sharing a bowl of instant noodles among an entire dorm room, a 35-yuan burger seemed a bit too extravagant.

Through his first day's test run, Ma Lu estimated that a daily sales volume of 400 servings could be ensured, but going beyond that would prove to be difficult.

And with the current Level 3 Collection Bag, this supply quantity was already achievable.

This feeling... it's like practicing until you hit a bottleneck.

Continuing the routine won't bring any progress, so I must look for some kind of breakthrough.

Could it really be time to rent a storefront and start a business?

Otherwise, when I hunt for higher star ingredients in the future, it might not be good to raise the price anymore, to improve the profit margin.

However, starting a business also has many problems. Firstly, a large startup capital is required; secondly, Old Wang has no official status; the source of the ingredients would also be hard to explain, not to mention dealing with a myriad of inspections. Just thinking about it all is quite a headache.

Forget it, I've been making decent money anyway. I might as well keep selling by the university gate for a while longer.

As everyone knows, university students are like rape flowers; they may not seem to have much oil, but if you press hard enough, you can still squeeze out quite a bit.

Over the next few days, Ma Lu and Old Wang went to sell burgers at the West Gate of Aerospace University as usual, and even increased daily sales to 400, with profits rising to 13,000 yuan.

Looking at the payments arriving through WeChat and Alipay, Ma Lu suddenly felt that selling at his alma mater's gate wasn't so bad after all.

But on the fourth day, an unexpected incident occurred.

Ma Lu handed a freshly-made burger to a couple in front of him, who were probably students from Aerospace University. The man was tall and handsome, dressed head to toe in VETEMENTS, and wore a pair of Hogan sneakers.

Although the girl wasn't decked out in many luxury brands, she had long legs and a slender waist, with an otherworldly charm. Even in a university filled with beauties, she stood out.

Ma Lu couldn't help but take a few extra glances, and the guy was very attentive, saying to the girl,

"Nan Nan, if you want to eat a burger, we can go to Blue Frog. What good food could possibly come from a street stall? Or, the taste at Slowboat is also okay. We could take my newly bought 001; it accelerates to a hundred kilometers in just 3.8 seconds."

Zhang Yinian frowned slightly, "Cheng Cheng, don't talk nonsense in front of the owner. I've heard many people say these burgers are delicious, and I've always wanted to try them. Plus, we've already bought them; let's not waste money."

"How much could it be?" Cheng Cheng's gaze had never left Zhang Yinian, and upon seeing Zhang Yinian reaching for her phone to pay, he quickly stepped in.

"I'll do it, I'll do it. You can't be splitting the bill with me at a street stall, how much?" His last sentence, however, was directed at Ma Lu.

"70."

"Huh?" Cheng Cheng was taken aback, seemingly surprised that the street stall burger could fetch that price, and blurted out, "Are you recognizing me and sizing me up, trying to rip off some sucker?"

Ma Lu pointed at the A4 paper posted in front of the snack stall, "Not at all, everyone pays the same."

"You can actually sell it at this price?"

"Why not?"

The reply didn't come from Ma Lu, but from a nearby old man in a white tank-top, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, who spoke with confidence and clarity.

He had wandered over here last week, curious about The Universe's Number One Snack Stall bustling with business and bought a Deep Sea Supreme Emperor Grill. After eating, he instantly became a loyal fan of the stall.

Now, he comes over every so often to buy, and seeing someone dare to question Chef Wang's skill, he immediately jumped to defend.

"You don't need to use those fancy terms; let me tell you, you might not know this since you're young, but all these foreign things were stolen from our great Qing Dynasty.

"Yeah, burgers too, aren't they just rou jia mo? That's right, stolen by what's his name, some Kernel from KFC, right? He was a colonel at the time and entered the city with the Eight-Nation Alliance... So burgers... they are the most authentic when it's from China."

Seeing the old man's story going off on a tangent, Ma Lu quickly handed over his serving of the burger.

At that moment, not far away, Squid Brother suddenly looked alarmed, dropped the half-grilled squid skewer in his hand, and with a speed that would leave thunderstruck, leapt onto his tricycle.

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