"He's throwing a party for his daughter, and he wants me to postpone the meeting? What an interesting guy." Michael, standing by the desk, closed the book he was holding after hearing Dix's words and couldn't help but laugh.
"City Lord, I suggest we choose a different venue for the meeting. While that restaurant is quite elegantly decorated, but it's rather small and located in a corner of Aden Square, making it look somewhat shabby, which might displease the representatives from both sides. Moreover, the owner doesn't seem sincere about the cooperation, his demands are excessive and harsh. 3,000 gold coins could buy an entire villa at Dukas Restaurant, where the service and environment are several times better than the restaurant. We've worked with them before, so communication would be much easier and more familiar." Dix earnestly suggested to Michael.
The importance of the meeting between the dragons race and demons race was self-evident. In his view, the City Lord would never delay the meeting because of Mai Ge, much less spend 3,000 gold coins to book such a small restaurant, and would also have to meet all the preconditions he put forward.
"No, go and inform them to reschedule the meeting for tomorrow night. The meeting will be held at the Restaurant Mai Mi." Michael said with a smile and a shake of his head.
Dix stared at Michael in disbelief, as if he'd misheard something. After a moment, he came to his senses and said somewhat anxiously, "But City Lord..."
"Dix, actually I've been to this restaurant before. When I arrived, the restaurant owner was about to close up. I introduced myself and asked if I could have a serving of Spicy Grilled Fish, but he refused, saying his daughter was sleepy." Michael interrupted Dix, laughing as he spoke.
"He... he actually refused?" Dix's expression was even more surprised. In the Chaos City, someone actually refused the City Lord's request to dine. If it was any other restaurant, the owner would probably get up even in his sleep to welcome the City Lord in.
The restaurant owner refused, citing his daughter's sleepiness as the reason. Just like today, he used his daughter's gathering as a reason to ask the City Lord's Mansion to postpone the meeting. It was so reasonable that it was hard to imagine.
"Yes, he refused." Michael nodded, a little emotionally. "Looking at the little girl sitting behind the counter, dozing off and nodding her head, I don't think there's anything wrong with that reason. It's something a father should do. So I'm not surprised that he refused our offer to book the whole place because of his daughter's party. You couldn't do that, and neither could I, but he did. He's a good father."
Dix fell silent. He was also a father, but he had to admit that if he was in that situation, he wouldn't have made the same choice as Mai Ge.
Perhaps it can be explained by compromises and choices in life, but as a father, Mai Ge truly makes people feel ashamed and embarrassed.
"But City Lord, I still insist that this restaurant is not suitable as a meeting place, and 3,000 gold coins for four hours of private time is a bit beyond the budget. This meeting may last for several days, and we must ensure the venue and expenses for the next few days of the meeting." Dix was silent for a while, but still insisted.
"No, of all the restaurants in the entire Chaos City, this one is the most suitable for a meeting. Its diverse and fusion style aligns with the philosophy of our Chaos City." Michael shook his head, casually placing the book in his hand on the desk, and looked at Dix seriously, saying, "Moreover, do you think it's excessive for a restaurant with a daily turnover of over 10,000 gold coins to offer private booking on a rest day evening for only 3,000 gold coins? I don't think it's excessive at all."
"Moreover, both sides have provided 10,000 gold coins as an advance payment for this meeting. If the meeting is successful tomorrow, the remaining money can be used as the daily income of the City Lord's Mansion, greatly reducing the investment of manpower and resources. And this is just a small part of the gains that can be seen. Once the meeting is successful, Chaos City, as the mediator, can gain much more. These are things you should see with a longer-term perspective."
"Go to the Restaurant Mai Mi again tomorrow morning. The postponement of the meeting is settled. Agree to his first three conditions and confirm the venue and time first. As for the last one, rent the open space in front of the restaurant, go to the Aden Square Management Office and ask if it is feasible. If it does not affect the residents' recreational activities or the appearance of Aden Square, then try to meet his requirements."
"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Dix looked at Michael's wise gaze, and although he still had many doubts in his heart, but he swallowed them back, said respectfully, and turned to leave.
Michael's amazing foresight is a major reason why Chaos City has achieved its current status on the Nolan Continent.
Of course, there was another reason that impressed Dix: the 10,000 gold coins in revenue of Restaurant Mai Mi! This is something that only the top restaurants in Aden Square can achieve, and this small restaurant actually did it, which shows that this restaurant must have something special about it.
"The dragons race and demons race are the most difficult to deal with. If we follow the old methods, it'll probably take at least a month to reach an agreement, and there will likely be several fights in between, which are unstoppable. And this time it's the same few guys again. Hopefully, a fight won't break out at the Restaurant Mai Mi tomorrow night." Michael shook his head, picked up the book on the table again, read two pages, put it down, got up and walked towards the door, muttering to himself, "I should go see how Vivian is doing… As a father, I really can't stand comparisons…"
…
Mai Ge told Amy a story to lull her to sleep. He then went to the rooftop to practice his swordsmanship for a while, before taking a hot shower and returning to bed. The slight soreness from his sword practice was washed away by the hot water, leaving him feeling completely refreshed, as if every pore had been opened.
His arms already showed clearly defined muscles, not exaggeratedly bulging, but still conveying a sense of power. His flat stomach also revealed faint abdominal muscles, though usually hidden under his loose chef's uniform.
Having diligently practiced swordsmanship during this period, Mai Ge's physical condition is much better than when he first recovered to 2.0. Of course, there is still a considerable gap between him and 2.5. He is not entirely sure just how strong he is now.
Judging from physical attributes alone, he should only be slightly stronger than an average person, and still 0.5 points away from becoming a level one knight.
However, with the Shadow Thirteen Styles that he has mastered to the extreme, he should have no problem defeating a level one knight, or even a level two knight.
A month ago, Mai Ge was a cripple who couldn't even hold a kitchen knife. Now, he was quite satisfied with his current abilities. He now had 45,000 gold coins, and in a few days he could buy another set of physical fitness points from the system.
The feeling of becoming stronger by spending money is really great.
"System, I'm going to start learning how to make ice cream." Mai Ge thought to himself, then opened the glittering gold experience pack in his mind.