14: Ang Lee's regularization plan

Alright, another one's gone crazy.

Wait... no, this person was already crazy to begin with.

Lu Chuan wore a stiff smile, made another portion of stinky tofu, sent Li An on his way, and then lowered his head to continue wiping the counter.

"System, how many appetite coins have we earned so far?"

Lu Chuan, whose body wasn't tired but whose mind was utterly exhausted, began to seek comfort in certain areas.

Like the appetite coin earnings he cared about most.

The gourmet food made by the Host: Delicious stinky tofu, has been well-received by customers, with a 100% return rate, earning a total of 26 appetite coins! Excellent performance, Host, please continue to work hard!

"That many?"

Lu Chuan was surprised when he heard the number.

But after a quick calculation, he found it perfectly reasonable.

After all, from the initial trio of Qi Yuan, to the later quartet of Worker Meng, and now Li An.

Every single person had ordered second bowls.

Some had eaten as many as four portions, while others had at least two.

Adding it all up, it was exactly 26 portions, wasn't it?

Lu Chuan suddenly understood, and an excellent idea immediately popped into his head.

But before he could speak, the System had already interjected.

Host, please be down-to-earth, run your stall properly, and don't think about the crazy idea of hiring people to farm appetite coins.

...

appetite coins come from a customer's most primal desire and emotion for delicious food. If a customer becomes numb or even tired of the food, no more appetite coins will be generated. Please remember this, Host!

Lu Chuan scratched his head, letting out an awkward "Oh," and felt that his idea had been a bit too self-evident.

However, the path to earning more appetite coins couldn't be abandoned; he still had to explore it thoroughly.

After all, the countdown for the 20,000 appetite coins repayment was still stubbornly displayed on the System interface, like a grim reaper.

Constantly reminding him that if he didn't repay the debt within the stipulated time, his life would be forfeit.

Lu Chuan waved his hand to close the System interface, pondered for a moment, then opened the cash drawer built into his cart, and looked at the banknotes inside, a look of excitement appearing on his face.

From setting up the stall at seven to past eight now, the total revenue was 780 yuan.

And this only took one hour!

Lu Chuan quickly calculated the costs; even though he used the best ingredients, the gross profit margin could still reach 65%.

In other words, for every large portion of stinky tofu he sold, he made a net profit of 19.5 yuan.

For every small portion of stinky tofu he sold, he made a net profit of 11.7 yuan.

And in this one hour, he sold 26 large portions of stinky tofu, with a net income of 507 yuan!

Lu Chuan, who had been calculating on his fingers for a long time, was also startled by this exaggerated profit margin.

No wonder so many people would rather sleep on the floor than be their own boss!

These 507 yuan, how long would he have to rush through the mountains to earn that?

Lu Chuan thought about the past few years spent toiling in the mountains, risking his life in dangerous places.

The result was that at the end of the day, the money he earned was only enough to fill his stomach, and even then, he wasn't full. The bitterness in his heart surged like a tidal wave.

Good, good, he wouldn't have to live that hard life anymore.

Good days were coming!

Of course, the prerequisite was to first repay the 20,000 yuan debt to the System.

---

While Lu Chuan was lost in thought, unbeknownst to him, his every move was observed by Li An.

Li An, who was secretly watching Lu Chuan while chewing on delicious stinky tofu, now nodded thoughtfully.

Just now, His Lordship was talking to himself in the air for a while, then opened the cash drawer to count the money inside.

The expression on his face was sometimes joyful, sometimes troubled.

His behavior was exactly like that of ordinary vendors fretting over their daily performance or being overjoyed... It was completely unrelated to the arrogant, cool, domineering devils described in novels, not to mention identical.

His prestige just dropped, didn't it? Li An felt a bit conflicted at the moment.

But just then, his gaze suddenly met Lu Chuan's, and he noticed that Lu Chuan's brow was slightly furrowed, and his expression was somewhat strange.

That expression was hard to describe, was it surprise, or perhaps... anger?

Clatter.

Li An didn't hold his chopsticks properly, and the trembling stinky tofu fell into the broth, splashing bright red, oily soup and leaving a noticeable stain on his white shirt.

But at this moment, Li An couldn't care less about his clothes.

Angry? Why would His Lordship be angry?

Could it be that His Lordship had detected his thoughts and was displeased that he had presumptuously speculated about His intentions?

And even dared to compare Him to an ordinary vendor?!

Frightened by his own thoughts, Li An's face instantly turned pale.

His fat body trembled like a sieve, and his forehead was suddenly covered in cold sweat.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and slapped himself hard.

Slap.

The extremely loud slap once again drew the attention of Qi Yuan and the others.

Then, a complex expression simultaneously appeared on their faces; they seemed hesitant to speak.

Qi Yuan and his two companions, who were originally closer to Li An, also silently stood up and quietly moved a few steps away from him.

Li An, now filled with trepidation, couldn't spare a glance for the other customers' reactions.

All he wanted now was His Lordship's forgiveness.

So he had to make amends!!

He absolutely had to find a way to make amends quickly!!!

They say that when people are in a hurry, their minds work at lightning speed.

Li An also felt inspiration constantly surging in his mind at this moment.

That's right, just now, His Lordship did show a happy expression while looking at the banknotes in the cash drawer.

According to the descriptions in novels, as a higher-dimensional devil from hell, His Lordship naturally wouldn't care for mortal wealth.

So why would His Lordship appear so happy?

The answer is already very obvious!

He wasn't happy about how much money he earned at all.

Instead, he was using the object to express his feelings!

The stinky tofu stall, as His Lordship's hidden identity and a powerful tool for rooting himself in the human world.

The daily revenue from the stall naturally equated to His Lordship's harvest of faith in the human world.

So His Lordship wasn't looking at money; he was looking through the essence, at faith!!!

Happiness, naturally, was because there was faith coming in.

Trouble, on the other hand, was because there wasn't enough faith yet, and the speed of accumulation wasn't fast enough!

I understand, everything is clear now!

Li An's body began to tremble and shake again.

However, this time it wasn't out of fear, but a manifestation of extreme excitement.

Why were ancient officials so fond of second-guessing the emperor's intentions? Naturally, because mastering the emperor's will was equivalent to mastering one's official career.

Similarly, by virtue of his keen observation, he was the first to discover His Lordship's true identity, which already gave him more initiative than others.

Now that he understood His Lordship's likes and dislikes, as long as he catered to His preferences and gained His favor, wouldn't he quickly be able to become a full-fledged member?

From then on, becoming a transcendent and realizing the great ideal of being adored by all would be just around the corner!!

Having understood everything, Li An's heart surged with emotion.

He quickly raised his head, gathered his courage, and met Lu Chuan's gaze once more.

Immediately, he was delighted to see that His Lordship's brow was no longer furrowed, and he even wore that stiff smile on his face.

My guess was right after all!!!

His Lordship once again detected my thoughts and responded!!!

Li An immediately reached a climax!!!