Universe Infinite Canteen

"No, I bought it used. It came like this," said Ma Lu.

Not long after Ms. Chen left, the two of them also came down from upstairs. Zhen Ye had intended to pay Zhuang Bufan's legal fees, but Zhuang Bufan refused him.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take it, but mainly because he and Ma Lu were from the same class, and were both graduating this year, still in their internship period.

All that talk about being an agent and such was just Zhuang Bufan's way of intimidating Ms. Chen.

In actuality, he wasn't yet allowed to take on cases, and he couldn't even charge for consultations, or he'd be in trouble if it got reported to the bar association.

Before leaving, Zhuang Bufan reminded Zhen Ye that if her aunt hadn't transferred the money within ten days, she could contact him again.

Then, he would ask a teacher from the law firm to step in as Zhen Ye's lawyer and help her sue for the money.

But in that case, they would charge standard fees, starting at a minimum of twenty thousand, and if they were to take a risk representation, it might even cost forty or fifty thousand yuan.

So, the warning Zhuang Bufan gave Miss Chen earlier wasn't an empty threat—if it really came to that, the inheritance left by Zhen Ye's parents would definitely have to be re-evaluated.

Zhuang Bufan hooked a finger around his collar to cool down; he had rushed over as soon as he received a message from Ma Lu, and now the shirt on his back was soaked through with sweat.

"I heard about your street food stall by West Gate, it's all over the alumni groups.

"They said your business is booming, that you've made a fortune. Everyone is guessing how much you've actually made, but from what I see, their estimates are too conservative—you've only started a while back and you're already planning to open a shop."

"Hahaha, not bad," Ma Lu said. "Just made a bit over a billion. I set up the stall mainly to give back to Aerospace University."

"Have some shame," said Zhuang Bufan with disdain, then muttered, "Does setting up a stall really make that much? Maybe I should try it too."

"What's wrong with being a lawyer? Why would you want to run a street food stall?"

"In City B, you can't hire a personal driver for four thousand yuan, nor a nanny. But for three thousand, you can find an intern lawyer who has passed the bar exam, has excellent driving skills, can help clean, run errands, and even pick up and drop off your kids from school. And they're on call 24 hours a day."

"Sounds like you have it tough too."

It was then that Old Wang finished baking the flatbread and fished out the succulent and tender Earth Dragon Meat from the pot to stuff in it.

Zhuang Bufan took the flatbread and said thanks, "Seriously though, if running a stall makes good money, I really want to try it."

"No, you wouldn't be able to do it," Ma Lu shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because you can't make it as delicious as we do."

"Really? It's just a meat sandwich. How good can it be? Or do you have some kind of secret recipe?" Zhuang Bufan took a bite.

The next moment, he shook mightily, "Damn, this is a meat sandwich? Why is it so delicious?! Impossible, have the meat sandwiches I've eaten before been fake?"

"That's why we've been able to prepare for opening a shop in just over a month," Ma Lu said, patting Zhuang Bufan's shoulder.

"Give it up, even if you knew the recipe, you couldn't replicate it."

"This taste is... extraordinary!"

Zhuang Bufan devoured the meat sandwich in just a few bites, and then closed his eyes to savor the taste again, but soon he looked at Ma Lu.

"Quick, give me another one. I ate the last one too quickly and didn't get to appreciate it fully."

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"I'll make four then," Ma Lu told Old Wang, "You eat one, pack two to take away, and the last one I'll give to Zhen Ye. She probably hasn't had lunch either."

Zhuang Bufan was a good friend, rushing over as soon as he received the message to help out. Since this poor kid was still in his internship and couldn't even charge for his work, Ma Lu could only compensate him a little by giving him something to eat.

Zhuang Bufan ate another roujiamo, feeling quite full, took the remaining two he had packed up with satisfaction, and left.

Ma Lu, on the other hand, gave another roujiamo to Zhen Ye and, according to the contract, also paid four months' rent before heading back to Aerospace University with Old Wang to set up their stall.

......

Now that the shop had been secured, there were even more tasks to be busy with.

Apart from the daily stall operations, Ma Lu also had to start processing various licenses and contact the construction team to get ready to enter the site.

The day after signing the contract, he first went to the City Market Supervision and Management Bureau to submit his documents, then filled out a pile of paperwork.

During this period, there was also the step of naming the restaurant.

He originally wanted to continue with the name of his food stall, The Universe's Number One Restaurant, but the name was not approved, so Ma Lu changed it to The Universe's Number Two Restaurant, but that too did not pass.

Ma Lu didn't try The Universe's Number Three Restaurant, because the second could be seen as modest, but the third seemed a bit too lacking in face.

Therefore, on the third application, Ma Lu directly changed it to Universe Infinite Canteen.

Whether the universe is indeed infinite or not, Ma Lu was not actually sure, but given the finite lifespan of humans, the universe today might as well be no different from infinite.

Moreover, the existence of Different Dimension Travelers like Old Wang also proved that beyond dimensions there are more dimensions, and beyond the universe, there is more universe.

Ma Lu himself had already visited other dimensions due to his work, from being somewhat unaccustomed at first to now being quite skilled and gradually enjoying it.

According to Old Wang, Bug Egg would unlock more routes later on, and Ma Lu also wanted to experience the scenery of more dimensions, collect their exotic ingredients, bring them back for Old Wang to cook, and then sell them for profit!

If possible, he hoped this journey would never have an end.

That was the meaning of Universe Infinite.

As for the last two characters, Ma Lu was worried about a name clash and made a last-minute change from restaurant to canteen.

Fortunately, this time the name was finally approved.

However, the business license would take a few more days to obtain, and Ma Lu didn't just wait around. In the meantime, he met with the foreman to survey the site, and they finalized the renovation plan.

The day he received the business license, the construction drawings and budget also came out.

The estimated renovation cost was 67,000, but after reviewing the design and the quotation, Ma Lu made a lot of cuts.

"This, this, and this are not needed... and here, sticking up wooden boards will do. I'll contact the wood factory directly for the delivery."

In the end, he successfully cut the total budget from 67,000 to 32,000, averaging less than 360 per square meter for the renovation costs.

The reason it was so low was that Ma Lu's requirement for the overall style was to have no style at all. National trend, industrial look, ins style, business style... he didn't need any of those.

What was left from the hot pot restaurant's renovation was reused when possible, and if it truly wasn't usable, it was repaired and reused again.

If it was just completely unusable, then there was no need to use it.

As long as there were no issues with fire safety and hygiene, and the food was delicious enough, the rest would be something the customers could overcome themselves.

This number left the foreman, Old He, silent, taking a full half minute before he spoke up.

"I just did a renovation for a Sand County Snacks last month. They had a renovation cost of 900 per square meter. If it weren't for Old Yan's recommendation, I wouldn't even want this job."

"Can't help it, we've got to save where we can at the start of this business venture. How about this, Master, I'll see if I can get you some renovation work for an old house, right upstairs. If you do both jobs together, the labor should be cheaper too."

Ma Lu offered a cigarette, and Old He took it, didn't smoke it, but tucked it over his ear and sighed before saying, "Alright then."