Five tables were arranged in a row in front of the magic screen, and there was a ballot box in front of each table. Staff members of the Catering Association in red vests were collecting and registering the votes. All of the votes had to be checked on a crystal ball. Those that emitted a green light were counted, while those that emitted a red light were discarded.
"Hmm? Look at this restaurant. Why are the prices so high? Tofu pudding costs 200 copper coins per helping! Roujiamo costs 300 copper coins per helping! That Yangzhou fried rice costs 600 copper coins! The most expensive dish, the braised chicken, costs 800 copper coins! " A short-haired young man among the staff members exclaimed. He held a ticket in his hand, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face as he said, "A customer spent 1,000 copper coins for breakfast?!"
"Huh? Isn't this that restaurant? There's a customer so early in the morning? "Luther and Alvin, who had just set down their tables, were both surprised.
"In my opinion, the boss was probably worried that the ticket would be too ugly, so he asked his staff to send one secretly. Who would spend 1,000 copper coins to eat breakfast in a restaurant in the corner early in the morning? However, the way we count the votes is that each person can cast one valid vote per day. Who knows, he might even get ten votes in the end." Alvin curled his lips, expressing his disdain for such behavior.
"I thought that only the big restaurants would cheat, but I didn't think that this small restaurant would do the same. The amount of money spent on a ticket accounts for 30% of the total score, so his 10 tickets are worth more than 100 tickets from other restaurants. If you ask me, we should've changed the ranking system a long time ago. More and more customers are beginning to question our fairness. "Luther shook his head with an annoyed expression.
"Shh, keep your voice down. Do you think low-level employees like us have the final say in this? Even though our Catering Association belongs to the city lord's castle, the restaurants of the Chamber of Commerce are still the ones that pay the most money every month. Let's just turn a blind eye to this kind of thing." Alvin shushed them before looking around with a nervous expression.
"I know that, but I've worked here for more than twenty years. The ranking list when I was young was not like this. The restaurant ranking list was chosen by the customers themselves, and it was widely praised. Ever since the Family Moreton took complete control of the Aden Chamber of Commerce, everything has changed. They're just using us as tools! "Luther sighed. He was both annoyed and helpless.
"Is it that restaurant called Mamy? I have one here as well, and it costs 1300 copper coins! "Right at this moment, another ticket inspector spoke out.
"There's another one?" Luther and Alvin were surprised and even angrier.
"I still have three. They cost 500 copper coins, 1000 copper coins, and 1100 copper coins respectively."
"I also have a two hundred copper coin note."
"There are two more here!"
All of the ticket inspectors exclaimed in surprise. It wasn't uncommon to see expensive dishes in the Aden Square, but such a high-end dish that cost several hundred copper coins was usually only seen in high-end restaurants.
Such a small and unknown restaurant actually set such a high price and sold so many servings during breakfast time. This was simply impossible in everyone's knowledge.
Even at Ducas Restaurant, no one would order a whole roast lamb that cost 2500 copper coins so early in the morning, although the main reason was that the restaurant didn't serve roast lambs in the morning.
"This is the first time this restaurant is participating in the ranking competition, right? Could it be that they're the dark horse of this competition? "
"Even a dark horse can't be this greedy. Judging from the order, the braised chicken that costs 800 copper coins isn't enough. If they ordered three servings, they could go to Ducas Restaurant and eat a whole roast lamb!"
"Exactly. I think there's something wrong with this restaurant. Did they falsify the price of their dishes?"
All of the ticket inspectors began to discuss spiritedly. One of them took out a notebook and flipped through it for a while. He pointed to the last restaurant on the list, and said, "If they didn't make a mistake when they signed up, the price of their dishes is exactly the same as the one on the list."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. They all turned to the thin middle-aged man standing off to the side, and one of them said, "Vice President, what do you think we should do?"
"Don't jump to conclusions just yet. As long as the tickets can pass the magic ball's inspection, they will be recorded in the book. Count how many customers spent in the morning and the total amount. I will personally go to that restaurant to take a look at it in the afternoon. If they really did violate the rules, then they must be disqualified from the competition and banned from the rankings forever." Robert gestured for everyone to calm down.
"Vice President Robert was transferred here from the city lord's castle last year, and he's been working hard to rectify the chaos in the ranking competition. Unfortunately, he can't do anything on his own, and his words don't count in the association. Now, all he can do is keep an eye on the ticket inspectors. If there were more officials like him, our association wouldn't have fallen to such a state." Luther looked at the solemn Robert with both respect and pity in his eyes.
"I think there's definitely something wrong with that restaurant. With Master Robert here, we can't let them do as they please!" Alvin clenched his fists.
"Alright." Everyone nodded, and continued to inspect the tickets. The tickets for Amy's were all placed to the side, and soon, everyone had a few dozen tickets in their hands.
"Vice President, there are 320 tickets in total, and the total cost is … 150400 copper coins!" Everyone gathered all the tickets together, and the old accountant with over 30 years of experience in inspecting tickets announced in a shocked voice.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, and their expressions were one of shock and fury.
Even the most popular breakfast restaurant in the Aden Square wouldn't be able to earn 150,000 copper coins from breakfast.
Furthermore, this amount of money had come from an unknown restaurant. No one present would believe that this was normal.
"This guy is too arrogant! He has no regard for the rules at all! "
"Yeah, Vice President, I don't think there's even a need to investigate this. Just disqualify him from the ranking competition and put him on the blacklist forever."
The silence lasted for a long while, and someone finally spoke up with an agitated expression.
"Give me the information on this restaurant. Don't be in a hurry to come to a conclusion. I'll make a decision after I do some field research." Robert was also quite surprised, but he also didn't rush to a conclusion.
150,000 copper coins in revenue was enough to push this restaurant into the top 100, even if the number of votes was very low. If they could maintain this level of revenue in the afternoon and evening, then it wouldn't be difficult for them to squeeze into the top 50.
"Alright, all the information is here. According to the information submitted by our inspectors, this restaurant has been open for less than a month." The old accountant handed over the information in his hand to Robert.
"Amy's, the westernmost part of the Aden Square." Robert carefully looked through the information for a while before putting down his hand and looking into the distance with tightly furrowed brows. If this mess wasn't eradicated, then the Restaurant Association would lose all credibility sooner or later.
…
Meg was completely oblivious to what was happening in the square. Only 300 or so tickets had been distributed in the morning, and he was a little worried that he wouldn't be able to make it onto the ranking competition. In particular, the sweet and savory factions were fighting each other, and he couldn't be bothered to think about those two spots.
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