The academy brigade rushed over.
When they saw the sea of people miraculously appearing in front of a small ramen shop, their curiosity was instantly piqued to the maximum.
Yet quite a few children who had just finished school were very unhappy; waiting in such a long line meant they probably wouldn't get served until tomorrow.
Compared to the barbecue stalls outside, Hongle was still handling things with relative ease.
Inside the shop, however, Aunt Ichiraku and Ayame were worked to the bone.
"Boss, I've been waiting for half an hour! Where's my ramen? I want to eat the Peerless Noodle!"
"That's right, I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes too! Aunt Ichiraku, please hurry up!"
Faced with the customers' urging, Aunt Ichiraku's hands moved even faster, while Ayame continuously apologized to the guests.
However, the moment Naruto and Sasuke arrived in the kitchen, Aunt Ichiraku was instantly overjoyed.
"Get right to work, we've already got over five hundred orders!" In front of people, Aunt Ichiraku found it extremely difficult to avoid calling Naruto little master.
Hearing this, Naruto just smiled and said, "No problem at all."
No matter what, Naruto was generally an outcast in the surrounding area; without a bit of disguise, nobody would have patronized the place even if the ramen was the Peerless Noodle.
That was right: before arriving at the Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto had casually used the Transformation Technique to alter his appearance.
Once Naruto mastered master-level ramen-making techniques, his speed was even swifter than Aunt Ichiraku's.
Sasuke stayed by Ayame's side, helping her with the prep work.
"Twenty bowls of Peerless Noodles! Customers with odd numbers... come get your food!"
"Twenty bowls of Peerless Noodles fresh from the pot, odd numbers..."
As Ichiraku and Naruto made ramen faster and faster, batch after batch of twenty bowls came out of the pot, and Ayame called out the numbers over and over again.
Even though Sasuke was extremely reluctant-feeling that doing this sort of work wouldn't raise her strength at all-
Naruto had already told her that as long as she followed orders, he would help her improve her strength.
As time passed, in the blink of an eye Naruto, Sasuke, Ichiraku, Hongle, and the others spent two hours in this high-intensity work.
It was barely past eight in the evening when Ichiraku Ramen and the Unique Flavor Barbecue run by Hongle were forced to sell out.
That's right: before opening, the two of them could anticipate that there would be many customers, but they never expected so many.
Fifteen giant tubs of dough and a whole mountain of various skewers were completely cleared out without a single one left.
"I am truly sorry, everyone! All of today's ramen and skewers are completely sold out. Please come back tomorrow."
"Ah... No way! I've been standing in line for an hour, and right when I'm about to get some, it's gone?"
"Boss, you can't do this! My child is at home waiting for me to bring back Delicious BBQ Skewers!"
Faced with the customers' dissatisfaction, Ichiraku and Hongle could only offer apologies, blaming the little master's marketing methods for being too effective.
In the end, Ichiraku and Hongle had to promise that customers who didn't get to buy ramen or barbecue today could still use their holding numbers to purchase in advance tomorrow.
Only then did they reluctantly send away the numerous dissatisfied patrons.
As the customers left one by one, Ichiraku Ramen instantly grew quiet.
Ichiraku and Hongle were holding up alright, but Ayame and Hongle's three apprentices truly couldn't take it anymore; they slumped down directly onto the floor, panting heavily.
Sasuke was also covered in beads of fine sweat on her forehead, clearly showing that the recent work intensity had not been easy for her either.
"Great, we successfully conquered the first day." Naruto let out a heavy sigh of relief, looked at Ichiraku and Hongle, and said, "Tomorrow and the day after will be the peak of customer traffic. How far Ichiraku Ramen and Hongle Barbecue can go depends entirely on the two of you."
"Yes, Master!"
"Understood. Tomorrow, today's situation will definitely not happen again."
Ayame and Hongle's three apprentices had all gone outside to clear the tables, leaving only Naruto, Sasuke, Ichiraku, and Hongle inside the shop, so their conversation wasn't as restricted as before.
"Find a few more helpers tomorrow, and offer high wages."
"Yes, Master."
With that, Naruto led Sasuke out of the kitchen.
"Master, what about your profit share?"
Hearing this, Naruto smiled and said, "At the end of the month. It'll be easier to tally the accounts then."
Without waiting for the two of them to react, Naruto took Sasuke and left Ichiraku Ramen.
That was right: only by auditing the finances at the end of the month would Naruto know the accounting information, and at that point he would directly withdraw twenty percent of the net profit.
Yes, twenty percent of the net profit.
This cut was actually already quite exorbitant.
One had to know that the price and cost Naruto paid were actually very little.
Taxes, the shop, raw materials, labor, fuel, and so on all cost money, and because the industry in the Naruto World was not very developed, the cost of every single step mentioned above was much higher than in his previous life.
Around 8:30 at night, Naruto bought quite a few ingredients at the market.
Sure enough, when paying, Naruto couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Just two slices of beef and some other vegetable raw materials cost him a full 300 silver taels.
Naruto brought Sasuke back home and immediately set about preparing dinner.
That was right: when they left Ichiraku Ramen, nobody had eaten.
The reason was not only because they were tired, but also because all the prepared raw materials had been sold out.
When she first heard Naruto say they were going to his house to eat, Sasuke had been somewhat resistant, considering she was a young girl after all.
However, when Naruto dropped the line-I'll cook you delicacies you've never tasted before-Sasuke nodded.
Actually, she was genuinely hungry, and heading home at this hour meant having to cook for herself, which was a headache just to think about.
"I'm back."
Bringing Sasuke home, Naruto was feeling somewhat happy.
After all, there was a bit more human warmth in the house now.
Back home, Naruto went straight into the kitchen, while Sasuke felt somewhat unnatural; sitting down anywhere felt wrong, and just standing stiffly to watch Naruto bustle about made her feel guilty.
"Naruto, do you need me to help prep?" Sasuke finally asked on her own initiative.
"No need, I can manage by myself." As Naruto busied himself, he seemed to think of something, turned his head, and flashed a sunny smile. "Ahem, Sasuke, if you really want to help me, could you wash the clothes soaking in the bathroom?"
Hearing this, Sasuke's face instantly darkened.
"In your dreams! Wash your clothes for you-what am I to you?"
"Heh, what are you to me? You're my girlfriend right now, and isn't it completely logical for a girlfriend to help her boyfriend do the laundry?"
Naruto analyzed, "Look at this: I cook for you to eat, and you wash clothes for me to wear. Doesn't that make total sense?"
Now it was Sasuke's turn to be at a loss for words.
"Hmph, a temporary girlfriend."
"Oho, even as a temporary girlfriend you should fulfill your girlfriend duties. Hurry up and go wash them-you know a chef's mood directly dictates the flavor of the food, right?"
Hearing this, Sasuke spat out a small curse, turned around angrily, and headed toward the bathroom.
"That's right! I'm counting on you, Sasuke!"
"Stop talking nonsense, I'm starving, hurry up and cook! If it tastes bad, you'll be sorry, hmph..."
Sasuke's indignant words instantly drifted out from the bathroom, and Naruto couldn't help wearing a smile as he heard them.
"Order received..."
About twenty minutes later.
Naruto and Sasuke sat facing each other, and on the table were two large plates holding dishes styled in a way Sasuke had never seen before.
"What is this dish called?" Sasuke asked curiously, looking at Naruto.
"Ahem, this is called the Dream Steak Set." Being able to eat a steak set from his previous life in this world-wasn't that extremely dreamy?
"The Dream Steak Set?" Sasuke frowned as she looked at Naruto, then picked up the clean, sharp kunai resting on the table. "And what is this kunai for?"
"Oh, this is the utensil for eating steak."
As he spoke, Naruto also picked up his own kunai, cut a slice from the whole steak, and popped it into his mouth.
"Mmm, yes, exactly this sense of ritual, this is the flavor."
Sasuke followed suit; she picked up the kunai, gently skewered a piece of broccoli, and put it into her mouth.
Instantly, the flavor of the Garlic Broccoli completely blew Sasuke's mind.
Seeing Sasuke like this, Naruto explained, "What you see might just look like a single dish, but actually it's a collection of four delicacies. This is called Garlic Broccoli, this is River Noodles, this is the Secret Steak, and this is the Fire Cloud Fried Egg. Combined, they form the Dream Steak Set."
Seeing the look of shock on Sasuke's face, Naruto added, "I'm only making such complicated, exquisite food to entertain you because I happen to find you pleasant and obedient; otherwise, I wouldn't bother."
Hearing this, Sasuke's cheeks flushed red. With four completely different delicacies repeatedly stimulating her taste buds, Sasuke believed every word Naruto had said.
"Hmph, the taste is only so-so, I suppose."
Seeing Sasuke still stubbornly keeping up a stiff upper lip, Naruto gave a bitter smile and said, "When it comes to being stubborn, you're truly the role model of our generation."
Before you continue