Inside Dylan and Scarlet's residence...
The two siblings went back inside to freshen up and prepare to rest after everything was organized and cleaned. Patrick also came by after and gave Scarlet her daily gifts.
"I didn't know how tiring it was to work!" Scarlet slumped over the dining table with her scarlet hair, still wet from the bath.
"Hahaha, that's why they say. All in the day's work!" Dylan laughed, carrying the wooden counter inside to account today's profit as well as keep it safe.
Dylan walked over to the wooden counter, sliding into one of the hand-carved chairs and pulling out a fresh leather-bound ledger along with his inkpot and quill.
Scarlet switched seats to be right beside him, resting her chin on her folded arms, her bright eyes tracking the tip of the feather as he dipped it in dark ink.
"Now then... let's see how we did for our very first day," Dylan murmured softly, a small, satisfied smirk touching the corner of his lips.
"Now for our Day 1 Financial Summary..." He began jotting down the numbers in neat, precise lines.
"For the lunch rush, we had an initial wave of fifty customers," Dylan noted aloud, the tip of his quill scratching against the crisp paper.
He continued writing them down, accounting, "Out of those fifty, about seventy percent were so completely hooked that they immediately ordered a second helping."
Scarlet giggled softly, remembering the sound of bursting fabric echoing across the courtyard. "Those six craftsmen alone ate enough for twelve people or even eighteen people! And their shirts... I don't think they put back any shirt on even after they left."
"That they didn't Hahaha." Dylan chuckled as he looked at Scarlet beside him.
Now, he proceeded with listing their dinner time operations, "And by the time dinner rolled around, word of mouth had already started spreading. We had another twenty to thirty people drop by for the evening crowd. Once again, roughly seventy to eighty percent of them couldn't resist calling for second servings before they left."
Dylan quickly ran through the arithmetic, totaling up the standard prices from their elaborate menu. From the five copper worth appetizers like the Spiced Wild Game Terrine and Yakitori Skewers, to the seven copper worth pasta dishes, all the way up to the massive twenty-eight (28) to thirty (30) copper Grand Feast sets, he systematically listed down the orders.
"Between the base sales of the lunch and dinner crowds, including all the extra servings of main dishes, desserts, and Botanical Elixirs..." Dylan calculated, adding up the long column of numbers. "Our direct meal sales brought in a staggering total of one thousand four hundred (1,450) Copper Coins."
Scarlet's eyes went wide. "Over fourteen Silver Coins in just meals?!"
"It gets better," Dylan said, tapping the quill near the bottom of the ledger. "Don't forget the tips. Nearly every single customer left extra coins on their tables to make sure we stay in business so they can come back tomorrow."
He pulled out a small velvet pouch from beneath the counter, tipping it over onto the polished timber. A glittering mound of mixed coins spilled out, clinking musically against the wood.
"The tips alone added another three hundred and twenty (320) Copper Coins to our register," Dylan continued, pointing toward three particularly shiny coin sitting right at the top of the pile. "And then... there was Lady Victoria."
Scarlet gasped softly, eyeing the heavy silver piece. "She really paid a hundredfold?!"
"She did," Dylan confirmed with a warm nod. "Her meal came out to 30 Coppers, but because she was so blown away by the taste, she handed over three whole silvers which were three thousand (3000) copper coins in value!"
He took a final tally, writing the magnificent grand total at the bottom of the page in bold, sweeping strokes:
Day 1 Financial Summary
Lunch Rush (50 patrons + 70% re-orders): ~820 Copper Coins
Dinner Rush (25 patrons + 75% re-orders): ~630 Copper Coins
Customer Tips: 320 Copper Coins
Lady Victoria's Generosity: 3 silver coins - 3000 Copper Coins
Total Gross Profit: ~4,770 Copper Coins
...
"Whoa!" Scarlet stared at the final number, her mouth forming a perfect little 'O' before a massive, beaming smile broke across her face. "Nearly five silver coins in a single day?! Big Bro, that's... that's unbelievable!"
"It's a fantastic start!" Dylan smiled, leaning back against his chair and closing the ledger with a soft thud. He reached over and gently patted Scarlet's head. "And a big part of it was thanks to your hard work out there, little maid."
Scarlet flushed with pride, puffing out her chest. "Hehe! I'll work even harder tomorrow!"
"Hmmm, I don't think so haha."
"Why? I certainly helped around!" Scarlet pouted.
Dylan brought to light the realities of the necessity of investing time to cultivating, "Because I thought someone wanted to cultivate. If you really want to cultivate, then I can't have you help around the restaurant all the time because it will undermine your future by taking the time for cultivation.
"B-but you certainly can't handle everything alone! You're doing so much right now!" Scarlet was still stubborn and wanted to help.
"I certainly can! I was able to handle everything without breaking a sweat. I think I can do a bit more that way you can focus more in cultivation.." Dylan smiled as he pointed out his efficiency and performance today.
"Err..." Scarlet could not offer a rebuttal since she knew how splendid Dylan was serving the customers today. He did everything so effortlessly that Scarlet thought, 'My brother can be really cool sometimes...'
"Hm?" Dylan showed a cheeky smile, knowing that he had won the argument.
Not knowing what to do, Scarlet was still overly stubborn and said, "No!"
"What do you mean no?"
"Just no!"
"But Scarlet-"
"No!"
"..." Dylan did not know what to do. Scarlet was being too disobedient. He did not want to get angry just because Scarlet was being too unreasonable. She was a child after all. He knew that he was doing this out of good intentions as well.
Dylan let out a deep breath and looked at Scarlet, offering a compromise, "Hm, how about this? You can only help me for three more days. In that same time, I will start recruiting other people! I'll hire people to wait on the customers, to clean and to stand on the counter. Is that fine?"
"..." Scarlet's face softened but she was still not budging. It seemed like she liked the fact that her brother was not over working.
"Okay, you need to prioritize your cultivation. But once you have free time, you can certainly help around." Dylan could only drop his head to his shoulder in defeat and offer another alternative.
"Really?!" Scarlet's entire face lit up and she started hopping in joy. "Hooray!"
"Haha." Dylan could only smile warmly as Scarlet rejoiced, ' I would be a bad father if I had kids. I would keep spoiling them. But I can't help it...'
His thoughts once again remembered his brother, 'Dale was like this when he was younger too..."
Dylan erased those thoughts and had a more positive mindset this time around, 'I hope she stays as bright as she does. No, I'll make sure of it! I swear I won't mess it up this time. I will protect Vastocean and Scarlet...'
In his mind, Dylan Ford had already accepted Scarlet and Vastocean as his younger siblings.
After that, Dylan guided Scarlet to her bedroom and waited until she was in deep sleep.
Dylan did not immediately sleep after Scarlet slept. He went downstairs first and returned to the dining table as he evaluated today's performance.
'The reception of the food was way too good. Although actual profit is only one thousand seven hundred seventy (1770) copper coins discounting Victoria's generous payment, we still managed to nearly break even the investment already since we nearly earned five thousand copper coins! Just on the first day!' Dylan was thinking as he gathered the glittering coins.
"Time to safeguard the revenue now." He went inside the kitchen, carrying today's revenue as well as Patrick's gift.
Dylan stopped at the innermost cooking stations of the ten cooking stations. He placed what he carried on the ground and move that station.
What was revealed was a ground door with a handle on it. When he lifted the door open, it revealed an underground small room that he asked the three craftsmen brothers to make. It had a small ladder that led downstairs.
Once Dylan entered, a light had opened up automatically. This was a Lightstone, a type of stone that is harvested in exposed mining areas to sunlight. Due to the presence of natural energy, these stones absorb sunlight and can therefore shine and provide light. It is this worlds main source of light at night.
Using the money he got from killing Ronald and the others, he paid ten thousand copper coins for the request of this small compartment. Jake and the others were easily able to finish all of this in the same afternoon that they were asked to renovate the kitchen.
Within it, there were two safe that he put the money into to ensure their earnings were safe inside a safe inside the house. The safe also had the loot that he secured from his assassins. The other safe was where he stored Scarlet's gifts.
He looked around before going back up the ladder, "Those three guys are great at their job!"
Walking to his room, he looked up at the window to view the tranquil, star-lit sky, before going up to bed. "This is only just the beginning."