Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu tossed the Puppet Lotus Root and the other Energized Plants he had caught this time into the Desktop Farm in one go.

He saw the total weight in the planting section jumped from 0 to 324 pounds.

He then locked the view on the Puppet Lotus Root, watching it take two long legs and hurry to the side of a stream, plunging head first into it.

Moving its limbs, it swam downstream, and soon Ma Lu's view became turbid.

The Puppet Lotus Root had buried itself in the silt; by the time the water cleared up again, most of its body was submerged, leaving only two small portions of its legs wavering above the mud with the current.

Ma Lu switched his view to a swing gourd, which had already found a big tree, wound its vines around one of the branches, and hung itself mid-air, swinging back and forth like on a swing.

The other Energized Plants also quickly found their own territories after moving into their new home.

Because he had upgraded his Traveler's Bracelet, this time Ma Lu spent three hours more than usual collecting ingredients, and by the time he returned it was already past lunchtime.

He had planned not to open for business at all today, but after posting a notice two days ago, it sparked fierce protests.

Mainly because at Universe Infinite Canteen, all dishes are served in limited quantities every day, and those who arrived late had a high chance of missing out.

Plus, since Ma Lu had opened the restaurant, like when he used to set up a street-food stall, he worked six days a week and rested for one, so he already had one less working day compared to other restaurants.

Taking away another day meant cutting another one-sixth of the supply, which made it even harder for people who wanted to eat there; thus, these past two days everywhere there were people complaining about this matter.

To cater to the large number of diners, especially the loyal patrons, Ma Lu, in the end, was forced to change his decision, only canceling today's lunch service, and the dinner service proceeded as normal, which barely soothed everyone's dissatisfaction.

As Ma Lu was pondering over what menu to plan for the upcoming week, a series of knocks came from outside.

Ma Lu hastily put all the ingredients on the floor back into the Collection Bag, and covered the Desktop Farm with a towel before going to open the door.

Outside stood an unfamiliar face.

It was a single ponytailed girl wearing glasses, who appeared to be around the same age as Ma Lu, probably also just starting her career.

"Excuse me for disturbing you," the girl with the single ponytail said, her eyes showing urgency, "Have you seen Mr. Furball?"

"Mr. Furball, what's that?"

The girl handed over an A4 sheet of paper, and as Ma Lu took it, he saw it was a lost cat poster.

Dear kind-hearted people:

I am a tenant from 802 in Building 4, Unit 1 of the Jinxiu Famous Home Community. My cat, Mr. Furball, went missing on the evening of December 9th. He is a male Ragdoll cat, with a seal bicolor, and a distinctive pattern on his left forelimb.

Mr. Furball is extremely timid, afraid of all creatures larger than him. He also has a sensitive stomach, and cannot be fed cat food or canned food. I am very worried about him.

If you have seen him, please contact me at the earliest. I shall reward 200 yuan as a token of appreciation, and if Mr. Furball is returned, I will offer an additional reward of 2000 yuan.

Below was a photo of the Ragdoll cat playing with a ball of yarn and the contact information of the girl with the single ponytail.

"Mr. Furball has been lost since last night, have you seen him?" the girl with the single ponytail asked.

"No," Ma Lu returned the A4 sheet, "I haven't left the house from yesterday afternoon until now."

The girl with the single ponytail seemed disappointed upon hearing this, but she still thanked Ma Lu, "Keep this paper, and if you see Mr. Furball, I hope you can contact me as soon as possible."

"Okay."

Ma Lu didn't take the incident to heart, catching up on two hours of sleep before heading to the restaurant with Old Wang.

As they left the Jinxiu Famous Home Community, they once again encountered the ponytailed girl who was still searching for her ragdoll cat, this time with a man helping her.

Ma Lu recognized the man as a tenant from the community, named Hu Weiqi, who worked at a real estate company.

Ma Lu greeted Hu Weiqi, but Hu's attention was entirely focused on the ponytailed girl.

He was bustling around her, even helping her ask the property management to check the surveillance footage from the night before, and failed to notice Ma Lu and Old Wang standing nearby.

Seeing this, Ma Lu didn't interrupt them and rode straight to the restaurant on a tricycle.

He wrote up the new week's menu on the small blackboard, and the doors opened for business promptly at 5 p.m.

He stayed busy until 8:29 p.m., when he sold the last dish of the night.

After all the patrons had finished dining, He Xiaoqian cleaned up a bit, picked up her backpack, and prepared to head home from work,

That's when she noticed a special visitor outside the restaurant's front door.

"What a cute little cat!"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The waitress opened the glass door of the restaurant, and the ragdoll cat outside met her gaze, its pupils shining like faultless sapphires.

He Xiaoqian crouched down, petting the ragdoll cat's head, noting that its fur was very clean, and its nails had been neatly trimmed; clearly, it had been well cared for and was not a stray.

"Hey, did you get lost? Where is your owner?" He Xiaoqian asked as she stroked it.

However, the kitten couldn't speak, it merely continued to gaze at her with those innocent, large eyes.

It was obvious that it was enjoying He Xiaoqian's caresses, soon purring contentedly.

He Xiaoqian's heart melted at the sight, and she stretched out her hand to pick up the little cat, but Ma Lu stopped her.

"Hold on, I think I know who it belongs to." Ma Lu put down his calculator and came out from behind the front desk.

"Boss, you know this cat?"

"Mhm, its name is Mr. Furball. It belongs to one of my upstairs tenants. It ran away from home last night."

Though Ma Lu hadn't brought the cat-search flyer with him, he had seen it that afternoon and still had some recollection of the photo.

Several key characteristics matched the ragdoll cat in front of him.

However, it was strange; the Universe Infinite Canteen was not close to the community where Ma Lu rented his place, and he had no idea how the cat could have made its way here.

Moreover, it appeared right outside his restaurant, which felt a bit too coincidental.

He Xiaoqian also commented, "That's quite a coincidence." However, she didn't overthink it and was purely happy for the lost ragdoll cat and its owner.

"Then, boss, you can take it back to its rightful owner!"

Ma Lu also reflected on whether he was being overly cautious. The cat seemed no different from a normal pet cat and, most importantly, it was indeed very cute.

People are always subconsciously more lenient towards cute things, and Ma Lu was no exception.