"Let's go, my friend is here, so make sure the food is good." Just as David Clark was about to greet them, he immediately noticed Monkey's flamboyant parking style, turned his head and reminded Brian Cooper, then went forward to welcome them.

"Don't worry, I'll go get ready." Brian Cooper glanced over and saw that he didn't recognize them, so he didn't plan to go up and say hello.

Brian Cooper's personality was never the enthusiastic type; unless necessary, he was a man of few words. He was more used to being alone, preferring to quietly listen to music. When in a bad mood, his favorite thing was to count money—counting always made him feel better.

His dream was to count money until his hands cramped and sleep until he woke up naturally. Of course, the reality was counting money until he woke up naturally and sleeping until his hands cramped.

"Alright."

"Monkey, Alex this way." David Clark took a couple of steps forward and called out.

"Man, you really picked a good spot this time. It's jammed outside, but in here it's deserted." After Alex slowly got out of the car, Monkey closed the door and said.

"Of course, only in a quiet place can you find good food," David Clark said, turning around and pointing at Brian Cooper's shop. "This is my buddy's place."

Monkey and Alex looked up and saw that the little shop in front of them was completely unremarkable, just an ordinary hole-in-the-wall. The only difference was that the storefront looked clean—really clean—and there wasn't even a sign.

"Your friend doesn't even hang a sign?" It's not that Monkey was inexperienced. Despite his nickname, he was a skinny guy but a true foodie, and he'd eaten at plenty of nameless little joints. Before coming, David Clark had said this shop was run by his friend and had only been open for a couple of days.

Other nameless shops were either run out of someone's home, making it inconvenient to hang a sign, or the sign was lost. But it was rare to see a proper, newly opened shop without a sign.

"Why so many questions? Let's go eat." Following their gaze, David Clark also just realized that Brian Cooper's shop didn't have a sign. He didn't want to admit he didn't know either, so he brushed it off and led the two inside.

On the way, seeing Alex looking listless, he asked a couple more questions. After learning he was sick, he promised, "Don't worry, even if you have no appetite today, once you smell the aroma, you'll want to eat."

"Oh? That good?" Alex, who had been feeling unwell, was now a bit interested.

*Bang bang*

David Clark patted his chest and said, "Trust me."

"Please wait a moment, the egg fried rice will be ready soon." In the middle of cooking, Brian Cooper turned and spoke to the three who had just sat down.

Energetic Monkey was the first to answer, "You do your thing, it's fine. We'll just look around."

After saying that, he turned to look around the shop. There was nothing special about the decor—just a small place with few chairs. The price list was odd, though. Even a restaurant specializing in one dish wouldn't really only sell one thing.

After all, where there's demand, there's a market. Small shops have to cater to customers' needs to do business, so Monkey asked directly, "Do you really only sell egg fried rice?"

Carrying out three plates of egg fried rice, Brian Cooper replied, "For now, yes."

"Oh? For now? So when will you sell something else?" Monkey guessed this was just another marketing trick—start with the gimmick of only selling egg fried rice to attract attention, then roll out the real menu later. It was a common tactic.

But this time, his usually accurate guess was wrong. Brian Cooper simply said, "In a week, I'll add egg fried rice set meals. After that, we'll see—depends on my mood."

"Uh..." The "depends on my mood" part left Monkey speechless, but seeing that Brian Cooper didn't want to talk more, he wisely dropped the subject.

"Come eat, or I'll eat your share." Seeing the egg fried rice was served, David Clark hurriedly called out, looking serious when he said he'd eat Monkey's portion.

"Alright, coming."

"Please enjoy." Brian Cooper gestured with his hand, showing the demeanor of a true chef.

"Where's the soup?" This time it was Alex who spoke.

Seeing that Brian Cooper only brought out egg fried rice and nothing else, he asked.

"Sorry, I don't provide soup here, and there are no side dishes either." Brian Cooper knew these were his friend's friends, but the system was the boss.

The system had long stipulated that the God of Cooking's small shop could not provide any food not produced by the system. Brian Cooper simply couldn't use non-system ingredients to cook in the shop. The reason for everything was his low level!

"Alright." Alex looked at David Clark, then at Brian Cooper, a bit helpless.

"Alex, Monkey, look at the egg fried rice in front of you. Even though there aren't any extras, it's definitely worth it." David Clark had wanted to dig in as soon as the food arrived, but since he brought the guests, he felt he should explain.

"Fine, but your buddy's shop is really weird. Let's see if this egg fried rice lives up to the hype." Monkey was a bit dissatisfied that his friend Alex was refused even a bowl of soup.

The price list clearly stated that one serving of egg fried rice was 188 RMB, and every time they tried a recommended place, it was always split evenly. This made Monkey suspect David Clark was bringing in customers for his buddy. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened.

Chapter 13: The First Real Customer

Monkey eyed David Clark suspiciously, but the latter just sat there openly, letting himself be scrutinized.