Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Gourmet-Themed Game, Paying a Debt with Food
Jingzhou, High-Tech Development Zone.
"Boss, we’ve all received our salaries, but... everyone asked me to come and ask you about the travel allowance for the past six months. It seems..."
In the boss’s office.
The office director, looking a bit awkward, gave a fawning smile to the young boss in front of him.
"Travel allow—?"
Before the boss could finish, the office director immediately rubbed his hands together and said with a laugh, "This is what everyone was wondering. They just wanted to get an update."
Seeing the boss’s blank expression, the director’s face changed, and he declared with righteous indignation, "If you ask me, the young people these days are so inconsiderate! It’s just a little bit of money! The company is in this state; they should be grateful just to get paid! That pittance of a travel allowance is a benefit, after all..."
The young man pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, cutting off the director’s babbling. "It’s not easy for anyone to earn a living. Tell them I’ll have an answer for everyone before the end of the day."
"Yes! Yes! You got it. You get some rest. I’ll go tell them right away!"
Hearing the office door click shut, Su Chen, sitting in the boss’s chair, finally let out a long sigh.
Transmigration!
That’s right, Su Chen had transmigrated!
As someone who lived in the age of the information explosion, Su Chen quickly accepted a plot device like transmigration. What really gave him a headache, however, was this.
The moment he transmigrated, the company he was now running was on the verge of bankruptcy.
A few days ago, to pay off three months of overdue employee salaries, the original owner of this body had sold off all the inventory in the warehouse at a low price!
At the same time, he sold almost everything of value in the office building, barely managing to cover the massive hole left by the unpaid wages.
The instant the salaries were paid out, the original owner—likely unable to bear the long-term pressure, compounded by three months of insomnia—collapsed at his desk.
’Why did you have to go and start a business...’
Su Chen shook his head and casually clicked open a document on the computer.
This food company, called Meiweilai, specialized in pre-cooked meals.
Last year, rumors spread that Jingzhou would be heavily promoting pre-cooked meal projects, especially a program to introduce them into schools.
So, the original owner took his three million-plus in demolition compensation money and decisively established the Meiweilai Food Company in the newly built High-Tech Development Zone.
’What a character...’
Su Chen browsed the documents on the computer while sorting through the memories he had just absorbed.
Just as the company was all set up, the plan to introduce pre-cooked meals into schools was met with boycotts and complaints from countless parents.
Multiple school administrations were forced to put the matter on hold. As a result, Meiweilai Company could only fall into a state of indefinite waiting.
After all, the pre-cooked meal section in supermarkets was already dominated by major brands. One could only imagine the difficulty for a new company trying to enter that market.
And the original owner had focused most of his initial energy and funds on building connections with the schools.
Before long, the company couldn’t hold on any longer.
First, the factory was shut down. Then, they stopped the supply of raw materials from vendors. After that, they started laying off employees and downsizing departments, until a few days ago...
When the money in the company account was only enough to pay the last month’s salary for the few remaining employees, the original owner accepted his fate.
"The vegetables and meat in the storeroom were sold to major supermarkets at half of market price?"
"And the finished pre-cooked meals were sold to competitors for a third of the price?"
Su Chen scrolled through the document from top to bottom, his feelings a complicated mess. He took out a pen and paper and briefly summarized his current situation.
Good news: Although the company and personal bank accounts were nearly empty, at least the company had no loans or other debts, and the overdue employee wages had all been paid off.
Bad news: The company’s eight remaining employees were trying to claim their travel allowance for the past six months—two hundred yuan per person per month, for a total of ninety-six hundred.
It wasn’t a lot, but he couldn’t pay it!
Su Chen started to ponder. The company going bankrupt was a problem for later. Right now, he had to get through this immediate crisis.
This was especially true since Su Chen had also been a working stiff in his previous life. A six-month travel allowance, twelve hundred yuan, was enough to cover a month’s worth of food for many families. He couldn’t just pocket that money.
Although he said he’d have an answer by the end of the day, Su Chen actually had no idea what to do.
[Ding!]
Just as Su Chen was frowning with worry, a voice suddenly appeared in his mind, causing him to raise his head and scan the office warily.
Before Su Chen could think too much about it, the cold, mechanical voice continued to echo from the depths of his mind.
[Player meets the requirements!]
[Gourmet-type game, now activating!]
[Congratulations, you have successfully bound to Game System Version 1.0!]
Before Su Chen could react to his surprise, the mechanical voice in his head faded, and a translucent, dark blue panel appeared in his vision.
Player Name: Su Chen
Level: 0 (0/100)
Skills: None
Items: None
Main Quest: Please enter a keyword. (When you enter a keyword, the system will provide you with different quests to choose from.)
Side Quest: None
Hidden Quest: None
"I have to enter a keyword just to see the quests?"
Su Chen wasn’t too surprised by the system’s appearance. As someone who frequently read novels, wasn’t it perfectly normal for a system to show up for him?
"Get rich quick!"
Su Chen didn’t hesitate, directly calling out those three words in his mind.
Right now, only getting rich quick could solve his problems!
[Search complete!]
[Main Quest: Please lie down on the nearest bed and fall asleep. (Accept/Decline)]
[Quest Reward: Quilt x1]
Su Chen: ???
After silently declining the main quest that had appeared, Su Chen had a general impression of this system: it wasn’t a very impressive one.
After a moment of thought, Su Chen cautiously called out a keyword in his mind that he felt was more appropriate for his current situation.
"Pay off debt!"
A line of text appeared on the game panel, [Analyzing player’s situation...], but after only a moment, more text appeared.
[Main Quest 1: Debts Must Be Paid. Please use the system’s complimentary Newbie Gift Pack to successfully find a job in a kitchen and pay off your debts. (Accept/Decline)]
[Quest Reward: Newbie Gift Pack x1]
[Main Quest 2: Repay Debt with Dishes. Please use the "Gourmet Practice Room" function and make full use of the few remaining ingredients in your storeroom to resolve your current predicament. (Accept/Decline)]
[Quest Reward: Gourmet Practice Room function permanently unlocked]
This time, the search yielded two quests to choose from.
Su Chen only glanced at the first quest.
To put it bluntly, it was just about using the system’s reward to find a job and work to pay back the money.
’I transmigrated just to go back to being a wage slave?’
Su Chen didn’t accept, but he didn’t rush to decline it either. Instead, he turned his attention to the second quest.
"Repay debt... with dishes?"
The quest didn’t specify *how* to solve the problem, only giving him a direction: use the system’s function and the remaining unsold ingredients in the storeroom to overcome his difficulties.
Besides, Su Chen was also a little curious about this so-called ’Gourmet Practice Room’.
Weighing the pros and cons, Su Chen decisively chose to accept the second quest!
