Chapter 7: First Day of Business
"I'm going to eat!"
Kogoro Mouri eagerly picked up his spoon and scooped a large portion of curry rice into his mouth.
"Ah, hot, hot, hot! It's burning me!"
"Idiot, didn't you see the steam rising from it!"
Eri Kisaki shook her head helplessly. She blew on the curry rice a few times until it cooled down slightly, then took a small bite.
"Hmm? ...The taste is amazing! Much better than what Uncle Kogoro used to make."
"Huh? How is that possible! Dad's curry rice is the best!"
Kogoro Mouri looked indignantly at Eri Kisaki's joyful face, then picked up his spoon and scooped another spoonful of curry rice.
This time, he didn't dare to put it directly into his mouth as he had before. Instead, he imitated Eri Kisaki, blowing on it first before eating it.
"Uh... the taste is indeed... acceptable!" Kogoro Mouri's face was full of reluctance.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, the rice grains in his mouth were perfectly cooked, neither too soft nor too hard, and the sauce was fragrant and rich. The spicy flavor of the curry blended perfectly with the mellow taste of the rice, stimulating his taste buds and making Kogoro Mouri Can't help it want another bite.
"Hmph, at most it's just as good as Dad's!" Saying this, Kogoro Mouri seemed to remember something and stopped talking, focusing on eating his meal.
Eri Kisaki, standing nearby, shook her head with a smile and said nothing more.
Lin Xiuyi picked up his utensils and served himself a plate.
The Izakaya was about to open for business, and before that, he naturally had to eat his fill, otherwise, he wouldn't have the strength to cook for customers.
After Lin Xiuyi finished eating, Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki had also completely finished their plates of curry rice.
Kogoro Mouri even had another plate before he was full.
Lin Xiuyi placed the three plates into the sink.
Eri Kisaki immediately volunteered to help wash them.
Lin Xiuyi couldn't refuse her and could only nod in agreement, but to his surprise, less than half a minute later, there was the sound of a plate shattering.
"...Sorry," Eri Kisaki chuckled dryly, "I, I just slipped."
"Never mind, let me do it," Lin Xiuyi pushed Eri Kisaki out of the kitchen, swept the broken plate into the trash can, and then washed the remaining two plates.
"Although I've seen Shuichi help Dad before," Kogoro Mouri said, sitting at the dining table and looking at his busy friend with a sigh, "I've never tasted your cooking before. I didn't expect it to be so good."
Lin Xiuyi had been living with relatives before, and although his relatives were very kind, he wasn't a real child after all.
To avoid disturbing them too much, he rarely invited Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki to his place, so he never had the chance to let his two good friends taste his cooking.
"You'll get tired of it once you eat it too much," Lin Xiuyi looked up at the time. It was already 6:30 PM. "Alright, it's about time. We should open the shop."
This was Lin Xiuyi's first day of business, so Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki naturally wouldn't let their friend work alone and also helped out in the shop.
Kogoro Mouri went to hang up the noren and then helped greet customers in the hall, while Eri Kisaki helped with the accounting and collecting money.
Although Lin Xiuyi's cooking skills were excellent, only less than twenty customers came in during the three hours the Izakaya was open.
Compared to when Mouri's father was still around, the customer flow had decreased by nearly half.
This was unavoidable. The Izakaya had been closed for over a month, and many of the old regulars had found new places.
To restore the Izakaya's previous customer flow, it would take at least another one or two months of good management.
However, although the customer flow was not as high as before, all the customers who came to the Izakaya today praised Lin Xiuyi's cooking, which undoubtedly boosted the trio's confidence.
At 10 PM, Lin Xiuyi prepared to close for the night.
This was Mouri's request.
Although there were many customers after 10 PM, Lin Xiuyi was still just a high school student after all.
Mouri was also concerned about his studies, which was why she specifically set this rule.
"One thousand, two thousand... twenty-five thousand, twenty-six thousand..." Eri Kisaki counted the night's income. "A total of 67,500 yen!"
"Sixty-seven thousand? We earned that much in one night?" Kogoro Mouri danced with excitement.
"How can it be that much?" Lin Xiuyi reminded him, "We haven't calculated the cost of ingredients and drinks yet. If we deduct those, tonight's profit should be a little over 20,000 yen."
"Twenty thousand yen, that's a lot!" Kogoro Mouri laughed proudly, "I heard from my seniors in the Judo Club that they earn only four or five thousand yen for a hard night's work at a Convenience Store."
Lin Xiuyi was also quite satisfied with tonight's profit. The customer flow hadn't recovered yet, but they earned over 20,000 yen in one night. Calculated this way, the monthly profit could be at least over 600,000 yen.
He had agreed with Mouri that they would split the Izakaya's monthly profits equally.
Renting out the Izakaya's storefront would bring in 300,000 to 400,000 yen in rent each month. As long as they maintained the first day's profit, the money given to Mouri at the end of the month would be roughly similar to the rent.
The Mouri family had always been good to Lin Xiuyi, and now they had entrusted the Izakaya to him. Lin Xiuyi naturally couldn't let the Mouri mother and son lose out.
"Alright, it's about time. Let's close..."
Before Lin Xiuyi could finish speaking, the Izakaya's noren lifted, and a young man with a square face peeked in, looking around. It was none other than Inspector Megure, whom Lin Xiuyi and his friends had just met that day.
"It's you?" Inspector Megure was startled. "This shop..."
Lin Xiuyi was about to say that they were preparing to close, but Kogoro Mouri had already enthusiastically pulled him in.
"Inspector Megure, welcome!"
"Wait a moment, Inspector Samezaki and the others are still outside."
Inspector Megure turned to go out and call them. Lin Xiuyi looked helplessly at Eri Kisaki.
"It's already so late, you..."
Although Eri Kisaki's home wasn't far from the Mouri's small building, it was too late, and it wouldn't be safe for a girl to go home alone.
"It's fine, I'll stay a bit longer," Eri Kisaki said with a smile, "Then..."
"Don't worry, Shuichi, I'll take Eri home!" Kogoro Mouri said, patting his chest.
"I don't want you to take me home!" Eri Kisaki snorted, "Some people can't move when they see a beautiful woman."
"Tch, it's not like I'm the only one like that," Kogoro Mouri said with a disgruntled expression.
"Why doesn't Shuichi have that problem?"
"That's because you don't know, Shuichi's secretly..."
"Cough, cough, cough!" Lin Xiuyi quickly coughed twice, "Stop arguing. We'll close after Inspector Megure and the others leave. Then I'll take Eri home."
This last wave of customers, besides the rookie officer Inspector Megure, included the several First Division officers Lin Xiuyi and his friends had seen during the day: Mr. Samesaki, and two Assistant Mr.s, Matsumoto and Morimura.