Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 7 First Day of Business

"I'm gonna start now!"

Maori Kogoro couldn't wait to pick up the spoon and scoop a big spoonful of curry rice into his mouth.

"Oh, it's hot, hot! It's burning me to death!"

"Idiot, can't you see it's still steaming?"

Kisaki Eri shook her head speechlessly. She blew on the curry rice in the spoon a few times, waited for it to cool down a little, and then took a small bite.
"Hmm? ...It tastes great! Better than anything Mr. Maori used to make."

"Huh? How is that possible! Dad's curry rice is the best!"

Kogoro Mouri looked at Kisaki Eri with annoyance, then picked up the spoon and scooped a spoonful of curry rice.

This time he didn't dare put it directly into his mouth like he did before. Instead, he imitated Kisaki Eri and blew on it with his mouth before eating it.

"Uh... the taste is indeed... okay!" Kogoro Mouri's face was full of reluctance.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, the rice grains in his mouth were just the right softness and hardness, and the soup was fragrant and rich. The spiciness of the curry and the richness of the rice blended perfectly, stimulating his taste buds and making Maori Kogoro want to take another bite.

"Hmph, at most it's the same as what dad makes!" At this point, Kogoro Mouri suddenly remembered something, stopped talking, and started to concentrate on eating.

Kisaki Eri next to her shook her head in amusement and said nothing more.

Lin Xiuyi picked up the cutlery and served himself a plate.

The izakaya is about to open for business, so before that, I have to eat my fill first, otherwise I won’t have the energy to cook for the guests.

After Hayashi Shuichi finished eating, both plates of curry rice from Maori Kogoro and Kisaki Eri were eaten up by them.

Kogoro Mouri even took another plate and was finally full.

Lin Xiuyi put the three people's plates into the sink.

Kisaki Eri immediately volunteered to help with the cleaning.

Lin Xiuyi couldn't persuade her and could only nod in agreement, but he didn't expect that less than half a minute later, he heard the sound of a plate breaking.

"...Sorry," Kisaki Eri laughed dryly, "I, my hand just slipped."

"Forget it, let me do it," Lin Xiuyi pushed Kisaki Eri out of the kitchen, first swept the broken plates into the trash can, and then washed the remaining two plates.

"Although I've seen you helping Dad before, Shuichi," Maori Kogoro sighed as he sat at the dining table, watching his busy friend, "I've never eaten your cooking before. I didn't expect it to taste so good."

Lin Xiuyi was living with his relatives before. Although his relatives were very kind, he was not a real child after all.

In order not to disturb them too much, he rarely invited Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki to his place, so there was no chance for his two good friends to taste his cooking skills.

"If you eat too much, you'll get tired of it." Lin Xiuyi looked up at the time. It was already half past six. "Okay, it's almost time to open the store."

This is the first day that Hayashi Shuichi opens the store. Naturally, Maori Kogoro and Kisaki Eri will not let their friend work alone, so they also help in the store.

Kogoro Mouri went to hang up the noren curtains and then helped to welcome guests in the lobby, while Eri Kisaki helped to count the money.

Although Lin Xiuyi's cooking skills are superb, the izakaya has been open for more than three hours, and only less than twenty customers have come in.

Compared to when Maori Papa was still around, the number of customers has been reduced by nearly half.

There's nothing we can do about it. The izakaya has been closed for over a month, and many of its former customers have moved to other places.

If they wanted the izakaya to regain its previous customer flow, they would have to run it well for another month or two. Although the customer flow wasn't as high as before, the customers who came to the izakaya today were full of praise for Lin Xiuyi's cooking skills, which undoubtedly boosted the confidence of the three.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Lin Xiuyi was ready to close the business.

This is what Mrs. Maori asked for.

Although there were many customers after 10 o'clock, Lin Xiuyi was still a high school student after all.

Mrs. Maori made this rule because she was worried about his studies.

"One thousand, two thousand... twenty-five thousand, twenty-six thousand..." Hibiki counted tonight's earnings, "a total of sixty-seven thousand five hundred yen!"

"Sixty-seven thousand? We earned that much in one night?" Kogoro Mouri was so excited that he danced with joy.

"How can it be that much?" Lin Xiuyi reminded, "That hasn't even taken into account the cost of ingredients and drinks. After deducting those, tonight's profit should only be a little over 20,000 yen."

"Twenty thousand yen, that's a lot!" Maori Kogoro said with a smug smile, "I heard from the seniors in the judo club that they work part-time at a convenience store and only make four or five thousand yen after a hard night's work."

Lin Xiuyi was quite satisfied with tonight's profits. Even though the customer flow had not yet recovered, he had already earned more than 20,000 yen in one night. By this calculation, the profit for a month would be at least more than 600,000 yen.

He had originally agreed with Mrs. Mori that they would each take half of the monthly profits from the izakaya.

The izakaya store can be rented out for 300,000 to 400,000 yen per month. As long as the profit is maintained on the first day, the money paid to Mrs. Mori at the end of the month will be almost enough to cover the rent.

The Mori family has always been good to Lin Xiuyi, and now they have handed over the izakaya to him to run. Naturally, Lin Xiuyi cannot let the Mori mother and son suffer losses.

"Okay, it's almost time to close the door..."

Before Lin Xiuyi could finish his words, the curtain of the izakaya was lifted, and a square-faced young man poked his head in and took a look. It was none other than Megure Jusan, whom Lin Xiuyi and the others had just met during the day.

"It's you?" Megure Jusan was stunned. "This store..."

Lin Xiuyi was about to say that he was ready to close the shop, but Maori Kogoro had already enthusiastically pulled people in.

"Inspector Megure, welcome!"

"Wait a minute, Inspector Samezaki and the others are still outside."

Officer Megure turned around and went out to call for help. Lin Xiuyi looked at Kisaki Eri helplessly.
"It's already so late, you..."

Although Kisaki Eri's house is not far from the Mori family's small building, it is too late and it is not safe for a girl to go home alone.

"It's okay, I'll stay a little longer," Kisaki Eri 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 send me off!" Hibiki Eri snorted, "Some people can't even walk when they see a beautiful woman."

"Tsk, I'm not the only one like this," Kogoro Mouri said with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

"Why doesn't Shuichi have this problem?"

"That's what you don't know, Xiuyi hid it..."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Lin Xiuyi quickly coughed twice, "Stop making noise, wait until Officer Megure and the others leave before closing the door. Then I'll take Eri home."

The last wave of guests, in addition to the rookie police officer Jusan Megure, also included the police officers from Section 1 that Hayashi Shuichi and the others had met during the day, Inspector Samezaki Shimaharu, and two deputy inspectors, Seinaga Matsumoto and Shoichi Morimura.

(End of this chapter)