Chapter 373: The Cake Shop’s Grand Opening

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: The Cake Shop’s Grand Opening

Lily Hart had originally planned to share a few more pieces, but as the three of them chatted, they ended up finishing the entire mango mille-crêpe.

Molly Mason and Rhonda Kane, in particular, polished off six slices between the two of them, while Lily Hart ate the remaining two.

It was so delicious—sweet without being cloying!

Lily Hart asked, "Rhonda, when do you plan to open for business?"

Rhonda Kane thought for a moment. "Today! I want the residents of Pearl Base to taste this amazing cake too!"

"Great! In that case, you should make a lot more right now. At the very least, you need to fill up that three-tiered display case outside!"

That lit a fire under Rhonda Kane, and a sense of urgency washed over her.

It was already almost noon. Time was short and the task was huge. Having just eaten two slices of mango mille-crêpe, Lily Hart wasn’t hungry at all.

So she decided to stay and help Rhonda. Molly Mason had already gone back to watch her own shop.

Rhonda Kane frantically searched through the software for the types of cakes she would sell later.

First, there was a selection of breads: Little Goldies, Molten Cheese Bread, Mango Pudding Buns, Red Velvet Loaves, Matcha Artisan Bread, Chocolate Lava Buns...

The names were a bit fanciful, and it was hard to imagine what the items actually looked like just by reading them.

But Rhonda Kane had no doubt they would be delicious. ’If it’s from Boss Hart’s system, how could it possibly taste bad?!’

She set the quantity for ten of each to start, then immediately moved on to find other items.

Next were the cookies and pastries: Dried Sweet Potato Slices, Milk Wafers, Egg Yolk Pastries, Peach Blossom Crisps, Tiger-Stripe Copper Bell Cakes, Chocolate Chip Cookies...

These were small and easy to store, so she ordered a hundred of each to start!

Finally, there were the desserts: Black Forest Cake, Tiramisu, Mango Mille-Crêpe, various other mille-crêpes, Soy Milk Cake, Taro Paste Box...

These didn’t keep well, so she ordered ten of each for now.

Once she’d set all that, the machine began to whir furiously. Luckily, its internal space was large enough to produce an entire batch of one type of bread or cookie at a time.

That saved Rhonda a lot of trouble.

However, what Rhonda and Lily Hart needed to do now was... bring out the finished desserts and arrange them on the displays!

This task alone was enough to keep Rhonda and Lily Hart swamped.

It was the first time for both of them. They were completely inexperienced and had no idea how to arrange everything.

’If we just put them directly on the shelves, won’t the cakes get dirty?’

’What about on plates? That might not look very good...’

Lily Hart quickly went online to search for how bakeries operated back in the age of civilization.

The two huddled together, poring over a pile of pictures until they finally started to get it. Oh~ you were supposed to put them in proper plastic containers or on little decorative cardboard bases.

That way, when customers made their selection, they could take the whole dessert without getting their hands dirty.

As for the bread, they just needed to lay down a clean sheet of wax paper on the shelf and then arrange the loaves.

The cookies were even simpler. They just had to get a shallow bamboo basket and line it with an extra-large sheet of wax paper.

They could arrange the cookies loosely—no need to be too neat. A slightly artful mess would actually look better.

Now that they knew what to do, the next step was to procure those supplies.

Wax paper, bamboo baskets, plastic containers suitable for each dessert, and decorative cardboard bases.

The mille-crêpe, for instance, was sold by the triangular slice, so they’d obviously need to get triangular plastic containers for them. It was the only proper way.

Once the supplies were in hand, the two of them began the frantic process of setting everything up.

It looked simple, but it turned out to be surprisingly tedious work.

They had to be careful not to smudge the cream or crush the fragile cookies. In short, they had to be meticulous about everything.

Rhonda also had to restrain herself from giving in to her cravings and sneaking a bite!

When everything was finally in place, it looked quite professional. With all the treats arranged on display, it was a beautiful sight!

The refrigerated case, the three-tiered display cabinet, and the shelves were all just about full.

This was, of course, because Lily Hart had intentionally spaced everything out a bit.

If she packed them in too tightly, it would make the selection look small and make the bakery seem stingy.

Lily Hart put her hands on her hips and scanned the bakery. She thought it looked pretty great. ’It’s a proper bakery now.’

(These small desserts usually have a cardboard base underneath to make packaging easier.)

However, a proper bakery also needed... free samples!

Her gaze fell on a few buns sitting on the checkout counter—leftovers that didn’t fit on the display shelves.

Lily Hart walked over, picked one up, and swiftly sliced it into small pieces with a knife.

She then arranged them on a small plate and set out some tasting forks beside it.

Rhonda sidled over and stealthily speared a few pieces for herself. ’Munch, munch... so good.’

Lily Hart shot her a look. "Those are for customers to sample."

"Samples?! Why do we have to give them samples?!" Rhonda was shocked.

’These cakes look and smell so delicious, anyone would want to eat them on sight. Do we really need to give out samples?’

She had seen those leftover buns and was planning to save them for herself for dinner. She never expected Boss Hart to hijack them.

Lily Hart stated matter-of-factly, "After people try a sample and realize how good it is, they’ll definitely buy a lot more!"

Rhonda mumbled under her breath, "Even without samples, people will buy a lot... It’s so delicious, who could possibly resist?"

"Look at you, being so stingy. There are so many cakes here, you can eat whatever you want. And if you want something else, that machine can make anything. There’s a huge selection in the software, so don’t deprive yourself, okay?"

Lily Hart pinched Rhonda’s gaunt cheeks and wiggled them up and down, speaking with an air of magnanimity.

Rhonda’s eyes lit up. "Really? Boss Hart, you won’t think I’m eating too much?"

Lily Hart smiled and shook her head. ’Why would I mind? It’s not my Crystal Cores being used, anyway.’

’She’s earning her own money to spend on herself. Perfectly reasonable!’

Having gotten Lily Hart’s permission, Rhonda felt a great sense of relief.

Her fighting spirit was now fully ignited. "Quick, let’s open for business right now!"

It was now two in the afternoon. Before lunch, Lily Hart had already sent a message to their small group chat.

She told them she was helping out at the new bakery and wouldn’t be back to eat.

Now that they were about to open, Lily Hart sent another message to the group: [The bakery’s open, come and try some!]

Meanwhile, Rhonda opened the door, ready to welcome customers.

Customers had already been loitering out front for a while, constantly peeking inside. They were extremely curious about all the bustling activity.

Now that the door was finally open, they actually seemed a bit shy.

Lily Hart took the initiative and called out to them, "What are you all still standing out there for? Come on in and take a look! It’s a bakery~"

"Wow—!" A chorus of cheers and surprised gasps erupted.

A bakery! Another new shop! ’Boss Hart opens stores so fast!’

The customers who had been watching from outside flooded in. The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by the aroma of freshly baked bread.

It was mixed with the faint, sweet scent of cream, a truly wonderful smell. Then their eyes fell upon the cute and exquisite cakes.

They were instantly ravenous!

Rhonda was in the middle of putting up price tags. The prices weren’t too expensive, just about average.

When she saw the customers enter, Rhonda immediately straightened up, turned around, and called out to them, "We have free samples! Come and try some!"

The moment they heard "free samples," everyone swarmed over like a horde of bees.

They didn’t even bother with the forks, grabbing handful after handful with their bare hands and stuffing the pieces into their mouths.

Rhonda watched, wanting to stop them, but before she could even open her mouth, the plate of sample bread was picked clean.

"..."

Someone even had the gall to ask, "Hey, Boss, got any more samples? It was gone before I could even get a proper taste!"