Chapter 235: No One Has High Hopes for the New Shop
Chapter 235: Chapter 235: No One Has High Hopes for the New Shop
Jiang Liu rubbed his nose.
It was a strange feeling, being on the receiving end of his girlfriend’s playful pouting. He’d never experienced it before.
The three of them exited the elevator.
Jiang Liu started the car. It was much warmer inside, free from the damp chill.
Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong passed out as usual.
He drove out of the garage by himself.
It was still dark outside. The sky was blanketed in dark clouds, and a fine, thread-like rain fell in a hazy drizzle.
The corporate drones, up early for work, hurried along, clutching their collars and breaking into a jog.
Seeing Jiang Liu’s respectable car, they couldn’t help but look on with envy.
They couldn’t afford a car worth even tens of thousands, let alone one costing hundreds of thousands.
Jiang Liu made his usual trip to the wet market, where the old grandmother was already waiting for him.
After buying another five or six pounds of tomatoes, Jiang Liu hurried back to the car.
Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong were sleeping in the back seat, covered with a small blanket.
Jiang Liu glanced at the two of them in the rearview mirror, an unconscious smile gracing his lips.
「Back on Yangzhai Street.」
A line of over a hundred people had already formed in front of World’s Second Best Restaurant. Even the wind and rain couldn’t stop their determination to eat delicious food.
More and more customers were setting up tents. After all, they had to wait for several hours, and squatting in a tent playing games was much more comfortable than standing in the wind and rain.
"Morning, Brother Jiang! We thought you might not come because of the rain."
"Little Boss Jiang, you’re finally here! We’re starving, it’s killing us! Everyone’s been getting antsy waiting for you."
"You’ve worked hard, Boss Jiang."
Jiang Liu exchanged a few words with the enthusiastic customers who greeted him.
He led the two sleepyheads back into the restaurant.
He arranged the ingredients from the cart in the kitchen and got to work.
"Qingmeng, Tongtong, why don’t you two go sleep for a bit in the little nest I made? I’ll call you when it’s time to eat."
They both shook their heads.
"No, Daddy, I want to help you work."
"There’s no need. I’m not sleepy."
"Alright, then," Jiang Liu said helplessly.
He could only have them help him bottle juice for now.
He glanced at his phone.
A new message had just arrived on WeChat.
Hu Yongfa: "[11 Images]"
Hu Yongfa: "How are the ingredients, Master? I personally inspected all of them!"
Hu Yongfa: "The main sign is still being installed, but everything else in the restaurant is ready to go. We’re just waiting for the storefront to be finished and the permits to arrive. I estimate we’ll have no problem opening at noon."
He and Yue Longfan were incredibly proactive, having both arrived at the restaurant at three in the morning.
Jiang Liu tapped open all the photos to take a look.
There were pictures of workers on scaffolding, an invoice for the supplies, and close-ups of various ingredients.
The ingredients all looked good and very fresh.
The farmed red shrimp, which were replacing the Little Cyan Dragons, had smooth, undamaged shells. They looked like they had been harvested recently.
Jiang Liu glanced at the prices. They were all about ten percent lower than the market wholesale price.
The farmed shrimp was twelve yuan a pound, which was a great deal.
Supermarkets would sell it for over twenty yuan.
Jiang Liu sent a compliment: "Looks good. Everything’s fine. I didn’t expect you to handle it all so smoothly."
Hu Yongfa, excited, grinned and replied: "You can count on me, Master! I’ll absolutely keep up this passion. I’ll personally oversee the quality of the ingredients and the cleanliness every day. The food we serve our customers will be prepared in strict accordance with your standards!"
Jiang Liu: "Okay. Just sell from eleven to two at noon. That’s a three-hour sales window. You can prepare the dishes in advance and keep them in insulated containers. Apply the same model to the morning, noon, and evening shifts—use whichever one works best. Come by and pick up the seasonings and consumables when you have time."
Hu Yongfa: "Roger that!"
After replying to Jiang Liu’s message, Hu Yongfa, newly energized, began frantically directing the cleaning lady to tidy up.
His excitement was palpable.
"Aunt Hong, give the place another thorough cleaning! It has to be spotless for opening day!"
"Old Yue, hurry up and make some buns. We all need to eat breakfast. And while you’re at it, prep the ingredients so we’re ready for the lunch rush!"
As the store manager, Hu Yongfa gave the order, and the two young waitresses, the cleaner, and his apprentice all scrambled to get busy.
The tables and floors were wiped down again and again.
The free water cooler inside was fitted with a full, large bottle of mineral water.
The white lights on the walls shone brightly.
At six in the morning, Huaidong Road Alley started to show some signs of life.
Passersby looked with surprise at the shop under renovation.
"What’s this shop for?"
"Lots of tables inside, so it must be a restaurant. Another trashy little shop opening up. There aren’t any decent businesses around here. Tsk tsk."
"Which fucking idiot decided to get into the restaurant business now? They must have a goddamn death wish."
The other two breakfast shops nearby also noticed Jiang Liu’s new restaurant.
Seeing that it was most likely another breakfast place, the owners of the two shops sneered, ready to crack open some sunflower seeds and watch the show.
Hilarious!
This was the most hilarious thing of 2020!
This was their turf, a territory they’d run for years! Some outsider species thought it could muscle in? It wouldn’t even know what hit it. A total sucker ripe for the fleecing!
Just then, a fair-skinned, chubby uncle with long sideburns folded his umbrella and entered the shop. He collared a young waitress who was diligently wiping the walls to ask a question.
"Excuse me, what are you selling here?"
The waitress put on a practiced, professional smile and said, "Hello, sir. Our restaurant offers steamed buns, nutritious congee, and several kinds of stir-fried dishes. The chef is the former head chef of Juyuan Inn."
She knew exactly how to attract customers, playing her little trump card right away.
"The head chef from Juyuan Inn? For real? You must be kidding. Why would someone of that caliber come to a place like this?"
The middle-aged chubby man looked skeptical.
"We can prove it to you at any time, sir. Chef Hu is right here. We also have many photos of him receiving awards, as well as work photos from his time at Juyuan Inn."
The middle-aged chubby man was only half-convinced.
"I’m not interested in looking at photos. When do you open? Can I get something to eat now?"
"We open at 11:30 AM."
"Fine, I’ll come by at noon to give it a try. If I’m not satisfied, I’m never coming back!"
Having said his piece, the middle-aged chubby man left, hands in his pockets as he opened his umbrella.
He planned to come back at noon with some friends to find fault with the place.
’What a load of bull. "Chef Hu," my ass. And I’m some miracle chef from a cartoon, I suppose!’
「6:45 AM, at World’s Second Best Restaurant.」
The three of them were once again having a meal of scrambled eggs with tomato.
Jun Qingmeng gazed at Jiang Liu, her eyes practically overflowing with affection.
"Jiang Liu, every meal you make is a delight. It’s just so delicious!"
She felt that even if this was the only dish Jiang Liu knew how to make, she would never get tired of eating it.
And he even changed things up for her from time to time. This was true happiness.
"If you like it, then eat more."
Jiang Liu smiled, checked the time on his phone, and listened to the WHOOSHING wind outside. "You two should hurry to the kindergarten," he urged. "It looks like the rain might get heavier soon."
"Mhm, Tongtong, shall we get going?"
Jun Qingmeng obediently stood up. She was worried that if the rain got worse, Jiang Liu would insist on driving them.
She didn’t want to be a bother to her boyfriend.
"Aww, okay, fine! Tongtong was supposed to be with Daddy until seven o’clock. Big Sister Rain is so mean."
Tongtong’s little eyebrows furrowed in displeasure.
Jiang Liu stroked Tongtong’s hair and comforted her in a gentle voice, "Be good. After you get out of school, we can stay together in the shop all day tomorrow and won’t have to separate."
"Okay!"
Tongtong’s mood brightened instantly.
Suddenly, Jiang Liu thought of something.