Chapter 238: Yang Yixue’s Loan, Wang Han Visits the Shop
Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Yang Yixue’s Loan, Wang Han Visits the Shop
"It’s raining, so I’m not going to Sanmi Porridge Shop. I’ll just try this place instead."
"Damn, it’s so expensive?"
The customers who came in were stunned by the prices.
"...Whatever, I’ll just try it once. Everyone at these tables seems to be really enjoying their food."
The moment they tasted the buns and nourishing porridge, the customers were completely won over.
It was truly delicious!
It was more than ten times better than that Sanmi Porridge Shop!
Expensive, but so delicious!
Hu Yongfa looked at the packed tables and grinned from ear to ear.
Five hundred buns and a huge vat of nourishing porridge sold out in less than half an hour.
"Old Yue, hurry up and make another thousand buns! I predict we’re going to get slammed at lunchtime!"
"Slammed?"
Yue Longfan found a moment to step out and take a look, his face filled with astonishment.
"Old Hu, how did it suddenly fill up? Weren’t there just two people here a minute ago?"
Hu Yongfa said admiringly, "It’s all thanks to our master’s incredible buns. Even I think they’re delicious, to say nothing of regular customers. It’s peak lunchtime right now, and word is spreading like wildfire. It’s only normal that they’re selling out fast!"
"Enough talk! Get back to making buns!"
Meanwhile.
Miaomiao Breakfast Shop in the middle of the alley and Sanmi Porridge Shop at the east end suddenly saw a severe drop in foot traffic.
Regulars who were never late didn’t show up today.
"What’s going on?"
"It must be the rain. People probably don’t want to go out..."
The two owners didn’t think much of it.
What else could you expect on a rainy day?
...
A light drizzle washed over the concrete road of Yangzhai Street, turning the pavement a slick, dark black.
Other streets were already deserted, but Yangzhai Street was still bustling with people coming and going.
This made the merchants on neighboring He Dong Street incredibly envious.
After all, they had Boss Jiang!
At this moment.
The line in front of the World’s Second Best Eatery was already overflowing!
Customers holding umbrellas and wearing raincoats chatted with one another.
The most popular topic of conversation was Boss Jiang’s food.
They wondered about things like whether he would add any new, permanent items to the menu.
The four dishes on the menu were no longer enough to satisfy everyone’s appetite.
12:10 PM.
Jiang Liu announced he was open for business.
The tomato and scrambled eggs were priced at fifty, which wasn’t considered expensive.
Customers swarmed into the shop, rushing to buy the tomato and scrambled egg combo without even asking the price.
"You’re finally open! Brother Jiang, let me get a tomato and scrambled egg combo to start!"
"Tomato and scrambled eggs, haha, here I come!"
"I wonder what it tastes like. Boss Jiang, is it ready yet?"
Soon.
The first customers began to receive their tomato and scrambled eggs.
The tender, fragrant eggs, dipped in the sweet and sour red sauce and paired with the congee, were an absolute explosion of flavor.
"Delicious! This is so delicious!"
"How are Brother Jiang’s tomato and scrambled eggs so incredibly good?!"
"This is pure bliss! Ahhh!!"
A new customer had completely lost himself in the moment.
He seemed to have discovered the true meaning of life: Jiang Liu’s eatery!
The room was filled with a rich aroma.
The scent of the steaming-hot food wafted outside.
The customers still waiting in line gulped, their faces full of anticipation as they watched Jiang Liu at the window.
While Jiang Liu was busy bustling about,
a Mercedes van worth over 500,000 yuan slowly drove past.
Li Xiaoyan’s face was grim. She pressed against the tinted window, her cross-eyed gaze fixed malevolently on Jiang Liu’s shop.
The booming success of Jiang Liu’s shop had always been a thorn in her side.
She had come out today during the downpour specifically hoping to see Jiang Liu’s shop empty, just so she could have a good laugh at his expense.
Who would have thought that even on a rainy day, Jiang Liu’s shop would still be this packed?
The number of customers in a single lunch rush was more than her shop got in several days combined.
The sight almost made Li Xiaoyan faint with rage.
"Hmph. You poor bastard. Enjoy it while it lasts. You’ll be out of business sooner or later!"
Yang Yixue looked as if she had just eaten shit:
"Jiang Liu must have done something to the recipes he gave us. I never should have trusted him, for the sake of our past marriage."
"I told you back then to be more careful! That you should have made him hand over all the recipes! But you wouldn’t listen. See? You got played, didn’t you?"
"Mom, did I have a choice?"
Li Xiaoyan changed the subject, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "If you ask me, Jiang Liu is still an idiot. If he charged a bit more, we might not even be able to compete with him."
Yang Yixue nodded. "He won’t be on top for long. We’re about to open two new shops. Once we do, our base income will be on par with his!"
Just yesterday,
Yang Yixue had already spent a fortune to secure her third storefront.
Furthermore,
she had also gotten a little clever.
She thickened the bun dough by a centimeter. This not only made the buns look bigger, but it also meant she could use less filling.
Before, the cost of one bun was 0.4 yuan. Now, it was only 0.25 yuan!
Yang Yixue was quite pleased with herself over this. She didn’t think the customers would find anything wrong with it.
’Isn’t it just about filling your stomach?’
’I still put filling in. As long as it has some flavor, that should be enough, right?’
Ever since she made the change, her daily profits had instantly shot up by several thousand.
Yang Yixue was counting so much money her hands were starting to cramp.
Even so,
her resentment for Jiang Liu hadn’t lessened one bit.
’If Jiang Liu hadn’t been so stingy and only given me two recipes, I’d be filthy rich by now!’
Li Xiaoyan’s eyes darted about, and she suddenly asked with feigned concern, "Daughter, has that loan of yours come through yet? We need to hurry up and open more branches to get our daily revenue up. Ugh, I can’t eat or sleep properly these days. It infuriates me to see that little bastard lording his success over us!"
"Mom, don’t rush me. The economy’s in a slump, and the banks are as stingy as a certain pauper we know. The interest rates are high, but the loan amounts are small. It’s disgusting."
Li Xiaoyan grew impatient. "We still have to get it done! If worse comes to worst, we’ll mortgage the house and our old family home. We can find a shack with an asbestos roof for your dad to live in for the time being. We’re meant for big things! We have to learn to make our money work for us.
What’s the use of holding on to cash? Or a house? Even if we have to rent, we can’t miss this golden opportunity to make a fortune!"
Yang Yixue hesitated, but ultimately made up her mind.
"Fine. I’ll go consult a professional in a few days. I still have that old shop, and its market value is pretty good. I’ll sell it off for cash, and we’ll go all-in on the restaurant business!"
She was desperate to surpass Jiang Liu.
She wanted to show him just how brilliant and capable she truly was.
There was one more thing Yang Yixue hadn’t noticed.
Immersed in the thrill of raking in cash, she had completely failed to notice that while she was getting more new customers, her number of repeat customers was rapidly dwindling.
Even if she had known, Yang Yixue wouldn’t have cared.
’As long as I’m making money, what else matters? People destined for great things don’t worry about this and that.’
...
1:10 PM.
The rain continued to fall at a steady, unhurried pace. Sanitation workers rushed about the streets, clearing the drains.
Jiang Liu closed up for the day.
He prepared a portion of yak beef for himself and sat contentedly inside, eating.
Just then,
a Mercedes pulled up to the entrance.
Wang Han, dressed in a black business suit and high heels, walked into the shop under a black umbrella.
"Jiang Liu, how have you been the last couple of days?"
Hearing her voice, Jiang Liu looked up, a little surprised. "Not bad. Are you here to eat?"
"What do you think?"
"Uh..." Jiang Liu was at a loss for words.
Wang Han gave a knowing smile. She brushed a few raindrops from her hair and sat down across from Jiang Liu, resting her chin in her hand as she watched him.
"Did you miss me?"
"I have a girlfriend," Jiang Liu said bluntly.
Wang Han didn’t press the issue, changing the subject instead. "Do you have any food left? My dad’s in the hospital, and he’s craving your buns and juice."
Jiang Liu shook his head. "Everything’s sold out. You should have come earlier... Didn’t Huang Yunfeng buy some?"
"Don’t even get me started. That glutton of an uncle of mine ate his fill and then gave the rest to his friends to have with their drinks."
"I see."
"Jiang Liu," Wang Han said, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Could you make some for me? Please? Just this once!"
She held up a single, slender finger.
"I’m begging you. My dad isn’t well. Just think of it as doing me a favor. Aren’t we friends?"
Jiang Liu considered it for a moment.
In his mind, he did consider Wang Han a friend, more or less.
She also gave off a bit of an older sister vibe.
She had also been a generous patron when he first opened his shop.
Jiang Liu nodded.
"I’m out of buns, but I can get you some juice and tuna. I can also spare a portion of the beef."
"That’s plenty! Thank you, Jiang Liu!" Wang Han’s smile was radiant.
Her eyes curved into crescents, and her green earrings shimmered against her fair skin.
"It’s no problem. We’re friends, after all. If your father is craving my food even while he’s in the hospital, I ought to make some for him."
"Mhm!"
Wang Han paid on the spot, adding an extra five thousand yuan.
Jiang Liu went to the back kitchen and packed a large bag full of food.
"Here you go. You should get this to your dad quickly. The texture of the yak beef won’t be as good if it sits for too long."
"Okay! I’ll head back right now."
Wang Han took the bag, and in the instant Jiang Liu looked down, she quickly planted a kiss on his cheek.
The cool sensation on his skin startled Jiang Liu.
By the time he realized what had happened, she was already out the door and getting into her car.
"What was that all about..."
Jiang Liu gave a wry smile and hurried to the kitchen to wipe his face with some water.
He hadn’t expected her to pull a move like that.
He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Jun Qingmeng.
As it happened,
a message from Jun Qingmeng arrived at that very moment.