Chapter 239: My Daughter Is So Useless
Chapter 239: Chapter 239: My Daughter Is So Useless
Super Invincible Little Baby: "Boyfriend? What’re you doing? Do you miss me? Let me tell you, lunch today was so gross! You have no idea what beef as tough as a rubber band tastes like. Tongtong was so upset she cried."
"Even my teeth hurt now!"
"You know, if it were raining and thundering, it would be so nice if you could hold me. I’m really scared of thunder."
"Mwah! We’ll be seeing each other soon!"
Jiang Liu finished reading, a pang of guilt in his heart.
He typed back, "When you get back, we’ll eat something delicious."
After a few seconds of deliberation, he sent another message: "If it thunders next time, you can come over and we can be together. You can stay for a while."
After sending the messages,
Jiang Liu suddenly felt thirsty. He bent down, grabbed a cup of juice from the refrigerated display, and started drinking.
’Strange, why is my throat so dry... Maybe it’s from talking too much today...’
He felt a faint discomfort, as if his body had reached some kind of limit.
In medicine, there’s a concept known as a "major metabolic turnover."
It’s similar to when old cells reach the end of their lifespan, and the body’s defense system decides to kill them off and replace them with new ones.
’Oh right, now’s a good time to check the new store’s earnings!’
He chugged a mouthful of the sweet and sour apple juice, which soothed his throat a little. Chewing on the pulp, Jiang Liu opened his banking app.
He wanted to see how the new store’s income was looking.
He didn’t have high expectations, though.
He was already mentally prepared to see a two or three-digit number.
As soon as he opened the banking app, 99+ notifications popped up.
?
Jiang Liu froze for a moment, then quickly tapped on "Account Overview."
The number that greeted his eyes was: 16,852.
What!
No way.
Jiang Liu was instantly dumbfounded.
The new store had only been open for a few hours. How could it have taken in so much money?
But,
he rarely used this card; the balance was always two yuan.
Jiang Liu opened the transaction details. It was filled with small deposits of tens or hundreds of yuan.
He scrolled down frantically; all of them were deposits from the last few hours.
Jiang Liu was shocked and overjoyed.
He had thought the first month would be a bleak one, but he never expected such a huge surprise on the very first day of business!
Jiang Liu opened his calculator and did some quick math.
The cost of ingredients was about twenty percent of the revenue.
Labor costs for the day were about 1,500.
Utilities wouldn’t even be a few hundred.
In other words, the new store had brought him a net profit of around 14,000 just from the lunch rush. Even after taxes, it would still be 13,000!
That was a daily net profit of thirty to forty thousand!
’Right, I almost forgot, I can check the security cameras!’
Curious, Jiang Liu opened the "Palmview" surveillance app he had downloaded.
Four clear video feeds appeared on his phone, which he could switch between and zoom in on at will.
On the camera feeds,
the shop was packed with customers.
A few people couldn’t find seats and were squatting in the corners of the outer hall, waiting.
Hu Yongfa and Yue Longfan were working in the kitchen with an honest-looking teenage boy.
Aunt Hong was squatting in the kitchen, washing dishes with yellow rubber gloves on.
Jiang Liu couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
’Something’s still not right. How are there so many people on the first day?’
’Did Hu Yongfa hire actors?’
Puzzled, Jiang Liu opened WeChat and sent a message to Hu Yongfa: "How’s business? What’s the situation?"
After sending the message, Jiang Liu zoomed in on the kitchen feed, a mischievous glint in his eye as he watched Hu Yongfa on the screen.
The portly Hu Yongfa wiped his hands and glanced at his phone.
His expression immediately turned to one of excitement as he eagerly tapped away at his phone screen.
Jiang Liu knew he was typing.
Before long, a message came back from Hu Yongfa: "Master, great news, great news!! Haha, our business has exploded!"
"The shop is still full right now. A lot of people from the nearby apartments, and even employees from who-knows-where, are coming to eat. It all started because a young girl promoted us in a group chat, and it set off a chain reaction."
"Master, all I can say is your steamed bun recipe and your seasonings are too powerful! Everyone who tries them is willing to recommend us to their friends!"
Jiang Liu was very surprised.
He had initially guessed it was just a coincidence, but he never thought this was the reason.
He replied: "Excellent! You’ve done a great job. I was just hoping the shop wouldn’t lose money, but I never imagined it would get such a response under your management."
Jiang Liu didn’t hold back in his praise for Hu Yongfa.
He swiped back to the surveillance app.
In the kitchen,
Hu Yongfa looked at his phone, his eyes wide and his mouth stretched into a huge grin.
Then,
he ran over to Yue Longfan with his phone, gesticulating wildly. He exchanged a few words with Aunt Hong before returning to the countertop with a smile to continue making steamed buns.
Closing his phone, Jiang Liu smiled.
If the income was good, he would consider giving his employees and apprentice a little bonus.
Of course, that was on the condition that they contributed to his shop.
Slackers wouldn’t get a thing.
Jiang Liu rested for a little while, then decided to take a trip to the wet market.
The Gourmet Album allowed him to buy many fine ingredients that weren’t available on the market, but that only accounted for a small portion of what he needed,
so he still needed to shop at the wet market.
On the other hand, it also served as a cover.
At that moment,
the rain outside grew heavier. SPLASH! Raindrops hammered into the puddles on the road, creating countless bubbles.
The damp smell of rain had already crept into the kitchen.
Jiang Liu turned on the air conditioner and set it to "dehumidify."
He texted his mom to ask when she would arrive.
After taking care of everything,
Jiang Liu left with an umbrella.
The soaking wet customers in their raincoats greeted him with some difficulty.
"Boss Jiang, heading out to buy groceries?"
Jiang Liu: "Yeah. It’s pouring. Why don’t you all come rest inside my shop for a bit?"
The dozens of customers felt a warmth in their hearts.
Boss Jiang was so considerate. No matter what, they had to dote on Boss Jiang from now on!
"No thanks, Brother Jiang, I’m wearing a raincoat."
"No need, we’re fine."
They were afraid of getting the floor Jiang Liu had just mopped dirty, so they all shook their heads and refused.
Aunt Xu, holding a large umbrella, spoke with concern:
"Xiao Jiang, I see your lips are a bit dry. Are you not feeling well? The rain is so heavy, why don’t you wait in the shop and I’ll go buy it for you."
"Xiao Jiang, let Old Niu go. He’s tough as nails. You’re the precious Little Princess of our Yangzhai Street."
"Just listen to Grandpa Lin, Brother Jiang."
’Little Princess...’
’Could you guys choose your words a little more carefully?’
Jiang Liu’s mouth twitched. He shook his head and said, "No need to trouble yourselves. I’m young, I’m not afraid of the rain. Besides, I’m not walking, I’m driving, so I won’t get wet."
He declined the customers’ insistent kindness.
He walked to his parking spot and got into his car.
As soon as he leaned back against the seat, he was stunned to find that his back was soaked.
It turned out the umbrella had been too small.
’I forgot... I gave the big umbrella to Tongtong...’
When he left the house today, Jiang Liu had deliberately given the big family umbrella to Tongtong, keeping her small one for himself.
He hadn’t expected it to rain so heavily.
He didn’t think much of it.
Jiang Liu drove and parked under the archway of the wet market.
He got out of the car, opening the umbrella. A gust of wind blew past, making the umbrella’s frame CREAK.
The rain instantly drenched him.
Jiang Liu was speechless... ’My daughter’s umbrella is useless, letting the wind in from all sides.’
Lying on her little cot at kindergarten, Tongtong suddenly felt a chill and looked warily at Jun Qingmeng beside her. "Mom... I mean, Teacher Qingmeng, I think I heard Daddy saying bad things about me."