Chapter 251: The New Shop Is Officially Purchased
Chapter 251: Chapter 251: The New Shop Is Officially Purchased
Jun Qingmeng cleared the dishes. Once her chores were done, she took Tongtong into the kitchen to play.
7:10.
The light rain had stopped, and a few cracks appeared in the dark, gloomy clouds.
Thousands of customers had already gathered outside, but only a few hundred managed to get a spot in line.
The local traffic police precinct had even dispatched a few officers to maintain order.
They were also fans of Jiang Liu’s cooking.
Customers who recognized each other struck up conversations.
"Brother Li, fancy seeing you here!"
"You know I had to come check it out!"
"I can’t believe Brother Jiang is releasing another new dish. I have a feeling this might be the last one."
"Wonder if it’s any good."
"I heard there’s beer too, haha! I’ll take beer over juice any day. Boss Jiang really gets me," Jiao Shenghua declared shamelessly.
"Tch, listen to yourself."
Every now and then, a customer in line would send someone to the front to check on the progress.
In the kitchen.
Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong sat to one side drinking milk, staying out of Jiang Liu’s way.
They were chatting and laughing, both in an amazing mood. After all, they could stay at the shop all day today!
Jiang Liu was nearly finished with his prep. He had secretly used the [Bun-Making Tools] to make seven hundred buns.
There was a utility closet in his kitchen. Jiang Liu had placed the [Bun-Making Tools] inside it; you just had to load it with bun ingredients, and it would automatically produce the buns. It was quite magical.
The tool could also be retracted back into the [Gourmet Album].
Just then.
A message came in from Hu Yongfa.
"Master, we’re open for business!"
"[16 Photos]"
"These are today’s dishes and a look at the restaurant’s cleanliness. Please take a look, Master."
Jiang Liu opened the photos and took a look.
Among them were receipts and a breakdown of expenses.
Since he wasn’t running that store personally, the manager, Hu Yongfa, had to front the money for all expenses.
Jiang Liu replied, "Okay, this is great work. Remember to keep the receipts for everything you’ve spent. I’ll reimburse you every three days."
Hu Yongfa: "No problem, Master. Even settling once a month would be fine."
Hu Yongfa: "Master, I have some good news. We’ve already had two sets of repeat customers this morning. It shows that everyone who’s eaten our food is really satisfied."
Jiang Liu smiled after reading the messages.
’Everything with the new shop is going so smoothly.’
After sending a few words of encouragement, Jiang Liu paid the final installment to Lou Shuzhen.
Wang Cheng informed him that everything had been taken care of.
He even sent over a few photos of the transfer deeds.
From this moment on, the shop in Huaidong Road Alley belonged to Jiang Liu!
Even if Jiang Liu were to close the restaurant and stop working right now, he could still live there without having to worry about housing.
Lou Shuzhen was ecstatic when she received the money. It was the largest sum she had ever received in her life.
At the same time, she was deeply impressed by Jiang Liu—he was so young and promising, yet so decisive and magnanimous.
If she were twenty years younger, she would have pursued him, no matter what.
"Qingmeng, are you done with your milk? Want some more?"
Jiang Liu asked, noticing his girlfriend’s bowl was empty.
Jun Qingmeng shook her head obediently.
"No thanks, boyfriend. Your little darling is full."
"Your little cutie is full too!"
"Alright."
Jiang Liu nodded and transferred 300,000 to Jun Qingmeng from his mobile banking app.
Jun Qingmeng had given him her entire personal savings the day before yesterday, and it had been on Jiang Liu’s mind ever since.
Jun Qingmeng’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw the notification on her phone.
She looked up at Jiang Liu and asked,
"Why are you giving this to me? I don’t need the money. You should just keep it and spend it."
"Just keep it. I’m not short on cash right now. If you really want to help me out, you can just give it back when I actually need it, okay?"
Jun Qingmeng shot Jiang Liu a look, but didn’t refuse this time. She nodded. "Alright. But if you need money in the future, you have to tell me. I’ll be our family’s emergency fund, okay?"
’The whole reason she earned money was to spend it on Jiang Liu and Tongtong—on her boyfriend and her daughter. It made her happy, and she didn’t regret a thing!’
Jiang Liu smiled. "Alright. When the time comes, I promise I’ll ask."
7:25.
The doors officially opened.
A roar went up from the crowd outside.
The customers’ eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Hey, you guys inside, eat fast and get out!"
"Damn it, I dropped everything at work the second I heard, and I still couldn’t get a spot in line."
Meanwhile.
Right next to the current line.
Another one had already formed.
This was the line for the lunch service.
The lunch line stretched all the way into the neighboring residential complex, leaving the old security guard there completely dumbfounded.
He had just been transferred from another precinct and wasn’t familiar with the situation.
"Hey, young man. Can I ask what’s going on here? Is that restaurant across the street giving away free food?"
The office worker in line replied casually, "No freebies. Everyone’s just here to buy Brother Jiang’s food."
The old security guard: ???
’Are you people starving or something?!’
He was unconvinced.
’He’d been all over the country. What hadn’t he eaten?’
’It has to be a gimmick!’
Xia Changzhi shamelessly barreled into the shop, first in line.
"Boss Jiang, is the new menu item on sale now?"
He swallowed hard as he spoke.
’He could already smell it.’
’So fragrant!’
Jiang Liu said from behind the counter, "Uncle Xia, please have a seat. I’ll bring it out to you in a moment."
"Alrighty then!!"
Xia Changzhi sat down, his heart pounding with excitement.
The customers who filed in after him watched Xia Changzhi, seething with jealousy.
"That old bastard, cutting the line every single day. Just because Boss Jiang owes him a favor? Just you wait! Once I get Boss Jiang to owe me a favor, I’m going to cut the line in style a few times too!"
?
"No problem. I already know where his new ’tree-wife’ is. I’m going to go hammer a few nails into it tonight and screw him over!"
In an instant, the counter was swarmed with customers.
Some customers’ jaws dropped when they saw the price.
"Three thousand? That’s so expensive! Boss Jiang is going to empty out my entire pension fund!"
"What do you know? Don’t you trust Brother Jiang’s integrity? Forget three thousand, it would be worth every penny even if it were ten thousand!"
"It’s a blind buy! Buy, buy, buy!"
Despite all the talk.
Many people felt the pinch and couldn’t bring themselves to buy it.
"Little Boss Jiang, I’ll just get fifteen buns and a bottle of the draft beer to try."
"I’ll take an order of ham and a beer. Boss Jiang, are there still purchase limits?" the barbershop owner asked.
Jiang Liu was in the middle of packing up some buns. "Same old rules. You know how it is."
"Sigh, alright then. What a shame. I was hoping to get some beef today, too. Guess that’s out of the question for lunch or dinner now."
"Brother Jiang, one order of ham and a bottle of beer."
Those who could afford it placed their orders right away, while those who couldn’t sat down in a huff.
They muttered under their breath that they didn’t want it anyway, that the buns were better...
Soon.
The ham orders were served first.
Jiang Liu sliced the ham into thin pieces, which he then arranged on plates in 200-gram portions. The presentation was simple and unpretentious.
As a dozen or so plates of ham made their way to the tables, a smoky aroma filled the room.
GULP!
A series of gulps could be heard throughout the room.
"Looks pretty damn good!"
"I already regret it."
"A plate of ham just passed by my table... holy hell, it smells amazing! I’ve never smelled meat that fragrant in my life!"
After decades of aging, the ham’s aroma had intensified to its absolute peak.
And this was, after all, the hind leg of the renowned Fragrant Pig.
Under the envious stares of the other customers.
Xia Changzhi picked up a slice of the vibrant red-and-white meat—savory, fragrant, and mellow—and placed it in his mouth.
The moment it touched his tongue, an explosive, smoky flavor erupted, utterly conquering his palate. The meat carried a delicate saltiness from sea salt, followed by an aftertaste suffused with the clean fragrance of oak.
Xia Changzhi’s eyes drifted shut.
’This was the ultimate culinary indulgence!’
"Old Xia, how does it taste?"