Chapter 254: Li Xiaoyan Is Pleased with Jiang Liu’s Competitor
Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Li Xiaoyan Is Pleased with Jiang Liu’s Competitor
"This is amazing!"
"I wonder what kind of genius the owner is. So impressive."
The customers were filled with admiration.
Delicious food and polite service—it would be a crime against nature if a shop like this didn’t make a fortune.
They were more than happy to come and spend money here every day.
As time went on.
The line of customers in the store only grew longer.
The freshly made buns were snatched up in an instant.
Many customers would buy a hundred buns at a time to-go.
Hu Yongfa was swamped in the back kitchen.
A server leaned against the service window, hurrying him. "Manager, the dining room is full, and we have a ton of takeout orders! When will the next pot of nourishing porridge be ready?"
Too busy to even look up, Hu Yongfa replied:
"Soon, soon! Go pour the customers some hot water to drink for now. Keep them happy."
While the new store was booming.
Li Xiaoyan cruised by in her little Mercedes.
She had come today purely to satisfy her own vanity.
Just today!
Business at Store Three, the one Li Xiaoyan managed, had picked up again.
During the morning rush, they were struggling to keep up with demand for buns and had almost sold out!
So far, their total revenue had reached 19,000 yuan!
She was absolutely smug about it.
’With 19,000 in revenue, won’t I easily crush Xiaotong’s Restaurant?’
Li Xiaoyan drove slowly to the entrance of Xiaotong’s Restaurant.
Her first glance.
No one was at the door.
Just a few delivery scooters.
She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a secret thrill.
’What a piece of trash, daring to compete with me?’
Her store was using Jiang Liu’s recipe, after all!
However, the next second, as her car passed the storefront.
Li Xiaoyan’s smug smile froze.
The restaurant was a sea of people, with not an empty seat in the house. The line of waiting customers snaked through the aisle all the way to the corner of the kitchen.
’What is going on!?’
’So many people?’
’Are these customers blind!?’
Li Xiaoyan was sick with jealousy.
Her grip on the steering wheel tightened.
"Heh, they must still be running new store promotions. Maybe in a couple of days, no one will come,"
she muttered, consoling herself. She couldn’t stand to be there a moment longer and quickly drove back to Store Three.
She parked the car.
Li Xiaoyan walked into her store.
"You’re back, Manager?"
a server greeted her obsequiously.
Li Xiaoyan didn’t even spare them a glance, her eyes sweeping across the dining area.
Her mood instantly plummeted.
There were only seven or eight customers inside.
Business had been decent in the morning, but now at noon, it was empty again. It was always stop-and-go.
Just then, an elderly cleaning lady reluctantly bought three buns.
They were very expensive!
She took a worn-out twenty-yuan bill from her handkerchief.
Li Xiaoyan’s face darkened, and she couldn’t help but mutter in disgust.
"Why is there another poor slob here? If you can’t afford it, don’t eat at a high-end place like this!"
She hated customers with no money; they were a waste of her store’s air.
The employee impatiently took the grimy twenty-yuan bill.
"Hey, you, can’t you pay with your phone? We don’t have any small change to break that!"
They actually did, but the employee couldn’t be bothered.
The old woman had no choice but to search all her pockets until she scrounged up exactly fifteen yuan.
After the old woman left.
The employee started complaining in a low voice.
"Listen, you’re new here, so remember this: for customers who like to pay with cash, just demand they use their phone to pay, got it?"
The new, four-eyed employee looked confused. "Why, Brother Zhang? Isn’t paper money still money?"
"Fuck, how are you so dense?" Brother Zhang continued to explain. "Think about it. If you let him pay with cash this time, he’ll pay with cash next time. Won’t that be a pain in the ass for you? We have to make things convenient for ourselves. Nip the problem in the bud!"
"If you’re uncultured, you have to use your brain more!"
Brother Zhang said, looking smug.
The four-eyed employee said admiringly, "I get it now, Brother Zhang. Next time someone wants to pay with cash, I’ll just say I can’t make change. After a few times, they’ll learn to pay with their phone."
"Haha! See? Even a pig is teachable, and rotten wood can be carved."
Li Xiaoyan overheard their conversation.
She was about to go over and scold them.
But just then, a female office worker from the city came in and, with a wave of her hand, ordered ninety buns and more than ten drinks to-go.
This surge of income made Li Xiaoyan crack a smile.
She instantly forgot all about reprimanding her employees.
’Heh, so what if their business is booming? Do they make more money than me?’
Li Xiaoyan gave a disdainful smirk.
Then she had another thought.
Her mood improved even more when she remembered that Jiang Liu now had one more competitor.
...
「Meanwhile.」
Jiang Liu went next door to chat with Xue Guang for a bit, bringing him a glass of unfiltered draft beer.
Xue Guang slapped his thigh in delight; he loved to drink.
Jiang Liu returned to his shop.
It was already twelve o’clock.
Time to open for business!
Ever since obtaining the Bun-Making Tools, Jiang Liu’s life had become much easier.
Kneading and steaming buns used to take up half of his time each day.
Now, he just had to generate most of the buns, which freed up an hour of his time.
At this moment, the crowd lining up outside numbered as high as seven hundred.
The entirety of Yangzhai Street was bustling with people coming and going.
Passersby were dumbfounded.
’Are these people fucking crazy? Is there a famine or something?!’
It wasn’t just the passersby who were stunned; even the other shop owners on Yangzhai Street stared, dumbfounded.
They were hailing him, "Long live Boss Jiang!"
At 12:10, business began!
Huang Yunfeng was the first to rush in.
"Boss Jiang, one order of ham, one bottle of beer, fifteen buns. And three bottles of fruit juice!"
"One order of ham to-go! Ten shrimp and corn buns and five fennel buns to eat here!"
"Brother Jiang, can I get a half-and-half order of the ham and the tuna sashimi?"
Jiang Liu shook his head. "No, you can only buy them separately."
"Alright then! I’ll just get an order of ham to satisfy the craving, and throw in a glass of ice-cold beer."
The office worker was a little disappointed; he was the type who wanted to try every delicacy.
Over a dozen new customers came to the shop at noon.
They had all come based on the passionate recommendations of their friends.
A middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle, dressed in sportswear and wearing a Rolex, took a bite of the ham and his face filled with disbelief.
"This ham is delicious! I can’t believe Old Gao found such an amazing place."
The ham had a lightly salted, meaty flavor as it entered his mouth, and the aroma of the meat was exceptionally fragrant.
After finishing one slice, his mouth was filled with a rich fragrance that rushed straight to his brain.
Sounds of shock echoed through the store from time to time.
"How can beer be this mellow and fragrant!? This sashimi is delicious!"
"Now this is what you call classic ham. If you ask me, 3,000 is an absolutely conscientious price!"
"Fuck, this is so damn delicious! I drove more than ten kilometers to get here, and it wasn’t a waste of a trip!"
"Boss, another order! No, five orders of ham to-go!"
The boss with the Rolex waved his hand expansively. He had to bring this shop’s ham back to his hometown to show off.
Jiang Liu said, "Thank you for your appreciation of our food. However, for the benefit of all our customers, we have a purchase limit of one order per person."
"Ah! I can only have one order?" The Rolex-wearing boss was stunned.
’A shop like this actually exists?’
But on second thought, he understood. Business was this good, and the owner clearly knew what he was doing. It was normal for him to look out for all his customers.
"Alright then. I’ll just have to come back and line up again another day. It’s really tough getting to eat here just once."
"Leaving now, Boss Jiang! I wiped the table for you, no need to thank me."
Business at noon was explosively good.
Jiang Liu was either serving food or packing it to-go.
"How is it gone again?! I’m furious! Aaaaargh!"
.....