Chapter 111: A Very Promising Future

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: A Very Promising Future

The next morning at 7:50 AM, just ten minutes before the order deadline, Xu An received a call from Wu Yaqi.

"Hello, Boss Xu. This is Wu Yaqi, an administrator from Huapu Media Company. I spoke with you earlier about purchasing braised dishes."

"Hello, Miss Wu. Has your company made a final decision on the braised dish order?" Xu An asked politely.

"Yes. Forty jin of vegetarian braised dishes and fifty cans of Haiquan Apple Vinegar."

"Do you have any specific requests for the vegetarian dishes? If not, would you like a mix of all our vegetarian options?" Xu An asked, taking out a pen and paper to quickly jot down the requirements.

"An equal mix of everything to make up the forty jin will be fine. Can you deliver it before 3:00 PM?"

The pen in Xu An’s hand paused.

’Three in the afternoon... that’s a bit of an awkward time. Looks like I’ll have to deliver it myself.’

’But it takes almost half an hour to get there on the electric tricycle. Both the braised dishes and the apple vinegar will be at room temperature by then.’

’The braised dishes can be eaten hot or cold, but the apple vinegar is only good chilled. Its flavor will be reduced by a third if it’s served at room temperature.’

"May I ask what time your company’s afternoon tea starts? And do you have a refrigerator in your breakroom?" Xu An finally asked after careful consideration.

"Afternoon tea starts at three-thirty, and yes, we have a fridge in the breakroom."

"Here’s the thing, Miss Wu," Xu An began, organizing his thoughts. "The braised dishes can be eaten hot or cold. I’d suggest putting half of them in the refrigerator to chill. Also, the apple vinegar will taste much better chilled than at room temperature. Since the delivery will take some time, I recommend we deliver a bit earlier to leave time for chilling."

Wu Yaqi glanced at the time on her computer. A 2:30 PM delivery would give it an hour to chill before afternoon tea started at 3:30.

’Two-thirty is also right when the lunch break ends and everyone gets back to work. It won’t cut into my break. Perfect.’

"Would 2:30 PM work then?"

"Yes, that’s fine."

After hanging up, Xu An opened his contacts and dialed Uncle Lin’s number.

When he’d ordered vegetables the day before, he had only estimated enough for seventy jin of braised dishes. Now, with a sudden forty-jin increase, he naturally needed Uncle Lin to deliver more.

The phone rang twice before it was answered.

"Boss Xu, is there a problem with the vegetables I delivered this morning?" Uncle Lin’s voice was tinged with worry. This was the first time Xu An had ever called after a delivery.

"Uncle Lin, the vegetables are great, no problems at all." Xu An got straight to the point. "The shop just got a last-minute order. I need more potatoes, lettuce stems, cauliflower... a bit of everything, forty jin in total. About when can you get it here?"

Hearing it wasn’t a problem with the vegetables, Uncle Lin breathed a sigh of relief. "I’m in the greenhouse right now. If I start picking now, I can probably get them to your shop by nine."

"Great. Thanks for the trouble, Uncle Lin."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all, haha."

After Xu An hung up, Uncle Lin put away his phone, picked up a basket, and started harvesting crops, unable to stop himself from humming a tune. "Oh, we common folk are so very happy today..."

They had only been working together for a few days, and the entire output of one greenhouse had already been picked clean. Now he was starting on the second one.

Before, he couldn’t understand how Xiudie and Hu Juan’s greenhouses ended up picked bare, with nothing but unripe melons left. Now, after working with Xu An for just a few days, he understood completely.

Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s daily purchase volume was truly immense. His own seven greenhouses would probably only last them half a month.

As Uncle Lin was busy working, a commotion erupted outside the greenhouse.

Uncle Lin glanced up. The group of people who had signed contracts with Victory Supermarket were causing a fuss again. They’d been protesting for days without any results.

’Sigh, going head-to-head with a big company is like throwing an egg at a rock. How could they possibly win?’

He knew everyone understood this deep down. They just couldn’t accept the disparity for the time being and were impulsively demanding an explanation.

In a few days, once they accepted reality, they’d go back to pulling up old crops and planting new ones, and the ruckus would die down.

The humming stopped. The only sounds in the greenhouse were his breathing and the RUSTLE RUSTLE of vegetables being picked.

The fact that Xu’s Fast Food now had a third location was a secret known only to Granny Xu, Xu Heping, and Xu An. The other employees were still in the dark.

When Zhang Dezhen came to work early in the morning, he saw a new hiring poster on the door. He panicked when he read that Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was looking to hire two chefs at once.

’That can’t be right. The braised dish business has been pretty good lately. At the very least, they’re earning enough to cover my salary.’

’Does the boss think he’s earning too little?’

This anxious feeling persisted until Uncle Lin delivered the forty jin of vegetables, and he was told it was all to be made into braised dishes. Only then did his anxiety lessen slightly.

But Zhang Dezhen had a new question: Why did the boss want to hire two more chefs?

This thought gnawed at him until two o’clock, just as business hours were about to end. Zhang Dezhen finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and found Xu An. "Boss, I saw the hiring poster. Are you really hiring two new chefs?"

"That’s right," Xu An nodded. "Do you have a recommendation?"

"No, no, that’s not it. Boss, is there something I’m not doing right?"

Zhang Dezhen’s question was veiled, but Xu An immediately understood what he meant. He thought Xu An was unhappy with his work and was planning to replace him.

"I’m very satisfied with your work," Xu An reassured him. "You’re our shop’s braised dish master. Now that the dishes are getting famous, plenty of people are coming to buy them every day. You’re the new pillar of our shop!"

"Then... then why are you still hiring two more chefs, Boss?" Zhang Dezhen was still fixated on this point.

"You see that shop?" Xu An pointed to the fast-food restaurant next door. "That’s our third location."

A third location!

Zhang Dezhen’s eyes went wide in an instant.

’When I started working here, there was only one shop. Not long ago, they opened a second one, and now, just a couple of days later, there’s a third?’

Zhang Dezhen suddenly felt that his current job had a very bright future.

Thinking back to how Xu An had just called him the new pillar of the shop, he instantly felt at ease. After a bit more small talk, he returned to the back kitchen to pack up and get ready to go home.

Xu An packed the braised dishes for Huapu Media Company into two separate portions, counted out fifty cans of apple vinegar into a box, and loaded everything onto his tricycle. After letting Granny Xu and Xu Heping know he was leaving, he set off for Huapu Media Company.

It was mid-August, still the hottest time of the year. He had been riding for less than two minutes and was already pouring sweat.

By the time he reached the office building that housed Huapu Design Company, his clothes were soaked through. There were two large wet patches on his seat, making it look like he had wet his pants.

The Silver Star Office Building was very tall, a full thirty-two stories, filled entirely with office spaces. It housed hundreds of companies, large and small.

The entire building’s facade was a glass curtain wall, giving it a very high-end, grand, and classy appearance.

Xu An parked his tricycle at the main entrance of the office building and took out his phone to send Wu Yaqi a message. As he looked up toward the inside, he noticed a directory stand by the elevators, filled with the names of the companies in the building.

A thought immediately struck him. ’All of these companies could be potential customers!’

With that in mind, Xu An decided to go inside and take a picture. He had just pushed the door open and taken one step when a security guard stopped him. "Deliveries must use the back entrance. Thank you for your cooperation."

Xu An had no choice but to retreat sheepishly. He stood outside and strained his eyes, but it was too far away to read the words on the sign.

Just then, a petite figure emerged from the elevator and scurried over to Xu An. She put her palms together in a gesture of apology, her face full of embarrassment.

"Boss Xu, I’m so sorry! I forgot to tell you that this building has separate access for people and goods. All deliveries have to go up the freight elevator at the back. I’m really sorry."

With that, she led Xu An toward the freight elevator at the back, explaining the building’s separation policy as they walked.

Before they had this policy, when some companies were doing renovations or transporting things, they’d use the main elevators, cramming them so full that nobody else could get on. A lot of people ended up being late for work because of it.

After too many complaints, the building management opened up the freight elevator at the back, separating the flow of people and goods.

In the time it took to explain, they reached the back entrance. There was no security guard, no password, and no key card needed. The elevator doors opened directly, and you just had to press the floor button to go up.

After getting out of the elevator, Wu Yaqi led him past several other companies that all looked to have over a hundred employees.

After another long turn down the corridor, they finally arrived at Huapu Media Company.

As he moved the goods into the breakroom, Xu An observed the company. It also had over a hundred people. ’This building is full of medium-sized companies!’

The breakroom was well-equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, coffee machine, and so on. The microwave showed clear signs of use, suggesting it was used quite frequently.

On his way down, Xu An had an idea. He first went down the back way to put the empty boxes back on his tricycle.

Then, he went back up to the second floor via the back entrance, walked over to the main elevators, and took one down. When the doors opened on the ground floor, he saw the directory stand. This spot was perfectly situated in the security guard’s blind spot.

Xu An quickly pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the directory. After confirming the image was clear, he ducked back into the elevator, took the freight elevator down from the back, and rode his tricycle home.

Food Supervision Department.

With the expired food case concluded, Lin Xu Yang’s morning was spent doing inspections and reviewing reports—a much more comfortable routine than the daily stakeouts from before.

After the lunch break.

Just as he had that morning, Lin Xu Yang was flipping through the inspection reports from the past few days when his supervisor walked in from outside, a notebook tucked under his arm.

"Comrades, we’ve got a new assignment!"

Everyone in the office, especially Lin Xu Yang, instantly tensed up and looked toward their leader standing at the doorway.

’Please don’t let it be another stakeout!’

"This time, the issue of food safety has caught the attention of the higher-ups. The local television station is planning to launch a documentary series called *Visiting Fast Food Restaurants* to expose the real conditions of their back kitchens. This documentary will air during prime time on the Hai City local channel." The leader’s expression turned stern. "You can recommend restaurants to the TV station for them to screen, but—and this is crucial—this information cannot be leaked before the filming is complete!"

After speaking, the leader’s stern gaze swept across the room. "If I find out who leaks this, I’ll have their head!"

*Visiting Fast Food Restaurants*? A documentary? The Hai City local channel? Prime time?

When all these keywords came together, one name appeared in Lin Xu Yang’s mind: Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

An opportunity like this was naturally a double-edged sword. If the back kitchen was dirty and messy and the ingredients weren’t up to standard, the documentary would be a catastrophe for the restaurant.

But if the kitchen’s hygiene was up to par and the ingredient quality was excellent, this documentary would be an incredible promotional opportunity.

Prime time on the Hai City local channel! Viewership ratings as high as seventy percent!

That meant seven out of every ten people in Hai City would be watching the local channel during prime time!

In other words, for any restaurant featured on this show, the bad ones would be utterly ruined, while the good ones would become household names!

Besides, he had been to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant several times. Everything from its hygiene to its ingredients was completely up to standard, and the prices were low. If it could get on this show, its business would definitely reach a whole new level.

’This is a great chance for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. I’ve got to help my brother out!’

"Xuyang, Xuyang? Lin Xu Yang!"

His colleague next to him gave him a push. Only then did Lin Xu Yang realize his supervisor was calling him. He quickly responded, "Here!"

"You all worked hard on the last stakeout. This fieldwork is much easier, so consider it a bit of a break. How about a few of you accompany the film crew for a few days?"

"Yes, sir! I guarantee the mission will be completed!"