Chapter 275: Chapter 184: Ziqiang Shengjian Opens for Business! Booming Sales! The Way Lost Cuisines Should Be! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]
"Yueyue, eat more fish. It’s good for your beauty."
"Have more of the lotus root sandwiches too; they don’t taste as good once they cool off."
"Try the cabbage rolls I made. They’re light and perfect for summer."
"You should also taste the radish greens in the pork belly. It’s different from the southern pickled greens. Whether you eat it with steamed buns or mixed with rice, it’s incredibly fragrant..."
At the dining table, Chen Meijuan truly adored her daughter-in-law to the core. She couldn’t resist piling Yueyue’s bowl with all the tasty dishes. Shen Jiayue, in turn, cherished this affectionate, familial care.
"Mom, you should eat too! The food is amazing. I feel like I’m going to overeat again today."
Before the meal, she had constantly reminded herself to be reserved and ladylike, anxious not to make a bad impression on her in-laws. However, once they started eating, she lost all control, completely immersing herself in the joy of the delicious food.
After the meal, they tidied up the table. Lin Xu then cut up a fruit plate. Everyone sat in the living room chatting until dark, and only then did Shen Baobao get up to leave.
「The next day.」
At six-thirty in the morning, when Lin Xu got up, he found that his parents had already returned from the market with a wide variety of vegetables, even more diverse and plentiful than the day before.
"Stop looking, wash your hands and have some breakfast," Chen Meijuan said. "Worrying you might be homesick, I specially simmered some Spicy Soup, baked a few Scallion Oil pancakes, and fried some bread for you."
They did so much this early! Could they have gotten up at four? Lin Xu wondered.
He washed his face in the bathroom and then joined his parents for breakfast. The Spicy Soup was authentic, particularly the beef inside. It was no longer the thin slices comparable to those in Lanzhou noodles found at breakfast stalls, but cut into small, satisfying cubes.
After a couple of spoonfuls of Spicy Soup, Lin Xu picked up a piece of the fried bread his mother had made. This ’fried bread’ was a type of deep-fried dough, similar to Youtiao, but smaller and easier to make, pairing perfectly with hearty breakfasts like Spicy Soup.
A bite of the fluffy, delicious fried bread.
A sip of the fragrant, appetizing Spicy Soup.
A wonderful day had officially begun.
After breakfast, Chen Meijuan started preparing for lunch, while Lin Hongqi rolled up his sleeves to help. Lin Xu changed his clothes, carried Dundun downstairs, and headed for the Ziqiang Shengjian shop at the west entrance of Yingchun Street.
Calling it a shop was a bit generous—it was just a small stall, less than six square meters, with a window opening onto the street. Along the street-facing side was a full counter, its exterior displaying the prices and types of Shengjian buns: pork and shrimp, pork and corn, pork and shepherd’s purse, and so on. A cash register sat on the counter, and next to it was a semi-enclosed stainless steel tray, presumably for the finished Shengjian buns. Behind this tray, against the wall, were two large commercial-grade electric griddles. Further in, beyond the griddles, was a long worktable with a refrigerator and a freezer on its right side.
When Lin Xu arrived with Dundun in his arms, the shop was already open. Wang Ziqiang, dressed in his new uniform, was kneading dough at the worktable. He wore a baseball cap matching the shop’s theme color and meticulously worked the dough. After kneading, he covered it with a moist cloth and set it aside to proof. Then, he picked up a cloth and began wiping down the worktable. Having experienced the roller-coaster of being dismissed and then finding a new job, Wang Ziqiang cherished this opportunity deeply. He had arrived even before his official start time, afraid of being let go again.
Seeing Lin Xu, he quickly greeted him, "Morning, Boss."
"Morning, Master Wang. Is everything ready?"
"All set. We can start selling as soon as the dough has proofed a bit more."
While the two were talking, Song Tiantian, also in her work uniform, emerged from the subway station. Noticing Lin Xu at the entrance, she hurried over. She was tall, so her uniform had been custom-made. It actually looked quite good on her: a white T-shirt paired with black pants, a wine-red apron tied at her waist, and a matching wine-red baseball cap. She looked very neat and professional.
Hurrying over, Song Tiantian asked, "Boss, am I late?"
"No, no. I just came over to check things out."
Lin Xu had come to see the shop and, incidentally, to let Dundun help attract some business. After all, with a new shop opening, Dundun’s presence should prevent things from being too quiet. He hadn’t bothered with any grand opening ceremonies; once ready, they would simply start. Such pompous activities seemed pointless to him. As for ensuring an auspicious start, boiling a couple of extra meat chunks for Dundun was far more effective than any empty formalities.
After wiping the tables, Wang Ziqiang asked curiously, "Boss, are we really not handing out flyers or having promotions? It’ll be hard to attract customers to such a quiet shop."
Hard to attract customers? He clearly hasn’t witnessed Dundun’s divine power, Lin Xu thought with a smile.
He said, "No need. The folks on Yingchun Street are mostly old neighbors. I’ll post an update online, and business will pick up quickly. Don’t worry."
Before long, when the semi-leavened dough for the Shengjian buns was almost ready, Lin Xu placed Dundun on the cash register counter. He then took a few photos of Ziqiang Shengjian with his phone and posted them under the Lin Ji’s Food online topic: "Invested in a little Shengjian shop in my spare time. Master Wang, who makes the Shengjian buns, has years of experience and superb skills. Tiantian is still the cashier. Friends around Yingchun Street, come and give it a try. If you don’t like it, it’s on the house!"
As soon as the post went live, replies from netizens started pouring in.
Speedy_Sky_3G: "OMG, you opened a new shop?"