Chapter 204: Chapter 204: New Customer Yu Xinxin
It was almost seven o’clock.
Jiang Tongtong reluctantly shouldered her schoolbag, looking pitifully at Jiang Liu.
"Daddy, Baby Jiang is off to suffer. Ooh, if you don’t want her to suffer, can you call in sick for her?"
Jiang Liu held out his palm and smiled faintly. "A hundred spankings or kindergarten. You choose. Don’t say I didn’t give you a choice."
"Tongtong was just kidding! Let’s go, Daddy."
Jun Qingmeng said her goodbyes reluctantly. "I’m leaving, Jiang Liu. Remember to reply when I text you, or I’ll ignore you!"
She was testing the waters, acting cute.
Although Jun Qingmeng wanted to dote on Jiang Liu, she also wanted him to dote on her a little more. She didn’t need to be treated like a princess; she would be happy just knowing he cared about her.
Jiang Liu nodded and waved with a smile. "Got it. I’ll definitely reply when you text. You and Tongtong can take some pictures at the kindergarten for me to see."
"I’ll make something good for you two when you get back tonight."
Both of their eyes lit up.
’More yummy food!’
Jun Qingmeng walked to the door, and in perfect sync with Tongtong, she squatted down. Together, they used their arms to form a heart for Jiang Liu.
Love you forever!
The corporate drones at the door were already numb to it.
On average, they had to endure this public display of affection twice a day.
You get used to it.
Besides, the PDA from Boss Jiang was actually pretty sweet.
Jiang Liu returned to the back kitchen to make buns.
There were still five hundred buns left to make.
「Seven o’clock.」
The buns were finished.
While the yak meat and buns were still cooking,
Jiang Liu checked Douyin.
His follower count had reached 23,500.
The fishing post he made had 35,842 comments and 130,000 likes.
Many clueless netizens who scrolled past this simple post were baffled. Just a few pictures were getting praised by tens of thousands of people?
It was outrageous!
In Jiang Liu’s view, his Douyin follower count was a true reflection of his shop’s current popularity.
If it could reach 300,000, he would basically be a household name in South City.
After all, South City was a slow-paced, third-tier city with a population of only about a million.
Jiang Liu eagerly awaited the day his shop’s fame would echo throughout all of Hua Country.
「7:20 AM.」
The shop officially opened for business.
The customers dining in charged into the shop like a herd of crazed bulls.
"Boss Jiang, fifteen shrimp buns, a bottle of juice, and an order of yak meat with potatoes! Last night was torture! My granddaughter was screaming for your beef, turning the whole house upside down."
"Oh, Brother Jiang, you have the Di San Xian set today! I’ll have one of those, then. Who knows, it might just disappear one day like the shrimp noodles."
"One order of tuna, fifteen buns, and a bottle of juice! Boss Jiang, I’m fucking going crazy! It’s getting harder and harder to get a meal here."
Jiao Shenghua had dark circles under his eyes. He’d missed two meals here yesterday and felt like he was dying.
He’d started queuing at three in the morning today, finally managing to out-compete some people.
Jiang Liu suggested, "You could have your employees queue for you. Wouldn’t that let you just lie back and relax?"
"Better not. What if they can’t resist the temptation and eat my tuna?"
Jiao Shenghua preferred eating in the shop anyway.
He liked the atmosphere.
Yu Qingzheng, who was nearby, chimed in, "Boss Jiang probably doesn’t know just how attractive his food is to us, haha. Even an old man like me stays up all night just to queue."
He had also brought his granddaughter, Yu Xinxin, today.
Yu Xinxin had a messy bedhead, not yet fully awake. Her grandfather had woken her up at the crack of dawn, mumbling something about queuing up to buy an extra portion.
At first, she thought it was some kind of promotional sale. Only after arriving did she realize it was a food shop that was ridiculously expensive.
She nearly flew into a rage.
She had spent hours trying to persuade her grandfather, nagging him endlessly, but it was no use.
Hearing her grandfather’s brainless words, Yu Xinxin fumed. With hands on her slim waist, she chided him sharply, "Grandpa, did you study so much you became stupid? Two thousand for one portion of beef? We could almost buy half a cow with that! Ugh! You’re hopeless!"
After speaking, Yu Xinxin sighed.
’There are so many scams in society nowadays; it’s easy to fall into a trap if you’re not careful. Only a university student like me can see through them.’
Yu Qingzheng just chuckled, unmoved.
He was just happy that he would get to eat Jiang Liu’s food so early in the morning.
Soon, two plates of yak meat and the Di San Xian with nutritious porridge set were brought to the table.
Yu Xinxin counted on her fingers, her heart aching at the cost. "Over four thousand... That’s half a month of your salary, Grandpa. This is insane."
"Just you wait, I’m telling Grandma when we get back! You’ll be in for it then!"
Yu Qingzheng paid her no mind and had already started eating.
He popped a soft, crumbly piece of potato into his mouth, took a sip of the nutritious seafood porridge, and felt the crisp, tender shrimp meat burst with juice, then picked up a piece of savory, fragrant eggplant to add to the flavor.
"Delicious! Boss Jiang, to miss even one of your meals is to disrespect life itself."
Yu Qingzheng gave it a very high evaluation.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Go on and eat, Little Xin. Why aren’t you eating? It’s delicious."
Yu Xinxin was still feeling the sting of the bill on her grandfather’s behalf.
’If we’d saved this money, it would have been enough to buy me a Fruit 11. Now it’s all gone in a single meal!’
Fuming, she said, "Fine, I’ll eat! Just you wait. I’m telling Grandma when we get back so she’ll lock up all your money. We’ll see if you dare to waste it like this again!"
Having said her piece, Yu Xinxin took a sip of the nutritious porridge.
"Hm? This flavor... Why is it so unique?!"
She was stunned!
Plump, firm Little Cyan Dragon entered her mouth, and an endless umami flavor instantly conquered her senses.
Refusing to believe it, she picked up a piece of beef.
"Oh my god! This beef is also unbelievably delicious!"
The fat on the plateau yak meat was evenly marbled, and it was fragrant and tender, with a natural, herbal aroma.
It was springy to the bite. With a gentle chew, it revealed a rich but not greasy flavor, tender and mellow.
’Delicious! This shop is amazing!’
Yu Xinxin abandoned her foolish ideas.
She just wanted to brutally stuff her ravenous stomach!
"Little Xin, slow down! Leave some!"
Yu Qingzheng watched the beef disappear with a pained expression. He had been hoping his granddaughter wouldn’t finish it so he could have the leftovers for lunch.
Still wanting more, Yu Xinxin drank a mouthful of the beefy broth and asked expectantly:
"Grandpa, can we come back for lunch?"
"Lunch? We can’t come for lunch."
Yu Xinxin was taken aback. "Why not? It’s so delicious, we should come back."
She was already infatuated with Jiang Liu’s food, unable to pull herself away.
Yu Qingzheng explained, "It’s too crowded at noon. At my age, I can’t handle queuing. I can only get up early in the morning and try my luck."
"Then I’ll queue for you?"
Yu Qingzheng immediately said, "I’ll pay. You get thirty percent, I get seventy. And no sneaking bites!"
"Deal!"
A little after eight o’clock, Jiang Liu announced that he was closed for the morning.
The morning’s business was as explosive as ever.
Almost everyone on the entire Yangzhai Street had become Jiang Liu’s customer.
The Di San Xian, being cheap and delicious, was the first to be snatched up.
The most important reason was that customers were worried they wouldn’t be able to eat it in the future.
They looked forward to Jiang Liu releasing new permanent menu items, but they were also afraid he would reduce the number of dishes available.
"Boss Jiang, any new items for lunch?"
"Nope."
Jiang Liu answered while wiping down the counter, glancing at the owner of the massage parlor.
"Alright. Want to come over to my shop and rest for a bit? It’s free."
"No thanks, I still have to prepare the food for lunch, so I’ll pass."
The massage parlor owner gave him a thumbs-up. "So dedicated."
"Can’t have that. I should go back and read up on some things, too. I need to bring some glory to our Yangzhai Street. We can’t just rely on you, Boss Jiang."
"Alright, see you."
Jiang Liu checked his sales figures.
