Chapter 21-021 Braised Pork Belly [First Update]

Whether it will all come to nothing is still unknown, but Sun Mengyun is furious.

He was messing around in his own shop.

"What kind of person is this! We see each other all the time, how dare you!"

"If you're so capable, then do your own thing! How dare you try to steal other people's business!"

"shameless!"

Wu Daneng lit a cigarette, looking worried.

"What should we do? Should we continue?"

Sun Mengyun had already gone out to inquire and learned that the Wen family's business was doing well not for any other reason than that little girl Wen Fan had somehow figured it out and attracted people with her delicious food.

Sun Mengyun felt a mixture of disbelief, anger, and resentment.

She was furious at Xia Yingzhi for being so malicious, and complained that she hadn't told the truth when she went there before.

I regret that I only went to the store to sit for a while and didn't ask more questions. If I had asked more questions, I definitely wouldn't have acted so hastily.

Sun Mengyun held her breath and fiercely scrubbed the stove. After a while, she threw the rag aside and gritted her teeth, saying, "What else can we do? Just keep going like this."

The Wen family's move was simply to show off their skill and expertise, implying they could easily steal her business.

“Even if we don’t take the initiative to set up a after-school care center, this day will come sooner or later.”

Sun Mengyun was furious: "You think that if we honestly sell rice noodles, they won't bully us? I think she was prepared tonight. No matter how capable she is, she can make rice noodles without learning, right? She was definitely planning to steal our business!"

The more Sun Mengyun thought about it, the more convinced she became, and she wished she could go out right now to greet the Wen family.

She hesitated for several days, only to find out that the other person had been plotting to harm her all along!

Wu Daneng paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "Is that so?"

He seemed to think that his wife's words were not quite right, but he was at a loss for words and didn't know how to persuade her.

Sun Mengyun made the final statement: "That's definitely it!"

She bit her lower lip, already mentally labeling the Wen family as malicious.

"They're bullying us! They're all bullying us! Look at Song Hui! So what if her son works for the Wen family? She's already sucking up to them!"

"A bunch of bastards! They fawn over the powerful and bully the weak!"

"I've long suspected Xia Yingzhi is cunning. Her daughter made this? Ha! That's just speculation. Who knows if they put something in her house to make it taste so good!"

The more Sun Mengyun cursed, the more unreasonable she became, cursing whatever came to mind.

Wu Daneng knew that if he didn't let her vent her anger, things wouldn't get out of hand, so he stopped talking.

Sun Mengyun seemed to have made up her mind: "Isn't she capable? From now on, we'll just be shell collectors!"

If McDonald's and KFC are popular, does that mean small, unregulated burger shops won't be popular?

Since the Wen family has been ruthless and unjust, she doesn't need to show them any mercy.

Sun Mengyun whispered something in Wu Daneng's ear.

Wu Daneng's expression changed drastically.

"How could this happen..."

"Shut up!"

Sun Mengyun had her own reasons: "That's how my sister-in-law's shop does it. Besides, it's not illegal. It's just changing the signboard. If customers get lost, who's to blame? Who told them not to leave us a way to make a living?"

Wu Daneng kept muttering, "This won't do," but Sun Mengyun couldn't listen anymore.

"I'll change the flyers tomorrow!"

*****

Sun Mengyun's behavior was observed by everyone on the street, and Song Hui went around visiting people everywhere, so soon everyone knew the whole story.

Some people stand by and watch, eagerly anticipating a good show.

Some people also comforted Wen's mother.

"That's a fool, don't be like her."

Anyone who has ever eaten the Wen family's food should know that doing this is courting death.

Wen's mother smiled wryly and said, "Making snacks is different from making staple foods like rice and noodles. The profit margin is really not that high."

A set meal costs fifteen yuan, and after deducting expenses, we only make about half the profit. This is why, no matter how much Zhuangzhuang's maternal grandmother tried to stir things up in the group yesterday, Wen's mother refused to lower the price.

Sun Mengyun's rice noodles are different; the cost is much lower than what we make at home.

Now she only rushes in when business is good, and after deducting delivery, she earns far less than she used to when she sold rice noodles.

"That's why she's clueless."

The steamed bun shop owner shook her head: "In the current environment, without real skills, you can only hope to maintain the status quo, but she insists on making trouble."

"By the way, are you planning to start making rice noodles?"

Mother Wen waved her hands repeatedly: "Don't mention it. It's just something we make for ourselves. Adding another item would be too much work."

"Oh, I see."

The steamed bun shop owner praised the Wen family even more, her tone warm: "My little girl came to visit you the other day and even managed to get a full stomach before leaving. I haven't thanked you yet. Don't be shy in the future; if you haven't eaten breakfast, just come to my place for steamed buns."

"Oh, she's just a kid. That day, Xiao Fan was tasting the dishes, and I saw her playing here, so I let her try some."

"Hahaha, she said that after Sister Xiao Fan gave her some food, she asked her what she didn't like, and this silly girl could only say that it was delicious, and that each one was more delicious than the last."

Mother Wen couldn't help but laugh. There were seven or eight children on this street, but the girl from the steamed bun shop was the pickiest. Her daughter kept the girl there as soon as she heard that the little girl was picky, but the child kept saying how delicious the food was and didn't give a single complaint.

"It's okay, we'll let her come over again later."

The steamed bun shop owner chatted with Wen's mother for a while, and then, seeing that the shop was getting busy, she tactfully took her leave.

As she walked down the street, she was still thinking that Sun Mengyun was too stupid.

The Wen family's shop is about to open, and it's still summer vacation! I can't even imagine how popular it will be when school starts.

If a street has a popular online store, will there be any worries about business in the future?

At this point, you shouldn't be thinking about how to drive people away—if they leave, you can open a shop anywhere else. You should be thinking about how to improve the taste of your own food so that you can take advantage of any opportunities that arise.

"Shouldn't we change up the flavor of the steamed buns at home?"

The steamed bun shop owner was thinking, "Aren't there all these crayfish buns and sauerkraut fish buns online now? I should make some fancy ones myself when I get back."

****

Wen's mother saw that Sun Mengyun and her husband were keeping quiet and thought that Sun Mengyun had given up the idea and was going to pick up the rice noodle business again. But she was dumbfounded the next day.

Sun Mengyun directed several workers to change the signboard. Originally, her family's signboard read "Wu Ji Rice Noodles," but now it has been changed to "Wu Ji Restaurant."

Not only did they change the name, but they also shamelessly copied the Wen family's style for their signboard.

If you don't look carefully, it's easy to misread the first character "吴".

Sun Mengyun was arrogant and rolled her eyes when she saw Wen's mother from afar.

"To the left, a little higher on the left!"

"Replace this door at the entrance too!"

...

After all that work, not to mention the inside, the outside was actually made to look about 70% like the real thing.

This attracted strange looks from several shops nearby.

Sun Mengyun had long considered these people as Wen family's henchmen, so she stopped pretending and spat on the ground: "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen renovations before!"

Some hot-tempered men wouldn't tolerate her and retorted sarcastically, "Yeah, I've never seen anything like this before!"

Sun Mengyun turned and went into the store with a sinister look on her face, urging her husband to hurry up and cook.

"This is a great start! I'd like to see how she can compete!"

The Wen family only delivers a few dozen meals a day, while she delivers over a hundred!

Wu Daneng was sweating profusely from the work. More than a hundred meals were easier said than done. He rushed as fast as he could to finish them before noon.

Sun Mengyun urged him to deliver the goods again.

"We'll deliver it using our little tricycle."

Delivery fees are too expensive, and over a hundred meals is no small amount; hiring a delivery rider isn't cost-effective. Sun Mengyun plans to save on delivery fees by operating her own delivery service.

Fortunately, the library wasn't far away; it only took about twenty minutes by tricycle.

After urging the delivery, Sun Mengyun hurriedly called again to have frozen goods delivered.

"The braising pot is all ready. We'll start braising this afternoon, and then we'll set it up for outdoor use tonight."

Wu Daneng stopped questioning things. Now that things had come to this, there was no turning back, so he just had to keep going.

"Keep the frozen food, I'll cook it when I get back."

"Okay, I'm going home to see my son. Remember, when you get there, don't leave until you've seen him off. Give out those business cards too."

"good."

...

Lin Miaomiao and Wu Na sat facing each other at the desk.

After finishing the questions, Lin Miaomiao corrected them with a red pen, then silently recited the answers several times before going back to her book. Her attitude towards learning was truly excellent.

Lin Miaomiao felt much better after doing well on today's questions.

I glanced at Wu Na across from me; she was currently scrolling through her phone.

"Pfft, pfft, you should learn for a little while too!"

How can you say you come to the library, but do you really just come here every day to wait for food?

Wu Na looked pained and whispered, "It's summer vacation now! What do you want me to learn?"

"Then read a book!"

Wu Na: "I can't concentrate on reading!" The only thing she can concentrate on right now is novels.

"Memorize English!"

"I passed the CET-4 and CET-6 exams a long time ago!"

Lin Miaomiao was at her wit's end.

Wu Na's eyes suddenly lit up: "Let's go eat!"

He stood up nimbly, just one running start away from taking off.

Lin Miaomiao followed Wu Na out of the library, then asked suspiciously, "How did you know Fan had left?"

Wu Na proudly pulled out her phone: "Yang Tao told me!"

Lin Miaomiao vaguely remembered that this person was a deliveryman.

"you……"

Wu Na grabbed Lin Miaomiao and ran, saying, "Let's go, let's go eat the first and second servings!"

Lin Miaomiao: ...

Forget it, what's the point of talking to a foodie?

Yang Tao arrived quickly on his electric scooter. Recently, because there had been more meals, he and Qu Xiaoyu each had two large boxes, one in front and one in the back.

However, Yang Tao wasn't in the mood to act silly today, and he stopped shouting out nicknames to everyone.

He was in a bad mood.

I thought I could scare Sun Mengyun and her husband off last night, but who would have thought that they would be so persistent? Now they're not going to stand up to me anymore, but instead they're sticking to me like a persistent nuisance.

They openly and brazenly engaged in plagiarism and misleading others.

Wu Daneng had switched from handing out flyers to handing out business cards. Yang Tao picked one up and was furious, as the business card was a complete copy of the Wen family's.

I've never seen such a shameless person.

There's just no way to deal with him.

Yang Tao came and went, while Wu Na and Lin Miaomiao took their meals and went to find the main group as usual.

On the fifth-floor balcony, Da Huang and several others arrived.

Everyone was quite surprised when they opened their lunchboxes.

There was no rice in my lunchbox today, but there were two extra sesame seed cakes.

Big Yellow happily skipped around, saying, "I've had enough rice already!"

If the food hadn't been so delicious, he would never have eaten rice for so many days in a row. He prefers steamed buns and noodles to rice.

The sesame cakes were small, each only the size of a person's palm. Wen Fan even cut the sesame cakes in half and stacked them together.

Today's dishes are braised pork belly and cucumber stir-fried with eggs, and the vegetarian dish is a combination of several braised dishes.

The braised pork belly is a tempting reddish-brown color, still trembling when picked up with chopsticks. It has three layers of fat and lean meat, all juicy and flavorful. The broth is rich and has a subtle aroma of red dates. With just a little force, you can break the meat in half with chopsticks, and the broken pieces are still stringy and sticky, making it incredibly delicious.

The cucumber and egg dish is refreshingly crisp. The cucumber is sliced ​​thinly, retaining its original fresh flavor, and surprisingly pairs well with the bright yellow eggs. It's perfect for cutting through the greasiness of braised pork.

Da Huang was the first to put the braised pork into the sesame seed cake. He didn't know how the sesame seed cake was made, but although it was small, it had a rich sesame and buttery aroma. With a little bit of salt and pepper, it was just the right amount of salty. Paired with the braised pork, the sweet and salty perpetual motion machine in his body was instantly activated. He put three pieces of braised pork in, and with a little force from his hands, the fat naturally loosened, sticking the lean meat and the sesame seed cake together.

Take a bite of sesame flatbread, a bite of meat, and then a couple of bites of cucumber and egg to cleanse your palate.

Da Huang cherished the braised dishes and kept them. Unlike other braised dishes, they tasted delicious even when eaten cold.

He always gets hungry in the afternoon, so he saves some braised dishes and then goes to the door to buy a steamed bun. A hot steamed bun with braised dishes, how can that not be afternoon tea?

While some people were enjoying their meal, others were frowning deeply.

Not far from Da Huang and his friends, a girl opened her lunchbox and her mouth fell down the moment she did.

The sticky, mushy braised chicken was fragrant, but the broth was thin, and the chicken didn't even coat the meat properly. There were no side dishes like mushrooms or potatoes, just a few dry pieces of chicken. The stir-fried pork was mostly fatty with very little lean meat, and there was a layer of oil at the bottom of the container. Only the greens were somewhat presentable, but once you tasted them, you realized the leaves were old and tough.

The girl sighed and forced herself to finish her meal.

Of course she knew that the food at this restaurant was cheap and the quality couldn't be good, but what could she do?

Although my family supports my exam preparation, seeing my peers already entering the workforce while I still have to ask my parents for exam fees and living expenses makes it inevitable that I'll be a bit frugal.

A meal costing ten yuan is the cheapest in the area.

The girl forced down the unpalatable dishes, comforting herself: "At least the rice is alright, as long as it hasn't gone bad."

Waaah, when I finally make it to shore, I'll definitely order Wen family's food for every meal!