Chapter 44 (Second Update): Pancake with Vegetables [Second Update]

Ms. Wang walked into the office with a tense face; she had been in a bad mood for the past two days.

As for why it's so bad, probably no one would believe it if I told them.

Teacher Wang sat down and opened the food delivery platform again. The choices that used to be made in two or three minutes now took him a long time to decide.

Teacher Wang clicked on the steamed buns she had ordered several times in her search history. The search results showed more than a dozen steamed bun shops. From yesterday to today, she carefully compared the pictures posted in the comments section and clicked on two more that seemed similar, but in the end, she still couldn't find steamed buns that smelled almost the same as those in the classroom.

Steamed buns, steamed buns.

Teacher Wang felt that she had truly become obsessed.

Perhaps the steamed bun wasn't all that great when it actually tasted, but before I tasted it, Teacher Wang was filled with that feeling.

What's even more terrifying is that when she entered the classroom in the morning, she smelled a completely new odor!

Teacher Wang almost lost her composure and asked in class whose breakfast it was and where they bought it.

Other teachers in the office also returned one after another after finishing their classes, and went to the cafeteria for lunch in twos and threes.

"Eat early, so that the first-year high school students don't all rush in to eat later."

"Teacher Wang, shall we go?"

Teacher Wang showed little interest: "I don't have classes this afternoon, I'll go later."

After everyone had left, Teacher Wang suddenly remembered that there was a document to submit, and today was the last day.

She quickly picked up the materials and went to find the teacher in charge. When she arrived at a certain office in the first year of high school, Teacher Wang keenly smelled a fragrance.

She knocked on the door instinctively.

A muffled "Come in" came from inside.

"Teacher Wang, is something the matter?"

Looking at the several takeout boxes lined up on her desk, Teacher Wang's throat went dry: "Where did you order this takeout from? It smells so good!"

Although the scent was different, Teacher Wang inexplicably felt that this thing seemed to smell very similar to the scent in the classroom that morning.

Zhao Yu was currently enjoying a claypot rice. Wenji was getting more and more crowded at lunchtime, especially with students. The three teachers didn't want to eat among the students, so they ordered takeout today.

The claypot rice was served in an aluminum foil box, which kept it warm. The rice was piled high with Chinese sausage and pork ribs. The mixed claypot rice had a dark brown color. One bite of rice followed by a sip of soup was a welcome comfort to the teachers during their busy workday.

“Oh, this,” Liu An, the oldest among them, laughed heartily, “is a small restaurant near the school; the food is pretty good.”

Teacher Wang asked impatiently, "Do they sell breakfast?"

Xu Tao was a little surprised: "They don't sell them, do they? They mainly sell claypot rice and braised dishes... Oh, and they also sell sesame seed cakes today."

With more students, Wen's mother also saw the potential. There were only a few tables in the shop, and the food required sitting down to eat. After thinking it over, she decided to add a sesame seed cake to the shop.

This is what Xu Tao ate today.

The palm-sized, thick flatbread is made with leavened dough, so the crust is thick and soft, unlike the crispy oven-baked flatbread. This kind of flatbread is more similar to the texture of a thick leavened flatbread.

Cut it in half, spread sauce in the middle of the firm crust, and you can choose what kind of braised dishes you want. Next to the cold dishes in the counter, there is a small pot with various colored vegetables skewered on it, and a small menu is posted in front of the counter.

[Braised potato slices - one skewer per piece]

【Braised kelp knots - one yuan per string】

[Braised Fish Tofu - Two pieces per skewer]

...

The prices are cheap, which is completely inconsistent with the big signboard in the store.

Xu Tao wanted to try something new, so she picked out a few vegetarian skewers and ordered some meat dishes.

After receiving the money, Wen's mother took the skewers, cut the large pieces of meat into smaller pieces, put some peanuts, cilantro, and sesame seeds in a large mixing bowl, and finally added a spoonful of Wen Fan's secret sauce.

Xu Tao sandwiched the mixed vegetables into the pancake, spending twelve yuan to get an enormous pancake.

These large sesame seed cakes are sure to appeal to students.

Cheap, plentiful, and delicious.

Xu Tao took a bite of the sesame seed cake. The crushed sesame seeds and peanuts inside, mixed with the sweet, salty, and slightly spicy sauce, were nothing special, because you often eat this kind of sesame seed cake with fillings on the street. But upon closer inspection, it felt different from other places.

The steamed flatbread absorbed some of the soup inside, and the crust was thick, making it feel like eating a flatbread from a stew. The braised dishes were also excellent; the potato slices were soft, the fish tofu was crispy, and even when the chicken thigh meat was chopped up, you could still taste the smooth chicken skin and the flavorful strands of chicken meat.

Although Teacher Wang was disappointed that the meal wasn't breakfast, she still ordered a meal without hesitation after receiving the link.

"I'm going back now!"

Teacher Wang closed the door, and Zhao Yu suddenly remembered something.

"The materials she's holding... well, they must be for Teacher Xu!"

Teacher Xu works in this office, so why did she take it?

"Who knew... Hey, this sesame seed cake is really delicious! I'm going to buy another one tonight."

“I’ll buy one too, I’ll get one for my son.”

*****

Wen's mother straightened her back and patted her lower back.

She was busy all noon until all the sesame seed cakes she bought were used up, only then could Wen's mother catch her breath.

Wen's father also emerged from the kitchen. The two looked at each other and were equally disheveled.

However, it was also a bittersweet experience.

Students use a lot of cash, so when Ms. Wen emptied the box containing the cash and did a quick count, she was shocked by the midday sales figures.

"The sesame seed cakes sold for over two hundred yuan."

You should know that today was just a trial run, and Mother Wen only had twenty sesame seed cakes sent over.

Mr. Wen's face was full of bitterness, but his eyes were happy: "I cooked fifteen clay pot rice dishes today."

The couple looked at each other and laughed.

"Alright, let's go buy a car tomorrow."

While we may not be making a fortune every day, things are certainly getting better every day.

Wen's mother found two massage hammers for back massage in the drawer of the counter, which seemed to have been given away as a gift when they delivered beverages.

She took one for herself and gave one to Wen's father.

Amidst the patting sounds of her back being massaged, Wen's mother casually remarked, "Later, I'll ask Sister Song to introduce me to a long-term job. What do you think?"

Father Wen rubbed his leg: "Okay, find someone to help wash the vegetables, and specifically manage the pancake stall during mealtimes."

Mrs. Wen smiled with satisfaction; she knew that Mr. Wen understood what she meant.

Baked flatbread is such a popular item; it's a perfect example of low profit margins and high sales volume.

Wen's mother was a bit overwhelmed at noon today. Not only was it hard work to sandwich sesame seed cakes, but she also had to collect money and clear tables for people. She was extremely busy all noon.

"Okay, I'll take a look next week."

This time, when hiring again, Wen's mother decided to hire someone who could stay long-term. The shop was getting busier every day, and the family of three couldn't all be exhausted.

"Hey, call the sesame seed cake delivery guy later and ask him to deliver another fifty this afternoon."

"good."

The sesame seed cakes arrived as promised. Wen Fan, having been tormented by Qin He at school, walked heavily out of the school gate, only realizing what had happened when he was almost at his own shop.

The line at her shop stretched outside today!

A group of students in camouflage uniforms stood in a circle, looking on expectantly. If Wen Fan hadn't heard his mother say yesterday that they would be adding a sesame seed cake today, he would have thought something had happened.

Wen Fan squeezed through the crowd, shouting "I'm from this family," and finally managed to break through the wall of people.

I saw Mother Wen bustling around behind the counter, picking up skewers and placing sesame cakes between them.

A short boy wearing glasses had his eyes gleaming: "I want two skewers of potato slices, one skewer of seaweed knots, one fish tofu... and a braised duck leg, served separately!"

Wen's mother: "The duck legs are gone."

"That chicken leg!"

"The chicken legs are all gone too."

The boy stomped his foot: "Then I want chicken wings!"

Wen Fan went to the back, found an apron, and told the others to line up. He then looked at the contents of the pot, went out to tell the students behind him that they couldn't sell there and to hurry home.

"Come again tomorrow."

After a dozen or so people left, the store instantly felt much cleaner.

Wen Fan cleared another path so that his father could bring out the claypot rice ordered by the guests.

Wen's mother looked at her daughter gratefully, but after everything was sold out, she felt a little regretful.

"I wish I hadn't added the sesame seed cake."

Although I'm still making money, it just... feels like it's completely disrupted the original balance of the store.

Wen Fan didn't think it was a big deal.

“Things like this definitely sell better near the school gate.”

Moreover, Wen's mother's thinking is correct. The food in the store is no longer considered cheap. Even if students like to eat it, it is still a burden for most students to eat it every day.

Selling things like sesame seed cakes, which are low-profit, high-volume, and delicious, is actually a good idea.

Wen's mother sighed, "It's just that our shop is too small."

The shop, which was already small, felt cramped after adding just one item.

Wen Fan paused, then said, "Mom, how about... adding a stall at the entrance?"

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Author's note: This is a short one; it will be longer tomorrow.