the next day.

They arrived at the store early to complete the preparations. At nine o'clock, Zheng Qi arrived with his people and car.

A large truck, rarely seen in town, attracted a lot of attention as soon as it appeared.

When Zheng Qi walked into the shop, he was attracted by the aroma of fried dough sticks. Looking at the simple decor, he glanced left and right and finally nodded.

"Your shop is pretty good, you must make a lot of money a month, right?"

Su Chenhao laughed: "I can barely make any money compared to you. You're doing big business."

Zheng Qi found an empty table and sat down: "Since you're here, aren't you going to offer me something to eat?"

Qiao Xiaoni walked over from a distance, carrying fried dough sticks and tofu pudding, and skillfully placed them on the table.

"Try it, I saved it especially for you."

Zheng Qi hadn't had tofu pudding in a long time. It was white and tender, topped with a thick layer of gravy, egg, wood ear fungus, dried shrimp, and sprinkled with chopped green onions and cilantro. It looked so appetizing.

I scooped a spoonful of chili oil into it and stirred it. It tasted fragrant, tender, and smooth. The chili oil was very authentic. I haven't had such a delicious flavor in a long time.

Upon closer inspection, he saw sesame seeds and peanuts inside; no wonder it smelled so good. He picked up a fried dough stick with his hand, took a bite, and found it even better than he had imagined. He looked up at them and said:

"Fry me a lot quickly, I want to take some home to eat."

Do you still have any tofu pudding? If so, please pack some for me, it tastes so good.

Oh, and this chili oil too, pack me a jar of that too, I want to take it home. It's so good with rice, I've never had such authentic chili oil in all my travels."

Qiao Xiaoni: "There's still some braised meat in the kitchen. It'll be ready in an hour. Do you want me to bring some back for you?"

"Yes!" Zheng Qi stood up excitedly, then realized he had lost his composure and sat back down. "Pack me a lot more. I won't take it for nothing today, I'll pay for it all."

Qiao Xiaoni and Su Chenhao exchanged a glance, feeling that Zheng Qi had reverted to his goofy self from that day.

Zheng Sanshun was drooling with envy. He watched as a large bowl of tofu pudding was almost empty, but his portion still hadn't been served. He was so anxious that he didn't know whether to sit or stand.

Qiao Xiaoni had already returned to the kitchen and prepared two more side dishes. She didn't use a bowl for the tofu pudding, but instead made a whole basin of it, knowing they were coming today and saving it especially for them, as the shop had a high demand. The tofu seller delivered soy milk to them every day and had recently made quite a bit of money. They gave them a few pieces of tofu for free every day, just in case they lost that business.

Scallion and tofu salad, a mixed side of pickled vegetables, was placed on the table, along with a large bowl of tofu pudding in the center.

Without anyone's help, Zheng Sanshun picked up a spoon, filled a large bowl for himself, poured in a spoonful of chili oil, and his eyes lit up when he tasted it—this stuff was so delicious!

Zheng Qi said to the four porters standing to the side, "You guys find a place to sit down and eat your fill first."

The four of them found a large table and sat down, then waited for their meal. They had all eaten breakfast when they woke up, and after doing hard labor every day, seeing delicious food made them feel hungry again.

Qiao Xiaoni asked Tao Chunfang to serve them some food as well, making sure they ate well and were full.

Half an hour had passed by the time they finished eating. Zheng Qi was very satisfied with his meal, and the smile on his face never left him. He took out his wallet from his pocket and put a ten-yuan note on the table.

"This is the money for breakfast this morning. It would be a shame if your restaurant didn't become popular with this kind of cooking."