Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Warm-up continues. (Second update)…
Three boxes were sold in just one morning?
When Lin Zhi followed Lin Sen to the Imperial Street and looked at the dense crowd at the street corner, she finally understood why Yu Niangzi and the others had looked so envious when they learned that they had been invited to attend the New Year's party.
She looked around and saw that the entire street was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, making it difficult to find a place to step.
To describe it in four words: follow the crowd!
"It's too crowded!" Lin Zhi was pushed forward by the crowd and couldn't help but sigh.
I almost had to use my hands and feet to squeeze into the venue. The road that seemed spacious when I came in the morning was now so crowded that it looked like a flattened pancake.
After finally moving to his stall, Lin Zhi didn't even have time to catch his breath before he heard the diners cheering, "Here they come."
"I've been waiting for you guys." A man in shorts wanted to complain about being late, but the words were drowned out by an even more urgent shout: "I want three bags of chicken tenders!"
"I want two bags!"
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm first in line? I want a bag of chicken fillets!" The short-sleeved man suddenly became anxious and shouted loudly.
"Okay, okay, don't be impatient, everyone." Seeing that everyone was about to start arguing, Song Jiaoniang quickly stepped forward to stop them: "Everyone has a share, come one by one!"
After Lin Sen skillfully started frying the second pot, Song Jiaoniang finally found a moment to pull Lin Zhi aside and whisper, "Not long after you left this morning, more and more people showed up. Your father and I were so busy that we didn't even notice we were out of ingredients!"
After a pause, Song Jiaoniang rubbed her sore arms and complained, "I haven't even had a bite to eat yet."
"Huh?" Lin Zhi paused and hurried to the stove. While Lin Sen was taking out the fried chicken strips, she took the chopsticks from his hand. "Dad, you go take a break first. I'll fry it! I just brought the food over. You and Mom should eat something to fill your stomach."
"Alright." Lin Sen breathed a sigh of relief and handed the chicken fillet to the customer. He turned around and took out the kettle from the cart. He unscrewed the lid and gulped down most of the kettle. He wiped his mouth and sighed, "Huh... I'm finally alive."
He had never seen such a bustling crowd in his life. Lin Sen sat on a small stool nearby, looking up at the crowd. He felt his feet were extremely sore. He had been so cold when he left home that morning that he hunched his neck. Now his forehead was covered in sweat, and his underwear was soaked with sweat.
Seeing this, Song Jiaoniang quickly found a clean jacket from her bag for him to change into, and then took out the hot soup and hot rice that Linzhi had brought. The two of them sat in a corner and ate hurriedly.
"Dad, where are the chicken wings and chicken legs we prepared yesterday? Are they sold out?" Lin Zhi asked as she put chicken fillets into the wok.
"Look at my memory, I forgot everything!" Lin Sen had just stuffed a mouthful of rice when he heard this and felt annoyed: "It's on the bottom shelf of the cart. I was so busy this morning that I forgot to take it out."
Linzhi responded, took out a food box filled with chicken wings and chicken legs from the bottom of the cart, placed it in front of the stall, calculated the time, and put several servings of chicken fillets into the wok at once.
When a few returning customers saw this, their brows immediately furrowed. Just as they were about to question him, they saw the long chopsticks in Linzhi's hand flying up and down, and his movements were more decisive and agile than his father's.
The chicken fillet was also extremely docile, and as the long chopsticks in her hand rose and fell in the golden oil, it soon became golden.
After Lin Zhi picked it up, he quickly put it in a bag and handed it to everyone. He pointed to the food box next to him and said, "Just throw the copper coins here. Please put them in there yourself."
The movements were smooth and flowing, and in a short while, the team in front of him was shortened.
Then, Linzhi took out the chicken wings and drumsticks. She first rolled the marinated chicken wings and drumsticks in the milky white liquid, then pressed breadcrumbs on top before gently placing them in the frying pan.
With a sizzling sound, golden oil spread out, and the coating on the chicken wings and chicken legs quickly solidified into blocks, tightly wrapping the tender chicken meat.
The short-sleeved guy at the head of the line wanted to ask for a bag of chicken fillets, but when he saw the golden chicken wings, still simmering with fat, he changed his mind and said, "I want one... no! A pair of chicken wings!"
As the copper coins clattered into the food box, Linzhi picked up the fried chicken wings, placed them on the oil-draining rack to dry for a while, and then packed them in bags and handed them to the diners.
The man in shorts sniffed the rich aroma, his Adam's apple trembled slightly, and he opened his mouth and couldn't wait to bite it.
The plump chicken wings no longer had their original pink and white color, but were now covered in golden armor as thick as oil and water.
The skin was a bit hard, but it crackled and shattered the moment I bit into it. The rich and fragrant juice rushed out, hitting the taste buds on the tip of my tongue like a huge wave.
The flavors layered on top of each other, immersing themselves in the meat. The rich, savory, and fragrant taste made the man blush and quickly replied, "Two more chicken legs."
As soon as he finished speaking, the customer behind him was unhappy: "You've already bought one. Go and queue up if you want to buy more."
“…”
"I want a pair of chicken wings, a pair of chicken legs and a bag of chicken fillets." As for the next person, he simply ignored this person and ordered a family bucket, showing that a smart person would of course choose to have everything.
The man in shorts was choked and had to walk to the end of the line dejectedly. Unexpectedly, the line became longer. He accidentally lined up in the wrong line and didn't realize it until he walked to the next shop.
When he was holding a string of roasted sparrows and standing behind the correct line again, he saw Lin Sen approaching and saying to the last person in line, "I'm so sorry, but we've run out of all the ingredients for today. We're closed now."
"Huh? The sun hasn't even set yet?"
“It’s sold out so quickly?”
You should know that the New Year party activities for newlyweds last from morning until the night market, and the sun hasn’t even set yet!
The diners exclaimed in surprise one after another, and even Lin Sen felt helpless and hurriedly explained: "We didn't expect so many people. The five boxes of chicken fillets and one box of chicken wings and chicken legs we prepared were all sold out."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, my family wasn't well prepared." Lin Zhi also stepped forward and apologized: "We'll prepare more ingredients tomorrow, so everyone should come early."
Linzhi felt that the responsibility lay with her. She was either too careless or she underestimated the flow of people and the importance people attached to the New Year festival, and she prepared too few ingredients.
Although the diners complained, there was nothing they could do as there were no ingredients, so they had to turn around and go to other stalls.
The Linzhi family packed up their things and, with great effort, squeezed out of the crowd and slowly walked home.
As soon as they reached the alley entrance, they ran into Madam Yu standing at the door. Seeing them return, Madam Yu asked in surprise, "Why are you back so early?"
“Everything is sold out!”
"Huh?" Madam Yu's eyes widened in shock. "So soon? Aren't you prepared enough? I heard there will be even more people tonight!"
"More in the evening?" Song Jiaoniang was shocked and stamped her feet in frustration. "I should have asked Zhijie'er to help in the afternoon. I should have taught her to prepare more at home..."
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late. Lin Sen said in frustration, "It's because we're inexperienced." The most important thing is that we don't have enough manpower.
Lin Sen just looked at the shops around him and saw that there were at least four or five people in each shop, but they only had two or three people to help. How could they make it in time?
He increasingly thought that after moving to a bigger shop, he would have to hire a few more people, otherwise it would be a waste of such an opportunity.
"It's okay to come back early. We can rest early and prepare early for tomorrow." Lin Zhi saw that her parents looked unhappy and hurried to comfort them.
"Too."
“…” Madam Yu looked at their tired appearance, as if thinking about something.
At dawn the next day, Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang pushed the cart out. After a few steps, they saw Manager Wu coming with a donkey cart, and Madam Yu following beside him.
Shopkeeper Wu deftly moved the oil drums from their carts onto the donkey cart: "Brother Lin, take my donkey cart. It will save you the trouble of pushing it."
"Jiao Niang, let me help you." Madam Yu also stepped forward, took the things from Song Jiao Niang's hand and moved them to the car.
"You guys, this is..."
"We just happened to be free, so we came to help." Madam Yu put a box of things on the donkey cart, turned around and said to Song Jiaoniang, "We are here to help you, please don't mind."
"This, this is embarrassing."
"We're neighbors, why should we be so polite?" Madam Yu enthusiastically pushed Song Jiaoniang into the car. "Besides, Sister Zhi helped me think of some drinks last time. It's almost the New Year, and business at our drink shop isn't very good, so why not come and help you guys?"
Song Jiaoniang refused a few times, but seeing that they were sincere in helping her, she smiled and agreed.
This scene happened to fall into the eyes of Hua Niangzi. She leaned against the door of her own pancake shop, watching the backs of the four people leaving happily. Her throat moved, and a sour feeling surged up.
In the past, Madam Yu and she were best friends. Whenever someone's family made new food, she would always think of sending some to the other family, and they would often visit each other during festivals.
But ever since Song Jiaoniang moved in, Yu Niang's heart had been completely turned away. Not only did she usually walk around her with her head down, or just give a faint response, unwilling to say anything more, but even the specialties she used to send her every year had disappeared.
"Hmph, how blind!" The more Hua Niangzi thought about it, the more depressed she became. She spat on the ground and turned back into the house.
Inside, Shopkeeper Zheng was placing freshly steamed steamed buns on the shelf when he saw her come in with a grim expression. Before she could say anything, she heard Madam Hua complain, "Look at Madam Yu! She's so eager to help Lin Zhiji, moving things and pushing carts like a servant, she's completely undignified."
Shopkeeper Zheng paused holding the steamer, then turned around after putting it down. "How dare you criticize them? They lowered their stance out of neighborliness, but what about you? A while ago, you were bragging to others about your brother being the bookstore owner, and what happened? Madam Yu exposed your brother and said he was just a bookshop handyman. How could you not feel ashamed at that time?"
These words pierced Lady Hua's heart like a needle. To save face, she had boasted to Lady Yu and the other neighbors that her brother was the bookstore owner. Unexpectedly, Lady Yu wasn't one to swallow her loss. She turned around and spread the story that Lady Hua's brother was just a clerk in the bookstore, unable to even touch the account books.
When this news spread, many people laughed at Hua Niangzi behind her back, causing her to not dare go out for a long time.
Shopkeeper Zheng only found out about this when he heard the neighbors gossiping about it, and he was already feeling very angry.
Seeing that Lady Hua was still complaining about others, he said even more angrily, "You only think about your family's affairs every day. Have you ever thought about ours? My nephew is thinking about cooperating with Linzhiji to help sell roast goose and make some money. Just because you had a quarrel with Lady Song before, I don't have the face to talk to him!"
Madam Hua was stunned for a moment, then her face flushed and her voice became shrill: "What's wrong with me thinking about my mother's family? He's my own brother! Are you going to watch him suffer? As for you, what does your nephew's affairs have to do with me? No matter how good Lin Zhiji is, can he bring any benefits to our family?"
"You know shit!" Shopkeeper Zheng was so angry at her hypocritical behavior that he laughed. "How famous is Linzhiji Roast Goose? Did you know they sold out of stock during the pre-sale event yesterday? If I could get in touch with them, not to mention making money from roast goose, I could at least get some of the same benefits as Shopkeeper Wu. But you're just being angry and ruining everything!"
Madam Yu praised Song Jiaoniang and Lin Sen highly, and praised Lin Zhi even more, saying that the other party was the best in the world.
Although the content was a bit exaggerated, Manager Zheng also learned from others that the new hot drinks launched by Yu Niangzi's family were also her work.
When Shopkeeper Zheng found out, he was devastated. If Madam Hua and Madam Song got along well, wouldn't that boost his business?
Thinking of this, Manager Zheng became more and more dissatisfied.
Madam Hua's eyes turned red, and she reached out to push Shopkeeper Zheng: "I ruined it? It's obviously your own incompetence!"
Shopkeeper Zheng was pushed back two steps by her and bumped into the steamer, knocking the top one over, sending several steamed buns rolling to the ground. "What did you say? Look at what you've done!"
As the couple's quarrel grew louder, several diners who originally wanted to buy steamed buns turned around and left quietly as soon as they reached the door.
Only a few idle women came over, eavesdropping on the shouting and cursing inside, and gossiping with exaggerated language.
Linzhi also heard the noise outside. She leaned out to take a look, and after confirming that the sound came from Hua Niangzi's house, she turned back indifferently.
It’s not that she doesn’t like gossip, it’s mainly because she is so busy that she has no time for gossip!
Not to mention Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang, two words also popped up in Lin Zhi's mind: recruiting people.
Recruit people, must recruit people!
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