Chapter 68 068 Garlic Shrimp Balls, Dry-Fried Chicken [First Update]...
The fried food stalls attracted many people to queue up, even during the holiday.
In particular, Yang Tao spent an hour livestreaming from the stall. The long queue, coupled with Yao Qingqin's increasing skill and even some pleasing movements, attracted many locals to the livestream.
[AAA Building Materials' Brother Wang: Where is this? It looks delicious.]
[The giant steamed bun has no filling: Is this a tourist attraction? With this much foot traffic, it can't be the Qingtang Mountain area, can it?]
[Yaya Children's Clothing: The previous one, the Qingtang Mountain holiday temple fair hasn't started yet, so it's probably not.]
[Lu Qi: Why is it all just people pooping? There's no one handing out toilet paper! Where is it?!]
[Carrying a bucket up the mountain: ...Wen's Restaurant opposite Qunying Middle School, the one next to the pharmacy and convenience store.]
[Lu Qi: Thanks, buddy. A good man has eight sons...wait, you're not from around here?]
[Carrying a bucket up the mountain: ...Hehe.]
[Little Lucky Guy: Hehe.]
[This trashy game ruined my youth: Haha.]
...
A series of "hehe"s left the locals bewildered, but the fried food in the video did look delicious. Didn't you see how long the queue was? They only sell as much as they fry. There were a few iron plates symbolically placed in front of the stall, probably meant to put any extra fried food in them. But after an hour of live streaming, not a single piece of meat was put in them.
Yao Qingqin was a little flustered at first, but she got used to it later. She would give a price quote first, then ask what she wanted to eat, collect the money, scan the code, and start frying.
"Ten yuan for a small portion, twenty-one yuan for a large portion,"
"The flavors available for now are garlic, dry-fried spicy, and cumin."
"There are three options: shrimp balls, chicken thigh meat, and crispy pork. You can choose one or combine them."
The boy at the front of the line had some difficulty making a decision. After looking around, he finally gritted his teeth and decided to leave.
"Three small portions, three-flavor combination. I want every flavor."
Since we can't choose, we might as well try them all.
Yao Qingqin agreed, then apologized, "We can only make one flavor per pot, and three large portions at a time. Since you ordered more flavors, you'll have to wait a little longer."
The boy had been queuing for more than twenty minutes, so waiting a little longer wouldn't be a problem. He simply stood aside and said, "It's okay."
As soon as the boy walked away, the people behind him eagerly stepped forward: "I want three large portions..."
Yao Qingqin memorized the orders for several people and began frying meat without stopping.
Shrimp balls aren't difficult to make. Wen Fan had already demonstrated how to make them to her father and Yao Qingqin yesterday, so Yao Qingqin prepared the ingredients early this morning, making three large plates of shrimp balls wrapped in bean curd skin. As soon as the order was placed, she carefully used chopsticks to remove the shrimp balls from the plates and put them into the oil.
At ten yuan a serving, the price was low enough. After calculating the costs, Ms. Wen finally decided on a small serving of six shrimp balls and a large serving of thirteen shrimp balls.
The shrimp paste was wrapped in tofu skin. Since it was lotus root season, Wen Fan used chopped lotus root instead of water chestnut. The shrimp balls floating in the oil were fried for a while to set their shape, then flipped over, and quickly turned golden brown.
The golden shrimp balls emitted a strong aroma of oil, and the people standing at the front stared intently at the shrimp balls that Yao Qingqin had scooped out and placed in the frying basket.
Yao Qingqin didn't care; she still needed to fry crispy pork and chicken drumsticks.
Crispy pork is one of the shop's signature dishes. At this moment, pork strips coated in flour were placed aside. Yao Qingqin first adjusted the oil temperature, and only put the crispy pork in after the temperature had dropped a little.
The crispy pork was fried until it was done, and someone couldn't wait any longer and urged, "Isn't it ready yet?"
Yao Qingqin: "It'll be here soon."
There was also chicken thigh meat, which was boneless and marinated in a large plate; more than half of it has already been sold.
As Yao Qingqin put the chicken drumsticks into the oil, she thought to herself that she should prepare more chicken drumsticks for tomorrow.
Of these three items, chicken thigh meat is definitely the cheapest, so the portion size is quite generous, a full 50% more than the shrimp balls and crispy pork. This resulted in not having enough chicken thigh meat prepared today; the remaining chicken thigh meat will only last for three or four more fryings at most.
The marinated chicken drumsticks quickly set in the hot oil, and after being fried twice, they became just like the shrimp and fried pork, emitting an enticing aroma.
"Is it not ready yet?"
Yao Qingqin didn't get annoyed by the urging, but instead said, "It'll be soon."
Wen Fan put the prepared seasonings into the wok. The garlic seasoning was made from fried golden garlic, combined with several other seasonings to make a garlic sauce. As soon as the wok was heated, the aroma of garlic dominated the surrounding area. Yao Qingqin quickly added the shrimp balls, tossed them a few times, and the garlic shrimp balls were ready to serve.
"You ordered a large portion of garlic shrimp balls."
First, the single-item orders were handed out. The girl who received the shrimp balls didn't move an inch and started eating right there.
The freshly fried food was so hot that she was spitting it out, and she didn't know where to put her tongue. Before she even started to bite into the shrimp balls, the rich aroma of garlic filled her senses.
The processed garlic sauce lacks the pungent spiciness of raw garlic. The heat of the oil and deep-frying transforms it into a mature and rich flavor. The caramelized garlic cloves adhere to the shrimp balls, and the crispy garlic and tender shrimp meat inside complement each other perfectly, creating a rich and complex flavor.
"...Hey, is this shrimp ball delicious?" someone else in line couldn't help but ask.
The girl had another one stuffed into her mouth; it was so hot she couldn't speak, only managing to mumble with hand gestures, "Okay...okay."
Yang Tao stood to the side with his live-streaming camera. He had eaten shrimp balls last night, but now, overwhelmed by the aroma of garlic, he couldn't resist joining the queue.
He wanted to join the queue, but the people in the live stream were in for a lot of trouble.
Some people angrily retorted, "What's so great about that? If we can't go more than 2,000 miles away, can't we go to the place of origin?"
[A little bit of luck: I'm already on the highway. In another five hours, I'll be at the place selling shrimp balls. Hehe, I'm going to eat until I'm stuffed!]
Some people are still trying to persuade Yang Tao to start a personal shopping agency business.
[Cosmic Escape: Don't be so rigid! This stuff is deep-fried, why can't it be shipped by courier?]
Of course, some people were gloating.
[Tofu Xiaowu: La la la la, I'm so clever! I found the live stream selling shrimp balls yesterday, placed an order for next-day delivery, and the courier just messaged me saying it arrived~ Everyone, wait for my unboxing video!]
After saying that, he left the live stream. I don't know if he really went to pick up a package.
Yang Tao said helplessly, "Didn't I say that I really can't ship it? You can come and visit later. The boss said that fried food is better eaten on the spot."
With the live-streaming camera pointed at her stall, Yao Qingqin had already started making stir-fried spicy chicken.
The dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and various other seasonings were prepared by Wen Fan. Each portion was served in a small disposable paper bowl, and Yao Qingqin filled half a bowl according to Wen Fan's instructions. This amount of seasoning was roughly enough for each batch of stir-fried ingredients.
Sauté the ingredients in the pan until fragrant, then add the fried chicken drumsticks, stir-fry evenly, and sprinkle with white sesame seeds.
"The stir-fried spicy chicken is ready."
The amber-colored chicken pieces, crispy and caramelized on the outside, crackle open with a soft "snap" to reveal tender yet firm chicken fibers inside. At this moment, the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, like subtle electric currents, frequently stimulates your lips and tongue. The fierce flavor of chili peppers seizes the opportunity to conquer the interior.
The combination of spiciness and savory aroma, along with a hint of sweetness in the chicken, makes it even more irresistible.
The boy who insisted on trying it at the beginning is now standing to the side, eating each serving Yao Qingqin fries for him.
Unfortunately, he happened to be standing right in front of the live stream camera, so he ended up giving away a full-length mukbang (eating broadcast).
The viewers were filled with angry comments.
[This trashy game is ruining my youth: I'm begging you, last night I ate three packs of instant noodles, then got up in the middle of the night to eat a bag of potato chips, three pieces of bread, and bought two bottles of electrolyte water from downstairs in the dorm... If this keeps up, I'll either become a good student or a broke person.]
[TaoTaoLe: Hahahaha, I watched this live stream yesterday to lose weight, and now I've already eaten five servings of weight-loss meals! Hahaha, I'm not crazy... Waaaa, my fitness coach just asked me why I didn't go to the gym, did I secretly eat a whole pig?]
[A small cookie: I wanted to kneel down and beg myself not to eat it anymore, but I found that if I knelt down I would eat even more, hehe...]
[Yun Kun: Hello everyone, if I am elected mayor, I will order businesses to open a branch near every university. This is my campaign promise.]
[Qiao Ya: Here's the ticket, take it seriously!]
...
The prepared materials were all used up within an hour, and in the end, the dozen or so people in line couldn't buy anything and had to reluctantly enter the store to make their purchases.
After briefly calculating the sales figures, Wen's mother was surprised to find that in just one hour, she had sold over a thousand yuan worth of fried food alone.
If we wait until school starts...
Wen's mother suddenly felt that opening such a small stall at the entrance was a great deal. The snacks and other small items looked inconspicuous, but the turnover was quite considerable.
Wen's mother brought Yao Qingqin a glass of water and asked her if she was tired.
Yao Qingqin shook her head: "Just for a little while."
This job is a bit tiring on the legs because you're constantly turning in place, but it's far from physically demanding.
Wen's mother: "I think we should sell them at different times."
Today we're only having fried food. If we add sesame seed cakes with vegetables, then it won't be a job for just one person.
Yao Qingqin said anxiously, "It's alright, boss lady, I can manage..."
Wen's mother sighed: "This is not something one person can do alone. Don't worry, staggering the times is the most appropriate thing to do."
Students only have a little over an hour for lunch, so selling fried food during peak hours is simply not feasible. Instead, pancakes with vegetables are sold out faster, and the business stops after half an hour.
When it's evening, many children go home after school, and if they eat a pancake with vegetables on the way home, they won't be able to eat dinner. The store sells out faster at noon than at night.
Instead of that, I should have sold fried food as a snack on my way home; now that I think about it, that would have been more popular.
Wen's mother persuaded Yao Qingqin and offered to give Yao Qingqin an extra 500 yuan in salary, plus an extra 200 yuan for full attendance every month.
"This is quite a technical skill for you."
Since they had to fry things and make videos, Wen's mother felt that this price was fair to their efforts.
Yao Qingqin's original salary of 3,800 yuan has now increased by 1,000 yuan, plus 200 yuan for full attendance bonus, making it 5,000 yuan.
Yao Qingqin is numb. Her husband works in a factory and used to earn more than 6,000 yuan a month, but now he only earns 5,000 yuan a month because of poor performance.
Is five thousand yuan a lot?
It seems like there's a lot to say, and my husband always brings it up, saying that he's the only one supporting the family and how hard he works.
Is five thousand yuan too little?
It seems like there isn't much. Every time I ask my husband for it, he always says he has no money and that he's used up the money.
Yao Qingqin was filled with mixed emotions. Ever since she decided to go out to work, her mother-in-law and husband had been saying that she was ungrateful.
“Go out and hire people to do your bidding, and you’ll only earn two or three thousand a month. Go do it, and you’ll see how comfortable it is to stay at home doing nothing.”
Yao Qingqin did it, and not only that, she caught up with her husband's salary in just one month.
Five thousand yuan...
As Yao Qingqin was thinking, she suddenly felt a surge of anger in her chest, which made her restless.
Suddenly, Wen's mother thought of something and whispered behind the counter, interrupting Yao Qingqin's anger.
"I almost forgot, our shop is small, so we pay wages at the beginning of each month. Last month you worked for sixteen days, that's your pay. And the raise I mentioned earlier, I'll put it in October, okay?"
Holding the two thousand yuan, her wages for sixteen days, Yao Qingqin was stunned for a long time before she remembered to reply to Wen's mother.
"Okay, okay."
Wen's mother took out another bag of mooncakes.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is the day after tomorrow, this is a gift for the festival."
The mooncakes that Wen Fan made earlier have now fully absorbed the oil. Wen's mother kept some for her own family and shared some with her close neighbors. Soon, the neighbors started giving them to each other.
Song Hui usually runs the shop and knits sweaters in her spare time. When she received mooncakes from Wen's mother, she gave her three woolen hats in return: one navy blue, one gray, and one off-white. Wen's mother tried them on and thought they were quite nice, so she put them away, planning to give them to the whole family when the weather got colder.
Qu Qingqing's family sent some donkey-hide gelatin.
"You should be able to make it too, right? Ejiao cake is very simple. This is what we sourced, and the quality is excellent."
Zhang Fengqiu, the owner of the steamed bun shop, gave them a box of honey-glazed fried dough twists as a gift.
“There’s an old shop near my mother-in-law’s house that only makes this one thing, and they’ve been doing it for many years.”
The honey-glazed pastries were sweet and sticky, and a burst of honey juice would flow out with every bite. Wen Fan ate several, which was quite unusual for him, and said that this family really had some skill.
There were also a few young men at the street barbershop. Zhou Xing's two apprentices said they didn't have anything good to give her in return, and told Wen's father to come to the shop for a haircut whenever he had time, free of charge.
"We've both made progress!"
Wen's mother took the membership cards given to her by the two children home and handed them to Wen's father.
Without saying a word, Mr. Wen pressed the membership card down on the table leg.
“I’d rather pay Zhou Xing to handle it for me.”
Those two kids have now corrupted the entire street. Except for a few men who don't care about appearances, everyone else, like Wen's father, has to ask the shop owner Zhou Xing if he's there before going...
Amidst this lively atmosphere, Wen Fan spent several more busy nights.
Yang Tao's live stream was becoming increasingly popular, and the number of viewers peaked at over 5,000 the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Yang Tao made a lot of money in just a few days, and when he got home he showed his mother the backstage information.
Meanwhile, Wenji also became popular thanks to this opportunity.
The most obvious sign was that on this day, Wen's mother was surprised to find that her family's shop had been listed as "No. 20 Most Popular Cantonese Restaurant in the Local Area" on a review website.
This ranking was so confusing that even Wen's mother didn't understand why her family's food was classified as Cantonese, but she understood after looking at the page.
It seems they don't offer group buying or discounts. The delivery page only shows a few of their regular dishes.
The restaurant's signature dish is claypot rice, so it was identified as a Cantonese restaurant by the system.
However, Wen's mother didn't care much about the category. What she cared more about was that the platform seemed to have stopped deliberately lowering her ranking.
Yang Tao snorted when he heard the news, not surprised at all.
The Wen family's shop is becoming increasingly popular, and there are similar small shops in every city.
They often disdain buying traffic, and their rankings are not high. If pushed too far, they might even stop ordering food delivery altogether and stop dealing with the platform.
However, many people from other places who come to the area often follow the instructions to check in.
At this point, the platform doesn't need to make things difficult. If they make things difficult a few more times, the boss might get angry and post something online, which would also affect the platform's reputation.
After Wenji's takeout store traffic recovered, the number of takeout orders also rebounded slightly.
Wen's mother felt incredibly relieved.
Then, on the second day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, customers who came to patronize the store saw the sign posted at the entrance.
[Closed for the holiday]
Customers who had come specifically for this event were bewildered. They checked their phones and asked around before getting an answer.
The boss said a few days ago that we'd be taking a holiday!
Yes, yes, we booked dinner for tonight, but were later told that the next time wouldn't be until mid-October.
Although I'm also disappointed, since I'll be going back to school in a couple of days, it's a holiday for them, so there's nothing I can say.
Honestly, why don't we create a group chat? That way we can share information and resources.
[Agreed!]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
