Chapter 223 Noon at the Stall
"Girl, another bowl, please! Extra chicken included!"
"Two bowls of chicken noodle soup, to go! And one for my partner too!"
"This noodle soup warms you up; having a bowl first thing in the morning gives you energy for work!"
Su Yingxue and Shen Yu were so busy they barely had time to breathe, but they couldn't stop smiling. The workers' praise was simple and sincere, and their dark faces were full of satisfied smiles.
Meanwhile, on Yuying Road, the line in front of Zhu Lili's stall was gradually shortening.
Students rush off after buying breakfast, and office workers are just looking for something new. The trendy sandwiches look nice, but they don't keep you full for long, and they're quite expensive for students.
Even a sweet, cloying fruit tea in the morning can't compare to a bowl of hot noodle soup for warming the stomach. The fans were stopped by traffic police. The reason given was that they were disrupting traffic.
Seeing the slowdown in sales growth, Chen Chen was sweating profusely and hurriedly messaged his agent to urge them to send more people to distribute flyers. Chen Mo, on the other hand, frowned and kept adjusting the package prices in an attempt to win back customers.
With half the time already gone, Zhu Lili looked at the sales figures panel, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
Chen Mo immediately understood and turned to inquire about Su Yingxue's situation. When he returned, his face was ashen, and he handed the photos on his phone to Zhu Lili: "Sister, there's a long queue over there, full of workers."
"How much money could a bunch of poor workers possibly buy?" Zhu Lili growled in disbelief, her fingers gripping her phone tightly.
But reality slapped her in the face.
Three hours were up, and the production team tallied the sales figures.
Zhu Lili's stall on Yuying Road, boosted by fans and coupons, generated a turnover of 1,200 yuan.
Su Yingxue's stall in the West Suburbs Industrial Park had a turnover of 2,400 yuan!
More than double the original amount!
The production team was stunned and rushed to verify, only to find that although Su Yingxue's average order value was not high, it was all about volume—the workers ate one bowl after another, and little by little, it added up to far more than expected.
Shen Yu and Xia Paopao jumped up excitedly as they looked at the numbers on the panel: "We won! We won the breakfast contest!"
Lin Qiao was wiping the counter. Upon hearing the news, she smiled happily.
Su Yingxue wiped the sweat from her forehead, a faint smile appearing on her face. Sunlight filtered through the sycamore branches, falling brightly on her oily cheeks.
Meanwhile, in the car not far away, Zhu Lili, seeing Su Yingxue's smile on the live stream, angrily smashed the car window.
Chen Chen looked at the messages on his phone. He then looked down and discussed it with his younger brother.
"We should have a proper talk with Chef Wang later. This can't go on."
Lunch Competition
The outcome of the three-hour breakfast competition had just been decided when the directors blew their whistle again: "Contestants, the lunch competition is now two hours long. The theme is 'satisfaction.' The winner will still be determined by sales volume. Let's begin!"
On Su Yingxue's side, her temporary partner Lin Qiao had already quickly tied on her apron, while Shen Yu held her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. "Sister Su, I've already posted our location in the fan group, saying we're making braised beef rice in the industrial park, and it's delicious and plentiful!"
Shen Yu looked up, her eyes shining. "The fans said they'd be here right away! This morning I was thinking, was it a bit unfair to call them fans? But seeing Zhu Lili like this, we can't lose."
Lin Qiao chimed in, "I'll take care of the side dishes. The radishes will be stewed until soft and tender, and the greens will be blanched until just cooked through, so they won't overshadow the beef."
Su Yingxue nodded and lifted the lid of the insulated container. The rich aroma of braised beef instantly filled the air—the beef was selected from brisket with tendons, stewed until tender and flavorful, and the radish had absorbed all the meat juices, its color bright red and tempting.
She priced it at 15 yuan a bowl, with free refills of rice. She also specially added a "beef rice + fried lotus root sandwich" set meal for 20 yuan, which was great value for money.
Before long, Shen Yu's fans arrived on electric bikes, along with netizens Xia Paopao had rallied on Weibo, and they flocked to the stall in twos and threes.
"Shen Yu's beef rice looks delicious! Give me two servings!"
"Looks like a good deal, I'll take two!"
Su Yingxue served rice, Lin Qiao handed out side dishes, Shen Yu collected money, and Xia Paopao was busy entertaining guests.
The four worked together seamlessly, and a short queue quickly formed in front of their stall, causing their sales to soar.
Just then, three shady-looking hooligans strolled over, their hats askew and their hands in their pockets, and squeezed to the front of the line.
The leader, a blond-haired man, kicked the table leg of the stall and yelled, "This food looks disgusting, who knows if it's hygienic or not?"
Another skinny monkey chimed in, "Exactly! What if they used leftover scraps? Who's responsible if we get food poisoning?"
The fans and netizens in line fell silent instantly, and a few of the more timid ones even took a step back.
Shen Yu was so angry that her face turned red. Just as she was about to step forward to argue, Su Yingxue pulled her back.
Su Yingxue put down her spoon and looked calmly at the blond-haired man: "Our ingredients are all freshly purchased and have quarantine certificates. If you don't believe me, you can have them tested. But you are cutting in line and causing trouble, which is affecting our business. I can call the police."
The blond-haired man was taken aback by her tough stance, paused for a moment, then retorted, "Call the police? Who are you trying to scare?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than several workers rolled up their sleeves and walked over. One of them was the truck driver who had chicken noodle soup that morning: "You guys are looking for trouble, aren't you? This girl's food is clean and delicious, don't block the way!"
Other workers chimed in, "Get out of here! Don't get in the way!"
Seeing that things were going badly, Huang Mao said "We'll see" and then led his men away in a sorry state.
It was a false alarm, and the queue in front of the stall dispersed considerably.
Looking at the thinning crowd, Shen Yu said with some dissatisfaction, "It's all their fault. They scared away all the customers who finally came."
Su Yingxue patted her shoulder: "It's okay, we'll take our time. If the food tastes good, customers will come eventually."
Meanwhile, on the other side of Yuying Road, Zhu Lili's group was in full swing.
Chef Wang personally cooked braised duck leg rice. The duck leg was braised until the skin was fragrant and the meat was tender. One bite filled your mouth with the aroma of oil. Chen Mo prepared drinks on the side, such as plum juice and mung bean soup, which were refreshing and not greasy. Moreover, they were only one yuan a cup, which immediately attracted a large crowd.
Chen Chen and his men had already surrounded the stall completely, and he was shouting at the top of his lungs, "Chef Wang's secret recipe braised duck leg rice, 20 yuan a serving, plus 1 yuan for a free drink! Limited quantity, first come, first served!"
With its affordable prices and Chef Wang's renowned reputation, white-collar workers, students, and residents from Yuying Road flocked to the restaurant.
The crowds are already dense during the lunch rush, and everyone is queuing up to buy a serving. Some people even buy five or six servings at a time to bring to their colleagues and family.
Zhu Lili stood next to Chef Wang, watching the constantly rising sales figures, and couldn't stop smiling.
Chen Mo handed over a glass of chilled plum juice and whispered, "Sister, there's trouble at the industrial park, and Su Yingxue's business is affected."
Zhu Lili raised an eyebrow, a calculating glint in her eyes, but smiled and said, "We'll just focus on doing our own business well. What business is it of mine with their side?"
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