Chapter 92: Fried Rice Meals Get a Cold Reception?
"Is this the food festival you promised?" Su Yingxue looked at Zhou You, who had gone to great lengths to drag her into the mountains, and was now panting heavily. In the middle of a large flat area halfway up the mountain, there were only a few stalls scattered sparsely.
There were two water stalls, one selling cotton candy, another selling stinky tofu, and the last one was the stall Su Yingxue was going to use to sell fried rice. The whole place seemed unusually deserted, a stark contrast to the lively name of the "Food Festival".
"Ahem, there weren't many people at first, don't worry, there are quite a few signings later." Zhou You wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly took the prepared banner from the car. "Look, we've already made the signs."
Su Yingxue looked up and saw Zhou You struggling to hold up a banner that read: "March Mountain Food Festival, stealing your taste buds." Her lips twitched slightly.
Zhou You then launched into a second line: "March Mountain, the final stop on your culinary journey."
"Today isn't the third day of the third lunar month, but today is on March Mountain." The third banner made Su Yingxue unable to suppress a smile.
The last one was even more absurd: "Come to March Mountain, the mountain spring water is a little sweet!"
Seeing that Zhou You still wanted to keep hanging up the banner and advertising, Su Yingxue rubbed her forehead, trying hard not to laugh out loud. She turned around to get down and move the equipment, sighing silently to herself.
Su Yingxue's fried rice stall prepared more ingredients than the other stalls. Worried about running out, she specially prepared fifty servings today. Now it seems she overestimated the number of tourists at March Mountain.
"Eggs, rice, scallions, shredded carrots, seasonings..." Su Yingxue said as she quickly took the items out of the box and arranged them skillfully. She had prepared far more ingredients than she had imagined.
"You're not selling fried eggplant cakes???" Zhou You stared wide-eyed at the ingredients Su Yingxue had brought out, his face filled with disbelief. "I only invited you to set up a stall, not to sell fried rice!"
"When you invited me, you only said it was for setting up a stall," Su Yingxue calmly continued preparing the ingredients, tested the pot, and washed it clean. "There was no rule about what to sell."
"This water is pretty good, it looks quite clean." Su Yingxue noticed that behind the stall was a winding stream that flowed merrily down the mountain.
“That’s right, our March Mountain is a famous historical mountain!” Zhou You quickly added, “The water here is also historically significant. Legend has it that Wang Xizhi washed his inkstone here, and there’s even an ink-washing pool at the foot of the mountain. It’s said that…”
"Stop, stop, stop! Go about your business." Su Yingxue quickly interrupted Zhou You, focusing on preparing for the pot test. "I'm going to start testing the pot!"
The moment the golden eggs were poured into the hot pan, the aroma of peanut oil burst forth. Su Yingxue skillfully and quickly added the rice and stir-fried it, her wrist deftly turning the spatula, making the rice jump and tumble in the pan. She precisely controlled the heat, adding seasonings at just the right time.
A mouthwatering aroma of fried rice immediately filled the air halfway up the mountain, like an invisible hand drawing the attention of those around. The auntie selling cotton candy next door, who had been sitting idly behind her stall, saw the commotion and quickly came over to chat.
"Little girl, are you selling fried rice all by yourself? How much is a bowl of fried rice? Give me one!" Aunt Guo asked curiously.
Seeing that the old lady's cotton candy stall wasn't open yet and there were no other customers around, Su Yingxue smiled and said, "How about you give me a cotton candy? We can barter."
Aunt Guo didn't stand on ceremony, smiling broadly as she hurried back and deftly made a large flower-shaped cotton candy. The outside was a warm yellow, the inside a dreamy pink, fluffy like a cloud. She carefully handed it to Su Yingxue: "Try it!"
"Delicious, delicious! It's been so long since I've had cotton candy." Su Yingxue sucked on the cotton candy, the sweet taste reminding her of her childhood memories.
"Delicious, delicious! Your fried rice is absolutely amazing!" Aunt Guo exclaimed after taking a bite of the fried rice Su Yingxue handed her. "If I hadn't already eaten breakfast, I could have had another bowl!"
"What's so great about fried rice?" The old man selling stinky tofu across the street said dismissively. "It smells good, but why eat fried rice while hiking? It's not like we're doing manual labor."
"Grandpa, here's a portion for you." Su Yingxue saw that she still had a lot of ingredients left, and there were obviously not many people climbing the mountain today. Knowing that it would be difficult to make a sale today, she simply shared some with the people around her to build relationships first.
"That's so kind of you." The stinky tofu vendor quickly smiled and took the fried rice. "Young lady, I won't eat your food for free. Here, have a taste of my authentic Changsha stinky tofu."
The old man handed her a piece of stinky tofu. Su Yingxue took a bite. The tofu was fairly fresh, and the flavor wasn't too strong. Although it wasn't as delicious as the one she made herself, it was still pretty good.
She chatted with two other vendors nearby for a bit to pass the time. Two hours passed, but still no one came to her fried rice stall.
At this moment, Zhou You sat in the scenic area's monitoring room, anxiously pacing back and forth as he watched the food festival's dismal state. A scenic area leader sat beside him, his face grim, and said, "This is the food festival you organized?"
Zhou You wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his fingers unconsciously twisting together. On the monitor screen, Su Yingxue's stall stood alone halfway up the mountain, surrounded by a few stall owners chatting idly. Occasionally someone would pass by, but no one would stop for the stall.
"Boss, this...that..." Zhou You's throat tightened, "I didn't expect it to be so quiet today, mainly because the weather forecast said it would rain this afternoon..."
The leader snorted and pointed at the screen: "Look at this! Four hours have passed, and the other stalls have only sold a dozen or so servings, while your fried rice stall hasn't even seen a single person!" He pointed to the statistics table, "Do you know how much money the scenic area invested in this food festival? Advertisements were put up, banners were hung, even the director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau shared it on his WeChat Moments!"
Zhou You glanced furtively at the statistics sheet; the numbers stung his eyes. The initial plan was for at least three hundred visitors on the first day, but now there were fewer than a hundred. Even worse, Su Yingxue's meticulously prepared fried rice stall had become the laughingstock of the entire food festival.
"I'll go check it out right away!" Zhou You quickly stood up, not forgetting to pour his boss a glass of water before leaving. "Give us a little more time, and I guarantee I can get the atmosphere lively!"
Halfway up the mountain, Su Yingxue had composed herself. Looking at the empty stall, she shook her head with a wry smile. She had originally thought that with the fried rice skills taught by the system, she could at least attract some customers, but reality had given her a harsh blow.
She pulled down the "Closed for Business" sign.
"Young lady, are you really not selling this fried rice anymore?" Aunt Guo strolled over again, still clutching a few coins in her hand. "I really want to try some; it'll be a way of supporting your business."
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