Xiao Qi's mother was still in the carriage, so this was not a good time to talk. Si Li put aside the issue of investment for the time being. Shopkeeper Tang, who was obviously uneasy after hearing about the counterfeit, leaned against the wooden barrel filled with sugarcane juice and was in a daze. He was completely passive in business and it took a long time for him to respond.

"If Uncle Tang is worried, why not go and take a look yourself." Si Li held down the wooden spoon in his hand that was about to fall to the ground and gave her own advice.

In fact, just as Si Li said before, although the news brought by Guan Zhizhen showed that the situation was not good, the impact on Wanglaiju was not as big as imagined. According to Guan Zhizhen, Guanwailou had been open for at least two or three days, but Wanglaiju's revenue and Tang's share of the profits had not been reduced at all, so it was obvious that even if other shops diverted traffic, they still got enough.

Wanglaiju launches new products much faster than other old stores in Beijing. In addition, Sili has divided its customer base into middle and low-end categories from the very beginning. Therefore, almost all customers who come to the store can find food they can afford. The food is cheap, tastes good, and is novel and unique. As a result, it has left a deep impression on people.

Ordinary people may not be able to afford milk tea, but they can choose a slightly more luxurious option besides plain water when eating snacks, and spend a penny to buy a cup of sugarcane juice to moisten their throats. And those who can afford milk tea, in the warmth of a cup of warm milk tea in winter, will enjoy their good or bad luck while drawing the not-so-important cup pattern, while thinking about when to imitate those high-class playboys in Beijing and taste the taste of shredded sweet potatoes.

Human desires are endless, and if we act within our means, a virtuous cycle will naturally form.

Of course, this is all based on the consistent taste and quality of Wanglai Ju. However, as long as the system is still there, Si Li is not worried about it.

As usual, a portion of the new popcorn was taken out for tasting, and it was divided into two types: large and small. During the quarter of an hour that Si Li stood in the front hall, she heard someone trying to get close to Xiao Que, asking her to shake her hands more so that she could get more, and the request was made again and again.

There are always people who try to take advantage of others. Based on the principle that harmony brings wealth, Si Li turned a blind eye to it. But Wang Ting couldn't stand it anymore. He dropped the paper tube he had just pasted, stepped forward to grab the full paper tube in Xiao Que's hand, added a little more, and handed it to the diner with a fake smile, "I'll give you a little more. Do you want it full of tips?"

The man was holding a child in his arms. The child's eyes lit up when he saw the paper tube that was overflowing with food, and he kept crying for food. The man also smiled and said politely, "Oh, how can you be so embarrassed? That's enough!"

Wang Ting's smile faded, and he said coldly, "I appreciate your kindness, fifteen cents."

"Isn't it ten cents?" The man was immediately unhappy and pointed at the new line of words on the cloth sign, "Don't bully me because I can't recognize many words!"

"Oh!"

Wang Ting sneered, and Hanzi also turned his face and stretched out his hand to grab Wang Ting's collar, but was grabbed by Xiao Que and thrown away, his face flushed and his neck thickened, "What do you mean, do you look down on me?!"

There were many unfamiliar faces in the queue at the back. Seeing that the queue had not moved for a long time, they were already anxious. Then they heard the commotion in front and joined in the booing, booing in disappointment. "Oh, I didn't expect that they would show off their power after only a few days of opening!"

"Don't worry, sir." Si Li gathered the paper tubes that the three of them had just made and put them one by one into the basket on the edge of the long table. He walked forward and said gently, "It's just that the shop has its own rules. Since this big brother can read, why don't you ask him to read out the price of the new popcorn?"

Before the man could speak, someone behind him started to murmur and immediately realized something was wrong. "A large portion is 15 cents, a small portion is 10 cents... Hey, is this a large or small portion?"

Wang Ting flipped his hand and poured the popcorn in the small paper tube into the big paper tube, not more, not less, just slightly higher than the big paper tube.

The facts were before their eyes, and the people who were making trouble were speechless. They looked at the man with strange eyes, "Tsk tsk, how can you be so greedy?"

Si Li smiled and said, "My shop has just opened, and we sell snacks. We rely on small profits and quick turnover to become famous. On weekdays, we rely on the neighbors to take care of our business. I am grateful, so I will give more if I can, but everything should be done in quantity, right?"

She clearly didn't name anyone, but the man was so embarrassed that he didn't know where to hide. He didn't even want the popcorn and just turned around and walked away with the child. The child patted his shoulder in confusion, "Daddy, candy——"

"What are you eating! Go home!"

After dealing with the overly demanding man, the people in the queue behind him never did anything excessive. Si Li watched for a while, handed the front hall to the three people, and returned to the kitchen to continue frying popcorn.

A layer of oil is spread on the iron pot, and the peeled corn kernels are evenly heated in the pot. After a while, the corn kernels begin to turn white, and when the pot is covered, you can hear the popping sound. When the sound gradually fades, open the pot lid and sprinkle with fine powdered sugar. The edges of the snow-white and fluffy corn kernels are slightly browned. The unevenly coated powdered sugar has some places baked to a caramel color, and some places fall from the corn kernels as they are stirred. The soft aroma has a little sweetness, which warms the heart.

There are no popcorn machines or popcorn pans in Daning, so the popcorn fried in an iron pot tastes very different from the round popcorn sold in modern cinemas, but it fits the taste of the first popcorn that Si Li ate on the street.

A pot of plump white popcorn was served, and the corn kernels at the bottom of the pot had not popped and had even turned brown. It was a unique delicacy. The corn that was so hard that it hurt my teeth was crispy and fragrant when I bit into it. The corn kernels that had absorbed oil and sugar gave off their own unique corn aroma. It was not as sweet as fruit corn, nor as soft as glutinous corn, but it was the most distinctive type of corn.

The price of popcorn in Wanglaiju is much higher than that of French fries, not only because the price of sugar is too high and the taste of syrup and powdered sugar made from low-quality sucrose crystals is not as good, but also because the leftover corn kernels are not easy to sell. Si Li swept them and put them in a small bowl, and when Xiao Que is free, she will coat them with seasoning powder and eat them as a snack.

Compared to the recipes I got before, the recipe for popcorn is very deceptive. It only has a sweet taste. There are no other steps except pouring it in, waiting, uncovering the pot and adding sugar. Si Li doubted that she could have successfully replicated it without this recipe. If it weren't for the system's unique progress bar and achievement point settlement, Si Li would have felt her heart bleeding.

Her chocolate popcorn, caramel and sea salt popcorn, salty popcorn ah wuwu...

After frying two pots of popcorn in a row, Si Li called Xiao Que to help take out the other pot of French fries that had been made while waiting. There were only a few customers left queuing in front of the restaurant. Shopkeeper Tang looked at the number of diners and then saw Si Li carrying out such a large batch of food, and sighed as he stepped through the door.

"Oh, it's hard to do."

There was plain water in the shop, so he came in and drank a bowl first, then he pulled Si Li to tell her everything about his shopping trip. Before he left, he had a worried look on his face, but his brows were furrowed, as if the sky was about to fall.

Guan Zhizhen only mentioned that Guanwailou was selling milk tea, but she didn't mention that old shops like Wuweilou, which mainly sell tea and snacks, had also taken over the business from Wanglaiju. The two cups of milk tea that Manager Tang brought back were "Emerald Smoke and Cloud" from Wuweilou and "Red Jade" from Sanzhenzhai. To put it bluntly, one was an imitation of jasmine milk tea, and the other was a milk tea with red bean paste added to it to create a new style.

However, after tasting the two cups, although both were much better than Guanwailou, Wuweilou failed to imitate and Sanzhenzhai's efforts were problematic. In terms of taste, none of them could compare to Tangshuipu.

When she asked about the price, it was at least twice that of Wanglaiju. Si Li stroked the exquisite porcelain cup of Wuweilou and was amazed. She had thought about firing a furnace of porcelain to use as milk tea cups before, but porcelain was expensive and fragile. If she went by the price Wang Ting had inquired about before, for such an ordinary white body, most of the cost of Wuweilou would have been paid to the porcelain kiln.

Si Li laughed at him for worrying too much. Shopkeeper Tang shook his head and said, "So what? Their store is famous and has many customers. If a small store like yours or mine faces them, how can we survive?"

"Alas, I never thought that one day I would be noticed by these people! So many people are thinking about this. Milk tea is simple to begin with. How can there be any secret recipe left after all this time?"

Si Li persuaded him, but Shopkeeper Tang became even more frustrated. He started to blame himself for blocking other people's way by doing this business. Si Li was sweating profusely when he heard it. "Not really, Uncle Tang. They were the ones who took other people's way. Why are you the first to lose your temper?"

After packing a tube of French fries and carefully sprinkling seasoning on them, Meng Taotao took in all the groans in the lobby. From her angle, she could just see the eyes of Shopkeeper Tang's subordinates, who were covering their foreheads with their hands. Their eyes were rolling around, and their gleams were reserved. He didn't look like the kind of businessman who would complain about himself.

Clearing her throat, she asked the next customer waiting to get their food, "I heard that another store on the street is selling milk tea. Sir, have you tried it?"

"It's more expensive than yours, and not as tasty. I don't want to go there a second time after trying it once." The young man pouted, looked around, and asked in confusion, "Why didn't I see that strong uncle today?"

Meng Taotao continued to chat with the young man. Si Li encouraged the shopkeeper Tang with the feedback from the diners, "Look, everyone's eyes are bright and they know what's good. Uncle Tang just do a good job."

"If my shop also sold a new food every day like yours, I wouldn't worry about this." Shopkeeper Tang continued to sigh.

This was almost a clear indication. Si Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She thought that Manager Tang was really devastated, but who knew that he was trying to take advantage of this?

"It's not bad to drink ginger tea or red date milk tea in winter. Boil red beans and milk tea together, and the bean flavor may make it sweeter." Si Li made a few suggestions. She originally wanted to nominate various toppings for milk tea, but now she has not found a suitable straw material except for the ingenious and expensive wooden and porcelain tubes, so she can only give up with regret.

Shopkeeper Tang seemed to be thinking about something, then he chuckled, "I've figured it out, but I won't share the profit with you."

Si Li didn't bother to care about it. With the basic cooperation in place, there was no way to get out of this framework.

After getting the new hint, Shopkeeper Tang went back to work in high spirits, and Wanglaiju regained its former vitality. Si Li practiced making several snacks for a day, and finally had a handful of popcorn left. She simply put it in her sleeves and left it for the system to appraise at night.

However, when she saw that the system tasting module was completely black, Si Li suddenly remembered that she had been disabled from tasting for ten days because of the French fry incident. What was this? It was unimpeded when she couldn't remember, but when she wanted to use it, it was restricted in various ways. This system was not humane at all.

Without the system's special effects background bonus, Si Li stared at the "Study hard" note hanging on the panel for a long time, and dealt with the remaining popcorn by the way.

When a new piece of paper appears, the previous one will disappear. You can't even use it as a motivational slogan. The familiar taste fills your mouth, and Si Li inexplicably feels the urge to keep a diary.

Disposable diaries are much safer than modern invisible pen diaries!

When she wanted to write, she had so many words in mind that when she finally took out the charcoal pencil and was about to start writing, Si Li only wrote, "I miss home a little bit."

The word home only becomes particularly clear after you have lost it. I wonder if the fat cat at home has gained weight. If she died before crossing over according to the system, will anyone find out? Will anyone... feel sad for her?

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The author has something to say:

Regarding straws, let me explain a little more. Lili had never seen wheat before she traveled through time, so for the time being she didn't think of using wheat to make straws, but she would figure it out later.

I really hope that Lili has an online shopping app where I can buy generators and microwave + microwave popcorn. Although it is high in sugar and calories, it is convenient and delicious, and not as sweet as American caramel popcorn.