Chapter 6
Before it was time to get off work, Liu Jiayi's mind had already drifted to her lunch box. She kept looking at the time, just wanting to get off work quickly and eat a delicious lunch box.
She arrived too late yesterday and missed the lunch box at the construction site entrance, so today she plans to rush over as soon as she gets off work.
Yuan Yuyue is Liu Jiayi's colleague. Because her home is a little far from the community where she works, Yuan Yuyue takes a lunch break at the company at noon. Usually, Yuan Yuyue brings her own lunch box from home to the company. The community where she works is in the suburbs, and there are not many restaurants nearby. The taste is average, not as good as what she cooks herself.
But today Yuan Yuyue got up late and didn't have time to cook, so she didn't bring any lunch box with her.
When it was almost time to get off work, Yuan Yuyue asked Liu Jiayi: "Jiayi, I didn't bring any food today. Where are you going to eat later? Take me with you!"
When it comes to eating, Liu Jiayi instantly became interested. "You've found the right person. I recently found a place that sells delicious boxed lunches. I'll take you there later."
"OK, I'll go with you after get off work."
Yuan Yuyue had eaten lunch boxes from nearby restaurants before, so she wasn't looking forward to it at all. It was just a meal, so she could just bear with it. If she hadn't brought lunch boxes with her, she definitely wouldn't have gone to eat.
Just after 12 o'clock, Liu Jiayi had already picked up her backpack and stood up, "Yuyue, hurry up, I'll take you to eat a box lunch."
Yuan Yuyue picked up her phone and followed Liu Jiayi. Liu Jiayi walked very fast, so Yuan Yuyue also quickened her pace.
She originally thought that Liu Jiayi was going to take her to a restaurant outside the community for dinner, but Liu Jiayi asked her to ride an electric bike there.
"Where are we going to eat?" Yuan Yuyue asked.
Liu Jiayi: "Let's go to the construction site."
Yuan Yuyue remembered that a colleague had said that the food at the restaurant at the construction site was worse than that in the community. Yuan Yuyue didn't ask too much and just got on her electric bike and followed Liu Jiayi.
Following Liu Jiayi all the way to the construction site, Yuan Yuyue was a little puzzled and asked, "Jiayi, weren't you going to the restaurant to buy a box lunch? Why are you here?"
"I just came to the construction site to buy lunch boxes. The lunch boxes here are delicious." Liu Jiayi got out of the car and looked around. The workers at the construction site had just got off work, and the entrance was crowded with people coming out of the construction site.
"Where is the stall selling boxed lunches?" Liu Jiayi was looking for a stall selling boxed lunches.
Yuan Yuyue's eyes widened. She didn't expect Liu Jiayi to bring her to buy boxed lunches from a roadside stall. The boxed lunches in nearby restaurants were so bad, and the boxed lunches at the roadside stall might be even worse.
At this time, Liu Jiayi saw Chen Kangle's stall, and there were already several people standing in front of the stall.
"Yuyue, the delicious lunch boxes are over there." Liu Jiayi ran over there excitedly.
Although Yuan Yuyue really didn't want to buy the lunch box from the roadside stall, she was too embarrassed to tell Liu Jiayi, so she had to bite the bullet and follow Liu Jiayi.
Seeing Chen Kangle’s simple lunch stall, Yuan Yuyue felt even more disgusted.
Are you sure this is a delicious lunch?
Yuan Yuyue looked at Liu Jiayi with confusion.
Liu Jiayi was so excited that she didn't notice Yuan Yuyue's expression at all.
"Beauty, do you still remember me?" Liu Jiayi walked up to Chen Kangle and asked with a smile.
Business was good today, having sold 12 lunch boxes in less than ten minutes. Chen Kangle was in a good mood. She looked at the girl in front of her and tried to search her mind. The girl looked very unfamiliar, and she did not have the impression that she knew this girl.
Seeing Chen Kangle's expression, Liu Jiayi knew that Chen Kangle didn't remember her, so Liu Jiayi took the initiative to say, "Beauty, do you remember that you gave a lunch box to a girl on the roadside yesterday? That girl was me."
"It's you!" Yesterday, Chen Kangle put the lunch box in the girl's hand and left quickly without paying attention to the girl's face.
"Beauty, your lunch boxes are so good. I especially like your cola duck. I also like the braised eggplant and scrambled eggs with chives." Liu Jiayi became more and more excited as she spoke. "Thank you for sending me such a delicious lunch box yesterday. I came to buy a lunch box from you today."
Hearing others praise his delicious lunch, Chen Kangle smiled brightly and took out two lunch boxes. "Today, in addition to the Cola Duck lunch box, we also have a potato stewed chicken lunch box. Which one do you want?"
Liu Jiayi looked at the lunch box in Chen Kangle's hand. On one side was the cola duck she had eaten yesterday, and on the other side was a large piece of thick chicken.
"I want chicken stewed with potatoes." Liu Jiayi wanted to try something she had never had before.
Liu Jiayi took the lunch box and then remembered Yuan Yuyue behind her. She turned around and said, "Yuyue, what do you want to eat?"
Yuan Yuyue was absent-minded. She had no interest in the lunch boxes on the roadside, but she didn't know how to refuse, so she just picked up a bowl of stewed potatoes and chicken.
A box lunch costs only 14 yuan, and Yuan Yuyue took out her mobile phone to pay. Compared with the city center, the prices in the suburbs are indeed cheaper. In the city center, the cheapest box lunch with two meat dishes and one vegetable is about 20 yuan, while a box lunch with two meat dishes and one vegetable in a suburban restaurant costs only about 16 yuan, and this roadside stall box lunch costs only 14 yuan.
What she was most worried about at the roadside stall was the hygiene issue. Yuan Yuyue glanced at the girl selling lunch boxes in front of her. The girl looked about the same age as her, with a fair and clean face, and was wearing casual clothes.
The girl was neat and tidy, so the lunch box she made should be clean. Thinking of this, Yuan Yuyue felt more relieved.
After selling the lunch boxes, Liu Jiayi returned to her rental house, while Yuan Yuyue returned to the company office.
Yuan Yuyue, whose stomach was growling with hunger, did not bother to disdain the lunch box from the roadside stall. She opened it as soon as she sat down. The fragrance wafted out instantly and lingered around her nose. Yuan Yuyue swallowed her saliva, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of chicken and put it into her mouth. The chicken was tender, fresh and fragrant, with a bit of chewiness. The taste was completely different from the limp chicken in restaurants outside.
Moreover, the chicken is not dry at all. There is a paper-thin layer of fat between the chicken skin and the chicken meat. The chicken skin is crispy and smooth, fat but not greasy.
After eating a few pieces of chicken, Yuan Yuyue scooped up a spoonful of steamed egg custard. The surface of the egg custard was smooth and the taste was more delicate than tofu, and it melted in the mouth.
Yuan Yuyue particularly likes steamed egg custard, and she usually makes it at home.
But the surface of the egg custard she made was not smooth at all, with holes all over it, and it didn’t taste that tender and smooth.
When making steamed egg custard, Chen Kangle will filter the egg liquid with a colander and then steam it with boiling water. This way, the steamed egg custard will not have pores and will be smooth and delicate.
Yuan Yuyue scooped a spoonful of egg custard onto the rice, then poured the sweet, salty and fragrant chicken sauce on it and mixed it well. It really went well with the rice.
Finally, Yuan Yuyue took a chopstick of the water spinach with a strong garlic flavor and a crisp taste. Her mouth and stomach were filled with deliciousness, and she was very satisfied.
Since the lunch boxes were so delicious, Yuan Yuyue decided not to bring her own lunch boxes to the company in the future. This way, she wouldn't have to get up early every day to cook for herself, and she could just eat the lunch boxes from the roadside stall at the construction site for lunch.
At the entrance of the construction site, Chen Kangle sold another 5 lunch boxes. Excluding the 5 lunch boxes he reserved for Yang Zhentian and others, there were still 6 lunch boxes left that had not been sold.
After a while, Yang Zhentian and his men came over in a hurry.
"Beautiful boss, here we come."
Everyone's face was filled with bright smiles. Yang Zhentian found that since eating Chen Kangle's lunch box, the mental outlook of his brothers had changed dramatically. In the past, they would only work hard with a stern face, but now they are all smiling.
"Boss, where is my cola duck lunch box?" Gu Youbang laughed the happiest.
In the past, he was only happy when he got his salary, but now, whenever it is time for dinner, he can’t help but feel happy at the thought of having a delicious boxed lunch.
Yang Zhentian and his friends took their lunch boxes and sat down on the stairs nearby to eat.
The way they eat with relish is their signature, and many people are attracted to buy lunch boxes from them.
At around 12:40, Chen Kangle had sold thirty lunch boxes.
The first thing Chen Kangle did after returning was to contact the farmer introduced by Yang Chunxia. The girl introduced by Yang Chunxia was called Lu Dandan, and she lived in the village next to them.
Chen Kangle made an appointment with Lu Dandan and rode to Anya Village. Lu Dandan was waiting for her at the entrance of the village. The first time she saw Lu Dandan, Chen Kangle felt that this girl was very pleasing to her eyes.
The girl was tall and thin, with a slightly dark skin and bright eyes full of determination.
Chen Kangle admires Lu Dandan very much because she gave up her high-paying job in the big city and returned to the countryside to raise chickens and ducks in order to take care of her paralyzed mother.
"Hello, my name is Chen Kangle."
"Hello, my name is Lu Dandan."
The first time she saw Chen Kangle, Lu Dandan also had a good impression of this girl. She heard Yang Chunxia tell her about Chen Kangle, who had just graduated from college and worked hard to sell lunch boxes at the construction site in order to pay off her family's debts. Lu Dandan also admired Chen Kangle very much.
Yang Chunxia said that Chen Kangle was selling boxed lunches at a stall in front of the construction site and wanted high-quality chicken and duck meat, but the quantity he needed was not much at the moment.
Lu Dandan doesn't mind small orders. For her, getting orders is a good thing. The chickens and ducks in her farm are fed with grains, so the price is higher than that of ordinary chickens and ducks. Because of the high price, sales are not good.
Recently she has been thinking about a question, wondering if she can continue to hold on. This order from Chen Kangle gave her a glimmer of hope, maybe she can still hold on a little longer.
Moreover, Yang Chunxia told her that the lunch boxes made by Chen Kangle were very delicious, and the business would definitely grow bigger and bigger, and there would be more and more demand for chicken and duck meat in the future.
"I'll take you to see the farm." Lu Dandan took Chen Kangle to the farm on a bike.
The farm is on a small hill behind the village. The hill is divided into two sides, one for raising ducks and the other for raising chickens.
Lu Dandan pointed to the chickens and ducks in the farm and said to Chen Kangle: "The chickens and ducks we raise are very fat. They are all fed with rice and corn, not feed. The meat quality is very good. You can rest assured about this."
As she spoke, Lu Dandan took out a box of duck meat and a box of chicken from the back of the electric bike. "These are our chicken and duck meat. You can try them and decide whether to buy them or not."
You can only know whether the meat is good or not by eating it, so Lu Dandan specially prepared a portion of fried chicken and a portion of fried duck.
Lu Dandan took out a pair of disposable chopsticks and handed them to Chen Kangle.
"Thank you!" Chen Kangle took the chopsticks, took a look at the chicken and duck in Lu Dandan's hand, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of duck meat, put it in his mouth and took a bite. The duck meat was indeed very firm and chewy.
After eating a piece of duck meat, Chen Kangle picked up a piece of chicken. The chicken was fresh and tender and tasted good.
Lu Dandan looked at Chen Kangle who was eating chicken. She was worried that Chen Kangle would be dissatisfied, so she added: "My cooking skills are not good, so the chicken I cook may taste average, but the quality of the chicken is 100% good."
Chen Kangle smiled slightly. The taste of the chicken was indeed average, but the quality of the meat was indeed good.
Then they discussed the price. Lu Dandan's offer was a little higher than the price in the outside market, but it was within Chen Kangle's acceptable range.
At present, Chen Kangle sells boxed lunches at a stall, which saves the shop rent. Even if the cost of ingredients is a little higher, the impact is not significant.
After discussion, the two reached a cooperation.
After solving the problem of chicken and duck meat, Chen Kangle immediately rushed home to prepare lunch boxes for the afternoon.
In the afternoon, Chen Kangle brought forty lunch boxes to the construction site and they were sold out in less than an hour.
A total of 70 lunch boxes were sold today. Chen Kangle was very satisfied. She planned to bring another 40 lunch boxes tomorrow at noon. If they sold out quickly at noon, she would bring 50 in the afternoon.
Considering that there are many repeat customers, in order to prevent them from getting tired of the food, Chen Kangle plans to add some new dishes tomorrow.
Chen Kangle looked at some lunch box dishes online and decided to make three new dishes tomorrow: braised pork trotters, stir-fried pork with sour bamboo shoots, and cold-mixed black fungus.
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