Peng Kaiqun is the head of the company's purchasing department. He came to the Shanghai Machinery Equipment Expo mainly to purchase new equipment to replace the old equipment for the company. His main task is to record the parameters and prices of the required equipment and send them back to the company so that the company's upper management can decide which company to purchase from.
Before arriving, he knew that the Haishi Convention Center did not provide any catering services, and the surrounding area was deserted with no facilities. So, before setting off in the morning, he bought a breakfast set meal—a hamburger and a Coke—at a McDonald's near the hotel and took it with him to the Haishi Convention Center.
As soon as he got out of the car, he saw a sign at the entrance indicating that a catering area had been set up on the east side of the basement floor of the convention center, with catering services provided by six well-known hotels in Shanghai. Exhibitors who wished to dine in the catering area were welcome to visit.
Peng Kaiqun glanced at it and left without giving it a second thought. He had attended at least eighty or a hundred exhibitions, and he had seen all sorts of restaurants at exhibitions.
A bottle of mineral water that costs two yuan outside costs five yuan inside, and a fast food meal that costs fifteen yuan outside costs thirty or even forty yuan inside. He touched the hamburger and cola in his bag. He would just have a light lunch and then go out for a nice meal in the evening. He didn't want to waste money at the convention center.
Time always flies when you're focused on working, and before I knew it, it was 11:52 a.m. I saw many booth staff members returning one after another with their lunchboxes. Peng Kaiqun also felt a bit hungry, so he found an empty seat in the rest area, took out his now-cold hamburger and a flat, no longer-cold Coke, and started eating, taking bites of the hamburger and Coke at the same time.
Suddenly, a fragrance wafted from afar, passing through his nose and drifting away. The fragrance was fleeting, unnoticed by those around him, but his keen nose detected it. His nose twitched slightly, and his brain immediately analyzed the information contained within the fragrance.
The first sensation is the aroma of crushed white garlic, fried in hot oil until golden brown; followed by a rich, pungent spiciness with a hint of grass, and a subtle numbing sensation from Sichuan peppercorns; finally, the aroma of sweet and warm rice settles in.
This smells like food!
Peng Kaiqun looked up somewhat blankly and surveyed his surroundings. The first thing he saw was the booth opposite him, where two staff members were facing each other, with several boxes of sumptuous food laid out in front of them. After glancing at their food and then at the cold, soggy, wilted vegetables and sticky sauce in his hand, he suddenly found it hard to swallow.
We'll have a casual lunch and then go to the hotel for a nice dinner.
After comforting himself for a while, Peng Kaiqun raised the unappetizing hamburger to his mouth again. He opened his mouth as wide as he could, intending to finish the rest of the hamburger in two bites, when an extremely rich aroma of food suddenly burst forth from above the convention center.
His overly sensitive nose allowed him to instantly pinpoint the dishes emitting these aromas: garlic pork, Mapo tofu, glass noodles with cabbage, and corn, carrot, and pork bone soup.
Damn! I really couldn't hold back anymore!
Peng Kaiqun abruptly stood up, shoved the half-eaten hamburger and two-thirds of his Coke into the trash can, and strode towards the east side of the basement, following the signs posted on the ground. When Peng Kaiqun arrived at the basement, he was greeted by a bustling crowd. Some were heading to the food court like him, while others were returning from buying food there.
As Peng Kaiqun moved forward with the flow of people, he observed those who had bought their meals and were walking back. Most of them were carrying a plastic bag with a large "Xu" character printed on it. It seemed that this shop with "Xu" in its name was the most popular, so he decided to try it himself.
The crowd moved quickly, and Peng Kaiqun could already see six stalls set up in the hall ahead. His gaze swept quickly across the six stalls, finally settling on the only one with a signboard. Because of the crowd in front of him, Peng Kaiqun could only see the banner and the first four characters of the couplet at the very top of the signboard.
'Contracting company', 'Citywide takeout', 'Interested in further discussion'
Peng Kaiqun knew what food delivery was, and his statement that he was "interested in discussing in detail" was quite straightforward, but what did "contracting company" mean?
Driven by curiosity, he squeezed to the front of the booth and finally saw the entire message on the face. It turned out they offered to provide employee meals for various companies. They were even advertising inside the convention center; the hotel owner certainly didn't miss any opportunity for promotion!
After looking around, I was about to leave, searching for the stall with "Xu" in its name, when the two people at the front of the stall left with their boxed lunches, revealing a tablecloth covering the simple table. The tablecloth had a large "Xu" printed on it! Found it!
Xu An figured that all five hundred boxed meals had been packed, and all that was left was to collect the money and give change, so he took on the task himself. He let Wang Datou, who was supposed to be a driver but had been busy in the kitchen all morning, find a place to rest.
Around 11:20, there weren't many people buying boxed lunches. It was easy to handle just a few customers. Xu An even had the leisure to continue making empty promises to Wang Fulong next door.
但随着时间的推移，越来越多的人从扶梯上下来、从电梯中出来，源源不断地朝他们这六个摊位走来。最开始的时候这些参展人员还会对比一下六家的盒饭价格以及菜式再做决定，但随着人越来越多，他们基本都是离得哪家近就购买哪一家的，徐氏快餐店的摊位正巧位于扶手下来的第一家，一时间，徐安忙得脚不沾地。
本小章还未完，请点击下一页继续阅读后面精彩内容！
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com