txolops Chapter 12 Going to buy a little dress
Chapter 12 Going to buy a little dress
Zhang, the security captain who was standing next to the stall, was startled when he heard the noise.
He turned his head and saw seven or eight familiar white-collar workers from the building rushing over.
If he gets recognized, this dignified security captain leading the way by taking off his uniform to eat at a roadside stall, he'll never be able to hold his head up high in this upscale office building again!
"Holy crap..."
Brother Zhang cursed under his breath, no longer caring about savoring the egg flavor in his mouth.
He tossed the empty plastic box in his hand precisely into the trash can next to him, then turned around abruptly, hunched over, and, using the roadside green belt as cover, darted into the bushes like a startled rabbit to find his uniform jacket.
Watching Brother Zhang's hasty retreat, Wang Hai, who was tidying up the packing boxes, grinned.
"Hey, buddy, why are you running so fast?"
Be careful not to get your shirt torn by tree branches!
Wang Hai deliberately shouted at the top of his lungs.
A rapid rustling sound came from the bushes, and Brother Zhang ran even faster.
Sitting on the small stool, Tangtang swung her little feet and tilted her head in confusion: "Uncle Fatty, why is that uncle pretending to be a passerby going in and out of the bushes?"
Are they playing hide-and-seek?
"Yes, he's playing hide-and-seek with his pride."
Wang Hai laughed heartily.
As they were talking, the seven or eight white-collar workers had already walked up to the stall.
The bespectacled man at the front took a deep breath, and the pure aroma of scallions and eggs lingering in the air instantly filled his nostrils, causing him to subconsciously swallow.
"Boss, is this the fried rice stall that Brother Liu mentioned in the group chat?"
The bespectacled man looked at Lin Chen, then glanced at the QR code on the front of the car. "Ninety-nine per serving?"
"Um."
Lin Chen stood in front of the stove, wiping the countertop with a clean cloth, and nodded steadily.
Upon hearing the price, the bespectacled man's colleagues behind him hesitated for a moment.
"Ninety-nine yuan for a serving of fried rice? That's outrageous!"
A female colleague muttered under her breath, "Our boss is usually pretty reliable, is she hallucinating from hunger today?"
"Yeah, there's not even a piece of meat in it, and they're selling plain egg fried rice for this price?"
Another male colleague chimed in.
"Who cares! The boss is usually very picky, so anything he sends three messages to strongly recommend must be good!"
The bespectacled man was straightforward; he immediately pulled out his phone and said, "Boss, give me one to try first!"
"Beep—WeChat payment received, 99 yuan."
As soon as the first notification sound rang, Lin Chen turned around decisively.
"Click!"
A fierce fire rose up.
Heat the pan, then add cold oil.
Crack the eggs, add the rice.
The sound of the iron pot and spatula clashing together rang out again.
Without making any unnecessary movements, Lin Chen tossed the wok with his left hand and swung the spatula with his right.
In less than three minutes, a box of golden-yellow, perfectly separated fried rice was placed in the hands of the bespectacled man.
Ignoring the heat, the bespectacled man picked up the plastic spoon and stuffed a large mouthful into his mouth.
The upper and lower teeth come together.
The bespectacled man froze instantly. He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and his eyes widened in shock.
Dry! Pure! The dry aroma of aged rice bounces between your teeth, perfectly blending the rich fragrance of free-range eggs and scallions.
There is no excess oil, nor any MSG taste that irritates the throat.
He finally understood why Liu Wei had gone crazy in the group chat.
Holy crap!
The bespectacled man exclaimed in surprise, picked up his lunchbox, walked to the side, and began to eat voraciously. "This is so damn delicious!"
The boss was right!
Seeing the bespectacled man's hungry wolf-like appearance, the remaining colleagues could no longer restrain themselves.
The aroma, so close at hand, had already whetted their appetites.
"Boss! Give me one!"
The female colleague who had just complained about the price squeezed forward and decisively scanned the code.
"Me too! Boss, make two portions, and I'll take one to go!"
"I'll have one too!"
"Beep—" In an instant, the crisp payment notification sound came from the simple speaker on the top of the tricycle, one after another, forming a continuous sound.
Lin Chen's expression remained completely unchanged.
He tossed the wok with his left hand and swung the spatula with his right, his movements fluid and graceful.
Three portions per pot, two portions per pot.
Wang Hai was busy on the side, sweating profusely, constantly unpacking takeout boxes, handing out spoons, and packing bags.
Ten minutes later.
The stall was crowded with white-collar workers holding plastic lunch boxes, shoveling food into their mouths without any regard for their image.
No one spoke; all that could be heard was the crunching sound of spoons scraping the bottom of the lunchboxes.
Just then, four or five young people running out of the building entrance, looking at their phones, appeared.
"Boss! Do you have any fried rice? The planning department recommended it, give us five servings!"
The young man in the lead shouted hurriedly.
Lin Chen did not agree immediately.
He put down the spatula in his hand and glanced at the stainless steel rice bowl next to him.
The bottom of the basin was completely clean, not even a single grain of old rice remained.
Those two trays of free-range eggs were now just empty paper trays.
Lin Chen took a rag, wiped his hands, looked at the new young people, and said calmly, "The food is gone."
Come again tomorrow.
"Huh? That's it?"
The young man in charge looked disappointed. He swallowed hard as he watched his colleagues eating with greasy mouths. "Boss, you didn't prepare enough stock!"
We just saw the group message and ran downstairs!
"Tomorrow morning."
Lin Chen didn't explain further, and turned around to turn off the main valve of the gas cylinder.
Upon hearing Lin Chen say that there was no more food, the female colleague next to him who had just ordered a meal reluctantly threw the empty lunchbox into the trash can and looked up: "Boss, what time do you set up your stall tomorrow?"
I have to come down early to queue tomorrow!
"Tomorrow at 5:30 PM, still in this spot."
Lin Chen took the iron pot off the stove and put it into the back of the tricycle.
Although the white-collar workers didn't get to eat enough, they had no choice but to sigh and disperse.
The crowd dispersed. Wang Hai plopped down on the small stool that Liu Wei had just been sitting on, his face flushed and his chest heaving.
With trembling hands, he pulled out the old phone he used for receiving payments from his pocket and opened the bill summary.
"Brother Chen... Brother Chen..."
Wang Hai's voice was trembling as he shoved his phone screen in front of Lin Chen, "You... guess how much money we made today?"
Lin Chen was disassembling a folding table, not even looking up: "A little over two thousand."
"Two thousand one hundred and seventy-eight yuan!"
Wang Hai slapped his thigh suddenly, so excited that tears almost fell down his face, "Holy crap, Brother Chen!"
We only steamed three catties of old rice this afternoon!
I cooked a total of twenty-two portions!
Including the eggs and scallions, the cost of this batch of goods is less than ten yuan!
In less than an hour of setting up the stall, I made a pure profit of over two thousand yuan!
This is more money than I make delivering food!
This is absolutely the real deal – your first pot of gold!
Three pounds of worthless old rice were transformed into more than two thousand yuan in Lin Chen's hands!
For Wang Hai, who has always struggled to make ends meet, this one-hour experience felt like a dream.
Lin Chen folded up the last chair and put it in the car. Looking at Wang Hai's pathetic appearance, a very faint smile appeared on his lips.
"This is nothing. Time to pack up and go home."
Lin Chen turned around and walked towards Tangtang, who was sitting obediently on the small stool next to him.
He bent down, put his hands under his daughter's armpits, and lifted her up in one swift motion.
"Daddy! Did we make a lot of money?"
Tangtang hugged Lin Chen's neck, her big eyes sparkling.
"right."
Lin Chen looked at his daughter, his eyes instantly softening. "Daddy will take you to the mall and buy you the prettiest little dress."
"Yay! Time to buy a little dress! Daddy's the best!"
Tangtang happily gave Lin Chen a big kiss on the cheek.
"Alright! Let's go buy some dresses!"
Wang Hai jumped up and quickly cleaned up the trash on the ground. Then he climbed onto the driver's seat of the tricycle and gripped the wide handlebars with both hands.
Lin Chen held Tangtang and sat steadily in the passenger seat next to him.
"Squeak—" Accompanied by the hum of the old motor, the dilapidated tricycle with peeling paint slowly drove away from the bustling upscale commercial district square in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Only a lingering, pure aroma of rice remains in the air.