txolops Chapter 146 Hardware Upgrade
Chapter 146 Hardware Upgrade
On Tuesday morning, sunlight shone through sparse clouds into the alleyways of the urban village.
After the three of them had breakfast, they took Tangtang downstairs and got into the secondhand bread cart.
At 7:30 a.m., at the entrance of Qiming Bilingual Kindergarten.
It was peak time for dropping off children at kindergarten, and the surrounding area was full of vehicles picking up and dropping off kids.
Wang Hai parked the bread truck on the side of the road, and Lin Chen opened the car door and took Tangtang out of the car seat.
"Slower."
Lin Chen held his daughter's little hand and walked along the zebra crossing to the pick-up and drop-off area at the kindergarten entrance.
Ms. Liu, dressed in her uniform, was standing inside the door welcoming the children.
Today, Tangtang carried her little schoolbag and obediently walked up to the teacher.
Good morning, Teacher Liu!
Tangtang greeted everyone in a clear and crisp voice.
Good morning, Tangtang! You look so energetic today.
Teacher Liu smiled and patted her little face, then looked up and nodded to Lin Chen and Wang Hai, "Good morning, Mr. Lin and Mr. Wang."
Good morning, Teacher Liu.
Lin Chen responded.
Tangtang turned around and waved her chubby little hand vigorously at the two people standing outside the door.
"Goodbye, Daddy! Goodbye, Fatty Uncle!"
Upon hearing the cheerful "Uncle Fatty," Wang Hai patted his belly with a happy smile.
"Goodbye, Tangtang! Eat plenty of food at kindergarten for lunch!"
Wang Hai smiled and waved. "Go ahead, listen to your teacher."
Lin Chen gave a word of advice.
Watching Tangtang skip and hop into the teaching building, holding Teacher Liu's hand, until their figures disappeared, Lin Chen finally looked away and turned to walk towards the bread cart.
"Brother Chen, get in the car! We have a lot of work to do this morning, heading straight to the South City Kitchenware Wholesale Market!"
Wang Hai opened the driver's cab door and shouted with great enthusiasm.
"Um."
Lin Chen opened the car door and sat in the back seat.
The van merged into the morning rush hour traffic and headed south of the city.
……
At 8:00 AM, at the kitchenware and hotel supplies wholesale market.
The area here is enormous, with rows of shops filled with all sorts of gleaming stainless steel kitchenware and large catering equipment.
Delivery tricycles and small trucks weaved through the passageway, the clanging of metal echoing throughout.
Wang Hai parked the bread truck in the parking lot outside the market, and the two walked into the market shed.
Without wasting any words, Lin Chen walked straight into the largest kitchenware wholesale store with the most complete selection.
The shop owner, a slightly overweight middle-aged man, immediately went to greet the two as they entered.
"What would you two like to see?"
We have all kinds of commercial equipment here.
Lin Chen's gaze swept across the area and immediately locked onto the row of large electrical appliances on the left side of the store.
"Boss, a commercial-grade large-capacity rice cooker, the kind that can cook 30 kilograms of rice at a time."
Lin Chen made his request.
"Yes! This way, please."
The boss walked up to two brand-new, large commercial rice cookers. "This is the new model this year, with a thickened non-stick inner pot and full-coverage three-dimensional heating."
It cooks rice quickly, and it's never undercooked.
Lin Chen lifted the lid of the pot, reached out and touched the thickness and texture of the coating on the inner pot, and then checked the thickness of the power cord.
"The quality is good, take two brand new ones."
Lin Chen nodded.
After buying the most essential item, a rice cooker, Lin Chen turned and walked towards the rows of half-person-high stainless steel barrels in the back.
"Boss, I also need an extra-large insulated container, specifically for holding hot soup and minced meat."
Wang Hai added from the side.
The boss immediately pulled out an oversized stainless steel insulated container: "This one is fifty liters, with a wide open design and seamless welding on the inner wall."
The insulation lasts for eight hours!
Lin Chen lifted the lid of the bucket, reached down and touched the bottom of the bucket to confirm that there were no unsanitary corners. The edge of the bucket was polished very smoothly and the diameter was large enough that it would not get stuck on the long-handled soup ladle.
"This one is fine, take one."
Also, get two extra-large, thick-bottomed saucepans; the bottoms should be reinforced with extra thickness.
Lin Chen continued reading the list.
"No problem! The thickest one in the store, it won't stick to the bottom of the pot when making soup!"
"Also, take three sets of folding tables and chairs with backs."
Lin Chen pointed to the tables and chairs placed outside the shop.
"Alright! Two commercial rice cookers, one large open 50-liter insulated container, two thickened soup pots, and three sets of folding tables and chairs!"
"I'll write out the invoices for you two right away!"
The boss ran off to issue the invoice with a big smile.
After settling the bill, Wang Hai and his colleagues pushed two small carts and moved all the bulky equipment to the bread cart.
Commercial rice cookers and thermal containers take up a lot of space. The two of them had to completely flatten the back seats of the van to barely manage to stuff these large items into the cargo area.
"Brother Chen, the big items are sorted out. Next, we'll go buy some takeout boxes."
Wang closed the trunk.
The two returned to the market and went to the area that specialized in selling disposable tableware.
Walking into a packaging wholesale store, the walls are covered with packing boxes of various sizes.
Lin Chen walked to the shelf, ignored the cheap and lightweight models, and picked up a thick, transparent rectangular packaging box.
He gripped the edges of the box with both hands and squeezed it forcefully towards the center, but the box was very resilient and did not collapse.
"Boss, we need these custom-made, extra-thick packaging boxes."
The box must not soften when heated, and it must be well-sealed.
Lin Chen looked at the shop owner and said.
"Don't worry, this is made of the highest quality PP material in our store. It won't leak no matter how much you shake it!"
The shop owner made a solemn promise.
"OK."
Lin Chen nodded slightly.
"Give me five large boxes of these extra-thick packaging boxes!"
Three large boxes of matching thickened plastic spoons!
"Give me two bundles in packing bags!"
Wang Hai, standing nearby, directly announced the quantity of goods purchased.
The shop owner's eyes lit up, and he immediately told people to go to the back warehouse to move the goods.
Several large boxes of packaging boxes and spoons were piled up at the store entrance.
The two paid and made two trips back and forth, filling every last bit of space in the van.
"call"
Wang Hai got into the driver's seat, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "Brother Chen, just these boxes are enough for us to sell out on Friday."
"Okay. Let's go to the farmers' market."
Lin Chen, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke.
"Alright!"
Wang Hai started the car, and the van drove out of the kitchenware market, heading directly towards the agricultural wholesale market they usually frequented.
10:00 AM.
The farmers' market was still bustling.
The two didn't bother with the pork needed for Friday's minced pork rice; that would require a large-scale purchase on Thursday to ensure freshness.
Today, I bought all the usual ingredients I needed for tonight's stall.
Two old hens, five trays of free-range eggs, and side dishes such as crisp radishes and scallions.
After buying these items, the two pushed the flatbed cart back to the parking lot.
The bread cart was already crammed to its limit.
Brand new commercial rice cookers, gleaming stainless steel buckets, boxes of takeout containers, and fresh ingredients—there was practically no room to even step.
Lin Chen carefully placed the last few trays of eggs on the floor mat in the passenger seat.
Wang Hai struggled to press the trunk door shut, and it slammed shut with a loud "bang".
"All done!"
Wang Hai patted the car door, walked around to the driver's seat, and sat down.
He turned to look at the truck full of goods and a smile appeared on his face.
"Brother Chen, all the equipment has been upgraded."
With these two large commercial cooking pots and all this equipment, we're absolutely guaranteed to keep the line full at this Friday's food festival!
Lin Chen closed the passenger door, glanced at the ingredients at his feet, and spoke.
"Let's go back and prepare the food."
"Okay, let's go home and prepare the ingredients!"
Wang Hai drove his van, loaded with all his goods, away from the bustling market and headed towards the urban village.