txolops Chapter 44 The Sales Expert
Chapter 44 The Sales Expert
At 8:30 a.m., at the comprehensive farmers' market.
The vegetable market was bustling with activity during the morning rush hour, with vendors pushing carts to buy goods and elderly people carrying cloth bags to buy vegetables crammed into the narrow aisles.
Lin Chen and Wang Hai parked their tricycle and headed straight for the grain and oil store.
"Boss, give me two 50-pound bags of old rice."
Lin Chen walked to the store entrance and stated his requirements directly: "I need the same batch of goods as the ones I got a couple of days ago, with less moisture."
The owner of the grain and oil store was leaning against the counter doing accounts when he heard this. He looked up and recognized Lin Chen: "Hey, young man, you're taking two bags today?"
Okay, that batch of old rice is piled up inside, I'll move it for you right away.
"No need to trouble yourself, my brother will handle it himself."
Lin Chen paid the money.
Wang Hai rolled up his sleeves, strode into the store, grabbed one corner of the rice bag with one hand, and with a burst of strength from his waist, hoisted the 50-pound bag of rice onto his shoulder.
He walked steadily to the tricycle and placed the rice bag carefully at the bottom of the truck bed.
Immediately afterwards, he went back and carried out a second bag.
After buying the rice, the two of them went to the poultry and egg section as if they knew the way well.
"Boss lady, twelve trays of free-range eggs."
Lin Chen said, standing in front of the stall.
"Okay!"
The proprietress deftly pulled out twelve paper trays of eggs, tied them tightly with thick rope in a crisscross pattern, and said, "There are 360 eggs in total, hold them steady."
Wang Hai stepped forward, carefully lifted the egg rack back onto the tricycle, placed it in a stable corner, and then secured it with an elastic rope.
Eggs are very fragile and easily damaged, so Wang Hai personally takes care of them every day when he brings in the goods.
Finally, there's the vegetable section.
Lin Chen picked out three large bunches of fresh scallions with short white parts and bright green leaves.
After payment, all the preparation work was completed.
"Brother Chen, all 150 portions of ingredients are ready."
Wang Hai dusted off his hands and climbed into the driver's seat of the tricycle.
"go home."
Lin Chen sat in the passenger seat.
Back in their rented room in the urban village, the two immediately threw themselves into the tedious task of preparing the food without any rest.
Lin Chen opened the newly bought old rice.
He took out a huge basin, scooped out a sufficient amount of rice, and poured in clean water.
Submerge your hands in the water and rhythmically rub and rinse them.
The water was splashing loudly.
Wash, drain, add water, and cook in a large rice cooker.
Lin Chen controlled the water volume and heat entirely through muscle memory, without any unnecessary movements.
Wang Hai stood by the sink, washed the three bunches of scallions clean, wrung them out, and placed them on the cutting board.
The kitchen knife made a regular "thump-thump-thump" sound on the solid wood cutting board.
Before long, all the scallions were chopped into evenly sized pieces and put into two clean plastic food storage containers.
At noon, the rice was cooked.
Lin Chen lifted the pot lid, and white steam rose up.
He used a large wooden rice ladle to scoop out the steaming rice, one spoonful at a time, and spread it evenly on two wide bamboo winnowing baskets.
Turn the floor fan to its highest setting and blow it onto the bamboo winnowing basket.
Lin Chen held a wooden spatula and stood in front of the vent, patiently breaking up the clumps of rice little by little.
As the moisture evaporates, the old rice that was originally stuck together gradually becomes distinct grain by grain, exuding a dry and fragrant aroma.
The cooled rice was divided into two huge stainless steel insulated containers and sealed tightly.
The entire afternoon passed quietly in this daily, tedious yet solid process of preparing ingredients.
4:15 PM.
Parents had already formed a long queue at the entrance of Qiming Bilingual Kindergarten.
"Squeak—"
Lin Chen and Wang Hai rode the tricycle and stopped right on time outside the cordon.
At 4:20, the school bell rang on time.
The kindergarten's iron gate slowly opened, and the teachers, leading their respective classes of children, walked out in neat lines.
Lin Chen stood at the front of the crowd, his gaze sweeping across several classes before settling on Class 3.
Tangtang, wearing a blue and white school uniform, carrying a small backpack, and with a pink rabbit thermos slung across her chest, was following Teacher Liu out.
"Daddy!"
Tangtang spotted Lin Chen at a glance, and her big eyes immediately crinkled into crescents.
After waving goodbye to the teacher, she ran over with her little legs.
Lin Chen bent down and picked up his daughter.
"Did you have fun at kindergarten today?"
Lin Chen asked gently.
"happy!"
Tangtang hugged Lin Chen's neck and nodded vigorously.
Lin Chen's gaze fell on the pink thermos cup on Tangtang's chest.
He reached out, grasped the water glass, and gently weighed it in his hand.
The cup was very light, and there was no sound of water inside.
Lin Chen unscrewed the lid, looked down, and saw that the inner liner was upside down, with not a drop of water left.
"Did you drink all the water?"
Lin Chen looked up at his daughter, a smile of approval in his eyes.
Before leaving home in the morning, he made sure to fill a glass with warm water.
"Um!"
Tangtang puffed out her little chest and proudly reported to the teacher, "After finishing morning exercises, Tangtang drank more than half of the drink."
This afternoon, I got thirsty while playing with building blocks with my friends, so I opened the lid and drank the rest!
"Tangtang is great! You listened to Daddy and drank more water so you won't get sick."
Lin Chen reached out and rubbed his daughter's head, praising her generously.
Wang Hai, watching from the side, chuckled and chimed in, "Isn't Tangtang the coolest kid in the class today, carrying this new cup?"
Upon hearing Wang Hai's words, Tangtang immediately turned her head, her big eyes sparkling, her desire to share overflowing.
"Uncle Fatty, how did you know?"
Tangtang excitedly gestured with her little hands, "This morning when we were lining up for water, Xiaomeng kept looking at my cup!"
"Xiao Meng? You mean that good friend who built the block castle with you yesterday, and who had such pretty braids?"
Wang Hai has an excellent memory and chuckled as he continued the conversation.
"Yes, yes!"
Tangtang nodded seriously, "Xiaomeng said my little white rabbit cup is so pretty, she wants to touch it too."
I generously let her touch the silicone straw.
Lin Chen screwed the lid back on, a smile playing on his lips as he listened to his daughter's clear, childlike voice.
"and then?"
Lin Chen asked casually.
Then Xiaomeng asked me where I bought it.
Tangtang raised her little face and said in a clear voice, "I told her that my daddy bought it for me yesterday in a really, really big supermarket."
After hearing this, Xiaomeng ran to her mother after school and grabbed her hand, saying she wanted to buy an identical pink bunny too!
Upon hearing this, Wang Hai burst into laughter: "Wow, our Tangtang not only uses it herself, but she's also promoting it at the kindergarten!"
If this were online, Tangtang would definitely be a top-notch livestreaming salesperson!
"What is live-streaming e-commerce?"
Tangtang tilted her head, not quite understanding the meaning of the word.
"Live-streaming e-commerce is... when everyone thinks your products are good, they all want to buy them from you."
Lin Chen gave a brief explanation and then put his daughter back on the ground.
He took Tangtang's little hand and glanced at the time.
"Alright, the water cup has completed its task."
Now it's time to go do Godfather's job.
Lin Chen said, "Let's go home and get some food!"
Tangtang immediately chimed in. The three of them returned to the tricycle.
Wang Hai got into the driver's seat, and Lin Chen, holding Tangtang, sat in the passenger seat and helped her put away her water bottle and small backpack.
"Hold on tight."
Lin Chen closed the car door. "Let's go!"
Wang Hai turned on the ignition. The tricycle turned a corner and drove back into the urban village along the street.
Downstairs at the rented apartment, Lin Chen and Wang Hai worked together seamlessly.
The two men, one in front and one behind, steadily lifted the two heavy insulated buckets, each filled with 150 servings of stale rice, into the cargo bed of the tricycle.
Next came a whole box of plastic takeout containers, two large boxes of chopped scallions, and twelve trays of fresh free-range eggs.
Finally, Wang Hai put the folding table and small stool in the corner and secured everything firmly with thick rope.
Everything was ready. Lin Chen tightened the apron around his waist, turned around, and walked towards the passenger seat.
"Brother Chen, we have 150 orders today. Let's try to finish as soon as possible!"
Wang Hai hopped on the bike and shouted with great enthusiasm.
"Walk."
Lin Chen nodded.
At 5 p.m. sharp, the tricycle, loaded with plenty of ingredients, drove out of the urban village and steadily headed toward the Yintai Building Plaza, braving the early summer evening breeze.