txolops Chapter 53 Closing Down at the Zhang Family
Chapter 53 Closing Down at the Zhang Family
In the lobby of Yintai Building, security captain Zhang was hiding behind a thick marble pillar, peeking out at the plaza outside.
He was still wearing his security guard uniform, clutching a walkie-talkie, but his eyes were fixed on Lin Chen's tricycle stall.
A few building employees who had just finished get off work walked in carrying takeout bags, chatting as they went. Their voices fell right into Zhang Ge's ears.
"It was really worth spending ninety-nine yuan today. The boss even gave us a free bowl of clear soup made with an old hen."
"Yeah, I took a sip by the roadside, and it was so fresh that my tongue almost fell off. It was absolutely amazing with fried rice."
Upon hearing these words, Brother Zhang's Adam's apple bobbed violently.
Ever since he couldn't resist spending ninety-nine yuan on that fried rice with gold crumbs a few days ago, he's felt like there's a craving crawling in his stomach every evening.
However, a street stall serving of food costing ninety-nine yuan was a considerable expense for a security captain like him, and he had been holding back from buying it for the past few days.
But today, when he heard that not only was there fried rice, but also a free soup made with old hen, Zhang Ge's defenses completely crumbled.
"Damn it, consider it a bonus for today, let's eat!"
Brother Zhang gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran into the locker room on the first floor.
He quickly took off his uniform, put on the light blue plaid shirt, and even haphazardly ruffled his hair, trying his best to look less like a security guard.
After changing into casual clothes, Brother Zhang strode out of the building and headed straight for the stalls at the edge of the plaza.
It was nearly 8 p.m. by then, and the line wasn't as long as it was right after get off work; there were only about ten people in front.
Brother Zhang kept his head down, his hands in his pockets, and quietly stood at the back of the line.
As the line moved forward little by little, the familiar aroma of scallions and eggs mixed with the subtle fragrance of meat broth wafted over.
Finally, it was our turn at the table. "How many servings would you like?"
Wang Hai didn't even look up, and casually took out a takeout box.
"One serving."
Brother Zhang lowered his voice and said.
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Wang Hai looked up.
Upon seeing the person's face clearly, Wang Hai immediately grinned, "Oh, isn't this Captain Zhang?"
"Did you come incognito again today to inspect our work?"
Brother Zhang blushed slightly, then coughed, trying to appear calm: "Stop talking nonsense, I'm just buying food on my way home from get off work."
Hurry up and scan the code.
Brother Zhang took out his phone and scanned the QR code for receiving payment.
"Beep—WeChat payment received, 99 yuan."
Lin Chen stood in front of the stove, his left hand on the pot handle and his right hand holding an iron spatula. He glanced at Brother Zhang, but his expression remained unchanged.
Heat oil in a pan, crack in an egg, and add rice.
Stir-fry evenly, then sprinkle in chopped green onions.
"One serving, ninety-nine."
Lin Chen turned off the stove, packed the fried rice into a box, and pushed it to the side of the table.
Wang Hai deftly took out a transparent plastic soup bowl, used a long-handled spoon to scoop a full bowl of clear soup from the stainless steel deep bucket next to him, and put the lid on.
"Here's your rice and soup."
Wang Hai handed over the plastic bag.
Tangtang stood up from her little stool, tiptoed, and handed over a disposable spoon: "Uncle, here's a spoon for you."
"Thank you."
Brother Zhang took the bag and spoon without even turning his head, and ran all the way to the security booth on the side of the building.
Pushing open the door of the security booth, there was only one young security guard on duty inside.
"Xiao Li, go and patrol around the main gate. I'll keep an eye on things here."
Brother Zhang placed the bag on the table and dismissed his subordinates.
"Yes, Captain."
The young security guard pushed the door open and went out.
Only Brother Zhang remained in the guard booth.
He eagerly untied the plastic bag, first taking out the box of fried rice, then the bowl of soup.
He brought the plastic bowl close to his eyes and examined it carefully.
The soup in the bowl had a light amber color and was so clear that the plastic texture on the bottom of the bowl was clearly visible.
There wasn't a single drop of oil on the surface, let alone any meat scraps.
"Is this really delicious? It looks like plain water with a little soy sauce on it."
Brother Zhang muttered to himself, a hint of doubt in his mind.
But he still lifted the plastic cover.
Without using a spoon, Brother Zhang picked up the soup bowl and took a big gulp.
The moment the soup entered his mouth, Brother Zhang froze in his chair, his eyes widening in shock.
"Holy shit!"
Brother Zhang couldn't help but swear.
This seemingly bland soup is surprisingly delicious when you drink it!
After swallowing the soup, a sweet aftertaste lingered in my throat, and my stomach instantly felt warm.
Brother Zhang quickly picked up a spoon, scooped up a big mouthful of fried rice, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The rice grains bounced between my teeth, and the aroma of scallions and eggs filled the air.
I chewed a few times, swallowed, and then picked up the bowl to drink a sip of clear soup.
The soup washes away the remaining dryness in your mouth and fully brings out the aroma of the fried rice.
A mouthful of rice, a sip of soup. Brother Zhang sat in the small security booth, sweating profusely as he ate, the spoon scraping the bottom of the lunchbox with a "crunching" sound.
In less than ten minutes, he finished off a box of rice and a bowl of soup.
He put down the empty bowl, leaned back in his chair, and let out a burp.
"Worth it. Ninety-nine yuan plus this bowl of soup, it's fucking worth it!"
Brother Zhang touched his belly and sighed in complete agreement.
...It was eight o'clock in the evening. The streetlights in the square were bright.
Wang Hai took the rice scoop and scraped the bottom of the stainless steel insulated container twice to scoop the last bit of rice into the box.
"Here you go, this is the last one."
Wang Hai handed the takeout bag to the customer in front of him.
He straightened up, glanced at the equally empty soup bucket next to him, and turned to look at the last four or five people in line behind him.
"Everyone, I'm so sorry!"
Wang Hai shouted at the top of his lungs, "All 150 servings of fried rice and the complimentary soup for today are gone, not a drop left."
Sold out!
"Huh? It's gone again?"
"I've only been in line for ten minutes!"
The people behind looked disappointed.
"There really aren't any left. Everyone, hurry up early tomorrow!"
Wang Hai shrugged. Lin Chen reached out and turned off the gas stove valve.
The pale blue flames died down, and the stove returned to stillness.
He took off his apron and picked up a rag to wipe the iron pot and stainless steel countertop.
"Daddy, we're sold out!"
Tangtang happily stood up from the stool and put the remaining disposable spoons into the packaging bag with her little hands.
"Yes, sold out."
Lin Chen patted his daughter's head. "Pack up your little stools and get ready to go home."
Wang Hai deftly folded up the folding table, moved the two empty thermos containers and the empty soup container into the tricycle bed, and secured them with rope.
Today we added the rule of serving soup daily, which I thought would slow things down, but the customers were so satisfied that word spread and the food sales actually picked up faster. We closed up shop right at 8 p.m.
"Brother Chen, make sure they're tied up securely."
Wang Hai patted the dust off his hands.
"Walk."
Lin Chen picked up Tangtang and sat in the passenger seat.
Wang Hai climbed into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition.
The tricycle steadily drove away from the square and headed towards the urban village.
Back at their rented apartment, the two of them worked together to carry the empty bucket into the kitchen.
Lin Chen went to the sink, washed his hands, and then sat down on the sofa.
Wang Hai walked over with the old cell phone he used for collecting payments, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
After a few days of adjustment, he is no longer as surprised as he was at the beginning by the daily turnover of tens of thousands of yuan. Instead, he feels the steadiness and drive of a partner.
"Brother Chen, we added soup today, and everyone enjoyed it. Business is getting more and more stable."
Wang Hai looked at his phone screen, "One hundred and fifty copies, not a single one was missed."
Today's total turnover is 14,850 yuan.
Lin Chen remained calm, took out his phone, and opened the calculator.
"I bought more old hens and pork bones today, so the cost is higher than yesterday."
Lin Chen calculated the bill: "Rice, eggs, scallions, plus the meat and bones for making the soup, and the packaging cost of the soup bowl, it all adds up to five hundred yuan."
"Fourteen thousand eight hundred and fifty, minus five hundred, the net profit is fourteen thousand three hundred and fifty."
Lin Chen calculated a number.
Then open the WeChat transfer interface, enter the amount, and press the payment password.
"drop"
Wang Hai's phone beeped.
Wang Hai took out his phone and saw the following message: [WeChat transfer: 4305.00 yuan.]
Without any hesitation, Wang Hai clicked to receive payment.
He knew this was his share, according to the 30/70 split rules.
"Brother Chen, I've received the money."
Wang Hai put his phone in his pocket, his eyes serious. "With this 30/70 split rule set, I feel at ease taking it."
With this free bowl of broth to whet our appetite, we'll only get more and more repeat customers in the future.
"Um."
Lin Chen put down his phone and looked at Wang Hai, "Prepare tomorrow's materials according to this standard."
One hundred and fifty servings of fried rice, and a pot of clear soup.
"no problem!"
Wang Hai nodded, stood up, and said, "When we go to the market to buy groceries tomorrow morning, we won't be stingy!"