"Old Guo, sometimes you should look for the problem in yourself. After all these years, has your hotpot improved at all? Is your service attitude any good?"
Boss Guo's eyebrows shot up in anger. He spat and said, "Look at you, all smug because you got lucky. I can't be bothered with you."
Master Liu stopped joking around. He slammed his spatula against the rim of the wok, turned on the heat, and prepared to fry noodles.
Just then.
That huge group of people skipped right past Master Liu's fried noodle stall and headed straight deeper inside.
"Oh, we're not here for your fried noodles. We're here for that handsome boss's stall!"
"I've had your fried noodles before. They're nothing special. Compared to the fried noodle stall inside, they're worlds apart!"
"Sorry, Master Liu! We're not eating at your place today!"
The sudden turn of events left Master Liu frozen on the spot. The iron wok had been heating for quite a while and was already giving off white smoke, yet he had not even added any oil.
The group headed deeper into the alley.
Boss Guo from the hotpot restaurant had been holding in a bellyful of anger and was about to go inside when he saw this unexpected reversal.
More than half his anger vanished at once. Gloating, he said:
"Master Liu, sometimes you should look for the problem in yourself. After all these years, has your fried noodle flavor improved at all? Is your service attitude any good?"
Master Liu immediately turned off the heat and shot Boss Guo a glare, his face alternating between red and pale.
After thinking it over, Master Liu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be him...
Deep in the alley.
More than twenty customers looked around, but they could not find Lu Qin's fried noodle stall.
The Guan Dong Zhu Vendor had failed to grab a good spot again today. Damn those elementary school questions—what kind of ABAB word formation was that? They had to come up with twenty examples.
He and his wife, two grown adults, had searched Baidu for ages and only managed to scrape together a little over ten. They racked their brains but still could not come up with twenty.
At this rate, all his hair was going to fall out.
That was why he had come out late again.
"Handsome guy, pretty lady, want some Oden?"
"It's you, Uncle. Have you seen yesterday's handsome guy with the fried noodle stall?"
"No. Maybe he set up somewhere else today?"
Seeing so many people coming for fried noodles, the Guan Dong Zhu Vendor was insanely jealous.
Still, that young man's fried noodles really were delicious. He wondered if he would come today. If he did, he would have a serving too.
A few minutes later.
Lu Qin's three-wheeler food cart finally arrived.
"Damn! Handsome Boss, why are you only getting here now? You need to make money, support your family—why are you so late?"
"I've waited until the flowers wilted!"
"I've waited until my hair turned white!"
"Boss, I've gone hungry all day just for your fried noodles. If you didn't come soon, this would've turned into a bloody tragedy!"
"Was that bowl of noodles from the school cafeteria at noon meant for dogs?"
"Hahaha! Sorry, I forgot!"
"So this is the fried noodle stall owner? He's ridiculously handsome!"
"His daughter is so adorable too. What do we do if we want to kidnap her?"
"Boss, come on, I'll help you set up!"
The customers were rather adorable. Since they had not gotten to eat the fried noodles yet, they kept chatting and joking nonstop.
"Big brothers and sisters, please line up properly! Our fried noodle stall is opening for business~!"
Lu Xiyao stood in front of the stall and announced in her sweet little voice.
. The Mung Bean Paste is unbelievably good, super tasty! Every fried noodle dish you've ever eaten is garbage. Come fight me if you disagree!
The impatient customers helped set up the stall so Lu Qin could start frying noodles sooner.
Click.
Lu Qin twisted on the gas and began heating the wok.
Only then did everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"He's finally frying! The cravings in my stomach are about to eat through it!"
"Let me explain the rules first. To make sure everyone gets their fried noodles faster, add egg, ham, and lean meat! That way, the boss can fry five portions in one wok! Trust me! It tastes best with every topping added!"
"Boss, what's your surname?"
"Lu."
"Boss Lu's rice noodles are more crystal-clear than anyone else's. No wonder they taste so good!"
"Boss Lu, just keep frying—don't stop! We can handle the packing ourselves!"
"I can finally eat Boss Lu's fried noodles. I've been craving them to death!"
The Guan Dong Zhu Vendor saw that not a single person wanted Oden. They had all come for fried noodles.
His heart went cold.
"Forget it. I'll line up and buy a serving too. I haven't had dinner."
The customers in line behind him laughed. "Uncle, aren't you watching your stall?"
"I'm hungry. I'll eat a bowl of fried noodles first!"
"Haha, Uncle's a man of temperament. Here, you can stand in front of me."
"If you want drinks, scan the code and take them yourselves. Iced black tea, Coke, and Sprite are three yuan. Bottled water is two yuan, and Red Bull is five."
"Sure. I'll definitely need something to drink with the fried noodles later. I'll grab a bottle of happy fat-house water first."
At that moment, the little girl called out in her sweet voice from the front of the stall.
"My dad made fresh Mung Bean Paste today. It's chilled! You can try some. It's sweet and really delicious~!"
Lu Xiyao shook the cup of Mung Bean Paste in her hand, which still had a third left.
The little girl had already eaten her fill at dinner and could only drink that much Mung Bean Paste. Otherwise, the cup would have been empty long ago.
The female college student at the front of the line could not resist pinching Lu Xiyao's smooth, tender little cheeks.
"Oh my! Little beauty, is the Mung Bean Paste your dad made tasty?"
"It's tasty~! If you don't drink it, that's your loss, big sister~!"
Just for Lu Xiyao's adorable charm, they would buy it even if it did not taste good.
"How much is a cup?"
Lu Qin grabbed a handful of bird's eye chilies and tossed them into the wok. As he stir-fried quickly, he said to the little girl:
"Yao Yao, take out the little whiteboard. Dad wrote the prices on it."
"Okay~!"
Lu Xiyao hung up the little whiteboard, then turned her little head and said, "Big sister, the Mung Bean Paste is three yuan fifty a cup."
The female college student scanned the code and paid for a cup of Mung Bean Paste.
Everyone else watched her expectantly.
Since the fried noodles were so tasty, the Mung Bean Paste should not be bad either, right?
Sizzle!
The female college student instantly showed a delighted expression and exclaimed:
"This Mung Bean Paste is really good!"
She looked utterly satisfied. The Mung Bean Paste was dense and silky, and after it entered her mouth, it felt like a spring breeze, refreshing and cool.
"I believe it now. Boss Lu's Mung Bean Paste must be delicious. I want a cup too!"
"Me too, me too! I already scanned the code!"
"I'm thirsty anyway. I want two cups!"
With so many orders all at once, Lu Xiyao kept taking out Mung Bean Paste and handing it to customers. She nearly toppled headfirst into the foam cooler.
Her two little hands simply were not enough, and she could not keep up with the demand.
"Little one, let the big brothers and sisters take them themselves. Go sit on the little stool."
"Alright then~! But big brothers and sisters, remember to scan the code~!"
"Got it. We won't forget. What a clever little thing!"
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