The sound of the door opening was like a command. Before the rolling shutter was even halfway up, someone ducked underneath it.
The crowd waiting outside had long since run out of patience.
Some had been drinking all night and had come for something hot to sober up.
Others were regulars who came for a bowl every morning without fail.
There were also young men and women who had just finished their shifts at nearby nightlife venues.
More of them were fishermen who had just finished work.
People streamed in, and the shop, which had seemed fairly spacious, immediately bustled with activity.
Yang Qingyu stood at the counter.
She collected payments and tore off tickets with practiced efficiency, all while smiling and chatting with the regulars.
The tickets came in three colors.
Red meant beef offal.
Yellow meant rice wine.
Green meant rice noodles or wheat noodles.
Each of the three semicircular serving windows handled one of the three types of food.
In the kitchen, the workers were busy but orderly.
Xiao Cui handled blanching rice noodles and cooking wheat noodles, Huzi's ladle flew through the beef offal pot, and Sister Mei ladled out rice wine.
Zhou Qiang watched the entire process, from buying tickets to collecting food. Everything flowed smoothly.
He looked away and remarked with genuine admiration.
"Your grandfather was absolutely right."
"Your wife really was born to run a business."
"Every detail is well organized. Food service is the easiest business to get into, but it's also one of the investments most likely to fail."
"Just take her exacting standards for hygiene. For a place this busy to maintain this level of cleanliness is incredibly difficult."
"And the speed they serve the food is astonishing."
"She's so young, but she's not just managing the place properly. She