Making his debut!
Hua Country, Linyang City, Jiangwan District.
It was past four on a summer afternoon, and the sun had yet to set, but the vendors in the night market's stall area had already prepared their ingredients, equipment, and other supplies for the day and were setting off for their stalls one after another.
"You'll really give me two hundred if I ride this cart to Jiangwan Food Street for you?"
A delivery rider stood in front of a brand-new three-wheeled food cart. Wondering if he had misheard, he couldn't help asking again.
"Yes, paid on the spot. Help me set everything up at the stall while you're at it."
Shen Chuan nodded earnestly.
Once he was sure this man wasn't joking, the delivery rider readily agreed. Two hundred yuan for something this easy? He'd be an idiot not to!
How many deliveries would he have to make to earn two hundred yuan?
The delivery rider swiftly climbed aboard and looked at Shen Chuan. "All right, boss. I'll ride your cart over. How are you getting there?"
He had barely finished speaking when Shen Chuan elegantly seated himself in the empty space beside the driver's seat. "Let's go!"
"..."
The corner of the delivery rider's mouth twitched. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, almost under the impression that he was driving a Porsche rather than riding a three-wheeler.
He had just made a delivery to this residential complex and was about to leave when Shen Chuan stopped him, offering him two hundred yuan to ride the three-wheeler to Jiangwan Food Street and help set up a stall.
The young man before him looked barely over twenty. He was young and didn't look like he lacked strength. He wanted to make money at the night market, and judging by the brand-new cart, this was probably his first day. Yet before earning anything, he was already spending money to hire someone...
Two hundred yuan! Could a beginner even earn two hundred in a night?
He didn't look like a serious street vendor at all. Wearing a full suit and dress shoes in the height of summer, he looked more like some rich young master out experiencing ordinary life.
But... two hundred yuan!
"All right, boss. Sit tight."
With that, the delivery rider lifted the handlebars and set off toward Jiangwan Food Street with Shen Chuan aboard, his expression excited.
Shen Chuan sat with his back ramrod straight, pretending not to notice the delivery rider's strange, hesitant expression, utterly composed.
It wasn't as though he wanted to spend two hundred yuan hiring a delivery rider to ride his three-wheeler and help set up his stall. There were so many better uses for two hundred yuan. He had only just transmigrated, physically at that, and this was precisely when he needed money!
It had all started a week earlier. A car accident had unexpectedly sent him, body and all, into this parallel world. He had thought he would sleep beneath the earth forever, but it turned out his time wasn't up. He had even struck it lucky and bound himself to a God of Cooking System!
Just when Shen Chuan thought he was about to become a god of cooking, effortlessly rake in money with his culinary skills, and reach the pinnacle of life, he discovered that the system had requirements!
As a god of cooking, he had to maintain a god of cooking's swagger while cooking. Only by constantly showing off and earning Show-off Points could he exchange them for recipe rewards.
The image in his mind of reaching the pinnacle of life with his godlike cooking skills, being adored by everyone, and having diners clamoring to be fed instantly crumbled.
The beginner's gift pack had only given him a recipe for chive pockets, a set of god-of-cooking kitchenware, just enough startup capital to rent a place, obtain permits, and buy ingredients, and a legal identity.
Forget reaching the pinnacle of life-even after claiming a recipe reward, he had to master it in the system space before he could make it.
For that one recipe, he had learned how to ferment the dough, the knife skills for finely chopping chives, how to make finely scrambled eggs, and techniques for mixing the filling in the system space. It took a year of practice to master everything, yet not even a second had passed in reality.
With neither money nor recipes to support him, setting up a stall was the only way he could think of to earn Show-off Points. Night-market food was just as popular in this world as in his original one, so running a stall should work.
But once he put his plan into action, the system informed him that setting up his own stall lacked a god of cooking's swagger and wouldn't earn him any Show-off Points. With no other choice, he came up with the idea of hiring someone to ride the cart and set up the stall.
He really was going all out for Show-off Points. He had even put on a full suit and dress shoes just to sell chive pockets at the night market, all for the sake of showing off.
He did look handsome, but the heat was unbearable.
After sitting there for just this short while, he felt that the back of his shirt was already soaked with sweat.
The three-wheeler rolled steadily along. As they approached the food street, they began encountering more fellow vendors.
Seeing a delivery rider on a three-wheeler carrying both stall supplies and a young man in a suit, someone couldn't resist teasing, "This young fellow really knows how to hustle! Deliveries by day, a night-market stall by night, and a bit of DiDi work on the way to make money ferrying passengers. What a hard worker!"
Both Shen Chuan and the delivery rider heard that. After a moment of silence, the delivery rider merely gave a couple of dry chuckles without explaining. While waiting at a traffic light, his curiosity finally got the better of him, and he turned to ask Shen Chuan.
"Boss, why aren't you riding the cart to your stall yourself? It's not far. And aren't you hot, dressed like that in the middle of summer?"
He had been holding the question in for ages. Looking at himself, sweating all over even in short sleeves, then at Shen Chuan, who remained perfectly composed in his suit, the delivery rider really couldn't help asking.
Shen Chuan casually brushed some nonexistent dust off his cuff and replied, "Because I'm a god of cooking. A god of cooking should have the swagger to match. What god of cooking have you ever seen riding his own cart to set up a stall?"
The delivery rider: ...
Shen Chuan continued, "Remember to arrange everything the way I tell you when we get to the stall."
The delivery rider fell silent for a moment. "All right, boss. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
[Ding, Show-off Points +20!]
At the sound of the system notification, Shen Chuan's eyes lit up. Even deliberately showing off in front of a stranger didn't feel quite so embarrassing anymore.
[Show-off Points: 20] [Currently mastered recipes: Chive pockets]
After glancing at the system interface, Shen Chuan had a better idea of things. He had the right approach. He had only just left home and hadn't even set up his stall, yet he had already earned Show-off Points.
It wasn't much, but it was a good start!
Even the cheapest recipe in the system shop cost five hundred Show-off Points. If he got lucky, he might be able to exchange for a new recipe by the time he finished running his stall today.
Before long, the three-wheeler arrived at Jiangwan Food Street.
Quite a few vendors had already arrived on both sides of the street and were setting up.
Shen Chuan directed the delivery rider to ride the three-wheeler over to his spot.
Following his directions, the delivery rider parked the cart and first unloaded the folding recliner. Shen Chuan sat down with his legs spread, then had the delivery rider set up the pan and take all the seasonings out of the box and arrange them on the counter.
No matter how anyone looked at it, he seemed less like someone there to run a stall and more like someone there to supervise the work.
The surrounding vendors couldn't help looking over.
After all, it was their first time seeing anything like this.
Vendors usually brought plenty of supplies, so having someone help was perfectly normal.
But a delivery rider setting up a stall with a boss beside him supervising?
The delivery rider briskly put everything in order, even remembering to wipe the counter spotless with kitchen wipes.
Every so often, he also asked the suited boss sitting behind him what else needed taking out.
This pairing certainly drew attention.
"Boss, everything's ready. Have a look-are you satisfied?"
Hearing their conversation, the vendor next door went blank for a moment.
Was... was... was this someone hiring a delivery rider to help with the work?
The one actually running the stall was the young man in the suit sitting behind him?
Shen Chuan ignored all the stares, his expression calm.
This was exactly the effect he wanted!
After checking everything at the stall, Shen Chuan nodded in satisfaction and scanned the payment code to transfer two hundred yuan straight to the delivery rider.
Having made two hundred yuan on the side in the time it took to complete one delivery, the delivery rider beamed and prepared to clock off early.
"Thank you, boss! Goodbye, boss! Call me again next time you have a job like this!"
After the delivery rider left, the shocked vendors' eyes remained glued to Shen Chuan.
He continued sitting in front of his little stall with the same calm expression, watching the passing crowd and putting on an air of composure.
[Ding! The host maintained a god of cooking's swagger during his debut and exuded a mysterious aura. Show-off Points +100!]
Shen Chuan felt even more assured.
So simply sitting still and attracting attention could earn him Show-off Points too!
All around him was a flurry of activity. He alone remained quiet and composed, out of place yet especially eye-catching.
The night market's first wave of visitors was already slowly making its way through the area.
(P.S. Lately, I've seen reviews saying the author uses AI to write, so if you have some free time, you can watch me write live on Douyin! You're all welcome to come supervise! Account: Selling Egg Burgers!)