Since We're Already Here, Wouldn't It Be a Waste Not to Eat?

He had said he would make them fresh to sell, but the new customers hadn't expected the owner to start with chopping vegetables.

Didn't roadside stalls usually get everything ready before setting up?

In the middle of summer, they had come to line up for chive pockets that cost ten yuan each. A little sun and heat were one thing, but at this pace, who knew how long they would have to wait before they got to eat?

One customer who couldn't wait suggested to his companion, "This is taking way too long. How about we order a couple first and come back for them later?"

His companion thought that made sense too. It was too hot, and nothing would be better than going somewhere else to enjoy the air conditioning before coming back when it was about time. So he left his friend in line and went up to ask.

"Boss, I'd like ten chive pockets. Can I pay now and pick them up later?"

Shen Chuan, who was chopping chives, looked up at the line. Unsure where the man stood in it, he shook his head and answered honestly, "I can't be sure there'll be any left by your turn. As the God of Cooking, I have no shortage of customers, and I won't set any aside especially for you. That would affect their texture and flavor."

[Ding! Show-off Points +50!]

Looking at the Show-off Points he had received, Shen Chuan considered what he had just said. Was that still not enough of a flex?

The man, who had only stopped by yesterday to buy one chive pocket to try, fell silent for a moment. He remembered how he hadn't eaten it until he got home, only to find it absolutely divine. It had been so delicious that he had immediately gone back out and run to the food street to buy a few more.

But he hadn't been able to find the stall. When he asked the stall owner next door and learned that the owner had sold out and left long ago, he had been heartbroken.

Today, he had specifically brought a friend along and come early to wait, just so he could eat one again!

But now...

Looking at all the people in line, he felt the owner sounded a little too confident. But then he thought of that flavor and felt he had a point, so he quietly returned to the line.

Seeing him return, his friend gave him a questioning look.

"The owner said he couldn't be sure there'd be any left by the time we got here. Yesterday, he sold out and packed up really quickly. By the time I realized how good they were and came back, I couldn't get any."

The customers ahead of and behind them heard their conversation and immediately abandoned the same idea.

It seemed there really was something to this owner's chive pockets. Business was booming.

So even under the blazing sun, seeing everyone else waiting, not one of them was willing to leave first.

Since they were already here, wouldn't it be a waste not to eat?

Once Shen Chuan finished preparing the filling, he checked the dough and found it had rested just right. He immediately began rolling it out with practiced ease. Before long, he was slapping wrapper after wrapper onto the worktable. The thick stack of wrappers was so perfectly round they looked machine-pressed, each identical in thickness and size.

The customers at the front of the line stared with wide eyes.

"This owner really does have some cooking skills!"

"Look at those wrappers, as round as circles drawn with a compass, and those chives, like they've been measured. Can anyone really do that by hand?"

"If I weren't standing here watching, I'd think he'd picked them up from some processing factory."

When the oil in the pan began to smoke faintly, Shen Chuan lowered the plump, freshly assembled chive pockets into it one by one. The snowy wrappers instantly came alive upon touching the hot oil, surrounded by fine bubbles.

Accompanied by the sound of frying, the wrappers gradually changed from porcelain white to an enticing golden color.

Shen Chuan lifted them out and set them on the draining rack. Jiang Wenyan, standing nearby, came over on his own and began serving the customers.

His easy familiarity made Shen Chuan give him a couple of extra looks. He hadn't expected this college student to be so on the ball. Having offered to help, he had even left his own stall unattended and stayed to assist him the whole time.

"Freshly fried chive pockets, ten yuan each. How many would you like?"

As Jiang Wenyan spoke, he opened a bag, holding a pair of tongs in his other hand, ready to pack the order.

The people at the very front were all his roommates, and his businesslike manner made them laugh.

"Wenzi, what are you doing? We've known each other for years, and you're putting on that voice with us?"

"Go on, get out of here. I'm working for the God of Cooking, so of course I have to treat everyone equally. I can't mix business with personal relationships. Hurry up. There are customers waiting behind you."

His roommate agonized over his living expenses and hesitated, but ultimately decided to live in the moment. "I'll have two... three."

Jiang Wenyan swiftly packed three chive pockets and handed them over, then moved on to serve the next person in line.

Having done this once before, his roommates had all secured spots at the very front and soon bought the chive pockets they wanted.

Each holding two or three, they took over Jiang Wenyan's lemonade stall and began happily eating. They didn't even mind the heat, blowing on the pockets between big bites.

As the delicious chive pockets entered their mouths, the delightful crunch and supremely savory flavor made their eyes narrow with pleasure.

The classmates they had invited to try the chive pockets had huddled together to play games earlier because the wait was so boring. They had been slower to join the line and were now crowded at the very back.

Seeing Fatty and the others eating with their little eyes narrowed in bliss, looking utterly intoxicated, the classmates instinctively swallowed, their mouths watering.

"Fatty, how about letting me have one first? I'll give you one back when I buy mine."

"Yeah, you've been going on since this morning about how good the chive pockets here are, and you've dragged us out to stand in the sun for almost an hour. At least let us have a bite."

"Come on, let me taste one. Whether I laugh at you for being suckers after eating it or join you all comes down to this one bite."

The classmates Fatty and the others could call over were all close friends who loved food too. They understood that craving.

Seeing them staring longingly at the chive pockets in their hands, the three deliberately waved them in front of their friends to show off before handing over one each.

The classmates took the warm chive pockets. Already ravenous from the aroma in the air, they hurriedly raised them to their mouths and bit down.

The crust was even crispier than they had imagined. As they bit into it, it naturally cracked apart to either side, and the flavor of the filling flooded their mouths.

The instant their tongues touched it, all the trapped heat, juices, and fragrance rushed into their mouths at once. That aroma was so wonderful it defied words.

The wrapper enclosed the filling perfectly. Fried at high heat, the fresh, juicy chives blended perfectly with the savory eggs. One bite revealed emerald-green chives and golden eggs inside, so delicious they almost wanted to swallow their tongues!

"Holy crap, these chive pockets taste incredible!"

"Before buying: ten yuan each, plus standing in line in the sun? Call me a sucker. After buying: there's a reason they're expensive. A bro wouldn't steer his bros wrong."

"Turns out I never liked chive pockets before because I'd never had good ones. I love these!"

Earlier, the students had stood there listlessly with their heads drooping, their eyes full of impatience from the long wait.

Now that they had tasted the chive pockets, it was as if they had been infused with energy. Their spirits returned, and smiles appeared on their faces. Each held a chive pocket, eating until their mouths glistened with oil, chatting and laughing as they praised the food between bites.

As they ate, biting open the chive pockets naturally released an even richer aroma. The customers in the middle of the line smelled it and watched them relish their food, their appetites thoroughly whetted as they kept swallowing.