Don't You Agree? I'm Almost Embarrassed to Call Him Out!

"Sold out again??? Why are these pancakes so hard to buy? Can't Boss Shen make more? It's still so early. I'm seriously begging here."

The office workers were really on the verge of a breakdown. Every time they got off work, they came straight over to line up, and every time, they couldn't get any!

"You started later today, so how come you're finishing even earlier than yesterday? I still managed to buy some at this time yesterday!"

"Boss Shen, why don't you set a purchase limit? You only make so many pancakes a day, and everyone up front buys so many that there's nothing left by the time it's our turn!"

The moment those words came out, the customers holding scallion pancakes immediately objected.

"You're the ones who came late. Why should Boss Shen set a purchase limit? Who's going to get full on just one pancake?"

"Boss Shen can make two or three hundred pancakes a day, right? If you can't get any, come earlier next time. Then you can eat your fill, can't you?"

That rebuttal left the customer demanding a purchase limit speechless.

If he had managed to buy scallion pancakes today, he definitely wouldn't have suggested a purchase limit. He might even have wanted to beat anyone who proposed one to death.

But he hadn't managed to get any!

Watching the customers ahead of him eat several each, how could he not feel it was unfair?

Shen Chuan had thought the customers who hadn't gotten any would pester him for a while. He had already run through how to respond and how to show off, only to find the customers arguing among themselves instead.

The previously orderly line had now descended into chaos.

Some argued, some fought over pancakes, and others tried to figure out ways to buy pancakes off other people.

Then someone sharp-eyed spotted He Wencai standing there with lemonade. Remembering how he had brought ingredients for Boss Shen to make chive pockets yesterday, their eyes instantly lit up as an idea struck.

"Sir, didn't you bring a lot of ingredients from your hometown and ask the boss to make chive and egg pancakes? Do you have any more of those chives and eggs that meet his standards?"

"Right, hurry and ask if there are any left. We'll pay for them."

"I'm willing to pay too. Boss Shen only prepares so many ingredients each day, and it's nowhere near enough. If he has more ingredients, he'll make more."

He Wencai looked at them as though they were idiots.

If he could get the ingredients, would he still be standing here watching the show?

He had stripped his family's entire little patch of chives bare. Their homegrown vegetables weren't sprayed with pesticides and didn't look very good. He had painstakingly selected yesterday's ingredients, wasting far too much in the process. His parents had already kicked him out and forbidden him from coming home for a while, saying he was wasting good food.

Otherwise, if he could get the ingredients, he would definitely beg Boss Shen to make chive pockets!

He didn't eat scallions, so he couldn't eat scallion pancakes.

"There's nothing left. The free-range hens we raise at home don't lay many eggs, so it takes days just to save some up. And once the chives have been cut, they need two weeks to grow back."

Hearing there was nothing left, the hope these customers had finally kindled was dashed again.

City dwellers like them really didn't have land at home. Even the scallions and chilies they occasionally grew were planted in flowerpots, mostly for decoration.

Unwilling to give up, the customers asked one another a few questions, only to discover that everyone else was a total city slicker too, with no land at home. They could only leave with sighs.

Some customers still couldn't accept it and lingered nearby. Suddenly, one noticed that He Wencai was still carrying two scallion pancakes. His eyes widened with wild delight, and he rushed over to ask excitedly, "Don't you hate eating scallions? Why did you buy two scallion pancakes?"

He Wencai immediately went on high alert and hid the scallion pancakes behind his back. "What are you trying to pull?"

He had just spent ages watching how crazy these people got when they couldn't buy scallion pancakes. He didn't dare let his guard down now.

The customer's expression changed at lightning speed. A big, burly man with a rather fierce face forced out a fawning smile, trying to make himself look less intimidating.

"Bro, spare me one. I'll definitely repay this enormous favor next time I buy pancakes."

His smile only made him look more menacing, like a villain with bad intentions in a film or TV show.

It frightened He Wencai into quietly taking another few steps back, guarding his scallion pancakes even more carefully.

"No. I don't eat scallions, but my wife likes them. I bought these for her. Goodbye."

With that, He Wencai took off running with his scallion pancakes, feeling that if he didn't run now, he would soon be caught up in a robbery that would leave him not knowing whether to laugh or cry-and the stolen goods would be his scallion pancakes.

Would he call the police or not?

"Wait, bro! We can talk this over..."

The fierce-looking customer reached after He Wencai with an Erkang hand, but unfortunately, He Wencai didn't even turn around. He ran so fast that he soon vanished into the passing crowd.

Far too many people hadn't gotten any. Some new customers, knowing only that the food was delicious, had come to line up and were squatting at the back, dutifully waiting, only to see the people ahead leave.

At first, they thought some people had gotten tired of waiting and left early, and they were briefly pleased.

Then they realized everyone was leaving and hurried to ask someone what was happening.

Only then did they learn that the boss had already sold out and closed up before it was even dark. They were utterly dumbfounded.

The regular customers standing in front of the stall felt worse the longer they stood there.

After waiting in line for so long and getting absolutely nothing, they simply couldn't let it go.

One customer held back for a moment but finally couldn't stand it anymore. He stuck his head through the open sliding window and said to Shen Chuan, "Boss Shen, can't you prepare just a tiny bit more ingredients? I waited in line for two hours. Two hours!"

Hearing this, Shen Chuan slowly replied with an air of doing it all for their own good, "Food made by the God of Cooking can't be slapdash. Mass production only leads to mediocrity. So I'd rather make less, make it well, and earn less money than ruin my reputation for the sake of quantity. Otherwise, you'd be the ones losing out, wouldn't you?"

[Ding! Show-off Points +50!]

[Ding! Show-off Points +40!]

[Ding...]

The complaining customer hadn't heard anything so shameless in ages. It set his teeth on edge, yet he couldn't find a single fault with it. For a moment, he was so frustrated that his fists clenched, and he said through gritted teeth, "Well, thank you for all your hard work, Boss Shen!"

As though he hadn't noticed the man's dark expression, Shen Chuan smiled and waved a hand. "You're welcome!"

[Ding! Show-off Points +25!]

The complaining customer couldn't even maintain his fake smile anymore. He turned away and immediately started grumbling.

"All that talk about making more affecting the quality-I think he's just lazy and doesn't want to tire himself out, but he makes it sound so high-minded!"

"And he acts like he's looking out for us. He really deserves a beating!"

An older man behind him heard this and chimed in.

"Oh, isn't that the truth? How is he tired? I've lived half my life, and I've never seen anyone have it so easy running a business. He runs a stall, yet someone drives him to and from work, and he hires people to do all the odd jobs.

"He even installed air conditioning at his stall and makes pancakes in the nice cool air. I got here at five thirty this afternoon and waited until now. I've been baking in the sun until my throat's practically smoking, and all I got was a few whiffs of pancakes!"

After finishing his complaints, the older man lightly nudged the person next to him. "Don't you agree? I'm almost embarrassed to call him out!"