This was how a villain arc started!

Shen Chuan had never imagined that buying some locally raised pork would end with a pig chasing him all over the place. He reacted fast, darting into a nearby farmhouse in a few strides and slamming the gate shut behind him.

Thud!

The enormous pig's head slammed squarely into the gate, the tremendous force sending a numbing jolt through his entire arm.

Fortunately, running his stall lately had built up some strength, and he just barely managed to brace the gate and keep it from bursting open. Still shaken, he peered through a gap in the iron gate. The burly pig was charging every which way, grunting nonstop as its owners shouted and tried to herd it. The whole place was in chaos.

After all that trouble, he finally made it home with the pork sometime after two in the afternoon.

Then he made another trip to the seasoning market. Braising pork required dozens of different spices and aromatics, and he had to buy every single one based on its quality. That was another major undertaking!

By the time Shen Chuan had everything he needed to make braised pork, he was half-dead with exhaustion. Since he wasn't opening his stall, he hadn't hired anyone to help and had done everything himself. After several trips back and forth, he was drenched in sweat from the heat.

When was it ever going to rain in this damned weather?!

While Shen Chuan spent the day rushing around, the food street was much quieter without him, a far cry from yesterday's packed, shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.

The customers who knew Shen Chuan wasn't opening his stall simply didn't come. Those who had left early and hadn't heard came over, discovered his stall wasn't open, and hurried away again.

It was too hot. Without something to draw them in, who would wander around the food street under the blazing sun? They could just order whatever they wanted for delivery. Failing that, they could hire an errand runner.

In short, without Boss Shen on the food street, spending even one extra second outside was an insult to themselves.

Business at the little stalls around Shen Chuan's spot had visibly declined.

Especially those closest to his stall, like the grilled sausage and cold drink vendors. They had been open for most of the day without selling much.

When Shen Chuan was there, the people in line would call out to them every so often.

Someone here wanted a grilled sausage; someone there wanted a cup of sour plum drink.

They had gone from being busy from the moment they opened and happily counting their money at home to suddenly entering another slow spell. The vendors couldn't get used to any of it.

The young man selling sour plum drinks had just greeted a customer who had been about to buy something, only for the customer to take a phone call and leave.

Watching a sale that had been practically in his hands walk away pained him terribly.

"Without Boss Shen here, even business is tough. If only Boss Shen opened every day without taking breaks."

The grilled squid vendor beside him chimed in.

"Yeah, my business is noticeably worse when he's not here."

"Apparently, a customer misspoke yesterday and complained that Boss Shen was lazy. That's why Boss Shen didn't come today. We'd better watch what we say from now on. We absolutely can't upset Boss Shen, or even our business will suffer."

"That college student selling lemonade is the shrewd one. How did he get so lucky? He got a part-time job with Boss Shen, gets to buy food without lining up, and makes money too. Boss Shen isn't opening today, so he's taking a break from his own stall too. I'm so jealous."

Business had slowed at all the other stalls on the food street, but the scallion pancake vendor's stall suddenly became popular.

Just as customers had sought a substitute at Auntie Liao's usually struggling chive pocket stall on Shen Chuan's previous day off, today's scallion pancake stall had become their substitute.

While Old Huang was busy, Auntie Liao even made a special trip over to have a look.

Watching Old Huang bustle about, positively beaming, she wore a look of envy and muttered, "I knew this would happen. Too bad Boss Shen doesn't sell both chive pockets and scallion pancakes. Then I could benefit a little too whenever he takes a break."

The entire food street had quieted down because Shen Chuan was taking a day off.

But the customers who hadn't gotten to eat Shen Chuan's scallion pancakes had done nothing of the sort.

Especially the fans who had seen Wen Yang's video and come because of its reputation.

With so many people and such a packed line yesterday, plenty of them had only smelled the aroma without getting a single bite.

They had left craving them, thinking that even if they couldn't buy any yesterday, there was always today. But Shen Chuan hadn't opened his stall today. He was taking a break.

Every one of them had drooled at the sight of other people eating.

They had already been going a little crazy yesterday. By today, just thinking about the aroma of those scallion pancakes left them frantic with cravings, wanting anything with scallions in it to take the edge off.

Unfortunately, not everything with scallions tasted good. They had found all sorts of scallion-heavy foods to eat, but none could quell their cravings.

Those who hadn't tried them craved them, and those who had craved them even more. Thinking of those scallion pancakes, bursting with scallion fragrance and combining delicate sweetness with savory saltiness, they couldn't sit still.

Since the vendor hadn't opened his stall, they all stormed into the comments under Wen Yang's video to complain.

Wen Yang was dipping scallions in sauce and eating them wrapped in flatbread, trying to satisfy his cravings with this food from his hometown.

He casually opened the video app and suddenly discovered that a video he had posted last night had blown up again.

He had only gotten his scallion pancakes yesterday through luck. He hadn't been working and had arrived early, yet he had still been squeezed far back in the line and had only just barely managed to buy some.

At the time, he had casually filmed the exceptionally long line and posted the video, adding a good deal of complaining.

He felt that he had recommended it too soon and drawn a whole bunch of fans over. Now that so many people knew about the stall, even he would probably have to plan ahead and arrange his schedule if he wanted to eat there, or he wouldn't get any.

Last night, those fans had still been joking that he was no longer their Brother Yang, actually harboring thoughts so destructive to harmony among the masses.

The view count had been unremarkable then, but now it had shot straight up, with the comments showing 99+.

Wen Yang was curious about what his fans were discussing. He opened the comments and froze. Every single comment was a complaint or a grievance. They had practically turned his comment section into a place to vent about Boss Shen not opening his stall.

"I'm honestly speechless. I stood in line for two hours yesterday and got nothing but a whiff of scallion pancakes. I didn't get a thing. Would anyone believe me if I told them? They'd probably think I was crazy."

"I lined up for two hours too! The most infuriating part was that there were only ten people left before my turn. I'd been counting forever without even blinking, and then they were gone. I feel like I'm going insane from the craving."

"Ever since I opened my eyes this morning and found out there wouldn't be any scallion pancakes today, I've been crying for ten whole hours. My apartment complex is almost flooded, and I still don't have any scallion pancakes. This hurts so much. I suddenly understand why Madam White Snake flooded Jinshan Temple. She must have been craving something just like me."

"I've already gone mad with cravings. Heaven gave Boss Shen a pair of nimble hands and unparalleled culinary talent, so why couldn't it give him a hardworking heart? Just dig mine out and swap it with his. I'm a heavenly beast of burden."

That resentment-filled tone, that urge to find Boss Shen through the screen, drag him out, and rummage around for scallion pancakes, practically radiated through the screen.

Wen Yang stared at these comments, dumbfounded.

The more he read, the more his scalp prickled. He had only casually posted a video to complain, but the netizens had forcibly turned it into a venting corner for crying over Boss Shen's closed stall.

The resentment was practically spilling through the screen. This was how a villain arc started!