What Was He Selling for Business to Be This Good?

"All right, you do it. Arrange everything the way I tell you. I'm pretty particular."

"I know. A God of Cooking has strict standards because he pursues flavor. I understand. Don't worry, boss. You'll be satisfied."

Jiang Wenyan had completely grasped Shen Chuan's way of thinking by now. He could even answer before being asked.

He was just as meticulous about packing up. The food storage containers were already clean, but he wiped them again and again before putting them in the cabinet under Shen Chuan's direction.

He arranged the bottles and jars neatly in order of height before putting their lids on.

Jiang Wenyan washed the greasy counter with Shen Chuan's leftover water, but decided it still wasn't up to standard. He fetched his own reserve water and wiped it down twice more, not even leaving out the glass.

He wouldn't feel right accepting those two hundred yuan unless he put in the effort.

Only after everything was packed away did he turn to Shen Chuan, who was sitting there waiting. "Boss, how does it look? Is there anything else that needs cleaning?"

"That's fine. Let's go."

Shen Chuan stood, put the chair in a corner of the three-wheeler, sat down with his legs crossed, and gave him the address.

"Guys, watch my stall for me. I'll treat you to lemonade when I get back. I'm off!"

Grinning, Jiang Wenyan hopped onto the three-wheeler and twisted the throttle. Under everyone's gaze, it drove out of the food street.

At this hour, the night market was only just getting started. Someone already packing up naturally drew attention.

What was he selling for business to be this good?

When they reached the entrance to the residential complex where he currently lived, Shen Chuan got off, promptly scanned to pay Jiang Wenyan two hundred yuan, and then went home.

He lived on the ground floor, with a yard out back. Other households used their yards to grow pretty flowers and plants, but his served a convenient purpose: he could park his stall's three-wheeler right in the backyard.

After parking, Shen Chuan broke into a hundred-meter sprint, dashed into the house, and turned on the air conditioner.

"I'm dying of heat!"

He whipped off his suit, trousers, and leather shoes and changed into a comfortable tank top, beach shorts, and flip-flops.

Once he took off the crisp suit, his whole body seemed to relax considerably. Shen Chuan let out a long breath, then took a bottle of fat otaku happy water from the fridge and drank it. Only then did he feel the stifling heat ease a little.

When I'm running a stall, I need the presence of a God of Cooking. I can't skimp on the swagger.

I'll look into what else I can wear to show off besides a suit. Wearing suits all the time gets old.

After resting for a while, Shen Chuan opened the system to check his Show-off Points. He had worked for two hours today, and the system had kept dinging nonstop. He had assumed he already had enough Show-off Points.

But when he opened it, he found he was still a little short of the five hundred needed to redeem a simple recipe.

He wasn't disappointed, though. After all, it had been his first day of trial business. He hadn't prepared many ingredients, had packed up early, and hadn't been open long. It was normal not to earn much.

Another day of selling chive pockets tomorrow should just about do it.

That night, Jiang Wenyan packed up his stall and returned to the dorm. When he tallied his earnings, his heart sank. After a whole evening of hard work selling lemonade, he had worn himself out for a few dozen yuan-not even as much as he had earned helping Boss Shen.

At that moment, Jiang Wenyan finally figured it out: sticking to his own little stall was a complete waste of time.

All those ferocious moves, only to end up with a score of 0.5.

All he had done was help Boss Shen pack up his stall and take him home, and two hundred yuan had landed in his pocket. What a job of the century.

Then he thought of the chive pockets he had eaten that afternoon and couldn't help swallowing. Money to earn and delicious chive pockets to eat-what a great job. If only he could do it every day.

"When Boss Shen packed up, he said whether he opened tomorrow depended on his mood, right?" he muttered.

Fatty sighed too. "Yeah, he said it depended on his mood. Who knows whether he'll be in a good mood tomorrow..."

Their roommate, who was working on his thesis, abruptly sat bolt upright and said in alarm, "If he's in a bad mood, won't he skip opening his stall? If he doesn't open, won't that mean no delicious chive pockets for us?"

Gasp!

The three roommates sucked in a breath. Chive pockets that delicious, gone just as they had gotten hooked-who could stand that?

Their living allowances might be crying, but at worst, it would only mean a few extra meals of instant noodles. In this life, good food was the one thing they couldn't let down.

Zhang Jiale had just prayed to the gods for his thesis to pass. Now he went back to praying.

"All you great gods, all the gods and Buddhas in heaven, please bless Boss Shen so he'll open his stall tomorrow. As long as you grant my wish and let me eat those delicious chive pockets, I'll worship you for the rest of my life. If I break my promise, punish me with more delicious food than I can ever eat and more money than I can ever spend."

Those words successfully earned a perfectly synchronized "Pfft" from the other roommates.

Jiang Wenyan's mind, however, started turning. He had taken Boss Shen home today. This was a great opportunity. With an opportunity right in front of him, how could he not seize it?

He wanted both the job and the chive pockets. He would grab both and keep a firm grip on each.

The next morning, after breakfast, Shen Chuan rode his three-wheeler to the outskirts to buy top-quality farm-grown chives and free-range eggs.

The system's recipes had such high standards for ingredients that the big, tough chives sold in supermarkets were absolutely out of the question. The eggs weren't up to standard either. Only genuine free-range eggs would do.

With nothing else to do, the elderly villagers were strolling around the village and looking after children. When they saw Shen Chuan, they immediately recognized him as the young man who had come to buy chives and eggs yesterday, and someone promptly struck up a conversation.

The chives in their own plots grew back harvest after harvest. Since the young man could pay a good price, why not sell some for a little extra money?

One older woman brought out the free-range eggs she had saved over the past few days. "These free-range eggs were only recently collected. If my grandson hadn't gone away to university, I wouldn't bear to sell them."

"I don't use inferior ingredients either."

Shen Chuan picked up the eggs and checked them. After unlocking the system's recipes, he had already developed a discerning eye for the quality of ingredients. Once he confirmed they were indeed eggs from free-roaming chickens, he accepted them with satisfaction.

[Ding, Show-off Points +10!]

His words choked off the praise the woman had been about to heap on her own produce.

Although it sounded like an acknowledgment of the quality of her produce, why did it somehow feel a little off?

The one paying was the boss. The woman was speechless for a moment, then continued on to show Shen Chuan the chives.

The chives were even simpler. Once cut, they grew back in a dozen days or so. The woman took Shen Chuan straight to her private plot to have a look.

"Look at these tender, juicy chives. All natural, no pesticides. Whichever patch you like, I'll cut it for you."

Shen Chuan pinched off a chive, sniffed it, and nodded. "This is the kind I want. I'll contact you next time I need more."

After securing the ingredients he needed for today's stall, Shen Chuan returned home and enjoyed a full day of rest. Only at three in the afternoon did he start preparing what he needed to set up his stall.