"Selling grilled fish?"
Huo Lingtong's eyes lit up. "Oh, right! Why didn't I think of that?"
She looked at Nan Zhuliu, her large eyes shining. "Zhuliu, you're so smart."
"We still have plenty of supplies to buy. Come on."
After they had bought everything they needed, Nan Zhuliu estimated the costs. "Let's sell each grilled fish for... one silver soul coin."
Huo Lingtong jumped in surprise. "One silver soul coin for a grilled fish? Isn't that a bit much? At that price, would anyone really pay for a single grilled fish?"
Nan Zhuliu said calmly, "There are only a thousand slots to apply to Shrek Academy across all three empires. Anyone who can get one is, to some extent, either rich or influential. You could count the soul masters from ordinary families like ours on one hand."
"The reason I set the price at one silver soul coin is that our main customers will be people who don't lack money."
"Some of them spend dozens or even hundreds of gold soul coins on a single meal. Paying one silver soul coin for a grilled fish just to try something new-as long as it doesn't taste particularly awful, even those who don't like it won't say anything, and those who do won't be short of the money."
"Have some faith in your cooking. Never mind one silver soul coin-people would pay even one gold soul coin."
By the end, Nan Zhuliu couldn't resist tapping Huo Lingtong's little head, as though trying to knock some sense into her. "Besides, you're not selling grilled fish to scrape by. You're doing it to make big money. Running a roadside stall is all about making big money to buy a car and a house. Understand?"
At his words, black lines all but covered Huo Lingtong's forehead, and she couldn't help muttering, "But didn't you just say we could earn some living expenses by grilling fish?"
"That's not important." Nan Zhuliu did a few more calculations. "Classes haven't officially started yet, so we have plenty of time these next few days and can sell a little more. Once classes start, fifty fish a day should be about right."
Huo Lingtong followed his reasoning and did the calculations. At the thought of earning at least five gold soul coins every day from now on, several times more than her mother had saved through years of scrimping and saving, her already clear, bright eyes shone even more brilliantly, and something seemed to tremble and roll within them.
At that moment, Nan Zhuliu's voice was like a devil's whisper. "Lingtong, tell me. Do you want to make big money?"
"Yes!"
"Do you want to make lots and lots of money?"
"Yes!"
Nan Zhuliu nodded in satisfaction. "Then hurry and get ready. Making our fortune with a snack stall is just around the corner."
Because the new students came from all over the three empires, Shrek Academy's enrollment period was fairly long, lasting a full week. Even so, quite a few new students had already arrived, and some upper-year students had returned early as well.
Watching Huo Lingtong busy at work, occasionally tucking stray strands of hair behind her fair ears, Nan Zhuliu suddenly realized something. He went to the neighboring stall to buy a hair tie and tied her hair up for her. "It's much easier with your hair tied back."
Huo Lingtong stiffened like a kitten caught by the scruff of fate, not daring to move a muscle.
Nan Zhuliu's movements were light and quick, and before long, he had tied her hair into a simple, neat ponytail. "There."
When Huo Lingtong came back to her senses and realized what Nan Zhuliu had done, a hint of pink quietly crept onto her cheeks and the tips of her ears.
But something else had drawn Nan Zhuliu's gaze, and he didn't notice.
Before long, a rich aroma of fish spread out, overwhelming the other snacks and drifting along the street outside Shrek Academy's gates, lingering without fading.
Everyone who caught the scent involuntarily twitched their noses, silently marveling at how delicious it smelled.
Some reacted quickly and began following the aroma to find its source.
With Huo Lingtong using her Spirit Eyes to keep track of the finest details, the first grilled fish was soon ready, fresh off the grill.
Without hesitation, Huo Lingtong held the grilled fish out to Nan Zhuliu. "Zhuliu, you've been helping me for so long. Have a grilled fish to tide you over."
Nan Zhuliu didn't stand on ceremony. He took the grilled fish and began enjoying it, bite by bite.
Just then, a young man in casual clothes who looked a few years older than them came over. Seeing Nan Zhuliu eating with such relish, his eyes immediately lit up.
If one of the two stallholders was eating it himself, it couldn't taste too bad.
The young man hurried over and asked, "Little brother, little sister, how much is your grilled fish?"
Huo Lingtong hadn't expected their first customer to arrive so quickly. She was happy but also a little nervous, unsure whether these customers would accept the high price.
"Big brother, it's one silver soul coin per grilled fish."
The young man was very straightforward, handing Nan Zhuliu a silver soul coin with almost no hesitation. "I'll try one."
At this, Huo Lingtong's slightly anxious heart settled completely, and her cheeks flushed a little with happiness.
Once the fish was cooked just right, she deftly handed it over, fresh off the grill.
The young man took the grilled fish and, heedless of it having just come off the grill, eagerly tore off a big bite.
"Mmm, delicious! This is so delicious!"
The young man praised it through a mouthful of fish, then handed over two more silver soul coins. "Little sister, pack another two for me to take away."
"Of course. Please wait a moment."
While he waited, quite a few more people gathered around.
Seeing how enthusiastically the young man tore into his fish, they soon formed a long queue in front of Huo Lingtong's grilled fish stall.
Just as Nan Zhuliu had said, almost none of these customers were put off by the price of one silver soul coin. After tasting the delicious grilled fish, some even bought several more.
It made even Nan Zhuliu wonder whether pricing them at one silver soul coin was a little too cheap.
The hundred fish they had prepared soon ran out, but by then, the queue stretched beyond sight.
Huo Lingtong was a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, everyone. Today's grilled fish is sold out. I'm really sorry to have made you wait for nothing."
Her words immediately drew a wave of complaints from the queue, and quite a few people urged her to hurry and restock.
But Huo Lingtong was very disciplined. To leave more time for cultivation, she had only planned to sell a hundred grilled fish that day in the first place. So even with many customers urging her to restock, she resolutely began packing up.
Seeing this, those at the back of the queue could only disperse in disappointment.
Just then, someone asked, "Little sister, will you be setting up your stall again tomorrow?"
Huo Lingtong nodded and gave an approximate time.
A burst of cheers immediately rose from the crowd.
On the way back to the hotel, Huo Lingtong counted the day's takings as she walked. "Not counting the cost of the grill and ingredients, today's total income came to... ninety-six silver soul coins!!!"
Huo Lingtong had never seen so much money in her life, and that figure was after deducting the fish Nan Zhuliu had eaten and their expenses along the way.
No wonder Nan Zhuliu had said running a roadside stall wasn't about scraping by, but about making big money. The profits were outrageous.