Chapter 16: Business is Booming
The next day, he arrived at the construction site at 10:45 AM as usual. A few people seemed to be waiting at the gate, Qiao Guoxing among them.
Qiao Guoxing had discussed a plan with his wife the previous night after work. He decided that when he got off for lunch, he would go to the gate, buy a lunch box, and take it to the cafeteria. Then, once she was off work, they could eat the lunch box dishes along with the cafeteria food. That way, they could both eat well and get their fill.
From a distance, he saw a tall, thin figure on a tricycle, followed by a sturdy-looking teenager, and knew that Xu An and his helpers had arrived.
Qiao Guoxing squinted, trying to make out the day’s menu.
"Sliced Pork in Hot Chili Oil, Winter Melon with Meatballs, Braised Tofu, and Night-blooming Cereus Soup; eight yuan a serving."
Just looking at the names of the dishes made Qiao Guoxing’s mouth water.
The moment Xu An parked, Qiao Guoxing rushed over, lifted the lid of the foam box, and grabbed a lunch box. He paid and then waited for Xu An to ladle him some soup.
The other workers quickly gathered around. Two of them were also buying for their workmates; one took three lunch boxes, and the other took four.
The first foam box was more than half empty.
It was non-stop after that first wave of customers. Xu An took the money, made change, and handed out the lunch boxes; Xu Le passed out the soup containers; Heping ladled the soup; and Xu Kang put on the lids. Their little assembly line ran in perfect order.
By the time Uncle Dongliang arrived with a group of workmates, only eight lunch boxes were left. His group snapped them all up, leaving a few other workers empty-handed.
Xu An had made a full forty-five servings today. He’d figured it would take a while, that he’d sell them gradually, but he never imagined they’d be all gone in under an hour.
The few who didn’t get a lunch box grumbled a bit, so Xu An gave each of them a free serving of the Night-blooming Cereus Soup. Only then did they leave, albeit reluctantly.
Xu Dongliang had been worried that Xu An’s business wouldn’t survive without him drumming up support. Now, seeing how things were, he could finally relax. Even without his help, the business was a success.
The construction site cafeteria was serving noodles again today, but the topping had been switched to a meat sauce, which was a little more substantial than yesterday’s, which had only contained a few slivers of meat.
Most workers didn’t complain about the cafeteria. It was free, after all. As long as it filled their stomachs, that was good enough.
As they were hunched over their bowls eating noodles, a savory, meaty aroma suddenly wafted by.
The fresh, savory, and spicy aroma attracted the attention of quite a few people. They looked all around, searching for the source of the scent, and their gazes finally landed on Qiao Guoxing and his wife.
The couple had lined up the food containers from Xu An’s stall on their table and were joyfully eating the dishes along with the cafeteria’s meat sauce noodles.
Watching the couple dig in with such relish, the other workers suddenly found the meat sauce noodles in their own bowls much less appealing.
Someone moseyed over, sat down beside Qiao Guoxing, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, brother," he asked bluntly, "where’d you get that lunch box? The spread looks amazing. How much is a serving?"
Qiao Guoxing was a straightforward man. He swallowed his mouthful of food and replied, "From a stall at the site entrance. It’s only eight yuan."
The words were barely out of his mouth when he felt a sharp pain on his foot. He looked down and saw his wife’s foot firmly on top of his.
Qiao Guoxing looked at his wife, a baffled expression on his face. "What?" he asked.
After the man left, his wife chided him in a low voice. "That little stall only has thirty or forty lunch boxes. There are five or six hundred people working here! If everyone knows about it, do you think you’ll still be able to buy one?"
"You think the owner’s a fool? If business is good, he’ll obviously make more," Qiao Guoxing said with a laugh. "He made a lot more today than he did yesterday. We don’t have to worry about not getting any."
"And when he makes more, do you think the portions will still have this much meat and this many dishes? Plenty of restaurants and fast-food joints start out with generous, affordable meals, but once business booms, they start cutting corners."
Her words sent a pang of regret through Qiao Guoxing.
"Well, what’s said is said. I can’t take it back," Qiao Guoxing said. He made a silent resolution: ’The moment he starts cutting corners, we’ll just stop buying from him.’
Because the quantity was larger, the average cost per unit was fifty cents less than yesterday. The net profit on forty servings was one hundred yuan.
Judging by the current sales, he could probably increase the quantity by another ten tomorrow and still sell out.
The next morning, he went to Bald Chen’s shop to pick up fifteen jin of meat, seven of which were pork belly. For vegetables, he prepared potatoes and some bok choy from his Second Uncle Xu Guoqiang’s home.
Today’s goal was a full fifty lunch boxes. Even Granny Xu helped prep vegetables from her rocking chair. After a mad rush, he barely managed to get to the site before eleven o’clock.
Some workers who got off early were waiting at the gate by 10:40. When there was still no sign of Xu An by 10:50, they figured he wasn’t coming and headed to the restaurant across the street instead.
Qiao Guoxing, who had finished work at 10:30, was waiting in the shade. He’d dozed off and woken up twice without any sign of Xu An, and he was starting to get anxious.
’Don’t tell me he did the math and realized he was losing money, so he decided not to come back.’
By 10:58, Qiao Guoxing’s wife had also come out.
"Where’s the little lunch box stall?"
"He’s not here yet. I don’t know if he’s coming at all."
"Let’s wait five more minutes. If he’s still not here by then, we need to hurry to the cafeteria, or else we’ll get stuck in a long line."
Xu An didn’t let the waiting crowd down. At eleven o’clock sharp, he appeared, pedaling his little tricycle with the two small kids still perched on it, followed by the young man on the bicycle.
Everyone’s eyes immediately went to the whiteboard tied to Xu An’s tricycle. Today’s menu: Braised Pork Belly, "Wolf-Tooth" Potatoes, Bok Choy, and Mung Bean Soup.
When they saw Braised Pork Belly on the menu, the crowd went wild. Fearing they’d miss out, they scrambled to grab the lunch boxes.
They clutched the lunch boxes in their hands and then waited patiently for Heping to ladle them some mung bean soup.
Although this first wave was only five or six people, they bought a total of sixteen lunch boxes.
After they frantically managed that first wave, things calmed down and there were no more mad rushes.
Of the workers coming out of the site gate, about two or three out of every ten chose Xu An’s stall.
Some were regulars who had eaten there the past two days. Others were tempted by their workmates eating nearby and decided to give it a try. Then there were those who had been enticed by the fragrant aroma of Qiao Guoxing and his wife’s lunch in the cafeteria yesterday.
Uncle Dongliang was half an hour later than usual today, and by the time he came out, Xu An’s stall only had three lunch boxes left.
"How many lunch boxes did you bring today? To be down to just a few so quickly," Xu Dongliang said. He hadn’t thought he was all that late, but he never imagined there would be next to none left.
"Fifty," Xu An said, teasing Xu Dongliang. "You’re a little late today. A few workmates already went across the street for food. If they hadn’t, there wouldn’t have been any left for you."
"You’re getting bold. It’s only your third day, and you’re already making this many? Weren’t you worried they wouldn’t sell?"
Xu An chuckled. "It’s the workers who gave me the courage."
"I think fifty servings is about right," Xu Dongliang said, offering a timely warning when he saw Xu An seemed to be thinking of making even more. "There are some guys here willing to spend the money, but most aren’t. If you make any more, I’m afraid you won’t be able to sell them all."
Xu Dongliang was from a rural village himself, so he knew these lunch boxes weren’t cheap to make. If even four or five went unsold, it would wipe out half the profit.
"Got it," Xu An said with a nod.
Fifty lunch boxes was about his personal limit. To make any more, he’d need to bring on another helper, which would cut into his profits even more. His current situation didn’t permit that.
Qiao Guoxing strode happily into the cafeteria carrying the lunch box. His wife had already gotten her food and was waiting at a table. He passed the box to her, then hurried to the counter, grabbed a tray, and got in line.
Even though Xu An’s late arrival had caused a small delay, Qiao Guoxing still managed to get his food before the line got too long.
He had just gotten his food when he turned around and saw a crowd of people gathered around his wife’s table.
"Hey, open it up, let us see what you got today! Let us get a whiff, it’ll make our noodles taste better."
"Yeah, it smells amazing even with the lid on! I can’t imagine how good it’ll be when you open it."
"Come on, don’t be so stingy! Just let us have a look and a sniff. It’s not like a piece of meat will disappear."
"Shoo, shoo! If you want to look and smell so badly, go buy your own. You can hang it around your neck and sniff it all day for all I care!"
Grumbling, Qiao Guoxing pushed his way through the crowd and sat down at the table.
The crowd booed in jest, and while some dispersed, a few die-hards remained, unfazed, still waiting for the big reveal.
Qiao Guoxing’s wife deftly lifted the lids off the three containers, and the rich aroma of braised meat instantly flooded the cafeteria.
He’d been eyeing the braised pork. Qiao Guoxing raised his chopsticks, speared a piece with swift precision, and popped it into his mouth. "This braised pork today is pretty damn good," he commented as he chewed. "So hearty. Makes you feel like you should be feasting on meat and downing booze."
Qiao Guoxing’s wife also took a piece. After a few chews, she remarked with a sigh, "The braised pork is good, but I liked yesterday’s Sliced Pork in Hot Chili Oil better. Fragrant, savory, salty, and spicy... that’s more my style."
The few people standing nearby took in the aroma of the braised pork and began furiously slurping down huge mouthfuls of their own noodles.
Eating their noodles while enveloped in that scent, it almost felt like they were eating meat, too.
The noodles filled their bellies, but not their cravings. They were desperate for some meat.