Chapter 28: The Way a Man Should Be
Xu An took stock of his recent earnings again. This was his second week running the stall, and combined with the first week’s income, his total net profit was 1,797.50.
If it weren’t for the promise of making twenty thousand, this income would actually be quite good.
Based on the current sales of fifty-five boxed lunches per day, his total monthly income could reach five thousand.
You had to understand, a university graduate’s monthly salary was only a little over two thousand at the time. For Xu An, an eighteen-year-old who had just finished his college entrance exams, to be able to make five thousand a month was quite an impressive feat.
But Xu An felt that selling fifty-five boxed lunches for a monthly income of five thousand was far from his limit.
The Zijing Garden construction site wouldn’t show its true potential until the first phase of homes went up for pre-sale, so the current twenty lunches sold there was already the limit.
However, the Hai City Library construction site still had a lot of untapped potential. Judging by today’s foot traffic, he was confident he could increase his stock to eighty lunches and still sell out.
But increasing the stock to eighty would be a bit of a strain for him to handle alone, and hiring another person wasn’t quite cost-effective.
’What if... I just jump straight to one hundred and twenty lunches?’
’Twenty for the Zijing Garden site, and one hundred for the Hai City Library site!’
’It’s a little reckless, but go big or go home.’
The main reason Xu An had the confidence to make this decision was that the customer base at the Hai City Library site wasn’t limited to the construction workers. Nearby residents and office workers were also buying his boxed lunches, and in fact, these last two groups were the majority of his customers.
’If I’m going to hire someone, I’ll have to ask Third Granny for help.’
Third Granny had been a Five Blessings Elder for twenty years. For miles around, any family holding a joyous occasion would invite her over to bring good fortune.
Over time, Third Granny also became the most well-informed person in the area.
For something like finding a helper, asking Third Granny was definitely the right move.
Another thing was that while the pay Xu An offered was about average, the working hours were from five in the morning to two in the afternoon.
For the same salary, most people would rather find a job washing dishes, which could also earn them eight or nine hundred a month and came with a more regular schedule.
However, there was one advantage: Xu An provided lunch, all you can eat.
After receiving Xu An’s request, Third Granny pulled out two thick notebooks from under her landline phone. They were filled with densely packed phone numbers.
"This one’s conditions are a good fit, but he’s too far from Xu Family Village. To start work at five, he’d have to head over at four."
"This one seems okay too, but he stutters a bit. Anzi is running a business, so someone with a stutter isn’t a good fit."
"This one... has a terrible temper. Always stirring up trouble. No good."
"This one..."
She flipped through more than ten pages without finding anyone suitable.
Third Granny turned another page, carefully scanning every name from top to bottom. As her finger landed on a name in the middle, her somewhat cloudy eyes suddenly lit up.
’Found one. This person is a perfect fit in every way.’
Xu An returned home and went into the storage room behind the kitchen to start searching.
He remembered that his family had a large iron wok when he was a child. It had been left unused after Mr. and Mrs. Xu passed away and should be somewhere in the storage room.
If he wanted to increase his output, his current small pot wouldn’t be enough. He needed a big iron wok to be more efficient.
Beneath a large pile of junk, Xu An found the old iron wok from his memories.
The old iron wok was placed upside down on the floor, and the dim light of the storage room made it impossible for Xu An to see its condition.
He strained to reach under it, grabbed the handle of the old wok, and tugged hard to pull it out.
SNAP.
The only thing that came out with his hand was the wok’s handle. Taking it into the sunlight, he saw it was completely covered in rust—eaten straight through.
’Looks like this old wok is in bad shape.’
He first moved the things blocking it, then carefully lifted the wok with both hands and carried it to the empty space outside the storage room.
The moment he set it on the ground, a large piece fell off the side of the wok, leaving a huge hole.
’Well, so much for that. This old wok is a total write-off.’
Still, the search wasn’t a complete waste. Xu An found a four-tiered steamer hanging from the storage room ceiling, and it was in pretty good condition.
’Now that I have a steamer, I can unlock steamed dishes.’
There was a blacksmith shop in Qianhai Town. It had been open since before his grandmother married into the family and was now run by the third generation—a true, century-old, time-honored business.
The son of the old blacksmith, who now ran the shop, was currently forging ironware with his apprentice in the red-hot boiler room.
Both men were shirtless, showing off their sturdy upper bodies. They wore black aprons, and sweat dripped down from their heads, leaving no dry spot on their skin.
"Hey, blacksmith! I want to buy an iron wok, one meter in diameter. You got any?" Xu An stood at the entrance without going in, shouting into the shop.
The old blacksmith glanced at Xu An without responding and continued hammering the block of iron.
The young man next to the old blacksmith heard him and came out. He took a few iron woks down from the wall and placed them in front of Xu An.
"Both of these are one-meter woks. This one was made by my master, it’s three hundred and fifty. This one was made by me, it’s two hundred and twenty," the young man said, pointing at the two woks.
Xu An looked both woks up and down. They didn’t seem very different, so he asked, "Is the material the same for both?"
After getting an affirmative answer, Xu An decisively chose the two-hundred-and-twenty-yuan wok.
As he was leaving with the wok, four children came by, roughhousing as they walked.
"Zhang Tian, you’re such a scaredy-cat! You got scared by a caterpillar! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Yeah, you’re not like a real man at all. Look, I’m not scared."
"I’m not scared."
The boy in the middle being teased, named Zhang Tian, had delicate features and fair, clear skin.
Listening to his friends’ laughter, the boy’s face turned bright red. He puffed out his cheeks and yelled, "I’m not a scaredy-cat! The bug just appeared so suddenly, I wasn’t mentally prepared, that’s why I got scared!"
The little boy’s words were clearly unconvincing, which only made the other children laugh harder.
"Let’s play a game! If you don’t dare to play, you’re the scaredy-cats!" The boy’s eyes darted around as he put his hands on his hips, looking very cocky.
"What game? What game?"
Hearing about a game, the other children got excited and repeatedly asked what it was.
The four children had already walked past the blacksmith shop and reached the street corner, and Xu An couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation.
Seeing that Xu An hadn’t left and was still standing at the entrance, the young blacksmith poked his head out for a look.
"That’s the son of the owner of the new food processing company that opened in town this year. I heard they had him after being married for many years, so he’s pretty spoiled. Look how pale and delicate he is, doesn’t look like a boy at all."
As he spoke, the young blacksmith suddenly raised his arm, showing off his bulging biceps.
"See these muscles? This is what a real man should look like."
After saying his piece, the young blacksmith went back inside to work with the old blacksmith.
Xu An glanced toward the street corner. The children had already turned and disappeared from sight.