Chapter 109: He’s So Foolish, Really
Boss Cao had never been so motivated. He found an acquaintance and bought a simple stove the very next day. He already had pots, pans, bowls, and plates; the new owner hadn’t wanted them when he transferred his old shop, so Boss Cao had just hauled them all home. He never expected they’d come in handy now.
He’d thought about the price for his noodles and decided on 50 Star Coins a bowl—10 Star Coins cheaper than even Shen Lu’s fried rice and noodles.
This left him with a profit of only 5 Star Coins per bowl, but at least he wasn’t losing money. For a man as consumed by revenge as Boss Cao, this was perfectly acceptable.
He even regretted not doing this sooner.
’I was so stupid. I really was.’
’I spent all that money pulling strings, and it didn’t do jack shit. I should’ve just set up a stall next to Shen Lu from the start and squeezed her out.’
’It would’ve cost less, and I wouldn’t have been humiliated in front of everyone yesterday.’
’I was just too concerned with my pride at first. I didn’t want to resort to such a classless tactic.’
’Goddammit, we’re all from the Lower City District. Who gives a damn about pride?’
Having reached this epiphany, Boss Cao felt like a new man. Even his attitude toward his customers became amicable.
He stopped boiling the noodles until they were mush. He started adding a small spoonful of soy sauce to the broth, and he even stir-fried his only topping, pickled vegetables, in oil. It didn’t change the flavor much, but it added a hint of fragrant oiliness.
A bowl of noodles like this, while not nearly as delicious as what Shen Lu made, had its own merits: it was cheap, it was filling, and it was a great value.
Boss Cao puffed out his chest and shot Shen Lu a provocative glance.
’You’re angry, aren’t you? Your heart must be twisting, like it’s being clawed by a cat.’
’Just take it, you little bitch. You stole my business just like this. Now I’m just giving you an eye for an eye, letting you taste your own medicine.’
Shen Lu didn’t stay long. She just confirmed that the stall was indeed run by Boss Cao, noted what he was selling and for how much, and then headed back.
To say she wasn’t bothered would be a lie; she was, a little.
She hadn’t expected her customers’ loyalty to be so fickle. When she’d run into trouble with her stall before, plenty of people had spoken up for her. Many of her old regulars had come to her grand opening yesterday, too. Even though not many participated in the event, Shen Lu understood.
But now, just one day later, they were flocking to Boss Cao’s noodle stall simply because she wasn’t selling fried rice anymore.
’I guess it’s best not to get too personal when you’re running a business.’
When she returned to her shop, Shen Lu saw a dozen or so new people in the fast-food section. A closer look revealed they were from the Gold Street management office.
Shen Lu thought for a moment before bringing each of them a glass of mint water. After all, her shop was still under the jurisdiction of Ma Laosan and his colleagues; it was never a bad idea to stay on their good side.
Back when Shen Lu had her stall on Gold Street, only Ma Laosan and his Ma Zai had stopped by to eat a few times. Old Xu, the director, and the others had never tried her cooking.
They’d considered a street stall beneath them.
But now that Shen Lu had opened a proper shop, they decided to come for a taste. It had been too chaotic for them to drop by during the crayfish competition yesterday, but today was the first official day of business.
The first bite left the director and his men stunned. They’d heard Ma Laosan praise Shen Lu’s cooking, but they never imagined it would be *this* good.
The braised pork was a perfect, square-cut piece of belly, with distinct layers of fat and lean meat. You had to be gentle when picking it up with chopsticks; a little too much pressure and it would fall apart. It truly melted in your mouth, leaving a rich, savory aroma behind.
Having received a complimentary glass of mint water from Shen Lu, none of them held back their praise.
"Xiao Shen’s cooking is good enough to open a shop in the Upper City District," the director said, his voice thick with the pomposity of a petty official. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
Shen Lu listened, sensing an ulterior motive in his words.
She smiled sweetly. "The second young master of the Bai Family says the same thing. He’s mentioned several times that he wants to partner with me and open a shop in the Upper City District."
The director might have been just a minor official, but he was crystal clear on who the big players were in the Upper City District. Hearing Shen Lu’s casual name-drop, his ambition of getting a free lunch here every day quickly deflated.
’Fine. The girl might have been kicked out of the Shen Family, but she still has the connections she made when she was their young miss. For their sake, I won’t push things too far.’
’Still, as the director of the Gold Street management office, I have to get *some* perks.’
And so, instead of paying for their meal, the men from the management office signed a bill.
"At the end of the month, Xiao Shen, just come to the management office and find the finance department for reimbursement," the director said, wiping his mouth. Then he and his men swaggered out.
Shen Lu stared at the paper slip with the director’s signature, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
’This money will probably never be reimbursed.’ Fortunately, the system still registered the dozen or so braised pork set meals as sold. Otherwise, she would have truly been adding insult to injury.
In the blink of an eye, it was one o’clock. Shen Lu checked the progress of her daily mission. She hadn’t even sold 50 portions of the braised pork set meal, and her revenue was falling far short. Her satisfaction rating, however, was holding steady at Four Stars.
’I have to come up with something.’
Shen Lu bit her lip as she sat down at the front counter, racking her brain for a way to attract more customers.
Shen Lu was unwilling to resort to lowering prices or bringing back the fried rice and noodles. If she caved today, she’d be letting her customers lead her by the nose forever.
She thought for a long time, but her mind grew increasingly sluggish, almost freezing up completely.
The young woman slumped onto the counter in discouragement.
’I thought opening the shop was a new beginning. I never expected that yesterday’s triumph would be followed by such a dismal day.’
"Was I wrong to get rid of the fried rice and noodles?"
Shen Lu couldn’t help but doubt her decision.
Suddenly, the Light Brain on her wrist lit up. Shen Lu tapped it open and saw a notification: the video she had posted that morning had entered the platform’s top 100 trending videos for the day.
"That’s right! I can use the internet to drive traffic!" Shen Lu felt as if she’d woken from a dream. She quickly edited the video she had filmed earlier of the braised pork being cooked and uploaded it.
Shen Lu left the first comment herself.
Little Deer Cuisine: We’re officially open for business! Today’s special is the Braised Pork Set Meal for 120 Star Coins. We also have our regular offerings of Malatang, marinated snacks, and mint water. Come on down and give it a try!~
Gao Jie, who had won first place in yesterday’s crayfish competition, had taken his buddies out drinking in the Upper City District to celebrate. He hadn’t gotten home until morning and had slept straight through till noon.
As soon as he woke up, he habitually opened his Light Brain, his eyes assaulted by over a hundred messages.
He squinted as he tapped open the messages, and his groggy mind snapped into focus.
"Goddammit, why the hell did that ’Trending Uncovered’ bastard make a video of me eating shrimp?!"
Gao Jie bolted upright and started firing back furiously at the people ridiculing him.
Gao Jie: What do you mean ’go eat something decent’? So what if it’s a shop in the Lower City District? The food is damn good, okay?
Gao Jie: Fuck you! How the hell was the way I ate shrimp ugly? I looked handsome as fuck!
Gao Jie: Don’t believe me? Fine, don’t. It’s not like I expected a pig-brain like you to get it anyway.
He furiously closed the chat window and went to the video platform to watch the trending clip of himself. As he scrolled randomly, he happened upon the braised pork video Shen Lu had just posted.
The glistening, jiggly braised pork, coated in a rich, dark sauce, looked absolutely bewitching. Gao Jie’s mouth began to water uncontrollably.
An idea sparked. Gao Jie sent a message to the people who had been mocking him, telling them he was buying them lunch and that they should come and meet him.