1:25 PM.

Jiang Liu closed up for a break.

The customers had completely cleaned out the shop.

Everything from the buns and juices to the yak beef and tuna was a huge hit.

To each their own, of course. Some preferred the yak, potato, and mushroom soup, while others favored the tuna buns.

Under the afternoon sun.

Uncle Niu rode up on his tricycle, a portable speaker in tow, and stopped at the entrance.

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he got off, broom in hand, and called out to Jiang Liu, who was counting money at the counter:

"Boss Jiang, business is booming, I see! Sold out again?"

Jiang Liu looked up. "Just sold the last of it. How come you weren’t in line today, Uncle Niu?"

Uncle Niu took a long drag from his hand-rolled cigarette, coughing as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Ah, don’t even ask. My daughter-in-law started a fight with my son over your juice. Sigh."

"Over my juice?" Jiang Liu was stunned.

’What’s wrong with my juice?’

Uncle Niu sighed. "You’ve been giving me juice pretty often lately. I couldn’t bring myself to drink it, so I gave it to my son. Who knew your juice was so good that the two of them would fight over how to split it? My daughter-in-law even threatened to jump off the building."

"I spent the whole morning talking her down. It’s finally over."

Jiang Liu: ???

He was speechless.

After a moment of silence, Uncle Niu started sweeping the entrance for Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu came out from the back kitchen with two bottles of juice and five buns. "Uncle Niu, keep these for yourself," he suggested. "If your son and daughter-in-law want some, tell them to get in line like everyone else. Don’t spoil them."

Uncle Niu accepted the juice, deeply moved.

"Boss Jiang, you’re the one who really knows how to look after people. Don’t worry, I’ll listen to you. I’m drinking these myself. I’m not giving them to those two little animals at home."

"It’s so frustrating... If only my son were half the man you are, I’d be content."

Uncle Niu let out an emotional sigh and started sweeping with even more vigor.

He decided he would promote Jiang Liu’s shop even more enthusiastically from now on.

Jiang Liu finished counting his earnings.

His net profit from the lunch rush was nearly 180,000 yuan.

The yak beef and tuna alone had brought in over 160,000 of that.

’I’ve made so much money. I should give back to the neighbors with some perks in the future. Something easy to make would be best...’

He didn’t care about the monetary cost, but the cost in time was another matter.

Take steamed corn, for example. It was delicious, cost about two hundred yuan to make, and wasn’t time-consuming. As long as someone helped him shuck it, all he had to do was place it in the steamer.

And for just two hundred yuan, he could earn even more goodwill from his customers. What was not to like?

Jiang Liu understood that if he wanted to have a long-term business here, or even build a wider reputation, word-of-mouth was crucial.

No matter how delicious your food was, it wouldn’t work if you ripped off customers, offered no benefits, and didn’t consider their needs.

Lost in thought, Jiang Liu cleaned up the shop without even realizing it.

He made himself a bowl of yak, potato, and mushroom soup and sat down at the entrance to eat.

He pulled out his phone and checked WeChat.

His precious girl at home had sent him a message.

Jun Qingmeng: [Photo]

Jun Qingmeng: "Look, look! Quick, look! This is the little sapling Tongtong and I planted. Isn’t it cute? The principal decided to let us keep it at the school."

Jun Qingmeng: [Video]

Jun Qingmeng: "This is the dance they did at kindergarten today. Our daughter is right at the front. A center-stage debut!"

Jun Qingmeng: "I haven’t seen you all morning and I’m a little sad. The kids are all asleep now. I’m going to check if they’re tucked in properly."

Jiang Liu popped a piece of beef into his mouth and opened the photo. It showed a small sapling with round leaves.

In the video, Tongtong was dancing at the very front, wiggling her little bottom with great enthusiasm.

Jiang Liu: "Nice. I just finished up. Miss you both a lot."

He sent the reply.

Then he lowered his head and got back to his meal.

The yak, potato, and mushroom soup was delicious. Following the example of his customers, Jiang Liu drank the last of the broth and licked the bowl clean.

The small bowl of soup settled warmly and comfortably in his stomach.

The sun warmed his back.

Before he knew it, Jiang Liu had leaned back in his chair and drifted off to sleep.

The customers loitering by the entrance had an unspoken agreement not to disturb him.

They genuinely liked Jiang Liu.

If Jiang Liu ever left Yangzhai Street, they would be absolutely heartbroken.

Jiang Liu woke up a little after 2:40 PM.

"Fell asleep again. Mmm, that was a good nap."

He stretched, stood up to wash his bowl, and glanced at the refrigerated display case.

He was almost out of fennel.

’Time to go shopping.’

Jiang Liu glanced around cautiously before buying a pile of seasonings from the back kitchen.

Salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, five-spice powder, corn oil, and so on.

In total, he spent over three hundred yuan.

After greeting the customers outside, he drove to the wet market.

It was close, only a few minutes’ drive.

He browsed for a while.

Besides fennel, Jiang Liu also bought some fresh tomatoes and green peppers.

He was back at the shop by three o’clock.

By now, a crowd of over a hundred customers had gathered at the entrance.

When they saw Jiang Liu return,

the customers greeted him with fawning enthusiasm.

"Been shopping, Brother Jiang?"

"Boss Jiang, can you open a little earlier this afternoon? My cravings are killing me!"

"We’ll see. I’ll do my best," Jiang Liu said, holding his groceries.

"I took the whole afternoon off work just for this. I’d better be able to get a spot in line."

"No kidding. It’s so hard to get a taste of Brother Jiang’s food. I can’t even think about eating anything else now. All I want is Boss Jiang’s cooking."

Jiang Liu chatted casually with his customers for a few moments before heading back inside to work.

By now, Jiang Liu’s fame was gradually spreading.

Food lovers from other provinces were traveling great distances to visit, causing nearby hotels to be fully booked every day.

Some people were even considering opening a new inn nearby. It would surely rake in a fortune!

Jiang Liu was oblivious to all of this.

All he knew was that more and more unfamiliar faces were loitering around his shop’s entrance.

As evening approached, around six o’clock.

His two favorite girls finally returned.

A smiling Jun Qingmeng led a bouncing Tongtong by the hand.

"Good afternoon, grandpas and grandmas!"

"Is that Tongtong, back from school?"

"Is this little girl Boss Jiang’s daughter? Hiss... how is she so pretty? This old lady just adores her."

"And that’s Brother Jiang’s wife next to her. She’s a total goddess. I’m so jealous of Brother Jiang... but I still like his food more, hehe."

Tongtong announced in her sweet, childish voice, "Don’t worry, everyone! I’m going inside to supervise Daddy and make him work faster so you can all eat sooner."

"HAHAHAHA!"

"This little girl is so considerate for her age. She’s just a little hard on her dad."

"That’s hilarious."

The neighbors and regulars were all amused by Tongtong.

Her antics lightened the tense atmosphere of the queue considerably.

Jun Qingmeng pushed open the glass door, leading Tongtong inside.

They were back in the shop.

Jiang Tongtong excitedly darted into the back kitchen, throwing her arms around Jiang Liu’s leg and snuggling against it. "Daddy, your little padded jacket is baaack!"

"Jiang Liu, your big cutie is baaack too!"

The two of them looked like they were begging for a hug.

Jiang Liu was in the middle of making buns. He laughed and said, "Go on and play by yourselves. I’m making buns, and my hands are oily."

"Okay!"

"Your big sweetheart will listen," Qingmeng added playfully.

Tongtong proudly pulled a sheet jam-packed with cartoon stickers from her schoolbag and started circling around Jiang Liu.

’Daddy, hurry up and ask!!’

Jiang Liu found this amusing. He asked while still working, "Where did those stickers come from?"

Tongtong said smugly, "Tongtong got first place in dancing today. This is the prize!"

After speaking, she looked at Jiang Liu expectantly, her eyes twinkling.

’Praise me, praise me.’

Jiang Liu nodded, feigning surprise. "Wow, I didn’t realize my daughter was so talented! The other parents must have been so jealous."

"Hehe, right?!"

Tongtong held up her stickers, grinning like a fool.