The three of them devoured their meal like a whirlwind.

They leaned back in their chairs, clutching their stomachs.

Xu Zhiwen said intermittently between burps:

"So, HIC, full. I’m stuffed to death. If you ask me, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to sell these buns for three hundred each. And this fish... it should be at least ten thousand a plate."

Wang Han glanced at Jiang Liu, who was packing up some buns, but didn’t say anything.

"Wang Han, do you know what kind of fish this is? How have I never tasted anything with this texture before?" Shi Ruining asked, puzzled.

She had been to plenty of sashimi restaurants, big and small, but she had never had raw fish this delicious.

Her heart filled with curiosity and amazement for Jiang Liu.

’Where did this owner get such top-quality fish?’ she wondered. ’Even the buns and the juice are this incredible.’

Xu Zhiwen chimed in:

"Exactly! I want to know too. I’ve had tuna before, but the texture was nothing like this!"

Wang Han shook her head. "I don’t know." She glanced at the two of them. "All that matters is that it’s delicious. Everything here is healthy and fresh. Why overthink it?"

The two nodded thoughtfully.

Xu Zhiwen called out politely to Jiang Liu, "Boss, could you please pack three orders of tuna for us to go?"

He had just overheard from another customer that the buns and juice had purchase limits.

It was a bit of a shame.

"That’ll be one hundred and sixty-five yuan in total."

Jiang Liu stated the price to a customer at the window before turning his head to reply, "Sorry, the tuna is limited to one order per person, first come, first served."

He hadn’t set a limit in the morning because it was the first time he was selling it and didn’t know how well it would do.

But since it sold so well, he had to limit it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to the other customers if one person bought thirty orders.

"Huh? A limit??"

Xu Zhiwen’s eyes went wide. "Are you a foolish boss? You’re turning down money?"

Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow. "What’s it to you whether I make money or not?"

’It’s not like I’ve ever had trouble selling my food,’ he thought.

Xu Zhiwen was taken aback and a little angry.

Beside him, Shi Ruining tugged at his arm.

Xu Zhiwen snapped out of it. After a moment’s daze, he quickly apologized, "I’m sorry, Boss. Your food is just too delicious, I got carried away. What I mean is, I can give you a lot of money. Can you sell me three orders?"

"I’ll pay triple the price, how about it?"

Wang Han frowned. ’Why are my friends so reckless?’

’It’s not just embarrassing... what if this affects my relationship with Jiang Liu?’

"Forget it." Jiang Liu waved a dismissive hand, not bothering to say anything more.

The many customers at the door breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, their fondness for Jiang Liu grew.

A boss like this not only made delicious food at a fair price but also considered the average customer.

It was just a shame that Jiang Liu had removed the "Care Box," or they would have tossed him ten or twenty yuan at the very least.

Yang Tuoyang stood on her tiptoes, looked Jiang Liu in the eye, and said, "Brother Jiang, can I get fifteen buns, three cups of juice, and one order of tuna to go?"

"Sure. I’ll go get the buns. Just a moment."

Jiang Liu went into the kitchen to get the buns.

The lunch rush was as busy as ever.

Jiang Liu’s shop had even indirectly boosted the revenue of the entire street.

An old man passing by marveled to himself, "It’s been a long time since Yangzhai Street was this lively."

「12:35 PM.」

The buns, juice, and tuna—all the food was completely sold out.

A warm breeze blew into the small shop, only to be consumed by the cool air from the air conditioner.

’I made over thirty thousand from the tuna alone this lunch. I might as well call it money-sucking fish instead.’

At the counter, Jiang Liu was amazed after calculating his earnings.

After deducting costs, the profit from the tuna was 31,200 yuan.

He’d sold a thousand buns again, with the profit still just over 2,000.

The net income from the juice was 12,000.

Including the morning’s sales, his net income for the day was 115,050 yuan.

’If I keep up this pace, I could open a new shop as early as next month,’ Jiang Liu thought.

He had been entertaining this idea for a while.

The shops would have luxurious decor, and he’d train three chefs and five waiters for each one.

He would provide some of the special ingredients and seasonings.

He’d adjust his strategy based on the situation as it developed.

As for the cooking technique, the food at the new shops might not be as good as his own.

But even if it was only thirty percent as good, it would still be profitable. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

As for his main shop, he didn’t need anyone else involved. It would focus solely on building a reputation for high-quality, boutique food.

Jiang Liu started cleaning up the shop.

He swept the floor, wiped the tables, and emptied the trash cans of juice bottles.

He turned off the air conditioner to let the unit rest and cool down.

The room quickly became stuffy and hot.

「During this time, Xue Guang paid a visit.」

He got his wish and finally had the wild bluefin tuna sashimi he’d been craving.

After eating it, Xue Guang was completely stunned.

He’d been eating fish for decades, but this was the first time he’d ever had sashimi with such a sublime texture.

This was no longer just about satisfying a craving; it was a full-body, all-encompassing experience.

「After he finished cleaning the shop.」

Jiang Liu’s cheeks felt itchy as beads of sweat rolled down from his scalp.

He turned the air conditioner back on.

Following some online tutorials and adding his own improvements, he prepared a braised tuna dish in the kitchen.

The bright red fish meat was sprinkled with chopped green onions.

"Not bad. It looks okay, but I wonder how it tastes," Jiang Liu said, nodding in satisfaction.

He took a small bite.

Jiang Liu wasn’t entirely satisfied—at least by his own standards. But if this dish were served in any other famous restaurant, it would definitely be a signature item.

「While he was eating.」

Jiang Liu habitually unlocked his phone.

He glanced at WeChat and saw another message from Jun Qingmeng.

Feeling a bit helpless, Jiang Liu opened it and took a look.

Jun Qingmeng: [Photo]

Jun Qingmeng: "Are you tired? I miss you. Tongtong and I just finished eating. The little one was complaining that the food at her kindergarten is bad. It’s all your fault. (Heh heh.)"

In the photo, Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong had their cheeks pressed together, their arms forming a heart shape.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were mother and daughter.

Jiang Liu replied: "Not tired."

Closing his phone, Jiang Liu pulled down the rolling shutter door, pushed some chairs together, propped his legs up on a chair back, and lay down comfortably to enjoy a moment of peace.

He had barely closed his eyes for a moment

when his phone rang.

Jiang Liu thought it was Jun Qingmeng.

When he picked it up and looked, his expression soured as if he’d just eaten a pile of shit.

It was a call from Yang Yixue’s mother, Li Xiaoyan.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Liu rejected the call.

As for Li Xiaoyan, his former mother-in-law, he didn’t have a single good feeling about her. In fact, he found her even more disgusting than Yang Yixue.

When she first moved into his house, she had been decent enough.

But after Yang Yixue borrowed money from Jiang Liu’s parents and her business took off, Li Xiaoyan became so arrogant her head was practically in the clouds, and she looked down on Jiang Liu’s family more and more.

Every day, she acted like the master of the house, ordering Jiang Liu around.

She even told Jiang Liu to his face that his parents were nobodies and that if their son hadn’t married her daughter, they would have amounted to nothing their whole lives.

Her attitude made Jiang Liu sick to his stomach.

’When had his mother ever enjoyed a single day of luxury because of Yang Yixue?’

’If my family hadn’t lent her the money, would she be where she is today?’

Another incident had made Jiang Liu furious.

Li Xiaoyan, annoyed that Tongtong was being mischievous, had locked the child in the study.

Then, she was called away by friends to play mahjong and didn’t come back until that night.

Tongtong had been left to cry in the study until her voice was hoarse.

Jiang Liu had argued with Li Xiaoyan plenty of times, but it was useless.

That woman was so thick-skinned a laser couldn’t get through.

Sure enough, the phone rang again the instant he rejected the call.

Jiang Liu directly blocked and deleted the number.

Not a moment later,

his phone started vibrating again.

"What is wrong with her?"

Jiang Liu was annoyed.

He finally had a moment to rest, and now this crap was starting to bother him.

Unlocking his phone, he was somewhat surprised. It was a call from Yang Yixue.