Chapter 64 - 59: Orders Exploded Again

Chapter 64: Chapter 59: Orders Exploded Again

The cold snap from the Cold Front posed a significant threat and inconvenience to the residents of Beiluo City, but it also ushered the city into a rare period of stability.

Aside from the low temperatures and occasional harsh winds and heavy snow, all other natural disasters seemed to be on pause, as if the city had briefly returned to a winter scene from before the calamities.

Amidst this stability, a relaxed atmosphere settled over the entire city. People became more willing to spend money. Even residents of the Fourth Ring no longer hesitated to dip into their savings, and eating out once a day became quite common.

After a few days of building up a good reputation, more and more Fourth Ring residents started stopping by Ning He’s stall after work, and business visibly picked up.

Ning He was working nonstop between her canteen and her stall, and she was dead tired. Fortunately, she was making good money.

After a full month of operation, and after deducting the stall’s rent and equipment fees, they had earned a total of over seven thousand.

Connie, holding her and Ah Huai’s share of the profits, excitedly grabbed Ning He’s hand, at a loss for words.

From selling meat sauce noodles and salad back at the shelter to setting up a stall and running the canteen, they had earned over ten thousand in just over a month of knowing Ning He.

Ten thousand!

Even when her noodle shop business was at its best, she couldn’t make five thousand.

Ning He, however, was calm. She patted Connie’s shoulder. "This is just the beginning. We still need to cover the next stage of Ding Xiang’s recovery fees, gather the money for the fine, and save up for Juan’s tuition. We’ve still got a lot of work to do."

Hearing this, Connie immediately composed herself. She threw herself back into her work with even more vigor, as if she’d had a shot of adrenaline.

The next day, Old Wood brought over a banner to hang at Ning He’s stall. It was the symbol for first place in the previous month’s comprehensive evaluation, and it had moved from Alisa’s stall to hers. Though she had expected it, Ning He was still delighted.

’Since it’s here, it might as well hang here for a few more months.’

She was determined to keep this first-place title.

Since it was a new month, Ning He made good on her promise and added the new sugar cakes to the menu.

The academy students hadn’t yet had a chance to eat this treat outside the school, so when they saw Ning He had indeed added a new item, they formed a long line at light speed, each one craning their neck in eager anticipation.

Although Ning He had anticipated this and specially made four hundred sugar cakes, along with the fried dough sticks—frying until she nearly questioned her own existence—it still wasn’t enough to go around.

Even Old Wood, after trying one, made a special trip back to buy six more to take home for his family to try.

The craze for the sugar cakes at the canteen only started to subside on the fifth day, but daily sales at Ning He’s stall were much higher than before. Her daily stock of ingredients had already surpassed two hundred pounds.

The fermented rice pastries were a perfect match for the fried dough sticks and sugar cakes, making them a must-order set. The rice cakes also had their own loyal following. The students had developed a habit of glancing at the corner stall as soon as they entered the canteen. As long as the line there wasn’t too long, they would immediately rush over to grab a spot.

The workload for Ning He and her two helpers was maxed out. Apart from the fermented rice, which was a bit easier to make, the fried dough sticks, sugar cakes, and rice cakes were all laborious. Even if they sold out, they couldn’t possibly prepare any more.

By comparison, the work at their other stall seemed easy. After Ning He’s stock of fermented rice sold out, she stopped selling it there, since she had neither the time nor the setup to make it fresh. With one less item to worry about, plus Juan and the others helping with cleaning and prep, they just about managed to avoid collapsing from exhaustion.

Sales of the malatang were consistently propped up by the members of the food-sharing group, so she didn’t have to worry about not recouping the high cost of the bone broth.

In addition to that, Ning He also noticed some individual customers making special trips from other areas just to eat her malatang. These people were all drawn in by Mia and Natie’s posts.

There weren’t many at first. After all, malatang isn’t about exquisite plating, and you can’t smell a dish from a photo. It was hard for text alone to motivate people to go to all the trouble of finding the stall in the ice and snow. Because of this, Ning He didn’t pay it much special attention.

Things started to change, however, as customers who tried it began excitedly leaving strings of positive reviews and thanks on the post. The popularity of Mia and Natie’s malatang post soared, shooting to the number one spot in the food forum. The number of people discussing it continued to grow. Finally, one weekend, it reached a tipping point.

After working like a dog for several days, Ning He finally got a full night’s sleep on Saturday. She came out slowly on her crutches, planning to talk to Connie about taking a day off. As soon as she entered the insulated tent, she saw a huge, dense crowd of unfamiliar faces standing in the main aisle, with an especially large number gathered around her own stall.

When she walked over curiously and asked, it turned out they were all there specifically for the malatang!

It turned out there were several food-sharing groups in Beiluo City similar to the one Leitel had founded. The one that came this time was another "restaurant exploration" group with even more members—over three hundred of them!

Ning He nearly fainted. Just then, Connie and Ah Huai returned from shopping, flushed with excitement. They had bought so much that the owners of the vegetable and meat shops were trailing behind them, helping to deliver the goods.

The eager buyers and the eager sellers were all beaming, just waiting for the stall to open. Ning He could only swallow the words about taking a day off, grab her apron, and roll up her sleeves to get to work.

To save time, the bones were thrown into a pressure cooker to be boiled down quickly, but the prep work would still take at least an hour.

The female leader of the group told Ning He not to worry. With a wave of her hand, everyone took a small folding chair out of the bags at their sides, found a spot out of the way, and sat down to wait quietly.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, so practiced it was obvious they’d done this before.

Even the other nearby stall owners were stunned.

Judging by their fine clothes, these people, like the previous customers who had patronized Ning He’s stall, were mostly residents from within the Third Ring. Such a large group coming to the Fourth Ring to eat was an unprecedented sight, and for a moment, the way everyone looked at Ning He and her two helpers changed.

Ning He had no time to consider what others were thinking; she was spinning like a top.

These people’s spending power was much stronger than that of the Fourth Ring residents’. She had to prepare extra tofu puffs and fried eggs, and the fried dough sticks were also essential. The three of them, with their six hands, were a flurry of motion, and they even ran out of pots and bowls. Connie had to send Juan on an errand to buy new ones.

Meanwhile, with over three hundred people sitting in the insulated tent, after a while, some inevitably got up to wander around.

Accustomed to heated spaces, they started to feel a bit chilly after sitting in the insulated tent for a while. Some who wandered around came back holding a snack to tide them over. It helped warm them up without spoiling their appetite.

Others simply paired up and started to browse the market. Although the goods in the Fourth Ring weren’t of the highest quality, there was no shortage of variety. Coupled with the low prices, it tempted many of them to open their wallets.

These customers were very decisive. If they saw something they liked, they bought it on the spot without any haggling. They often bought several items at once, which made the Fourth Ring stall owners’ faces light up with joy.

Once the commotion died down, Ning He’s side was finally ready. With a shout, a long line immediately formed in front of her stall.

The tent was bustling with activity as the group members, one by one, carried steaming bowls of malatang to their seats to enjoy.

Outside the tent, in the back seat of a black sedan, a short, stout man in a suit listened to his driver’s report.

"...There is indeed a malatang place, but the line is very long. You have an online meeting to attend, so I’m afraid there isn’t enough time."

The man in the suit pondered for a moment. "In that case, let’s try a different approach. You contact Black Panther and arrange a trip out of the city."

"Yes, sir. I’ll get right on it."