Chapter 315 - 178: You’re a Genius Top Seller

Chapter 315: Chapter 178: You’re a Genius Top Seller

His great-aunt was right. You couldn’t make good Mapo Tofu with crumbled tofu, and it would be a terrible shame to waste such a fine batch.

The trip usually took ten minutes by bike, but Zhou Yan took a full twenty minutes, riding slowly and carefully.

Wheeling the bike into the shop, Zhou Yan immediately lifted a slab of tofu out of the back basket. He uncovered the cheesecloth to find it perfectly intact, without a single crack.

"You brought the tofu back yourself?" Comrade Zhou and the others had just returned as well. He was surprised to see another slab of tofu in the basket.

"I got off and pushed the bike on the bumpy parts and rode where the road was good. Half pushing, half riding. It didn’t break at all," Zhou Yan said with a smile. He carried the two slabs of tofu into the kitchen, then came out and took the Mapo Tofu sign from the "sold out" section, hanging it back in its original place.

Zhou Miao reached out and prodded the thick straw in the back basket. "Don’t throw this straw away. I’ll go pick up the tofu tomorrow, too. It’ll save Lai Fu from having to carry it over."

"Sounds good. It’s forty jin of tofu tomorrow," Zhou Yan replied. He thought that was a good plan.

Zhou Yan had mentioned buying a donkey to Mrs. Sun while waiting for the tofu, and the old woman had been all for it. She planned to save up and buy a new one as soon as she finished paying him back.

Back when they had a donkey, her family of three could make over two hundred jin of tofu a day, and they even sold it as far as Jiazhou.

Just as their lives were getting better and better, a sudden disaster took both her son and daughter-in-law, and the family was shattered.

Fortunately, Lai Fu was willing to learn and work hard. With Zhou Yan’s help, he was getting back on the right track.

Mrs. Sun was full of drive now. She’d even made a plan to save up for Lai Fu’s betrothal gift.

A person needs something to look forward to in life.

"Your grandmother said the time for visiting your grandfather’s grave has been set. It’s this Sunday," Mrs. Zhao told Zhou Yan. "It’ll be perfect. You can all go to the gravesite first and then come back here for dinner."

"Sunday. Got it." Zhou Yan nodded. ’Looks like the customers planning a gathering here on Sunday are going to be crying their eyes out.’

Of course, visiting his grandfather’s grave was far more important than the money they’d make from Sunday’s dinner service.

For the Zhou Family, this was arguably the most important event of the year.

Everyone had to be there, except for those serving in the military who couldn’t make it back.

Zhou Yan glanced at the time, turned, and went into the kitchen to start his prep work.

Now that Duan Yu Yan had confirmed it, the Qiu Family’s Old Mansion could be sold to him. As soon as he saved up the ten thousand yuan, the deal could be closed.

’In that case, there was no reason to hesitate. He just had to focus on working hard and saving money.’

’As for the "Expand Your Customer Base" quest, though... he still needed to think hard about how to tackle it. In Suji Town, beyond the textile factory employees, his only other potential customers were from the post office, government offices, or the schools.’

"Daddy, I want some lotus root, potato, and dried tofu~~" Zhou Momo scooted up to Comrade Zhou, who was arranging the braised dishes. She tugged on the hem of his clothes and wheedled in her sweet, childish voice.

"Okay, should I get you a plate?" Comrade Zhou was helpless against such a cute assault.

Zhou Momo shook her head. "No plate. I want to hold it while I eat. The big kids are getting out of school soon, and I want to go play on the slide."

The time when the kindergarten and elementary school let out each day was her chance to sneak in and play. She eagerly waited for this time every day.

"Alright, I’ll bag it up for you." Comrade Zhou picked out five or six pieces of lotus root, potato, and dried tofu from the basin. He diced them for her, put them in a small wax paper bag, and handed it to her with a bamboo skewer.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Zhou Momo took the wax paper bag and happily ran off in the direction of the factory’s kindergarten and elementary school.

Comrade Zhou walked a couple of steps outside, watching her run all the way to the kindergarten gate. He saw her greet the old security guard and go inside before he relaxed and looked away.

The little one was a sweet-talker. By running to the kindergarten every day, she had long since become a familiar face to the old man in the security office. Even though she wasn’t a student, he would let her in to play on the slide for a while.

As the textile factory’s closing time approached, the necessary ingredients were almost all prepped.

[New Customer +1]

[New Customer +1]

...

Just then, a small line of text popped up in Zhou Yan’s vision.

"Hm?" Zhou Yan was a bit surprised. He came out of the kitchen to take a look.

A group of little kids was gathered around the braised food stall at the entrance, all chattering at once:

"Mister, we want forty cents’ worth of braised vegetables!"

"We want lotus root!"

"And potatoes!"

"And dried tofu!"

"Cut them into little pieces, too."

The little ones all chimed in at once.

Zhou Momo stood to the side, grinning. "Yeah, the dried tofu is yummy, but the lotus root is even yummier!"

Comrade Zhou took their money and smilingly picked out some lotus root, potato, and dried tofu for them, dicing it into small cubes just like he had for Zhou Momo.

His measuring hand seemed a bit off today. The portion was at least two liang more than the usual forty cents’ worth. It filled a large bag, and he even threw in a handful of bamboo skewers.

"Thanks, Mister!" The girl leading the group took the bag, waved her hand, and declared, "Let’s go! We’ll eat over there!"

The seven other little kids immediately trotted happily after her.

Zhou Yan watched, dumbfounded. The progress bar now showed [8/200].

Zhou Yan: ?

’This works too?’

"Momo, did you bring these other kids here?" Zhou Yan couldn’t help but ask Zhou Momo.

Zhou Momo nodded obediently. "I let my friends have a little taste. They all said it was yummy and asked where I bought it, so I brought them here. Brother, is that bad?"

"Bad? It’s great! It’s amazing!" Zhou Yan laughed, sweeping her up high into the air. "You’re a genius salesperson!"

"Fun!" The little one giggled. "Higher, higher!"

Zhou Yan played with her for a moment before putting her down.

"Eight kids pooled together forty cents," Zhou Miao said with a smile.

"Even if they only have twenty or thirty cents, we should still sell to them. It’s just a little snack for them, so it’s fine to give them a bit extra," Zhou Yan said. He didn’t mind earning a little less from a child’s allowance money.