Chapter 354 - 150: Back to the Old Business, Setting Up the Stall Again

Chapter 354: Chapter 150: Back to the Old Business, Setting Up the Stall Again

The meat was then placed in stainless steel barrels to continue soaking in the braising liquid. When a customer placed an order, it was just a matter of reducing the sauce over high heat, arranging three "actors" on top, and the dish was ready to serve.

’This way, the braised pork is actually the fastest dish to get out.’

After he and Zhang Heping finished up all this work, it was already approaching noon.

It was lunchtime.

"We’re just sitting around anyway. We could actually go set up the stall early today."

Liu Shengnan glanced toward the second floor. "But won’t we be a little short-handed today?"

Bai Xiaobo and Ling Shuyu had both gone home to rest. While Bai Xiaobo was usually more trouble than he was worth, at least he could help carry things.

And Ling Shuyu, she didn’t do much work either.

But she just had to stand there, and He Shuting wouldn’t even need her megaphone. The moment any troublemakers saw the look in President Ling’s eyes, they’d get scared and fall right into line.

So she was very useful.

"Can’t be helped," Su Chen said, turning to Fang Chang. "How about you be my employee for the day?"

"Huh?" Fang Chang hadn’t left all morning precisely because he was waiting for Su Chen to head out to his stall. He planned to tag along, ’and then getting the first stir-fry of the day would be a cinch, right?’

"Work for me for a day, and you can have all the braised pork you can eat."

Faced with Su Chen’s offer, Fang Chang gulped. "Do you need anyone else?"

"Who?"

You had to hand it to Fang Chang for being a loyal friend; even now, he didn’t forget to pull his good buddy in on the deal. "Zhan Yang! He’s on the day shift today. He can come right over after he gets off, around six this evening." ℴ

"Alright," Su Chen nodded. "You two work for me today, and you can eat as much of whatever you want!"

They were all good friends now, so bringing up money for something like this would just make things awkward.

Fang Chang happily agreed on the spot.

’I’ll wolf down two servings of braised pork,’ he thought, ’then have two servings of beef, and top it off with some scrambled eggs and tomatoes. The cost of all that food adds up. No matter how you slice it, I’m the one making out like a bandit!’

He immediately walked over to the stairwell and called his good buddy, Zhan Yang.

"Come straight to the Pedestrian Street after you get off work tonight."

"What’s up?" Zhan Yang was on a mountain, enjoying the breeze while watching over the power station.

Fang Chang’s tone was smug. "Your bro lined up a sweet gig for you. Come straight to the Pedestrian Street after work and help out Boss Su."

"Huh?" Zhan Yang stared blankly at a distant, windmill-like generator. "I’ll have just worked a full shift, and you want me to go work some more?"

"Getting worked up, are we?" Fang Chang sounded like he’d been expecting this reaction. "Let me tell you, if you work for Boss Su today, you can eat whatever you want. As much as you want!"

"*Hiss!* Really?" Food—and all-you-can-eat, no less—was an incredibly tempting offer for someone like Zhan Yang, who had been stuck on a mountain all day.

"For real, for real. Don’t you worry! I’ve already worked out the details. Hey, gotta go, I think I see an influencer."

Before Zhan Yang could ask any more questions, Fang Chang hung up. And sure enough, he really had spotted an influencer.

Ever since he started eating at Su Chen’s place, Fang Chang had started paying close attention to food bloggers and vloggers on social media.

Every now and then, he’d find some delicious-looking dish online and then try to figure out a way to get Su Chen to make it for him.

The person in front of him looked vaguely familiar. Fang Chang said tentatively, "Just a casual chat, and the truth is out?"

"Oh! A fan?"

The man was none other than Teacher Sui, who had just recently finished an event in the Capital City!

"Oh, wow, it really is you! Can I get a picture with you?"

"Of course!"

Teacher Sui was very magnanimous and approachable. He pulled Fang Chang in to stand beside him and, after a quick CLICK of the camera, asked, "Is this Su Chen’s—Boss Su’s—company?"

"Yes! Yes!" Fang Chang said. "Boss Su is inside right now! Are you here to film a review, too?"

Sui Po caught the word "too." "What, someone beat me to it?"

"You bet! Early this morning, that Tang..." He couldn’t remember the name for a moment. "You know, that one obnoxious vlogger, he came too. Boss Su sent him packing later."

Sui Po frowned slightly and turned to ask his assistant, "When’s our booking for?"

"Tomorrow, at noon..."

"Then won’t I get turned away too?"

At that, Fang Chang chimed in, "Not necessarily. Teacher Tang’s booking was for noon today. It’s just that Boss Su doesn’t feel like taking bookings recently. He’s planning to cancel all of them for this month. Said he’s going to focus on his stall at the Pedestrian Street."

"Running a stall?" Hearing this, Sui Po’s interest was piqued. "Passing up the big bucks to earn pocket change?"

His own booking for tomorrow at noon was twenty thousand yuan alone.

In all likelihood, Teacher Tang’s booking was at least that much, too.

Moreover, Sui Po was certain that thanks to the buzz generated from that live-streamed event, Boss Su’s establishment would be a hot spot for influencers of all kinds to visit and review for a long time to come.

For one, the price point met a key expectation for many food vloggers: it was expensive!

For another, when things were expensive, it gave vloggers plenty to talk about.

If the food was even the slightest bit subpar, they could rip it to shreds. If it was actually decent, they’d heap on the praise. Either way, it made for much better content than your average small restaurant.

So, naturally, Sui Po was a little curious. Why would someone leave all that money on the table to go participate in the "street stall economy"?

"Who knows," Fang Chang said with a shrug. "Anyway, whatever Boss Su does is top-notch. Even if he’s just running a stall, he could pack the entire Pedestrian Street so full you can’t move."

"Looks like I’ll be turned away if I go in, then," Sui Po said. "How about this, young man? You tell me when and where Boss Su sets up his stall, and I’ll just go review the stall instead. It’s all the same!"