Chapter 70 - 69: Cola Combo

Chapter 70: Chapter 69: Cola Combo

Seeing that Chen Xiaobao’s acting was so terrible that he was about to blow his cover, Xu Xiaoka hurried forward to run interference. "Sister Momo, I have something I’d like to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Chen Momo asked.

"Sister Momo, I want to pair our pickled fish with a beverage," Xu Xiaoka said. "Yesterday, I specifically surveyed the customers who bought our dish and found that they’d like a drink to go with it. If we offer a pickled fish and beverage combo, it might sell even better!"

Chen Momo highly approved of Xu Xiaoka’s suggestion. "That’s a good idea. We still have a lot of leftover drinks in the fridge, and we grabbed quite a few from the supermarket last time. We have the most cola left."

"The pickled fish is sour and spicy, so pairing it with cola is perfect," Xu Xiaoka said.

"Alright, we’ll sell it with cola then," Chen Momo replied.

On the second day of their grand opening, Chen Momo brought fifty cans of cola to the window. None of the other windows were currently selling cola, so she priced it at 300 base credits per can. A portion of pickled fish paired with a cola cost 800 base credits in total.

Her pickled fish window had just opened for the day, yet an early-bird diner was already waiting. It was only just past ten in the morning. This customer had likely woken up late and planned to combine breakfast and lunch into one meal.

"Pickled fish, mildly spicy," the tall, middle-aged male customer said.

It was his first time having it. His wife had previously brought their son here to eat, and she had praised the food from the pickled fish window non-stop ever since she got home. So, when he came to the cafeteria to eat today, he decided to give it a try.

While Chen Momo prepared the fish, the middle-aged man scrutinized her window. The owner of this stall must be incredibly meticulous, he thought. Everything was neatly and systematically arranged, and the tableware was clean enough to reflect light. Diners cared most about food safety, and this stall looked extremely clean and hygienic; its sanitation standards were easily top-tier among all the windows in the cafeteria.

The middle-aged man’s eyes then landed on the refrigerator behind her. Seeing a row of colas on the top shelf of the upright fridge, his eyes couldn’t help but light up. Pickled fish paired with cola would be refreshing and help relieve the spiciness. Moreover, being able to drink cola in the apocalypse was truly a blessing.

"How much for a can of cola?" the man couldn’t resist asking.

"Three hundred base credits," Chen Momo replied.

"Give me a can of cola too, please!" the middle-aged man said. And so, he tapped his card against the machine again, paying an extra 300 base credits for the drink.

Chen Momo took a clean wooden tray and placed both the pickled fish and the cola on it. This was the first can of cola she had sold. "Here is your meal. Please enjoy."

The moment the middle-aged man took the tray, the rich aroma of the pickled fish wafted right into his face. Even though he hadn’t yet tasted the actual dish, he already knew that his 800 base credits had given him exceptional value. In a great mood, he smiled and nodded at Chen Momo. "Thank you."

With that, he carried the tray to a comfortable seat and slowly savored his meal. Eating the sour and spicy fish, drinking the cold cola, and admiring the snowy scenery outside the window—it was an incredibly pleasant meal!

Soon, noon arrived. Diners filed into the dining hall one after another, and the cafeteria suddenly became bustling with activity. Lines gradually formed in front of the thirty-plus windows.

The fifty fish they had prepared yesterday were clearly not enough, so Chen Momo had readied a hundred fresh, live fish today.

The line at the pickled fish window was the longest. While other stalls had at most two or three people queuing, the pickled fish window already had over a dozen. The long line snaked all the way to the mini-bowl dish window diagonally across from them.

The owners of that mini-bowl dish stall were a married couple. The male boss looked quite wooden, seemingly uncommunicative. The female boss, however, looked incredibly fierce, her eyes gleaming with a vicious light. At a glance, one could tell she was not someone to be trifled with. Over the past few days, the long line in front of the pickled fish window had made her green with envy.

At first, her mini-bowl dishes still had customers. Relying on the scarcity of ingredients in the apocalypse, the owners threw their dishes together very carelessly. Although the food was sloppily made, it was sold at an exorbitant price. A small bowl of pickled vegetables cost 100 base credits. There was also a small bowl of fish; even though only a few sparse, fragmented slices of fish floated on top, it still fetched a price of 300 base credits a bowl.

But the moment the pickled fish window opened diagonally across from them, it immediately stole more than half of their business. Even the old customers who used to buy their mini-bowl dishes were now queuing up for pickled fish.

Zhai Ying, the female boss of the mini-bowl dish window, felt extremely angry. She constantly glared at Chen Momo’s pickled fish window with deep resentment. The pickled fish window was packed to the brim, while her own stall was completely deserted.

Diners, after all, had the sharpest eyes.

Many customers were returning patrons coming back for more pickled fish today. The moment they stood in front of Chen Momo’s window, they immediately noticed the extra row of cola in the upright fridge.

Cola! That was a nostalgic beverage in the apocalypse! As ubiquitous as cola had been before the end of the world, that was exactly how much it was missed afterward!

Consequently, when buying the pickled fish, everyone added a can of cola. Even though Chen Momo hadn’t actively promoted the drinks at all, people automatically ordered the pickled fish and cola combo. In the blink of an eye, over thirty combo meals had already been sold.

There were also some customers who didn’t have much money left and solely ordered a can of cola. Because of this, the fifty cans of cola sold out in no time.

Chen Momo and Xu Xiaoka were happily bustling about behind the window, while Xiao Bao continued to watch cartoons at the small table in the breakroom.

Using a tissue, Xu Xiaoka wiped the sweat from the forehead of Chen Momo, who was too busy to free her hands. "Sister Momo, adding the cola was definitely the right move! Everyone loves it!" he said happily.

Chen Momo nodded. "Yeah. We still have more at home. Looks like we’ll have to bring more to sell tomorrow."

Both of them were so immersed in the busy work of making pickled fish that they were completely unaware that Gu Rongjin was taking all of this in from a short distance away.

He hadn’t felt like cooking today, so he had come straight to the cafeteria to eat and simultaneously check on the current operations of the various windows. Unexpectedly, from the moment he arrived at the cafeteria until now, there had consistently been a long line at the pickled fish window—longer than the lines in front of any other stall.

Chen Momo and Xu Xiaoka were working intensely yet systematically. Today, Chen Momo had a dainty white hairpin clipped into her jet-black hair. Compared to her usual aloof demeanor, she unexpectedly looked a bit more playful and vibrant. She seemed to have lost that unapproachable, chilly aura of the past.

Her fair little face was delicate, her expression completely focused and serious. While she couldn’t be considered drop-dead gorgeous, the way she looked when absorbed in her work possessed a unique kind of charm.

It actually made Gu Rongjin unable to resist taking a few extra glances.