Chapter 89 - 88: Anxious

Chapter 89: Chapter 88: Anxious

However, the dish had also lost the unique characteristics that belonged exclusively to Chen Momo.

Although the other three felt the major changes made the Sauerkraut Fish taste much better, Yi Ronghao still preferred the original version.

"Sister Momo, even though our Sauerkraut Fish is retaining more customers than before, it still can’t compare to the Japanese ramen opposite us," Xu Xiaoka said worriedly. Furthermore, after they had changed the flavor of the Sauerkraut Fish, something strange happened. Customers who bought it on the first day rarely returned to buy it on the second day. Instead, they usually repurchased it on the third or fourth day.

Xu Xiaoka had also noticed this issue. Recalling Xiao Bao’s words, he said, "Sister Momo, could it be because the five-star hotel’s recipe uses too much seasoning? Consuming over fifty kinds of spices all at once is hard for the human body to handle. As a result, these customers subconsciously reject the Sauerkraut Fish the next day. It’s only when their bodies have more or less cleared out the seasonings that they come back to buy it again on the third or fourth day."

Chen Momo had a sudden realization. That had to be the reason. The five-star Sauerkraut Fish was heavily seasoned, making it impossible for the body to absorb it all at once. Therefore, first-time buyers would often wait a few days before returning. Because of this, their sales still couldn’t increase.

Chen Momo wasn’t the only one to notice this problem; even her die-hard supporters, Jiang Yunhai and Yi Ronghao, had picked up on it.

The day after eating the Sauerkraut Fish, Yi Ronghao asked Jiang Yunhai what they should eat for the day. Jiang Yunhai looked troubled. "Rong Hao, even though I support the Sauerkraut Fish Beauty, I really can’t eat it today... Could you help me buy something light and plain?"

The lack of consecutive repurchases made Chen Momo incredibly anxious. It seemed she couldn’t continue using the five-star recipe. She had to think of another way.

Over the next few days, Chen Momo visited various major restaurants in the vicinity searching for Sauerkraut Fish recipes, while simultaneously studying the notes she had copied from the internet. She continuously adjusted the flavor of her dish based on these methods.

Due to the fluctuating quality of the Sauerkraut Fish during this adjustment period, the number of diners lining up at her window also became highly inconsistent. At its lowest, there were only two or three people; at its peak, there were around ten. Chen Momo saw all this and felt a burning urgency in her heart.

Seeing the wildly fluctuating lines at the Sauerkraut Fish window compared to the steady crowd of twenty or thirty people at the Japanese ramen window diagonally opposite, Ouyang Feng couldn’t help but reveal a triumphant smile.

"Rong Hao, you might as well admit defeat early and hand over the 100,000 base credits! The Sauerkraut Fish Beauty is absolutely no match for the Ramen Beauty!"

Yi Ronghao, however, remained entirely composed. "It’s not over yet. What’s the rush?"

Song Chuhuan smiled faintly. "It seems Rong Hao won’t admit defeat until the bitter end. He insists on waiting until the exact moment the Sauerkraut Fish Beauty is announced the loser before handing over the bet money."

Jiang Yunhai, on the other hand, simply stopped talking, his brows furrowed tightly. As time slowly slipped away, even he was losing his confidence. Judging by the Sauerkraut Fish window’s current performance, winning against the ramen window was going to be extremely difficult.

Of course, the most anxious person was Chen Momo. Although she didn’t say a word about it, she knew she had to speed up her progress. There wasn’t much time left. She had to win this competition and seize this opportunity, no matter what!

To save time and move faster, Chen Momo now acted alone, leaving Xu Xiaoka and Xiao Bao at home. She scoured all the major restaurants in the vicinity, trying to absorb the secret to making a perfect Sauerkraut Fish. At the same time, she drove to bookstores buried under the heavy blizzard, finding numerous recipe books written by master chefs and gradually absorbing their techniques.

However, the more she read, the more muddled her thoughts became. The quality of her Sauerkraut Fish became even more erratic. Now, on good days, thirty people would line up for her dish; on bad days, only a handful would show up.

One evening, as it was getting late, Chen Momo was driving her RV back to the base alone. Because of the competition, she had closed up shop early after selling her one hundred portions of Sauerkraut Fish for the day. She drove to a nearby Xinhua Bookstore buried in the snow to try her luck, spending the entire afternoon studying in its culinary section.

Her head was now throbbing with a dull ache.

While driving across the snowy terrain, a tiny, cat-like figure suddenly darted out in front of her. It gave Chen Momo a terrible fright, instantly snapping her wide awake as she slammed on the brakes.

She got out of the vehicle and saw a small kitten lying flat in front of her car. It looked up at her with pitiful eyes, crying out softly, "MEOW! MEOW!"

Holding a flashlight, Chen Momo walked over and carefully examined the little tabby. "How did you suddenly end up here?"

She reached out and stroked the kitten’s fur. If she hadn’t reacted so quickly and hit the brakes in time, this poor little thing would have perished under her wheels.

"MEOW." The kitten stared at her pitifully, as if begging her to take it away.

Chen Momo had never kept a kitten before and was afraid she wouldn’t be able to take good care of it. However, looking around, there was nothing but a vast expanse of snow and ice. The temperature was dozens of degrees below freezing. If she left this little kitten behind, it would undoubtedly freeze to death before long.

"Alright, you can come with me." After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Momo bent down, scooped up the kitten, and placed it inside her RV. She buckled her seatbelt and settled the kitten into the passenger seat.

By the time she drove all the way back to the base, the kitten had already fallen asleep on the seat.

One RV, one person, one cat. With the endless snowy wasteland outside her window, Chen Momo suddenly felt a long-lost sense of tranquility amidst the apocalypse. It was a peace she had lost long ago in the bustling metropolis, yet she had unexpectedly found it here in the end times.

Chen Momo rolled down the window and handed her base card to the guard in the winter uniform at the entrance. "Please open the gate. Thank you."

The base’s main gate swung open, and she drove the RV straight into the parking lot.

Gu Rongjin, clad in a winter uniform and a cold-proof mask, walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Liu Hui Chun along the base’s main road.

"It’s so late. Who is just getting back?" Gu Rongjin asked Liu Hui Chun, watching the RV that had just pulled through the gate.

Liu Hui Chun recognized it as Chen Momo’s vehicle at a single glance. After all, her RV was entirely different from everyone else’s standard cars.

"Oh, Base Chief, that’s the vehicle belonging to Chen Momo, the owner of Window 52," Liu Hui Chun replied with a smile. He had been paying extra attention to her. He felt there was something unique about her, so he kept a close eye on her activities.

Gu Rongjin checked his watch; it was already past eight in the evening.