Chapter 14: The Culinary Tycoon

Open for Business

Three li outside the north gate of Tongshan City is the harbor, where hundreds of boats come and go every day, transporting passengers, merchants, and goods. The flow of people is extremely high.

Within the city, the busiest area is the north-south main street that leads directly to the harbor. Among them, the North Main Street is the most bustling with the highest number of shops and the largest crowd.

In a place with a large population, how can food be lacking? On the street near the North Gate, there are many food stalls and shops. Many travelers and merchants would fill their stomachs before leaving the city by boat or buy food for the journey.

On this day, near the North Gate, an old man was traveling with a boy around eight or nine years old. The sun had just risen, but they had already felt its warmth. Both of them were sweating, as if they had been traveling for a long time.

“Grandpa, I’m hungry. I can’t walk anymore. Let’s eat something before we continue,” the boy said, clutching his stomach. His little face was wrinkled with a look of genuine hunger, especially with the enticing aroma of food wafting through the street, arousing his appetite. However, his voice was not quiet.

The old man looked around and asked the boy, “What do you want to eat? Noodles? Dumplings?”

The boy glanced at the steaming noodle shop and frowned, “It’s too hot. I don’t want to eat noodles.”

The old man asked again, “Baozi? Steamed buns?”

The young boy shook his head again, “Baozi is also hot. Grandpa, isn’t there anything that’s not so hot? It’s already hot enough today!”

“The only thing that’s not hot is fruit snacks. Do you want to eat that?” The old man looked hesitant as he glanced around.

“…I want something that can fill my stomach,” the boy replied with a wrinkled brow.

“Then let the noodles cool down before eating them.”

“…Okay.”

As the grandfather and grandson were about to walk towards a noodle shop nearby, they were attracted by a shout.

Two steps ahead to their right, a young man was shouting in front of a stall called “Yu’s Delicious Delights.”

“New stall opening, selling cold noodles and liangpi! Refreshing and appetizing! The first fifty customers will receive free mung bean soup!”

Upon hearing the words “cold noodles” and “mung bean soup,” the boy’s eyes lit up. He pulled his grandfather towards that direction and said, “Grandpa, cold noodles! And there’s mung bean soup!”

The pedestrians around who heard the shout were also drawn in by the mention of “cold noodles” and the offer of free mung bean soup. They all wanted to see what was being sold.

Some people asked, “What kind of food is this cold noodle? How is it sold?”

The stall owner brought out a bowl of ready-made cold noodles. The smooth noodles were coated with red chili oil, garnished with fresh cucumber strips and green onions, and there were brown soybeans as well?

The stall owner smiled and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, take a look. This is my family’s cold noodle, absolutely refreshing and appetizing. You can try it first with a bamboo skewer.”

A young man with thick bangs took out a bamboo skewer and an empty bowl, inviting others to taste. However, no one stepped forward.

The young boy pulled his grandfather and squeezed into the crowd. When he saw that he could taste the food, he immediately exclaimed, “Let me try!”

The young man with thick bangs smiled and handed him two chopsticks, then picked up some cold noodles and placed it in a bowl, handing it to him.

The boy quickly ate the small portion of cold noodle, and his eyes lit up. “It’s delicious! Grandpa, let’s eat this!”

The old man, seeing his grandson enjoying it, helplessly asked, “Boss, how much is a bowl of cold noodles?”

The stall owner replied, “Five wen for a small bowl, six wen for a medium bowl, and seven wen for a large bowl.”

The old man said, “Then give us two small bowls.”

“Alright, two small bowls of cold noodles! Would you like them mildly spicy, moderately spicy, or very spicy?”

“…Mildly spicy.”

“Please have a seat over there. Just wait a moment, it will be ready soon.”

After hearing the boy’s comment on the deliciousness, people around couldn’t resist trying it themselves.

The noodles were smooth, slightly spicy and tangy, awakening the taste buds. The crisp cucumber strips and soybeans inside opened up the appetite that had been suppressed in the hot summer.

“Mmm, it’s really good!”

“Boss, what about your liangpi? Can I try it?”

“Of course, here’s a bowl of liangpi for you to taste, everyone is welcome to try.”

“The liangpi tastes great too. I wonder how it’s made. Boss, give me a bowl of liangpi. I like this!”

“Ah, this is so appetizing. It’s scorching hot these days, and our whole family has lost our appetites. The kids are even getting thinner! Boss, give me two bowls of cold noodles, one small and one medium!”

“…”

The people who had tried the food had their appetites awakened. After a whole summer of suppressed appetites, they suddenly felt their stomachs growling.

The two small tables quickly filled up. The grandfather and grandson who had tried the food exchanged a glance, smiled, quickly finished eating, and gave up their seats to other customers.

“Boss, the bill!” The young boy confidently handed the boss ten wen and winked at him.

The boss, Yu Qingze, couldn’t help but chuckle as he accepted the money. His assistant, Chang Le, looked at the grandfather and grandson and couldn’t hold back his laughter. His face turned red from suppressing it!

The grandfather and grandson really played their roles well!

“Boss, how did you make these soybeans? They’re delicious!” a customer asked Yu Qingze while picking up the pickled soybeans in his bowl.

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “These are pickled soybeans made at my place, it’s a secret recipe that others don’t have!”

Upon hearing this, the customer knew that he wouldn’t be able to get the recipe, so he asked, “Can I buy some of these soybeans? I want to take them home for my family to taste.”

Yu Qingze skillfully cooked the noodles and replied, “Sure, seven wen per jin. How much would you like?”

The customer was surprised, “That’s expensive! Soybeans in the market are only five wen per jin.”

Yu Qingze said, “But these have a special flavor.”

After considering it for a moment, the customer said, “Alright, give me… a jin.”

Yu Qingze smiled at Chang Le and said, “Brother Le, please weigh a jin of pickled soybeans for the customer.” Then he advised the customer to not keep the soybeans for too long after taking them home, suggesting they stir-fry them as soon as possible. If not, they could also be eaten as they are.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Chang Le nodded and scooped out a jin of pickled soybeans from the jar. He weighed it, wrapped it neatly in oil paper, and handed it to the customer, accepting seven wen in return.

Earlier in the morning, when Yu Qingze asked him to bring another jar onto the cart, Chang Le had anticipated that some people might want to buy the pickled soybeans separately. However, he hadn’t expected Yu Qingze to sell them at such a high price. Just a few days of pickling made the soybeans worth an extra two wen per jin compared to fresh tender beans!

What a profitable venture!

Seeing that the pickled soybeans could be bought separately, other customers started buying half a jin or a jin of them as well.

In no time, the entire jar of pickled soybeans was sold out. The customers who missed out expressed regret and placed orders with the boss for the next day.

Chang Le was smiling so wide that his eyes seemed to twinkle like stars. It was quite a sight. Yu Qingze felt a slight itch in his heart, his grip on the bamboo scoop tightening as he grinned uncontrollably.

Chang Hao and Grandpa Chang hadn’t left yet. They had taken a stroll around the street and returned. Since the previous batch of customers had finished eating and left, not many people recognized them, so they came back to help.

Yu Qingze didn’t let them handle the small food stall. Instead, he asked Grandpa Chang to take Chang Hao to the vegetable market to buy radishes. He had seen someone selling them before, and if pickled soybeans sold well, pickled radishes would surely sell even better. He told them to buy as many as they could.

Pickled soybeans and pickled radishes would soon be noticed by others for their recipes. They needed to make a profit before everyone knew how to make them. Once the prices dropped, it wouldn’t be as lucrative.

Seeing how busy they were, Grandpa Chang went to buy the radishes alone, leaving Chang Hao behind to help.

Chang Hao had a sweet tongue, was clever, and not shy at all. With his assistance, Yu Qingze and Chang Le found their workload significantly reduced.

“Customer, would you like another bowl of mung bean soup? It’s refreshing and relieves the heat. It’s only one wen per bowl.”

“Isn’t it complimentary?”

“Customer, the first fifty customers received it for free. You’re the sixty-eighth customer now. It’s very cheap, just one wen, and it will keep you cool all day. Would you like a bowl?”

“Then I’ll have a bowl.”

…

With the help of Chang Hao, the mung bean soup began to sell much more.

The snack stall created a frenzy around lunchtime.

On this busy North Street, which was always bustling with people, both locals and travelers loved coming here to find food.

When people saw a crowd gathered around a snack stall, especially one offering a new and delicious treat, they couldn’t help but come and try it for themselves.

Some who lived nearby even went back home to bring their families and let them have a taste. There were even those who quickly went home, grabbed bowls, and bought the food to take home for their families.

In this scorching weather, once people tasted the flavors of cold noodles and cold “liangpi,” they no longer wanted to eat hot and soupy noodles. After enduring the torment of the sweltering summer, their appetites finally saw a glimmer of hope!

Word spread rapidly, with one person telling ten others, and those ten telling a hundred. There was a new snack stall on North Street called “Yu’s Delicious Delights,” selling cold noodles and “liangpi,” and the rumors of its delicious taste spread throughout the street within half a day.

On North Street, there were quite a few food stalls, with five or six noodle shops alone. Among them, Wang Ji Noodle House and Liu Ji Noodle House had the best business and had been competitors for many years.

The owner of Liu Ji Noodle House, Liu Liangping, was tall and thin, while the owner of Wang Ji Noodle House, Wang Anfu, was chubby and looked friendly.

At this moment, Wang Anfu was standing at the entrance of Liu Ji Noodle House, arms crossed, watching the bustling business of the cold noodle snack stall diagonally across the street.

“What do you think?” Wang Anfu raised his chin towards the snack stall and asked.

Liu Liangping snorted disdainfully and said, “They can’t make it to the big stage, won’t make a lasting impact. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Wang Anfu raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, “As soon as they arrived, they took away all our customers. I’ve lost at least twenty percent of my customers.”

Liu Liangping glanced at him and said, “What’s the matter, Fatty Wang? Are you scared?”

Wang Anfu nodded and said, “A little bit. I’ll go take a look. Are you coming?”

Liu Liangping snorted coldly, turned around, and headed back to his noodle house, showing his disdain through his actions.

Seeing his old rival refusing to go, Wang Anfu leisurely made his way to the snack stall.

The waiter at Liu Ji Noodle House saw Wang Anfu leave and noticed his own boss craning his neck to look in that direction. He asked, “Boss, do you want to go over and take a look? I heard they’re selling cold noodles and ‘liangpi,’ and they taste really good. Many of our regular customers have gone to try it.”

Upon hearing the waiter’s words, Liu Liangping immediately straightened up and furrowed his brow, waving his hand dismissively, saying, “Go, go, go. You’re always sticking your nose into everything!” As he spoke, he glanced over in that direction again.

The waiter turned around, rolled his eyes, and muttered under his breath before unfastening the cloth towel from his shoulder and preparing to enter the shop.

“Hey, wait,” Liu Liangping suddenly called out, stopping the waiter in his tracks.

The waiter turned back, quickly putting on a smile and asking, “Boss, what’s the matter? How can I assist you?”

Liu Liangping frowned, giving him a brief glance, then reluctantly pointed at the cold noodle stall, saying, “Go, buy a bowl and bring it back.”

The waiter asked, “Should I buy cold noodles or ‘liangpi’?”

Liu Liangping gruffly replied, “Use your brain, can’t you? Buy both! Go quickly!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll go right away.” The waiter smiled obsequiously and added, “Boss, by the way, what about the money for the noodles…”

Liu Liangping pulled out ten copper coins and threw them at the waiter, angrily saying, “Go quickly!”

After waiting in line for a while, the waiter finally bought the cold noodles and “liangpi” and returned.

After Liu Liangping instructed the waiter to bring the two bowls into a resting area at the back of the noodle house, he leisurely sat down and looked at the colorful contents in the bowls, sneering in disdain. “Tsk! Such a presentation. It only has some cucumber strips and green beans, not even a slice of meat, yet they dare to sell it for five copper coins! Have those people never tasted noodles before?”

The waiter muttered to himself, thinking that even if the noodles weren’t that great, the business was booming. However, he put on a cautious expression and handed the chopsticks to the boss, agreeing, “Exactly, they have no taste at all!”

Liu Liangping was pleased with the waiter’s understanding. He took the chopsticks, reluctantly as if bestowing a favor, and began to eat.

At first, he had a picky expression, ready to take a bite and then give it a proper “evaluation.” But to his surprise, after the first bite, he couldn’t say anything. With each subsequent bite, he furrowed his brow. As he continued eating, without realizing it, he finished the small bowl of cold noodles.

“Boss, how is it?” the waiter cautiously asked.

How could it be? Liu Liangping was in an extremely bad mood as he pushed away the empty bowl in front of him and dragged the other bowl of “liangpi” over.

He had never seen this kind of “liangpi” before, and before he could even figure out the method of preparation, he accidentally finished the bowl of “liangpi” as well!

When Liu Liangping realized what had happened, his face turned black.

The psychological blow far exceeded his frustration of losing business.

Unfortunately, at this very moment, the waiter, with no sense of tact, asked again, “Boss, how is it?”

“What ‘how is it’! Don’t you have anything better to do? Get out and do your job!” Liu Liangping snapped.

The waiter slinked away, muttering curses under his breath, blaming the boss for getting his business stolen.

On one side, Liu Liangping’s face was gloomy, his mood darkened. On the other side, Wang Anfu, after eating a bowl of “liangpi,” returned to his own shop with a solemn and contemplative expression.

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