Chapter Eighteen: Intelligence on Rare Patrons

On the way home, Chen Zhou chatted with his wife about opening a shop.

He recalled that initially, Ms. Lin had suggested starting with a street stall.

But this time, she clearly expressed her support.

“I support you opening a shop.”

Then she shared her previous concerns—such as the large investment required and Chen Zhou’s lack of relevant experience.

After listening, Chen Zhou smiled and asked, “So why do you support me opening a shop now?”

Lin Yifan candidly replied, “Your buns really taste good, and business is thriving. Now that you’ve built up quite a customer base, I think opening a shop is no longer so risky.”

Chen Zhou said, “You didn’t trust me that much before!”

Lin Yifan thought for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed. “I used to think I knew you well, but now I’m not so sure.”

Chen Zhou realized that he had often overlooked her feelings and thoughts, taking for granted the stable life his wife had carefully maintained.

In this heartfelt conversation, Chen Zhou didn’t hide from his closest person: “Honey, I actually have a gourmet intelligence system.”

Lin Yifan put on that expression she only showed when he told a bad joke before, playing along, “Hmm, that’s great.”

Chen Zhou shook his head with a smile... Indeed, such things were probably only believable to children.

He glanced at their daughter.

Chen Taotao said, “Daddy, I’m five years old.”

Although his wife was supportive, their savings could only cover one year’s rent. Opening a shop now still felt a bit too ambitious.

...

The next morning.

The gourmet intelligence system updated on time.

[Ingredient News]: Within the past three days, small vendors selling homegrown vegetables will appear on the west side in front of the Happiness Market.

Homegrown vegetables!

When Chen Zhou saw this news, he felt a pang of nostalgia.

He remembered the vegetable garden from his childhood home, watered with underground well water, which yielded plenty of fruits and vegetables every year.

They really tasted much better than those bought at the market.

Take cucumbers for example; no matter how carefully you pick them at the market, none matched the sweet fragrance of those he used to eat.

He decided to buy some when he visited the market later.

[Customer Activity (Rare)]: In two days, the veteran foodie Grandpa Yu will pass by your stall. Receiving his praise can help increase your popularity.

This was the first time Chen Zhou encountered a rare-level customer intelligence.

He hadn’t expected to be able to raise his stall’s profile through this particular customer.

Previous customer information had been quite simple.

This confirmed his earlier judgment—that the rarity level of intelligence was more about the density of information rather than anything else.

After all, in Chen Zhou’s view,

everyone was unique and rare in their own way. You couldn't say one old money family or a seasoned foodie was inherently superior.

Though it was true that such an elderly gentleman was rarely seen.

The intelligence noted he would merely pass by, so Chen Zhou needed to devise a plan to attract him to his stall.

Regardless, it was an opportunity to boost popularity that could not be missed.

Finally, he checked the [Market News]: A new round of consumer subsidies in Haibin City has begun from today, with this round including household kitchen appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and microwaves for the first time.

Government subsidies... Chen Zhou had only overheard colleagues mention them when he was still working.

At that time, earning 2,500 yuan a month, there was no need to pay attention to promotions like “spend 2,000, save 200.”

“Is it that 200 yuan I’m missing?”

But now he had saved a few thousand yuan.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhou couldn’t help but hatch a plan:

“I’ll get an electronic loudspeaker and shout out on the street. Maybe I can attract some people.”

Regarding the completely unfamiliar Grandpa Yu, this was all Chen Zhou could think of for now...

After reviewing today’s intelligence with no opportunities for easy gains, Chen Zhou sighed:

Diligently earning money was solid and reliable, but using intelligence to find bargains was the fastest way to build his initial capital.

With this thought, he checked his system level.

Currently: Level 2 (350.5/700)

He was halfway to Level 3 now, so the goal was within reach.

Due to system level restrictions, only some of the skills earned through points redemption were currently available.

Chen Zhou planned to save up the good-review points over the next few days.

He aimed to surpass 700 points before the next intelligence update.

Recently, he only ran a small stall and didn’t plan any limited-edition sales. So the number of customers each day and how many buns each person bought varied.

From his observations over the past few days, on average, there were around sixty to seventy positive reviews daily.

Operating 24 hours nonstop was unrealistic.

He needed to focus on evening hours to sell more buns.

Looking at the points (352.5/700),

he couldn’t help but notice the tiny fraction contributed solely by his wife.

Chen Zhou shook his head quietly.

If judged from this perspective alone, though Ms. Lin seemed ordinary in many ways, she was truly unique.

He glanced at Lin Yifan, who was washing up, and said,

“Honey, is there any kitchen appliance we need at home? I saw the government subsidy has a new policy that includes kitchen appliances.”

Lin Yifan smiled, “You could buy another refrigerator. One is definitely not enough.”

...Their kitchen at home couldn’t fit two refrigerators for now.

His wife joking with him like this was rare.

Chen Zhou was pleasantly surprised.

But it gave him an idea.

Though the house couldn’t fit another fridge, he could install a portable one on his food cart.

He wasn’t venturing far now, and the food cart’s battery was almost entirely used to power other equipment.

It could easily handle a small refrigerator.

Then he could store prepared meat fillings inside and wrap buns while selling.

This would improve efficiency.

...

Meanwhile,

in a villa on the outskirts of Haibin City.

Yu Shaochun took two bites of the cucumbers the housekeeper had pickled days ago and frowned.

“This ancient-style pickled cucumber doesn’t taste good either?”

He picked up a sheet of paper from the table to double-check.

The content was copied from a blue-and-white porcelain plate Yu Shaochun had received a few days ago from a friend—

“Take tender cucumbers, wash and dry... place ginger, garlic, and peppercorns in the jar... add fine wine... drizzle sesame oil... three days to mellow.”

“I used organic cucumbers... handmade small-batch sesame oil... Wuliangye liquor...

The ingredients are right, and I pickled it for three days. I even specifically found cucumbers pickled in early Qing Dynasty porcelain jars.

Could it be that ancient cuisine was just so-so?”

Yu Shaochun felt unsatisfied and suddenly remembered that after retirement, Yuan Mei had spent much time in the Jiangnan region.

Then he suddenly realized:

“The problem is the wine!”

Yu Shaochun looked at the 30-year-old Shuang Gou Da Qu liquor in his wine cabinet and began the next round of testing.