Chapter Six: I Must Set Up My Stall Immediately

Because he had discussed some specific transaction details with Aunt Zhao, who sells roujiamo, and also called his wife to communicate, Chen Zhou was a few minutes late this morning.

Those few minutes, however, were precisely recorded by the young lady in the office.

She held the attendance sheet, doodling as she spoke, “Engineer Chen, if you’re late two more times, the company will deduct your full attendance bonus this month.”

Chen Zhou imitated her tone in his heart, thinking, “When I worked overtime before, the company didn’t count the extra hours for me either.”

Most people in the design institute came from local universities; this young lady was roughly a junior from the same school.

Chen Zhou gave her a knowing look.

This junior, juggling multiple roles in the office, HR, and finance, was definitely a newcomer on Chen Zhou’s side, a hardworking assistant who wanted to help but was powerless.

She shifted her stance and pointed toward the ceiling.

Then she whispered to Chen Zhou, “Senior, it’s no good. The director has been checking the surveillance cameras to monitor attendance lately.”

Good heavens, the old man was determined to cut costs and improve efficiency.

“All right, all right,” Chen Zhou waved his hand. Hardworking assistants shouldn’t be troubled unnecessarily. He returned to his workstation.

This lousy company really didn’t want him to stay even a minute longer.

The preliminary preparations for setting up the stall were basically complete.

The health certificate he obtained a few days ago could now be verified through the app.

The matter of the snack cart had been settled with Aunt Zhao. The steamed buns didn’t require many special tools, just some clean, hygienic plastic bags for packaging.

Other kitchen utensils, like the steamer and small tongs, could temporarily be borrowed from home.

With all this in mind, Chen Zhou was no longer willing to waste a minute at the company.

He went straight to the director to ask for leave.

Old Song, seeing Chen Zhou leave in a hurry, was almost driven mad by his overflowing curiosity.

“Little Chen just joined and now he’s leaving again? What’s he so busy with?”

Colleagues speculated:

“Looks like he found another job?”

“There aren’t any other jobs in this industry,” Old Song shook his head, dismissing the idea.

“Wasn’t he gone for half a month during the JD delivery stint? Maybe this time he’s setting up a street stall.”

“Running a stall isn’t easy.”

“Yeah, can you even make money doing that?”

…

At five-thirty in the evening, the newly refurbished roujiamo snack cart swaggered out of Sunshine City residential complex.

The signboard now read:

Fresh Meat Buns

2.5 yuan each

During the day, Aunt Zhao was particularly meticulous. She cleaned the roujiamo cart spotlessly and personally delivered the goods.

Chen Zhou admitted he had come hoping to snag a good deal.

But Aunt Zhao’s price was already very reasonable, so Chen Zhou didn’t want to take advantage.

Seeing her come alone, he asked for her address and even called a ride-hailing car to take the elderly lady home.

Aunt Zhao was quite touched.

Her departure might well be a final farewell to Haibin City. Before getting in the car, she shared plenty of tips about running a stall.

“Places with lots of people have fierce competition, and urban management officers love to watch and inspect.”

“Keep your stall neat and tidy. When people see that, more customers will come.”

“The woman selling pancakes next to me? Don’t ever go there, she’s really not a decent person…”

Aunt Zhao was probably not going home to see her grandchildren but heading off to take the graduate entrance exam.

Of course, Chen Zhou couldn’t expect the information from her to meet any official standard; he took what was useful.

He chose the bun-selling location right outside his home.

This complex had many young residents, and the flow of people during morning and evening commutes was quite good.

The urban management officers hadn’t noticed this spot yet.

Besides, the streets were lined with shady trees, providing a cool, comfortable place to set up a stall.

In addition to the snack cart,

Chen Zhou also switched his pork supplier, based on the information, to that fresh market in Yongjia.

The meat quality was indeed good—though the price was a bit higher, it was truly fresh.

Cost-cutting and improving efficiency were necessary for business but never at the expense of quality.

Chen Zhou settled on this supplier.

The gold-chain-wearing boss was surprisingly easy to deal with. Knowing Chen Zhou planned to sell buns at a stall, he saw a potential business partner and even exchanged WeChat contacts—

AA Fresh Zhang Jinsheng: Contact me anytime if you need stock. [Grin][Grin][Grin]

Chen Zhou: [Handshake] Threefold reply.

In short,

Using the intelligence at his disposal, Chen Zhou’s stall preparations were very thorough.

Boiling water, steam on.

The buns that were wrapped at home awaited their second proofing to finish. Once the water boiled, their magical transformation would begin.

The scalding steam penetrated the steamer basket, enveloping each bun with force. The heat and humidity caused the dough to swell rapidly. Eventually, condensation formed on the glass lid, blurring the view from outside.

…

Freshly made food

has a special allure.

Especially when the steam carries the fragrance of fermented wheat and savory meat filling, gradually wafting out.

Even in the sweltering summer, the aroma whetted anyone’s appetite.

The security guard at the gate was the first to notice Chen Zhou’s buns.

Out of basic professionalism, the guard knew these were from a resident and that setting up a stall in a non-obstructive spot was none of his business.

But the smell was quite good. How could that be unrelated?

He took a few steps forward to the stall.

“Bro, you selling buns?”

Chen Zhou turned to glance at the young man.

The aroma of buns filled the air, and the snack cart clearly displayed the bun-selling sign.

Indeed, Chen Zhou was selling buns.

He smiled and said,

“My stall just opened today. When the buns are done, I’ll bring some over for you to try.”

Chen Zhou warmly invited the guard.

But the young man seemed a bit bashful.

“That wouldn’t be proper, bro. Wow, smells really good.” He swallowed. “How long till they’re done? No, I’ll come buy some myself later.”

Chen Zhou laughed, “Just a few minutes.”

When the buns were ready,

Chen Zhou packed two and brought them over to the guard.

“Bro, you’re too kind,” the young man took the buns without hesitation. “No, no, I can’t just take them for free. Let me scan your code quickly.”

The young man was amusing.

Also, a very practical concern, since Chen Zhou entered and left the complex daily and needed the guard’s cooperation to lift the barrier.

Chen Zhou urged him to accept the gift, “I’ll be bothering you from now on.”

“Bro, that’s not how you say it.” The guard patted his chest. “From now on, you just call me Xiao Liu.”

Chen Zhou smiled, “All right, be careful, they’re hot. If you want more, just come back.”

“Thanks, bro.”

Xiao Liu looked at the soft, white buns in his hand, truly delighted.

He bit into one in just a few bites.

“Ouch, hot, hot, hot.”

…

At six o’clock, Lin Yifan picked up Taotao and headed home.

The mother and daughter paused at the entrance.

“Taotao, cheer for Daddy.”

“Go Daddy, go~”

The little girl’s waving hand instantly wiped away the old father’s fatigue.

Nearby at the security booth, Xiao Liu, who had eaten the buns and found them satisfying, noticed the trio’s relationship and proactively found a parking spot for Lin Yifan.

“Sis-in-law, there’s a spot at East 116.”

“Huh?… Okay, thank you.”

The suddenly elevated property management service left Lin Yifan puzzled even after he got on the elevator.