Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

At 11:50 AM, Xu An arrived on time at the entrance of the Aisha Clothing Company.

Today, Xu An didn’t even need to say a word. The moment the young woman at the front desk saw him, she opened a group chat and sent a message.

’Lunch, front desk.’

The instant the message was sent, eight people from the administration department stood up and walked toward the front desk. Leading the pack, naturally, was the foodie duo, Ding Nan and Luo Min.

The receptionist was stunned for a moment when she saw a full eight people walk out. ’Weren’t there usually just two? Why are there so many today?’

Seeing so many people suddenly ordering lunch, the curious receptionist couldn’t help but stop Luo Min, who had already gotten her food, paid, and was about to leave.

"Why are so many people from your department ordering together today?"

"It’s so hot out. Nobody wants to go out and come back drenched in sweat," Luo Min explained with a hint of impatience. "Besides, these lunch boxes are great, both in price and taste, and they deliver. So everyone decided to order from them."

The receptionist nodded, only half-understanding, then asked, "Can I see what dishes are in the lunch box?"

Luo Min didn’t answer, simply opening her lunch box to show the receptionist.

On the very top was a portion of what looked like an ordinary winter melon, pearl barley, and bone soup.

Beneath the soup container was a portion of scallion oil chicken. You didn’t even need to open the lid to smell the rich aroma of scallions. The tender white chicken meat was garnished with vibrant green chopped scallions, a sight that made one’s mouth water.

The second container held two dishes: one was scrambled eggs with tomato, sweet and sour with a tempting sheen, and the other was a cold salad of enoki mushrooms, a very appetizing cold dish.

After quickly showing the contents of the lunch box to the receptionist, Luo Min immediately closed it up, picked it up, and headed back toward the office.

Today’s meal was just as appetizing as ever; she couldn’t waste another half-minute.

The receptionist thought back on the dishes she had just seen. Then she looked at Sister Liu and the others who were paying and pre-ordering for tomorrow, and she was suddenly tempted.

"Boss, I’d like to order one too!"

By the time Xu An returned from his deliveries, Liang Dani had already counted the lunch boxes. The order for the Hai City Nautical College today was a total of sixty-four—a record high.

Unlike previous days, only Old Han and one other male student were standing there forlornly at the entrance. Usually, a huge crowd of guys would be waiting.

Liang Dani got off the bike and started unloading the lunch boxes, asking as she worked, "How come it’s just the two of you today? Where’s everyone else?"

"Their exam times got pushed back, so they’re not finished yet. It’s just the two of us who are already done," Old Han said with a helpless, wry smile.

"This is over sixty lunch boxes. How are the two of you going to carry them all back?" Liang Dani asked curiously.

"I guess we’ll just have to move them slowly, bit by bit," Old Han couldn’t help but sigh, though his hands moved very quickly.

Liang Dani paused in her work, hesitated for a moment, then suggested, "Why don’t you just ride the bike in with the boxes? I can wait out here for a bit."

"We can do that?" Old Han’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this, and he stared at Liang Dani, his face full of delight.

Liang Dani nodded. Old Han and the other student quickly loaded the boxes they had just unloaded back onto the bike. They were about to ride off when Liang Dani stopped them.

"You haven’t paid yet!" Liang Dani said, holding her hand out to Old Han.

It was only then that Old Han realized. He hurriedly pulled money out of his pocket and gave it to Liang Dani. He only rode off after she finished counting it.

Finding a shady spot at the school gate, Liang Dani leaned against a pillar, took off her straw hat, and used it to fan herself cool.

Just then, a few people walked out of the school gate, loudly discussing where they planned to go for summer vacation.

Liang Dani heard a keyword: summer vacation!

Her mind quickly made a series of connections: ’Summer vacation = students go on break = they go home = a huge drop in orders!’

’The boss just expanded production today, and now summer vacation is about to hit. It’ll be a disaster if we can’t sell everything!’

「At the entrance of Hai City Library.」

After subtracting the pre-orders, there were sixty-three lunch boxes left for today. By the time the factory workers got off at eleven, thirty-six had been sold. Seven more were sold to passing residents and pedestrians, and another twelve to various office workers. Now, only eight lunch boxes remained at the stall.

However, it was just a little past twelve, so there was a good chance of selling out the rest before one o’clock.

In a restaurant across the street, a middle-aged man had secured a window seat early on. He had ordered a meal but hadn’t touched it, his eyes fixed on Xu An’s lunch box stall through the window.

About twenty minutes after Liang Dani left, the man suddenly exited the restaurant and walked straight toward Xu An’s stall.

Xu An was looking down, counting and organizing the lunch boxes on his stall, when a pair of large feet in brown sandals suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

"Young man, how much for one of these lunch boxes?" the newcomer asked.

Xu An stopped what he was doing and looked up at a middle-aged man who appeared to be about forty-five or forty-six years old.

He had a receding hairline, and his two large ears with long earlobes were quite distinctive. He was chubby, and his smile gave off a sinister vibe, like a venomous snake staring you down.

He was beaming at Xu An right now.

"Eight yuan for one. It’s three dishes and a soup. Today we have scallion oil chicken, scrambled eggs with tomato, cold enoki mushroom salad, and winter melon, pearl barley, and bone soup. Care for one?"

"Can I see what the dishes look like inside?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.

Xu An nodded, took out a packaged lunch box, and set it on the stall with the others. The dishes inside were clearly visible through the transparent plastic lids.

The middle-aged man looked for a moment before nodding and saying, "I’ll take this one."

Xu An put the lunch box back in a bag and handed it to the man. After paying, the man didn’t leave right away. Instead, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to Xu An.

"Business is good, huh, young man? When you first arrived, I saw your cart was packed with lunch boxes. In no time at all, you’re already down to this few."

You don’t hit a smiling face, as the saying goes, and besides, the man hadn’t done anything out of line. Xu An took the cigarette and replied perfunctorily, "It’s alright. Just earning a bit of hard-earned money."

"Indeed. Out here in the sun and rain, it’s definitely hard-earned money," the middle-aged man nodded in agreement, then asked, "Do you sell out this many every day?"

"More or less," Xu An continued to answer vaguely.

"Your food looks pretty good. Do you make it yourself, or do you get it from a supplier?"

Xu An glanced at the middle-aged man. ’That’s not a question a normal customer would ask. Someone asking for this much detail is most likely a competitor.’

"I make it myself." This time, Xu An answered casually without even looking at the man.

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man didn’t seem to notice the change in Xu An’s attitude. He just kept smiling as he asked, "So, young man, where do you usually buy your ingredients?"

This time, Xu An didn’t answer. He turned his head and stared at the middle-aged man with a smile identical to the man’s own.

The middle-aged man was about to ask another question, but he seemed to see something. His mouth, which had just opened, snapped shut, and he left with his lunch box.

Xu An followed the man’s recent line of sight and saw that Liang Dani had returned.

Liang Dani parked the vehicle, looking curiously in the direction the middle-aged man had gone. "Boss, was that a friend of yours?"

"No, just a competitor checking out the business."

Liang Dani glanced at the man’s retreating back again, her attention focused on his ears. A thought crossed her mind.

’Why does that guy look so much like Second Uncle "Smiling Snake" from the village?’

But she had something more important to tell Xu An. The thought vanished from her mind as quickly as it had appeared. She turned to Xu An and said, "Boss, the Hai City Nautical College starts its summer vacation the day after tomorrow!"