Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

The types of fruits and vegetables grown in Hu Juan’s greenhouses were similar to Aunt Hong’s, and the quality was about the same. It was clear they had been meticulously tended.

After inspecting every category of produce in the greenhouse, Xu An nodded in satisfaction. "The quality of the produce is excellent," he said. "Ma’am, did Aunt Hong tell you about the purchasing standards for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant?"

Hu Juan was naturally confident in the quality of her produce, but since Xu An was in charge of purchasing, the final decision was his to make.

When she heard Xu An praise her produce and immediately follow up with questions about a partnership, she knew she had passed his inspection. Her face instantly broke into a wide, happy smile.

"Sister Hong told me all about it. I have no problem with the purchasing price or the standards. They seem very reasonable."

"Alright, then." Xu An took out a contract and handed it to Hu Juan. "Ma’am, please look over the contract. If there are no issues, we can sign and press our thumbprints. You can start supplying us tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, great!"

Hu Juan took the contract but didn’t sign it immediately. Although she trusted Aunt Hong completely, friendship was one thing and business was another. A contract was not something to be careless about.

Starting from the first page, she carefully read every clause in the contract. Only after confirming there were no issues did she sign her name and press her thumbprint.

"A pleasure doing business with you." Xu An took the contract, signed his name, and added his thumbprint. The deal was sealed.

The contract was in duplicate, and they each kept a copy.

"A pleasure, a pleasure! I wish you a prosperous business, boss!" Hu Juan smiled brightly, all traces of hesitation and worry gone from her face.

As the group turned to walk toward the entrance of the greenhouse, they saw three men standing there. From their casual, unhurried posture, it looked as if they had been waiting for quite some time.

Hu Juan’s joyful expression froze, replaced by a strained, polite smile. "It’s so hot this afternoon. What brings you all here so suddenly?"

"We haven’t seen any sign of you the last couple of days, so we figured we’d come looking for you and see what you’d decided." A teasing smile spread across the old man’s face. "I didn’t expect you to choose neither Victory Supermarket nor the vegetable vendors. Instead, you found a new business partner. Looks like we caught you in the act."

As he spoke, the old man looked at Aunt Hong, a hint of reproach in his eyes. "Xiudie, we’ve always treated you well, haven’t we? We’ve been friends for so many years. It’s not very nice of you to find a good opportunity and keep it from everyone, acting all secretive!"

Before Aunt Hong could retort, the old man turned to Xu An, his face wreathed in a gratified smile. "They say heroes often emerge from the young, and you, boss, are truly a young hero. To be able to stand on your own two feet at such a young age is incredible, simply incredible."

As he spoke, the old man walked into the greenhouse, quickly and firmly grasped Xu An’s hand, and began pulling him outside.

"Boss, come and take a look at our greenhouses! I can’t say our produce is better than theirs, but it’s certainly no worse."

It was hard to refuse such enthusiasm, so Xu An had no choice but to follow the old man to see the greenhouses belonging to him and his two companions.

The three men had sixteen greenhouses in total, with a slightly wider variety of vegetables than Aunt Hong and Hu Juan. The quality of their produce was every bit as good.

Looking at it all, Xu An felt a pang of regret.

These farmers would most likely choose to partner with Victory Supermarket. After all, the purchasing price they offered was very tempting.

And then all this high-quality produce would be plowed under. What a waste!

His regret intensified, especially since he knew Victory Supermarket was a trap, but there was nothing he could do.

Sixteen greenhouses could produce at least five hundred pounds a day, sometimes even over two thousand. The current Xu’s Fast Food couldn’t possibly use that much.

After showing Xu An all the greenhouses, the old man asked him directly, "Boss, what do you think of our produce quality? Is there any possibility of us working together?"

"The quality of your produce is fantastic." Xu An gave the old man a thumbs-up without hesitation. "I’d love to work with you, but my place is just a small fast-food joint. Your output is too high. I can’t possibly take it all."

The old man was stunned. He raised his hands and roughly rubbed his face.

’This isn’t how the script is supposed to go!’

Xiudie’s and Hu Juan’s farms together could produce two to three hundred pounds a day. Normally, it would take a medium-to-large-sized restaurant to get through that much, but this young boss was only running a fast-food place.

Unwilling to give up, the old man pressed, "Well, boss, do you have any plans to open a new location? If so, you could consider sourcing your produce from us."

"I don’t have any plans for that at the moment," Xu An said quietly.

In truth, Xu An did want to open another branch, but he had no money. ’After paying for the website and purchasing a new batch of equipment, my pockets are completely empty. There’s no way I can open another location any time soon. I’ll have to wait at least half a month until I have ten thousand yuan or so before I can even think about it.’

Disappointment appeared on all three men’s faces at once. Finally, the old man spoke again.

"Boss, do you know any other restaurant owners who might need to source produce?"

’Hmm... other restaurant owners...’

’Boss Jin Dayong from Delicious Restaurant is in jail. I don’t know for how long, but the restaurant will be closed for at least half a month. Pass.’

’The owner of the fast-food place next door quit. He’s planning to run a street stall now. Pass.’

’The other shops are doing very poor business. I doubt they even use twenty or thirty pounds of produce a day. With such low demand, they’d be better off just selling to the vegetable vendors. It’d be less hassle. Still a pass.’

After seeing Xu An shake his head again, the old man finally fell silent, his spirits visibly deflating.

For his part, Xu An couldn’t make them any empty promises. If he gave them a commitment he couldn’t fulfill later, and it cost them their opportunity to work with Victory Supermarket, they would surely see him as the villain who stood in the way of their fortune.

His purpose for the trip had been accomplished, so Xu An made an excuse and left with Xu Kang and Xu Le.

After Xu An left, Aunt Hong and Hu Juan also found an excuse to depart, leaving only the old man and his two companions outside the greenhouse.

"Uncle Lin, what do we do now?" the youngest of the three men asked, his voice full of conflict. "Are we really going to work with Victory Supermarket?"

As he spoke, he glanced over at the greenhouses where crops were being plowed under. A pained expression crossed his face, his inner conflict at its peak.

The old man called Uncle Lin lowered his head in thought. After a long moment, he said through gritted teeth, "I can’t take this chance to get rich. Whoever wants to can go ahead. I’m out!"

With that, Uncle Lin clasped his hands behind his back and walked away, leaving the other two staring at each other in dismay.

「Da Rongshu Village」

Jin Wu had been back in the village for two days. He spent the entire day in the shop today, which the villagers couldn’t help but find a little strange.

’Didn’t Jin Dayong take Jin Wu to Zijing Road to open a fast-food restaurant? How does Jin Wu have so much free time to hang around at home all day?’

’Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Jin Dayong around for the past two days either.’

’Doesn’t Da Ni work at that fast-food place on Zijing Road too? She might know something. Let’s go ask her.’

’...’

A few intensely curious villagers went to Liang Dani’s house to ask her about Jin Dayong and his son.

Liang Dani already harbored a grudge against the Jin family, so there was no way she would help them cover up what happened at Delicious Restaurant. She told the villagers the entire story, down to the last detail.

Forging business licenses to operate, using despicable tactics to frame other restaurants, having all their income confiscated, being taken into custody...

The villagers were left dumbfounded by each revelation, clucking their tongues in astonishment.

As the saying goes, bad news travels fast.

The group had only just heard the story from Liang Dani, but in the blink of an eye, nearly everyone in the village knew. And the story grew more and more outrageous with each retelling.

It started with Jin Dayong being fined hundreds of thousands for operating without a license. That turned into Jin Dayong having to spend eight to ten years in jail. Then, it became Jin Dayong taking a knife to another fast-food restaurant by himself and getting arrested. Soon after, it was Jin Dayong stabbing someone...

By the time the rumor had made its way around the village and back to Liang Dani, the story was that Jin Dayong and his son had attempted murder, and Jin Dayong had confessed to everything and would be locked away for thirty years!

When Jin Wu had returned, he’d told his mother that Jin Dayong would only be in jail for a few days and everything would be fine. Hearing the villagers say he was going to be locked up for thirty years, he immediately panicked.

She frantically threw down her mahjong tiles, rushed back to their small store, and snatched the phone from Jin Wu’s hands. "Wu, you tell your mother the truth. What happened to your father?"

"It’s nothing. He’s just inside for a few days," Jin Wu said, engrossed in his game. He snatched his phone back and added carelessly, "Mom, it’s not the first time Dad’s been locked up. What are you panicking for?"

"Then why am I hearing people say your dad is going to be locked up for thirty years!"

?

’Thirty years!’

Now it was Jin Wu’s turn to panic. ’What about the business at Delicious Restaurant? Are we still going to run it?’