Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

After driving back from Aisha Clothing Company, Ren Peng forwarded Luo Min’s packing instructions to his staff. Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he headed over to Fukelai Fast Food Restaurant.

That’s right. He was going there to gloat.

Although they were brothers—full brothers, at that—they only ever presented a united front against external threats. The moment that threat was gone, they became rivals once more.

Now that he had landed the order from Aisha Clothing Company, he naturally had to go and gloat in front of his brother.

He had even timed his arrival for 5:50 PM on purpose. In just ten minutes, he would receive tomorrow’s lunch box order form from Luo Min.

That would be his moment to truly shine.

The owner of Fukelai had fully anticipated Ren Peng’s arrival. He remained lazily slumped over the counter, not moving an inch as he continued to scroll through his phone.

"Well, well, on your phone? You must have a lot of free time."

"Not as much as you. It’s the dinner rush, and you’ve still got time to be out and about. Business must be slow, huh?"

"Sigh, I just have too many capable people under me. I don’t have to handle everything myself, so I can only wander around aimlessly to kill time." As he spoke, Ren Peng brought up a topic he knew the Fukelai owner would be interested in. "I saw that ’connections’ guy when I was delivering meals today. Out of an order for two or three hundred, he only got about fifty. Pathetic, really. You really lost to a nobody."

Then, Ren Peng’s tone shifted, becoming utterly smug.

"But I suppose it’s for the best. It saves us brothers from competing and making a scene for everyone to laugh at."

As he was speaking, the phone in his hand chimed with a notification. The screen lit up, showing the time was 5:50 PM. ’That must be Luo Min sending over the order,’ he thought.

He unlocked his phone, opened his messaging app, and at the top of the screen were the two words: Luo Min.

"Ah, the lunch box order from Aisha Clothing Company for tomorrow is in. Yesterday was one hundred sixty-three... today should be around two hundred, I’d think."

Ren Peng backed out of the messaging app and opened his email. An unread message was waiting for him.

He tapped the email and selected "load image." The progress bar spun rapidly, and the image loaded in an instant.

"Let’s see here, today’s total is... it’s..." Ren Peng’s voice started high before trailing off, his words filled with confusion. "No way. How is it only one hundred twenty? There must be a mistake somewhere."

Hearing this, the Fukelai owner instantly shed his lazy demeanor. He excitedly craned his neck to get a look at Ren Peng’s phone and, sure enough, saw the total order was only one hundred twenty. He was overjoyed.

’Just a second ago he was bragging about getting over two hundred tomorrow, and now it’s a hundred and twenty? This is priceless!’

"Ha, haha... Ahem!" Ren Peng forced an awkward laugh, quickly covering his phone screen so his brother couldn’t get a closer look. He scrambled to save face. "Tomorrow’s Sunday! People are off on Sunday, so it’s normal for the order to be smaller!"

Perhaps feeling thoroughly embarrassed, Ren Peng scurried back to his own restaurant. Staring at the number on the order, he was completely baffled.

’How could this be? Why would the order decrease instead of increase? Maybe it really is just because it’s the weekend.’

’Just wait. Don’t panic. I’ll find out on Monday.’ Ren Peng tried to reassure himself.

「The next day at noon.」

When Xu An was delivering meals to the Aisha Clothing Company, he ran into Ren Peng again.

The moment Ren Peng saw Xu An carrying three full containers of lunch boxes, his composure shattered, and his gaze turned icy once more.

Xu An clearly saw the change in Ren Peng’s expression, finding the man even more baffling than before.

’Is this guy from a family of opera performers? Did he learn face-changing as a kid? Three completely different attitudes in just three short days... that’s some skill.’

Once Xu An finished the delivery, he left. Ren Peng then sidled up to Luo Min, trying to get friendly.

Between calling her "Luo" and "Sister Luo," he chose the latter. "Sister Luo, how come the order was so much smaller? Was everyone off for Sunday?"

Sister Luo?

It took Luo Min a few seconds to realize Ren Peng was talking to her.

’Sister Luo! *Sister*!’

’I’m only twenty-six, for crying out loud! Who is this forty- or fifty-year-old uncle calling "sister"? Talk about mutton dressed as lamb, trying to act all young and cute with me!’

"Mm," Luo Min said, giving a cold nod before walking away.

Ren Peng interpreted Luo Min’s sudden coldness as a sign. ’Upper management must have stepped in. That’s why she doesn’t even dare to talk to me or smile.’

’So Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, with its twelve chain locations, can’t even compete with some no-name place that has powerful connections.’

’These people with connections are really something else! I’m done pandering to them! They can do whatever they want!’

Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

Xu An picked up his supplies from Bald Chen in Qianhai Town at 5:30 PM. He arrived at the entrance of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant at 5:48, only to see Zhang Dezhen squatting by the door, dozing off.

The sound of rolling wheels roused Zhang Dezhen from his light sleep.

"Why are you here so early? I thought I said work starts at six," Xu An asked casually.

"Hehe, I was too excited. I didn’t sleep very well, so I just got up early and came over," Zhang Dezhen said with an honest smile, immediately standing up to help unload the goods.

The atmosphere between them suddenly became awkwardly silent, so Xu An looked for a topic to start a conversation with Zhang Dezhen.

"You mentioned the hotel you used to work at went out of business and got new owners. What happened to the old kitchen staff? Where did they all end up working?"

"Some went back to their hometowns, some went to other hotels, and a few are like me—they found jobs at regular restaurants, fast-food places, or barbecue joints."

"Oh!" Xu An nodded. "Well, do you know any folks from back home who are still looking for work, or maybe want to switch jobs? Anyone interested in food service? Our restaurant could still use a few more hands."

"I’d have to ask around. I lost touch with a lot of them after we left the hotel, so I’m not sure what everyone’s up to these days."

"Alright. Well, ask around for me. If you find anyone suitable, let me know."

"You got it."

The two of them worked quickly. In just ten minutes, they had unloaded all the ingredients that had been packed onto the tricycle.

As the other employees arrived one by one, both of the Xu Family’s restaurant locations started to get busy.

Zhang Dezhen took over the entire kitchen at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. From selecting the produce to washing, slicing, and cooking, his movements were fluid and seamless, a single continuous process.

He sorted the ingredients and added them to the pot. The next step was to let them simmer over low heat until all the flavors had melded together.

Once the ingredients were in the pot, there wasn’t much left to do. Zhang Dezhen listened to the braising liquid BUBBLE and GURGLE, watching transparent bubbles rise to the surface and pop. Suddenly, he began to feel a bit apprehensive.

’Plenty of people have told me my braised dishes are delicious, but this is the first time I’ve ever made them to sell to customers.’

’Although I’m confident in my braising technique, everyone back in my hometown knows how to make these dishes, and they’re all pretty good at it. In that kind of environment, my skills never seemed like anything special.’

’Before yesterday, I never would have imagined that I’d become the braised-dish chef at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant because of this skill.’

’But now I’m worried... what if the braised dishes don’t sell well? If they don’t even bring in enough to cover my salary, will there be any need for a braised-dish chef?’

For a moment, Zhang Dezhen’s mind was a tangled mess.

’No, I can’t just sit here and wait to fail. I have to be proactive! I need to play to my strengths and show the boss what I can do!’

’That way, even if I can’t make it as the braised-dish chef, I can still be a kitchen hand who knows how to make them! Maybe my pay will even be a few hundred yuan higher than a regular helper’s!’

Zhang Dezhen shot to his feet, left the kitchen through the back door, and walked into the back kitchen of Delicious Restaurant.

The entire Delicious Restaurant was a scene of bustling activity: sorting produce, washing vegetables, chopping, cooking, packing lunch boxes... everything was orderly and methodical.

"Need any help? The prep for the braised dishes is done. Now they just need to simmer over low heat until they’re ready."

"Then come over and help pack lunch boxes!" Xu Lili waved him over without a moment’s hesitation.

"You got it, I’m coming."

「Brocade Hotel.」

"I heard a rumor that a company approached us about supplying their employee meals, and you turned them down. Is that true?"

"It’s true. The company’s daily order is over two hundred, but we’d have to split it with other fast-food restaurants and hotels. It works out to only about a hundred portions a day for us."

"’Only’ about a hundred portions? You’ve gotten pretty full of yourself since you landed the Zijing Garden construction site contract."

"Not at all, not at all. It’s all thanks to your excellent guidance, sir. You have to give some to get some, right?"

"So how are things on your end? Any new developments?"

"I just got a new tip yesterday. The Xiuli Garden construction site on Yong’an Road is also planning to shut down its cafeteria. It’s highly likely they’ll do the same as the Zijing Garden site and have a hotel supply their lunch boxes through a bidding process. That construction site has over seven hundred workers."

"Oh? Well, that’s very good news indeed. Is the information reliable?"

"It came from an insider at the real estate company. It’s already being discussed in meetings, so a decision should be made soon."

"Then you’d better prepare. Win this site’s contract in one fell swoop. If you can add this to the Zijing Garden contract, your promotion to logistics supervisor will be set in stone."

"Yes, sir! I won’t disappoint you!"