Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

To make it a true "ambush," Meng Huai’s team started preparing the moment they hung up the phone. After their lunch break, as soon as the clock struck two, they all rushed over to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant without a moment’s delay.

But when they arrived, the whole group was dumbfounded. The doors to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant were shut tight, with no sign of being open for business. Only then did Meng Huai recall the documentary mentioning that the restaurant’s public hours were from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM. In other words, they had come for nothing. Ambush: failed!

Under the circumstances, they couldn’t just call Xu An and ask him to come back and open the restaurant; they weren’t important enough for that. They could only snap a few photos of the surrounding area to pretend the trip wasn’t a total waste before dejectedly heading back to the office.

The next day, they strictly followed the restaurant’s opening hours, timing their departure from the studio for exactly 10:00 AM and arriving at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s entrance at 10:30. This time, their trip wasn’t in vain.

Although the owner was nowhere in sight, the group wasn’t anxious. They proceeded step-by-step as if they were ordinary customers: paying, grabbing trays, getting their rice, dishes, and soup, finding a seat, and then unleashing a storm of CLICK-CLICK photos.

At this hour, most of the customers eating in were riders employed by Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. Zhu Yinghui happened to be sitting at the next table, watching with amusement as Meng Huai’s group spent ages photographing their food from above, below, left, and right, without taking a single bite. ’These people are so weird,’ he couldn’t help but think.

Still, their behavior didn’t bother him. After watching for a moment, Zhu Yinghui went back to digging into his own meal. The sooner he finished eating, the sooner he could head over to the Hai City Library area. He hoped to squeeze in two extra deliveries today and earn another eight or ten yuan.

Just as he was focused on his meal, Meng Huai noticed him. After exchanging a look with his colleagues, Meng Huai carried his tray of food over and sat down opposite Zhu Yinghui. Of the remaining two, one was in charge of filming and the other of taking notes.

"Hello," Meng Huai began as soon as he was seated. "Are you a regular at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant?"

Zhu Yinghui looked up, glanced left and right, and finally fixed his gaze on Meng Huai. "Are you talking to me?" he asked, his tone full of confusion.

"Yes." Meng Huai nodded. "I saw this restaurant on TV but never had the time to visit until now. This is my first time eating here. The food looks great, and the portions are generous, but there doesn’t seem to be much variety. I only saw four dishes when I was getting my food. Don’t you get tired of it easily?"

"Ha, that’s where you’re mistaken." Zhu Yinghui stood up, walked over to the front counter, got a flyer from Granny Xu, and handed it to Meng Huai before continuing, "The menu here rotates. There are four different dishes every day. See? Today’s main dishes are pork patties with preserved vegetables and stuffed green peppers. Tomorrow’s will be braised chicken with mushrooms and pork belly, and the day after that..."

As he spoke, Zhu Yinghui could feel his mouth watering, a sensation that could only be quelled by another bite of food. He tossed out a quick, "You can see for yourself," and went back to shoveling large mouthfuls of rice and meat into his mouth.

Sigh.

’This delicious, free lunch isn’t something I can get every day now,’ Zhu Yinghui thought with a sudden sigh.

Thanks to the extensive publicity from the Hai City Fast Food Association, the new profession of delivery rider was now widely accepted. While some people still might not see it as a full-time career, it had become the go-to option for anyone looking to earn extra cash, work a part-time job, or find a temporary gig between full-time positions.

With its short hours, high order volume, good pay, and free meals, the rider position at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was everyone’s first choice. When Zhu Yinghui first joined the restaurant’s rider group chat, there were fewer than twenty people in it. Now, less than a week later, the group had ballooned to over eighty—a fourfold increase—and the number was still climbing.

But Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant only needed a certain number of riders each day. With so many people vying for limited spots, the competition had become incredibly fierce. Just yesterday, he had lost his chance to deliver for the restaurant because he’d been distracted for a mere two seconds...

"You seem so familiar with this place. You must eat lunch here often," Meng Huai commented. Despite being a seasoned food connoisseur, the names of the dishes on the flyer were enough to stir his appetite.

"More or less. I come if I can grab a spot, but not if I can’t," Zhu Yinghui replied vaguely, leaving Meng Huai completely confused.

’You have to fight for a spot just to eat here? Surely not!’

Meng Huai glanced around the restaurant. Besides his three-person team, there were only about a dozen other customers. The foot traffic outside wasn’t heavy either; in the time they’d been here, maybe ten people had walked past, and only two had entered the restaurant. ’There are so many empty seats,’ he thought. ’There’s no need to fight at all. It’s totally relaxed!’

Zhu Yinghui noticed the confusion in Meng Huai’s eyes. He shoveled the last two bites of rice from his plate, swallowed, and then slowly began to explain, "I’m a rider. You know, a delivery rider? The job’s gotten really popular recently, and the rider slots for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant are incredibly hard to snag..."

The word "rider" jogged Meng Huai’s memory. They’d been mentioned in the documentary. Plus, many fast-food restaurants had started offering delivery recently. He’d even ordered it a few times himself. ’It’s pretty nice, being able to eat at the office without having to go out.’

The topic of delivery riders was a fresh one, and Meng Huai figured his followers would find it interesting. He seized the opportunity, asking a host of related questions: about the work hours, how tiring the job was, what the pay was like, and so on.

They had eaten their meal, taken their photos, interviewed a customer, and even gathered information on a new and emerging profession. All that remained was the interview with the owner of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

Just as Meng Huai was about to get up and find the owner, a rich, fragrant aroma suddenly wafted from the kitchen. Immediately, several customers who had finished their meals and were idly chatting stood up, walked outside, and began forming a line in front of an empty table.

Although they had no idea what was going on, Meng Huai and his team decided to follow suit. The three of them joined the back of the line, and the cameraman raised his camera, ready for whatever was about to happen.

After a wait of about five minutes, the middle-aged man who had been busy in the kitchen emerged carrying a large stainless-steel basin. It was piled high with food, almost to the point of overflowing. Chicken feet, duck necks, duck webs, and other similar items were jumbled together. They must have been freshly scooped from the pot, as they exuded an incredibly rich aroma. Soaked in the master brine, their colors were vibrant, enough to whet anyone’s appetite in an instant.

’So, it’s braised snacks! I can’t believe Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant sells other products too! This is another great angle for the feature. Get a shot of this!’

After another round of frenzied photography, this time focused on the braised snacks, the three of them finally headed to the second storefront to find and interview Xu An. But the further the interview progressed, the more they felt that Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was like a bottomless treasure chest. Every time they thought they’d uncovered everything, they would pivot to a new topic and discover even more fascinating content waiting for them.

A team of chefs who were mostly deaf and mute, a contract to provide employee meals for a major corporation, winning the catering bid for an expo, selling lunch boxes to three or four hundred companies via a team of riders, and even running a stall at a construction site entrance that sold meals at the same price as the restaurant...

Usually, when doing a restaurant review, their biggest fear was that the subject would be too mundane, forcing them to rack their brains for interesting angles to highlight. But Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was the complete opposite—it had so many highlights that Meng Huai was actually starting to feel overwhelmed.

’If we include all of this, how long will the article be? But every single detail is so interesting, I can’t bear to cut any of it! What a wonderful problem to have! I wish we had this "problem" with every restaurant we reviewed!’

Because they had gathered so much material from the formal interview, Meng Huai’s team didn’t even get to most of the less serious, gossipy questions they had prepared. They only had time to ask a few basics like, "How old are you, boss?", "Do you have a partner?", and "What’s your type?" before leaving, completely satisfied.

Before they left, Xu An gave each of them a pound of vegetarian braised snacks and a pound of meat-based ones as a thank-you gift. After all, they were giving him free publicity; it was only right to make a small gesture.

At 2:30 PM, the staff had already cleaned the restaurant until it was spotless. Xu An did a final inspection and, seeing no issues, locked the doors and prepared to leave. Just then, he turned his head and saw Li Xindong emerging from the third storefront, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and rubber waders, looking all set to head out to sea.

"Xindong, are you heading out to catch Jumping Fish?"

"Yeah," Li Xindong nodded. The bruise on his face had only darkened after a night of rest. Noticing Xu An staring at it, he quickly forced a smile. "It’s nothing, really. It looks worse than it is, and it doesn’t hurt anymore."

’Alright, looks like there’s no talking him out of it.’ Xu An glanced up at the sky. It was a rare overcast day with high visibility but no direct sun. It felt slightly cooler than yesterday, and a cool breeze blew from time to time.

’I don’t have much else to do this afternoon, and I’ve never caught Jumping Fish in either of my two lives. Why not take this chance to try it? They’re highly nutritious, and with just one main spine and no tiny bones, they’re perfect for kids and the elderly.’

"I’ll go with you. Maybe I can catch a few to bring back for Granny and the kids," Xu An said, hopping onto his little electric tricycle. "Let’s stop by my house first so I can change clothes. Then we can head to the mudflats on the southeast side?"

"If you just want to eat some, I can bring a few back for you," Li Xindong said, trying to dissuade him. He thought Xu An was just craving the fish. "Every day I catch some that get a little bruised, so the fishmongers won’t buy them. It’s definitely enough for a meal. You’ve never done this kind of work before; your back and legs will be killing you by the end of the day..."

"That’s exactly why I want to try it—because I’ve never done it before!" Xu An interrupted with a laugh. He squeezed the handlebar, and the tricycle’s motor whirred to life. BZZZT. The tricycle shot forward a meter or so. He glanced back at Li Xindong and yelled, "Keep up!"

When he got home to change, Xu Kang and Xu Le turned into a pair of curious kittens, clinging to him and asking where he was going. As soon as they heard he was going to the coast, they started peppering him with questions about mudflats and Jumping Fish.

Eventually, their true intentions were revealed. They latched onto Xu An’s legs, unleashing their ultimate skill: Cuteness Overload. They begged him to take them with him, and if he couldn’t take both, then taking just "me" would be fine too. Xu An was treated to a live performance titled, "The Great Betrayal of Twin Siblings."

While the southeastern mudflats were shallower than the ones to the south, the mud at the water’s edge was still deep enough to cover an adult’s ankles. For short-legged kids like Xu Kang and Xu Le, that meant the mud would come a third of the way up their calves.

Not to mention, the mud got deeper the farther one went out to sea. If the two little ones got carried away playing and ran off, and he failed to notice in time, he would regret it for the rest of his life. So, ignoring their desperate pleas, Xu An resolutely shook his head no.

’The hugs are comfy~ The kisses are great~ But I’m never, ever gonna say yes~ So give it up~’

After enjoying their hugs and kisses, Xu An acted like a complete heartbreaker. Under the wounded gazes of the two little ones, he strolled nonchalantly out the door and set off with Li Xindong toward the southeastern mudflats.