Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Already the Number One on the Street!
The lively atmosphere continued until after seven o’clock. Every single spicy crawfish had been sold, not one left. On the tables, the customers had sucked the crawfish shells clean. These crawfish could be said to have died a worthy death. Once Jiang Feng had some free time, he sat down at the entrance.
A few girls hadn’t left yet; they were sitting at a table, occasionally glancing over at him with a laugh. As the saying goes, "the world is a giant beauty contest." Meaning, if you’re good-looking, you often get preferential treatment. Of course, having both good looks and ability is like hitting the jackpot, but sometimes, good looks alone can have the opposite effect.
Jiang Feng’s culinary skills were excellent, he was clean and tidy, and he was popular, so it was normal for him to have some female fans. However, Jiang Feng felt somewhat awkward about it. He wanted to cook, not to be part of some ’fan club’ phenomenon. Appreciating the cooking should be enough.
When he finally had a moment to himself, Jiang Feng called Liew Mei at Jiangyue Terrace Shandong Cuisine Restaurant to ask about the daily operations. Liew Mei excitedly told him that business was booming. More and more customers were coming, and many companies and departments liked to book private rooms at Jiangyue Terrace. Jiangyue Terrace Shandong Cuisine Restaurant had truly become a landmark for Shandong Cuisine in the city.
Hearing this news, Jiang Feng felt relieved once again.
Today’s task has been completed. The extra reward is: [Sichuan Cuisine - Spicy Chicken Recipe].
Lately, he had basically been receiving a Sichuan Cuisine recipe every day, including dishes like boiled cabbage, chicken with bean curd, couple’s lung slices, twice-cooked pork, Mapo tofu, and pot-cooked tender fish. Considering he already knew how to make Kung Pao chicken and fish-flavored shredded pork, he could now be considered a master of Sichuan cuisine. However, his Sichuan culinary skills had not yet been revealed. People still thought he was a master of Shandong Cuisine. Sichuan cuisine was profound and diverse, boasting a huge variety of dishes. There’s a joke that a foreigner came to Sichuan wanting to taste all its delicacies and ended up staying for three years without managing to try everything. Mastering even a few classic Sichuan dishes is already challenging enough, let alone mastering the majority.
The existence of the system saved Jiang Feng twenty years of detours.
Next week, I’ll see how things are, I should make some Sichuan dishes to get familiar with them and check customer feedback, Jiang Feng thought to himself. He needed to find another place to open a new restaurant. However, opening a restaurant could be quite expensive. Fortunately, the Shandong Cuisine Restaurant was profitable, bringing in over a million in revenue each month. That made investment possible.
Jiang Feng just sat outside the shop, enjoying the breeze. He looked like any other small restaurant owner idling when there was no business. But in his mind, he was pondering things other owners wouldn’t even dare to consider.
I’ll open another large restaurant, and this time in Chengdu! There were Sichuanese restaurants everywhere there, even many chain brands with high renown. But Jiang Feng wasn’t worried about chain brands that often used pre-made dishes. As long as the food is good enough and with a bit of promotion, the restaurant will take off. The key is to find chefs first.
「 」
At this time, the cleaning lady had just about finished tidying up the shop. Her wages were settled daily, so Jiang Feng paid her, and she left satisfied. All the tables and chairs had been put back inside the shop. Some customers were still lingering, holding their phones and filming something. Jiang Feng casually collected the sign, unhurriedly, and closed the shop door.
"Boss Jiang, heading home?" the owner of the pork brain shop next door greeted him.
"Yes, going home to rest," Jiang Feng replied, leading Little Black.
"Your business is really good, and you’re so efficient! I saw you buy so many crawfish, and now they’re all sold out," the pork brain shop owner praised.
"I have some regulars, so they sell out a bit faster," Jiang Feng said with his usual easygoing demeanor.
Then, leading Little Black, he went to the road, put Little Black into the back seat, and sat in the driver’s seat, ready to drive away.
"WOOF!" Little Black barked from the back.
"Pets aren’t allowed in the front passenger seat; you can’t come over," Jiang Feng, clearly understanding Little Black’s intention, responded.
"WOOF WOOF!" Little Black barked again.
"Alright, I’ll take you for a walk once we get home," he said.
Jiang Feng drove towards home. He was, after all, at Level 10 Canine Language and could communicate with Little Black without any barriers. Little Black lay steadily on the blanket in the back seat.
Business for the day had ended, and the remaining time was for rest.
「 」
The craze over the spicy crawfish was still ongoing. There simply weren’t enough tables and chairs outside the shop; even the owners of neighboring shops had offered to help. Next door, an empty shop was up for sublease. Someone had suggested renting it to place more tables inside, allowing more customers to be accommodated.
On the fourth day of selling spicy crawfish, the number of social media creators recording with their phones started to increase. Many people wanted to interview Jiang Feng, but he always replied, "I don’t have time. I need to fry crawfish; I can’t leave."
Today, Jiang Feng had hired an additional cleaner. He bought more spicy crawfish and prepared extra fried dough sticks. The work seemed never-ending. More and more customers were arriving, causing some congestion for incoming cars. The navigation map showed the road as red and recommended parking further out.
「 」
Liu Lei had intended to buy more spicy crawfish today to treat his wife and son, but he was shocked to see the state of the street. A couple of days ago, when he bought crawfish, there weren’t nearly this many people. How did it suddenly become like magic, with so many people showing up? Indeed, gold always glitters. That spicy crawfish is cooked so deliciously; it’s simply impossible not to love it after tasting it.
Liu Lei took a video of the street and sent it to his wife, saying, "Look how popular this place is now! You can’t even get a ticket to wait in line."
His wife saw the video and immediately replied, "This is that chef’s little shop? It’s outrageous! How long is the wait?"
Liu Lei replied, "I’ll go ask."
「A few minutes later.」
Liu Lei reported, "It’s about an hour’s wait."
His wife said, "Get a ticket, and let’s go eat there in an hour."
"Alright," Liu Lei agreed.
The two decided instantly. You just have to eat those crawfish. They really are too delicious.
Generally speaking, spicy crawfish are heavy in oil, salt, and seasoning. After eating them one day, you definitely wouldn’t want to eat them again the next because the oil hasn’t yet left your stomach. But for some reason, many people didn’t feel any abdominal discomfort after eating Jiang Feng’s crawfish, even after waking up. Moreover, their first reaction when they thought of the crawfish was that they wanted to eat it again. This feeling was quite magical. So, many people would come one day and return the next.
New customers plus regulars meant the small shop always had a particularly large crowd outside. Now, many people called Jiang Feng’s little restaurant the "Divine Shop." This was an exaggerated nickname given by social media influencers because "viral" was no longer sufficient to describe it.
Social media influencers would say in their videos, "Today, we’re visiting a ’Divine Shop’ tucked away on a backstreet. It’s barely been open for half a month and is already incredibly popular, with tables hard to come by! Look at how many customers they have! I don’t know if anyone has heard of the owner—a chef from Eastern Shandong who commands a high price. He’s a bigshot restaurant owner with exceptional culinary skills, and he loves setting up stalls to sell all kinds of delicious food. Locals call him ’Executive Chef Jiang.’ His cooking skill isn’t just for show; he only opened this small shop recently, and it has already become the number one place on the street."
You didn’t need to hype up such videos; the sight of the customers outside the shop told you it was the real deal. Plenty of people in the comment section expressed their agreement.
"The crawfish are really delicious, I can vouch for that!"
"Indeed, it’s amazing. I’m a fan now too."
"The owner’s cooking skills are beyond reproach."
Upon seeing these messages, many passersby flocked to Jiang Feng’s crawfish shop to check it out.
「 」
At this very moment, Jiang Feng was busy inside the shop.
"Boss, give me ten deep-fried dough sticks!" a customer called out loudly from outside.
Jiang Feng responded, "The deep-fried dough sticks are not sold separately and are limited per purchase. A small order comes with two sticks, medium with four, large with six, and extra-large with eight. I can’t sell you ten sticks."
It wasn’t just the crawfish that brought fame to Jiang Feng’s shop; the deep-fried dough sticks were also a hit. Many customers would even specify in advance that they didn’t want the sticks soaked in anything; they just wanted to eat them plain.
"Boss, you should open a breakfast place! These deep-fried dough sticks taste too good," a customer strongly suggested.
This wasn’t the first time someone had mentioned this to Jiang Feng. Previously, Jiang Feng had sold breakfast—buns and millet porridge in the mountains—but he had never sold soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks before.
Jiang Feng considered it. But it doesn’t seem very profitable. After all, doing system tasks not only allows me to satisfy my desire to cook delicious food but also to make a few million for myself. So, it still depends on whether it fits with the system tasks. After all, having the system and not using it would be a waste, wouldn’t it?
"We’ll see later; it’s not certain," Jiang Feng still responded unhurriedly to such suggestions.
Running a food stall or a small shop, you get to see all kinds of customers: sweet young couples, ordinary older husbands and wives, boys holding hands, and many groups of girlfriends taking photos and checking in. Some people liked to chat with Jiang Feng, and some older folks liked to offer him suggestions. Additionally, several people asked if Jiang Feng was taking on apprentices. One young man was the most eager; he immediately knelt and said, "As long as you take me as your apprentice, I’ll serve you like a horse or ox for the rest of my life and care for you in your old age until your death!"
Jiang Feng quickly helped him up. "It’s uncertain which of us will live longer. You should find someone else; I don’t need an apprentice."
He’s trying to send me off already? How scary. Please don’t curse me, Jiang Feng thought. That’s how business is. You always encounter some strange things. Fortunately, Jiang Feng had a good attitude. No matter what, he remained composed. After all, with his wealth, money was the biggest source of confidence.
Taking on an apprentice? I’ve never considered it. First, it’s troublesome. Second, it’s very troublesome. It’s more carefree to be on my own. If I happen upon someone with potential, I might offer some pointers. But how much others can comprehend will depend on their own destiny.