Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Retreat is the Best Strategy!
"Holy smokes, it really is Executive Chef Jiang!"
Li Guang left his company and was overjoyed to see Jiang Feng’s food truck.
Jiang Feng had become quite a well-known figure, attracting many followers. Although he wasn’t on par with internet celebrities with tens of millions of followers, he was still a local celebrity. A genuine executive chef of a restaurant! Not only was his food exceptionally tasty, but it was also affordably priced. The reviews for him were all very positive.
Li Guang immediately walked over to Jiang Feng’s food truck.
"Executive Chef Jiang!" he greeted as he approached.
"Hello."
Being recognized, Jiang Feng responded warmly.
"I just had an ice cream bar, but when I heard you were here, I came specially to see."
"Can I take a picture with you?" Li Guang asked with a smile.
"Of course, no problem. But since it’s busy right now, just go ahead and snap a photo."
Jiang Feng was surrounded by parents. The word had spread among them, and everyone knew this little stall’s handmade ice cream bars were delicious. Some also recognized Jiang Feng as the great chef from the internet, known for his exceptional skills. A lot of people were coming here to buy his ice cream bars.
Li Guang took out his phone, nodded, and said, "Alright, I’ll take the photo!"
Not just Li Guang, but many of the children’s mothers, after buying ice cream, would also stand in front of the food truck holding an ice cream bar to take a photo. After posting it on their Moments, they would caption it: "Ice cream bars handcrafted by Executive Chef Jiang, checking in~"
The mothers of the elementary school students were mostly young, in their most charming years. Some of them were quite pretty. They always greeted Jiang Feng when buying ice cream bars from him. Jiang Feng always responded with a smile.
「Soon.」
The army of elementary school students was finally out of school. As soon as the doors opened, many students ran in his direction. Their numbers were massive; it was a bit frightening to witness.
They crowded around Jiang Feng’s stall.
"Brother, I want a Big White Rabbit ice cream bar!"
"Handsome guy, I want an ice cream!"
"Brother, I want two old-fashioned ice pops!"
The elementary school kids, some with money in hand and others taking out their "Little Genius" phone watches, clamored loudly.
"Alright, alright, form a line, one at a time!"
"Don’t rush!"
"Get in line!"
Jiang Feng, seeing the chaos before him, busily called out.
The ice cream bars and ice cream were selling at a rapid pace. A lot of parents had come to buy earlier, and with the kids now buying, there wasn’t much left.
"All gone?" Jiang Feng opened the freezer, also a bit taken aback. Where are my ice cream bars? Where’s that thick stack of ice cream bars I had? Gone? Selling this fast?
Jiang Feng reappeared at the window. "Everyone, I’m sorry, but the ice cream bars are all sold out. Only ice cream is left!"
Upon hearing Jiang Feng’s words, the schoolchildren immediately froze in place. What? The ice cream bars are gone? Boss, do you even hear yourself?
"Brother, how did the ice cream bars sell out so quickly?" one of the schoolchildren at the front asked.
"A lot of people came earlier to buy them, so they sold quickly," Jiang Feng specifically explained to him.
"Damn, when I grow up, I’m buying out all their ice cream bars!" This schoolkid also had quite the personality, blurting out an expletive.
"Er..." For a moment, Jiang Feng didn’t quite know what to say.
"Then, Boss, I’ll have a bowl of ice cream."
"Sure."
Many schoolchildren formed a line. Their parents stood by, watching.
At that moment, a rather fierce-looking middle-aged woman dragged her son to the front of the line and shouted, "I want an ice cream, and make it a large one!"
Jiang Feng glanced at her and calmly said, "Go to the back of the line!"
The middle-aged woman instantly became upset. "Come on, just sell me the ice cream. It won’t take much time. My son wants one, hurry up."
Jiang Feng glanced down and saw her son, who hung his head in silence, appearing a bit uncomfortable and embarrassed by his mother cutting in line. Clearly, this is a domineering woman. People like her are rather frightening.
"Even if it doesn’t take time, you still have to wait in line. All these kids are waiting; you can’t just cut in," Jiang Feng replied calmly, his expression unchanged.
He was generally easygoing, but young people today didn’t tolerate such bad behavior.
"Come on, just sell it to me and we’re done. I really have an emergency!" the middle-aged woman protested again.
She knew what she was doing wasn’t right, but she was used to pressuring young people who ran small stalls or sold milk tea; some of them, not wanting to argue, would serve her first. Jiang Feng, however, paid her no mind.
Several parents with good manners were also chiming in, "Want to buy ice cream? Go line up!"
"How can you cut in line!"
"Don’t block others!"
Seeing that the people around her were all looking at her with disdain, the middle-aged woman couldn’t save face. "I won’t have any then," she snapped, pulling her child away quickly.
The elementary students who saw this all had smiles on their little faces. This was positive reinforcement. Seeing good deeds being praised, they would imitate and learn. At the very least, rules that should be followed must be respected. If those who cut in line were allowed to satisfy their desires, other schoolchildren would start to cut in line as well. After all, a person’s growth is influenced by everything around them. Through constant exposure, they inevitably and unconsciously learn what is most beneficial to themselves.
"What should I do? I only have three yuan for pocket money today; I can’t afford ice cream."
"Let’s buy one together. A box of ice cream contains four servings; we can each have two."
"Okay!"
Some kids began helping each other out. Schoolchildren have very pure relationships; perhaps because they walk home together every day after school, they become lifelong best friends. They’re commonly known as "childhood buddies."
Jiang Feng began handing out ice cream to the schoolchildren.
Someone took photos of this scene and paired them with pictures of Nick Wilde from Zootopia giving ice cream to the little lemmings. The caption read: "Zootopia comes to life."
Both showed a tall figure giving ice cream bars to shorter ones, and the photos quickly attracted a large crowd of viewers.
Netizens, upon seeing the photos, responded, "Executive Chef Jiang is not a tricky merchant like Nick Wilde; his products are tasty and affordable, truly a conscientious boss!"
"Oh my, Executive Chef Jiang is out with his stall again? I had no idea!"
"I must hurry to buy some, or they’ll all be gone!"
"Is he selling ice cream bars this time? How rare!"
"An executive chef making ice cream bars is a total game changer; his ingredient ratios and mastery of the process are just too good!"
...
Jiang Feng was unaware of the online buzz, merely focusing on scooping ice cream. Before long, the ice cream was all scooped out. Not even a scrap of ice cream was left in the metal box.
"Sorry, everyone, it’s all sold out!" Jiang Feng shouted to the customers still in line. "Go home for dinner, and come back tomorrow!"
Hearing him say that, several schoolchildren immediately became unhappy, running to their parents to make a fuss. Two of the kids started crying outright.
Jiang Feng had never encountered such a situation; just seeing it gave him a headache. Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best. If not now, when is the time to run?
He quickly closed the window, jumped into the driver’s seat, and swiftly drove off.
The parents were busy trying to comfort their children. A few parents shouted towards Jiang Feng’s food truck, "Executive Chef Jiang, prepare more tomorrow!"
Many parents were kicking themselves. "I should have bought it earlier! I was afraid the ice cream bars would melt, so I didn’t buy any!"
"Ah, such a pity I didn’t get any!"
"This ice cream tastes really good! I wonder what it’s made of!"
"I’m going to buy it first thing when picking up the kids tomorrow."
"I’m thinking the same!"
Under the gaze of the crowd, Jiang Feng’s food truck quickly departed.
「The next day.」
Jiang Feng specially prepared extra ice cream bars. He packed the freezer full, stacking the ice cream bars into a pyramid. He had made them in his restaurant, and now the scent of milk still lingered inside. I feel like I’m practically turning into an ice cream bar myself, a milk-flavored one at that, Jiang Feng thought.
As soon as the food truck stopped, customers immediately formed a long line.
「At that moment, across the street at the Mixue Ice City Milk Tea Shop.」
Jiang Feng’s presence these past two days had caused the milk tea shop’s business to drop by about 10%. It couldn’t be helped; the two were in competition. If people ate ice cream, they certainly wouldn’t drink milk tea.
The manager, Wu Lun, gazed at the bustling food truck, stroking his chin thoughtfully. I’ll go check out the situation, see why everyone’s flocking to those roadside ice cream bars. Can a roadside stall really be better than what we offer in the shop? Our cones are only two yuan each, and our sundaes are just six.
Wu Lun took off his apron, put on a jacket over his short-sleeve uniform, and headed towards Jiang Feng’s stall. I’d like to see what kind of formidable presence can actually steal business from Mixue Ice City! After all, wherever Snow King sets foot, any other milk tea shop is bound to tremble. Our customer flow is on a completely different level!
Wu Lun crossed the street and quickly joined the back of the line. A few employees stood inside the shop and watched.
As luck would have it, just then, the boss, Zheng Fei, suddenly arrived at the shop for an inspection. The manager was also an employee of the boss, earning a few hundred yuan more per month than an ordinary staff member. He was responsible for the shop’s hygiene and management. Generally, it was someone with strong abilities whom the boss trusted.
Seeing Zheng Fei arrive, the employees’ expressions changed. Oh no! The manager is in big trouble! He went to queue at the stall across the street!
Zheng Fei looked around and inquired, "Where’s Wu Lun?"
The employees looked outside. Across the street, they could see perfectly clearly: their manager, Wu Lun, was right at the back of the line, queuing for ice cream!
The employees instantly tensed up.