Divorced Dad's Gourmet Shop

Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Boss Jiang, Is the Pressure Cooker for Sale? I Want to Add Water to It and Drink

She didn’t care if her dad had money or not.

As long as her dad held her every day, coaxed her to sleep, and let her stay by his side, she was content.

Jiang Liu turned to Jun Qingmeng and asked, "Qingmeng, what about you? Any thoughts you want to share?"

Jun Qingmeng had been watching Jiang Liu quietly. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Only when he asked did she flash a beautiful smile, revealing her pearly whites. "I don’t have any objections. You can do whatever you like."

"I’ll be right behind you, supporting you."

"If your business fails, you’ll still have me. I’ll make money to support you both. Tongtong will still get to eat ice cream; I won’t let you guys be stuck eating pickled vegetables."

Actually, sometimes Jun Qingmeng had her own selfish little thoughts. ’She rather wished Jiang Liu were a bit more ordinary, not so dazzling. That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about someone else stealing him away.’

The three of them chatted in the kitchen.

A little after six o’clock. freewebnøvel.com

Xia Changzhi, a smile on his face, pushed open the door and entered the shop, carrying a red floral box.

He leaned against the kitchen doorway, poking his head in.

"Boss Jiang, busy with your family? The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up, so I brought you some floral black tea to try."

As Xia Changzhi spoke, he showed off the box in his hand.

Jiang Tongtong asked in her childish voice, "Grandpa Xia, is it something yummy?"

"Haha, this little girl is such a sweet talker. It’s not for eating; it’s for brewing tea."

"Okay then." Tongtong ran off, ignoring Xia Changzhi.

Jiang Liu said with a smile, "Uncle Xia, you’re too generous. You just brought us mooncakes last time, and now you’re here again with another Mid-Autumn gift."

Xia Changzhi waved his hand dismissively, as if to say, "Don’t even mention it."

"Ah, I just have too much at home. A lot of people gave me a pile of gifts, and I figured I couldn’t finish it all myself, so I brought some for you. Boss Jiang, you have to do me this favor. I really can’t eat it all."

"Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony with you, then. I’ll accept it." Jiang Liu knew that refusing would be pointless and might hurt his feelings, so he simply accepted.

"Hahaha, I love it when you accept my gifts."

"Hang on a moment. The tuna is ready. I’ll pack up a plate for you, and don’t worry about paying this time."

Xia Changzhi immediately frowned, his face stern.

"How could I not pay? Boss Jiang, if you won’t take my money, then I don’t want it."

Jiang Liu said with a laugh as he packed the tuna, "Uncle Xia, your apprentice, Lawyer Wang, helped me out today. Just consider this a thank you to his master. How about that?"

"Helped you out? What did he help you with?"

Xia Changzhi perked up. ’His apprentice is having secret dealings with Boss Jiang behind his back?’

Jiang Liu explained vaguely, "Nothing major, just some paperwork for the shop that needed to be taken care of."

He was worried the big-mouthed Xia Changzhi would broadcast the news about his new shop all over town.

As the saying goes, the higher you’re lifted up, the harder you fall.

Xia Changzhi scoffed. "And here I was thinking it was something important. You call that a big deal? Money. You have to take the money!"

"If you let me eat for free like this every day, I’d be worried about getting hit with a brick the moment I step outside."

He made a dark joke.

Jiang Liu was helpless and didn’t insist anymore. "Fine, then. The buns aren’t ready yet. Next time you buy buns, how about I throw in a few extra for you?"

He knew Xia Changzhi wasn’t short on cash, so he figured he might as well just sell him a few more.

Xia Changzhi grinned from ear to ear. "Now that’s what I’m talking about! Alright, I’ll head back. You go spend time with your family."

"Okay, take care."

Xia Changzhi paid, tucked the box against his backside, and swaggered out.

The moment he stepped outside, he was met with a wave of laughter.

"Haha, that old man’s butt looks hilarious."

"Yo, Old Xia, did Boss Jiang kick your butt until it swelled up?"

"No, that’s not it. Why does it look so much like the shape of a takeout box?"

Xia Changzhi ignored them all and scurried away incredibly fast.

He felt like he was carrying a priceless treasure while being eyed by a gang of bandits.

「At 7:15 PM, the sky had grown slightly dim.」

Jiang Liu finally announced they were open for business.

Impatient customers shoved their way into the shop.

"Brother Jiang, one order of tuna and a glass of fruit juice."

Yu Qingzheng finally made it to the front of the line. "Boss Jiang, I’ll have the yak and potato stew, and I’ll take ten pork buns and five three-delicacy buns to go."

"Little Boss Jiang, yo, business is booming, huh? Give me ten shrimp buns, five fennel buns, and three bottles of fruit juice. To be honest, your fennel buns are absolutely divine. Every time I finish one, I feel like having a smoke. They’re just that fragrant."

The shop’s twelve tables were filled with over thirty customers in the blink of an eye.

Everyone was squeezed together in a lively, harmonious atmosphere.

No one dared to cause trouble.

’They were too busy trying to get on Boss Jiang’s good side. Cause trouble? Wouldn’t that just get you blacklisted?’

The entire street came alive because Jiang Liu had opened for the day.

Those who couldn’t get in line chatted, ate melon seeds, and played cards by the entrance.

A wannabe influencer was filming a video at the door, trying to act cool.

"See this? The thousand people behind me are all my Liu Family Army! I’m asking you, are you scared yet? If you’ve got a problem, come at me on Yangzhai Street!"

The other customers: ??? Are you for real?

It had just turned eight o’clock.

All the food was sold out.

"What the hell, it’s all gone again?!... Brother Jiang, is that pressure cooker of yours for sale?"

"Huh?"

Jiang Liu was stunned.

"I want to buy your pressure cooker. I bet I could add a little water to it and it would still be flavorful."

...Jiang Liu.

Once most of the customers had left, Jiang Liu sat at the counter and began to tally up the day’s earnings.

After costs, the net profit was around 530,000.

[Praise Points: 365,805]

’The praise points increased a bit more today than yesterday. Not bad.’

Jiang Liu was quite pleased.

Praise points were awarded based on customer satisfaction with his food.

Most of them came from regular customers. Even if they didn’t eat his food that day, a heartfelt compliment was enough to increase the total.

This made it very unpredictable.

However, almost any customer who came to eat at the shop would generate points for Jiang Liu. Regular customers generated fewer points, usually hovering between 5 and 10.

Jiang Liu suspected the [Gourmet Album] was pushing him to attract new customers quickly.

"Jiang Liu, the floor’s been wiped clean, and the trash is bagged up."

"Daddy, the tables are clean too, hehe."

She was fishing for a compliment.

Jiang Liu said with a smile, "You two are amazing. I was thinking we’d all clean up together after I finished with the accounts."

"Nope! Daddy, you just have to let Tongtong spoil you!"

"I need to spoil my boyfriend, you know."

"I know, I know."

Jiang Liu chuckled happily.

He went into the kitchen, stir-fried a plate of twice-cooked pork, reheated a bowl of yak and potato stew he had saved, and brought it all out with some rice porridge.

"Wow, it smells so good! Daddy, can we eat now? This little cutie can’t wait any longer."

Jiang Liu sat across from the two of them.

"Go ahead and eat. Tell me what you think of my twice-cooked pork."

He had learned this dish from Hu Yongfa, but the difference was that he used suckling pig and seasonings from the [Gourmet Album].

Today, Hu Yongfa had used the ordinary seasonings Jiang Liu gave him.

Tongtong picked up a slice of meat, glossy and red. It was fatty on top and lean on the bottom, and it jiggled playfully when she lifted it with her chopsticks.

"Mmm, this is so yummy! Daddy, your meat is delicious, really, really delicious!"

Tongtong couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up.

She loved the garlic fragrance. Eating the meat together with the garlic sprouts was super, super fragrant.

Jun Qingmeng also took an expectant bite and nodded repeatedly.

"Your twice-cooked pork is much better than the authentic version. But next time, you could dial back the sweetness a bit. It only needs a hint of a sweet aftertaste, and yours has just a tiny bit too much. Though, some people might prefer it with a stronger sweet finish."

She liked it a lot, but she still wanted to give her boyfriend a rational analysis.

Jiang Liu took a bite himself. The flavor was incredibly fragrant.

The suckling pig had a hint of garlic and millet pepper fragrance as it entered his mouth. The saltiness was good, the savory sauce flavor was moderate, but the sweet aftertaste was a little strong.

"Yeah, the sweet aftertaste is a little too strong. I’ll use one less gram of sugar next time."

After tasting it, Jiang Liu rated the dish an eight out of ten.

His other four specialties were: buns, ten points; fruit juice, eight points; yak stew, ten points; and tuna, ten points.

The three of them quickly finished the plate of twice-cooked pork and the yak and potato stew, washing it all down with the rice porridge.

"I’m full, I’m full! I can’t eat another bite."

Tongtong snuggled into Jiang Liu’s arms, patting her belly with a satisfied look on her little face.

"Then I guess we won’t have any ice cream."

"Ah! Let’s eat it. I can eat it."

"Hahaha, you little foodie. Maybe you should just change your name to Jiang Ice-Cream."

The three of them chatted and laughed.

Full and satisfied, Jiang Liu took out his phone to check it.

Wang Cheng had sent him a message half an hour ago.

Wang Cheng: "I’ve screened two for you. One used to be a breakfast shop, the other was a convenience store."

"They’re located about two kilometers away from you, so not far. They’re both around eighty square meters. Including taxes and five or six different transfer fees, if you want to buy one outright, it’ll probably be a little over a million, but that’s already very cheap."

Jiang Tongtong lay in Jiang Liu’s arms, hugging his hand, her eyes fixed on the phone without blinking.

Jun Qingmeng was also leaning over Jiang Liu’s shoulder from behind.

Her hair tickled his ear, and the pleasant scent of gardenias, her natural fragrance, wafted into his nose.

Jiang Liu found it a bit much to handle and broke the quiet atmosphere, "Tongtong, do you know what Uncle Wang and I are talking about?"

Wang Cheng was twenty years older than Jiang Liu, so it was appropriate for Jiang Liu to call him uncle, but they had a tacit understanding that they were peers.

"Hmm? If you tell me, Daddy, then I’ll know." After saying this, Tongtong bit her finger in shame.

’Sob, sob... all the other kids can read already, but I still can’t.’