When Lu Feng opened his eyes again, it was already 12:30 PM.
After getting up and washing, Lu Feng first ordered ingredients for xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) from the System Shop.
Not long after the order was placed, the system prompted that the ingredients had been delivered to the store's storage room.
On his first day selling xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), Lu Feng didn't buy too many ingredients.
The main reason was that the System's specified business hours were too peculiar: starting at 9 PM, for only two hours.
If he made too many and couldn't sell them all, the leftovers would be wasted.
He would never do something as unethical as mixing overnight food with fresh food to sell.
Whether it was the ingredients or the finished xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), they always tasted best fresh out of the steamer.
Changing into a clean set of clothes, Lu Feng went downstairs and casually ate something at a small restaurant nearby to fill his stomach.
He returned to his rented room, lay on the bed, and leisurely scrolled through short videos for a while before setting off.
Lu Feng arrived at the store at 4 PM.
Taking the ingredients out of the storage room, Lu Feng first prepared the meat filling for the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).
He would make the dough after the meat filling was ready, to prevent the dough from sitting too long and turning sour.
This time he bought 10 catties of meat, and turning all that meat into filling would take some time.
Using a meat grinder would certainly speed things up significantly.
But experience told him that meat filling made with a grinder was considerably inferior in taste compared to hand-chopped.
After a long session of chopping, Lu Feng had a large basin full of meat filling.
Just smelling the aroma of the meat filling made the greedy worms in one's stomach stir.
Lu Feng wrapped the meat filling with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator's fresh-keeping compartment; he could take it out directly once the dough was ready.
The sky outside gradually darkened, and pedestrians on the walking street slowly increased.
Garden Road Pedestrian Street was a state-owned cotton mill decades ago, later transformed into a commercial street.
A considerable portion of the residents in this vicinity are former factory workers, long past retirement age.
Young people also come here, but compared to the bustling downtown areas, there are far fewer young people here.
Older people are accustomed to going to bed early, so after 9 PM, the foot traffic here significantly decreases.
Besides the groups of elderly men and women dancing in the public square, only some university students from nearby would come to stroll around.
Therefore, when the mall closed at 10 PM, the restaurants on this Food Street were also pretty much ready to close.
Lu Feng glanced outside and sighed inwardly.
If he started selling now, even if he only operated for two hours, he could easily sell all one hundred portions of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).
Just then, two girls who looked like university students walked into Lu Feng's store.
They had no classes this afternoon and went shopping together; they had been browsing for a while and planned to find a place to eat something before continuing.
However, it was already dinner time, plus the evening rush hour.
Almost every restaurant on Food Street was packed with people waiting in line, and they would have to wait a long time to eat.
They didn't want to waste time queuing, so they walked around, looking for a less crowded place.
As they walked, they arrived here and saw that there was no one at the entrance.
They often came shopping here and knew this store used to be closed.
It must have just opened now; seeing the exquisite decoration at the entrance, they excitedly walked in to take a look.
But after entering and seeing that there wasn't a single person in the hall, they immediately began to murmur.
A store with such good decor, yet not a single customer in sight, could it be that the food isn't good?
Lu Feng happened to walk out of the kitchen at this moment, and the two girls guessed he was probably the owner, so they asked with a tentative attitude.
“Boss, what do you have to eat here?”
Before Lu Feng could answer, another small girl saw the price list on the wall and immediately shouted as if she had discovered something incredible.
“Xiao Mei, look! One portion of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) is 50 yuan!”
“What?”
The taller girl named Xiao Mei turned her head and also saw the price of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) on the wall, instantly dumbfounded.
“Boss, isn't your xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) price wrong? Li's Restaurant over there is only 30 yuan a basket, and you're selling it for 50?”
“My xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) are different; the price is correct.”
Lu Feng was unfazed, his tone exuding confidence.
After comparing the difference between Li's Restaurant's xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and his own, he even felt that the 50 yuan pricing was too cheap.
“That confident? Then I'll have a portion to try.”
Seeing Lu Feng so confident, the tall girl also became somewhat curious.
50 yuan wasn't cheap, but a single portion wasn't unaffordable, and she wanted to taste what kind of flavor this seemingly young boss could produce.
Humans are curious animals; when they see something unreasonable, they always want to try it.
A 10-yuan fried rice might not interest many people.
But if you sell it for 100 yuan a portion, then I absolutely have to try what it tastes like.
“Sorry, it's not business hours yet.”
Lu Feng spread his hands helplessly.
“Isn't your store already open? What time do you open?”
“Nine o'clock.”
“Nine AM? Then I'll come back tomorrow.”
“Uh… it's nine PM. Or do you two want to wait?”
“…”
The two girls fell silent, looking at Lu Feng with an expression like he was an idiot, then turned and left.
“We open at nine PM! Come back then, alright!”
Lu Feng shouted at their retreating backs.
“Are you sick! We're not coming back!”
The two girls quickened their steps, fleeing the store as if escaping.
They would rather wait in line a bit longer than be fools here.
Lu Feng was also incredibly frustrated, secretly cursing the “dog system” again in his heart.
After the two university students left, a few more customers came into the store intermittently.
Seeing the 50 yuan price for a portion of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) on the wall, they turned and left.
There were also a few who didn't believe it and wanted to try, but upon hearing that business hours were at 9 PM, their nascent curiosity instantly extinguished.
Having answered the same question several times, Lu Feng was getting a bit impatient.
He simply set up a small blackboard at the store's entrance, writing on it: xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) 50 yuan per portion, open at 9 PM.
This way, he wouldn't have to repeat himself when future customers came in.
The effect was immediate.
After that, not a single customer came in.
But it was just as well; Lu Feng now had to prepare the dough.
After a while of busy work, the dough was ready.
The sky outside gradually darkened, and the pedestrians on Food Street became sparse.
Looking at the deserted hall, Lu Feng couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Selling even 10 portions of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) on the first day of business would be good.
He shook his head vigorously, deciding not to think too much about it for now; he would sell as many as he could.
It was getting late, and it was time to start wrapping the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).
He would wrap 30 portions first; if they didn't sell, he could just take them home and eat them himself.
After wrapping the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and putting them in the steamer, Lu Feng calculated the time, and it would be exactly business hours when the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) were steamed and cooled.
“Damn it, xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) for 50 a basket? Feng Zi, your price is a bit outrageous!”
Li Jiang's loud voice came from outside the door.