Chapter 19 - 18: A Greater Ambition: Changing the Price to Make Everyone a True Fan

Jiang Liu walked out, preparing to lock the door.

He found his neighbor, Zheng Qiang, sitting on a stool by his own door.

The moment Zheng Qiang saw Jiang Liu, he pulled out his phone, pretended to make a call, and said with a smug look on his face:

"Xiao Huang, business has been great for me today. I don’t know why, but I’ve already made three hundred yuan in the first hour. *Sigh*, it’s so annoying. I have too many customers every day. It’s not like my neighbor, who hasn’t had a single one. Sometimes I even envy him. It’s so quiet and peaceful over there. Ugh, this is so frustrating!"

Heh... Jiang Liu shook his head, speechless.

’This guy is so childish and boring,’ he thought.

He was about to lock up.

Just then, a slender, pretty young woman in hot pants and round glasses slowly rode over on an electric scooter.

She worked at South City First Central Hospital just behind the shops and was on the early shift today, so she’d made a special trip to buy some breakfast.

Wu Lingling rode right past Zheng Qiang’s breakfast shop without a second thought.

She knew his place had poor hygiene, so she never went there.

"Huh! When did a new shop open here?"

Wu Lingling parked her scooter in front of Jiang Liu’s shop.

She looked curiously at Jiang Liu, who was standing by the door holding his keys.

’Wow, he’s so handsome...’

"Hello, handsome. Are you open for business?"

"Yes, we are. I have steamed buns."

Jiang Liu smiled and nodded. "There are thirteen left. Would you like some?"

"Okay, pack them all up for me. I’ll take them all!"

Wu Lingling declared with a grand wave of her hand.

"Alright, just give me a minute."

"Mhm, I’ll wait."

Jiang Liu was delighted. He went back into the shop and quickly packed the buns into a box.

Zheng Qiang, who was watching from the side, couldn’t take it anymore. He whispered a "warning," "Miss, the buns from this place aren’t good, and they’re really expensive. You should come buy from my shop. My buns are cheap and delicious."

Wu Lingling immediately rolled her eyes.

Her tone turned icy as she retorted:

"Even the dogs at my hospital wouldn’t eat your buns! I’m not buying them. You should just keep them for yourself!"

Hearing his buns being so rudely insulted,

Zheng Qiang sat up straight, his face ashen. He glared at Wu Lingling and spat out each word:

"You’re... full... of... shit!"

"Tch! Farting is healthy."

Wu Lingling lifted her pale chin defiantly.

Zheng Qiang took a deep breath. He was furious at her comeback and didn’t want to sit outside anymore. He stood up, cursing under his breath as he went back into his shop.

"All set." Jiang Liu came out carrying a paper bag.

He personally placed the bag securely in the basket of her scooter.

"Mhm, thank you, super handsome guy. Mwah."

Wu Lingling happily blew him a kiss.

Jiang Liu blinked in confusion.

Wu Lingling took out her phone.

"So, what kinds of buns are there, handsome? How much is it?"

Jiang Liu answered truthfully:

"Three chive and egg buns, five ’three-delicacy’ buns, two pork and scallion buns, and three shrimp and corn buns. Except for the shrimp and corn buns, which are five yuan each, the rest are two yuan. The total is thirty yuan."

"Wow, that’s a good deal! And you even have my favorite shrimp buns. If they’re good, I’ll be back for more!"

"Okay, sounds good."

Wu Lingling paid promptly and rode off on her scooter, which went CREAK, CREAK as she left.

Indeed, Jiang Liu was already planning to change his prices. He had a new idea for a profit model.

Based on the few sales he’d made that morning,

he had been thinking. For one, his prices were still too high, yet he wasn’t making huge profits.

The buns were super delicious, no doubt about it.

And customers were willing to pay.

But the problem was, how could an ordinary family afford a meal that cost several hundred or even a thousand yuan?

They might eat it once or twice, but could they eat it regularly?

’At this rate, eating for a year might cost them their house. That’s a real possibility.’

Ordinary people couldn’t afford it.

’Was he supposed to sell only to the rich? No, that definitely won’t work.’

What he needed now was to use low prices and delicious food to attract traffic. It’s not like he was only going to sell buns forever. He could introduce high-end options for other foods later on.

So, for both practical and profitable reasons, he was preparing to switch to a new business model—one that could both attract customers and make money.

Jiang Liu planned to set up a "Care Box" for the time being, placing it in the most conspicuous spot to get through the initial phase.

He would make it clear to all his customers.

’The general idea is: I’m not making money, there’s no profit, so you guys have to spoil me. If you want to keep eating my food, no problem, but please be generous and open your wallets, alright? Otherwise, I’ll just give up and close the shop. I don’t care who gets what.’

After all, his food was good enough to justify it. He had that confidence.

Jiang Liu believed

that this was a marketing strategy never before seen on the market. It was his unique "mutual-adoration marketing strategy," and it would be impossible for anyone to copy.

Moreover, he had a hunch that this method of "soliciting affection" could earn him an unimaginable amount of money!

For example, what if some rich lady enjoyed her meal

and casually "cared" for him with a hundred million yuan?!

How many years of selling buns would that be equivalent to?

After all, even live streamers get so many donations.

’I’m running a shop selling buns this delicious. What’s wrong with asking for a little love, huh? What’s wrong with that!’

「Five minutes later.」

Jiang Liu returned home.

He opened the windows to air the place out.

Then he spent a few hundred yuan to buy enough filling ingredients for one hundred of each type of bun.

Combined with the ingredients he had at home from last night,

he now had enough to make a total of eight hundred buns.

Jiang Liu carried the large and small bags downstairs and strapped them all over his bicycle.

’This won’t do. I need to figure out a way to get a vehicle soon. A pickup truck would be best. I could haul goods with it and also use it to take Tongtong to school.’

A sense of urgency grew in him. In the future, when he needed larger quantities, he couldn’t possibly make several trips back and forth a day.

Jiang Liu rode quickly.

A few minutes later, he arrived at Yangzhai Street.

"Huh? Uncle Xue is already done shopping? That was fast."

From a distance, he could see Xue Guang’s van parked in front of the shop.

Xue Guang, who was wearing a "Pleasant Goat" apron, was currently unloading tables with Hua Manman.

Jiang Liu skidded his bicycle to a stop at the entrance.

Hearing the sound, Xue Guang saw it was Jiang Liu.

He stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Xiao Jiang, where did you go? I saw your shop was closed."

Jiang Liu sighed and patted the ingredients on his bike.

"The buns in the shop were almost sold out, so I went back to get more ingredients."

"Impressive. Sounds like your business is doing well."

Xue Guang had an ’I knew it’ expression on his face.

He had tasted Jiang Liu’s buns. He knew how delicious they were.

The flavor was so good it was almost addictive.

"It’s alright, it’s alright. I sold a few hundred."

"Uncle Xue, Aunt Hua, you two take a break. I’ll carry these."

Jiang Liu tried to shoo them to the side.

"It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re not busy anyway. Let’s do it together."

The pair were full of warmth for their new neighbor.

Jiang Liu didn’t refuse.

In just a few minutes, the three of them had moved everything inside.

There were chopsticks, disposable cups, plates, boxes, paper bags, a bottle of dish soap, tables and chairs, and other things.

Among the items was a red donation box with a lock.

It had a small, rectangular slot on top.

This was what Jiang Liu had specifically asked Xue Guang to bring for him.

Its purpose was to implement his get-rich-quick plan.

Checking the time, Jiang Liu brought out the freshly steamed buns.

"Uncle Xue, Aunt Hua, you haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?"

"Ahem, no, we haven’t. We were thinking of having some of your buns."

Xue Guang scratched his bald head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Come on, pick what you want. See what you’d like to eat and just take it. No need to be polite with me, just eat."

Jiang Liu opened the steamer, and a wave of hot, moist steam, mixed with the clean fragrance of flour, washed over them.

Xue Guang and Hua Manman both swallowed hard at the same time.

The aroma was just too good.

Just smelling it made their mouths water!

’If you go a day without eating this, you just don’t feel right.’

"Here, take a plate and help yourselves."

"Hey, alright, alright."

"Then we’ll take advantage of your generosity today!"

"Don’t say that! Just eat. Eat your fill!"

Jiang Liu said magnanimously, waving his hand.

...

「Meanwhile, at South City Kindergarten.」

"Children, come get some fruit! The first one here will get a mysterious grand prize from teacher!"

Inside the kindergarten, many children were playing games together.

Hearing about fruit and the so-called mysterious grand prize, they reluctantly ran over.

Tongtong also came running and skipping over.

A group of little boys followed right behind her.

She was arguably the cutest and prettiest kid in the entire kindergarten.

Jun Qingmeng placed the fruit on a small ping-pong table.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to pee.

"Sister Li, can you hand them out? I need to use the restroom."

"Go ahead, go ahead."

Jun Qingmeng calmly walked to the teachers-only restroom on the first floor, closed the door, lifted her clean white T-shirt, and squatted down.

The sound of trickling water, SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH, echoed through the quiet restroom.

Just then, a small, sneaky figure

secretly slipped into the restroom stall.

...