Chapter 45 - 44: So Tiring, I Was Careless.

Her style today was professional attire, as usual.

Her hair was tied up high, the sleeves of her white blouse rolled up, and she wore black capri pants with beige high heels.

Wang Han lifted her chin, bypassed the line, and walked straight to the counter, pouting as she said:

"Jiang Liu, I want your big steamed buns. I’m hungry."

As she spoke, she pointed to her own mouth.

"Get in the back of the line," Jiang Liu said, not falling for her act in the slightest.

"No way. There are too many people, I don’t want to wait!"

Wang Han twisted her body coquettishly, pulling out the same tactics she used on her father.

Jiang Liu continued to work. Although he had a good impression of the older woman, too many people were watching.

’Besides, am I the kind of person who would compromise for money?’

Seeing Jiang Liu ignore her, Wang Han glanced at the donation box, her rosy lips curling into a beautiful arc.

"Jiang Liu, look what I have here."

She took out a thick stack of red banknotes from her bag and patted it.

"What do you mean by that?"

Jiang Liu felt that his character was being insulted, and his expression turned cold.

Wang Han gave a very beautiful, charming smile.

Before Jiang Liu’s eyes, her small hand, adorned with a jadeite bracelet, casually stuffed the money into the donation box.

"Oh dear, my hand slipped. Boss Jiang, quickly help me get it out."

Jiang Liu took a deep breath and instructed in a low voice:

"Go sit in the back kitchen for a bit. Don’t touch anything. I’ll bring you some juice and buns in a moment."

’I had wanted to refuse, but I figured there’s no need to argue with money.’

’Isn’t the whole point of opening a shop to make money and survive?’

"Okay, I’ll wait for you."

Wang Han cast a triumphant glance at the furious customers, then walked into the back kitchen, clutching her documents.

The customers were dumbfounded, watching as this woman flaunted her superiority right in their faces.

"What the heck? How can she not have to wait in line?"

"Boss Jiang, look! That woman went into your back kitchen!"

"It’s over! Our Boss Jiang has changed!"

The customers in line looked utterly heartbroken.

Jiang Liu frowned and said, "Quiet down! I hired her to wash dishes!"

The customers looked unconvinced but didn’t dare say anything more, grumbling a few complaints at most.

’She just cut in line. Doesn’t Boss Jiang have that little bit of authority?’

As long as he didn’t close up shop, they were satisfied.

Jin Wei, who was near the front of the line, teased:

"Brother Jiang, I never thought you were this kind of person. You’ve become a slave to money too! I hate you!"

"How many buns do you want?"

"Ten chive buns, five shrimp buns, five three-delicacy and green onion buns, and four cups of juice!"

「7:50 AM」

Customers who arrived late left with dark expressions.

The eight hundred buns and four hundred juices were sold out.

「Back in the kitchen.」

Jiang Liu held a bottle of apple juice, a bottle of watermelon juice, and fifteen buns.

"Here you go. Eat up."

Wang Han was resting her arm on her shapely thigh, her small hand cupping her chin.

She stared at Jiang Liu without blinking.

"What does your juice taste like?" she asked, licking her lips.

"Why don’t you taste it and find out?"

"Then you can feed it to me." Wang Han leaned forward, opening her small mouth. Her white teeth were immaculately clean.

It was clear that Wang Han was a woman who paid great attention to detail.

"Get lost."

Jiang Liu waved his hand, speechless.

"I’m going to go clean up. Finish your drink and leave on your own."

With that, Jiang Liu put on leather gloves and an apron and walked out carrying his cleaning tools.

Wang Han watched his firm butt disappear, then muttered to herself with a huff.

’Little man, hmph. You think I can’t conquer you? I’ll even sleep you into submission.’

She picked up the cold cup, inserted a paper straw, took a sip, and was astonished.

’Not bad. This juice is delicious! I didn’t expect Jiang Liu’s buns to be so good, and his juice is amazing too!’

This was better than any juice she had ever had before.

The texture was natural and pleasant, and the fruit aroma was rich and intense.

It wasn’t at all like the kind made from artificial flavoring.

Now, Wang Han was even more interested.

...

「2:00 PM」

The weather was a bit gloomy. A hot wind was blowing, the sun had disappeared, and it felt like a storm was brewing.

Jiang Liu sat in the shop calculating his accounts.

In the morning, he had sold 800 buns and 398 bottles of juice. Then he started cleaning and preparing the remaining 1,600 buns.

The buns were ready around twelve o’clock.

They sold out in an hour, and he sold another 700 bottles of juice.

Jiang Liu took out a calculator to settle his accounts.

’Bun revenue... 6,545 yuan. Subtracting costs of 2,740, the net profit is 3,805...’

’Not bad. The buns are stable. They don’t bring in a huge profit, but they’re mainly for attracting customers.’

This was as much as some people made in a month.

Jiang Liu was already very satisfied.

The calculator buttons CLACKED under his fingers.

His fingers were trembling.

’Juice revenue... 38,490.’

’Subtracting costs of 5,500, net profit—33,490.’

’Donation box miscellaneous income... 6,580, plus Wang Han’s 10,000, equals 16,580!’

’Total net income: 53,375.’

’This much income?’

Jiang Liu sat stunned at the counter. Even with the money in hand, he still felt like he was living in a dream.

"Boss, do you have any juice left?"

A group of students walked up excitedly.

"Sorry, it’s all sold out. Come back around dinnertime this evening."

"What about buns? I’ll buy some buns."

"The buns are sold out too."

"Damn, we’re late. Alright then."

The students left in disappointment.

Over the next ten minutes, more than ten groups of people came one after another to buy buns and juice.

Jiang Liu couldn’t even take a short break. After a moment’s thought, he decided to go back and get some sleep.

He was dead tired every day and hadn’t slept well these past two days.

Just moving his arms and wrists made them ache.

It was a good thing he had a strong constitution. Anyone else would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

He went out and locked the door.

Jiang Liu glanced at Xue Guang’s shop and saw that it was quite crowded.

’No wonder Uncle Xue didn’t come to buy buns today. Turns out he’s busy making a fortune.’

Jiang Liu smiled with relief, deciding to go over and enjoy the sight of Xue Guang flustered and overwhelmed.

As soon as he walked in the door, he heard customers chattering away.

"Are you out of apples? Hurry up and go buy more! I need to go home and make juice."

"Where are your watermelons? I want the same kind Boss Jiang has."

Xue Guang was backed into a corner, trembling.

"We’re out, we’re really out! My wife has already gone to make an emergency purchase. The soonest they’ll be here is tonight."

"Liar! Hurry it up, or we’re never coming to your store again! A fruit shop that doesn’t even have watermelons or apples? That’s ridiculous..."

Xue Guang explained with a pained expression, gesticulating wildly.

"Everyone, they’re sold out! Please come back next time. The watermelons and apples sold out this morning. There’s nothing left. Even the bruised apples were snatched up."

"How about you go buy some at the Yonghui Supermarket in the nearby Xinxiang City?"

The customers gave up in a huff.

Just as they were about to leave, they turned and saw Jiang Liu leaning to one side, looking like he was enjoying the show.

The customers’ eyes lit up.

"Boss Jiang, are you busy? Are the buns ready yet?"

’Again?’ Jiang Liu’s temples throbbed. He opened his mouth and said in a practiced tone:

"Sorry, the buns are sold out."

"Then hurry up and make more! Don’t you want to make money?"

"Go on, hurry! I’ll be watching you. If you don’t make them, I’ll lie down right in front of your door!"

Jiang Liu explained, "The ingredients haven’t arrived yet. How do you expect me to make them?"

The seven or eight customers, which included an old man and employees and owners from nearby businesses, all looked unwilling to give up.

"Your juice is seriously amazing. My dad, who never drinks juice, is forcing me to come buy some. If there are no buns, how about you just sell me two more bottles of juice?"

"Brother Jiang, please, be a pal and spare one bottle. My grandson has cried himself faint in the bathroom. I’ll pay double, how about it?"

The customers surrounded Jiang Liu, clearly intending not to let him leave unless he sold them something.

Jiang Liu shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Everything’s sold out. Didn’t you see I already hung up the sign? Right now, forget you guys, even I don’t have any to drink. The ingredients haven’t been delivered yet. You’ll have to wait. I’ll start selling again around six this evening."

Finally, after grilling him, they confirmed that Jiang Liu was truly at the end of his rope and had been completely drained.

Only then did the customers leave, muttering and grumbling.

"Uncle Xue, business is good, huh?"

Jiang Liu teased.

"Good? What’s good about it? My old bones are about to be hammered to bits. I finally understand how you feel. SIGH..."

"No, you and I are completely different. The customers are genuinely polite and respectful to you. With me, they’re just rude and demanding."

Xue Guang angrily lit a cigarette and started puffing on it.

Jiang Liu said with an amused laugh, "They can buy your fruit anywhere. They can’t buy my buns anywhere else."

"You’ve hit the nail on the head. It’s great to have a special skill. The customers are all afraid you’ll close down."

Xue Guang was a little envious.

Jiang Liu changed the subject:

"Uncle Xue, can you pick up a dishwasher for me tomorrow? I really can’t keep up with all the washing."

"Sure, that’s easy enough."

"Oh, right, can I borrow your tricycle..."

...

In the afternoon, Jiang Liu rode the electric tricycle back and took a nap.

He slept very soundly.

His phone alarm rang twice before he finally woke up.

「4:50 PM」

The sky was already growing dim.

There was no coolness in the air; instead, the oppressive heat continued.

If it weren’t for the air conditioning at home, Jiang Liu would have woken up drenched in sweat.

At five o’clock, Jiang Liu pushed the four hundred bottles of juice he had prepared at home out of the elevator and loaded them onto the tricycle.

Then he placed a basin with twenty-two pounds of filling in the tricycle’s cargo bed.

This was enough for eight hundred buns.

He had originally intended to make a fifty-five-pound batch, but he had finished thirty-three pounds of it in his dream. That was why he only had twenty-two pounds of filling now.

’Sigh, my arms are about to fall off. Maybe I should just sell juice from now on.’

Jiang Liu fantasized as he looked at the juice stacked in the back.

He was truly exhausted these past two days.

Three thousand buns a day, and on top of that, he did every single job in the shop, big and small, all by himself.

Forget his arms—even his legs were trembling.

’Forget it. The beginning is always the hardest. I’ll just see how it goes. It’s tiring at first, but maybe it’ll get easier as I figure things out.’

For now, Jiang Liu had no plans to stop making buns.

At most, when another new dish appeared from the system, he would just reduce the quantity of buns.

He wouldn’t make so many and waste his energy.

To put it bluntly, the buns were his secret to attracting customers.

It was also a kind of perk for everyone.

After all, how many ordinary people could afford to eat such high-quality buns?

He casually glanced at his Praise Points. The current total was 12,590.

And the number was changing every few moments.

Jiang Liu closed his eyes to check it, feeling a little anxious.

The third page still wasn’t responding.

’Why hasn’t it opened yet? It’s not broken, is it?’

’I’m not going to look anymore, not going to think about it. I’ll head back and get the buns steaming first.’

Just as he arrived at the shop’s entrance, Jiang Liu saw several middle-aged men who didn’t look like customers, furtively peeking inside through his take-out window.

As for why he knew they weren’t customers, from Jiang Liu’s perspective, he could tell with a single sniff.

"What are you doing?!"

Jiang Liu barked, his voice deep and masculine.

The men jumped in fright.

The middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache forced himself to remain calm and asked:

"Boss Jiang, you’re back? Are there any buns left?"

"No. What are you guys doing crowding my window?"

Jiang Liu said as he got off the tricycle.

Under the men’s terrified gazes, he picked up a red brick from the back of his vehicle and walked over with a cold expression.

The men were dumbfounded. ’We’ve run into a tough one...’

"It’s nothing, nothing. I was just taking a look. Since the buns aren’t ready, I’ll be going."

"Goodbye, Boss Jiang."

"You take it easy, Boss Jiang."

The three of them didn’t dare to stay a second longer, running off without a backward glance until they were out of sight.

Jiang Liu scoffed. ’Look at you, scared witless.’

He casually placed the brick in a gap on the doorstep.

There had been so many customers the last two days that they had kicked the concrete on the step until it broke.

So he had specifically found a brick to fill the gap to prevent customers from tripping and getting hurt.

"You’re back, Jiang Liu."

Hearing Jiang Liu’s voice, Xue Guang quickly ran out.

"Uncle Xue, what were those guys just doing? I got a whiff of them, and they didn’t smell like customers."