Chapter 58: Customers with Spoiled Palates

The group chatted for a bit longer before Xue Guang left.

Jiang Liu went back to making buns.

Tongtong and Jun Qingmeng went to the back kitchen to bottle the juice.

「Meanwhile.」

Jiujiu Restaurant was open for business!

"You two, hurry up! Any later and we won’t get any juice!"

Aunt Wu and her friends were hurrying to get in line,

when they were suddenly stopped by Brother Hai:

"Aunties, please wait a moment. Our new restaurant just opened. We have the same buns and juice as that place across the street. Not only are they delicious, they’re cheap too. Come on over and have a taste, why don’t you?"

Hearing this middle-aged man call her Auntie, Aunt Wu was instantly annoyed.

Her expression hardened. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Brother Hai.

"You old goat, you called me Auntie?! Are you blind? Are your eyes in your ass? My friends and I are as pretty as flowers, and you call us Aunties?"

"And you want to copy Xiao Jiang with people skills like that? That’s hilarious."

"A knockoff is always a knockoff. We wouldn’t eat it no matter how cheap it is!"

"Tch! Way to ruin the mood!"

Brother Hai was dumbfounded. ’The hell? Your face is covered in wrinkles. What’s wrong with me calling you an auntie?’

"Move it! You’re in the way!"

Brother Hai scrambled out of the way.

An inauspicious start.

But he wasn’t discouraged.

Uncle Niu came over gleefully to get in line, a cigarette dangling from his lips and a small stool in his hand.

Brother Hai popped out again.

"Hello, sir! Our shop has the same buns as the place across the street, and they taste exactly the same! We have juice, too. Everything’s cheaper. Want to come give it a try?"

Uncle Niu paused. "Really? The same as what Xiao Jiang sells?"

Brother Hai nodded with conviction. "You can count on it. They’re absolutely identical, and cheaper too!"

He was confident that as long as customers tried his buns and joined his deals group chat, he could lock them in.

Uncle Niu glanced at the line of more than sixty people in front of Jiang Liu’s place.

’Looks like I’ve got time.’

He nodded. "Got it. Maybe next time."

Brother Hai was speechless for a moment. "Sir, I’m begging you, please come have a taste! Everyone who’s tried them says they’re even better than the ones across the street!"

"If he can make them, so can we!"

Uncle Niu flicked his ash, shooting Brother Hai an impatient glance. "You really talk a big game. When it comes to buns, nobody makes them better than Fellow Jiang."

With that, he picked up his stool and went to get in line.

He wasn’t a fool. After living for over sixty years and being swindled more times than he could count, he’d long since developed a keen eye for bullshit.

Finding buns as delicious and honestly priced as Jiang Liu’s had been a stroke of incredible luck.

Now, for someone to suddenly pop up claiming to be exactly the same...

...it was just a pathetic imitation!

「Ten minutes later.」

Brother Hai stood awkwardly by the entrance, still holding his sign.

Every attempt to promote his shop was met with rejection.

The customers would just go on about how great Jiang Liu was, while throwing a few insults his way for good measure.

’How is his customer loyalty this strong?! They’re all on his side? How is that possible!’

Brother Hai started to wonder if he was the one doing something wrong.

5:40 PM.

The crowd in front of Jiang Liu’s place grew, the line stretching all the way to the entrance of Jiujiu Restaurant.

Whenever customers heard that they sold the exact same thing as Jiang Liu, they’d shake their heads disdainfully and say there was no way they’d buy it.

This thoroughly pissed the three of them off.

"Brother Hai, what’s going on? Why isn’t anyone coming to our shop?"

Brother Hai waved a dismissive hand. "What’s the rush? It’s just the beginning. There’s nothing wrong with our buns. A reputation takes time to build. We just have to wait for our chance."

His words put the other two partners at ease.

’That’s right, it’s only the beginning. You need patience to capture a market.’

Around this time, people started getting off work.

Yangzhai Street grew busy.

Brother Hai finally got his first customer.

An office drone in glasses peered at Brother Hai’s sign for a moment.

"Are you sure these taste the same as the ones from that place across the street?"

"I guarantee it! The ingredients are exactly the same! You’ll be satisfied, I promise!"

Brother Hai patted his chest.

"For real? You’re not just trying to pull a fast one on me?"

"Why would I lie? We’re running a business here. Honesty is our policy!"

The office drone hesitated.

"Alright, give me two. I’ll try them first."

He had originally wanted to buy buns from Jiang Liu’s shop, but one look at the line told him it was hopeless, and his craving was unbearable.

So he figured he might as well give this place a shot.

"You don’t want more? We’ve got plenty of buns, not like that place across the street that limits them!"

"Nah, just two pork and scallion will be fine."

Brother Hai was speechless. He grudgingly grabbed a cheap takeout box and packed the two buns.

The office drone took the buns. He looked at their appearance and could tell they were more than a little off.

He took a bite with anticipation.

The next moment, he almost spat it out.

The seasoning was wrong.

The ingredients were terrible!

The dough wasn’t chewy at all; it was crumbly and lacked any wheaty aroma. The pork was no different from the generic kind you’d find anywhere, and it was obvious they’d used a ton of MSG. The flavor was artificial and acrid.

In the past, he would have thought these were delicious.

But after eating Jiang Liu’s buns, his palate had been spoiled.

Now, when he ate an ordinary bun, it felt like there was something wrong with every bite. It was like getting used to eating gourmet fruit and then trying to chew on tree bark.

Brother Hai watched him and said, "So? Not bad, right? Really savory, isn’t it?"

The office drone shook his head. "It’s fine."

He didn’t feel like complaining. Compared to a regular bun, it wasn’t that bad, he supposed.

’But if you insisted on comparing it to Jiang Liu’s, it was garbage.’

Brother Hai broke into a grin. "If you like it, buy some more! You can join our group chat. You get coupons with every purchase you can redeem. It’s a much better deal than that place across the street."

The office drone thought of Jiang Liu’s buns, and the one in his mouth suddenly felt nauseating.

"Forget it. You definitely loaded this up with artificial flavorings. I can’t taste any of the ingredients’ natural flavor. It’s pure MSG! You can keep them for yourself!"

"Wait, you..." Brother Hai was stunned.

’Didn’t he just say it was fine? Why the sudden change of heart?’

The office drone turned and walked away without another word.

He casually tossed the buns into a nearby trash can and joined the line for Jiang Liu’s place.

Brother Hai watched, stunned, then his face darkened.

"Brother Hai, what happened?"

Xiao Huzi asked anxiously, his mustache twitching.

"Just a fluke. That customer was probably a shill hired by Jiang Liu. Our buns aren’t bad! They’re definitely good enough to compete with his!"

"You just watch. Once we’ve built a reputation, we’ll cut our prices and crush Jiang Liu."

Brother Hai lit a cigarette, his expression sinister.

After that, a dozen or so other customers who couldn’t get buns from Jiang Liu came to Jiujiu Cuisine to buy some.

But after one taste, they all shook their heads and left. The verdict was unanimous.

"The difference is just too big. It reeks of artificial flavoring. You’d probably get a stomachache eating this."

"Exactly. The nerve to copy someone with skills like these. They have no self-awareness. All they did was dump in a bunch of MSG; it’s nothing special."

"Forget it. It’s not like just anyone can make buns like Xiao Jiang’s. Let’s just come back tomorrow morning to line up."

Jiujiu Restaurant did end up making over two hundred yuan.

It was all from customers who figured they couldn’t get any of Jiang Liu’s food and had come over for the "identical" buns.

But basically, everyone who tried them said they couldn’t compare in any way, and they’d never eat them again as long as they lived!

...