Chapter 170 - 160: Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant Is at It Again (Part 2)

Chapter 170: Chapter 160: Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant Is at It Again (Part 2)

Lin Mengjuan gently tapped the notification. It immediately opened an app, and after a three-second wait, the article’s content finally appeared on her screen.

"...The menu at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant changes daily, so you can eat there for a whole month without repeating a meal... Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant has also introduced new braised items..."

’It looks pretty good,’ she thought. The restaurant’s name sounded rather familiar. Lin Mengjuan put down her phone, opened her computer’s browser, and typed "Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant" into the search bar.

The first link on the results page was titled "Clip of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant from ’Visiting Fast Food Restaurant’." Seeing this, Lin Mengjuan finally remembered. She had seen this very restaurant on TV not long ago and had even thought about going there for a meal. But she later realized that whether she went from her office or her apartment, it was a half-hour bus ride either way, so she had ultimately abandoned the idea.

’Looks like this notification is for another restaurant that’s too far to actually eat at.’ Lin Mengjuan sighed, let go of the mouse, and picked up her phone to scroll down.

"...Judging by the comments, many fans know about Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant and hope it opens a branch soon. However, when I interviewed the owner, he mentioned he has no plans to open a branch for the time being. But I did get a piece of intel from him! Even though Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant isn’t opening another branch, the owner is selling boxed lunches from a mobile food stall!"

"...Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant has a total of three stall locations: one is at the entrance of the construction site near the Silver Star Office Building; the second is at the Xiuli Garden construction site entrance; and the third is at the Ivy League University construction site entrance..."

’Holy crap! The Ivy League University construction site... isn’t that right near my office?!’

’I pass by that construction site every day on my commute! There have definitely been more vendors at the entrance recently, but I don’t think I’ve seen a stall for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant...?’ Suddenly, Lin Mengjuan slapped her forehead. ’I forgot! Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant closes after 2:30 PM. Of course I wouldn’t see it when I pass by on my way home in the evening!’

A sudden impulse surged through Lin Mengjuan. ’It’s only 12:08. Should I go check it out?’ But then she turned to look out the window and saw the piercingly bright sunlight and the wilted leaves on the trees. ’The temperature outside looks really high. Won’t I just melt if I go out now?’

Just as she was hesitating, a chat notification popped up on her phone. The message was from a member of the "Hai City Food Delivery" group chat. She had posted a picture of her lunch.

The first thing that caught her eye was a large, black character: "Xu." One look at that character and you knew the takeout was from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. Her eyes then fell on a spicy braised chicken leg, stewed until fall-off-the-bone tender and soaking in a dark red sauce. Next, she saw the vibrant red and yellow of scrambled eggs with tomato and some seemingly ordinary hot and sour radishes. And the soup of the day was Chinese yam and chicken soup!

’I want that!’ Lin Mengjuan, who just moments before had no appetite and wasn’t planning on eating lunch, was suddenly ravenous after seeing the photo. She felt her stomach grumbling, screaming a single, frantic message— ’I’m hungry! I want that!’

’There’s no time like the present!’ In the face of a craving this strong, all obstacles were just paper tigers!

Lin Mengjuan shot up from her seat and rushed downstairs in a single burst of energy. The air outside felt even hotter than she had imagined, but the heat didn’t extinguish the flame of her desire. In fact, it only burned brighter.

’I’m braving this scorching heat for this! If it’s not good, I’m going to flame you with bad reviews in every group chat and comment section I can find!’

When she finally reached the construction site entrance, Lin Mengjuan was stunned. ’How can there be so many food stalls?!’ As far as she could see, there were over a dozen signs for fast food, all uniform blackboards with white lettering, each framed by a string of colorful little lights.

She had expected a long search to find the Xu’s Fast Food stall among the crowd, but it only took her a moment. Her eyes landed on a simple stall with a beige linen banner stretched between two vibrant green bamboo poles. In the center of the banner was a large character, "Xu," with the words "Xu’s Fast Food" printed clearly below it.

’Found it!’

She had to admit, compared to the gaudy, flashy stalls surrounding it, the sign for Xu’s Fast Food looked refreshingly simple and elegant. It was eye-catching and incredibly easy to spot.

"Boss, I’d like one boxed lunch."

"You got it. Eight yuan." With swift, practiced movements, Zhang Dezhen pulled a boxed lunch from an insulated container and handed it to Lin Mengjuan. She took her change, and with her lunch in hand, she walked away. Zhang Dezhen watched her go, feeling a little puzzled.

’What’s going on today? Why are there so many new faces buying boxed lunches all of a sudden? The boss has been run off his feet lately; he hasn’t had any time for promotions.’ He wracked his brain but couldn’t figure it out. Zhang Dezhen was about to pull out his phone to ask Xu An what was happening when another customer walked up to the stall. He had no choice but to pull his hand back out of his pocket and grab another boxed lunch from the container for them.

The Golden Dragon Fast Food stall was set up right next to Xu’s Fast Food. After several days of selling side-by-side, its owner had become something of a chatting buddy to Zhang Dezhen. Whenever there was a lull in customers, the two would exchange a few words.

Usually, all the stalls sold their food at about the same pace. But today, starting around noon, Zhang Dezhen’s stall had been nonstop. It was one customer after another, a constant stream that was noticeably larger than any of the neighboring stalls. While the others had only sold about thirty meals, Zhang Dezhen had already emptied two and a half insulated containers, totaling seventy-five boxed lunches.

"Old Zhang, did you guys launch some kind of new promotion? Your sales today are incredible!"

"Nope. We’ve been too busy lately, the boss hasn’t had time to run any promotions." Zhang Dezhen didn’t know what was going on either, so he couldn’t give the man the answer he was looking for.

Zhang Dezhen’s answer was honest, but to the other man, it sounded like Xu’s Fast Food had some secret trick they weren’t willing to share. ’And why would they?’ he thought. ’Who would just give away their secret to making money?’ Still, he didn’t give up, trying to pry for information in all sorts of roundabout ways, but he still came up with nothing.

While the two were chatting, two more new customers walked up to the Xu’s Fast Food stall, each handing Zhang Dezhen a ten-yuan bill.

’Business is picking up again.’ Zhang Dezhen cut the conversation short, turned back to his stall, and dove into another round of work. ’The more customers, the better! The sooner I sell out, the sooner I can get back to the shop and enjoy the cool breeze from the fan!’