Chapter 177 - 165: A Young Lad Is... By a Scoundrel...

Chapter 177: Chapter 165: A Young Lad Is... By a Scoundrel...

Through the transparent acrylic window on the lid, you could clearly see potatoes tumbling inside the machine as a stream of water washed away the dirt and grime from their surfaces. In no time at all, thin slivers of potato peel began to emerge from the waste outlet. When the sound of the water stopped, the machine’s roar ceased as well. A BEEP BEEP sound rang out, alerting everyone that the potatoes were done.

He opened the lid, revealing pale yellow potatoes to everyone. Before anyone could react, the technician instructed Xu An on how to remove the potatoes from the machine. Then, he walked over to another machine, pressed the start button, and poured the peeled potatoes into the intake chute. In no more than three seconds, the previously whole potatoes were transformed into uniformly thick slices, falling into a clean basket...

Gasps of amazement rose and fell as the potato slices appeared.

"Oh my god! At this speed, we could process a hundred or two hundred pounds of potatoes in just half an hour!" The one who said this was Zhou Qi.

"With this machine, we won’t have to spend all day with our hands in the water anymore. Things will be so much easier from now on!" This was said by Nanny He’s five friends. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

"This is so convenient. From now on, we can leave all the tedious work like washing and cutting vegetables to the machines. We’re finally free." This was the exchange Liu Daxi’s team had in sign language.

...

The equipment was installed and calibrated, and the operating instructions and precautions were all explained. Xu An signed his name on the delivery receipt, concluding the transaction perfectly. After he and Uncle Han exchanged a few pleasantries, Uncle Han left with his installation team. Xu An turned and went back into the restaurant. He clapped his hands together forcefully, the crisp, loud sound instantly drawing everyone’s attention to him.

"You all just saw what these three machines can do. That’s right, from now on, we can leave the monotonous, tedious, and boring work of washing and cutting vegetables to them!" Xu An turned to Nanny He and asked, "I’m putting you all in charge of these three machines. Did you take note of the operating methods and precautions just now? Get familiar with them today, because we’re officially putting them into use tomorrow."

Nanny He and her five companions had been filled with curiosity about the three machines ever since they saw the potatoes being washed clean. Besides, they had watched the entire demonstration. The most complicated part was just changing the cutting machine’s blade; the rest of the operations were so simple even a fool could do it without any problems. The six of them were already eager to try. Now, with Xu An’s permission, they swarmed over—one grabbing potatoes, another placing a basket...

Under the operation of Nanny He’s group of six, the potatoes were turned not only into slices, but also into thin shreds, diamond-shaped pieces, and wavy crinkle-cuts...

With every new shape of potato that appeared, the crowd couldn’t help but let out a wave of gasps and excited chatter. This machine was simply incredible! It was perfect for a place like Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, which had to process a huge amount of fruits and vegetables every single day!

Amidst a chorus of praise like "The boss is amazing," "The boss has great vision," and "The boss is so sharp," Xu An gradually got carried away...

「At the entrance of the Ivy League University construction site.」

Xu An had eaten lunch at the restaurant and left at 10:40 AM, arriving at 11:15 AM. He had just set up his small tricycle, hung up his sign, and was about to sit down for a rest when three people walked up to his stall. From their stylish, high-quality clothes and the dark circles under their eyes, it wasn’t hard to tell they were office workers from nearby.

Unsurprisingly, the first thing the three of them said to Xu An was "666." They were among the customers who had participated in yesterday’s event.

Taking a document out of his satchel, Xu An asked for their names and the last few digits of their phone numbers. He discovered that all three of them had hit the jackpot! One had won a free meal, and the other two had won free drinks! After a round of congratulations, Xu An took three lunch boxes and two still-chilled cans of apple vinegar drinks from his insulated container and handed them over.

The arrival of these three marked the official start of the day’s business. For the next hour or so, there were always at least one or two people standing in front of the Xu’s Fast Food stall, and at its peak, dozens of people were crowded around. This stream of customers made the other nearby lunch box stalls green with envy. Some of the other vendors even tried to poach customers, but all their attempts ended in failure.

The person in charge of Golden Dragon Fast Food, who was off to the side, had been observing carefully since the first group of customers arrived to buy lunch boxes. After watching dozens of waves of customers, he finally noticed something was off. Some customers paid normally before getting their food, but others simply said "666" to Xu An, gave their name and the last few digits of their phone number, and then left with their meal. He never saw them pay or receive change.

’Is he giving them away for free?’ The thought had no sooner appeared than he dismissed it. ’If it was a free giveaway, why are some people getting them and others aren’t?’

Just then, another person used the "666" code word with Xu An. But when Xu An asked for his name and the last digits of his phone number, the man started to stammer. It took him a long while to spit out a name and number. Xu An flipped through the document in his hand twice from beginning to end but couldn’t find a matching name and phone number. With a puzzled look, he was just about to look up and ask if the man had given the wrong number when the person suddenly turned and bolted.

’Hmm... Looks like that guy saw other people use "666" to get free food and wanted to bluff his way through. And I caught him.’ The man was already far away, and with plenty of customers still at the stall, Xu An hadn’t suffered any loss. He didn’t bother chasing after him, simply shaking his head and getting back to work.