Chapter 197 - 175: Stirring (Part 2)

Chapter 197: Chapter 175: Stirring (Part 2)

Around 11:20 a.m., there weren’t many people buying box lunches. Handling the trickle of customers was easy, and Xu An even had the leisure to continue selling his grand vision to Wang Fulong next door.

But as time went on, more and more people came down the escalators and out of the elevators, forming a steady stream toward the six food stalls. At first, the attendees would compare the prices and dishes from the six vendors before deciding. But as the crowd grew, they mostly just bought from whichever stall was closest. Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s stall happened to be the first one at the bottom of the escalator. For a while, Xu An was completely run off his feet.

He’d no sooner taken a ten-yuan bill from one person than several others were thrusting money at him. The moment a box lunch left his hands, a dozen more hands were reaching for one. Even so, Xu An made sure to hand each customer a flyer and a business card along with their change, smiling as he said, "We offer corporate catering services. If you’re interested, you can contact me using the information on my card. We can deliver anywhere in downtown Hai City."

Peng Kaiqun, who had come specifically to buy a box lunch from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, also received two yuan in change, a flyer, and a business card. He took the box lunch and casually stuffed the change, flyer, and card into his pants pocket, then headed for the dining area to find an empty seat and start eating.

After a struggle, he finally spotted an empty seat in the sea of people and took a few quick strides to grab it before anyone else could. As he sat down, he could still feel the warmth from the chair’s previous occupant. But getting a seat at all was a victory, so he couldn’t be picky. With deft hands, he untied the plastic bag around the meal box and took it out. The food looked exactly as he’d smelled—not the slightest bit different.

’It looks pretty good, too!’ He broke apart his disposable chopsticks, rubbed them together, and was about to dig in when he noticed the two men at the next table. They had already finished their meal and were chatting. The tables were so close together that Peng Kaiqun overheard every word they said.

"Do you know what the deal is with this Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant?"

"What could be the deal? Judging by the name, it’s probably some big, famous fast-food chain in Hai City, right? But with food this good at this price, it’s no surprise they’ve managed to grow their business."

"Hahahaha, you couldn’t be more wrong." The man across from him leaned in with a conspiratorial grin. "Guess how long this place has been around."

"A good few years, I’d imagine?" the man replied, his tone uncertain.

"Nope. This Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant... it’s been open for less than three months!" The man held up three fingers on his right hand to emphasize the point.

"No way," the first man said, lowering his voice. "Does the owner of this Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant have some powerful backing?"

"Wrong again. The owner started with nothing and clawed his way up to open this restaurant."

The other man was getting confused by all this beating around the bush. He urged his companion to stop speaking in riddles and just get to the point. After being prodded a few times, the man finally spilled everything he knew about Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

"This Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant started out as nothing more than a small box lunch stall at a construction site... Then it started a delivery service, providing employee meals for a bunch of companies—we’re talking three or four hundred of them! And finally, it beat out five other well-established, big-name restaurants in the city to win the meal contract for this expo, supplying food to all the exhibitors. Take a good look around in a bit. You’ll see if the box lunches all those other exhibitors are eating aren’t from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant."

The man still seemed like he had more to say after finishing, but the history of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was just too short. He couldn’t think of anything else to add, so he had to let it go.

"How do you know so much about this Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant?" the other man asked, voicing the very question Peng Kaiqun had been wondering.

"Heh." The man laughed sheepishly. "I saw most of it on TV. The local Hai City station filmed a documentary called *Visiting Fast Food Restaurant*, and Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was one of the places they did a surprise inspection on. It even received an ’Excellent’ rating!"

"Hey, man, do you know what the process is for getting Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant to supply corporate meals?" Someone sitting behind the two men suddenly turned and leaned in to ask. "Our company is planning to pick a new vendor for our employee lunches..."

As a strange voice cut into their conversation, Peng Kaiqun looked up at the speaker. He then noticed that people from several surrounding tables had all turned to look at the two men. ’So it’s not just me who’s interested in Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant,’ he thought. ’Everyone’s been eavesdropping!’

"I’m not too sure about that," the knowledgeable man said after a pause. "But didn’t you get a flyer and a business card with your change? You could just contact the owner directly and ask."

’A flyer and a business card?’

Peng Kaiqun reached into his pants pocket and, sure enough, pulled out a few slips of paper: two one-yuan bills, a palm-sized business card, and an A5-sized flyer. Printed prominently at the bottom of the flyer were the words: For employee meals and group catering, please contact 138-XXXX-XXXX.

’Employee meals...’

Peng Kaiqun’s company provided lunch for its employees. They didn’t have their own cafeteria, so they partnered with outside restaurants for catering. The current vendor was a place called Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, he recalled. Peng Kaiqun looked down at the food on his table and compared it to his memory of the lunches provided by Yipin Xiang.