Chapter 79: I Can’t Sell Anymore If It’s Finished
“This is too delicious!”
“There’s always the smell of preservatives in the oden sold at supermarket. Some of them are even kept for months. It doesn’t look safe so I don’t dare to buy them for my child.”
“Little kid, how much are you selling it for?”
“One card for each portion, and there are some braised ones. Do you want to try them?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The parents looked pleasantly surprised as if they had found a treasure. After tasting a few more, they pulled their children towards Xu Le’s food stall and said, “Give me two portions!”
“Mom, didn’t you agree to buy me instant noodles?”
Usually, at home, parents would more or less forbid their child from eating such junk food, afraid that there would be additives or preservatives, and eating too much of them would be bad for their development. So that day, a stall that was selling instant noodles actually had a long queue.
“Wait a minute. There aren’t many chicken feet. Let’s buy some first before queuing up there. Otherwise, they will be sold out.”
As the parent comforted the child, he took out a card and said, “Give me a serving of both sour and spicy, and braised flavoured one.”
“Alright!”
Xu Le quickly packed two portions and handed them over. He even gave them two pairs of disposable gloves. “Take good care. If it’s delicious, remember to help me promote it.”
The few people who had tried the dish earlier all bought chicken feet, but there were still no one who had bought oden.
On the other side, Xu Tian found a classmate she knew and stuffed a meatball into her mouth. “This is delicious. Try it.”
It was Lu Yuxi’s first time seeing Xu Tian being so domineering. She explained happily, “It’s not spicy and the soup base is very delicious.”
However, when the parent beside saw the food, she started to frown and said in disdain, “It’s all starchballs bought from the supermarket. I saw on the internet that many meat is made of rat meat. It’s especially unclean…”
“Look at these beef balls.” Lu Yuxi anxiously tried to explain. “They were all made with a meat grinder this morning. If you don’t believe me, try one. How can the meatballs bought by the supermarket compare to the ones we had freshly made?”
The parent realized that she had gone overboard with her words, so she tried a beef ball.
When Xu Le was making the beef balls, he did not grind all the meat into minced meat. Instead, he chopped half of the meat into minced meat. This way, the texture was full and one could clearly taste the tender beef cubes inside.
As soon as they bit into it, the oil and soup flowed out, and the skipjack tuna soup base completely blended into the beef balls. It was fresh, tender, and smooth, and even more delicious than the taste at the convenience store.
The parent subconsciously wanted to take the cup and take a sip of the soup, but she only reacted to it as she extended her hand halfway. She awkwardly stopped in mid-air and said gently, “I was being rash just now. Can I ask where you bought this thing from?”
Lu Yuxi pointed in the direction. “The oden stall over there.”
Soon, there were consecutively a few people who went over to buy the food because of the good taste. However, they could not continue like this. Xu Le’s business had always been smooth-sailing and praised. That day was the first time that they had been rejected.
Lu Yuxi returned to the stall and put her hands on her hips. “They don’t know what’s good. Hmph!”
“I think there must be another reason why I can’t sell them.” Xu Le said after a while, “Did they think that I bought these pre-processed pills?”
“…Maybe.”
When Xu Tian saw that the business was not getting better, she could not help but feel dejected. Her head was lowered when heard two loud noises.
“Hey, hey, hey!”
Lu Yuxi had borrowed a loudspeaker from somewhere and was adjusting the volume. The loud and piercing sound made a group of people look over at them.
She didn’t feel embarrassed at all as she said loudly, “Fresh beefballs, fishballs, shrimp paste, corn and carrots freshly handmade, soup base made from kelp and skipjack tuna. Drink it to warm your stomach. It’s clean, hygienic, and healthy. Don’t miss it when you pass by. Come and take a look and have a taste! You can try it for free!”
The parents subconsciously were more willing to let their children eat healthy food, so Lu Yuxi’s words undoubtedly tugged at their soft spots. Very soon, a few people came over to taste it.
The meatballs were made by hand and of superior quality. The taste of the fresh meatballs was much better than the finished ones. One could tell the difference just by tasting them.
“Give me one serving.”
“Me too!”
“I want three.”
“Here you go. Take the card.”
The stall became lively very quickly. Lu Yuxi came over to help in high spirits and did not forget to take credit. “See how awesome I am? I managed to get so many people here at once. Boss, don’t forget to give me a raise!”
Xu Le said jokingly, “You really can’t leave out a pay raise in every sentence that you say.”
“Hmph, stingy Xu, you cheated ignorant girls and exploited me of my labor.”
Lu Yuxi pouted.
Xu Le did not back down either. He glanced at her and said, “You’re already so old, yet you still claim to be an ignorant girl…”
After all, using his own age as basis, Lu Yuxi was already in his early twenties and was more than ten years older than him. Of course, she could be considered “old”.
“Is this how you talk about girls?”
Lu Yuxi rolled her eyes. They almost got into a fight after sending the customers away. Xu Tian, who was stuck between them, asked blankly, “Brother, what are you guys doing?”
“You do the publicity.” Lu Yuxi pushed the loudspeaker in front of Xu Le and turned on the volume key.
Xu Le was about to speak when he suddenly couldn’t hold back his laughter and dodged to the side.
Of course, he could shout, but it was too shameful to shout at so many people with a loudspeaker.
Lu Yuxi didn’t think much of it and continued to promote. “Handmade meatballs, Japanese oden, warm your stomach and a healthy meal…”
Xu Le lowered his head to sell the oden. From time to time, he would look up at Lu Yuxi. Suddenly, he felt that Lu Yuxi was different from what he had imagined. She was cold in front of outsiders, but in front of people she knew, she was indescribably cute. Even if she would occasionally say some overboard words, others would not be offended because of her sincerity.
Very soon, the people who tasted the oden could not wait but comment, “This soup is so delicious. What did you add in it?”
“It tastes a little like the one from the convenience store, but it’s a hundred times better than that. There’s really prawn meat in this prawn ball. It’s so affordable.”
“The white radish is definitely the best choice!”
The radish was the first to put at the bottom of the soup to cook. After boiling, it continued to be soaked in it, eventually turning into a light brown color. After absorbing the soup, the radish became soft and flavorful, and melted in the mouth.
Hearing their great praises, Lu Yuxi picked up a piece of carrot and tasted it. She immediately squinted her eyes and said, “This is too satisfying!”
After two minutes, she had already finished two pieces. When she picked up the third one, Xu Le reminded her, “This is the last one. I’ve only prepared these. I won’t be able to sell them if you finish them.”
“Petty.”
Lu Yuxi took a big bite and the soup melted in her mouth, completely covering up the spiciness of the radish and leaving only its freshness.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to eat. It’s just that if you eat too much radish, your stomach will feel bloated and uncomfortable..”