pjbooks Chapter 55: [Being a Diner]
Chapter 55: [Being a Diner]
In mid-September, the morning breeze already carried the chill of early autumn, and the shadows of sycamore leaves swayed gently in front of the breakfast cart.
Liu Zhuohao leaned against the food cart, watching Huang Weixiong pour the batter onto the hot plate, and with a flick of his wrist, a perfect circle was spread out.
As the fumes rose, he suddenly realized that he had been quietly watching for three minutes without having to do anything.
This discovery relieved him of a weight on his shoulders.
Since Wong Wai-hung and Li Ka-shing joined, the pace of the breakfast stall has noticeably slowed down, not out of laziness, but out of composure.
A business that could have been run by one person now has three people working on it, which is a luxury in itself.
Liu Zhuohao placed the money box in front of him, with banknotes lying inside.
A regular customer who worked nearby peeked out and asked, "Boss Liu, aren't you making pancakes today?"
Liu Zhuohao smiled and gestured with his chin toward Huang Weixiong: "Try it, it's rounder than mine."
Regular customers didn't object, and the students nearby also showed no dissatisfaction.
The students adapted faster than Liu Zhuohao had expected. In just one week, they no longer looked around to see who was cooking when they lined up.
In particular, Huang Weixiong recently took advantage of his free time to take a driving test, which made Liu Zhuohao think that perhaps he could occasionally "disappear" for half a day to rest at home, or... busy with other things.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
When Liu Zhuohao took it out to look, there were more than a dozen notifications on the lock screen, all of them new comments from Bilibili.
He then realized that he hadn't looked at the data carefully for several days.
Although the editor from Crow had specifically called to remind him that the video location was blurry.
But in reality, the data for my video wasn't bad.
Swipe your finger across the screen, and the comment section of the latest video is buzzing with activity:
"It made my eyes water. When I graduate and start earning money, I'll take my parents for a medical check-up too."
"Congratulations to the uploader for surpassing 1,000 followers! (But didn't the account already have 20,000 followers?)"
"They're just as frugal as my parents; I have to coax and trick them to go out with me."
"By the time the video is posted, the medical report should already be out, right? How are Uncle and Aunt doing?"
Liu Zhuohao read through the entries one by one, the morning breeze causing the hair on his forehead to tremble slightly.
These comments floating in the video are very heartwarming.
He recalled the day of the shoot, when his mother held his hand tightly in the corridor of the medical examination center, her palms sweaty.
My father kept saying it was a "waste of money," but he quietly straightened his collar several times and paced back and forth outside the CT room.
He didn't include these details in the video, but now, they surged up from these unfamiliar comments, choking him.
Yes, although it wasn't included in the video, those who understand will unconsciously picture that scene in their minds.
Then there was the group photo session, with school uniforms, students gathered around, and a shared goal...
The moment the camera focused on the three of them, along with their many students, Teacher Chen, the food truck, and the bookstore entrance, the video's comments section was flooded with phrases like "group photo," "front row group photo," and "I'm tall, so I'm standing at the back."
Liu Zhuohao opened the backend:
Likes: 7889
Coin insertion: 21005
Favorites: 903
Comments: 7181
Barrage: 9124
The data is not bad, in fact, it's quite good, and it has already made it into the top 50 of the entire site's rankings.
The implication made by the editor, Crow, was more of a suggestion based on the account.
I need to remind myself to distinguish whether I want to be a high-quality blogger with a business focus, or a blogger driven by interest.
The former requires consistent output, establishing a foothold in one direction, making fans remember them, and also making it easier for some brands and merchants to assess their own size.
The latter is much more casual; people can post about their lives when they want, or record games when they want, and the content depends on their mood, so the traffic fluctuates accordingly.
Finally, Liu Zhuohao's gaze fell on the number of followers: 21487.
"Ah Wei..."
He suddenly shouted towards the other end of the stall, "When you pack up later, Zekai, upload all the materials to the cloud drive and give them to Zicong and Honghao."
"By the way, when you have time, take a look around the warehouse area and see what houses you can find. You two will have to move in eventually anyway."
After giving his brief instructions, Liu Zhuohao left first, as he had other things to attend to.
The goal wasn't to go home and rest, but to go to the wholesale market.
"Hey, the little boss's here!"
"So early today? Preparing stock again?"
"Boss Liu, I received a batch of blue crabs this morning, they're excellent! Would you like to take a look?"
Upon entering the wholesale market, Liu Zhuohao acted as if he were at home, greeting everyone along the way, but without stopping, he went straight into the fresh produce section.
When we arrived at a butcher stall, a middle-aged man in a white short-sleeved shirt was already waiting at the door, having closed it.
Seeing Liu Zhuohao approach, he grinned, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cigarette case.
"Let's go, Boss Liu."
Liu Zhuohao didn't stand on ceremony, took the cigarette, and smiled so wide his eyes narrowed. "Please lead the way, Boss Zhao."
The two walked briskly towards the market entrance.
Boss Zhao drove a large truck, and Liu Zhuohao stepped into the passenger seat.
The car started, the window rolled down, and Boss Zhao lit a cigarette, his words tinged with emotion:
"You're so young, yet you're already so capable of organizing things; you're already thinking about opening a shop."
Liu Zhuohao lit a cigarette, resting his elbow on the windowsill. "It's nothing."
"Still no sign?"
Boss Zhao exhaled a smoke ring. "When have you ever failed to get anything done? Breakfast stall, street-side steak... everyone in this market knows you, Boss Liu, are a natural-born businessman!"
"I have the idea, but opening a store is different."
Liu Zhuohao squinted at the window and said, "If I'm not careful, all the hard-earned money I'm making will be thrown away. I need to build up my strength. It won't be possible to achieve anything without a year or two of hard work."
He lightly changed the subject, unwilling to dwell on the topic of opening a shop, and asked, "Where are we going this time?"
"Jinping District..."
Boss Zhao turned the car onto the main road. "There are many time-honored brands and factories there. The meatballs I sell at my stall are all sourced from that end."
Liu Zhuohao nodded and said nothing more.
Is he going to buy more goods?
No, I'm going to be a diner.
Liu Zhuohao had certainly considered opening a shop, but it was just a thought.
Some time ago, he had already put the idea aside for the time being, as now was not the right time to open a shop.
But what we're doing now can't be considered a waste of time.
After all, things shouldn't be left to frantically scramble to make arrangements when they're already at the last minute.
He had to first taste each restaurant like an ordinary diner, judging the quality of the goods from each supplier.
To put it simply, it's about testing products.
However, compared to before, when he was just a small stall owner, coming to the wholesale market to buy goods, he could get free samples of pancakes that cost a few cents, but now he had to pay real money to buy meat chops that cost more than ten yuan to try them.
Now the situation is different.
"However..."
As Boss Zhao drove, he casually remarked, "Ever since I met you, I've felt that you're too serious about your work, a bit too hard on yourself."
"If you ask me, it's enough to just have a general idea of what you're eating."
"Understanding things too clearly... is exhausting!"