"Eat slowly, don’t burn yourself again!"
After the dumplings were steamed, Jiang Yu placed a basket in front of Hu Zhihai and couldn’t help but remind him.
Last time, as soon as the dumplings were cooked, this kid stuffed them into his mouth wolfishly and ended up burning his mouth with the scalding hot soup, making him cry out in pain.
"Got it, got it!"
Hu Zhihai responded casually, hurriedly picking up his chopsticks to grab a soup dumpling and putting it in his bowl. However, he had learned his lesson and didn’t put it directly in his mouth like last time.
Seeing that he listened, Jiang Yu didn’t bother him anymore, instead grabbing a small bowl to mix some dipping sauce. He also took a basket of dumplings to satisfy his hunger.
In the morning, he was so busy buying ingredients that he didn’t have time for breakfast, and after working hard for a while, he was already quite hungry.
Picking up a dumpling with chopsticks to let it cool a bit, Jiang Yu carefully drank the soup inside first, then dipped the dumpling in the sauce and put the whole thing in his mouth. After chewing a few times, he felt the rich flavors filling his mouth.
With just one dumpling down, his previously uncomfortable stomach felt much more at ease.
The two of them sat across from each other at the table, neither speaking, just focused on devouring the dumplings.
"Uh, excuse me, classmate, how much are these soup dumplings?"
Jiang Yu had just half-filled his stomach when a voice suddenly came from the window.
Looking up, he saw a somewhat chubby boy standing there, asking him while sneaking glances at Hu Zhihai’s bowl.
In that bowl, there was still half a soup dumpling, with the oily soup continuously seeping out, emitting an aromatic meat scent that made it look extremely appetizing.
"Sorry, we’re not open today; we’ll officially open tomorrow."
Jiang Yu said apologetically, but upon noticing the boy secretly swallowing and looking pitiful, he softened and changed his mind,
"How about I let you try a few?"
"Great, thank you, boss, thank you!"
The chubby boy quickly nodded, "How much? Can I pay by phone?"
"I said we’re not open today, so no charge."
Jiang Yu took out a clean plate from the cupboard, picked out four dumplings from the steamer, and handed them to the boy with a smile,
"If you like them, you can stop by more often. We’ll officially open tomorrow."
"Sure, definitely, thanks a lot!"
The chubby boy quickly took the plate. Without looking for a seat, he grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started eating, putting a dumpling straight into his mouth.
Jiang Yu watched from across the table. As soon as the boy took a bite, his face reddened instantly, clearly burned by the soup inside.
But what surprised Jiang Yu was that the boy turned out to be quite tough. He refused to spit it out and bore through it until, finally, he quickly chewed a few times and swallowed the food down.
"So hot! So hot!"
Only then did the chubby boy let out a long breath and exclaimed with a surprised look,
"But these soup dumplings are so delicious, with savory soup and tender meat, and they’re even tastier than any I’ve had before!"
It was around lunchtime, and many students came to the cafeteria to eat. The chubby boy’s loud praise immediately drew everyone’s attention. They couldn’t help but look over.
"What great food did that chubby guy find? Look at his ecstatic expression and loud cheer!"
"Soup dumplings? Looks like a new shop, never seen it before."
"Look at that chubby guy devouring them one after another. They seem really good; I need to get some to try!"
"..."
The students around discussed enthusiastically, looking very interested, but the chubby boy didn’t care at all. He just kept eating, one bite after another, and in the blink of an eye, he had devoured all the remaining soup dumplings on the plate.
"Boss, any more?"
Four soup dumplings were clearly not enough for him. The chubby boy looked at the empty plate in his hand, then raised his head eagerly at Jiang Yu, and hurriedly said, "I won’t eat for free; I can pay!"
Before Jiang Yu could respond, a crowd of people had gathered behind the chubby boy, all chattering away:
"Boss, I want a basket of soup dumplings too, how much are they?"
"Give me two baskets! I love soup dumplings!"
"One basket is enough for me! Hey, boss, why don’t you sell drinks here?"
"..."
The crowd was bustling with noise, and Jiang Yu was completely unprepared, utterly bewildered.
The shop hasn’t even opened yet, how did so many people suddenly show up to buy dumplings?
Besides, he had only made about thirty soup dumplings in total. He, Hu Zhihai, and the chubby boy had already eaten most of them, so there were only a few left. How was he supposed to serve this many people?
"Hey, hey, hey! Don’t crowd! I was here first, I’m the first!"
The chubby boy became anxious when a group arrived behind him. He squeezed past a few students and hurriedly told Jiang Yu,
"Boss, I saw it, you still have dumplings in the steamer. Since your shop is open, you can’t not sell when there’s food available, right?"
The people standing next to him joined in:
"Hey there, I saw you already had several. We haven’t even tried them yet!"
"Exactly, exactly! You can’t be selfish with good stuff; you’ll end up with no friends that way!"
"Boss, your shop is about to open anyway, so a day early or late doesn’t matter, right? You can’t just ignore business opportunities!"
"..."
"Everyone, please quiet down!"
After a moment of bewilderment, Jiang Yu quickly regained his composure. He thought for a moment and then came up with a solution,
"Sorry everyone, we planned to officially open tomorrow and weren’t prepared today. The few baskets of soup dumplings you see were meant for ourselves, and there are perhaps only about ten left now.
Since everyone is here today, I won’t sell these dumplings. I’ll just share them with everyone so that you can all have a taste!"
As he said this, Jiang Yu opened the steamer, took out the prepared takeout boxes, and skillfully started distributing the dumplings, adding,
"After you all taste them and if you find them delicious and want more, I’ll stop saying that we’re not open today. I’ll get to work immediately to fulfill everyone’s requests.
Anyway, all the ingredients are ready. Freshly made and steamed dumplings taste even better!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the chubby boy’s eyes immediately lit up, and he excitedly shouted,
"Great! Boss, keep your word and start making more! These soup dumplings are so good, I could eat two baskets in one go!"