Chapter 55 You’re in Luck—I’m Li Xue’s Manager!
There were only 15 minutes left before the official start of the music festival. A staff member came knocking on the door to hurry them along.
“Got it, got it. We’ll be right there.”
Amy closed the door behind her, only to find that Li Xue had already gobbled down three pieces of ice jelly, her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk.
“Mmm… so good! So, so good!” Li Xue exclaimed with her mouth full.
“Li Xue! Let me have a taste!”
Amy lunged forward, managing to snatch the last piece of ice jelly from Li Xue’s grasp. Holding it in her hand, Amy was a bit surprised. “This dessert is so delicately made!”
Taking a bite, she found it to be soft, smooth, refreshingly cool, with an absolutely exquisite taste and magical texture—far better than any dessert she’d ever tried.
“How could it taste this good? I need another piece!”
But the box was already empty. Li Xue licked the crumbs off her lips.
“I only ate one piece,” she teased.
Amy was craving more.
“If it weren’t for our years of friendship, you wouldn’t have gotten even that one piece,” Li Xue said with a serious tone.
“Where did you get this?”
Li Xue suddenly realized.
“Right, you should hurry and buy more! There’s a food stall by the river—it’s the most popular one there!”
“You go perform, I’ll go buy it!” Amy agreed.
“Get plenty, and don’t forget the mung bean smoothies and chicken tofu pudding. They’re amazing too!”
The dressing room door swung open, and Li Xue and her manager split up, each on their mission.
Outside, the performance had begun. The host on stage was introducing the performing stars and thanking the sponsors.
After five agonizing minutes, the first act was a young male singer performing a not-so-popular love ballad. His voice was decent, but it lacked a bit of emotion. Still, the crowd cheered, took photos, and applauded enthusiastically.
However, by the riverside road, a large crowd remained gathered, contrasting with the audience in front of the stage. Two distinct groups were forming—a smaller one by the stage and a much larger one waiting in line at Lu Qin’s food stall. Despite the music festival’s start, the queue for food remained steadfast.
“So they’ve started rapping and dancing over there, but I still haven’t gotten my food. Ugh, it’s so hard!” Someone grumbled.
“You can hear the music clearly from here, and the sound system’s great, but there’s no real vibe!”
“The show’s already started, and your favorite idol is singing ‘Beautiful Mess’—aren’t you going?”
“Hah! You think I’ll leave now so you can grab Lu’s food before me? Nice try!”
“I came for Li Xue, she’s obviously the headliner. I’ll get my fried noodles right before her set starts!”
“I’m here for Lu’s fried noodles first, the performance is just a bonus. Don’t get the order mixed up.”
“I don’t care about singing or dancing—nothing beats a good meal!”
“Same here! Food is life, and Lu Qin is my god!”
Backstage, the host, noticing the enormous queue in the distance, asked a staff member, “What’s going on over there? Why is a food stall so popular? People are ignoring the music festival!”
“I heard the food is amazing! If I wasn’t working, I’d be in that line too!”
“This is the first time I’ve seen a street food vendor steal the show —it’s genuine street food madness.”
Meanwhile, Amy, Li Xue’s manager, stared at the forty or fifty people in line, feeling overwhelmed.
“How long is this going to take?”
“I’m number 51, you’re number 52! Just wait your turn—it should take about an hour. Lu’s efficiency is pretty good!”
An older man ahead of Amy struck up a conversation to pass the time.
“Lu Qin, huh? No wonder there’s such a crowd. The food he makes is truly delicious!”
“Absolutely! Yesterday, I bought a serving of twice-cooked pork, and oh my God, it was so delicious that I ate three bowls of rice with it. I’ve never tasted such amazing pork before!”
“Twice-cooked pork? I haven’t tried that yet.”
After twenty minutes of waiting, the line had only moved forward by a third. Just then, a chubby kid holding several servings of fried noodles, mung bean smoothies, ice jelly, chicken tofu pudding, and twice-cooked pork stepped into the middle of the line and shouted to those behind him.
“The next 23 people, you don’t need to wait anymore. Everything’s sold out!”
“What? Already? We’re not even halfway there!”
“What the heck? Who are you to say it’s sold out? I don’t believe you!” Someone protested.
The chubby kid replied, “I’m Lu Qin’s spokesperson. If you don’t believe me, go ask him yourself!”
This sneaky kid who always managed to get multiple servings was Zhou Weiwei, the admin of Lu Qin’s Penguin chat group. Amy’s face turned pale.
But on second thought, it made sense. This tiny food stall was insanely popular. Of course, things would sell out quickly. The crowd dispersed quickly. Some were happy and others disappointed. The lucky ones who got their food walked away beaming, while those who missed out left grumbling — some even lost interest in the music festival, and a few were on the verge of tears.
Determined folks headed to the supermarket to buy a cheap foldable stool for 9.9 yuan and went straight to the night market, planning to line up hours in advance for Lu Qin’s evening stall. They were convinced they’d get his food next time!
Meanwhile, Lu Qin packed up his supplies into his tricycle food cart. That afternoon, he sold 347 servings of fried noodles, 280 cups of mung bean smoothies, 205 servings of twice-cooked pork, and 150 servings of chicken tofu pudding. Total sales reached 20,166 yuan, breaking the 20k mark. After deducting costs, the profit was roughly 18,000 yuan.
The other vendors were dumbfounded. How could fried noodles and twice-cooked pork be this popular? It was like a dream come true. And in less than two hours, Lu was done for the day. Even the last two raw eggs were bought by a customer who said it was a shame to waste time waiting in line for nothing.
Back on stage, a dazzling display of fireworks drew everyone’s attention, and the crowd erupted into cheers. A beautiful young female singer burst out of the mist, microphone in hand, her angelic voice filling the air as she sang ‘The Adventurer’s Dream’. The audience went wild with excitement.
Lu Qin glanced over at the stage. The young singer had a great voice. She looked a bit familiar — was she the one on the poster? Could she be his daughter’s idol, Li Xue?
He wasn’t entirely sure since it was too far away. So, he turned to a passerby and asked, “Excuse me, ma’am, is the singer on stage Li Xue?”
Amy, who was standing nearby, gave Lu a puzzled and slightly amused look.
“You don’t recognize Li Xue?” She asked.
“I’m not that into entertainment, to be honest. But my daughter is a fan,” Lu admitted, a bit embarrassed.
“You have a daughter? How old is she?” Amy asked, surprised.
A six-year-old, already a fan? Wow, Xue’er, you really are popular! Amy thought to herself.
But wait — this Lu Qin didn’t even recognize Li Xue?
“So… you’re here to get an autograph for your daughter? Or maybe a photo?”
Lu Qin glanced at Amy, a bit confused.
“Yes, an autograph would be great. So, that’s definitely Li Xue on stage, right? I’ll figure something out. I need to give it a try and see if I can sneak backstage. You never know unless you try.”
As Lu Qin turned to leave, Amy called out.
“You’re in luck. Do you know who I am?”
“I’m Li Xue’s manager.”