10:30 PM – University City Food Street, Fried Noodle Shop…
Dozens of shopkeepers were gathered, brows furrowed.
Some were smoking, some drinking bare-chested, others rocking babies in their arms.
All their eyes were filled with confusion and doubt.
“Da Qiang, did Xiao Jiang really say that?”
“Yeah, he said we must stay open until midnight!”
“But it’s already so late. How many people even order online?”
“I haven’t seen a single one. Maybe we should just pack up and go.”
The impatient noodle vendor took a swig of liquor, face full of frustration.
They were supposed to close at 10.
But Xiao Jiang insisted they stay open until midnight.
The problem was, there wasn’t a single customer.
What was even the point?
Da Qiang felt awkward but still decided to wait.
After all, Xiao Jiang was a student at Shangjing University.
Wasn’t he smarter than a bunch of working-class guys?
Better to wait a bit than go home and lose 30–40 bucks playing cards.
“Just wait a little longer. Believe in Xiao Jiang. If there’s still no orders by 11, we’ll all go home.” Da Qiang stood to get a drink of water.
At that moment, the noodle guy’s phone buzzed on the counter.
Da Qiang put down the kettle and handed over the phone.
“Hello? Who is this? I’m drinking!”
The call was on speaker. He shouted into the receiver.
Suddenly, a synthetic voice responded, “Dear Ganfanren Merchant, You have a new Ganfanren order. Please process it promptly. Your delivery rider will arrive in five minutes. Timer starts now.”
Because in this era, smartphones weren’t common yet, especially not for food stall vendors.
Most of them were still using old-school phones, so Jiang Zhou had gone to the telecom company to rent a virtual machine.
Whenever someone placed a Ganfanren order, the system would generate a synthetic voice and call both merchant and rider.
To make the speech software, backend, and virtual machine work together, Jiang Zhou had thrown in 100,000 yuan and hired five computer science students to write the program.
Sure, compared to modern apps, this thing was way behind.
But in University City, the demand for food delivery was still small.
So it was more than enough for the newly launched Ganfanren.
In less than a minute, the phone in brother Fried Noodle restaurant started ringing nonstop.
“Dear Ganfanren merchant, you have a new Ganfanren order. Please process it promptly!”
“Dear Ganfanren merchant, you have a new Ganfanren order. Please process it promptly!”
“Dear Ganfanren merchant, you have a new Ganfanren order. Please process it promptly!”
In an instant, the entire fried noodle restaurant was filled with robotic synthesized voices.
The merchants who had just been stuck in anxious frustration were instantly stunned.
Almost every one of them had received new orders — fried noodles, rice noodles, potato wraps, fried rice…
After just a second of silence, everyone rushed into their own stores.
Damn, getting business in the middle of the night?!
Who needs rest when there’s money to be made?!
“Da Qiang, let me borrow your strainer!”
“I’ve got three orders too. Go ask someone else!”
“Sh*t, I thought we wouldn’t get business and forgot to buy ingredients!”
The food street, which should’ve been quiet, suddenly burst into a flurry of noise and activity.
But not everyone was happy, especially brother Fried Noodle.
He was among the few who didn’t believe Jiang Zhou. So, he had left a fake phone number.
“Da Qiang, do you have Brother Jiang’s contact?”
“On the wall, second from the bottom. Starts with 135. Why do you want it?”
“Damn, I was being dumb. I put a fake number when signing the agreement!”
“Well, that’s on you. Get lost and don’t get in the way of my orders!”
Meanwhile, at the fiberglass factory on North Second Road, over twenty people were sitting on motorcycles, smoking and chatting.
They were temp workers from the local labor market, usually doing jobs like handing out flyers or moving cargo.
Hard work, little pay.
But tonight, they got a great gig from their manager.
The employer had told them to wait here at 10 p.m.
Someone would call and give them two addresses: One to pick up food, one to deliver it.
All they had to do was go back and forth, and they’d get 50 yuan per trip.
The more deliveries, the more money. There was no cap.
That meant, if they kept moving for an hour, they could make over 50 yuan.
Two hours? Easy 100 yuan.
Keep in mind, handing out flyers for an entire afternoon only got them 50.
Plus, the manager even gave them admission badges for Shangjing University.
Some of them hadn’t even gone to elementary school. But today, they got university passes!
So, they happily accepted and waited.
Just then, one person’s phone started vibrating. A few seconds later, another.
The beeps got faster and faster.
“Dear Ganfanren rider, you have a new order. Please check your text for the address.”
“Dear Ganfanren rider, you have a new order. Please check your text for the address.”
“Dear Ganfanren rider, you have a new order. Please check your text for the address.”
The workers exchanged glances, quickly put on their helmets, and rode out from the factory.
The rumble of engines thundered through the streets!
They sped all the way to University Town and charged straight into the food street.
“Right here! The order’s ready!”
“#8? I’m the delivery rider for #8!”
“This is #8. The rice noodles are packed, on the table!”
“Chopsticks? How are they supposed to eat without chopsticks?”
“Sorry, sorry, I forgot. Too busy!”
“Forget it, I’ll pack it for you. You go make the next order!”
Under the warm white lights, the calls and responses echoed non-stop.
In contrast, the gate of Shangjing University was rather quiet.
A few security guards yawned, too tired to stay alert but didn’t dare lie down.
Their captain had warned them that tonight, a lot of motorcycle riders might come.
Those with university entry passes could enter. Anyone without, kick them out.
The guards didn’t think much of it.
Motorcyclists? How many could there be? Two, maybe three?
But soon, a deafening roar approached from the end of the street.
No way that was just one bike. Had to be at least a dozen.
The guards immediately sobered up, grabbed their batons, and stood at the gate.
Before long, a dense crowd of delivery riders arrived.
It looked like a whole army.
One by one, they showed their passes and entered the campus.