Song Tan's Notes

Chen Chi has a really loud voice.

The voice was loud, yet carried a youthful clarity. Upon hearing it, Song Tan instinctively looked towards the residential buildings on both sides of the road—

Stop looking!

The plumber knew what she was looking at: "Look, this building is all dark upstairs, and no one lives in these two buildings facing the street."

People are so shrewd these days. The storefronts downstairs are already hard to sleep in, so they simply rent out the upstairs rooms to run all sorts of tutoring classes, art classes, and the like.

Otherwise, would it be so quiet at night?

Song Tan was relieved: "I was worried that if we had a barbecue here tonight and made a lot of noise, the upstairs neighbors might complain."

Old Zhao objected: "Barbecue is supposed to be lively, do you think I can find you a place like that?"

Who do you think you are? He was meticulous when he was selling vegetables, and he's still just as meticulous now!

Turning her head, her attention was drawn to the man in front of her: "He's already bought water chestnuts, why isn't he leaving yet?"

The man who had come specifically for this place stood at the water chestnut stall and sniffed – from a distance, the aroma of the barbecue wasn't as strong, but it was still noticeable.

It smells so good! It really smells so good! I don't want to leave.

"You guys are really good at this, and your seasonings must be a secret recipe, right? Have you ever thought about having your parents set up a stall at night? Let me tell you, this barbecue stall may look a bit dirty, but it can actually make a lot of money!"

He was speaking to the group of bewildered children, but his eyes were fixed ahead, filled with longing.

He Tuoluo asked curiously, "If you opened a barbecue stall, how much could you earn in one night?"

The man paused—he was just guessing, he'd never run one before, and besides, these kinds of stalls varied in size and business performance…

After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "You should be able to make a profit of two or three thousand a night, right?"

The children frowned.

Qin Beibei hesitated and said, "Money is so hard to earn. I have to work four nights to earn enough for a pair of glasses for Dad..."

The man's smile froze.

After a pause, he couldn't help but ask, "Little friend, do you know how much it would cost for four nights at 2000?"

Yun Danqing snorted: "8000, Uncle, can't you even do that?"

"What kind of glasses cost 8000?!" The other person was stunned! He knew children often exaggerate, but this was just too much!
Qin Beibei counted on her fingers in confusion: "The glasses frame costs 6000, and the lenses cost 2000... I didn't miscalculate."

She especially loves wearing her dad's glasses, and every time he does, he nervously tells her to take them off, saying he can't bear to wear them. Now, it's only natural that her older sister is using them as a comparison.

She turned around and ran to Qin Yun's side, asking loudly, "Dad, how much are your glasses?"

Qin Yun looked bewildered: "Which one are you asking about? This one now? I can't tell if it's Xia xx or Lin xx's brand, it's over eight thousand, I guess."

His voice wasn't loud, but the space wasn't very big to begin with, so the other person heard him quickly.

No doubt about it, when in doubt, go to TaoTaoBao first.

Uh……

He took one last sorrowful look at the smoky barbecue stall, then at the other person's nonchalant demeanor, and a sudden pang of pain shot through his eyes:
No matter what, a person wearing glasses like that would never sell barbecue, so he'll never get to eat any!
The other person left dejectedly, while Yunfeng looked at Qin Yun again: "No wonder you haven't changed your glasses all these years..."

Even if he had glasses that cost 8000, he wouldn't buy them.

Qin Yun was a little embarrassed: "I bought this 10 years ago. Back then, I had just started to achieve some success with my book, and I was getting a bit cocky..."

I only changed the lenses twice, but I couldn't bear to change the frames. After all, my earning power is only average, far less than Lu Chuan's.

But to be fair, it's really comfortable, otherwise he wouldn't have worn it for so many years.

This was just a minor incident; everyone sighed and drooled as they turned their attention back to the oven.

Master Zhou was slowly savoring a skewer when he noticed everyone staring at him. He then pretended to be serious and said, "It's almost done, almost done..."

……

Before they could even eat, the man who had taken the water chestnuts back already had something to talk about at the dinner table.

After clearing away the cups, plates, and bowls in the middle, the bag of water chestnuts was tossed on top. Everyone, having drunk their fill, would casually pick up a water chestnut and slowly break it open, listening to exaggerated stories about buying it—

"Is it really as delicious as you say? I guess there aren't any other barbecue stalls around there, so it stands out on its own."

"Exactly, if you had this skill, you would have been rich long ago. Everyone's barbecuing in their villas now, who would still be out on the street?"

“I think so too. Look at the price he's charging for water chestnuts, three for a dollar, he's really daring with his price. I've never eaten water chestnuts sold individually before—if he's so good at making money, he's not doing this business anymore, it must be because the taste is a bit off—”

As soon as he said that, he stuffed the water chestnut into his mouth and chewed it:

"Wow, these water chestnuts are delicious!"

"Yes! It's delicious!"

"No wonder they dared to charge such a price! It's worth it! You really get what you pay for!"

As everyone murmured, hands reached into the bag again, while the man who bought the water chestnuts had only just broken one open:
"It's not necessarily that they're short of money. Their kid said that a pair of glasses costs seven or eight thousand... Holy crap, is it that delicious?!"

what? What?
The people at the next table also glanced sideways—was someone bragging about their glasses that cost several thousand yuan, showing off their wealth?!
What a juicy piece of gossip! Everyone at the surrounding tables perked up their ears.

The barbecue smells amazing, but that's probably an exaggeration—oh my, how could this barbecue street not smell delicious?

Wait a minute, water chestnuts are really delicious?!

Those who come to this barbecue stall in the middle of the night are all foodies. Hearing a table full of people shouting and yelling, I couldn't resist joining in either.

"Brother, where can I buy those water chestnuts—I mean, those glasses you were talking about?"

……

Yun Danqing and the others were still staring at the basket, looking worried.

They sat for half an hour, and only two customers came in total, but they sold more than 100 water chestnuts. The basket was big, but the water chestnuts were small, so there was no shortage at all!

"It won't be fresh tomorrow..."

Chen Chi felt a pang of heartache: "Otherwise, how about we sell them in the crowded places they mentioned earlier?"

He patted his chest: "I'm tall, strong, and I can even hawk my wares. I can sell them all by myself!"

“But you count slowly,” Yun Danqing sighed. “How about we team up…”

As they were talking, an electric scooter slowly rode past them, then turned back and stopped in front of them again.

"Old Zhao's water chestnuts, right?"

Everyone:? ? ?
Qiaoqiao said earnestly, "It's our water chestnut."

However, the other person's eyes scanned the crowd and quickly locked onto their target: "Old Zhao, is this the water chestnut you're talking about?"

Mr. Zhao looked up from the crowd—a regular customer!

His eyes were fixed on the skewers on the grill, which were being sprinkled with the last of the seasonings, and he only gave a quick and perfunctory reply: "Yes, yes, these water chestnuts!"

"Alright!" The other person got off the electric scooter: "Little friend, I'll take this half basket of yours!"

How bold and spirited those words are!

But before he could finish speaking, Old Zhao turned his head away and said, "Why did you buy so many? These things don't keep well. Just buy a few to try."

As he spoke, the skewers in front of him were already cooked. He quickly reached out and took them, looking at the sizzling oil on them, he was as anxious as a puppy with nowhere to bite.

After spinning around twice and blowing air at it, it finally couldn't resist and carefully took a bite.

"Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" He was so hot he almost jumped up and down. Only then did he finally let go of his mouth and have time to look at his customer again.

However, the young man was already looking up information: "Let me see if this stuff can be frozen. If it can, I'll just ask for another basket..."

Hehe, Lao Zhao didn't mention purchase limits tonight!

Three for one yuan, I'm going to have to splurge tonight. But if Old Zhao calls them high-quality, my whole family will be both happy and disappointed when I buy them!
As he searched for information online, he also felt a bit nostalgic: This feeling was just like when he was in elementary school!
Back then, you had to carefully plan your pocket money, even if it was just one yuan, during class. Should you buy spicy strips with instant noodles, or toys with milk tablets?
Should we buy half a basket, or another basket?

Oh dear, this is so difficult!
It was clearly more difficult for him than for the group of flustered children.

If they were sold by weight, the price of this basket of water chestnuts could be determined by weighing them. But now they're sold by the piece, and five children are squatting on the ground, each with a plastic bag in hand.

"1, 2, 3, ..."

The plastic bags were the kind you get in rolls when you buy groceries at the supermarket; about 50 bags would fit in one bag. The children, both young and old, were both anxious and focused, counting until sweat beaded on their foreheads, and they still hadn't finished counting the bags in the basket…

Damn!

The girl was so anxious she was about to jump up and down. What if they packed it too slowly? Would people not want to buy it anymore?

However, how can you do business without encountering problems?
An even bigger challenge lies ahead—

"Is this the premium water chestnut that Old Zhao was talking about?"

Good heavens, a huge crowd of people, both driving and riding bicycles, have all stopped here.

Everyone had the same idea: since Lao Zhao didn't mention any purchase limits, how about each of them buy 100 or 200 yuan worth of water chestnuts, half a basket each?
The people of Yuncheng are absolutely willing to spend money when it comes to food!

"Oh my, these really are small water chestnuts! They look so tender. Give me 200 of them!"

"Kid, how many water chestnuts are in this half-basket? Tell me the number, and if it's reasonable, I'll take half a basket..."

"Wow! You guys are all so generous? I don't need that many, I just want 100..."

The children were sweating profusely with anxiety, and Yun Danqing almost miscounted! He Tuoluo was still making things worse: "You have to call our boss 'brother,' 'boss sister'... Ah, I forgot to count!"

"I haven't even finished counting the half basket yet, I don't know how many there are... Uncle, wait for me..."

What's going on? Why did you buy so many? It would have been easier to just buy 20!

The young man who was waiting for his water chestnuts immediately stopped hesitating and was just extremely glad that he had ordered this half basket first.

Regardless of whether the next person can buy it or not, he's got his share for sure!

However, what worried the bosses even more was that a large group of people were turning in from the other end of the alley:

"Is it up ahead?"

"It must be. They said a few kids were selling water chestnuts, and some people were having a DIY barbecue—I just wanted to see who was bragging and showing off their wealth. Oh my god! This barbecue smells so good!"

"Wait a minute, why are there so many people buying water chestnuts? There aren't this many people at the tables around here, are there?"

"Wow, so many people are buying water chestnuts, which proves they're really good quality. I just wonder if they'll sell out..."

"What's there to worry about? At most, we'll buy a few dozen water chestnuts to eat, just to show our appreciation. Who would actually buy them—Holy crap! Why is he carrying that basket away?!"

The one carrying the basket was the young man in the lead.

There was no other way; the five children were covered in sweat, and they had to redo several bags in the middle, but they finally managed to count the half basket of water chestnuts.

Because the water chestnuts are small, there were a total of 766, which came to 240 yuan. Qiaoqiao decided to give the extra ones away as a gift!
There were so many people queuing up behind him; if he kept counting, Chen Chi's fingers would break.

Moreover, although Yun Danqing is good at math, she is better at written texts, and her brain gets a little fuzzy when there are many people around.

Compared to my previous experiences setting up a stall, this is quite sincere.

The young people were extremely satisfied.

He originally thought it would cost at least five or six hundred yuan, but he didn't expect it to only cost a little over 200 yuan, and the kid was so generous with the money...

Oh dear, even a single scallion is hard to come by at Lao Zhao's shop!

Of course, he conveniently overlooked the fact that regular scallions would also work.

The only problem was that there were only small plastic bags available, and he couldn't carry the dozen or so bags he was holding, so he simply took the basket with him.

In response, Old Zhao, while munching on a meat skewer, offered his assurances:
"It's alright, I'll bring it back to you when he comes to my shop later."

So delicious! I dared not say a word, because in the time it took to say those two sentences, everyone else had already taken an extra skewer!

But while the young people were satisfied, the customers who squeezed in behind them suddenly looked alarmed!
as predicted.

Just then, two more of Old Zhao's customers shouted loudly, "What? Only two hundred for half a basket?!"

Good heavens, it's been a long time since we've had this much food at this price!

More than 700 watermelons—just hearing that number makes it feel like Chinese New Year! They have to be careful when buying a watermelon in the summer.

They exchanged glances and quickly said, "I want half a basket!"

"I want a basket!"

"Give me the last half basket!"

There were only 3 people, and the rest were basically all taken! Old Zhao has a huge number of customers, who can tolerate this?

Everyone immediately called out, "Old Zhao, Old Zhao, stop eating and come take a look!"

"Exactly, you can't buy it like that. Otherwise, would I drive more than half an hour from the new district just to buy air?"

"Purchase restrictions! Purchase restrictions are necessary!"

Everyone started chattering, never expecting that one day they would be the ones voluntarily requesting purchase limits. It's truly a story of bitter tears...

They argued ahead, neither willing to give in, as if buying one less would mean missing out on some treasure.

The group of barbecue stall customers who rushed over after hearing the gossip from their older brother: ...

In the middle of the night, in this remote location, selling the even more obscure water chestnuts, are you all fighting over them like this? Is this reasonable?

And besides, is 200 yuan for half a basket really such a bargain? For 200 yuan, you can bring a whole tricycle, and without even having to wade through the water, you can haul a whole load to the countryside!
Also...

While everyone watched the argument ahead with bewildered expressions, they also inhaled the faint, enticing fragrance in the air that seemed to gently scratch at their hearts...

unconsciously……

"Slurp." (End of Chapter)