"Boss!"
Yuan Tiantian cast a puzzled look. Bai Ying was already opening the door and going in with Xiuxiu, carrying the groceries. The young girl immediately explained.
"Sorry, my car broke down on the way here."
Yuan Tiantian was a bit confused. Wouldn't one usually call the car insurance company when the car broke down? It was no use coming to her. She couldn't fix cars.
Seeming to sense the confusion in Yuan Tiantian's eyes, the young girl quickly added,
"The insurance company will send someone to deal with the car later.
"My friend will come to pick me up later, but I haven't had dinner since last night. Seeing that this is a food store, can I order something to eat?"
So she was a customer. Yuan Tiantian checked the time. It was not even 10 a.m. yet. It wasn't lunchtime. But seeing the expectant look in the girl's eyes, Yuan Tiantian couldn't bear to refuse.
"Come in. But we only serve lunch and dinner. It's not open yet, so I can only make you a simple bowl of noodles."
Yuan Tiantian walked ahead, explaining their business hours to the girl. When they reached the door, sure enough, there was a sign showing the business hours. Lunch: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Dinner: 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Ming Xia, the girl whose car had broken down, felt even more embarrassed. It was indeed not within the store's business hours.
"Maybe I should go somewhere else and have a look?"
Yuan Tiantian turned around and laughed. "Then you may have to wait for quite a while. There are two other stores around here, but they only serve fast food for lunch and dinner."
"Of course, you can also wait for your friend."
Ming Xia fell silent immediately. Liu Qingyu would take another two hours to get here. Liu Qingyu had been doing a special food live - broadcast in the neighboring city and was on her way back today. Ming Xia simply asked her to make a detour and pick her up.
However, Ming Xia couldn't bear the hunger for two hours. She had gone to talk to a client last night and had only drunk alcohol without eating anything. And she had been in a hurry to go back this morning.
"Then I'll trouble you."
Yuan Tiantian arranged Ming Xia at a seat and then went to the kitchen. Bai Ying was putting away the groceries there.
Yuan Tiantian made a bowl of soy - sauce noodles for Ming Xia. She added a small spoonful of lard, soy sauce and a bit of chicken essence for seasoning, then put in some garlic leaves. When the soup was boiling, she put a ladle of the soup into the bowl first, then added the noodles, and finally put in a soft - boiled fried egg made by Yuan Tiantian. The noodles were ready. Ming Xia had already smelled the fragrance and felt even hungrier.
Fortunately, the noodles were done quickly. Yuan Tiantian brought them to her. The rich sauce aroma whetted one's appetite!
Ming Xia took a bite of the fried egg. The runny yolk oozed out. It was sweet and not fishy at all. She instantly widened her eyes. This egg was sweeter and fresher than the sterile eggs she had ever eaten!
"Boss, it's delicious!"
Ming Xia shouted towards the kitchen. Yuan Tiantian was in the kitchen with Bai Ying, dealing with the ingredients for lunch today. She smiled when she heard Ming Xia's words.
As for Ming Xia, she didn't have time to say anything else. All her attention was on this delicious bowl of soy - sauce noodles.
In less than five minutes, she had finished it all, not even leaving a drop of the soup. After finishing, Ming Xia came to the cashier. Xiuxiu was sitting there watching cartoons. When he saw Ming Xia coming, he quickly ran to the kitchen to call Yuan Tiantian out. After what happened yesterday, Xiuxiu also knew that when people came here after eating, it meant they were going to pay.
"20 yuan."
Ming Xia had no doubts about the price. After all, she had tasted the delicious food. It was worth the price.
"Boss, can I wait here?"
Yuan Tiantian had no objection. Anyway, there was no one else. Bai Ying could already handle basic ingredients after Yuan Tiantian had taught him. He was picking pumpkin vines there.
After Yuan Tiantian cooked the rice, she printed out today's menu on the computer.
Staple Food:
A bowl of white rice: 2 yuan; A serving of ham and egg fried rice: 25 yuan;
Braised Dishes:
A serving of tomato and beef brisket: 30 yuan;
Stir - fried Dishes:
Stir - fried pumpkin vines: 15 yuan; A serving of stir - fried celery with shrimp: 30 yuan
Soup:
A serving of winter melon and pork rib soup: 35 yuan.
Drinks:
Lemonade / Iced lemonade: 3 yuan a glass
Then Yuan Tiantian put a copy of the printed menu on each table for the customers to order conveniently. Ming Xia found it a bit strange. There were only four dishes on today's menu, not counting the staple food. It was really not many.
"Boss, aren't there too few dishes to choose from?"
Ming Xia asked curiously. Yuan Tiantian was placing the last menu on a table. She heard Ming Xia's question and then laughed. "I'm the only one working here. I can't cook too many dishes. So the menu is customized every day and will be adjusted according to the situation. The dishes won't be repeated."
It made sense. But Ming Xia thought to herself that the store was so remote that there probably weren't many customers. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to prepare more menu items. However, it was someone else's business, so Ming Xia wouldn't be annoying by saying such things.
However, her thought that there wouldn't be many customers was completely wrong when it was 11 a.m. At that time, more and more people came. There were quite a few of them!
After Bai Ying finished washing the vegetables, he was in the hall, receiving the customers who came for lunch. At this time, Liu Yang, the husband of Wu Qian and one of the three people from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau who had come before, was bringing a person to Tiantian Food Store.
"Hey, you've hired a handsome waiter!"
When Liu Yang entered the store and saw Bai Ying, he immediately joked. Bai Ying just smiled at him and then led the two of them to their seats.
"Today's menu is on the table. See what you'd like to eat."
Bai Ying took out his notebook. Although he didn't recognize or know how to write the words here, Yuan Tiantian numbered the daily menu. He just needed to write down the serial numbers.
The person Liu Yang brought was his new boss. The boss had helped him with something before, and he had always said he wanted to treat him to a meal. Last night, he mentioned it to his wife Wu Qian again. He originally wanted to entertain the boss at home, but the boss refused.
"It's not appropriate to eat at home. If someone with ulterior motives finds out, they might think we're up to something. Besides, I've really been busy lately."
"However, I recommend a place for you. The boss there has amazing cooking skills!"
The place he was talking about was, of course, Tiantian Food Store. Liu Yang was a bit hesitant at first because he knew the boss was a young woman. Could she really cook well? But finally, under Wu Qian's strong recommendation, he decided to give it a try. If it was really bad, he would treat the boss again.
However, when he saw today's menu, he looked at his boss a bit embarrassedly. There were so few items on sale.
But they were already here. It would be even more embarrassing to leave now.
Finally, Liu Yang placed an order with a stiff upper lip. "Two servings of ham and egg fried rice, two glasses of iced lemonade, and one serving of each of the other dishes."
After placing the order, he watched Bai Ying's back as he walked into the kitchen, then turned to look at his boss and smiled embarrassedly. The boss's expression was cold. He was obviously a bit unhappy. Although he wasn't really after the food, this clearly seemed like a perfunctory treat. Liu Yang could tell what his boss was thinking. He started to blame Wu Qian in his heart. What a stupid idea!
However, soon they were all singing praises of the food.