Chapter 39: Booming Business

Su Xiaoli even began to drool a little. The smell of the grilled gluten was irresistible. Tang Feng handed all fifteen skewers of Grilled gluten to her.

“I can’t eat this much,” Su Xiaoli quickly declined.

“These are the first skewers of gluten I’ve grilled, give me some face and try to eat as much as you can,” Tang Feng said with a happy smile.

Su Xiaoli nodded and began to eat. It must be said, the gluten Tang Feng made was really delicious. She kept eating one skewer after another, unable to stop.

“How does it taste?” Seeing her enjoying the food, Tang Feng asked with a smile.

“Great!” Su Xiaoli couldn’t help but give a thumbs up.

Tang Feng’s face turned red. He even thought of some indescribable scenes.

“What’s wrong?” Su Xiaoli noticed his strange expression and asked instinctively.

“Nothing,” Tang Feng shook his head, “I’ll continue making more.”

Many people wandering the night market were drawn by the smell. “What’s this?” A stylishly dressed middle-aged woman in a cheongsam came up and asked.

“Grilled gluten,” Tang Feng replied.

“Gluten? How is this different from the gluten we’ve seen before?” The woman was very curious.

“It might be because it’s skewered. Would you like to try some?” Tang Feng offered with a smile.

“How much are they?” she inquired.

“One yuan for two skewers.”

“That’s quite expensive! It’s the same price as a skewer of meat.” The woman frowned.

“The meat isn’t as tasty as this.” Before Tang Feng could speak, Su Xiaoli responded.

“I’ll take two skewers,” the woman decided after a moment and handed Tang Feng a yuan.

Tang Feng signaled Su Xiaoli to take the money. Once Su Xiaoli had the money, he handed the woman her two skewers of Grilled gluten.

The woman bit into one skeptically but hadn’t even finished chewing her first bite before eagerly finishing the rest.

“It’s delicious! Really delicious! Give me ten more skewers!” she said, pulling out five yuan.

Tang Feng immediately complied. “Is it really that good?” onlookers who were watching began to doubt.

“Of course, it’s true! If you don’t believe it, you can also buy two skewers to try!” the woman suggested.

“One yuan, you won’t be cheated or disappointed! I only prepared so many skewers for tonight, and they will likely sell out fast! Hurry up or miss out!” Tang Feng pitched to the crowd.

Hearing his words, the onlookers couldn’t help but laugh. They started buying a few skewers each, and after tasting them, wanted even more.

Soon, more and more people gathered around. Everyone wanted to buy more skewers to taste. Unfortunately, Tang Feng could only roast thirty skewers at a time. All told, he could make about three hundred skewers in an hour.

Su Xiaoli was busy collecting money the whole time, her heart blooming with joy. After all, just over an hour of selling brought in so much income.

Even if the profits were the same as those from selling meat skewers, they had earned seventy to eighty yuan. However, the cost of Grilled gluten couldn’t possibly exceed that of meat skewers, so the pure profit was even higher.

After a while, Tang Long and his wife also arrived. They had closed the supermarket and hurried over. When they saw the crowd around the stall, they exchanged a smile, clearly amazed at the popularity of the Grilled gluten, which far exceeded their expectations.

They didn’t push through the crowd but waited until Tang Feng had sold all his prepared gluten before approaching.

“Dad, Mom!” Tang Feng greeted them eagerly.

“Uncle, Auntie!” Su Xiaoli followed suit.

“I really didn’t expect your Grilled gluten to do such good business!” Tang Long couldn’t help but express his admiration.

Tang Feng just chuckled, saying, “Partly because it’s something new to people, and partly because it’s delicious.”

“How much did you earn tonight?” Tang Feng’s Mother couldn’t wait to ask.

Su Xiaoli counted the money and announced, “A total income of four hundred and eighty-seven yuan.”

“And the profit?” Tang Feng’s Mother continued to probe.

“About three hundred and fifty yuan,” Tang Feng answered.

“My goodness! Such high profits!” Tang Feng’s Mother could hardly believe her ears.

“Gluten isn’t very expensive to begin with. Charcoal and other expenses don’t cost much either; it’s indeed a huge profit,” Tang Long looked on enviously. Earning three hundred and fifty yuan in three hours was more than what the supermarket made in a whole day!

“It’s because it’s delicious. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to sell it for so much,” Tang Feng responded.

“Tang Feng, are you planning to prepare more for tomorrow night?” Tang Feng’s Mother asked.

“I’ll prepare a maximum of one thousand skewers. Any more than that, and it’s too exhausting to keep up. Besides, I wasn’t planning on making money this way,” Tang Feng said.

“Not planning on making money from this?” Tang Long was visibly stunned.

“Yes!” Tang Feng nodded, “Earning a few hundred yuan by working hard all evening isn’t very worthwhile for me.”

“You young man… I don’t even know what to say,” Tang Long shook his head, marveling at his son’s business at the night market that had exceeded all his expectations.

“I should take Xiaoli home now; otherwise, her dad will worry,” Tang Feng suggested.

“You go ahead. Your mom and I will help clean up here,” Tang Long decided.

Tang Feng took Su Xiaoli back to her home, advising her to rest early after a busy evening. “It wasn’t too hard. Are you going to the trade District tomorrow to buy more supplies?” Su Xiaoli asked.

“No need,” Tang Feng shook his head, “The ingredients I’ve prepared should last for three days.”

“Really? So, you’re only planning to set up a stall at the night market for three days?” Su Xiaoli guessed.

“Exactly!” Tang Feng affirmed, planning to sell the recipe after that.

“What will you do after not setting up a stall?” Su Xiaoli was curious.

“I need to teach my parents to cook. Once the restaurant opens, I’ll definitely help out for a few days. By then, our college entrance exam results should be out, and we’ll be busy,” Tang Feng explained.

“Recruiters from top universities will definitely be knocking on your door,” Su Xiaoli joked.

“Not just mine, but yours too. Anyway, we’ll stick to our plan and go to Jingcheng University together,” Tang Feng assured her.

“I’ll follow you wherever you go,” Su Xiaoli said, her cheeks flushing.

Seeing her like this, Tang Feng felt a wave of affection. “I’ll head up now,” Su Xiaoli waved goodbye and turned to leave.

Tang Feng watched her go, a happy smile on his lips, then reluctantly left for home.

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