Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 5

At six in the morning, Zhao Xiaojing was awakened by the bright light streaming through the cheap curtains of her rented room and sprang out of bed.

Last night, she had practiced with all the ingredients available at the small restaurant and selected fifteen types of skewers that saved the most time based on her practice results.

Today, she needed to sell at least 500 skewers to meet the weekly average of 3,500 skewers.

After a hasty wash, Zhao Xiaojing reheated the sweet potatoes she stored in the fridge and quickly headed out to the bustling market nearby.

Having managed household duties for decades in her previous life, she was adept at selecting produce and quickly found the best value stall in the market.

Shortly after, she had purchased all the necessary vegetables, meat, and various materials.

Upon checking her balance after shopping, only a few dozen yuan remained—she had spent most of her savings overnight, almost back to square one.

Nervously eyeing her purchases, Zhao Xiaojing realized that if she couldn’t sell them today, she’d be unable to pay rent due soon.

If she missed the rent payment, her landlord would surely call her third aunt.

She had just declared her intent to repay the 80,000 yuan owed to her aunt independently. If her aunt discovered she couldn’t even pay rent, it would mean another round of harsh scolding, followed by more pressure to marry…

With a sigh, Zhao Xiaojing shook her head to stop the negative thoughts and found a secluded spot.

“System, can I extract the stall cart now?”

As soon as she asked, a brand-new, impressive white tricycle stall appeared before her.

The tricycle boasted a sleek white electric front, with a spacious glass display case for food atop the cart, equipped with a gas tank, stove, and ample storage below.

Zhao Xiaojing’s eyes lit up as she surveyed it, riding it back to her rental home and parking it in an empty spot on the ground floor.

Yangcheng’s economy wasn’t great. It was a small county town full of self-built houses, with a tiny city center. While there were apartments available, renting private homes was easier and much cheaper.

Zhao Xiaojing lived in an area filled with such homes, close to various renovation and labor markets, mainly inhabited by workers relying on odd jobs for a living.

Everyone was used to the basic conditions and didn’t mind crowded spaces, so vehicles were parked haphazardly wherever there was space.

Returning home marked the start of a long preparation process.

Washing vegetables, slicing them, skewering items, marinating what needed marinating, battering what needed battering, and finally preparing the sauces.

The system’s sauce recipes were quite intricate, involving dozens of spices ground and mixed together, each skewer type requiring slight variations.

Since managing too many ingredients at a stall could be challenging, Zhao Xiaojing went with a universal sauce recipe with spicy and non-spicy options.

By four in the afternoon, Zhao Xiaojing had everything ready and rode her electric tricycle to her first destination of the day—a lane near an experimental primary school two streets over.

Arriving wasn’t particularly early; students were released at 4:30 PM, and several stalls were already set up, including two or three selling skewers.

Zhao Xiaojing chose an empty spot and neatly arranged today’s fifteen types of skewers in the glass cabinet from the insulated box.

Then she took out the gas tank and stove from the storage compartment, lit the fire, placed the pot, and poured in the oil.

She set up packaging boxes, plastic bags, and donned an apron.

At 16:30, as the school bell rang and lower-grade students streamed out, Zhao Xiaojing felt a spike of nervousness.

A chubby boy nestled among the crowd of students looked around aimlessly, pouting somewhat boredly.

When he spotted the tall glass cabinet and conspicuous stall cart he hadn’t seen before, his interest piqued, and he jogged over eagerly.

“Sis, how much are the skewers?” The chubby boy eyed the enticing mix of red and green meat and vegetable skewers curiously.

“Vegetable skewers are 1 yuan, meat skewers are 3 yuan.”

“I’ll have two chicken tender skewers, one cabbage skewer, one potato skewer with batter, one without batter, one lotus root skewer, and one yellow skewer and white skewer from the top!” The chubby boy ordered fluently.

The yellow is chicken cartilage, the white is homemade pork cutlet, and there are two kinds of potatoes—battered and plain. After confirming with the boy, Zhao Xiaojing placed the chicken cartilage and pork cutlet skewers into the preheated oil.

Bubbles rapidly enveloped the ingredients in the oil, and the aroma of fresh meat gradually filled the air.

Once they held their shape slightly, she quickly added the chicken tenders, which were thin and translucent, frying them for just a minute before retrieving them.

Finally, she added the vegetables, removing them as their skins wrinkled slightly.

“Would you like spicy sauce or non-spicy sauce?”

“Non-spicy.”

Zhao Xiaojing swiftly brushed on the non-spicy secret sauce evenly, added a sprinkle of sesame seeds, carefully packed it up, and handed it to her young customer.

“That’ll be 16 yuan. Enjoy while it’s hot!”

The skewers in the paper box glistened with fresh oil. Each crispy golden piece was evenly coated with sauce.

The chubby boy’s attention was fully captured by the skewers in his hand. He absentmindedly paid before eagerly grabbing a skewer and taking a big bite beside the stall.

“This is delicious!!!”

His eyes widened as he chewed through two chicken tender skewers in quick succession, leaving his mouth greasy. He then grabbed a chicken cartilage skewer, thoroughly enjoying each bite.

These skewers are amazing! They have both the rich taste of meat and the charred aroma of frying!

“Sis, I’ll have five more chicken tender skewers!” The boy exclaimed in delight, gesturing excitedly at Zhao Xiaojing.

“Sure.”

“I want five chicken tender skewers too!” Another student swallowed enviously watching the boy and placed an order.

“Okay, meat skewers cost three yuan each, totaling fifteen yuan.”

“I’d like non-spicy too!” The student handed over cash smoothly, eyeing the chubby boy’s skewers again.

“Alright.”

“Wang Yiwen!! Wang Yiwen!!!” The chubby boy shouted suddenly, fixating on something ahead, darting into the crowd.

He returned dragging a little girl by her hat towards Zhao Xiaojing’s stall.

“What are you doing?! You’ve messed up my hat again!”

“These skewers are super tasty, super super tasty, come try!” The chubby boy pointed at Zhao Xiaojing’s stall as he pulled the girl along.

“Hmph, can I trust what a fatty says is tasty? You always say things taste good!” The girl scoffed dismissively.

“You!!!” The boy glared at his classmate angrily but kept chewing, lacking any intimidation.

“Let’s bet! Dare you?”

“What’s the bet?” The girl asked confidently.

“A skewer bet! If it’s tasty, you treat me; if not, I’ll buy you some!” The boy puffed his cheeks in anger.

“Let’s bet! Who’s afraid of who?”