Cooking System: Street Food Rules

The area around Jiang Feng's stall was unusually lively.

At this moment, a few male college students hurried over. Seeing the long queue, they immediately regretted their tardiness. They had arrived too late.

However, they didn't want to give up.

The four huddled together to come up with a plan.

"What do we do? There are so many people; we'll definitely not get our turn."

"How about one of you pretends to be dead, and we scream 'Help!'?"

"Could that work?"

"What else can we do? We won't get any otherwise!"

The four whispered among themselves.

There were many people around, and no one paid attention to them.

Soon, the four had concocted their plan.

One of the guys suddenly let out an "AH!" and collapsed to the ground.

The other three college students immediately began their performance.

"Holy crap! Bro, what happened to you?"

"He's got low blood sugar; he's fainted from hunger!"

"This type of low blood sugar can only be cured by a roast duck!"

"He really fainted from hunger!"

The three shouted chaotically, feigning panic.

Then, one of them looked at Jiang Feng and called out, "Boss, can we please buy a roast duck? It's an emergency!"

After he spoke, the other two also stared intently at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng noticed the situation.

He sighed helplessly. What a poor performance. He could see the guy lying on the ground, squinting through a slit in his eyes, looking over. If you're going to act, at least do it seriously.

Many people were recording Jiang Feng with their phones. When they saw the performance happening, they immediately turned their cameras to capture the college student on the ground.

The crowd wore amused smiles. Most people could tell it was a feigned act, but some didn't realize this.

Just then, Sun Zhuangfei turned to Jiang Feng and nervously said, "Boss Jiang, someone has fainted over there. We should hurry over and take a look."

On hearing this, Jiang Feng sighed. He had been too naive. This kind of situation was not without a solution, though.

Jiang Feng remained calm, picked up the megaphone, and said, "Someone over there has low blood sugar; we need to quickly replenish their sugar levels. You three, quickly go buy him a roasted sweet potato from next door; sweet potatoes are easy to digest."

Upon hearing Jiang Feng's words, the three college students froze on the spot.

The guy lying on the ground also furrowed his brow slightly. Roasted sweet potato? They had not come for roasted sweet potatoes.

One of the college students spoke seriously, "Boss Jiang, my classmate has had low blood sugar for a long time. He came here specifically to eat a roast duck made by you. You don't understand my classmate; his family is very poor, and he has often gone hungry since he was little. His grandfather used to make roast duck for him to eat, so his favorite food is roast duck. Please help him, Boss Jiang!"

Watching this scene unfold, Jiang Feng was both amused and bemused. This was obviously an act! And yet they were pretty convincing! When it comes to pulling stunts, college students really take the cake.

Some people in the crowd were starting to waver.

Zhuangfei even sighed and said, "How pitiful."

Jiang Feng sighed, realizing he shouldn't have engaged with them. It would have been better to pretend he hadn't seen anything. Once he'd responded, giving them a duck felt wrong, but not giving them one also felt wrong. And there were so many other customers waiting in line.

At that moment, Sun Zhuangfei said, "Boss, give them my half. I won't eat roast duck tonight."

Jiang Feng was somewhat surprised by Sun Zhuangfei's words. What a coincidence. He had planned to use Sun Zhuangfei's half anyway.

"Okay, it's better if you handle this," Jiang Feng responded. "I'll take care of the business."

Jiang Feng continued serving the customers at the front.

Sun Zhuangfei took out the half roast duck he had reserved for himself from a thermal container, sliced it up, and handed it to the college students.

He said, "This half was reserved for myself. The boss is busy with business, so he can't take care of you. You can buy this half from me; just pay the boss."

Many people saw this happen and were quite surprised. Holy crap! That actually worked? It was clearly an act.

One of the college students put on a sorrowful expression, but the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth was irrepressible as he said, his voice thick with feigned emotion, "Thank you."

He took the roast duck, scanned a QR code to pay, then turned and walked away.

To ensure the act appeared authentic, the guy who had pretended to faint made a show of staggering to his feet and then left with the support of the other two.

They got the roast duck by pretending to have low blood sugar. The whole situation was outrageous enough as it was, but the fact that they actually succeeded was even more preposterous!

A few college students nearby saw what happened and started discussing among themselves.

"They actually managed to buy one?"

"If they can do it, so can we!"

"Who's gonna feign fainting?"

"You're the palest; you do it!"

The group settled on a plan. Then, they came to an open space, and one of them promptly collapsed to the ground.

The others started shouting, "What's wrong with you? Why did you faint?"

"Damn, how did he faint?"

"Boss Jiang, my roommate has fainted! He needs half a roast duck to revive. Please help out!"

Witnessing this scene, the customers waiting in line also became lively. Some couldn't help but laugh.

Others chimed in, "Come on, stop acting; it's too fake! If you want to eat, get in line!"

"If you want to eat, get in line! Don't pull these stunts!"

Jiang Feng, however, did not engage them any further. As an experienced chef, he could tell at a glance whether that person had low blood sugar or not. It was obviously an act. He had seen this kind of thing before. Thinking back, Jiang Feng belatedly realized there had been a young man before who claimed to have low blood sugar. It had seemed like an act even then, but he had let it pass. People were really going all out to buy the food they craved.

Jiang Feng continued to prepare the roast ducks, unhurried.

"I want two single servings: one Capital City roast duck and one Nanjing roast duck!" the customer at the front of the line said.

"No problem." Jiang Feng immediately started slicing the duck. A single serving was one-fourth of a duck.

Jiang Feng looked up and glanced behind him. He saw many people holding up their phones, cameras pointing at him. Being recorded just for running a food stall was quite absurd. But that's what happened when you got popular.

At this moment, a rather pretty college girl approached Jiang Feng's food truck, speaking in an affectedly sweet and pleading voice, "Jiang Feng, could I possibly buy a serving in advance? I really haven't eaten anything all day. Please, I beg you. I promise to go on a date with you, how about that?"

Hearing this, Jiang Feng was somewhat speechless. You might agree, but I certainly wouldn't!

However, he was always polite. He simply said, "If you want roast duck, please get in line. Thank you."

Hearing this, the girl snorted and then turned around and ran off.

Sun Zhuangfei watched from the side and, stroking his chin, asked, "Boss, was that girl just now trying a beauty trick on you?"

Hearing his question, Jiang Feng chuckled and replied, "How did you figure that out?"

A bit embarrassed, Sun Zhuangfei said, "On days when we don't have the stall, I sometimes read 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu' to learn about social strategies."

Hearing this, Jiang Feng raised an eyebrow. Reading 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu' is fine, just don't end up like mob boss Gao Qiqiang.

"Mm-hm, let's just focus on our business and not get involved in other things," Jiang Feng responded.

To get a hold of the roast duck, people were indeed being very resourceful. All kinds of methods were emerging endlessly. But there simply wasn't enough roast duck. Jiang Feng could only follow the rules, selling the ducks to those who queued up.

Of course, he wasn't so strict with all his friends. For example, when Zhang Dashan sent a WeChat message saying he'd come to see Jiang Feng, Jiang Feng allowed him to go directly to his shop at noon. Friends could just eat at the shop and didn't need to come here to queue up.

As the number of roast ducks dwindled, the crowd became increasingly restless.

"Boss Jiang, how many roast ducks are left? Can I still buy one?" someone asked.

Jiang Feng counted and responded, "Sorry, everyone, there aren't many roast ducks left. We can probably take twelve more orders. Please, no more queuing. I will make more tomorrow; everyone come back then!"

Upon hearing this, people let out a collective groan of dismay.

Jiang Feng's roast duck had earned widespread approval. The Capital City roast duck he made had an authentic taste. From the pancakes and sweet bean sauce to the crispy-skinned duck itself, everything was flawless; the combination was simply perfect. As for the Nanjing roast duck he made, several people even asked if they could buy the braising liquid from him, as its flavor was exceptionally delicious. It could truly be called "soul gravy"!

It was precisely because his food had earned such approval that so many people sought him out.

Jiang Feng initially just wanted to set up his stall quietly and complete his task. Who knew business would boom like this? It was a roaring success.

Soon, the last serving of roast duck was sold out.

Jiang Feng packed up his things and drove away. He would return tomorrow.

Watching the food truck disappear into the distance, the crowd began to comment:

"Boss Jiang drives away so fast!"

"Haha, you could see the helplessness on his face!"

"Too much business is also a headache!"

"His stall is so popular! It's like this every time!"

"Isn't his stall always like this? Some people call him 'the randomly spawning Culinary God NPC'."

"Hahaha, that's a fitting description! The roast duck really tastes amazing!"

Everyone chatted, the atmosphere exceptionally relaxed.