NOVEL NEXT Chapter 158
At the entrance of Sunshine Primary School, a long line stretched from across the street all the way to the school's front gate. The school's security guards and teachers, after welcoming the students, also joined the end of the long queue.
There was still some time before classes started, and the teachers silently prayed they'd have enough time to buy breakfast from Boss Lu. The line was ridiculously long.
Boss Lu hadn't even arrived yet, and people were already queueing up!
It was seriously competitive!
Three minutes later, a three-wheeled food cart turned the corner and drove down the street. The customers, upon seeing the cart, got excited—stomachs rumbling, cravings intensifying.
If they had drums and gongs, they'd probably be banging them in celebration, welcoming the cart like a festival parade. A young girl got out of the food cart, causing the crowd to murmur in confusion.
"Huh? Who are you? Where's Boss Lu?"
"Hello everyone, I'm Xiaomi, Boss Lu's new assistant."
"Boss Lu is dropping his daughter off at kindergarten and will be here shortly."
Xiaomi parked the cart and started setting up.
Some customers stepped forward to help.
"Boss Lu finally hired someone! That's great!"
"Xiaomi, take good care of Boss Lu, he works so hard!"
The customers all cared about Lu Qin. Running a food stall while taking care of a child was exhausting, and demand for his food was overwhelming.
Even a workhorse wouldn't be pushed this hard.
Xiaomi nodded.
"Yes, my job is to assist Boss Lu."
"For now, you can buy ice crystal cakes, crystal shrimp dumplings, and mung bean paste."
"Stir-fried rice noodles will be available once Boss arrives."
Xiaomi pulled out three large insulated containers and two fresh-lock storage boxes. A strong young customer helped her unload them.
"Wow! There's so much stock today! Having an assistant really makes a difference!"
"Haha! I think Boss Lu should hire even more people! Expand production!"
Xiaomi hung up the small whiteboard that Lu Qin had prepared. It had the food prices written in black marker, with some minor adjustments to purchase limits.
Ice crystal cakes: max 2 boxes per person
Crystal shrimp dumplings: max 2 servings per person
Mung bean paste: max 5 cups per person]
The customers, after seeing the whiteboard, cheered.
"Five servings of rice noodles? Awesome! There are five people in my family, just right! And I can get mung bean paste too!"
"Two servings of crystal shrimp dumplings? Perfect! One was never enough!"
"I'll take three cups of mung bean paste, two boxes of ice crystal cakes, and two servings of crystal shrimp dumplings—I'm starving!"
"I'm maxing out on everything!"
"Me too, getting the full limit!"
…
Xiaomi worked quickly, serving over 30 customers in just six or seven minutes. She also carefully checked each customer's payment records.
At this moment, Lu Qin arrived by car. The roadside parking spaces were all taken.
"Boss Lu, park here!"
The school's security guard enthusiastically moved a tricycle onto the curb, creating an empty parking spot.
"This is the school canteen's vegetable delivery tricycle. It's fine to move it."
The security guard laughed as he explained.
"Thanks."
"No problem, Boss Lu, just keep selling your food here every day."
"Ever since I started eating your food, I can't go back to anything else."
Lu Qin smiled, skillfully maneuvered the car, and parked in one smooth motion. He got out and walked to the food cart.
Xiaomi stepped aside.
"Boss, should we split the sales?"
"Yes, you handle those three items, and I'll do the stir-fried rice noodles."
As soon as Lu Qin tied on his apron, a group of customers immediately lined up. Their speed was even faster than students forming ranks during military training.
"Boss Lu, can we really buy five servings of stir-fried rice noodles? That's amazing! I'll take five!"
"Me too!"
…
This time, Lu Qin had prepared over 150 pounds of fresh rice noodles, each pound making about four to five servings. The portions were generous. Meanwhile, Fang Ya arrived at Sunshine Primary School, dark circles under her eyes, looking exhausted.
She had stayed up all night playing a battle strategy game, planning to sleep all day. But before that, she needed a good meal. She intended to skip the queue but suddenly noticed a young girl standing next to Lu Qin.
Immediately, she felt like she had stumbled upon something interesting. Fang Ya paused, joined the line, and pulled out her phone to message Shen Muyan.
"Your Boss Lu might be up to something. Yellow alert."
On the other end, Shen Muyan had just woken up. Wearing a light silk nightgown, she walked elegantly to the bathroom, her figure curvy and graceful.
As she brushed her teeth, she scrolled through work emails on her phone. Just then, Fang Ya's message popped up.
At this hour, Fang Ya was usually still asleep. She opened the message, raised an eyebrow, and replied with a simple: [?]
[Fang Ya: Let me investigate first.]
Now fully awake, Fang Ya sneakily observed from the line. Watching their interactions, the girl seemed to be an employee.
Did Lu's Snack Stall finally hire staff?
Fang Ya had always trusted Lu Qin's character. However, Shen Muyan's man was too outstanding, and as the saying goes, it's not the thief you fear but the one who keeps thinking about stealing.
After observing for a while, Fang Ya noticed that Xiaomi only looked at Lu Qin with respect—nothing else. False alarm, situation under control.
Hiring an employee was actually a good thing—it would ease Lu Qin's workload. Shen Muyan, still waiting for an update, was about to call when Fang Ya sent another message.
Shen Muyan examined the picture.
The young girl had tanned skin and was barely passable in looks—certainly not a beauty.
No threat at all.
She didn't give it another thought, wiped her face, and replied, "Bring me a serving of stir-fried noodles and crystal shrimp dumplings."
Fang Ya: "OK."
…
At 9:40 AM, the breakfast rush ended. Today's sales hit a record high: 24,745.50 yuan. System points accumulated to 2,788.
After packing up, Lu Qin had Xiaomi ride the tricycle back home and gave her the rest of the day to find an apartment and buy clothes and daily necessities. He had transferred 10,000 yuan to her yesterday. Rent in the old district was cheap, so it should be more than enough.
Lu Qin, on the other hand, headed to the vehicle dealership. The four-wheeled mobile food truck should be ready for pickup. When he arrived, the dealership had already parked the custom electric food truck at the entrance. It was exactly the one he had ordered.
After parking his car, Lu Qin walked over and inspected the food truck for a few minutes. The materials were solid, and the quality was excellent. The dealership owner saw Lu Qin checking the truck and approached with a smile.
"Boss, you're here? Everything look good? No worries—if you have any issues after taking it back, just let us know."
"Yeah, the truck is fine. Can you deliver it to this address?"
"Of course, we offer home delivery!"
The dealership owner quickly agreed and noted down the address. Lu Qin paid the remaining balance.
The dealership owner then asked, "Boss, are you selling your old tricycle?"
"No, I'll still need it."
Now that Xiaomi was around, she could use it for transportation or for grocery shopping.
On the way back, Lu Qin stopped by the market and bought ingredients for pickled vegetables. Old Zhao also gifted him five extra jars, so he decided to fill them all. He also bought 30 pounds of chicken feet.
A new dish—Pickled Chili Chicken Feet—was coming soon!