Chapter 37: Street Gossip and the Old Clay Pot

Aside from the neighbors in the commercial storefronts across the street, the residents near the Sunshine City residential complex were also a bit puzzled.

They never expected that the steamed buns, which were quite easy to buy just a few days ago, would have such a long queue today.

"What's going on? Why are there so many people today?"

A customer at the front couldn't help but turn around and say:

"Don't you guys know? A food blogger online posted a video after trying these buns, and the review was glowing... that's why so many people showed up today."

"What is it? Teacher Li's Shop Exploration?"

"Oh, let me show you the video, then you'll understand."

Thanks to the idle time while waiting in line, the old and new customers began to chat with each other.

Several regulars who had been buying these buns couldn't help but feel surprised.

"So the buns I eat every day are this impressive? I just thought they tasted good. Turns out I didn't understand what I was eating at all."

...

The evening business finally wrapped up.

Actually, they closed the stall even earlier than usual today.

After all, the total number of buns was limited, and with so many customers arriving, Chen Zhou had even added an extra steamer.

The process in the middle had just been a bit hectic.

Ms. Lin helped Chen Zhou wipe away his sweat.

She didn't expect Chen Zhou to make a fortune; she was content with their current simple life and hoped he wouldn't overwork himself.

Although she was happy that her husband's buns were sought after, if it were like this every day, relying solely on a small stall would be far too tiring.

However, since the sudden influx of customers was due to the online buzz, it should be fine on normal days.

Lin Yifan thought for a long time, and because her mind was focused on the current trend, what she blurted out became:

"As the old saying goes, only when the tide goes out do you know who is swimming naked."

Chen Zhou laughed: "You have quite a few old sayings yourself."

"It's all because of you!" Lin Yifan rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant; I wanted to say..."

"I understand," Chen Zhou nodded at his wife. "This wave of customers should last for a few more days, we'll see then."

He then showed Ms. Lin the day's revenue.

The mobile payments alone totaled over 1,500 yuan.

There was also a fair amount of cash collected in small change.

However, his wife's comment about swimming naked served as a reminder to Chen Zhou that he needed to pay attention to the customer volume.

He couldn't just prepare hundreds of buns only to have too many left over. That would be difficult to handle.

He checked the positive reviews he had accumulated over the past few days; there were nearly two hundred today. Combined with the remainder from the last time he used "Targeted Intelligence," he had enough left for another targeted search.

Chen Zhou silently applied the points to intelligence enhancement.

...

The next day, the food intelligence refreshed.

Chen Zhou, still holding Fancai, waited in the living room.

This time, there were four pieces of information.

[Market Gossip (Rare)]: In the corner of the backyard of "Feng's Porridge Shop" in Hujiayuan, there is an old, coarse pottery casserole pot used to weigh down a jar of pickled vegetables. This was the final work of the last generation of kiln workers from the "Double Kiln Mouth" seventy years ago. The ancient handcrafted technique, combined with the unique glaze permeated into the inner walls of the pot after three generations of boiling rice porridge, gives this casserole breathability and heat retention far superior to similar modern products. Old Man Feng considers it a keepsake of his late wife, but in four days, his grandson, finding it too heavy to move, will discard it along with the old jar.

After reading this, Chen Zhou let out a sigh.

The old casserole, according to the intelligence, was a top-tier piece of kitchenware.

Yet its ultimate fate was to be discarded as junk, which was a terrible waste.

Likewise, that the grandson would throw away something Old Man Feng considered a keepsake of his late wife just because it was heavy during a move was infuriating.

The old man would probably be heartbroken to lose this pot.

That grandson wasn't even as sensible as five-year-old Chen Taotao.

Chen Zhou thought for a while and decided to intervene.

Even if Old Man Feng wasn't willing to part with it, at the very least, he couldn't let his grandson ruin such a good item.

Chen Zhou added this task to his to-do list.

The following items were the standard "triathlon."

[Ingredient News]: The price of ginger will be slightly adjusted in the coming days, 0.5 yuan per jin more expensive than at the end of last month.

A bit of daily trivia.

It wouldn't have a major impact on his business, but it was certainly relevant to his operations.

On the other hand, the live hog futures mentioned in the previous ingredient intelligence hit the daily limit immediately after the market opened on Monday, stimulated by the news.

Following this trend, it would reach the expected profit in two more days.

This could be considered his passive income.

Selling buns was a more grounded way to make money, while investing was more effortless.

[Customer Dynamics (Targeted)]: The number of customers intending to come and buy buns in the next few days is expected to be...

Chen Zhou compared it with the past.

By the fourth day, the number of customers would basically return to the level of his usual business.

The current hype lasting for four or five days was actually pretty good.

There were too many new things online; turning his bun stall into a tourist attraction would be a bit of an exaggeration.

His core base remained the local residents.

[Market News]: This morning, the owner of the breakfast shop in the Sunshine City complex and Tony the hairdresser will get into another loud argument over the placement of a trash can at the entrance.

Thinking of that "Tony," Chen Zhou couldn't help but laugh at Fancai.

No wonder he seemed to have strong opinions about the breakfast shop; it turned out the two shops had a bit of history.

Truth be told, the gender stereotypes surrounding Tony weren't very obvious.

...

Over the next few days, Chen Zhou focused entirely on his bun business.

On Wednesday, he closed his position on the pork futures, netting a profit of over 2,000 yuan after transaction fees.

Finally, on the fourth day, the foot traffic gradually leveled off, giving him some spare time. He prepared to visit Feng's Porridge Shop.

The Hujiayuan area was a redevelopment zone, and many of the place names could no longer be found on navigation apps.

However, those who still lived there were likely elderly.

For a porridge shop that had been around for decades, he would surely find it just by asking around.

It wasn't too far away, so Chen Zhou hopped on his little electric scooter downstairs.

Once he arrived, he was incredibly glad he had made that decision.

The small village roads were extremely narrow.

For two cars to pass each other, the auntie selling fruit on the side would have to stop her business for a moment and put away her umbrella.

Chen Zhou pushed his scooter and found an elderly man who looked energetic enough to ask:

"Sir, there’s a Feng's Porridge Shop around here, right?"

The old man was quite spirited, but his hearing wasn't the best.

"What porridge shop?"

"The owner's surname is Feng, Feng's Porridge."

Thankfully, the old man didn't ask "Feng what?"

The man chuckled hoarsely: "You mean that Baldy Feng who sells porridge?"

...Whether he was bald or not wasn't mentioned in the intelligence.

Before Chen Zhou could speak, a voice cursed from behind him.

"Who the hell are you calling Baldy Feng!"

Chen Zhou turned around; this must have been Old Man Feng.