Chapter Five: New Intelligence, A Misunderstanding?

For three consecutive days, kneading dough and preparing fillings, along with spontaneous practice at every opportunity, Chen Zhou believed his bun-making skills had risen to a proficiency level of 70 out of 100.

The main challenge still lay in the appearance.

If he aimed for twenty-four folds on each bun, the speed slowed considerably. But if he focused on speed, the buns could only meet a basic standard, falling short of his ideal shape.

However, in terms of taste, there should be no issues.

Even without selling at the stall these past few days, the accumulated positive feedback had already reached 22.5.

Besides the unreserved praise from his wife and daughter, the neighbors across the street who received some buns also remarked, “Brother, did you make these? They’re far better than what’s sold outside.”

From a social perspective, there might be some exaggeration, but the system’s notification of +1 positive review was genuine.

...

That morning, new intelligence updates arrived.

[Ingredient Bulletin]: Within five kilometers of Sunshine City neighborhood, the stall with the best pork quality is the first one eastward in the vegetable market—Yongjia Fresh Produce.

[Diner Update]: Lin Yifan has been feeling a bit tired of eating buns these past few days.

[Market News]: The elderly lady selling meat sandwiches at the northwest corner is planning to sell her snack cart cheaply due to urban management’s demand to consolidate stalls.

Only three pieces of intelligence appeared this time, with the next update scheduled three days later.

Regrettably, no [Street Secrets] surfaced this round.

“It seems getting a rare-level intelligence on the first refresh is a beginner’s privilege,” Chen Zhou thought.

“To increase the chance of obtaining valuable intel, I still need to level up the system.”

Nonetheless, this batch of information proved very practical.

It reflected the shift in Chen Zhou’s focus and center of life.

The first piece concerned ingredients, directly evaluating pork quality.

There were five or six butchers in the Happy Vegetable Market alone.

Comparing them individually would be time-consuming, but this intel saved him considerable effort.

Yet, Yongjia Fresh Produce, the first eastward stall... was very familiar—the one Chen Zhou had deliberately avoided?

He had a poor impression of its owner.

With a flashy gold chain and watch, the owner exuded a strong street vibe, yet unexpectedly turned out to be the most reliable within ten miles.

Truly, appearances can be deceiving.

This realization reminded Chen Zhou that if he wanted to run a stall, image management was essential.

The second piece, in the [Diner Update], mentioned that his wife was growing weary of eating buns.

Chen Zhou felt apologetic.

Normally, when people live day to day, leftover buns for dinner would naturally become the next morning’s breakfast.

And the past two days had been weekends.

...

Chen Zhou had been experimenting at home, eating buns meal after meal; no matter how delicious, even his wife and daughter could grow tired of them.

He admired his wife for not voicing her complaints and still supporting him.

Finally, the market news about the snack cart was especially useful.

Chen Zhou had been researching buying a small cart these past few days.

If used well, it could save him a significant amount.

He recalled that the elderly lady’s meat sandwich stall was quite clean, and he had bought from her several times before.

Now that she was planning to sell cheaply, it fit perfectly with Chen Zhou’s needs.

“The meat seller will stay with the stall when they leave, but the elderly lady might pull out anytime, so I should act fast.”

Chen Zhou decided to inquire about it that very morning.

As for breakfast, he approached the mother and daughter who were braiding hair.

“Let’s skip buns today. After so many days, you must be tired of them.”

Chen Taotao, ignoring her mother’s braiding, turned to Chen Zhou and said, “But I want to eat them.”

Thankfully, the little girl hadn’t learned any tongue-twisters yet; Chen Zhou feared she might recite a list of steamed bear paws, steamed deer tails, roasted flower ducks, and roast geese...

“No problem, Daddy will take you.”

After repeatedly scrolling through images of “sweet and cute braided pigtails for daughters starting kindergarten” at least ten times that evening, Mrs. Lin finally gave up on her lively daughter.

After straightening Taotao’s small head, she settled for two small buns on either side.

She then said to Chen Zhou, “You take Taotao; I’ll buy something near the office.”

Watching their daughter scamper away with quick steps, Lin Yifan sighed helplessly.

Sometimes she wished she could be like those “perfect moms” online who dressed their daughters beautifully.

But things always went awry in unexpected ways.

Still, not having to eat buns today was quite nice.

While Chen Zhou and his daughter changed shoes by the shoe cabinet, he caught his wife watching him.

There was a trace of a smile at the corner of her eyes. Without today’s intelligence, Chen Zhou probably would have ignored it.

He smiled and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Lin Yifan replied, “Just reminding you to be careful on the road.”

“Don’t worry, your daughter’s safety awareness is excellent.”

Taotao swung her little legs. “Teacher Li taught me not to do dangerous things.”

Chen Zhou ruffled his daughter’s hair... It seemed the kindergarten wasn’t useless after all.

Before leaving, his wife called out again, “Hey, do you have enough money?”

Chen Zhou nodded, “Enough.”

For now, it was enough to take their daughter out for breakfast. But buying a snack cart outright without installments would be tough.

Still, with his wife’s words, Chen Zhou understood that logistical support was assured.

...

The northwest corner was a subway transfer station, bustling with heavy passenger flow during rush hours.

Streams of people surged from underground to above ground, and vice versa.

After dropping his daughter off at kindergarten, Chen Zhou immediately sought out the elderly lady.

Seizing an opportunity when buying a meat sandwich, he started a conversation.

“Auntie, I heard urban management demands stall consolidation here. Where will you move to afterward?”

The elderly lady frowned and sighed, “Don’t mention it; I’ve been feeling unwilling to work lately. I’m planning to go back to my hometown to take care of my grandson.”

Chen Zhou’s heart lifted, and he said straightforwardly, “How about this, Auntie? Tell me a price; I want to take over this cart.”

Upon hearing this, the elderly lady’s eyes lit up.

“Don’t worry, young man, I’ll sell it cheap.”

Cheap meant two thousand five hundred yuan for the cart and equipment.

Chen Zhou was tempted.

He had checked prices for snack carts while buying stall supplies these days.

They were never cheap.

It was like selling shovels to gold miners.

Whether a stall made money was uncertain, but those selling carts often earned well.

The elderly lady’s snack cart was in good condition.

Only minor scratches, no major accidents.

It had just replaced two sets of batteries, lithium ones like those used on current green-plate vehicles.

The cookware was also ready, though roasting flatbreads wasn’t the same as steaming buns.

But as long as it could heat food, a few modifications would suffice.

The price was a real bargain.

The only problem was Chen Zhou didn’t have that much cash on hand.

“I’ll discuss it with my wife,” he said.

The lady, having run a small business for over a decade, immediately thought the deal was off upon hearing this.

The light in her eyes dimmed.

Seeing this, Chen Zhou quickly added, “Don’t misunderstand, Auntie. I truly intend to buy it.”

Hmph, bargaining... The elderly lady thought, ‘I’ve sold more meat sandwiches than you’ve ever eaten. Young man, you think your little tricks can fool me?’

She added extra meat to Chen Zhou’s sandwich and said, “How about this, young man? One thousand eight hundred, take it or leave it.”

“I’ll call my wife right now.”