After having wild thoughts for a while, Jiang Yu finally came to his senses. He once again directed his gaze toward the virtual panel and finally saw the wealth value clearly this time:
2670!
Seeing this shocking number, Jiang Yu couldn't help but be startled!
He remembered clearly, just this afternoon he checked, and his wealth value was only 1080. He didn't expect that after a dinner, it would skyrocket to 2670!
What does this mean?
This means that tonight's dinner brought the store's revenue to 1590 yuan, selling a total of 106 trays, with 848 soup dumplings in total!
This was much more than what was sold at lunch!
It took a while for Jiang Yu to suppress his excitement before he clicked into the System Mall.
Previously, since he had too little wealth value, he could only browse in the mall for some eye candy. Now with over 2600 wealth value, he could finally redeem a not-so-expensive dish.
On the way back from the canteen, Hu Zhihai mentioned that the store lacked drinks and wanted to bring in some beverages for sale, but Jiang Yu refused.
One reason he did not want to sell drinks in the store is that the place itself isn't big, just over 20 square meters. Adding a big freezer would make it too cramped, especially when there are more people.
Another reason is that drinking water or beverages during meals isn't really healthy, as they dilute stomach acid and affect digestion, especially for people with weak stomachs…
After some thought, Jiang Yu decided to make a cool soup suitable for summer using a recipe provided by the system. It's healthier and more nutritious, much better than drinks.
He browsed the soup category in the System Mall, quickly selecting a suitable soup. Seeing that it required only 2180 wealth value to redeem, Jiang Yu didn't hesitate and redeemed it right away.
After finishing this task, Jiang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He checked the time and saw it was almost 12 midnight.
Knowing he had to go to the vegetable market in a few hours, he hurriedly got up, switched off the lights, and went to bed.
...
It was past three in the morning, and the night outside was at its darkest.
Jiang Yu struggled to get up from bed and went to the bathroom for a quick wash.
Being a young guy, he was full of energy. After some morning hustle, the leftover drowsiness on his face vanished in an instant, and he was revitalized.
After grabbing his phone in the living room, he heard a long, low snoring from Hu Zhihai's room. He thought for a moment, decided not to disturb him, gently opened the door, and went out.
The vegetable market wasn't far away, and Jiang Yu quickly arrived there with a short walk.
Unlike the peaceful tranquility of the night, from a distance, he could see the vegetable market bustling with lights, bright as day, with trucks coming in and out from time to time. Vendors who came to wholesale fruits and vegetables were continuously bustling, busy and lively.
Jiang Yu had once seen an online phrase: "If you haven't seen the streets at 3 am, you're not qualified to talk about life."
But actually, compared to the streets at 3 am, the vegetable market at 3 am gives you a clearer view of life's truth. While most people are still in deep slumber, some have already started their day's work.
Looking at the busy scenes in front of him, Jiang Yu didn't have time for sentiments. He carefully avoided vehicles while familiarizing himself with the path, seamlessly merging into the market.
When hints of dawn appeared on the horizon, Jiang Yu had finished his shopping. There was quite a bit of food, and he couldn't possibly carry it all by himself.
The owner of a fresh food center saw he was a bit worried, waved his hand broadly, personally drove over a tricycle, asked Jiang Yu to load the food onboard, and then delivered both the man and food to the entrance of the Second Canteen.
"Boss Zhao, thank you so much this time!"
After unloading the materials, Jiang Yu gratefully thanked, "It's busy during school openings; next time when you come, I'll treat you to some soup dumplings."
"Haha, Boss Xiao Jiang, you're too polite. With so many materials you bought, helping you deliver them is only fair."
Boss Zhao laughed and said, "Actually, having a bun shop doesn't necessarily need you to get up so early to buy materials at the market; it's too tiring.
Since you've visited my store, I ensure fresh materials. Next time if you need anything, just give me a call, and I can have it delivered to you within minutes."
"Alright, it's a deal then."
After Boss Zhao left, Jiang Yu moved the materials back to the shop and began processing them one by one.
Time passed little by little in his busiest, and when Jiang Yu had kneaded the dough and prepared the filling, just as he was about to start wrapping the dumplings, Hu Zhihai came in sipping milk.
As soon as he entered, he complained, "Lao Jiang, why didn't you wake me when you went to the market? How could you carry so much by yourself?"
"Seeing you sleep so well, I didn't want to disturb you."
Jiang Yu said while rapidly rolling out the dumpling skins with a rolling pin.
He used his left hand to keep rotating the flattened dough piece, while his right hand pressed with the rolling pin swiftly. In the blink of an eye, he rolled a dough piece into a palm-sized skin, thicker in the middle and thinner on the edges.
After finishing one dumpling skin, he tossed it onto the counter and picked another dough piece to continue rolling. In the time while they talked, he had already rolled three or four dumpling skins.
Hu Zhihai hadn't seen this before and was almost shocked. After a long while, he came back to his senses and said with surprise,
"Oh, my god! Lao Jiang, when did you learn this? How come I never knew? This hand speed, you can't even train it over ten single years!"
"Can't expect ivory from a dog's mouth!"
Jiang Yu pursed his lips, glanced at him sideways, and added,
"If you're really so bored, go wash those vegetables for me. I'll need them later."
"What vegetables?"
Hu Zhihai turned around and checked out the vegetable washing area, puzzled again,
"Why did you buy so many wood ear mushrooms, shiitakes, and tomatoes? What are you going to do with them?"
"Buying vegetables is for cooking, or do you think they'll blossom and bear fruit?"
Seeing his curious expression, Jiang Yu refused to tell him, gave him a stare, and said,
"Why do you ask so much? Hurry up and wash them. Remember to wash them thoroughly. You still need to eat them later!"
"I'm a pure carnivore. Would I even eat those?"
Though curious about what Jiang Yu would cook, Hu Zhihai didn't have high expectations.
After mumbling under his breath, he put the milk aside, rolled up his sleeves, and started washing the vegetables.
After some more busy work, when Hu Zhihai had finished washing all the vegetables, Jiang Yu had already wrapped quite a few dumplings. He loaded the dumplings into steaming baskets, stacked them one by one, put them in the pot, and started steaming.
After completing these tasks, he took a breather and got ready to start making the soup.