Soma Yukihira spoke truthfully. If it weren't for Hoshino Sora's active promotion, they probably wouldn't have even a hundred customers in a day. However, their sales today were over seven hundred, ranking seventeenth.
But this wouldn't do. They were too far behind Hoshino Sora and his group. Even though they were in the same area, there was a sales gap of more than three times. If asked if he was willing to accept it, Soma Yukihira would definitely shake his head.
However, he didn't have a good solution now. Hoshino Sora could attract tourists' interest by holding lantern festivals, guessing lantern riddles, and giving away souvenirs, but they couldn't.
First and foremost, the biggest problem was insufficient staff. Hoshino Sora's side had nearly twenty people in total, which counted as a team. Each person had their own responsibilities, which was why they could attract customers so efficiently.
But on their side, the people who made zongzi and sold zongzi only added up to four people, and in the Oriental Academy, being unfamiliar with the place, no one came to help them.
Although they had made many friends while studying here during this period, they also had their own shops to manage and couldn't sacrifice their time to help them.
"I'm so unwilling to lose due to staffing."
Looking at Hoshino Sora, who was completing his work in an orderly manner, and then at Tadokoro Megumi and others who were responsible for selling goods, the staffing issue prevented them from replicating the other party's success.
"Ah, this isn't our true strength! There are too few customers! Tomorrow I'll go pull customers at the campus entrance."
Kurokiba Ryo said angrily. Watching Hoshino Sora in the midst of a group of girls, looking pleased with himself, he felt inexplicably annoyed, especially when he saw Alice Nakiri bringing him water and her gaze never leaving him.
"No matter what, let's work harder tomorrow!"
Soma Yukihira untied the headband from his head. At this moment, sweat had already seeped from his forehead. They had been wrapping zongzi all afternoon today, and they were truly exhausted.
If nothing unexpected happened, there should be another large wave of traffic tomorrow. What they needed to do now was to seize this wave of traffic, ride the wind, and sell as many zongzi as possible!
"In this situation, we can't win no matter what. Not to mention that the other side has more people than us, their speed of wrapping zongzi is also several times ours."
Facing the enthusiasm of the few, Hayama Akira unceremoniously poured cold water on them. If they were to compare the number of zongzi sold per person, they might be able to compete, but if they were to compare the sheer sales of zongzi, even if they multiplied their sales by three, they still couldn't beat them, alright?
"Don't be so pessimistic. The boat will naturally straighten when it reaches the bridge. Let's see how things are tomorrow."
While the few of them were chatting, the few remaining customers in front of their shop chose to leave, came to the shop opened by Hoshino Sora, bought a few zongzi, and then went back.
After nine o'clock, the number of new customers significantly decreased, and customers at the venue had already started leaving one after another.
After ten o'clock, as the last customer left after receiving a souvenir, the scene fell into silence.
After sending off the last customer, Hoshino Sora let out a long sigh of relief, took the hot towel handed to him by Merchant Xingchen, and wiped away his sweat.
This child had been waiting by his side for a long time, but because there were still customers who hadn't left, she had remained silent until the last customer departed, only then did she hand him the towel.
"Phew, wrapping these zongzi is much more tiring than stir-frying."
Yumeko Jabami said with emotion while wiping the sweat from her chest with a hot towel. Stir-frying only required tossing the wok and adding ingredients, but this required several steps, and finally, tying the knot.
One or two was fine, a hundred or two hundred was still acceptable, but a thousand or two thousand was truly torture!
Moreover, wrapping zongzi had no technical content, which made Yumeko Jabami feel like a worker on an assembly line. However, some of the detailed controls involved meant that they really had to do it themselves.
After all, the filling needed to be controlled in proportion. The golden ratio of filling could make the zongzi taste the best, and it was difficult for ordinary people to control it so precisely.
This was a bit uncomfortable.
"Indeed, but there's only one day left. Let's try our best to get through it!"
Fortunately, they only needed to get through tomorrow, and this zongzi competition would be over. For the mission rewards, for making a name for themselves, strive hard, young man!
Hoshino Sora cheered himself on in his heart. After all, he had been preparing for this event for a long time. Giving up was definitely not an option. Now, let's see how things turn out tomorrow!
Within the two hours that the customers dispersed, the venue was finally set up. Looking at the event area, which was about twice as wide as before, Hoshino Sora nodded and looked at the others.
"Let's take turns resting. It's ten o'clock at night now. Let's work hard today. Each person sleeps five hours, and the rest of the time is used for wrapping zongzi. Tomorrow is the most important battle!"
Although this competition itself doesn't hold much meaning, there's a drive for fame and fortune. Sometimes, doing something doesn't require meaning; if you want to, just do it!
"Alright, I'll be in the first group to stay."
"I'll stay too."
After a brief discussion, Hoshino Sora, Erina Nakiri, Alice Nakiri, Hisako Arato, and Yumeko Jabami became the first group to stay.
The others went directly to the Gourmet Manor to rest, where palaces specially built for them awaited.
"Before we wrap the zongzi, let's go check on the others. It's not good to just work behind closed doors here."
Looking at the few remaining people in the room, Hoshino Sora stood up. As the saying goes, 'know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' He wanted to see which shops had surpassed them and what was special about them!
"Indeed, there's no rush. It's a good idea to go see the situation on site first."
Nodding in agreement with Hoshino Sora's idea, Erina Nakiri and the others exchanged glances and stood up, preparing to go to the Central Area to see the works of others.
"Then let's go."
After tidying their clothes slightly, the group left the riverside shop and headed towards the Central Area. About ten minutes later, they reached their destination. Even then, a small number of tourists could still be seen, scattered among the various shops in the Central Area.
But even in the evening, the customer traffic in the Central Plaza was still several times that of their small shop at its peak.
The difference in location was fully evident at this moment. These people were still operating after his shop closed, and they had a good customer base. Without changes, the gap between the two would likely grow wider and wider.
"Look over there, the bestseller list is actually posted directly above the Central Plaza, and it even states the shop names. Isn't that invisibly drawing in customer traffic for them?"
Pointing at the temporary billboard above the Central Plaza, Hisako Arato's brow furrowed slightly, looking a bit displeased.
They had put in so much effort to promote their shop, yet Oriental Academy only needed to post a bestseller list to achieve the same, or even stronger, effect.
This was a benefit for the shops in the Central Area, but for people in other areas, it was definitely a disaster. It would make already leading shops even further ahead.
"There's nothing we can do. After all, it's their event, and we have to follow their rules."
Looking at the bestseller list, Hoshino Sora's face showed no ripples. He simply strolled leisurely in the Central Area, then chose a few shops with long queues to buy zongzi.
About ten minutes later, he came before the group with a bag of zongzi.
"Try them and see whose zongzi is better, ours or theirs."
Handing the purchased zongzi to Erina Nakiri and the others—these were from the top-selling shop on the bestseller list—the group immediately unwrapped the zongzi and took a big bite.
"It feels quite ordinary. It's just a simple accumulation of ingredients that makes customers feel it's worth it, so they buy a lot at once. Simply put, they feel the cost-effectiveness is high, so they bought more."
Looking at the half abalone in the zongzi, and the various seafood mixed in beside it, the abundant ingredients, though the taste was very ordinary, the apparent sincerity made one want to try one.
After all, for the same redemption voucher, some shops' zongzi had pitifully small pieces of meat, compared to which this luxurious seafood zongzi seemed exceptionally extravagant!
"But the taste is indeed quite ordinary. Although the seafood enhanced the overall aroma of the zongzi, the flavors of the glutinous rice and seafood didn't really combine.
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