Chapter: Booming Business
Barbecue was delicious but not addictive.
The price was high enough that some soldiers on duty at the foot of the mountain bought two or three skewers, some bought five or six, and were reluctant to buy more.
This was exactly the effect Cheng Yu wanted. If one person bought too much, the positive emotion value gained would only be for that one person. If everyone ate a few skewers, he could gain positive emotion values from everyone.
"Brothers, someone's selling barbecue at the foot of the mountain!"
"It smells so good—even the mice in the barracks are running around excited!"
"Tsk, what's so special about barbecue? It's not like we haven't eaten barbecue before."
"It's barbecue sold by Cheng Yu, the boss who sells braised beef buns in Bailu Town!"
"Boss Cheng Yu is selling barbecue? We have to go support him!"
The news that Cheng Yu was selling barbecue at the foot of the mountain soon spread to the fortress on the mountain.
After yesterday's brutal battle, the soldiers of the entire Northern Fortress were on leave. When they heard the news about selling barbecue, soldiers went down the mountain in groups of twos and threes to buy it.
The people of the Black Sun Empire believed in the Goddess of Light and worshipped light. They were generally well-mannered and lined up consciously. A long queue formed in front of Cheng Yu's barbecue stall.
"Boss Cheng Yu, I want twenty skewers!"
"Isn't this Boss Cheng Yu who sells steamed buns in Bailu Town? He actually came to the Northern Fortress to set up a stall!"
"Boss Cheng Yu is so young and so handsome that even I at my peak have to bow down!"
Cheng Yu used to sell steamed buns to the Northern Fortress cavalry, and the cavalry had sold some buns to other units.
Many soldiers knew there was a chef named Cheng Yu in Bailu Town who could make incredibly delicious braised beef buns.
[Positive Emotion Value +5]
[Positive Emotion Value +11]
[Positive Emotion Value +6]
[Positive Emotion Value +9]
Because everyone had different perceptions of food and different levels of hunger, the positive emotion values generated varied.
People who often ate gourmet food had more discerning tastes. When they ate Cheng Yu's barbecue, they might think it tasted good and generate less positive emotion value. Poor people who'd never eaten anything good would generate more positive emotion value when they ate Cheng Yu's barbecue.
As the barbecue skewers sold, positive emotion value increased wildly.
With so many people, it was impossible to grill them one by one. Cheng Yu was like a street kebab griller—holding a large handful of barbecue in one hand, turning it left and right, while brushing sesame oil with the other hand. The oil glistened. The meat smelled fragrant.
The scene was in full swing, bringing warmth to the cold Northern Fortress.
More and more people came to buy barbecue. Cheng Yu couldn't grill alone.
Mina and Ivennie helped him. Cheng Yu was responsible for grilling, Ivennie was responsible for collecting money, and Mina was responsible for distributing the grilled barbecue to the soldiers.
A blond young man with a buzz cut came up and pulled out 10 silver coins for Ivennie.
"Boss, I want fifty skewers of barbecue."
There were many wealthy young men among the soldiers guarding the Northern Fortress. They were generous.
This buzz-cut young man thought Cheng Yu's barbecue was delicious and ordered fifty skewers at once.
"If you buy so much for yourself, what about the people behind you? From now on, each person is limited to buying five skewers."
The more people who ate barbecue, the more positive emotions Cheng Yu received.
When the soldiers behind heard Cheng Yu's words, they all cast approving glances at him.
A pockmarked soldier gave Ivennie 100 copper coins and left the stall contentedly with five skewers of barbecue.
He walked over to a tree not far away and handed four of the skewers to a wounded soldier on crutches.
"Brother, thank you for risking your life to save me on the battlefield yesterday. I'll treat you to barbecue."
The wounded soldier took a bite of the barbecue and looked happy. "Boss Cheng Yu's buns are delicious, and his barbecue is too! The wounds on my body don't even seem to hurt anymore."
"It's delicious, but it's a bit expensive. Twenty copper coins a skewer."
"How much?"
"Twenty copper coins a skewer."
"This barbecue looks fancy, but it's not cheap at all."
Cheng Yu was busy flipping the barbecue skewers quickly. He looked up at the line in front of the barbecue stall—two or three hundred meters long.
I'm going to be exhausted today.
Two soldiers—one old, one young—paid at Ivennie's station, took the barbecue from Mina, and sat down near a stone.
The young soldier ate the barbecue and looked toward the barbecue stall. "Boss Cheng Yu actually has two beautiful wives of different races. I've been single for twenty years. It's painful~"
The older soldier ate one skewer of barbecue and carefully wrapped the other with a cloth.
"Senior Xavier, what are you doing?" the young soldier turned and asked.
"I'm going home on leave tomorrow. I'll bring this delicious barbecue back to Angelica," the old soldier said.
"Wait, I remember your wife died a long time ago. Who's Angelica?" the young soldier asked.
"The female neighbor next door. Her husband's away on a long trip recently," the old soldier said.
The young soldier: "(-᷅_-᷄)"
Cheng Yu worked like crazy, grilling from morning until four in the afternoon without eating lunch. He grilled over two thousand skewers of barbecue in total.
In just one day, he'd gained nearly five thousand positive emotion points.
Before, it had taken a week to earn five thousand positive emotion points selling egg fried rice, and two or three days to earn five thousand selling steamed buns.
Selling barbecue is amazing.
In the afternoon, the number of soldiers queuing to buy barbecue not only didn't decrease—it increased.
Mainly because the soldiers who'd eaten barbecue in the morning went back and told their friends. More soldiers learned through word of mouth that someone was selling barbecue at the foot of the mountain.
Around four in the afternoon, Cheng Yu extinguished the charcoal fire in the grill and waved to the soldiers in line. "Friends, the stall is closed. Come back tomorrow!"
"What a shame. I didn't get to buy any."
"I can only come back tomorrow."
The soldiers dispersed in disappointment, leaving bamboo sticks scattered all over the road.
Cheng Yu, Mina, and Ivennie began packing up.
"Mr. Cheng Yu, General Barney—supreme commander of our Northern Fortress—invites you."
A messenger approached Cheng Yu's barbecue stall.
Cheng Yu knew Barney. Last time Barney had visited his manor, he'd made him authentic Nine-Turn Large Intestine.
"What does General Barney want from me?"
"I don't know," the messenger replied.
Cheng Yu guessed Barney knew he'd come to the Northern Fortress and wanted to eat authentic Nine-Turn Large Intestine again.
So he took Mina and Ivennie and followed the messenger up the mountain.
The mountain road was winding and extended all the way to the ridge of the Snow-Capped Mountains. Large tracts of cedar grew on both sides.
After walking the mountain road for about half an hour, they arrived at a massive black stone fortress.
This fortress covered an area larger than Bailu Town. Long high walls extended from both sides of the black stone fortress. The walls were built along the ridge and stretched as far as the eye could see. There was a soldier stationed every ten meters.
The messenger took Cheng Yu to General Barney's office.
Mina and Ivennie waited outside.
General Barney's hair was gray. A smile hung on his weathered face. He greeted warmly, "Brother Cheng Yu, long time no see!"
"Long time no see, General Barney. Did you need something from me?"
"I want Brother Cheng Yu to help me make a delicacy. You know." Barney grinned.
Cheng Yu knew what delicacy Barney was talking about.