"Alright, time to sleep?"

"I can’t sleep. Pat my butt and coax me," Jun Qingmeng mumbled, burying her head in Jiang Liu’s chest.

"Fine, but don’t blame me if I pat it flat."

?

"Ah!..."

Early the next morning, Jiang Liu was the first to open his eyes. He glanced at his phone and saw messages from Hu Yongfa and Yue Longfan.

As usual, Hu Yongfa had sent photos of the ingredients and a list for Jiang Liu to look over.

The ingredients were very fresh, still dotted with dew. You could tell they had just been picked from the fields.

Jiang Liu praised him: "The ingredients look great. You’re doing a good job, keep it up!"

He then replied to Wang Han’s message.

Just as he finished replying, Jiang Tongtong woke up right on schedule, jumping up excitedly the moment she was awake.

"Baba, the sun’s on your butt! You big lazybones!"

"Oho, tomorrow is Saturday! Hehe."

Jiang Liu stretched, and Jun Qingmeng, still in his arms, groggily woke up as well.

Jiang Liu smiled, looked at Tongtong, and said lazily, "I’ve figured it out. I just have to see how you wake up, and I can guess what day of the week it is without even thinking."

From Monday to Wednesday, Tongtong woke up listlessly, as if she wished she could stay glued to her bed forever. On Thursday, she’d get up without dawdling. But come Friday, she was so excited she practically flew downstairs to go to school.

"Hehe, you’re amazing, Daddy. You know everything Tongtong is thinking."

"Tongtong loves you so much, Daddy. Mommy, I love you too!"

She couldn’t leave her mommy out.

What a thoughtful little darling she was.

The three of them got out of bed, talking and laughing.

Jun Qingmeng’s hair was a mess from sleep and her eyes were hazy, a completely different person from her elegant daytime self.

She noticed Jiang Liu staring at her.

She blushed. "What are you looking at? Go take Tongtong to wash up!"

"Like I wanted to look."

"No! You have to look!"

’Women truly are strange creatures. They get mad if you look, and mad if you don’t,’ Jiang Liu thought to himself.

After going downstairs, he drove to the wet market.

The market’s official name was the Yan District Farmers’ Market.

But the locals all preferred to just call it the "wet market."

Over time, its original name was forgotten.

He went to the old grandma’s stall to buy some fennel.

The old grandma got a little excited when she saw Jiang Liu. "Boss Jiang, you’re here! Do you have any of that cumin beef from yesterday? It was delicious. My family loved it! It’s just that one portion wasn’t enough."

She had brought two portions of the cumin beef home for her family, and they nearly started fighting over the last few pieces.

It was just too good.

Jiang Liu asked, "How many people are in your family? Didn’t you buy two portions yesterday? That wasn’t enough?"

"It’s me and my grandson. My daughter-in-law comes sometimes, sometimes she doesn’t. But you see, because of your buns, Boss Jiang, she’s been coming over for lunch every day recently. So it’s not quite enough."

The old grandma sighed after she finished speaking.

"I see... Next time, I’ll sell you a little extra."

Jiang Liu offered a polite platitude. It wasn’t his place to get involved in someone else’s family affairs. It seemed likely the old grandma’s daughter-in-law was a piece of work, otherwise she wouldn’t have such a pained expression.

"Oh, no trouble, no trouble at all."

The old grandma was very grateful to Jiang Liu and secretly added some extra fennel to his bag.

It wasn’t worth much, but it was the thought that counted.

He then swung by the Vegetable Boss’s stall.

When the Vegetable Boss learned that Jiang Liu would be closed on Monday, he was stunned.

’Doesn’t that mean I’ll have to miss a few meals?’

"Sigh, sigh..."

The Vegetable Boss couldn’t stop sighing.

His happy little canteen was gone. Thankfully, it was only temporary. If Boss Jiang had suddenly told him he was moving away, he would have had to hide in the bathroom and cry his heartbroken eyes out.

On the way to the restaurant, Jiang Liu thought he should share the "good news" in his Douyin group.

He opened Douyin.

His follower count had grown from the initial eight to 210,000.

Many advertisers had sent him private messages on Douyin, wanting him to do promotions.

Jiang Liu ignored them and posted an announcement in the group: "Due to a personal matter, the restaurant will be closed for lunch this coming Monday. Any customers planning to line up, please adjust your plans. I will announce the specific operating hours for Monday after I’ve handled my business."

The moment the message was sent, Jiang Liu’s fan group exploded.

"What, what??? I was just getting ready to happily go line up, and you show me this?"

"No way, Brother Jiang! How am I supposed to live without you? Please don’t close!"

"???????"

"Are you getting cocky? Apologize right now! On second thought, if you make 10,000 buns today, I’ll forgive you!"

"Did something happen, Boss Jiang? Closing for one day is fine, go take care of your business. But please don’t stay closed forever."

The news of Boss Jiang closing on Monday for lunch spread rapidly through the entire customer network.

The group chat was flooded with tears of sorrow.

If they could, they would lock Jiang Liu in a dark room and force him to produce delicious food 24/7. It was just too good, okay??

One day without his food and they felt weak all over.

Two days without, and they would dream about it.

The front of the restaurant was as bustling as ever.

Jiang Liu was driving up business for the entire street.

Back at the restaurant, Jiang Liu planned to make some steamed egg custard for Tongtong this morning.

Mainly because his daughter loved soft foods.

By 6:50 AM, they had finished breakfast.

The two of them reluctantly said goodbye to Jiang Liu.

"Hubby, your big baby is heading to school now. You have to remember to miss me. If you don’t, I’ll be unhappy!"

"I’m leaving, Daddy! Wait for me to come back! Goodbye, Daddy! Tongtong will love you forever!"

The two of them left.

After finishing his prep work, Jiang Liu sat in the kitchen and checked on the situation at the new restaurant.

It was packed with customers. The whole dining hall was shoulder-to-shoulder, and the young lady at the register was frantic, her fingers flying as she punched in orders.

’Not bad. Everything is developing steadily in the best possible direction. Now, let’s check the delivery platform...’

Jiang Liu opened the food delivery app.

Xiaotong’s Restaurant already had over three hundred reviews.

Many customers didn’t like leaving reviews; they just liked to eat.

There were a dozen or so negative reviews.

Jiang Liu scoffed after reading them. ’So exaggerated. It’s obviously the work of a competitor.’

For example: "What is this garbage? These buns are disgusting. I even found a hair in one. Gross! And they’re so salty, you’ll get high blood pressure! I recommend everyone stay away."

Jiang Liu wasn’t bothered.

Beneath such comments, loyal customers had already posted rebuttals. The innocent don’t need to defend themselves. Diners could tell good from bad; they weren’t stupid. Besides, there weren’t any other super-popular restaurants competing nearby, so the customer flow was strong.

His new restaurant had a great opportunity. As long as customers tried the food and liked it, they would come back.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Liu sent a WeChat message to Hu Yongfa: "How is hiring going? Try to hire as many people as possible. We need people with good character who can work here long-term and reliably. Also, train more apprentices, the ones with good character."

An idea had formed in his mind.

He could turn the new restaurant into a 24-hour eatery.

However, managing it would be more difficult, but he would also earn a lot more money.

The more staff, the better. Jiang Liu didn’t care about a few thousand in wages.

Hu Yongfa didn’t reply.

It was the busiest time of the day.

7:10 AM.

Jiang Liu announced he was open for business.

The unfamiliar faces from yesterday were back again.

They were very eager.

Apparently, after eating Jiang Liu’s food, they hadn’t gotten their fill, so they had come to line up early in the middle of the night.

The few blond, blue-eyed foreigners from yesterday were also in the front of the line.

.....................