"Go, go, go! Charge for Brother Jiang’s dumplings!"

The shop was instantly packed with customers.

A few middle-aged women who hadn’t managed to get in line, but were enjoying the commotion, took it upon themselves to help Jiang Liu maintain order.

It was a good way to become a familiar face, after all.

"Boss Jiang, how many orders of dumplings are there?"

Jiang Liu answered the captain of the traffic police, "Around thirty orders."

"That’s good."

The captain breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, I’ll be able to get some.’

In the blink of an eye, only the last of the thirty orders of dumplings remained.

Xiao Han bought it.

The girls had been smarter today, using up every person’s purchase limit.

They bought seventy-five steamed buns, ten bottles of juice, two orders of tuna, two orders of yak meat, and one order of ham.

What they ordered yesterday hadn’t been nearly enough. By the time they’d finished and tried to buy more, it was all gone.

The customers waiting in line didn’t rush him; they were orderly and polite.

"I finally made it to the front! Are there any dumplings left, Brother Jiang?" Jin Wei asked excitedly.

"Sold out."

"Huh? Gone again? In that case, I’ll take ten pork buns, five fennel buns, and a bottle of juice..."

"Boss Jiang, one order of yak meat, fifteen steamed buns, and a bottle of beer. Take your time, I’m in no rush."

"One order of yak meat! I came all this way just for your beef!"

Inside, the eyes of the customers who’d gotten dumplings lit up.

Delicious!

Thirty yuan was an absolute bargain for this.

Nothing beats Boss Jiang’s place.

Spend a little money to eat the most exquisite delicacies!

Every bite had the taste of a five-star restaurant!

The food for Xiao Han and her friends was brought to the table.

Bai An’an reached out, picked up a dumpling, and popped it into her mouth.

"Mmph, burning hot...! But these dumplings are so delicious."

She was eating the pork and green onion ones.

The wrapper was soft and smooth. The moment she bit through it, a rich, savory aroma exploded, and the fragrance of the meat juices rushed into her nose.

The five of them descended on the single plate of dumplings.

In less than ten seconds, the plate was empty.

"Hold on, are you all starving ghosts? I only ate one, how are they gone already?" Rui Ning’s eyes went wide.

She was about to go crazy!

"Don’t worry, I’ll buy you a purse later. Why don’t you let me have your share of the steamed buns, huh?"

"In your dreams! How about I buy *you* a bag, and you give me *your* buns to eat?"

"No way. I can buy a purse whenever I want, but I can’t just eat Brother Jiang’s delicious food whenever I want."

The battle grew more and more heated.

Yang Zishan dropped her ladylike demeanor, rolled up her sleeves, and joined the fray.

An order of tuna was polished off by the five of them in less than a minute.

"It’s not enough! If Boss Jiang didn’t set a limit, I’d buy his entire container!"

Bai An’an pouted. "Listen to you talk. I’m telling Boss Jiang, you’d better watch out."

"Aren’t you two supposed to be on a diet? Eat less! If you eat that much, you’ll get elephant legs!"

"Let them! As long as I can eat my fill, I don’t care."

"The beef is gone already? You guys are such pigs!"

"Look who’s talking. You ate just as much as we did!"

The friends started bickering again.

Whenever they came to eat at Jiang Liu’s shop, their ironclad sisterhood would instantly turn into a fake, plastic one.

The owner of a brick factory, after waiting in line, finally entered the shop.

"Boss, I heard your steamed buns are amazing. Give me twenty!"

Before Jiang Liu could even open his mouth,

the middle-aged woman maintaining order stomped over aggressively.

"Hey! This shop limits steamed buns to fifteen per person!"

"There’s a limit?"

Boss Zuan was a big, swarthy man.

He was rather speechless.

The shop wasn’t big, but it had a lot of rules, and the prices weren’t cheap either.

He had already noticed the simple price list on the wall.

Some stupid plate of ham was three thousand.

’Might as well just rob people, why don’t you?’

He felt like turning and leaving just to avoid the hassle.

But then he remembered he had traveled more than ten kilometers and waited in line for several hours.

It would be too much of a waste to leave now!

"Fine, give me five shrimp buns, five pork and green onion, and another bottle of... huh? A hundred for one bottle of draft beer?"

"Boss, you must have gotten the price wrong. Even beer at a bar isn’t this expensive!"

Jiang Liu smiled and explained, "It’s worth the price, and I’m honest with all my customers. After you drink it, you’ll understand."

Boss Zuan glanced at Jiang Liu and didn’t argue further. "Fine, bring me a bottle. But if it doesn’t taste good, I’m not coming back, you hear?"

"Of course. Please find a seat and wait."

Boss Zuan found a random spot and sat down with a few white-collar workers.

They had just finished eating, and were taking out alcohol wipes to help Jiang Liu wipe down the table and stools.

Boss Zuan was stunned. "What kind of custom is this? You go out to eat and you have to clean up for the owner?"

One of the office workers glanced at him impatiently. "What do you know? You’ll be doing the same thing later."

That’s just how things were now at Boss Jiang’s shop!

It wasn’t just to make things easier for Boss Jiang, but also for the next customer.

It was like passing a torch.

Having been rebuffed for no apparent reason, Boss Zuan just sat there, staring blankly.

He decided then and there that he would never come back.

’This is so demeaning!’ he thought.

’The people here are rude, and the food is expensive!’

「A short while later.」

The steamed buns and beer he ordered arrived.

Boss Zuan looked at the steaming hot buns and sniffed reflexively.

Instantly, a rich, fresh aroma filled his nostrils!

’It smells pretty good,’ he thought. ’It probably won’t be too bad...’

Boss Zuan’s resentment began to fade.

He picked up a shrimp bun and took a bite.

The next moment, he was staring at the bun in his hand in utter shock.

’How can this shrimp bun be so incredibly delicious??’

Crisp, tender, savory, and fragrant!

The amount of salt was just right.

And there wasn’t the slightest hint of any artificial flavorings!

The ingredients themselves were clearly extraordinary.

He’d never eaten shrimp so smooth and tender!

"Delicious!"

Boss Zuan exclaimed to the bun, then grabbed another one and stuffed it in his mouth.

He washed down the bun with a sip of the ice-cold, bitter draft beer, then exhaled heavily, releasing a fragrant cloud of malt.

"Boss, get me an order of the yak, potato, and mushroom soup!"

"The yak, potato, and mushroom soup is sold out."

"Sold out? So quickly?"

Boss Zuan gave Jiang Liu a puzzled look.

He’d assumed the steamed buns would sell out the fastest; he never expected the nearly two-thousand-yuan yak dish to sell out even faster.

’Could it possibly be even more delicious than the buns?’

Boss Zuan shook his head and chuckled.

’Impossible. The buns are this good, how could the yak meat possibly be better... ’

Uncle Xu, who lived in Phoenix District, finished his yak, potato, and mushroom soup and walked smiling to the counter.

Jiang Liu saw Uncle Xu. "Need a bag?"

"That’s right. You get it, Boss Jiang. You always know!"

Jun Qingmeng, who was standing nearby, asked curiously, "Honey, what did Uncle Xu mean by that?"

Jiang Tongtong also lifted her head, looking up at Jiang Liu with wide eyes.

Jiang Liu smiled and explained, "Older folks often like to use leftover broth to mix with noodles or to soak bread in. It’s all about not being wasteful and saving money."

Uncle Xu nodded. "That’s right! Xiao Jiang, your beef broth is truly amazing for cooking noodles in. After I finish the noodles, my mouth is filled with the rich flavor of bone marrow!"

"It’s also delicious for soaking bread at home. Basically, every time I eat the yak meat here, I take the broth home. It can last me for two or three more meals!"

Jiang Liu asked with a laugh, "It lasts for that many meals?"

"Yep! Your broth is so rich. I just use a little bit each time and add some water, and it’s still incredibly delicious!"

"Hold the bag open for me. I’ll give you another couple of scoops."

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly accept."

Uncle Xu swallowed hard. Despite his polite words, his hands were already holding the bag wide open.

Jiang Liu ladled two large scoops of the rich, fragrant beef broth for him.

He even threw in an extra piece of meat.

...