VFGRC Chapter 62

As one customer finished eating and stood up, another customer hurriedly took the vacant seat.

“Hello, may I take your order?”

Yu Bai spoke as he handed a freshly made snack through the window to the customer seated on his left.

“I’ll have a serving of teppanyaki, a serving of crispy rice cakes… and let’s add a portion of potato hot dog stick,” Song Qing hesitated for a moment.

The potato hot dog sticks made by Yu Bai were quite substantial in size. For petite girls with small appetites, one potato hot dog stick might be enough to satisfy them. However, the sight of the potato hot dog sticks was simply too tempting – fried to a crispy golden, enveloping the chewy sausage and stringy cheese… it was irresistible.

Song Qing was no exception.

“Alright, here’s your order card,” Yu Bai said while handing Song Qing a card.

Upon seeing Song Qing, Yu Bai’s expression slightly froze.

Wasn’t this the food exploration blogger named “Light Food Chronicles”?

Yu Bai remembered Song Qing because, during the time he stayed home and didn’t set up his stall, he had come across videos online that mentioned him.

It was then that Yu Bai found out that the young girl he had met in the park before, turned out to be a somewhat renowned food exploration blogger known as “Light Food Chronicles.”

In one of her videos, Song Qing had visited Yu Bai’s teppanyaki snack stall and gave it a favorable review, bringing a substantial influx of traffic to his stall.

During a period when Yu Bai’s teppanyaki snack stall was struggling, Song Qing had consistently defended him online and believed in the authenticity of Yu Bai’s teppanyaki dishes, asserting that he hadn’t added any unnecessary ingredients.

Adding flowers to a brocade is easy, but sending charcoal in snowy weather is hard.

Yu Bai also remembered Song Qing because of this.

“You are… ‘Light Food Chronicles’?”

Hearing Yu Bai accurately state her online account nickname, Song Qing was surprised.

“Yes… How did you know?”

“I’ve watched your videos,” Yu Bai smiled slightly, “Are you also here to explore my shop today?”

Song Qing nodded vigorously, raising the camera equipment in her hand.

“I got the news about your opening from others, so I came early,” she explained.

Yu Bai and Song Qing exchanged a few words.

Although the snack shop was filled with customers, it wasn’t noisy. The diners were focused on their snacks, their faces unconsciously showing expressions of enjoyment.

A layer of glass separated the customers from Yu Bai.

The customers could observe Yu Bai’s actions and serious expression up close as he prepared the food.

The atmosphere in the snack shop was even more harmonious than that of a street stall.

Song Qing was also on the side, holding her camera and taking earnest photos.

The lighting inside the shop was good, and Yu Bai’s actions were clearly visible below the glass window.

In the frame, Yu Bai’s slender, jade-like fingers firmly grasped the spatula, and the sound of the iron utensil hitting the pan resonated.

Song Qing was captivated.

“Sizzle—”

Yu Bai lifted the freshly fried potato hot dog sticks from the oil pan and placed them on a wire rack to drain excess oil.

The tangy honey mustard sauce and the sweet salad dressing intermingled on the potato hot dog sticks, creating a beautiful blend of colors.

Yu Bai handed the potato hot dog sticks to the customers who ordered them one by one, cautioning, “Don’t eat now, wait a moment. It’s hot.”

Upon hearing this, the customers obediently acted like disciplined students, placing their hands on their laps and sitting up slightly.

However, their eyes were fixed firmly on the potato hot dog sticks on their plates, afraid that the next second, they might vanish into thin air.

Through Song Qing’s lens, the golden potato hot dog sticks were still glistening with a thin layer of oil. The aroma of frying combined with the sweet scent of potatoes, and Song Qing could catch a whiff of the alluring fragrance with a slight tilt of her head.

“You can eat now.”

As soon as Yu Bai finished speaking, the customers eagerly reached out their hands and grabbed the bamboo sticks with the hot dog sticks.

Yu Bai said, “If you find it greasy, you can squeeze some lemon on the side.”

The customers didn’t even have time to wait; who would leisurely squeeze lemon when they were about to eat?

The customers’ actions were uniform and synchronized, taking a bite of the hot dog sticks.

It wasn’t until the moment they bit into the hot dog sticks that Song Qing realized why the person who had been eating the hot dog sticks earlier had such a joyful expression.

In the afternoon, lunch had been digested, and dinner was still far away. It was the time when people’s stomachs were a bit hungry and they wanted something to fill them up.

And a high-calorie, high-fat potato hot dog stick that could bring ample pleasure to people was one of the best choices for the customers.

Crispy, fragrant, sweet, salty… A mix of multiple flavors erupted on the taste buds like waves.

After finishing the salty and cheesy part, there was the juicy and meaty sausage underneath. Both men and women couldn’t resist this hot dog stick.

Even if one got tired of the flavors, squeezing some fresh lemon juice on the remaining potato hot dog stick offered a whole new taste experience!

With their mouths stuffed with snacks, the customers didn’t bother to speak.

When they finally managed to finish their snacks, the second, third, and even more portions were placed in front of them one after another.

Of course, the customers had limited stomach capacity and couldn’t accommodate so many snacks.

They had no choice but to carry a large bag of packed snacks, pat their full bellies contentedly, and walk out of the snack shop.

Originally, Song Qing had ordered two or three portions of snacks according to her appetite. However, because she added the potato hot dog stick and couldn’t eat it all, she had to pack some. She ordered a little more to share with her team members.

After returning, Song Qing’s team edited the video overnight.

The next day was the last working day of the week.

At 9 a.m., Song Qing uploaded the exploration video of “Galaxy Snack Shop.”

—

Yue Qing was a true workaholic, living a 996 lifestyle every day.

As the saying goes, time is money. Yue Qing’s family had just moved into a big house, and she still had a mortgage to pay. She also had two elderly parents who depended on her for support.

In order to live well in City J, she had to put in double the effort.

However, today was her mother’s birthday. Yue Qing took a day off specifically to accompany her mother for a stroll.

Due to Yue Qing’s frequent focus on work, she and her mother rarely spent time together. Aside from having meals and perhaps a Sunday together – since Yue Qing might have to work from home at any moment – they hardly had substantial time to spend together, let alone going out for shopping like today.

Yet, Yue Qing was in a good mood before heading out. However, after going out, her mood turned increasingly sour.

She had planned to take advantage of this special day to buy her mother some new clothes and treat her to a nice meal.

However, after spending the entire morning shopping with her mother, not only did her mother not buy any clothes, but she also complained that the clothes were expensive and not attractive.

Yue Qing became unhappy: “Mom, what’s wrong with these clothes? My colleague’s mother loves these brands! My colleague even hesitates to buy them! I can tell that you just like those cheap, gaudy clothes on the roadside…”

Yue Qing’s words caused her mother’s expression to change.

In their mother-daughter argument, it was ultimately Yue Qing’s father, as the father figure, who came out to mediate.

Yue Qing’s father said, “Qing Qing, it’s your mother’s birthday today. Just go along with her wishes. Buy her whatever she likes.”

Yue Qing replied, “How am I supposed to know what she likes? I kindly spent money to accompany her shopping for clothes, but she’s just making me angry…”

Yue Qing’s father interjected, “Qing Qing!”

Yue Qing took a deep breath, and with an effort, softened her tone, “We’ve been walking around for a while, and it’s almost noon. Mom, what would you like to eat?”

Yue Qing’s mother pursed her lips, “Let’s go to Sanjiaokou.”

Yue Qing raised her eyebrows, “Sanjiaokou? Isn’t that the entrance to my old school? How can there be anything good to eat there?”

“I know someone there, a friend of mine who works as a clerk at a snack shop,” Yue Qing’s mother said, “She said that the food at that shop is delicious, with a variety of snacks to choose from…”

Her mother was always like this! She easily believed what others said.

“A snack shop? Snack shops only have a few types of food…”

Moreover, Yue Qing’s mother had recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure and couldn’t eat too many greasy and sugary snacks.

Yue Qing furrowed her brows. She wanted to say something, but her father immediately nudged her with his elbow.

Yue Qing felt annoyed, “Alright, alright, let’s go eat there then. But on the other hand, if it’s not tasty, I won’t be able to eat it!”

Her mother replied, “Got it. That place couldn’t possibly not be tasty…”

Since entering university, Yue Qing had hardly been to Sanjiaokou except for occasional visits to her alma mater to see her teachers.

However, Sanjiaokou wasn’t much different from how she remembered it – snack stalls lined the sides of the road, with snack shops behind them.

This month, schools in Qingqiao District had already started, so while on the road, Yue Qing noticed students bustling around different snack stalls.

Yue Qing had grown up in Qingqiao District since she was a child.

When she was in Qingqiao Elementary School, she had once sneaked off to a snack stall in Sanjiaokou to eat some snacks. Her mother found out, scolded her severely, and even made her stand at the doorstep for two to three hours.

It happened to be a chilly night, and after standing for so long, Yue Qing caught a cold and fainted with a high fever.

Later, her parents rushed her to the hospital overnight, where she went through a lot of suffering.

This incident left Yue Qing with a slight shadow over “snacks,” and she never ate snacks again.

That event had passed many years ago, and Yue Qing could no longer find the snack stall she had eaten at in Sanjiaokou during her childhood.

“Qing Qing, it’s this shop.”

Yue Qing’s memories abruptly halted, and she looked at the snack shop in front of her.

“Galaxy Snack Shop”, what kind of name was that? She had never heard of it before.

It was probably just another ordinary privately-owned snack shop, right?

Oh well, since her mother liked it, she might as well give it a try.

Yue Qing followed her parents and entered the “Galaxy Snack Shop” together.

Standing outside the shop, the glass door had a slight reflection, making it difficult for Yue Qing to see the interior clearly.

However, when she stepped inside, she was taken aback by the scene within the shop.

Oh my goodness! Is this a snack shop or a market? Why are there so many people!

 

Author’s Note:

Customers: My eyes are my teeth!

Crunch, crunch, a wave of eating everything!=^_^=