VFGRC Chapter 46

After waiting for nearly twenty minutes, Yu Bai finally got his first customer at the snack stall.

“Give me three servings of grilled cold noodles, one without spicy sauce,” said the first customer, who happened to be Yu Bai’s regular, Yao Jia.

At Sanjiaokou, there were many pedestrians passing by, most of whom were local residents. When they saw Yao Jia standing next to the iron griddle stall, they exchanged glances and couldn’t help but whisper.

“Why would anyone still go to that teppanyaki stall?”

“Doesn’t she use the internet? Doesn’t she know that all the rumors about that teppanyaki stall have spread all over the internet?”

“She’s really daring…”

Although the pedestrians lowered their voices, Yu Bai and Yao Jia, next to the teppanyaki stall, heard many of their whispers.

Yu Bai tightened the grip on the spatula, and Yao Jia’s smile faltered slightly.

“Boss Yu, don’t pay attention to those online rumors. Our family loves your teppanyaki dishes and scallion pancakes. We’ve known you for so long, and I believe in your character.”

Yao Jia seemed deliberate in saying this loud enough for nearby pedestrians to hear.

Her acquaintance with Yu Bai began with his scallion pancakes.

Scallion pancakes were simple to make, but Yu Bai managed to make them delicious, proving his excellent culinary skills.

Yu Bai smiled, “I know.”

Since the online rumors spread, most of his regular customers who used to come to his stall daily had disappeared. Only a few customers showed up at Sanjiaokou to support his stall.

However… Yu Bai’s mood remained unaffected.

He could make delicious teppanyaki dishes solely because of his excellent culinary skills. Even if the J City authorities came to investigate, they wouldn’t find anything suspicious.

The pure will always remain pure.

In the face of groundless rumors online, he remained calm.

The alluring aroma of Yu Bai’s secret teppanyaki sauce mixed with the slightly spicy scent of grilled fruits wafted through the air as the sauce came in contact with the hot iron griddle.

Pedestrians nearby couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva involuntarily upon catching the aroma.

To be fair, this teppanyaki stall was indeed fragrant.

One of the pedestrians wiped his mouth and tried to remove the nonexistent drool from his lips. They forced themselves to divert their gaze away from the teppanyaki stall and look at other snack stalls and shops.

If they kept looking at the teppanyaki stall like this, they would surely be unable to resist the temptation to buy the teppanyaki dishes!

As time passed, the aroma of the teppanyaki dishes became even more enticing. The hungry passersby at Sanjiaokou couldn’t resist the temptation of the teppanyaki dishes.

“Otherwise, why not try the grilled cold noodles and teppanyaki tofu from ‘Qiaozi Snacks Store’? It is said that all the sauces and ingredients used in this shop are natural, without any preservatives or other food additives… Friends around me who have tried their snacks say that the grilled cold noodles and teppanyaki tofu taste just as good as the neighboring teppanyaki dishes…”

Among the pedestrians, similar voices started to emerge one after another.

After finishing three servings of grilled cold noodles, there were only a few people waiting in line at Yu Bai’s snack stall. However, the queue at the “Qiaozi Snacks Store” across from him seemed to be growing.

As Yu Bai completed serving all the customers, he was about to sit back and enjoy a rare moment of rest. But when he saw Xing Xing sitting on a small stool, his pink pouting mouth and chubby cheeks showed discontent.

Yu Bai reached out and gently squeezed Xing Xing’s cheeks as if kneading dough.

“Why the frown? I gave you five rice dumplings to eat today…”

“N-no… It’s not because of the rice dumplings…”

As Xing Xing spoke, his words were a little unclear.

Yu Bai knowingly asked, “Oh? Not because of the rice dumplings? Then why are you unhappy?”

Xing Xing pouted his small mouth, and his long, curled eyelashes blinked.

Dad clearly knows what he’s thinking…

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore.” Yu Bai said, “I know why you’re unhappy.”

“But, Xing Xing, think about it this way. Since there are fewer customers today, I can take a little break…”

Yu Bai half-spoke and half-consoled Xing Xing, who listened attentively.

Dad’s words seemed to make sense.

When he and Dad ran the stall, except for the first day, there were always many people lining up every day.

So, Xing Xing would always take the initiative to do things within his capacity.

However, since the day he got too busy and fell ill with a fever the next day, Dad never let him do any work again.

Xing Xing sat on the small stool all day, watching Dad busy at the iron griddle, and always worried if Dad was too tired or needed help.

Although Dad was much stronger than him, he had fallen ill from fatigue before, so Dad could also develop health problems due to overwork…

He wanted Dad to be in good health and not end up like a few months ago, staying in the hospital, where he couldn’t see Dad every day.

Today, there were no customers, and Dad wasn’t as busy as usual.

He should be happy.

However… just the thought that Dad’s business was slow today because of some bad person spreading rumors and scaring away customers made Xing Xing unhappy again.

“Boss? Boss, are you here?”

As Yu Bai and Xing Xing were talking, a new customer approached the snack stall.

Yu Bai stood up, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he recognized the person standing. It was the talent scout who had come to his snack stall yesterday, handed him a business card, and tried to sign him and Xing Xing to a social media company.

In a cold tone, Yu Bai replied, “We haven’t considered joining any film and television companies for now…”

“Hey, hey, hey, I’m not here for signing today. Give me… a teppanyaki tofu and a teppanyaki rice cake.”

As the talent scout spoke, he kept looking back and forth between Yu Bai and Xing Xing.

His eyes sparkled with cunning thoughts, pondering some mischievous ideas.

Yu Bai calmly prepared the teppanyaki tofu and rice cakes, seemingly oblivious to the talent scout’s gaze.

Xing Xing hugged Yu Bai’s leg tightly, hiding behind him and looking at the talent scout with a vigilant expression.

The talent scout’s smile deepened.

This little kid seemed quite clever and promising. He could be a talent worth nurturing.

“Here you go.” Yu Bai handed the teppanyaki tofu and rice cakes to the talent scout.

Yu Bai slightly shifted his position, blocking Xing Xing from the talent scout’s view.

As the scent of the teppanyaki tofu and rice cakes wafted toward him, the talent scout felt like his eyebrows were about to fly off from the freshness of the dishes.

The talent scout was about to take the food container, but Yu Bai moved it slightly to the side.

Yu Bai said, “Money first, then you get your order.”

The talent scout’s smile froze for a moment. He paid, and only then did Yu Bai hand over the snacks.

The talent scout had previously tried the teppanyaki tofu and grilled cold noodles at the neighboring “Qiaozi Snack Store.”

In his opinion, both of these dishes were pretty good at the “Qiaozi Snack Store” – at least, they surpassed many other snacks in the current market.

However, after trying Yu Bai’s snacks today, the talent scout finally understood the meaning of “outstanding.”

Let’s just compare the tofu, for example.

Yu Bai’s teppanyaki tofu was already ten streets ahead of “Qiaozi Snack Shop’s” teppanyaki tofu.

Before making the teppanyaki tofu, Yu Bai soaked it in salt water, so even though the tofu was cut slightly thicker, every bite revealed a tender and flavorful interior.

Furthermore, the crispy and fragrant skin of Yu Bai’s teppanyaki tofu had a refreshing taste, with a perfectly balanced flavor profile.

Although the appearance of the tofu from both shops was similar, upon closer inspection, the taste was quite different.

The talent scout originally intended to take a bite of the teppanyaki tofu, but ended up eating several pieces before reluctantly putting down his fork.

“Cough, cough.” He wiped his mouth with a tissue and pretended to show a disdainful expression, “The taste is not bad… but I can’t help feeling that there’s something wrong with your teppanyaki tofu. Hmm, it seems to be an issue with the sauce.”

Yu Bai pretended not to hear and busied himself to clean the table.

The talent scout continued, “Your teppanyaki sauce seems to have some issues, right? I can taste pepper, lemon, oyster sauce… what other spices did you add?”

Yu Bai replied, “I have no comments to offer.”

Upon hearing Yu Bai’s response, the talent scout became even more intrigued.

“No comment? Are you adding something you shouldn’t? No wonder the whole internet is saying there’s a problem with your teppanyaki dishes. It seems there really is an issue…”

Xing Xing, seeing the arrogant look on the talent scout’s face, furrowed his little face and exclaimed, “My dad’s teppanyaki dishes are perfectly fine!”

With a condescending smile, the talent scout replied, “What does a kid like you know? Scram!”

The talent scout then turned back to Yu Bai and said, “Your teppanyaki dishes won’t last long if you continue like this. Oh, wait. Maybe in a couple of days, the Food Safety Inspection Bureau will come and check on you… then you might end up…”

Yu Bai interrupted with a smile, “And then what?”

Unaware of the hint of impatience in Yu Bai’s raised eyebrows, the talent scout continued, “So, I’m giving you a chance now.”

Yu Bai folded the cloth neatly, asking, “What chance?”

“You and your son sign a ten-year contract with our company. You won’t have to sell teppanyaki dishes anymore, cut your losses now. You just need to follow our arrangements, make videos, attend events, and do PR work…” The talent scout grinned, “Much easier than selling teppanyaki dishes!”

Yu Bai asked, “How much?”

Thinking Yu Bai was falling for the offer, the talent scout extended his hand with a smile, “This much.”

Yu Bai guessed, “Fifty thousand?”

He believed five thousand was already a low price for them to sign this “indentured servitude” agreement, but little did he know that the other party could be even more ruthless than he imagined.

“Fifty thousand? You must be dreaming! You two are not worth that much!” The talent scout felt like his big teeth would fall off from laughing, “It’s five thousand!”

If this were yesterday, they might have considered the fifty thousand offer, but now, with the scandal surrounding them, asking for a ten-year contract and fifty thousand was nothing short of a dream.

“Sign a ten-year contract for just five thousand? It seems you’re the one who’s dreaming.”

Just then, a deep voice rang out from behind him.

The voice carried a chilling aura, causing the talent scout’s smile to freeze slightly.

He met a pair of icy narrow eyes.

 

Author’s note:

PS: Tomorrow’s chapter will ensure we stay in the top nine and compete for the top spot.