Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 1919 - 1708: Barbecue Stall (Part 3)

And at the same time, Doctor Xiaoguo who had just eaten the noodle dish at Lao Song’s family, said at the clinic’s entrance: "Hold on a second, I need to grab something."

Not to mention, her trusty hawthorn pills surely can’t be left out!

Luckily, Song Tan’s pickup truck still had some green vegetables that the group had hastily picked from the mountain—both meat and veggies, tomorrow’s trip to the bathroom should be okay, right?

Everyone was sitting in the car excitedly but also feeling a bit regretful: "We were too hasty, the ingredients aren’t even fully prepared!"

The amount of food for this barbecue was almost like a small barbecue stall’s business.

But Master Xiao Zhou looked puzzled: "We picked the greens, the peppers, caught a whole bucket of fish from the river, and there’s still lotus root, beef, mutton, pork belly, and rice cakes for tomorrow..."

We brought everything from home that could be barbecued, so what’s left to prepare?

Looking at this bunch of young people only thinking about eating, he thought they were too ungrateful!

Not like him, he was just satisfied with some greasy grilled pork belly tonight! Then he suddenly remembered something and quickly took out his phone to send a message:

"Boss Song, it’s too rushed, our ingredients aren’t even prepared... we need fresh water!"

Song Tan also holding her phone: "Don’t worry, we’ll have it, we’ll have it!"

Whether they had it or not, she didn’t know, she’d just leave it to Old Zhao. Worst-case scenario, they’d grab a basket of water chestnuts afterwards!

Old Zhao, as expected, was a savvy businessman who had been at Riverside Market for over 20 years.

Even though he didn’t have much experience with barbecue stalls, all it took was a phone call to his old buddies, and through twists and turns, he could always find some family connections.

In the dead of night, he insisted on pulling together a barbecue setup, and finding a spot on the night market street wasn’t enough, he turned and knocked on a ground-floor shop’s door.

It was a hardware store, what was its name again? Dafang Hardware Store.

The name was so generous, so the following matters should be easy to discuss!

He took out two packs of cigarettes: "Hey brother, my friend wants to set up a temporary barbecue gathering here tonight and would like to use a hose from your store—"

The guy seemed decent enough, glanced at his cigarettes but didn’t take them: "These are commercial water and electrical services..."

What a thing to say.

Old Zhao thought, if it weren’t commercial water and electricity, would he be offering these hundreds of yuan worth of cigarettes?

Money isn’t the main issue; he was just thinking Song Tan might need it later. Better to be generous now and avoid any trouble.

Who would’ve thought that being generous, the guy wasn’t satisfied—not agreeing is fine!

He just smiled: "Sorry to bother you."

Then he turned to look at the water supply store’s rolling shutters across the street: "Brother, here’s the situation..."

Song Dafang: ...

No, he didn’t even say no! Those were premium cigarettes!

But before he could put his pride aside to say anything, he saw people from the shop across the street happily running over from the residential area:

"Look, brother, you’re being too polite just to use some water..."

For men, there’s nothing two packs of cigarettes can’t solve. If there has to be, then how about a whole carton?

In the dead of night, it’s better than going home and not sleeping, and earning two or three hundred yuan isn’t a bad deal, is it?

The owner of the water supply store didn’t leave either, promptly took the flexible hose from Old Zhao and even helped:

"Here, let me hook it up for you. This is my field of expertise, professional. In the future, if family or friends need anything, come to my store, I’ll give it at cost price!"

Hearing this, Old Zhao looked up at his store sign: "My nephew’s parents are renovating their home; if you really give it at cost, I’ll have them check it out tomorrow."

Wow! A client just fell from the sky!

The water supply store owner didn’t say anything else, quickly took out an extension cord: "Here, let me hook up a light for you! Super bright! I’ll hang the extension cord up to avoid it getting wet."

Then asked: "I have mosquito incense in the store, should I get you a couple of coils?"

Old Zhao grinned widely: "No need for the mosquito incense, we brought some ourselves. By the way, does your store have a restroom we could use?"

Of course, that’s not a problem! If you’re open for business, how can you not agree when someone asks to use your restroom?

He sure seemed like a stand-up guy!

With premium cigarettes leading the way, the two older men, about the same age, quickly hit it off, almost becoming blood brothers. Watching this, Song Dafang thought with such generosity, who knows how they’ll mess with the water and electricity later!

Ah, forget it!

He’d rather not earn this money than deal with this mess.

But despite thinking so, the rolling shutters stayed open throughout the night.

...

Song Tan couldn’t be aware of all of Old Zhao’s arrangements, but when she saw him organizing all sorts of supplies even over video, she was deeply touched:

"That’s why he’s a good old buddy from my vegetable stall, always reliable!"

Like father, like daughter, as Zhao Fangyuan was reliable too. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Oh, no wonder everyone likes to make friends; it turns out friends can be so practical!

But Zhang Yanping was a bit puzzled: "How did Qingniu Street become a barbecue street? Wasn’t it all old residential areas over there?"

He, being a local, didn’t even know, let alone Xin Jun.

Thankfully, although they were in the countryside, they had friends from the city. Randomly picking a fisherman to ask, they got an immediate answer:

"The old resettlement area in front, Wanhua District, wasn’t it being demolished? So, halfway through, the real estate market collapsed... In the end, it was left like that."

The city officials couldn’t just look at that huge stretch of wasteland in the old district!

It’s okay in new districts or remote areas, but in the densely populated old district, it’d be unacceptable!

So, after several reforms and rectifications, it was converted into a large flat area—now it can be used for parking, and setting up barbecue stalls, after several rounds of planning, it has taken shape since April, and has a considerable scale.

It connects a few other old neighborhoods on both ends, but since there aren’t any particularly high-end businesses or malls there, everything closes and goes dark by eight or nine o’clock, so it doesn’t affect anything.

In fact, shops nearby can even attract more customers while they’re at it...

In short, it’s a win-win for everyone.

And it’s just convenient for Song Tan and the group.

Old Zhao also asked them: "Did you bring a lot of water chestnuts? If so, I can shout out in my group, they’ll surely come buy. What’s the price? Did you bring a scale?"

Song Tan: ...

To be honest, although they came to the city to sell water chestnuts, the barbecue had everyone’s attention, and no one remembered them now.

As for the scale...

She said without blinking: "They’re not sold by weight, it’s one yuan for three."

These small, tender water chestnuts might as well be a perk for tonight.

"We didn’t bring much, no need to shout out, just sell them as they come."

Old Zhao: ...

It’s a good thing you aren’t operating a stall every day, otherwise being influenced over time, he’d end up not selling vegetables by weight either.

He hesitated for a moment, but decided to shout out in his vegetable buying group: [Starting at ten tonight, at the barbecue stall in front of Wanfang Water Supply Store on Qingniu Street, premium water chestnuts will be on sale.]

[Limited quantity, so buy quickly.]

Oh boy! Anything labeled "premium" at Old Zhao’s shop meant the price was as good as the taste. The night owls who hadn’t slept perked up, slipped on their slippers, grabbed their car keys, and rushed out!

Electric scooters and cars revving up at the same time; as for other details, they could ask on the way! If they couldn’t buy it, they were already there, so why not grab a bite at the barbecue stall...

Overall, it wouldn’t be a loss!

Finally, a slower customer in the group asked: "Why are you selling water chestnuts in the middle of the night? Once bought, they need to be eaten immediately or they won’t be fresh tomorrow, right?"

Old Zhao thought, three for one yuan, anyone who eats them little by little would have baskets full to take home, and they wouldn’t even last long enough to go stale!

He quickly urged: "I don’t know about fresh, the seller hasn’t even arrived yet. Anyway, if anyone wants to buy, better hurry."