CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: THE AIR OF HUMAN LIFE!

Third day vending on Fengqi Mountain. Task successfully completed.

Additional reward received: "Beef Bun Recipe."

The day’s task was complete, and again, the reward was a bun recipe. Tomorrow, he could offer one more dish.

Jiang Feng drove his food truck away leisurely.

It was another busy yet fulfilling day.

「The next day」

Jiang Feng got up as usual at 3 AM and drove out at 5:30 AM. The sky was still somewhat dark. Due to the pollution from car exhaust in the city above, the sky was a dusky gray. No stars were visible, only a round moon could be seen.

But people were not in the mood to admire such a moon.

Jiang Feng picked up the women workers from the foot of the mountain and once again arrived at the square.

Li Xiangfo was already waiting.

In the past two days, the temple monks couldn’t stop praising the vegetarian buns and steamed buns Jiang Feng made. They looked forward to eating them for their morning meal every day. Some of the more rigid old monks in the temple worried that the vegetarian buns tasted so good they might jeopardize everyone’s cultivation achievements. After all, monks were supposed to practice asceticism.

The abbot was the first to disagree. "Cultivation is in the heart. As long as the vegetarian buns comply with the precepts, why worry about eating them? Cultivation isn’t about escaping but facing life."

With the abbot having spoken, the rest naturally had no objections. The monks were overjoyed, chanting with more vigor daily.

Li Xiangfo left with his buns.

Jiang Feng set up his stall and lit the gas stove. White smoke billowed from the chimney of the food truck.

Groups of customers were heading towards the square. Other street vendors selling candied hawthorns and grilled sausages also showed up, each on an electric trike. The lively, down-to-earth atmosphere of 6 AM probably felt just like this.

Jiang Feng began to serve his customers.

Today, he had added a line to his sign:

"Stall Dates: August 21st—August 27th"

This was to prevent his regulars from making a wasted trip to Fengqi Mountain when he wasn’t setting up his stall. Notifying them in advance showed consideration for his customers. Conscientious and considerate people always went the extra mile in their thoughts.

The small square was initially desolate, with just the biting mountain wind.

Ten minutes after Jiang Feng’s arrival, approximately eight or nine tourists were having breakfast there.

Half an hour passed, and more people arrived, their voices creating a buzz of activity.

Another half hour went by, and the small square had become lively, with many people lining up and waiting.

Next to the square, several green wheeled garbage bins had been added. Huang Ye, the person in charge of the scenic area, had specially installed these to accommodate the flow of customers in the square and protect the environment.

Huang Ye was indeed a good man.

Jiang Feng thanked him, to which Huang Ye simply replied, "I’m responsible for maintaining the safety and environment of the scenic area; it’s part of my duties. I’m just doing my job; it’s nothing special."

While running his stall, Jiang Feng encountered many kinds of people. There were vendors who fought for his spot, shop owners who envied his thriving business, regular patrons who always sought out his food, and responsible individuals like Huang Ye.

It took all sorts of people to make a world.

Around 7:10 AM, a van slowly pulled up to the entrance of the small square.

Food vlogger Liu Bao and his assistant got out of the van. The two adjusted their equipment, and then the assistant turned on his phone’s camera, starting the live stream.

Soon, the number of viewers in the live stream chat began to rise.

Liu Bao was a fairly popular local food vlogger. He valued his reputation, never threatened shop owners, and his reviews were relatively objective. The last time he recommended a braised meat dish, many people went to buy it. The taste was excellent, and his popularity subsequently increased a bit.

Liu Bao had discovered a path to increasing his popularity. His method was to find hidden gem eateries—shops that used authentic ingredients and offered good quality—and recommend them to his audience. If his audience found the place to be as good as he said, they would support him even more.

The live stream’s viewership exceeded 500.

Liu Bao spoke to the camera, "Good morning, family! It’s 7:10 AM now, and I am at the small square halfway up Fengqi Mountain. Look at the cars by the road; there are almost a dozen of them parked. Now, look at the small square, look at the number of people. I’ve been to Fengqi Mountain twice before, and other than when people gather at the peak for sunrise, when has it ever been this lively!"

Then, Liu Bao asked his assistant to aim the camera at the small square.

Netizens turned their gaze towards the plaza.

The small square, surrounded by white marble railings, had about forty or fifty people on its bluestone-paved ground. The area near Jiang Feng’s food truck had the densest concentration of people. Some sat at tables, others crowded around the food truck, and some stood to the side, holding paper bags and taking big bites out of their buns. Not far away, the benches were also full of tourists munching on buns. Nearby, stalls selling candied hawthorns and grilled sausages also had a few customers gathered around them.

The scene was bustling, almost like a morning market.

The netizens suddenly became interested.

[Really? I’ve been to Fengqi Mountain seven or eight times, and that place is so deserted you wouldn’t even see a ghost!]

[Do you think it’s possible that these people aren’t human?]

[Damn, don’t scare me this early in the morning! If they’re not human, are they ghosts or something?]

[Holy cow! I thought it was a morning market! Could it actually be a ghost market?]

[Someone said before that the braised meat stall owner hired shills to hype up his place. Who can afford to hire so many, and have them all act so well?]

Bullet comments kept flooding the screen.

Seeing the comments, Liu Bao couldn’t help but laugh. The audience’s enthusiasm was high, which was a good thing.

He immediately said to his assistant, "Let’s go, we’ll also queue up and try it out."

Hearing this, his assistant promptly walked towards Jiang Feng’s stall, the camera still focused on the food truck, completely forgetting about Liu Bao.

"Hey, hey, hey?" Liu Bao exclaimed as he watched his assistant walk ahead, calling out a few more times.

Upon hearing Liu Bao, the assistant remembered his task and hurriedly returned. He couldn’t help it; the sight of Jiang Feng at his stall made his mouth water, and he lost all self-control.

"You’re running off faster than I am! Go on, film him then!" Liu Bao joked, playing it up for the stream.

The assistant was his cousin, a man of few words and somewhat dense, but they had a good relationship. Sometimes teasing him a bit also entertained the audience in the live stream.

[Hahaha, Brother Bao, filming that owner is indeed way more popular than filming you!]

[Cousin, don’t listen to Liu Bao, just film the owner. That owner is so handsome!]

[Cousin: I can’t control myself!]

[Seeing so many people, I’m getting kind of hungry myself!]

Soon, Liu Bao and his cousin joined the queue.

The breakfast stall queue moved very quickly.

In just a moment, the two reached the front of the line.

Liu Bao looked at the menu and said, "Boss, two bowls of egg fried rice, two Braised Pork Buns, two Pork and Green Onion Buns, two Orleans Chicken Buns, two Beef Buns, and two tea eggs."

Hearing him, Jiang Feng replied, "Okay, please wait a bit. There are no tables available, so if you’re eating here, you’ll need to wait."

"No problem, I’ll eat in the car."

"Alright."

Jiang Feng packed the buns and tea eggs, then heated oil in the wok, ready to prepare the egg fried rice.

Eggs were cracked into a bowl and quickly whisked. Green onions were chopped, and ham was diced.

Due to the number of customers, Jiang Feng sped up his actions. Holding two eggs in his right hand, he tapped them lightly, and with a deft flick, the egg mixture flowed into the bowl. When chopping onions and ham, his knife work was unpretentious yet solid and skilled.

His cousin aimed the camera at the cutting board.

Jiang Feng’s knife rose and fell, his cleaver moving so swiftly it seemed to leave afterimages!

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP...

Seeing this scene, the audience in Liu Bao’s live stream was somewhat surprised.

[Wow, this stall owner’s chopping is so steady!]

[That knife is so fast! He’s definitely trained!]

[He was originally a chef; some say he comes from a five-star hotel!]

[I also heard he trained under a master chef, and now he’s running a stall for experience!]

Jiang Feng’s cooking had a strong visual appeal. Although his movements weren’t overly dramatic, they were steady and exuded a sense of power.

Then, oil was poured into the wok, followed by the egg mixture. He carefully controlled the flame before adding the rice. With a series of skilled tosses of the wok, the rice and egg combined perfectly in the air. Finally, when it came out of the wok, it was sprinkled with scallions.

A wok full of glistening golden egg fried rice was ready.

Seeing such perfectly presented egg fried rice, Liu Bao and his cousin couldn’t help but gulp.