CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50 IS IT SOLD OUT ALREADY?!

Fengqi Mountain Taoist Temple.

After the morning vegetarian meal ended, the Taoist priests all had a hint of a smile on their faces. Life in the temple was relatively monotonous, each day much like the last. Eating delicious and tender buns was a surprise for them. Especially after the buns settled in their stomachs, they felt warm all over and comfortable beyond words.

Two teenage Taoist priests were tidying up the dining hall when their Senior Brother, Liu Fu, approached them.

"Did you two sneak a taste when you were buying the buns?" he asked. "The way you were both devouring them earlier, it was clear you’d had your fill before coming back up."

Upon hearing Liu Fu’s words, the two teenage Taoist priests were slightly startled. They were responsible for going down the mountain to buy buns, so naturally, they would buy a couple extra for themselves.

Seeing their expressions, Liu Fu guessed as much and then said, "I’m not scolding you. I want you to bring me two extra buns when you go buy them tomorrow."

"And buy two extra for our Master as well."

"I’ll deliver them to Master myself."

So that was it! The two teenage Taoist priests nodded. "No problem, Senior Brother."

Just then, one of them asked, "Senior Brother, how did you know the buns from this stall were exceptionally good? I saw you looked like you wanted to go down and buy some yourself before."

Hearing this, Liu Fu replied, "A few days ago, I went to a resort with friends and came across this owner’s stall. I queued for his braised meat, and it left a deep impression on me."

"The owner’s skills are truly impressive."

"At the time, I even thought how great it would be if he could set up a stall on Fengqi Mountain, and now he really has."

"Everything happens for a reason."

Only then did the two teenage Taoist priests understand.

"His buns are indeed delicious! Especially the chicken leg buns; I really love them."

"Yeah, you feel so energized after eating them."

The three of them chatted happily, their spirits particularly high.

「Meanwhile, Jiang Feng was busy with his business.」

There were simply too many customers. Jiang Feng had announced the dates he would set up his stall on Fengqi Mountain, and people, worried about missing out on the buns, had come early.

"Can these buns really be that delicious? Look at this queue!"

"It seems everyone really has too much free time!"

"That’s society for you: the busy are worked to death, while the idle are bored to death."

"Let me taste these buns; I refuse to believe they’re *that* good!"

The buns in the steam cabinets and steamers were quickly diminishing. They sold rapidly, even faster than the braised meat. Because there were so many customers, Jiang Feng was overwhelmed. He even erased the egg fried rice from the menu board, deciding to sell only buns. He simply had no time to make anything else.

Customers who got their buns immediately took them out and gave them a little squeeze. Several people did this, as if by prior agreement.

"Hmm, just as expected, the texture is springy," a customer remarked.

Then, he tore a bun in half. The inside was chock-full of steaming hot meat filling. Just looking at it made one’s mouth water. Tasting it was an entirely different level of enjoyment.

The customer picked up half a bun, blew on it, and took a bite. The scalding juice burst from the meat filling, flooding his mouth. It mixed with the dough and filling, its flavor blossoming completely. The taste was incomparably fresh and savory.

The bun was quite hot. The customer blew out a couple of sharp breaths but then immediately continued to chew, unwilling to wait. The bun’s flavor was truly excellent.

Unable to bother with words, the customer devoured the two buns in his hands in successive bites. After finishing, he wanted to buy more, but the line had already reformed. He could only get more by queuing up again.

They’re really delicious; I bought too few! He felt a pang of regret. I should have bought several more!

The line of customers moved forward in an orderly fashion, and Jiang Feng kept busy preparing buns.

Before long, Jiang Feng noticed that the buns in the steamers had run out. There weren’t many left in the steam cabinets either. The steaming trays were all empty. The customers’ purchasing power was truly astonishing.

After serving a few more customers, an elderly man approached the stall.

"I’ll have four pork and green onion buns," the elderly man said.

Jiang Feng looked at the empty steam cabinet and said, "I’m sorry, Sir, but they’re all sold out."

"Sold out?" The elderly man was a bit stunned. He poked his head in and scanned the stall area for a long moment, only to find the steamers completely empty. "They’re all gone just like that?" He still couldn’t believe it.

Jiang Feng shouted to the customers in the queue, "Everyone, I’m really sorry, but the buns are sold out! No need to line up anymore!"

Upon hearing Jiang Feng’s words, the customers’ faces immediately fell with disappointment.

"Ah, they’re gone?"

"Damn, I haven’t even had breakfast yet."

"Well, it’s just a small stall. No matter how many buns they prepare, it’s not enough when they’re selling this fast!"

"What are the people up front talking about, making all that noise?"

"It seems like the buns are sold out."

"Holy shit! What the hell? The buns are sold out?!"

Hearing Jiang Feng’s announcement, the customers were disheartened.

However, the vendor selling stir-fried noodles nearby couldn’t help but let a suppressed smile show. This vendor had patience; despite having little business earlier, he hadn’t been anxious. He was just waiting for this moment. Jiang Feng’s stall sold buns, and with such good business, it was bound to sell out quickly. Once that happened, these customers would have no choice but to turn to his stall.

Indeed, as the vendor had anticipated, after the crowd dispersed, they began to drift towards the surrounding stalls.

One customer who hadn’t managed to get a bun saw another person eating one and approached him. "Bro, how do this stall’s buns taste? Are they really as delicious as they say online?"

The man who was asked was warm-hearted. Normally, if someone asked, he’d share a bit of whatever he was eating—chips or cookies would be no problem. But not today’s buns. Because these buns were indeed delicious. Yet, he didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want to gloat by saying how delicious they were, but saying they weren’t good would be a lie.

So, still eating his bun, he just nodded, uttered a couple of "MM-HMMs," then turned and walked away, finishing the remaining bun as he went.

This left the bun-less customer standing there, utterly bewildered.

Jiang Feng called the older woman over to help clean up, preparing to close the stall.

It was around eight in the morning. They had started at six and were sold out by eight. And there weren’t even that many customers at first; the crowd only started to grow rapidly after seven. So it was only about an hour of intense business.

The older woman smiled with delight again. Work was over for the day. Nothing was more satisfying than finishing early.

I need to prepare more buns for tomorrow, Jiang Feng calculated. There just weren’t enough to sell today. With two days left at Fengqi Mountain, business will probably keep booming. I want to let as many customers as possible taste the buns.

Today’s task reward was the [Char Siu Bao Recipe].

Char Siu Bao is very famous in the Guangdong Region and also very popular nationwide. Some places might not have tasted Char Siu Bao, but they had certainly heard of Char Siu’s fame. The saying, "It’d be better to have a piece of Char Siu than to have you (as a child)," made Char Siu even more widely known. The recipe for Char Siu Bao could be found online; the difficulty lay in preparing the thickened sauce for the filling. Mix the well-thickened sauce thoroughly with the Char Siu, then use it as filling for the buns. Char Siu Bao are inherently sweet. Sugar is even added when kneading the dough, giving the overall flavor a distinct sweet sauce character.

Tomorrow, I can try adding a new item to the menu, Jiang Feng thought.

「The food truck drove to the residential complex. The small shop Jiang Feng had purchased was now renovated.」

He opened the door and drove the food truck right in. The outer room was spacious but run-down, with an electric charging station installed that looked a bit out of place. The inner room’s decor was also dated. However, upon closer inspection, all the kitchenware was brand new, state-of-the-art, and fully equipped with everything one could possibly need. It was like the "AE86" that raced wildly down Mount Akina; the exterior might be an 86, but the inside had long since been replaced with a racing-grade engine. And the room was clean.

There are more stoves here, so I can steam more buns simultaneously. I can make more tomorrow. Just two more days, and that Golden Pot will be mine. I just need to push a little harder!

Jiang Feng was full of enthusiasm. Perhaps it was because of the task reward, or maybe it was the expectant gazes and satisfied expressions of the diners. Or maybe it was a bit of both.

Jiang Feng found the whole process quite enjoyable.