CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54: NEW MISSION, NEW LOCATION!

Jiang Feng drove the food truck bus back to his little shop.

After a week of setting up the stall, he felt a bit more relaxed.

[Hosted 394/100 diners, today’s mission completed]

[Reward received: Gold Frying Pan]

[Next mission starts in two days]

The system mission was successfully completed.

In the shop were only Jiang Feng and Little Black, so Jiang Feng took out the [Gold Frying Pan] directly from the system.

The gold frying pan was heavy; he almost dropped it when he first took it out. This thing weighed five kilograms, was made entirely of gold, and felt heavy and solid.

"It’s quite heavy," Jiang Feng exclaimed, gripping the handle.

The gold frying pan was golden all over, and its surface was very smooth. Touching it produced a unique metallic friction. Gold is cold, but it felt warm to the touch. There wasn’t a person in the world who didn’t like gold. This shimmering golden thing felt so captivating.

Jiang Feng walked to the stove to compare its size with a regular frying pan. This thing would look good in a transparent anti-theft display cabinet.

Just then, a rat suddenly ran out from beside the stove. In its panic, it scurried directly towards Jiang Feng.

"Oh, shit!" Jiang Feng yelped, startled by the rat. Without a second thought, he smacked it with the frying pan in his hand.

CLANG!

With a thwack from the frying pan, the rat instantly fell silent. This little guy would never have imagined that one day it would die under a gold frying pan. It naturally couldn’t withstand the impact of a pan worth over two million.

How come there’s a rat? I haven’t stored much food. Could it be because of the flour? I always lock the pantries very securely, Jiang Feng thought, a bit anxious. As a chef, he considered rats mortal enemies.

First, he checked the bottom of the pan. Fortunately, it wasn’t deformed, as he had only pressed down with it once. And this rat wasn’t Jerry. Rats represented dirtiness and unhygienic conditions. With Jiang Feng’s responsible attitude, he definitely wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.

Jiang Feng wrapped the rat, which might have been dead or just unconscious, in paper towels and threw it into the outside trash can.

Then, he returned to the shop and immediately checked the main and secondary food storage areas. The seals on them were very good, and all the doors were security doors. But that wouldn’t stop rats from gnawing holes and popping out of wall corners. Jiang Feng carefully inspected everything and soon heaved a sigh of relief. The storage areas showed no signs of rat damage. Whether it was flour, rice, or fresh vegetables, eggs, and milk, everything was still clean and untouched.

Afterward, Jiang Feng carried out a comprehensive inspection of the kitchen. He finally confirmed that the rat had come in from outside, probably from somewhere near the trash can.

Rats can’t get into the pantries or the cold storage, Jiang Feng pondered, holding the gold frying pan. But rats are so good at squeezing in; they can definitely get into the shop. I need to figure out a solution.

This neighborhood was relatively nice; rats should be rare. But still, one had shown up. Jiang Feng considered getting a couple of cats or feeding a few stray cats to act as guards. But stray cats were rare in this area, almost unseen.

Therefore, Jiang Feng called property management.

"Hello, a rat just got into my shop."

"What? A rat? Are you sure?"

"Of course, I’m sure. I just threw it into the trash bin over there."

"Alright, Mr. Jiang, we understand. We’ll take care of it right away."

Jiang Feng hung up. Perhaps it was this rat’s destiny to face such a calamity.

Jiang Feng didn’t expect property management to act so quickly. In the afternoon, they called him to come to the shop. The property management had brought in a professional pest control company to thoroughly inspect the surrounding area, ensuring health and hygiene. All this fuss turned out to be a good thing.

Having taken care of that matter, Jiang Feng rested for two days. During those two days, many of his regulars wondered where he was setting up his stall.

It was only after two days that the system’s task arrived as scheduled.

[Task Initiated: Set up a stall near Zhenwu Road No. 12 for 7 consecutive days, selling 100 portions of noodle dishes each day.]

[Task Reward: Equipment (including new mobile food truck, special household appliances, smart home manager, etc.)]

[New Recipes Acquired: Zhajiang Noodle Recipe, Guangdong Wonton Noodle Recipe, Wuhan Hot Dry Noodle Recipe, Yanji Cold Noodle Recipe]

[Accept the task?]

The new task was to sell noodle dishes. Jiang Feng learned from the system that steamed buns, stuffed buns, and dumplings were all considered noodle dishes. This meant he could continue selling his buns. But making buns was too exhausting, requiring him to get up at three in the morning. It would be better to sell noodle dishes this week.

I’ve decided to sell noodles, he thought. But Zhenwu Road No. 12... why does that sound so familiar?

Jiang Feng took out his phone, opened the city map, entered "Zhenwu Road No. 12," and tapped search. Seeing another title for Zhenwu Road No. 12, he was stunned.

[Public Security Bureau Headquarters (Zhenwu Road No. 12)]

Damn, the Public Security Bureau headquarters? Am I really going to set up a stall there? Is this some kind of joke?

Once Jiang Feng saw the location clearly, his face filled with astonishment. The system was truly a pain. Not only was the Public Security Bureau in that area, but the People’s Court building was also next door. Setting up a stall in such a place—wouldn’t that spoil the cityscape?

The only saving grace was that it was within the city’s second ring road. A shopping mall and residential districts were not far away, consisting mostly of high-rise communities with a large population of ordinary people.

Jiang Feng immediately drove his SUV out of his residential complex and headed to Zhenwu Road to check out the situation and find a suitable spot for his stall.

Outside the Public Security Bureau, a man in a luxurious SUV was glancing at the roadside from time to time, as if "staking out" the location.

The system marked a [Recommended Stall Spot] for Jiang Feng. When Jiang Feng checked it out, the spot was quite nice. It was a food stall area inside a building. Such areas consisted of a cluster of small food stands, often lined up in rows. Eventually, some were set up directly inside shopping malls, forming dining zones with all sorts of food available. These typically featured many noodle dishes, rice combo sets, rice noodle rolls, meat-filled flatbreads, and starch noodle sheets. Food stall areas are common in cities big and small across the country; wherever Chinese people live, these bustling eateries can be found.

Having a food stall area makes things easier, Jiang Feng thought. I thought I’d have to set up a roadside stall to sell noodles. If that were the case, the police might mistake me for a spy or an agent here to gather intelligence.

In spy dramas, whenever agents were tailing someone, they’d often disguise themselves as vendors, selling either pancakes or noodles. Now, if a small vendor suddenly appeared in front of the Public Security Bureau and the court, it would definitely raise suspicions. He would either be driven away or interrogated.

However, about one kilometer away from the Public Security Bureau, there was a shopping mall. Inside, a section was a food stall area where all sorts of things were sold.

Jiang Feng got in touch with the person in charge of the food stall area. As it happened, there was an open spot for a small shop. Jiang Feng signed a security agreement and obtained a safety certificate, allowing him to set up his stall directly. This time, he wouldn’t need to use the food truck. It was almost like having his own storefront where he could just show up for work. All he needed to do was pay some management fees, and he could keep all the income from the stall.

This task is much easier than I expected; I thought it would be a hassle, Jiang Feng mused. This place also has good foot traffic, so I won’t need to try hard to attract customers. I won’t even notify my regular customers. Just quietly completing this week’s task will be pretty good.

Street vendors thought differently. Most vendors would love to have more customers. But Jiang Feng had experienced scenes with long queues of people. Their eyes were filled with longing and eager anticipation. Seeing one such person was okay, but seeing a whole group made him a bit fearful. Besides, there had been some commotion last time when he sold out of buns.

Hopefully, I won’t get discovered, he thought. I’ll just sell 100 orders and leave for the day. I’ll avoid overtime if I can.

He certainly hoped so.