The first batch of people to arrive was about forty or fifty.
The population of the fourth ring was massive, and they needed to be housed by zones within the shelter. Tier-3 restaurants were also broken up and distributed across different areas.
According to Connie’s incomplete explanation, each zone was only connected to one dining concentration area, and residents did not have much choice, having to buy from these stalls.
This was good news for the vendors.
Sure enough, the noodle stall quickly welcomed its first wave of guests.
Obviously, the secret minced pork noodles were quite famous, and several guests ordered a portion. One tall, burly man even boldly added an egg.
Under Connie’s instructions of “one spoonful” and “half a spoonful,” Ning He waved her spoon, playing the role of the lead cook well.
Although the white pork topping cooked later was one coin cheaper, the guests still chose the one with the sauce, and a trace of worry floated in the depths of Connie’s eyes.
Guests arrived one after another, and each stall’s business was about the same. Even the old man selling braised pig liver opened business several times, obviously having regular customers.
In one evening, a jar of secret minced pork sauce was sold down to the bottom, and the plain toppings only sold half.
Meanwhile, the business of the Tier-3 restaurant across the way was obviously much better. Customers came in an endless stream, and sometimes the tables and chairs were not enough, forcing them to share tables.
The popularity simply could not be compared.
Near ten o’clock, after sending off the last customer, Connie announced the stall was closing.
After sealing the remaining toppings and minced meat into food boxes and putting them into the refrigerator, packing up the stall cart, and tidying up simply, everyone moved to the rest area next door and crawled into their respective sleeping bags.
Ning He calculated that at today’s selling speed, it would probably take three days to sell all the inventory of the noodle stall. She wondered if it would still be in time.
Carrying a trace of worry, Ning He did not sleep very peacefully. When she woke up the next day, she found that her sleeping bag was completely pressed under her body, yet she did not feel cold.
It seemed that the temperature inside the shelter had already risen.
Ning He packed up her sleeping bag and went to wash her face.
Along the way, she saw that everyone’s expression was heavier than yesterday; they should have all noticed the change in temperature.
Just one night, and the heat had already invaded the interior of the shelter. It was truly not good news.
Morning business was a bit bleak. Connie sold yesterday’s leftovers at half price, and at noon, guests tried the minced white pork topping and seemed quite dissatisfied. The noodle stall’s sales volume dropped significantly, Connie’s brow furrowed tighter, and her mood became increasingly worse. She was ready to explode at the slightest touch, and Ning He even had to walk around her.
However, what concerned Ning He more was the slow rise in temperature within the shelter.
Waking up in the morning, she was still wearing a coat, but by noon, she could already wear short sleeves.
Now it was four o’clock in the afternoon, and the shelter was steaming with heat. Doing even a little bit of work made one sweat, and the indoor temperature was already approaching thirty degrees.
This was not good.
After the temperature rose at noon, the guests coming to eat became fewer. With it being this hot, appetite would worsen to begin with, and walking a few steps made you sweat—who would even feel like coming out?
The situation was indeed as Ning He had expected.
The number of people coming to dine in the evening was even fewer, and even the customers from the third-ring district opposite had halved.
Connie looked at a pot of minced meat that had hardly been touched, her brow tied into a knot.
However, when closing the stall, the administrator announced another piece of bad news.
“Just received an order: the higher-ups are requisitioning the refrigerator compressors, and all freezers must be emptied before nine tomorrow morning. If there is anything left over past the time, it will be confiscated across the board.”
As soon as the news came out, everyone present wore grave expressions.
Sales had been poor all day today, and each restaurant still had at least half of its ingredients unsold. The temperature might not improve tomorrow, and the things would probably spoil within a day out of the refrigerator.
However, no matter how worried they were, an order was an order, and it had to be followed.
Looking at Connie’s face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, Ning He felt that her time to step up had arrived.
“Connie, the refrigerator can’t be used. What do you plan to do?”
Ning He squeezed over to Connie’s side.
“What can I do? Leave it to luck, I suppose.” Connie glanced sideways at her, seeing her mysterious look, and said ungraciously, “What trick are you up to again? Even if I agree to let you sell, whether there will be customers tomorrow is still uncertain.”
“We always have to try to know. Your meat is good meat, and my vegetables are good vegetables. It would be such a waste if they didn’t sell and rotted in our hands. I’ve been thinking, isn’t this minced meat just lacking a sauce? I’ll make one. If you think it works, we can sell them together!”
This time Connie didn’t refuse immediately, only mocking: “You know how to make sauce? The sauce in our family has been passed down for generations. Don’t think you can just make anything and have it compare.”
Ning He rubbed her hands together: “That’s why we make it to find out, right? I’ll give it a try. If you think it won’t do, I’ll shut my mouth and never bring it up again.”
Connie snorted, yet she had no other choice. She glanced at A Huai.
“What do you think?”
A Huai held the spatula, looked at Ning He, and nodded.
“Let her try.”
Joy suddenly bloomed in Ning He’s heart, and hearing this, Connie finally agreed half-reluctantly.
“We agreed, if it doesn’t taste good, the wasted ingredients are on your head.”
“Alright, no problem!”
Ning He hurriedly rushed to the freezer, picked out the ingredients for making sour soup from her two baskets of vegetables, and also grabbed an unripe small onion and carrot.
Seeing her pick tomatoes, Connie immediately snorted.
“If you plan to make a tomato paste, don’t waste your effort. We are a Tier-3 restaurant; taking that out to sell will only get us laughed at by our peers.”
Seasonings like soy sauce on the market were too expensive. To increase flavor, some small stalls learned to boil vegetables into a paste and add salt and sugar to make a kind of sauce. For vegetables with their own natural flavor like tomatoes and chili peppers, the adjusted sauce was actually quite good and very popular.
“Rest assured, we aren’t making paste, we’re making meat sauce noodles. Please stay calm and wait to taste it.”
Ning He placated the irritable proprietress, quickly carried the ingredients to the water supply point to wash them clean, and after coming back, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work washing, cutting, and chopping.
A Huai yielded the entire operating table and retreated to the back, while Connie stared at her unblinkingly, looking ready to shout stop at any moment.
Ning He had no choice but to speed up. When cutting the onions, tears streamed down, but she had no time to wipe them.
The cutting board beneath her hands emitted a rhythmic “thud-thud-thud,” which was exceptionally conspicuous in the quiet dining area at that moment.
However, the people around only glanced and withdrew their gazes.
Everyone was feeling a bit dispirited at the moment and couldn’t raise any interest in other things. After tidying up their stalls, they each went to the rest area.
“Sizzling—”
Ning He scooped a spoonful of oil from the bottom of the minced meat into the pot, used this oil to sauté the minced garlic, diced carrots, and diced onions until juices came out, then added diced tomatoes, added another spoonful of minced meat, and a sour and fragrant aroma quickly drifted into the air. Connie’s expression eased somewhat, a complex look rising in her gaze as she stared at Ning He.
Since it was a sauce, Ning He did not add much water. When all the materials were mixed and boiled until about right, she added salt and tasted the flavor.
In the absence of seasonings, it was still a bit bland.
Ning He cut a lemon, squeezed one-sixth of its juice, added a spoonful of white sugar, mixed it evenly, and tasted a bite again. It basically restored eighty percent of the flavor of tomato meat sauce.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she didn’t dare to exchange black pepper or anything from the system, but this should be enough.
“It’s ready.”
Ning He scooped the sauce into a porcelain bowl, its bright red color enticing.
A Huai had already boiled a handful of noodles and scooped them out to cool.
“I’ll try it first.”
Connie took out a small bowl, picked up a chopstick of noodles, and Ning He ladled a spoonful of tomato meat sauce over them. Connie tossed it twice and sent it into her mouth.
The noodles were kneaded by herself, a variety suitable for tossed noodles, with three parts toughness chewed in the mouth.
Connie chewed very slowly, her brow furrowed as if it were a bit uncomfortable.
To some extent, she was indeed a bit uncomfortable.
Such rich sourness, sweetness, and umami—she had never experienced them before. Her taste buds were enduring fierce stimulation that impacted her brain, already reaching the top of the threshold.
The greasiness of the minced meat was completely covered up; only the fragrant umami mixed with abundant juices burst open in the oral cavity.
The diced onions and diced carrots were boiled soft, rotten, and slightly sweet, while retaining a bit of chewiness, increasing the textural layers.
Even after swallowing it into her belly, her cheeks were still full of sweet and sour aftertaste, mixed with a trace of lemon’s sour fragrance.
It was actually lemon!
Many years ago, she had only drunk a cup of lemon water once at culinary school.
She never knew it could also be used in cooking.
With this bite, Connie felt her index finger twitching and her appetite wide open. She wanted to eat a lot, lot more to be satisfied.
The tomatoes sold on the market were quick-ripening varieties with very faint flavors, which simply couldn’t compare to this.
With such a rich flavor, the restaurant across the street might not even be able to mix it up.
Moreover, it was very appetizing; having a bowl of such noodles on a hot day would definitely be very comfortable.
Watching Connie’s changing expression, Ning He involuntarily grew nervous.
Was it still too bland?
“How is it? Can it be sold?”
Connie didn’t speak and raised her chin toward A Huai.
“You try.”
A Huai nodded, scooped a spoonful of sauce into the remaining noodles, swallowed it in one bite, and savored it in his mouth for a moment.
His expression didn’t change much, he just paused for a second, and Connie understood.
“I know. Let’s just sell this.”
Ning He was so happy she almost jumped up.
“Don’t rush to be happy yet; let’s calculate the money first.”