After finishing a bowl of noodles, Lytle felt extremely satisfied.
He hadn’t eaten a proper meal since the temperatures began to rise yesterday. He was physically hungry, but he simply couldn’t muster any appetite. This tomato meat sauce noodle dish, packed with acidity, was the ultimate appetite stimulant, and it had arrived at exactly the right time.
Comforting!
Having also finished a large portion of salad, he would have a good account to give to his wife back home.
Perfect!
One by one, the group finished their plates. Connie’s portions were standard, about 125 grams—not too much, not too little. It left them about eighty percent full, which was just right. They used the remaining space in their stomachs to slowly enjoy the leftover salad, interspersing it with sips of refreshing lemon-mint water.
Tsk, suddenly this thirty-plus-degree indoor temperature didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.
“Well, wasn’t this trip worth it?” Lytle grinned.
“It really is excellent. While the flavor might be slightly different compared to what we’ve had in Central City, it’s still a rare delicacy,” the gray-haired old man nodded.
“Mm, I’d give both dishes an 8.5 out of 10. A four-star recommendation,” said the old man leaning on the cane.
“I agree.” The portly middle-aged man expressed his support. “I think we should share this in the group chat and let everyone come and try it. But we were eating too fast—I forgot to take photos.”
“I took them.” A thin old man wearing a brown jacket, who hadn’t said much before, held up his phone and bared his teeth in a grin.
“Good. I’ll leave the recommendation to you. Just mention it in the group, and don’t forget the address and the name of the shop,” Lytle said.
“Sure, leave it to me. I’m very satisfied with this meal. I’m voting for you for this month’s ‘Store Explorer Star’!” the thin old man chuckled.
Lytle suppressed the curve of his mouth and feigned seriousness: “What’s the rush? We’ll see when the time comes. We need to head back; if people find out we snuck out to eat, it’ll be another headache.”
“Alright, I’ll go pay the bill,” the portly middle-aged man said, standing up and walking to the stall.
Seeing that the group was highly satisfied with the food, Connie let out a sigh of relief. She felt a bit more confident when quoting the price.
“…The salad is 20 per portion, the meat sauce noodles are 50 per portion, and the lemon water is free. That’s 350 original coins total. I’ll give you a discount; 320 will do.”
This time, the salad was priced as a small individual portion, so the price had been adjusted. Setting up a stall in the shelter was usually cheaper than standard pricing, but Connie was still very happy. Over three hundred coins—this was equivalent to half a day’s worth of revenue on a normal day.
“Here is 400. Keep the change,” the portly man said, taking out four brand-new banknotes and handing them to Connie as if he were just handing over a stack of scrap paper.
Connie stood frozen, staring at the banknotes in her hand.
“That’s a tip!” Ning He watched from the side with burning envy and rubbed her hands together. “Um, the three of us share in that, right?”
As she said it, Ning He felt disdain for herself.
Have some dignity!
But even a fly’s leg is meat. She needed money right now and couldn’t afford to be picky.
Connie came back to her senses and snorted lightly.
“Don’t worry. I’m not taking advantage of you. We’ll calculate it all together later.”
After Lytle and his group left, the entire dining area fell back into silence. The third-ring restaurants across the way entertained a few scattered guests, but here in the fourth ring, aside from Connie’s noodle stall, almost no one was open for business.
Meanwhile, in other areas of the shelter, a communication group called “Beiluo City Food Share” began to buzz with activity. Every member became immensely interested in the latest message received:
“Discovered a new restaurant. Sign: Jin’s Meat Sauce Noodle House.”
“The meat sauce noodles are sour, savory, and delicious, with a rich aroma and great appetite stimulation. Four-star recommendation; five-star recommendation for hot weather.”
“Five-color vegetable salad. A salad dressing I’ve never tasted before—full of flavor and an amazing texture. A must-eat!”
There were two attached photos. The meat sauce noodles had a rich, deep color, and the salad was vibrant and colorful. They looked incredibly appetizing.
“Shop name: Jin’s Meat Sauce Noodle House. Address: Dining Concentration Area No. 8. For those who are nearby, I recommend you go try it.”
A discussion ignited in the group instantly.
“Area No. 8? Isn’t that the one closest to me? Why didn’t I see it when I went there the day before yesterday?”
“Since it’s a recommendation from the administrator, it can’t be wrong. I’ve decided to go taste it immediately.”
“I’m going too. Let’s form a group!”
“Count me in.”
“I’m going!”
“Alright, let’s all head out separately and meet at the entrance to the dining area corridor.”
“Okay, let’s go!”
The members were all food enthusiasts who didn’t mind spending money. Soon, a group of about twenty people appeared in the corridor, marching in a grand procession. The third-ring restaurants were overjoyed, bracing themselves to welcome customers, only to watch in disbelief as the group walked straight past them toward the other side.
What was going on?!
The crowd stopped in front of the small noodle stall, ordered their food, and—without minding the crude environment—found spots at the neighboring plastic tables and chairs to wait quietly.
Regardless of the turmoil in the hearts of the third-ring restaurant staff, Ning He helped Connie greet the guests, and the two were rushing around in a flurry of activity.
Although they had prepared several portions of salad in advance, the quantity was far from enough.
They brought out their stock of vegetables from the basket; Ning He handled the pre-processing, A Huai checked and chopped, and Connie did the final assembly. The three worked like an assembly line, finishing five portions and serving them immediately. Fortunately, the time-consuming mayonnaise had been made in bulk beforehand, so it was enough to keep them from making the guests wait too long.
With the salad to tide the guests over, the trio let out a small sigh of relief and began boiling noodles.
Connie was in charge of the noodles—one portion could be boiled in a minute. Ning He took them over, rinsed them in cold water, let them drain for a moment, and handed them to A Huai, who placed them in the food boxes and ladled on the meat sauce.
Although their coordination was excellent and their speed wasn’t slow, the last guest still waited nearly twenty minutes for their noodles. However, all the customers were very polite, showing no signs of impatience or dissatisfaction. They took their bowls and began to eat and enjoy the food in earnest.
Ning He sat on a small stool, observing these customers.
From their clothing, they appeared to be third-ring residents. Why had they all swarmed to her stall at once?
Although Ning He believed that as long as people tasted these noodles, word would spread, this speed was just too fast.
Looking at the crowd again—they took photos before eating, and as soon as they finished, they took out their phones and started typing rapidly, as if they were writing something. They didn’t look like ordinary diners at all. One lady even had a small camera tripod set up in front of her.
Ning He slapped her forehead:
Is this a professional food-review team?
Ning He found Connie and whispered her suspicions in her ear.
“So… what should we do?” This was the first time Connie had encountered such a situation, and she felt a mix of pleasant surprise and nervousness.
In an era of food scarcity, humanity’s obsession with good food became even more fervent. Almost every safety city had these kinds of food-bloggers who shared their finds online.
Ning He, having seen bigger scenes, patted Connie’s shoulder.
“It’s fine. I suspect there will be plenty more guests coming later. Let’s just prep in advance and ensure our service speed and quality are maintained.”
Connie nodded, feeling a weight lift. Her attitude toward Ning He had undergone a massive change, though she hadn’t even realized it herself.
Once this batch of guests finished, paid, and left—all wearing expressions of satisfaction—Connie felt the thrill of collecting money until her hands felt tired for the first time. Even with a ten-percent discount, they had taken in 1,200 original coins.
As soon as the guests left, the three of them immediately brought out the last half-basket of vegetables and flour to begin processing.
But looking at it, the inventory wasn’t much—likely only about fifty portions of noodles. There was even less salad, enough for only about twenty portions, though they still had a large bowl of mayonnaise left.
Usually, the noodle shop did modest business, and they only stocked up for five days’ worth, so this was all they had.
Ning He felt it was a pity.
If they sold a little more, maybe Connie would be in a good mood and give her a bigger cut?
Just as Ning He was inwardly sighing, the woman selling clay pot dishes from next door suddenly arrived at Connie’s stall carrying a basket and whispered something to her.
Ning He didn’t hear it clearly, but Connie’s expression was surprised and hesitant. She exchanged a few words with the woman, who nodded and took her basket back to her own stall.
“What happened?” Ning He leaned in and asked.
“She doesn’t think she can sell her clay pot dishes, so she wants to sell her remaining ingredients to us at half price,” Connie explained.
Ning He’s eyes lit up.
“Isn’t that perfect? We were just worrying about not having enough ingredients!”
Connie was still indecisive.
“Can we really sell that much? In the past, we’d always sell the leftovers to the restaurants across the way at low prices since their food carts are equipped with refrigerators, so they don’t have to worry about waste.”
“Times have changed. You’ve seen it yourself—our two dishes are very popular. We definitely won’t struggle to sell them, and we might even make a big profit! But if you’re worried, let’s just wait and see how the next wave of guests goes.”
Hearing this from Ning He, Connie felt it was an opportunity.
“Then let’s wait and see before deciding.”
The words had barely left her mouth when a voice filled with surprise rang out nearby:
“Jin’s Meat Sauce Noodle House! This is definitely the place. Everyone come over here quickly, this is the one they recommended!”
Ning He looked up, and—whoa—how had another huge group of people arrived?
It was time to get overwhelmed with orders!