She really hadn’t expected that, after considering every possible factor, she would somehow overlook something as crucial as the weather.
She checked her phone and only then learned that a tropical cyclone was approaching Huacheng. It looked like it would probably rain for several days.
Xia Yongen couldn’t help feeling frustrated, but she quickly pulled herself together and opened the system panel.
【Stage Mission: Sell 300 servings of Coconut Milk Layer Cake by Saturday (183/300)】
As usual, once she completed a mission, the system would unlock a new dessert. Therefore, no matter what happened today, she had to complete the mission.
She opened the map and thought carefully. She only had one small pushcart, and there was no way to carry rain gear on it. Why not find a place where she could set up her stall under shelter?
For a moment, she thought of the food plaza again. Although the food plaza was open-air, it had a canopy that could provide shelter from the rain. The problem was that she hadn’t contacted them in advance to reserve a stall, and showing up to set up there at the last minute probably wouldn’t work.
Besides, although today was Friday, the weather meant that far fewer people would be wandering around the food plaza than usual. She had more than a hundred servings of coconut cake, and she had no idea how many she would actually be able to sell.
After thinking it over for a long while, Xia Yongen ultimately decided to continue setting up her stall near the school. After all, after several days, her little stall had already gained some reputation.
Rain or not, the students would still get out of school, and they would still want something to eat.
It was just that, given today’s circumstances, she needed to find a good location.
Holding an umbrella, Xia Yongen walked to the area near the school. It wasn’t dismissal time yet, so the area outside the school was unusually quiet.
Amid the pouring rain, she spotted a stationery shop at the entrance of an alley not far away. A familiar, chubby little cat was sprawled on the ground outside the door, fast asleep.
An idea suddenly occurred to her. She hurried over to the alley entrance and carefully examined the stationery shop while trying to recall what the situation had been like when she’d set up her stall there over the past few days.
If she remembered correctly, business at this stationery shop wasn’t very good.
After combining that with what she was observing now, she became even more certain of her idea.
The shop’s decor was old-fashioned, clearly having been open for quite some time. The interior was somewhat dim, and the furnishings were simple. There were only five rows of shelves, packed with stationery, along with some figurines, trading cards, and squishies.
Xia Yongen looked around the surrounding area and discovered that besides this stationery shop, there was also a bookstore and a convenience store in the alley.
The bookstore next door was brightly lit. Besides selling supplementary study books and textbooks, it also carried figurines, trading cards, squishies, and all sorts of other things, just like the stationery shop. It even sold some small snacks that cost only one or two yuan.
The stationery shop, on the other hand, was rather dim. Even from outside, it looked deserted. Although it carried a wide variety of stationery, the owner didn’t seem to have put much effort into arranging it. Everything was simply piled onto the shelves, making it difficult to spot anything worth buying at a glance.
Besides, online shopping was so well developed nowadays that students weren’t stupid. Unless they needed something urgently, who would still buy stationery at a physical store?
On top of that, there was a large glass display counter right outside the stationery shop, filled with outdated stationery. Students probably hadn’t even stepped through the door before already feeling the urge to leave.
Since business at the stationery shop was poor, wouldn’t this prime spot right outside the entrance be perfect for her to borrow for her stall?
Xia Yongen made up her mind. While taking the opportunity to play with the cat, she struck up a conversation with the stationery shop owner.
The owner was a curly-haired woman surnamed Feng, who looked very down-to-earth.
The moment Auntie Feng heard why Xia Yongen was there and took another few looks at her, she suddenly slapped her thigh.
“Put chai ko? So you’re the one selling it!”
Over the past few days, whenever she sat outside the shop playing with the cat, she’d seen many students holding bamboo skewers and eating a novel little pastry.
She’d been thinking about asking the students what exactly the pastry was. If it was cheap, perhaps she could stock some and sell it in the stationery shop. Maybe it would even help bring some business to the store.
She hadn’t expected the actual seller to come looking for her of her own accord.
A stroke of incredible luck had practically fallen into her lap, and Auntie Feng immediately became enthusiastic. Still, faced with Xia Yongen’s sudden appearance, she couldn’t help feeling a little puzzled.
“There are so many shops around here. Why did you choose mine?”
Xia Yongen smiled.
“I spotted this cat lying on the ground from a distance. It looked so lazy, chubby, and well-fed that I knew you must take excellent care of it. You must be a kind-hearted person.”
“Then I realized this little cat had already asked me for food before. Isn’t that just fate?”
Hearing this, Auntie Feng felt thoroughly pleased and immediately wanted to agree.
Xia Yongen then brought up the matter of the stall fee. Although business at the stationery shop wasn’t good, she would still be occupying someone else’s space, so it was only right that she pay.
Auntie Feng hurriedly shook her head.
“Business at my shop is already bad enough. If you’re willing to set up your stall here, you’re helping me out. Why would I take money from you?”
Now that everything had been settled, Xia Yongen immediately felt much more at ease. As dismissal time approached, she arrived at the entrance of the stationery shop early.
Auntie Feng also came out to help. Just imagining the students rushing into the stationery shop later had her practically grinning from ear to ear.
Because of the weather, only a handful of vendors had come to set up stalls outside the school today. But Xia Yongen knew that although there was less competition, she had changed locations, so her business would inevitably be affected somewhat.
Sure enough, it wasn’t until five or six minutes after dismissal that some students noticed the little stall set up outside the stationery shop.
Most of the other students hurried away under their umbrellas, and business at the few stalls outside the school was much worse than usual.
The smile that had just begun to appear on Auntie Feng’s face gradually faded. She had waived the stall fee because she’d hoped the girl’s good business would bring customers into her shop, but seeing this, she couldn’t help regretting her decision.
Xia Yongen had no idea what she was thinking. She simply carefully packed up the put chai ko and coconut milk layer cakes, handed them to the students in front of her, then pointed toward the few plastic chairs outside the stationery shop.
“The rain is really heavy. Why don’t you finish eating here before you leave?”
There wasn’t much space in front of the shop, so naturally, it couldn’t accommodate many people. Seven or eight students squeezed together beneath the awning outside the stationery shop.
Auntie Feng, who was playing with the cat nearby, began to grow hopeful. Her eyes remained fixed on the group of students.
Two of the students holding coconut milk layer cake went inside the stationery shop and looked around, but they quickly came back out and started chatting with their friends at the entrance.
Auntie Feng’s lips twitched downward.
These students were just standing outside her shop chatting without buying anything. They were such a nuisance!
If it weren’t for Xia Yongen, she would have chased them away immediately.
Meanwhile, at the school gate not far away, Yao Xiaotong and Jiajia walked out under their umbrellas. Three other classmates followed behind them, all of whom Yao Xiaotong had successfully convinced to come along.
The group walked around the school gate, but there was no sign of Xia Yongen anywhere, leaving them somewhat disappointed.
“Seriously? Does that mean we have to wait until next Monday before we can eat it?”
“Sigh… Maybe we should just get some grilled chicken instead…”
“I’m so hungry. At this point, I want to eat everything I see.”
Yao Xiaotong, who was leading the group, suddenly felt an enormous amount of pressure. Just as she was about to rally everyone and keep their spirits up, she noticed several students gathered at the entrance of an alley nearby, apparently eating something.
She narrowed her eyes.
When she saw that they were all holding bamboo skewers, her heart jolted.
“Wait! I think the owner changed locations!”
The group quickly made their way to the entrance of the alley. When Jiajia spotted the familiar little stall, her steps became noticeably more cheerful. The others perked up as well, chattering excitedly about which flavors they wanted to try.
Yao Xiaotong came by so frequently that Xia Yongen recognized her by now. Seeing that she’d brought several classmates with her this time, Xia Yongen picked out a mango put chai ko with the most filling for her.
Needless to say, Yao Xiaotong’s eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
Because of the rain, she’d originally planned to take it home to eat. But when she saw the other students digging in, she couldn’t resist the temptation either and took out her coconut milk layer cake.
And just like that, five more people were standing outside the stationery shop.
This time, you didn’t even need to look closely. Anyone walking out of the school could immediately see a large crowd gathered at the entrance of the alley. Since everyone was holding umbrellas, it was impossible to tell from a distance what was happening, which only made people more curious and eager to go over and find out.
Before long, another long line formed in front of Xia Yongen’s little stall. Some students didn’t even realize what was being sold until they had reached the front of the line.
Auntie Feng, who had originally been sitting around playing with the cat, naturally became busy as well.
She couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
This girl really was her lucky charm!
Still, the stall’s business was inevitably affected by the rain that day.
At six in the evening, there weren’t many students left at the school. Twenty servings of coconut milk layer cake still remained before Xia Yongen could complete her mission.
Xia Yongen prepared herself for the worst. If she really couldn’t sell them all, she would set up her stall in front of the subway station. And if that didn’t work, she could always go near the food plaza and take advantage of the crowds there.
Ten minutes later, Zhao Yiping walked out of the school, his stomach growling with hunger.
He’d been busy grading papers all afternoon, and by the time he’d finished everything, it was already past six. He’d originally planned to hurry home for dinner, but he was simply too hungry. So he decided to stop by a nearby convenience store and get something to tide him over.
As soon as he entered the alley, he spotted the little stall outside the stationery shop, selling put chai ko and coconut milk layer cake.
He immediately remembered it.
This was probably the little stall Yao Xiaotong had mentioned.
It looked… pretty clean, at least.
He simply had no interest in these sorts of things. After all, unlike white-cut chicken or roast goose, they weren’t the kind of food that could make your mouth water just by thinking about them. And the preparation was so simple that there probably wasn’t much room for creativity.
When all was said and done, it was nothing more than an ordinary pastry.
Xia Yongen noticed him and immediately greeted him with a smile.
“Handsome, would you like a put chai ko? We also have coconut milk layer cake. Everything is freshly handmade, and it’s absolutely delicious!”
Zhao Yiping had originally intended to leave, but he stopped in his tracks and, almost against his own will, walked toward Xia Yongen.
Seeing how enthusiastic she was, he felt awkward refusing. When he looked at the prices, even the most expensive put chai ko was only 3.5 yuan. Besides, all the pastries looked quite appealing, and the portions were fairly generous.
He rubbed his faintly aching stomach. In the end, he scanned the QR code and ordered one of each.
Sigh, whatever. He’d just eat something to fill his stomach for the time being. Even if they weren’t good, he’d accept it!
Author’s Note:
The more I looked at it while editing, the hungrier I got. My stomach was making absolutely enormous noises in the library.