Mountain and Sea Canteen - Chapter 8

As soon as the first day of business ended, Ying Linglong’s first task was to calculate how much money she had made today.

Not calculating was one thing, but once she did, she was in for a shock. There had been very few customers today, yet a rough estimate showed a net profit of over 500 yuan!

Ying Linglong belatedly realized that Director Yang had been right.

With no rent to pay, no taxes to worry about, and free labor, running a restaurant was indeed a highly profitable venture!

The money spent today was mostly on raw ingredients, plus the essential rice, flour, and seasonings needed before opening. There were still plenty of ingredients left, but Ying Linglong didn’t want to sell anything less than fresh to her customers, so she ended up eating the leftovers for dinner herself. Otherwise, the profit would have been even higher.

If this level of revenue continued, she could repay Lili and his brother within a week and then make significant progress toward settling her debt with Boss Huang.

However, her optimism didn’t last long. As she scrutinized the revenue details, Ying Linglong noticed something off. Huang Baihao and his four friends alone had contributed over 600 yuan, accounting for more than half of the day’s total revenue.

The pricing at Mountain and Sea Canteen wasn’t particularly high-only slightly more expensive than an average restaurant. Huang Baihao and his friends were young men with hearty appetites, ordering premium items like beef, lamb, oysters, shrimp, and handmade fish balls. Even with the 20% opening day discount, they still spent over 600 yuan.

If someone wanted to save money, two people could come in, order a plate of tomato and egg stir-fry with two bowls of rice, and have a satisfying meal for just 10 yuan per person.

If rent and labor costs were factored in, Mountain and Sea Canteen would undoubtedly be operating at a loss.

While saving on rent and labor wasn’t a big deal, the real issue was that Huang Baihao and his friends couldn’t possibly come in every day to support Ying Linglong.

Wouldn’t tomorrow’s revenue look pretty bleak then?

With these worries on her mind, Ying Linglong went to bed feeling uneasy.

The morning air was crisp and refreshing, a rare moment of comfort in the day.

But Yan Li didn’t feel the coolness at all. She had overslept by ten minutes today, and for someone who always timed her arrival at the company entrance to the minute, this was a life-or-death situation.

She practically power-walked the entire way, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. When she checked the time, it seemed she had arrived at Fuduo Supermarket around the same time as usual.

She let out a sigh of relief.

The time she had squeezed out was meant for breakfast. Normally, she would quickly toast a few slices of bread in the breakfast machine and have a boiled egg, and that would be it.

Today, she hadn’t eaten anything, and her stomach was empty. As she looked up, she noticed a restaurant had opened next to Fuduo Supermarket.

Was it a restaurant? Mountain and Sea Canteen. The name was a bit odd.

The aroma of food wafting from the shop was unmistakable. Without a second thought, Yan Li rushed inside.

“Boss, what’s on the breakfast menu?”

The boss, who had been bent over a griddle, looked up, revealing a fair and delicate face. “Millet porridge, scallion pancakes, radish shredded pancakes, salted duck eggs…”

Yan Li hurriedly asked, “Can the millet porridge be packed to go?”

The boss paused for a moment, then shook her head.

Yan Li frowned. Time was tight, and seeing that the scallion pancakes on the griddle were ready, she said, “Then give me two scallion pancakes.”

While waiting for the pancakes to be bagged, Yan Li glanced around the shop. An elderly couple sat not far away. The grandfather was peeling a salted duck egg. Once it was peeled, he poked it with his chopsticks, and streams of golden oil oozed out.

Across from him, the grandmother stirred the millet porridge in front of her, picking up the thin layer of congealed rice cream that had formed on top and happily slipping it into her mouth.

Yan Li watched with envy. I really want to retire, she thought.

Considering she didn’t even have time to sit down and eat breakfast, Yan Li kept her expression neutral, but inside, she was screaming in frustration.

Who doesn’t go a little crazy at work? We’re all just holding it together!

A voice interrupted Yan Li’s internal turmoil. “Your scallion pancakes.”

Yan Li took them without looking and hurried out the door.

She had to eat the pancakes before getting on the subway. Otherwise, the pancakes wouldn’t just become flatter-they might randomly end up in the hoods, backpack zippers, or back pockets of the people around her amidst the chaos. After all, the subway line she was about to take was infamously known as “Hell Line 3,” where you could board with a cookie and disembark with a bag of flour.

As she rushed toward the subway station, Yan Li picked up the scallion pancake in her hand. She hadn’t looked closely when she took it, but why was there an extra bag next to it? She opened the paper bag and found two golden sweet potato balls nestled at the bottom.

Had the boss noticed her displeasure when she couldn’t get the millet porridge to go and decided to compensate her with the sweet potato balls?

Yan Li squeezed the bottom of the paper bag to pop a sweet potato ball into her mouth. The sweet potato filling was finely mashed, mixed with glutinous rice flour, and rolled into a round ball.

The moment she bit into it, there was a crisp crack, almost unbelievably so. As the thin outer layer broke, the soft, sticky sweetness burst out with a cheerful aroma.

The sweetness came entirely from the sweet potato itself, with a faint hint of milkiness.

It was a bit hot, so Yan Li blew on it gently. Whether it was the comfort of the sugar or the small act of kindness from a stranger, her suppressed mood unconsciously lightened a little.

With the sweet potato ball in her stomach, Yan Li felt a sense of anticipation as she bit into the scallion pancake, despite the urgency of her time crunch. The pancakes weren’t very large, so she ordered two.

At first glance, they looked no different from the scallion pancakes sold at any other breakfast stall. But with the first bite, she discovered their richness-the outer layer was crispy, with bits flaking off as she ate, while the inside was soft and slightly chewy. The aroma of scallions bloomed in her mouth.

This breakfast, hastily consumed on the go, left Yan Li surprisingly satisfied. The subway station was right in front of her. She tossed the packaging into the trash, popped a piece of gum into her mouth, and continued walking into the station without missing a beat.

Meanwhile, Ying Linglong jotted down new items on her shopping list: a can sealer, along with the corresponding plastic cups and sealing film.

Many students and office workers didn’t have time to eat breakfast in the shop. With a sealer, she could conveniently pack soups and other liquid items for takeout.

The shopping list already had several items, including duck eggs and the vegetables needed to make pickled vegetables.

The duck eggs Professor Wu had eaten today were ones Ying Linglong had preserved back in Liqiu Mountain. There weren’t many left, and they wouldn’t last more than a few days. She’d need to prepare a new batch soon.

Ying Linglong had gotten up early today and returned to her sect first. To avoid affecting the morning business, she spent a hefty sum-150 yuan-to hire Di Jiang to take her there and back.

As she mentally calculated how much pickled vegetables to make, she heard Professor He, who had visited the shop early, ask, “Boss, isn’t your cousin coming in this morning?”

She was referring to Golden Crow. Golden Crow looked young, like a dropout trying to make a living, yet he carried an undeniable air of nobility-a striking contradiction. To explain, Ying Linglong had claimed he was her cousin who had fallen out with his family and come to her for shelter. She had taught him the art of grilling so he could help out in the shop.

Looking at the overcast weather, Ying Linglong was tempted to joke, “It’s cloudy today, so Golden Crow isn’t coming to work.”

Unfortunately, no one would understand the joke, and Ying Linglong felt a pang of loneliness.

“He went out to run some errands early. He’ll be back soon.”

Jia Zhiwen arrived at the entrance of Mountain and Sea Canteen and let out a sigh of relief.

Turning to the person behind him, he said, “I told you it’d be open in the morning.”

His wife, Zhou Xiu, shot him a sidelong glance. “You didn’t sound so confident earlier.”

Jia Zhiwen had tried the grilled skewers at Ying Linglong’s shop the day before and couldn’t stop thinking about them all night. When his wife got up to make breakfast and mentioned they were out of eggs, Jia Zhiwen was supposed to remember to buy some.

But for some reason, he insisted on bringing Zhou Xiu to Ying Linglong’s shop instead.

Zhou Xiu only found out as they were heading downstairs that the place Jia Zhiwen was so eager to visit was the grilled skewer shop he’d been obsessing over all night. She couldn’t help but punch him twice in frustration.

“Are you out of your mind? Grilled skewer shops don’t open until the afternoon! What kind of breakfast are we supposed to eat there? Are we just going to get turned away?”

Jia Zhiwen scratched his head. “It’s not just a grilled skewer shop. It’s a regular restaurant too.”

Since they were already there, Zhou Xiu, though skeptical about what kind of breakfast a grilled skewer shop could possibly offer, decided to sit down anyway. She thought to herself, Breakfast options are pretty limited. How bad could it be? At least I don’t have to cook.

Zhou Xiu ordered two bowls of millet porridge, a salted duck egg, and a plate of radish pickles.

When their food arrived, there was an extra plate of glistening sweet potato balls. Jia Zhiwen winked and said with a smile, “Try these. You love sweet stuff, don’t you?”

Zhou Xiu shot him a glare, though the corners of her mouth were turned up. She blew on a spoonful of millet porridge before taking a sip.

The porridge had been cooked with red dates, which had been pitted. Zhou Xiu felt a little more at ease. The golden millet porridge was thick and hearty. Though the ingredients were simple, they had been cooked to perfection, bringing out their natural flavors-soft, sticky, and subtly sweet.

Zhou Xiu picked up a bite of radish pickles. The tangy and spicy flavor, coupled with the crisp texture, perfectly complemented the mildness of the porridge.

Jia Zhiwen had already peeled the salted duck egg and scooped out the yolk, placing it in his wife’s bowl. The golden-red yolk glistened with oil. With a gentle press of his chopsticks, more oil oozed out of the grainy yolk, looking utterly irresistible.

Zhou Xiu hadn’t been particularly hungry, but now her appetite was fully awakened. She finished her bowl of millet porridge clean before biting into a sweet potato ball. The moment her teeth broke through the crispy shell, sweetness spread from her mouth straight to her heart.

Seeing her satisfaction, Jia Zhiwen seized the opportunity. “Honey, you don’t even know-the grilled skewers here are the real deal. Just the few bites they let me try yesterday had me craving them ever since. How about we skip cooking tonight and come here instead?”

Zhou Xiu laughed. “As if I love cooking so much! I’d be happy to eat out every day!”

Just then, Professor Wu and his wife stood up to leave. Before stepping out, they asked, “What’s the special dish today? Something like the fish balls from yesterday?”

In addition to its regular home-style dishes, Mountain and Sea Canteen also offered daily specials based on the available ingredients.

Ying Linglong, who was calmly breaking down a chicken, looked up and replied, “Today’s specials are braised oxtail and spicy and sour chicken offal.”