Operating A Stall (8)

"Gege... We've not even profited from the sales yet, and you have already begun giving the others free food. You don't have to worry about the food going to waste, you know?" Yuan Ling said. She seems to be oblivious about the reason behind their first customer's troubled appearance.

Perhaps, that's the differences in their point of view towards a person.

While Yuan Ling had great insight into reading a cultivator's mind, Long Yuan had a knack for reading what's inside the minorities. He might not understand what's going on inside the cultivator's head. Still, it was a direct opposite when it came to regular people.

A glance is all he needs to notice that the scholar-like customer was a teacher. While he doesn't look like one, the way he moves around choosing affordable foods means he's compensating the students to come and study under him.

There's only a reason for a teacher-figure like him to search for affordable food. First of all, he might be doing this out of kindness. And secondly, he's teaching the students voluntarily, with, or without pay.

If he's precisely a kind teacher like this, Long Yuan found no reason for him to be troubled by giving out a few free buns to him regularly. After all, a well-fed child is a good student. And a well-taught child would be a responsible man in the future.

After the scholar-like client left their sight, the stall returned to its usual silence once again. People kept walking past the sibling's store but didn't even bother to look at what they had in the steamer.

A few stalls selling their products like hot cakes started to close down after clearing everything they had. And it was barely over an hour from the opening time.

"Long-Gege... The others are starting to finish selling their products..." Yuan Ling said. There was a hint of jealousy on Yuan Ling's face while the food vendors made their way inside the Xiyang Pavilion.

"Ling-Er, what the others do, it's their own matter. Don't let them affect us and our confidence." Long Yuan said and gave the lass' forehead a rub. He knew that selling around ten of the steamed buns would already be good enough for their first day.

Furthermore, since the rental didn't state their minimum payment or earning had to be. Even if the stall only made two Copper-Coin a day, Long Yuan only needed to pay half to them.

More of the stalls started to pack up when two hours passed. Barely thirty is left open and still available for business from the initial eighty operating stalls.

A smug, smiling face was hanging on the vendors who cleared everything they had on their stall. But weirdly, their irritable expression could hardly disturb those still operating their stalls.

Only some newcomers would get provoked by their annoying expressions.

A little later, another wave of customers finally made their over to the food market. Their quality seems much better than the first two batches of foodies that came here solely to enjoy something new.

"Young man. What's the price for the steamed bun you have?" asked a man with a build like a wrestler. Coming along with his solid figure was the cultivation of Foundation Realm's third stage and a hint of bloodlust seeping out from within.

Evidently, this man kills daily to have such a thick killing intent lingering around him.

"Two buns for a single Copper-Coin. If you're interested in trying it on the spot, I'll recommend the toasted version. But that one would be a little pricier." Long Yuan replied. Although he could feel the killing intent from this man, it was hardly directed straight at him.

Instead, this man was the one that couldn't keep the killing intent in control.

It was clear that this man was a hunter, based on the pair of daggers strapped around his belt with an empty quiver strapped around his back.

"Toasted bun? Why would it be pricier when all you do is let the soft bun burn on top of the gentle flame?" the man asked.

"Of course, that's because a layer of homemade fruit compote was added to make the bun taste better." Long Yuan replied. The way he responded to the hunter's question was vague while mysterious at the same time.

"You should try one, mister! I had that yesterday, and they're delicious!" Yuan Ling quickly added. Perhaps in her mind, she believes that making a pitch like that would help them to earn an additional Copper-Coin.

"Fine. Get me one of the toasted buns you mentioned and pack four steamed buns for me to takeaway. Will it take long to get ready?" the hunter made his order after getting persuaded by Yuan Ling to have a try.

The lass might be lacking in doing business, but she's still a reliable mascot. As long the opponent was a male, more than half of them would definitely fall to her cute side.

Imitating what Yuan Long did with the buns they sold earlier, Yuan Ling handled the wrapping this time. As for Long Yuan, he generously applied a layer of the Silvergrass Fruit Compote on the top of the bun before putting it above the roasting fire.

Precisely because this was his second time cooking the bun over a gentle flame, Long Yuan remembered a particular part that required his concern. Instead of using a wooden branch for cooking the bun over the flame, he used an iron skewer.

This would prevent the burnt wood chipping from getting stuck to the caramelized compote in the process.

The aroma from the caramelizing Silvergrass Fruit Compote soon escaped from the briquette stove and spread outward from the stall. The sweetness that accompanied a hint of zestiness attacked a few patrons passing by the booth.

"W-Where did the sweetness and a hint of zest come from? To think that this aroma could spice up my appetite for something else!" one of the chubby patrons said. He was supposed to be full after eating a flatbread, but the aroma made his belly grumble like there was still space for something else.

He wasn't the only one looking around for the origin of the sweet aroma brought by the caramelization. In a flash of an eye, more than three people were caught by the sweetness of the Silvergrass Fruit Compote alone.

All their attention was pointed at the beautifully toasted bun with a layer of hardened, caramelized fruit compote. While the aroma was no longer as intense as when it was above the flame, a hint of it was still lingering around the bun.

"That would be three Copper-Coin in total, mister hunter." Yuan Ling smiled as she politely asked for the payment. Her words were like a shock that jolted the hunter back on his sense. He had no idea that he was already on the verge of drooling from looking at that delicious-looking bun with a layer of brownish coating on the surface.

"T-Take it." the hunter quickly paid for what he ordered while swallowing a mouthful of saliva in his mouth. After that, his hand slowly approaches the toasted bun with two of his fingers gently holding it.

It was as if he was afraid of breaking the layer of solidified fruit caramel on the toasted bun's surface.

The attention of the people who tasted the sweetness through smell alone was pointing towards the bun held in between the hunter's two fingers. Both complaints and envy were all in their mind right now as they stared at the hunter.

(Stuff it into your mouth! What the hell are you waiting for?)

That was the thought inside one of the passerby's minds while looking at how a hunter with a sturdy build gets intimidated by that brownish, toasted bun. And worst of all, that was a deliberately mild piece of thoughts the hunter could feel from all the gaze around him.

Some of the gazes were filled with killing intent ten times stronger than the hunter.

(Pass that toasted bun to me if you hesitated to eat it!)

(What are you waiting for? Is that bun too hot for a weakling like you?)

All sorts of negative thoughts were going through the hunter's mind as he was intimidated by everyone looking at him.

This continued until Long Yuan gently coughed to get everyone's attention. And when they turned their attention to this youngster around fifteen years old, everyone around here finally noticed that they were blocking the road for the others to walk freely.

"May I suggest everyone respect my customer's privacy and peace of mind while he trying to get a bite of that toasted bun?" Long Yuan said with a smile on his face. Each and every word that came out from his lips were polite, but at the same time, beautifully spoken.

'Order one of you're curious about how it tastes like!' that was what Long Yuan was hinting at them. No matter how beautifully it was spoken, half of the patrons were illiterate anyway. The way Long Yuan said can be sarcastically indicating at them to pay if they wanted to have a bite of it.

The hunter quickly takes a bite of the toasted bread after noticing that the curious gazes are slightly weaker than before. But before he could savor the taste running inside his mouth, the hunter noticed that something was missing!

What was it?

Where is it?

He wanted to ask himself. He recollected that he had just taken a single bite of the bun into his mouth. But surprisingly, the entire bun was gone from his fingers.

The hunter hadn't even chewed on his food yet!