Chapter 93
Jian Yunlan rode his three-wheeled cart to the entrance of Zhu Yuan and was stunned when he saw the huge crowd in front.
Were these people… waiting for him?
The little Taotie had transformed into its animal form, though it was still in its juvenile stage. Now, the Taotie appeared as a small dog, entirely silver-white with a hint of red and blue patterns.
Seeing the familiar scene he had encountered in various other worlds and timelines, the Taotie couldn’t help but communicate telepathically:
“Human, these people couldn’t possibly be waiting for you, right?”
After all, Jian Yunlan and the Taotie were no strangers to large crowds and queues!
Whether it was in the world of Paranoid Possession or Dark River, Bright Lantern, they had witnessed countless such grand scenes.
But in the Genius Baby at Three and a Half world, Jian Yunlan only sold twenty ducks each day. Due to this limit, there hadn’t been many customers so far. On the first day, because Xu Shishi bought all the ducks, only three people were served, and on the second day, there were over twenty customers.
But right now, there were at least a hundred people!
“I only have twenty ducks,” Jian Yunlan became worried.
Yesterday, he had actually gathered fifty ducks from the abandoned duck farm and prepared them, thinking that if the twenty ducks sold out, he could throw the remaining thirty into the oven to be sold after cooking.
But the chef system only allowed him to sell twenty, so Jian Yunlan wasn’t sure if selling extra would count as violating the rules.
Even if he could sell extra, fifty ducks wouldn’t be enough for this many customers.
However, he quickly sighed in relief.
Following the line, Jian Yunlan spotted the Zhu Yuan food stall ahead.
Although he hadn’t heard of anyone else setting up a stall here before, this was a prime location, so it wasn’t surprising that Zhu Yuan set up a stall at their own doorstep.
“They’re waiting for someone else’s food,” the little boy patted his chest, relieved and grinning again. “That was close, I thought they were waiting for me.”
It wasn’t that Jian Yunlan didn’t want many customers; the main issue was that his roast ducks weren’t enough. As someone who was deeply obsessed with feeding others, Jian Yunlan couldn’t bear to see the disappointed faces of customers who didn’t get to buy a roast duck.
Luckily, they weren’t waiting for him, but for Zhu Yuan’s roast duck.
Moreover, he had only been setting up his stall for two days; there was no way he could have such a big reputation yet.
…What Jian Yunlan didn’t know was that, the day before, Aunt Wang’s craving for roast duck had caused such a stir that it attracted several major customers and led to the crowd forming today.
The little boy slowly parked his three-wheeled cart across the street.
He had timed it perfectly. He always put the roast ducks in the oven ten minutes before heading out, so by the time he reached the location, they were almost ready.
At that moment, the roast ducks in the oven made a sizzling sound, signaling that they were almost done. The fragrant aroma of the fruitwood roasting spread from the vent, wafting through the entire street.
Waiting for a long time nearby, Xu Shishi and Mu Mingqiu sprang into action the moment they spotted Little Lan, the boss, within their line of sight:
“Little Lan, you finally made it!” Xu Shishi took off her sunglasses and swallowed, “Ahh, I want one roast duck!”
Xu Shishi got out of her Lamborghini and walked up to Little Lan’s stall. One hand pulled out her phone, ready to pay at any moment, while the other hand already wore a disposable glove, prepared to dive straight into the roast duck.
She was all set to devour the duck immediately.
Mu Mingqiu was even quicker. He closed the book in his hand, jumped up from the lounge chair, and, at a speed unimaginable to most, dashed across most of the street, arriving at the stall even before Xu Shishi.
Several bodyguards lined up behind him, holding drinks, baby bottles, snacks, and other items.
With a gentle and indulgent smile, Mu Mingqiu waved at Little Lan from a distance:
“Little Lan, you’ve worked hard all the way here, please take a drink and rest for a moment! By the way, I’d like to buy a roast duck~”
Jian Yunlan: “…”
Ye Qingquan, who had been secretly following them: “…………”
What is this strange sense of impending danger?
The little boy steadied his three-wheeled cart, unfolded the extension board, and placed the side condiments like cucumber strips, scallions, and marinated sauce in order. Then, he looked up and flashed a sweet smile at the two:
“Alright, brother and sister, please wait a moment. The roast duck will be ready soon!”
The two nodded.
As they watched the roast ducks almost ready to come out of the oven, Xu Shishi and Mu Mingqiu’s eyes gleamed with longing, their necks stretched out as they eagerly gazed at the ducks…
Because most of the other customers were in the wrong line, Xu Shishi and Mu Mingqiu became the first lucky ones to get their roast ducks.
The more delighted they were, the more dissatisfied the other customers became.
The local residents who had come with Aunt Wang, as well as the regulars from yesterday, looked at the late-arriving Little Lan’s stall, then looked at the line they were in—completely unaware of what it was for.
They all felt like the world was crashing down.
“No, no, Little Lan is over there, then what’s the point of the line we’ve been waiting in???”
“I’ve been waiting for half an hour! Oh my god…”
“Aunt Wang, how could you not notice we were in the wrong line? We trusted you so much!”
“What wrong line?” The tourists in front of them were also confused. “Is there someone else selling roast ducks here? We thought Zhu Yuan was the only one.”
They had insisted on coming here with the guide, just to try the roast duck that had kept them awake the past few nights, enduring the disdain from Old Song and others.
Now, upon closer inspection, it seemed that the roast duck from ‘Little Lan’ was the one they had smelled two days ago…
Had they been wrong all along?
Of course, many others who didn’t know what was going on had only followed the crowd. They were now jumping around, totally bewildered: “What wrong line? What were you supposed to be in line for… wait, what exactly is the line for now?”
The other customers were too exhausted to answer.
After reluctantly accepting the reality that they had been in the wrong line, the customers didn’t wallow in sadness for long.
Suddenly, everyone had an epiphany and slapped their foreheads:
“Little Lan is over there, and there’s barely anyone in that line now!”
“Since this line isn’t for Little Lan’s roast duck, what are we even waiting for?!”
“Let’s go, let’s go, hurry to Little Lan’s side to grab the roast duck, it’s limited! If we’re late, there won’t be any left!!!”
Realizing the mistake, the customers rushed to leave the line, surging across the street toward Little Lan’s stall.
At the front of the line, Old Hu still hadn’t realized what had happened and was proudly live-streaming, explaining as he broadcasted:
“Yes, our Zhu Yuan’s roast duck is renowned throughout the capital. We claim second place, and no one dares to claim first!”
At that moment, tens of thousands of people were watching the live stream. They had been drawn in by the headline, “4,000 yuan per roast duck, with a hundred people in line to buy.”
Many people were curious to see what a roast duck costing that much would look like, while others were amazed at how rich the people of the capital must be.
However, many viewers in the chat pointed out:
[No matter how good the roast duck is, it can’t cost 4,000 yuan, right? Is the duck made of gold or something? It’s way too expensive.]
“Expensive? Where is it expensive?!” Old Hu glanced at the comments and immediately retorted, “It’s been this price for years! Our Old Song learned from the imperial chefs, his family used to cook for the emperor hundreds of years ago.”
“If you can’t afford it, you should reflect on whether it’s your own problem. Have you been working hard enough? The price being high is your issue, not Zhu Yuan’s roast duck!”
The audience was momentarily silenced by his words.
But then they recalled what they had read online—that Zhu Yuan was frequented by big shots, like the young masters of the Huo and Mu families. Four thousand yuan might be a lot for ordinary people, but for the wealthy, it was nothing.
Plus, the fact that so many people were waiting in line meant the roast duck must be really delicious, and if so many people could afford it, then maybe Old Hu’s words weren’t so wrong after all.
As they saw no further rebuttal in the chat, Old Hu grew more and more pleased with himself and said to the chef, Old Song, “Old Song, roast more, there are plenty of people in line, no worry about not selling them out!”
Old Song also had a smug smile on his face and shoved two more ducks into the oven.
The oven was now packed with ducks, some of which were fully roasted, while others were undercooked, even showing signs of blood. But as long as they made money, who cared?
And since the people in line were just common folk, not important guests, there was no need to pay attention to the cooking process.
Old Song and Old Hu exchanged a look, both seeing the shrewdness in each other’s eyes.
They hadn’t yet realized that things had already changed.
However, many viewers, through Old Hu’s phone camera, had started to sense something was wrong:
[Wait, why is the line getting shorter and shorter?]
[A lot of people are leaving (laughing behind hand)]
[What’s going on? The roast duck hasn’t been sold yet, and people are already leaving. Are they not buying it? Hahaha, if it were me, I wouldn’t buy it either. Why spend 4,000 yuan when you can get something better?]
At that moment, Old Hu, lost in his self-satisfaction, finally glanced at the chat and realized something was off.
Wha—what’s going on? Why are people leaving?
Panicking, Old Hu quickly tried to block the camera, but it didn’t stop the sharp eyes of the viewers:
[Listen carefully, someone in the background is saying “wrong line.” Maybe they weren’t even in line for your roast duck to begin with! They’re just deluding themselves into thinking their business is booming!]
[Hahaha]
[Looks like rich people aren’t fools either!]
More and more viewers were drawn in, getting excited.
Earlier, when Old Hu had been bragging about Zhu Yuan’s booming business, many people hadn’t cared—it was just the usual wealthy people’s show, right?
But now, seeing them mock the viewers for not having money, only to have their own boastful act flop so quickly, of course, the audience had to come and watch the drama unfold.
Old Hu, on the verge of tears, wanted to end the live stream, but the higher-ups had instructed him not to close it and to capture this surge of traffic. He was at a loss for what to do.
[I’m so curious, who is the boss of that roast duck stall across the street? They’re attracting so many people, it must be really delicious!]
[I remember a blogger saying his three-year-old kid is selling roast ducks over there. Could it be him?]
[Hahaha, three years old?? Now I’m even more curious!]
[@MyBabyIsThreeAndAHalf, Blogger, is that roast duck stall your kid’s over there? You’ve got to catch all that wealth!]
As if responding to the crowd’s call, the “MyBabyIsThreeAndAHalf” blogger actually went live. The background looked exactly the same as the street where Old Hu’s stall was!
The onlookers’ excitement reached new heights.
Old Hu could only watch helplessly as the mocking comments continued to pour in. Even worse, the little kid’s roast duck stall had now gained traffic from all this.
He covered his face in despair: “What is going on…”
Meanwhile, Old Song and his apprentices were frantically pacing.
Just a moment ago, they had been stuffing ducks into the oven, and now more than fifty ducks were about to be done.
So why had everyone left?
Old Song rushed to stop them: “Wait, don’t leave, the roast duck is almost ready! This is top-quality roast duck…”
But no one cared anymore.
The departing customers didn’t even spare him a glance.
Even He Duojin, who had taken out her black card, looked at the half-roasted ducks in the oven—some well-cooked, others still showing blood—and turned around without hesitation, taking her parents with her.
Why would she spend 80,000 yuan on this quality of duck? She wasn’t stupid.
She heard the roast duck on the other side smelled so good and was only 100 yuan!
“Let’s go, Dad, Mom, let’s try the roast duck from Little Lan, the boss over there.”
So Jian Yunlan going witness Mu Mingqiu getting slapped or kicked by Ye Qingquan and Taotie in small dog form get praises?
Ty for the chapter!