I awakened the cultivation panel.

Chapter 17 The Shock Brought by a Small Sprinkle of Scallions
Chen Jingle looked around: "You're just going to set up here?"

To be honest, the location isn't great; in fact, it's rather bad.

It's too far from the school gate!
It is well known that students are a lazy group and don't want to walk more than a few steps unless you are selling something really good.

Or perhaps there are simply no other competitors of the same type around.

Therefore, location is really important.

Li Guangming gave an awkward smile: "There's nothing I can do, all the good spots have been taken."

Chen Jingle secretly shook his head and said, "Give me one first. I'll be the first customer tonight. Just make it the usual way and let me see your true skill."

Although they refused, Chen Jingle insisted on paying by scanning the code.

A plate of stir-fried rice noodles with lean pork for 10 yuan was quite a large portion, with a good wok hei (wok aroma), and the dry edges were crispy and fragrant, making it look authentic.

However, Chen Jingle stirred the fried noodles and looked at the oil at the bottom of the plate, and knew that it wasn't quite right; too much oil had been used, making it a bit greasy.

After taking a bite, it was indeed as expected.

So he shook his head and said, "Your food doesn't taste very good. It's a bit oily and too greasy. Plus, you don't sell drinks."

It's edible, but not exactly delicious.

At 10 yuan a serving, it's quite competitive in the provincial capital or Shenzhen.

In a place like Jiangbei, where prices are high, it's a bit inappropriate for a roadside stall near a school to sell at these prices.

Li Guangming felt embarrassed upon hearing this.

He always thought he was pretty good at stir-frying noodles.

Chen Jingle didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "If you want to continue operating, you either need to lower your prices and increase sales volume with lower profits; or increase the quantity and ingredients to improve your reputation; or find a way to improve the taste. Which of these three paths do you think is more suitable?"

First, we can rule out option three because we don't have that much time.

The remaining options are either to lower the price or increase the quantity.

Li Guangming rubbed his hands together: "Huh? You're going to lower the price again? Ten yuan for fried noodles isn't very profitable to begin with."

Chen Jingle sighed: "Your problem now is not that you're not making money, it's that you can't make any money at all. Small profits but quick turnover is worse than no income at all, right? For example, lower the price by two yuan and make it eight yuan a serving. Don't underestimate those two yuan; it's enough to go to an internet cafe for an hour. The living expenses of middle school students are far less than those of college students. If you choose to set up a shop next to a middle school, you should be prepared for this."

This is quite...

High school students typically spend their monthly allowance on food, unlike university students who can afford to go out for food and entertainment.

The very first sentence was a bit harsh.

Chen Wenjie didn't say anything. He didn't really want to persist, feeling that even if the price was lowered, there was little hope.

Li Guangming, on the other hand, looked conflicted; he still wanted to struggle a bit more.

"You can't have your cake and eat it too if you don't want to lower prices but still want high sales and a good reputation. There's no such thing as a free lunch," Chen Jing chuckled.

Li Guangming started pulling his hair and squatted down to the side to start smoking.

Chen Wenjie was originally indifferent, but seeing his good friend like this, he also felt a little annoyed.

After smoking a cigarette, Li Guangming stood up and let out a long sigh: "Brother Le, you're smarter than us, and you see further than us. Which option do you think we should choose?"

"In the short term, lowering prices and increasing sales volume is a good option, but in the long run, quality and reputation are naturally the priorities," Chen Jingle said.

Li Guangming lamented, "I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on. What long-term prospects are we talking about then?"

Both of them looked to Chen Jingle for help, hoping he could give them some good advice.

"Actually, there's another way. I wonder if you'd be willing to give it a try?"

Chen Jingle ultimately softened his heart.

After much thought, I decided to help these two young guys out: "I got a batch of special scallions from my friend that are still in the lab cultivation stage. The taste is far superior to regular scallions. It's just a bit pricey. I'll send you some to try later. If you like them, I can consider supplying them to you on a long-term basis."

It certainly won't be given away for free; even brothers need to keep clear accounts.

Although that batch of scallions was just something Chen Jingle was playing with, there was a considerable amount. Not everyone could eat that much, so giving some to them might give them a chance to revive the plant.

He doesn't lack the money, but he's a little reluctant to give it away for free.

Besides, people might not even appreciate it if you give something for free.

That's just how the world is; no wonder he overthinks things.

"Scallions?!"

Chen Wenjie and Li Guangming looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this.

Li Guangming couldn't help but say, "Scallions are just a small ingredient in stir-fried noodles; they don't change much, do they?"

Chen Jingle remained noncommittal, smiling calmly: "You'll find out when you come to my house tomorrow."

Facts speak louder than words. No amount of explanation can replace presenting the facts directly to them.

Is that a regular scallion?

Those are scallions grown with diluted moonlight dew!
You know nothing about the abilities of plant spirit masters!
……

as predicted.

Chen Wenjie and Li Guangming still didn't get much business that night.

This made the two of them sigh even more, and they began to think about how to find someone to take over the stall so they could sell it and recoup their losses.

Just thinking about what Chen Jingle said, I decided to try my luck one last time, even if it seemed hopeless.

So the next afternoon, after they got off work, they went to Chen Jingle's house together.

Chen Jingle knew they were coming and had prepared rice noodles and scallions for them in advance, but there were no other side dishes.

He said to Li Guangming, "Come on, let's try stir-frying a plate of rice noodles."

(picture)

Although Li Guangming didn't understand why, he still did as instructed.

It's just a plate of stir-fried noodles; it doesn't take much time.

There are no other ingredients, but there are plenty of seasonings. The firepower of a home stove is not as high, so it takes a little longer than usual.

When stir-frying rice noodles at home, using chopsticks allows for better control of the heat and seasonings compared to stir-frying them at a street stall.

Just as he was about to sprinkle some chopped green onions, stir-fry a few times, and take it off the heat, his expression suddenly changed slightly, his nostrils twitched, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Because he smelled a very special fragrance.

Scallion flavor!

That's right, it's definitely the aroma of scallions!

Just a few seconds ago, the chopped scallions he sprinkled on the chopsticks produced a unique aroma the moment they were cooked through.

But it's not quite the same as the scallion flavor he's used to.

Chen Wenjie, who was standing next to him, also smelled it.

He was just wondering what Brother Le was up to. Did he call them over just to stir-fry a plate of rice noodles? He couldn't even say what he wanted to say directly. Speechless.

Upon smelling the aroma of scallions, I immediately became a little unsettled.

Both of them had taken formal cooking classes at school. While their cooking skills might not be exceptional, they were at least qualified chefs.

Logically speaking, the aroma of scallions shouldn't be this strong, because there aren't many scallion pieces sprinkled on top; they're just used as a garnish to enhance the aroma.

This……

I don't quite understand it.

……

Chen Jingle handed them chopsticks, and the three of them eagerly devoured the plate of fried noodles.

Without a doubt, it's the onions that are the problem!
The aroma is more noticeable than the taste.

Li Guangming and Chen Wenjie were both incredulous: "It's just plain rice noodles with a little bit of scallion, how come it tastes better than rice noodles with lean meat or beef with all sorts of toppings?!"

This unscientific!

That defies common sense!

"How about it? My scallions are pretty good, right?" Chen Jingle said with a smile.

Chen Wenjie's eyes widened: "That's amazing, bro! How did you do that?"

"What kind of scallions are these? They look no different from the ones I usually buy outside."

Li Guangming was completely baffled.

Chen Jingle waved his hand: "The specifics involve trade secrets. This is a variety that is still in the experimental stage."

He won them over with just a handful of scallions, which was exactly what he expected.

After all, it was cultivated using diluted moon dew, and no one can resist its flavor!
hiss~
Li Guangming took a deep breath and asked hesitantly, "Brother Le, are you selling these scallions? If so, how much per pound?"

He knew that Chen Jingle wouldn't have called them over for no reason.

Now the problem is in front of everyone: the flavor of these scallions is so strong that it's enough to make up for any technical shortcomings.

Without a doubt, reviving their little fried noodle stall would be no difficult task at all!
The key question is, how can we convince them to give us such special and precious ingredients?
It's not as simple as just saying a few nice words in a humble tone.

(End of this chapter)