Rebirth of a Farmer's Dad

After listening to the couple's conversation, Luo Feng suddenly remembered a small steel factory in town, employing about four or five hundred people. So, the factory didn't have a canteen! It seemed he could try his luck there; it wasn't far from the market anyway. If he could contract a canteen there, wow, four or five hundred people! He could easily earn an extra 1000 yuan a month.

With this in mind, Luo Feng arrived at the factory gate at noon the next day, carrying all his equipment. But no matter how enthusiastically he shouted, the people coming and going ignored him. Finally, the old man guarding the gate couldn't stand it anymore and went up to him, saying, "Don't waste your energy anymore. Things outside are expensive, and the people in the factory can't afford them. They only make so little each month, and they have to support their families."

But Luo Feng wasn't willing to let it go so easily. He gritted his teeth and shouted into the yard, "Free hot meals! Come and take a look even if you don't buy anything!"

The old man was startled by Luo Feng's shout, glanced at him, and then let him go. The people in the courtyard, hearing his words, all gathered around; after all, nobody likes eating cold food, especially when they can finally have a hot meal.

"Are you telling the truth? Free hot meals, no money required," a tall, thin man asked as he stepped forward.

"Really, it's free." Luo Feng greeted him with a smile.

"Then hurry up and heat it up for me." The man said, handing over the lunchbox. Luo Feng took it and put it in the pot. Seeing this, everyone asked for their food to be heated up. Luo Feng accepted everyone's requests, and soon the pot was full of lunchboxes. Those who hadn't gotten any had to wait for the next group. Everyone stood there chatting while waiting for their food to be heated up, and Luo Feng would occasionally chime in with a few words.

In no time, the first pot of rice was heated up. Luo Feng quickly took it out and started heating up the next pot. In this way, everyone was able to eat a hot meal.

At this point, the workers who had finished their meal thanked Luo Feng and casually asked, "Brother, what are you doing losing money to gain publicity?" Their faces showed confusion. "Yeah, food outside is expensive; we can't afford it," a young man squatting on the ground shoveling rice into his mouth chimed in. Everyone smiled but remained silent, watching Luo Feng, wanting to hear his explanation.

"You didn't even ask the price, how do you know you can't afford it?" Luo Feng retorted. Then he opened the steamer on another pot, pointed to the buns inside, and said, "These buns are four for one yuan, and the same size steamed buns are five for one yuan. A big bowl of porridge with pickled vegetables is 50 cents, and you can have as much rice and vegetables as you want for one yuan. There are also egg dumplings, noodles, and sesame cakes. Plus, there's free bone broth. Don't worry, a strong laborer can definitely have a full meal."

Everyone glanced at the buns in the steamer; the two were roughly the size of an adult's palm. They didn't doubt Luo Feng's words, but some still thought they were too expensive.

Seeing this, Luo Feng said loudly to the crowd, "One yuan per person is enough to eat your fill. I only cook lunch, which costs one yuan per day. If you subscribe for a month, I can give you a discount and you can pay a flat rate of 28 yuan."

"How are we supposed to know if your food is good or not?" someone asked, tempted. "It's alright, you can try some first." With that, Luo Feng took out a few buns from the steamer and distributed them to everyone. The people in front exchanged glances, took the buns, and started eating them without saying a word.

"It tastes pretty good. Hey bro, what kind of filling is this? Why does it taste like meat?" someone asked Luo Feng after he finished eating.

Luo Feng, of course, wouldn't tell him that he had simply poured some of the simmered bone broth over the filling while making the buns. He just smiled, remained silent, and waited to see everyone's reaction.

"Alright, we can't let him work for nothing. Anyone want to chip in? Let's pool our money and try his buns," said one of the guys who hadn't gotten any. "Count me in!" "Me too!" "Me too!" Several other guys raised their hands. The four of them then chipped in a dollar and handed it to Luo Feng.

Luo Feng took the money. He turned around and handed the steamed buns to them.

"Brother, it's a shame you're not a chef with those skills," a young man said while eating a steamed bun.

Now everyone was completely relieved; it seemed the previous few weren't shills.

One man pulled out 50 cents and said to Luo Feng, "Give me two steamed buns, I want to take them home so my two sons can have some." "Me too," said a middle-aged man. "I want to buy two for my daughter too."

"Okay," Luo Feng replied, and did as he was told. With someone taking the lead, everyone quickly started buying, since no one wanted to let someone work for free.

Under these circumstances, the two steamers of buns that Luo Feng brought were emptied in no time. A considerable number of steamed buns and sesame seed cakes were also sold.

Luo Feng was pleased that his hard work had paid off. But he wasn't stupid; he knew that if he wanted to do business here long-term, getting past the factory manager was unavoidable.

So after packing up his stall, he tried to get close to the old gatekeeper, and after learning that the steel factory director liked to have a drink now and then, he rushed to the market to buy two bottles of strong liquor and gave the old gatekeeper a pack of cigarettes, asking him to introduce him.

To his surprise, the old gatekeeper accepted the cigarette. He simply said, "The factory manager is busy, let's talk after get off work." Then he sat down in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and ignored Luo Feng completely.

The old man's actions infuriated Luo Feng. "How can this be? Taking the money and not doing the job!" But he could only think this to himself. Right now, he was powerless to resist, so Luo Feng could only wait.

Luo Feng had been waiting since around 2 PM until after 5 PM. Just when he was about to lose his patience, he finally saw a middle-aged man with a large belly walk out of the courtyard.

With a nod from the old gatekeeper, Luo Feng knew this must be the person in question. He quickly stepped forward to greet him and explain his purpose. However, the factory manager acted as if he hadn't seen him and turned to leave.

Although he was met with a rebuff at the start, Luo Feng was not discouraged and quickly followed up, saying, "Factory Director, it's almost dinnertime now. Why don't we go somewhere else to fill up?"

When the factory manager hesitated for a moment upon seeing that someone was inviting him to dinner, Luo Feng immediately pulled him into the restaurant, calling him "uncle" affectionately. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were really relatives.

And so, half-heartedly, Luo Feng dragged the factory manager to a restaurant in town. Now it was Luo Feng's turn to shine. He ordered a huge spread of food and drinks, while simultaneously urging the manager to drink and eat.

Perhaps because he was too enthusiastic, the factory manager remained unmoved, simply holding his wine glass and sipping it intermittently, rarely touching his chopsticks.

Seeing the factory manager's actions, Luo Feng knew that if he didn't come up with a solution soon, the deal was probably doomed.