Food Supplements - Chapter 19

On the day of the official opening, Qin Cheng woke especially early.

Very early indeed. By real-world time, she had slept for less than an hour.

But she had awakened beside the lake, so she had actually gotten more than enough rest. Her newly purchased sleeping bag was soft, warm, spacious, and breathable, far more comfortable than her old makeshift bedding. It easily ensured eight hours of high-quality sleep.

After getting up, she tidied herself a little, selected some fruit and prepared products to bring along, then left the small realm in a flash.

She reappeared inside a restroom.

Qin Cheng took the opportunity to wash and freshen up before opening the door and stepping outside.

Beyond the restroom was her little shop.

She switched on the lights. Nearly everything beneath their glow was brand new. Because she had spent the past several days practicing, the faint fragrance of fruit already lingered in the air. Combined with the hanging pots of spider plants, the shop now carried a fresh mixture of fruit and greenery that was soothing to both body and mind.

Through the glass door, she could see that the sky outside was still only beginning to brighten.

The streetlights had already gone out, however, proving that full daylight was not far away. The city would awaken in only a few more hours.

Qin Cheng calmly continued organizing the shop.

There were two refrigerated display cases.

The first stood beside the entrance in the most eye-catching position. It was divided into three shelves. The lower two displayed fresh fruit.

Unlike many shops that used plastic fruit as decoration, Qin Cheng filled hers entirely with the real, tempting thing.

She did not have to worry about freshness. Whatever remained unsold could simply be returned to the small realm after closing.

The top shelf, which customers could see most clearly, displayed freshly cut fruit cups and fruit boxes.

Each cup contained a mixture of three fruits, while the larger boxes contained five. The peeled and diced fruit came in a dazzling variety of colors, fresh and succulent enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

Of course, if they did not sell by the end of the day, their fruit-loving employee Nuonuo could take responsibility for finishing them.

Beside the first display case stood a commercial juicer and cup-sealing machine, followed by the register.

On the other side of the register was the second refrigerated display case.

From bottom to top, it contained large pitchers of homemade soy milk, small glass jars of homemade fruit jam, and fruit custard sandwiches packed in paper boxes.

Qin Cheng arranged the products she had prepared before sleeping inside the refrigerator one by one.

In real-world terms, they had actually been made only a little over an hour ago. Since they had also just been taken out of the small realm, everything was exceptionally fresh.

Together with the elegant packaging, the products looked extremely appealing behind the glass.

After everything had been arranged, Qin Cheng slowly stepped backward until she reached the entrance.

She silently surveyed the bright, spotless, peaceful little shop.

Then she bent at the waist and bowed her head.

Her lips moved as she murmured something under her breath, almost like a prayer.

The air remained silent.

No one knew what she prayed for, but at that moment, the woman’s expression was truly solemn and devout.

The shop officially opened at nine in the morning.

Regulations prohibited setting off strings of firecrackers, but Mother Qin, the landlady, and all the square-dancing aunties came to offer their congratulations.

A row of flower stands wishing them prosperous business stretched from the shop entrance to the mouth of the alley, creating a fairly lively scene.

The landlady and her friends in particular took the leftover flyers outside and laughingly distributed them on impulse.

They truly managed to draw in several customers, giving the shop an auspiciously successful start.

Of course, the elderly auntie brigade deserved credit for attracting them, but the main appeal was the promotion printed on the flyers.

In keeping with standard business practice, Qin Cheng offered a substantial grand-opening discount.

For the first three days, every product was half price, and any purchase came with a small complimentary jar of apple jam.

The discount was undeniably generous.

Another shop owner might have felt the loss painfully, but Qin Cheng knew her costs were low. At most, she would be paying extra for packaging, so she did not mind.

Even so, the prices of a shop positioning itself as high-end would sometimes draw criticism.

At around noon, a middle-aged woman wearing a cleaner’s uniform stepped inside, looked over the price board, and bluntly exclaimed, “Oh my, your things are expensive! Even at half price, they’re not actually that cheap.”

Fortunately, the auntie brigade had already left.

Only the owner and employee remained in the shop, so the remark did not provoke a counterattack.

Seeing the cleaner’s uniform and the flyer in her hand, Qin Cheng more or less understood the situation.

She immediately smiled and explained, “Auntie, you get what you pay for. Fruit comes in different grades too. Ours comes directly from the source, is high-quality and fresh, and contains no additives.”

“It’s not for me to decide whether it’s worth the price. You’ll know after trying it.”

Her manner was warm and her voice gentle, without the slightest trace of impatience.

Most people would have felt embarrassed and stopped arguing.

But whether the cleaning woman was simply too blunt or something else, she continued without restraint.

“It’s only fruit. Even your cheapest soy milk costs seven yuan a cup. The most expensive kind at the convenience store is only three or four yuan! Are you selling golden soy milk?”

Honestly, this had entered the territory of arguing for the sake of arguing.

Meeting such a customer on the very first day was frustrating.

Even though there were no other customers inside, it still created a negative atmosphere.

For anyone superstitious, it would practically count as bad luck.

Seeing Nuonuo begin to shrink back, Qin Cheng decided to act quickly.

Smiling, she invited the woman over to the counter displaying the soy milk and introduced it.

“Auntie, take a look. It may not be golden soy milk, but it’s freshly made every day from carefully selected organic soybeans. We use mineral water and powdered rock sugar.”

“You can choose the sweetness and whether you want it hot or cold. We can even turn it into ginger soy milk for free.”

“How about this? I’ll treat you to a cup today. If you think it’s worth the price, you’re welcome to come back next time. What do you say?”

Maintaining harmony was basic to doing business.

Although the other woman had been somewhat careless and rude, Qin Cheng could not argue with her as the shop owner.

Besides, everything was already half price today. Giving away one cup would hardly be a loss.

The cleaning woman clearly understood that calculation too.

Her eyes shifted as she looked over the display case, then she waved her hand.

“Oh, there’s no need. I didn’t come here to trick you out of free food and drink. I’ll just buy a cup.”

“Give me an iced soy milk. It’s half price, right?”

Seeing her repeatedly glance toward the shelf of jam jars, Qin Cheng understood exactly what she was calculating.

Smiling, she asked how sweet she wanted it, prepared the drink, sealed the cup, and handed it over.

Then she proactively added, “Your purchase is not only half price, but also comes with a complimentary jar of apple jam. Please take it. Thank you for your business.”

She placed a small jar of jam into a bag and handed it over.

The woman accepted it, took out the jar, and examined it suspiciously.

“Did you make this jam yourselves too? Is it good? Why are you giving away only apple and not the other flavors?”

The reason was naturally that Qin Cheng had accumulated more apples than anything else inside the small realm.

Of course, she could not say that.

She continued smiling and replied, “Yes, it’s entirely homemade, with no additives. Like I said, the cost is reflected in the product. You’ll know whether it’s good once you try it.”

After question after question, Qin Cheng finally managed to send the extremely picky woman away.

She rubbed her cheeks, which had stiffened from smiling, then turned and saw her employee standing helplessly in the corner.

She reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. In the future, leave this kind of customer to me. Most customers won’t behave that way.”

“Actually, I… wasn’t afraid…”

When Boss Qin tried to comfort her, Nuonuo pinched the corner of her clothes and explained awkwardly.

“The way she buys things… um, it’s a little like my mother. I’m not afraid of her, but my mother has never spoken to me that way, so… I didn’t know what to do for a moment.”

Qin Cheng could not help smiling.

Now that Nuonuo mentioned it, the customer’s nearly obsessive bargaining style truly did resemble the landlady’s.

Come to think of it, the habit had probably formed through years of haggling.

Many middle-aged and elderly people, especially women, behaved this way to some degree.

As a younger person, Qin Cheng had once disliked such customers too.

During the early stages of her illness, she had taken many temporary jobs, including work in the service industry, and had naturally encountered difficult customers of this kind.

At the time, she had hated them deeply.

Only after her temperament softened and she became more closely acquainted with the landlady did she gradually begin to understand how these older women thought.

Being meticulous over every cent did not necessarily mean they were petty-minded.

Every family carried burdens that outsiders could not see.

Away from public view, these women might also be selfless mothers and the pillars supporting their households.

In any case, no matter how troublesome, a customer was still a customer.

As long as her own interests were not harmed, a shopkeeper could never go wrong by trying to provide good service to everyone.

Perhaps Qin Cheng followed this principle too thoroughly.

When the shop opened the next morning, its first customer was unexpectedly the same cleaning woman.

She rushed inside first thing and shouted, “Quick, quick! Two cups of hot soy milk, extra sugar! I’m in a hurry!”

Her attitude remained just as impolite.

The fact that she had returned naturally meant she was satisfied.

Qin Cheng did not tease her about yesterday’s criticism.

She simply acknowledged the order, efficiently took a pitcher from the refrigerator, poured the appropriate amount of soy milk into a small saucepan, then turned and heated it on the electric ceramic stove behind her.

“Oh? You really heat your soy milk on a stove?” the woman immediately began finding fault again.

“Outside, they all use a machine that keeps spinning and heating it continuously. You’re really wasting time this way!”

“Keeping it heated continuously affects the taste and causes nutrients to deteriorate.”

“Besides, this appliance has high power. It only takes one or two minutes, so it doesn’t really waste time.”

Having dealt with her once before, Qin Cheng answered calmly.

“If you thought the soy milk was good, it’s because we maintain high standards and strict requirements.”

Sure enough, the cleaning woman scratched her head and fell silent.

Although she still looked impatient, her attitude was entirely different from the argumentative behavior of the previous day.

Clearly, she accepted the explanation.

The soy milk had already been cooked, so reheating it did not require bringing it to a boil.

As promised, it was ready in a little over a minute.

Qin Cheng added the sugar, prepared the two cups, included another complimentary jar of jam, and smilingly saw the now less troublesome customer out.

Then she released a long breath.

She truly had not expected the first returning customer after opening to be this woman.

The world was indeed unpredictable.

In fact, there were many things Qin Cheng could not have anticipated.

For example, she had no idea whose stomach the products she sold would eventually enter.

That same morning, on the side of another busy street far from the little shop, a high-end black business van was parked.

The driver’s-side window was half open.

A tall male driver sat leisurely inside, holding a cup of some steaming beverage.

In contrast to his large build, the driver drank quite delicately.

He took small, satisfied sips and became so absorbed that he failed to notice what was happening in the rearview mirror.

Only when the door opened and the rear seat sank beneath someone’s weight did he come back to himself.

“President Chu, Assistant Jiang—cough, I’ll be ready immediately.”

The driver hurriedly tidied up.

Usually, if he had not finished a drink, he would simply throw it out the window. It was not worth much anyway.

But for some reason, he hesitated this time.

In the end, he replaced the lid and carefully set the paper cup in the cup holder beside him.

“Oh, Brother Zhang, what are you drinking?” the short-haired woman who entered last teased as she closed the door.

“You looked so pleased that you didn’t even notice us coming back.”

“Don’t tell me you’re drinking alcohol before driving. Our lives are in your hands every day.”

“Come on, Assistant Jiang. If I didn’t have even that much common sense, how could I do this job?”

The driver smiled honestly.

“There’s no alcohol. It’s soy milk. My aunt bought it near the company this morning. She said it was especially expensive and delicious and told me to try it.”

“She wasn’t exaggerating. It’s really fragrant and rich. I haven’t had soy milk this good in years, so I got distracted for a moment.”

“Your aunt?”

The other woman, who had remained silent since entering the vehicle, suddenly asked, “The one who works in logistics? How is her health now?”

When the cool-faced woman asked, the driver nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, yes! She’s doing much better, and the family’s financial situation has improved too.”

“Thank you for still remembering her. My aunt always says it was only because you gave her the opportunity to work there. She’ll do her job properly!”

His eyes were filled with genuine gratitude.

Compared with the driver’s open emotion, the woman showed little expression.

She merely nodded slightly.

“There’s no need to thank me. You did your work well, which gave her the opportunity. And she has kept the position because she performs well herself.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

The driver answered repeatedly and scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.

For a moment, the broad-shouldered man resembled a shy young man.

Perhaps unable to stand his foolish expression, the short-haired woman interrupted at the right moment and changed the subject.

“Brother Zhang, so you’re treating it like treasure because your aunt specially bought it for you?”

“I truly thought the soy milk was as incredible as you claimed. How disappointing.”

“Huh? No, no, it really is delicious—fragrant and rich.”

“And it’s not that artificial richness from adding random things.”

“Anyway… I’m not good with words, but you know I don’t exaggerate.”

The driver did not realize she was teasing him and began explaining seriously.

As he spoke, he lifted the cup and shook it lightly.

A faint, sweet fragrance of soy milk immediately drifted through the vehicle.

The two women reacted slightly upon smelling it, each developing a thoughtful expression.

Yet the thoughts revealed by those expressions were entirely different.

The short-haired woman appeared more interested.

She considered it briefly, glanced sideways at the woman beside her, then finally asked the driver seriously, “It actually does smell good. You said it was bought near the company? How come I’ve never heard of the place?”

“Oh, it probably just opened. The address is…”

The driver read the information printed on the cup.

“The shop is called Fruit. I suppose it mainly sells freshly pressed juice.”

“Fruit? What an unimaginative name.”

“Mm, but I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…”

The short-haired woman searched her memory but clearly could not recall the small incident from two days earlier.

She gave up thinking and said, “Either way, I’ll remember it for now. Tell me the address again.”

She took out her phone and was about to open her notes when a slender hand reached over and pressed it down.

“You don’t need to keep worrying about little things like this.”

The owner of the hand seemed to have just emerged from quiet contemplation.

A trace of nostalgia and melancholy still lingered between her brows, but her voice was calm.

“Besides, I don’t want to drink any more soy milk for the time being.”

After saying this, she closed her eyes and leaned back to rest.

“Let’s continue with our work.”

“Old Zhang, drive.”

The world was unpredictable, and there were countless things a person could never foresee.

For example, Qin Cheng did not know that on the second day after opening, she had been both very fortunate and very unfortunate.