Han Qingling had been preoccupied by her cooking that she didn't notice the approaching crowd. It was only when she finished storing the money in the vault and exited the office that she heard the mounted brass bell ringing that she knew customers had arrived. At first, Qingling thought it might be the couple, but when she exited the kitchen area, she was dumbfounded by a full house of people.
"... Um..."
He WenYuan was surprised when he first stepped into the restaurant.
Everything was nothing like he imagined. While it had been as empty as it seemed, it didn't look like a gangsters' den, with sparse amounts of tables and chairs, gambling cards and weapons littered around, dingy broken walls, and the smell of cigarettes lingering in the air. But the restaurant was... normal. It was simple and clean, and filled with a delicious fragrance.
When he had half-expected to see a bearded old man with a leather jacket and tattoos on his arms walk out from the kitchen, a young woman came out instead. She was properly wearing a simple uniform: black t-shirt, clean white apron around her waist and jeans. She wore minimal make-up and had her hair tied up in a ponytail. The very vision of a model employee, and not at all like a gangster.
He WenYuan began to feel optimistic about his choice.
By her stupefied expression, he deduced that the restaurant must have been about to close for the day seeing as the weather was horrible and that there were no customers. As the resident gourmet and leader in eateries within the crowd, He WenYuan took charge and addressed the waitress.
"Excuse me, miss," he said. "There has been a scare at the restaurant across the street which forced us to leave. Most of us have yet to eat, so I wonder if this restaurant is still open? We would be very grateful if you could serve us."
The rest of the crowd nodded in agreement.
'It must have been the lightning strike', Han Qingling thought.
Inside, she clenched her fist and posed in a 'guts' pose, whereas she projected an understanding and sympathetic look outwardly.
Han Qingling addressed the man who spoke to her, seeing as he was the leader of the group. "I already sent all my employees home, so it will take a little longer for the food to come out. Furthermore, the restaurant only serves steamed buns here, so it probably won't be very filling. If you'd still like to eat here, I can still serve you."
"Steamed buns is fine! You see, my name is He WenYuan. I happen to be a food vlogger and my next video is about the 'Best Steamed Buns in Z City'. I came across your restaurant's name during my research and found good reviews on your food. My companion and I intend to eat steamed buns so it does not matter."
Han Qingling blinked.
She couldn't believe her luck.
First, she received money from her newly arrived renters, then she had an epiphany from the recipe book they gave her. And now, the customers of the restaurant she cursed came flocking to her restaurant. If that wasn't enough, one of the aforementioned customers was a celebrity food vlogger who came to shoot a special episode on steamed buns. This was an opportunity to publicize her restaurant and attract more customers!
Luckily, all the ingredients to make steamed buns had yet to be thrown out and she could still use them to make food for the crowd of customers. Furthermore, she had a batch ready to be cooked as a result of her sudden desire to practice.
After quickly taking stock of her inventory, Han Qingling quickly began taking orders before heading to the kitchen to cook. She quickly dialed the number of her employees to see if any of them were able to help and her luck reared its head again, as two of them were still nearby.
Her luck was terrifyingly good!
...
"Oh, this texture! That softness! This is better than the Jade Dragon's Four Seasons Baozi!"
"Mmm~ their dessert steamed bun is so good! The cream and fruits with this soft texture!!"
"Oh gosh, who knew steamed buns could be so good!"
The comments were not exaggerated at all.
He WenYuan had ordered one of each in the menu and each one he tried was exceptional. The variety of fillings were all delicious but the reason for all the excitement had more to do with the bread or the bun itself. It was soft like a cloud but it wasn't bland. Instead, it was rather flavorsome.
His eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of making this episode. He could already imagine the amount of views he'd get.
"Yuan ge."
Surprised, he turned to look at his girlfriend. It had been a while since he heard her call him 'Yuan ge'. Lately, she had been irritable due to her work and dieting. He WenYuan had been slightly scared that it was the beginning of the end of their relationship.
Jiang Suiyin smiled and hugged his arm. "... I'm sorry I've been so angry lately. Thank you for fulfilling your promise. It really is the best steamed buns in the city."
"O-oh... of course. Anything for you, Suiyin."
"Hmm, only Yuan ge is nice to me."
He WenYuan felt tears streaming down his face as he thanked Cloud Steamed Bun Restaurant for not living up to his imagination! He swore he would definitely promote the heck out of the restaurant as thanks for saving his relationship.