10:35 PM, the snack stall sold its last deep-fried meat pie to an overworked male programmer.
Perhaps it was a case of like attracting like, Ma Lu didn't even get up to greet him; the sight of Old Wang's bald head unconsciously made the man stop in his tracks.
Most of the surrounding snack stalls had already closed up, even Henan Brother had stopped broadcasting and went home half an hour earlier.
Ma Lu yawned, and a wave of fatigue suddenly swept over him.
Since the snack stall was a partnership, and he was only in charge of serving customers without having to cook, he wasn't as exhausted as someone who had to handle everything alone.
But including the time spent out buying supplies, he had been up for over 24 hours. Still, seeing the income on WeChat and Alipay, Ma Lu felt that the hard work was all worth it.
After accounting for the four meat pies used for taste testing, the four he ate himself when he had nothing to do, and the one that a customer dropped on the ground,
on their first day of business, they sold a total of 141 deep-fried meat pies. With each pie priced at 18 yuan, today's revenue amounted to 2,538 yuan.
Deducting the initial installment payment of 629 for the tricycle, the 59.4 for plastic bags ordered from Dodo but not yet delivered, the 115 spent on gas, 40 for the gas stove, 60 for parchment bags, 86 for vegetables and condiments, 30 spent in the dollar store, and the 3 yuan at the printing store, the net profit was still 1,515.6.
For a complete novice, this performance was undoubtedly outstanding, and Ma Lu felt there was still substantial room for improvement.
On his way home, he took a detour to pick up over 900 parchment bags he had purchased on Idle Fish, then took a bath, and slept until ten o'clock the next morning.
When Ma Lu stepped out of the bedroom, Old Wang had already started preparing the ingredients for the day, and had sent a list of things they needed to replenish via the Traveler's Bracelet.
Ma Lu glanced at the list and said to Old Wang, "Let's prepare another 100 servings today, no, make it 150, otherwise it doesn't sound good."
Old Wang didn't ask why but nodded and then updated the purchasing list.
This time Ma Lu took only half an hour to buy back all the ingredients. While Old Wang was seasoning the meat, Ma Lu went downstairs to the print shop to collect the newly remade sign.
Ma Lu originally wanted to name it "The Universe's Number One Deep-Fried Meat Pie," but considering they wouldn't always sell deep-fried meat pies and would likely add other dishes later on, he changed it to "The Universe's Number One Snack Stall."
He added four small characters below—Limited Time Offer!!!
Simple black text on a white background, with no background image, totaling 38 yuan. Afterwards, he tore down the old sign and glued up the new one.
By the time he finished all this, Old Wang had also prepared the ingredients, and the two of them set off on the tricycle again, only this time their destination was not Guo's Village.
While the foot traffic near the subway entrance was decent, especially during rush hour, selling one hundred fifty servings yesterday had been a struggle. Doubling the amount today, even with some repeat customers, was unlikely to sell out.
Moreover, the flow of customers at the subway entrance varied too much with time. It was overwhelmingly busy during peak hours, but outside of those, they could go for long stretches without selling a single serving, which was a waste of time.
The groups of stall vendors Ma Lu encountered in the office buildings had given him some insight.
Ultimately, people need organization, and it was best to operate in a familiar territory.
So this time, Ma Lu took Old Wang back to his alma mater.
At the graduation ceremony, Chen Mengjie, the student representative from the School of Economics and Management, had said
—The school has nurtured us today, and we will undoubtedly reciprocate to the school in the future.
Ma Lu deeply agreed and had already taken action on Chen Mengjie's call to action by occupying a vacant spot outside the West Gate and setting up their stall.
The consistent performance of the school's canteen had led to a thriving dining scene in the area, and there were many restaurants and small stalls along the street.
As soon as Ma Lu secured a spot, someone approached them, but they were not there to buy meat pies; instead, they said to Ma Lu and Old Wang, "Move along, this spot is taken."
"Oh, then I'll go across the street."
"There are people on that side too," said the newcomer, glaring.
"Then I'll move once the person arrives."
Ma Lu recognized the man in front of him as the Squid Brother who sold grilled squid at the university entrance. Squid Brother was popular among the students for his distinctive taste and enthusiastic service, even attracting people from neighboring schools to make special trips just to try his food.
Moreover, he did not only make money for himself but later also brought many fellow villagers to City B to set up stalls, which had been covered by the local radio station.
However, since more people from his village had come, there had been fewer other vendors on this street, especially new ones.
"I'm not here to haggle with you," said Squid Brother impatiently. "Are you leaving or not?"
When a few of his fellow townsmen nearby heard this, those who weren't busy also stopped what they were doing and moved closer.
Seeing this, Ma Lu was neither flustered nor hurried; he even took out a folding stool from somewhere and set it down on the ground.
"You don't think you're the only ones with an organization, do you?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a group of university students ran out from the main gate, shouting, "President, President, where are you?"
One of the sharp-eyed students spotted Ma Lu, and the crowd thundered over.
"President, how come you're back at school today..."
"President, sob sob sob, as soon as you left, those jerks from the student union came to bother us..."
"President, I've let down your trust. This year, the pretty juniors have been snatched up by the Skateboarding Society and the Photography Society..."
"Alright, alright," Ma Lu interrupted them, "I've already graduated, so stop calling me President. Just call me senior brother."
He then patted the shoulder of a girl in front of him who was wearing a baseball jersey and had dyed her hair chestnut.
"You're already doing well, Shen Yue. And stop obsessing over chasing after junior girls all day. The Classical Literature Society should focus more on studying classical literature."
"Tsk, wasn't it by mingling everywhere and pulling in crazy sponsorships that you turned this tiny club into what it is today?"
Shen Yue replied, undisturbed. "Outsiders call us the Mingling Society or the Freeloaders' Society. That's the real foundation of our club."
As she spoke, she turned to Squid Brother, "Hey, isn't this Squid Brother? What were you discussing just now?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Faced with students, Squid Brother immediately put on a smiley face; these were his bread and butter, after all.
And having set up his stall at the gates of Aerospace University for so long, he was well aware of the reputation of the Classical Literature Society, the largest club in Aerospace University, with a membership exceeding five hundred.
They held activities every day, and their group dinners could book out entire restaurants. Offending so many students meant he could forget about mixing around near Aerospace University.
Those capable of leading their fellow villagers to venture out were no fools. Squid Brother quickly realized he had bitten off more than he could chew and was not vague about it, promptly backing down. He patted his chest and assured Ma Lu.
"From now on, this is your designated stall spot. If someone else sets up here while you're away, I'll help chase them off!"
"Well, that's quite embarrassing."
"No, no, we're all from Aerospace University. It's the least I can do," said Squid Brother with a naive smile on his face.