Chapter 16 This Mung Bean Soup Is So Good It Could Melt My Stomach!”
At 11:30 in the morning, Lu Qin made stir-fried rice noodles for lunch. After resting for a bit, he started prepping for work. That afternoon, he planned to set up his stall on a bustling pedestrian street.
He soaked over 30 pounds of mung beans in water, preparing to turn all of them into mung bean soup. Mung bean soup had a good profit margin and sold quickly. Most customers who bought stir-fried noodles would also pick up some mung bean soup.
It was mid-May, and the temperatures in Jiangcheng were rising. By afternoon, people were already walking around in short sleeves under the sunny sky.
The pedestrian street was packed with tourists. After wandering around, people would get tired, hot, and thirsty—making cold drinks and ice pops popular items.
Lu Qin finished cooking the mung bean soup and placed it in the refrigerator to chill.
With over 30 pounds of mung beans, he made about 500 cups of mung bean soup, each cup containing 330ml.
To keep the chilled mung bean soup cool, Lu Qin used a foam box wrapped in two layers of aluminum foil to create an effective insulated cooler. He loaded the mung bean soup into the foam box and placed it on his three-wheeled food cart.
Next, he soaked 60 pounds of rice noodles, chopped some additional ingredients, organized the packaging supplies, and loaded everything onto the cart before heading out.
Lu Qin opened his phone and checked the stall map app.
No need for GPS—every local in Jiangcheng knew the place.
Lu Qin hopped on his cart and set off.
The People’s Square Pedestrian Street was a bustling commercial area in the old district of Jiangcheng, stretching about 800 meters long, known as a food street.
Among the 120+ shops, over 80 were restaurants, and countless food stalls selling all sorts of snacks filled the area. Since Lu Qin’s stall was temporary, he couldn’t get a prime spot in the central, high-traffic area of the street. Those spots were reserved for permanent vendors, with high rent fees paid yearly.
Lu Qin paid the 20 yuan stall fee and set up his stall at a quieter spot near a side street at the southern end of the pedestrian street.
Next to him were two other stalls run by middle-aged women—one selling starch sausages and the other selling fried potatoes.
Business wasn’t great at this location. In half a day, only two or three customers had stopped by. The two women, bored and with nothing else to do, had turned off their stoves and were chatting idly.
Lu Qin’s arrival caught their attention.
“Young man, you’re selling stir-fried noodles? You picked the wrong time. You might get some business around noon, but right now, nobody’s coming through here,” One of the women said.
“And in this heat, stir-fried noodles won’t sell well. Why don’t you sell cold noodles instead?”
Perhaps it was because Lu Qin was handsome, but the two women opened up to him right away. With no business to attend to, they passed the time chatting with him.
“I’m just selling stir-fried noodles for now. Do you ladies usually set up your stalls here?” Lu Qin smiled as he arranged his seasoning bottles and chatted with them.
The location was out of the way, so starting up business was slow. But Lu Qin wasn’t in a rush—he was patient.
The two middle-aged women, confident in their street vending experience, started giving him advice.
“Young man, over in the busy area, there are lots of stalls selling grilled squid, skewers, and barbecue. You could easily learn one of those. It’d sell better than stir-fried noodles.”
“Stir-fried noodles don’t make much money. I know a guy who sells stir-fried noodles, and even on a good day, he only manages to sell about 50 servings. It’s just enough to scrape by, and it’s hard work.”
“Yeah, plus there are so many other stalls selling stir-fried noodles…”
After about twenty minutes, a few tourists, tired from walking, finally wandered over to this quiet corner to rest. A couple with sun umbrellas and two cups of milk tea walked up. The man threw his empty cup into the trash can and glanced over at the three stalls.
The two middle-aged women quickly jumped in, trying to reel in some customers.
“Hey there, want some starch sausage?” One of them asked with a friendly smile.
“My fried potatoes are super tasty—want to try a portion?” Offered the other.
The couple took a quick look but weren’t interested. These snacks were everywhere on this food street—there were at least eight or ten other stalls selling the same items.
There were also five or six stalls selling stir-fried noodles.
“Do you have any water?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” One of the ladies selling starch sausages quickly offered, pointing to a box of Wahaha bottled water.
“Don’t you have anything cold?” The man asked with a frown. Both he and his girlfriend were tired and thirsty, and they really wanted something chilled—room temperature water wouldn’t do.
“Sweetheart, why don’t you go to the shop ahead? I’m too tired to walk,” The woman said.
“I don’t feel like walking either, we’ve been walking for two hours,” The man sighed.
At that moment, Lu Qin smiled and said, “I have iced mung bean soup. Would you like some?”
“Iced mung bean soup? That sounds perfect! It’s refreshing and cooling!”
The couple immediately walked over to Lu Qin’s stall.
Lu Qin opened his foam box and handed them two cups of iced mung bean soup.
“This is great! I didn’t expect a stir-fried noodle stall to sell mung bean soup. You’ve got a good business sense,” The man said as he eagerly grabbed the cup. “Let me scan the code later—I need to quench my thirst first.”
“No problem, the straws are in front. Help yourselves.”
The woman, noticing how handsome Lu Qin was, couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.
When the icy, sweet mung bean soup touched their lips, both of them couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
“Wow! This mung bean soup is so good!”
The man finished his in just two gulps.
“Boss, what kind of mung bean soup is this? The taste and texture are amazing! Give me another cup!”
“Same here… I’m almost done, and I want another. This mung bean soup is way better than milk tea!” The woman chimed in.
Lu Qin handed them two more cups.
The two middle-aged women running the neighboring stalls looked on in confusion. One of them had tried selling iced mung bean soup before, but it never sold well, so she switched to starch sausages.
The young couple’s reactions seemed a little over the top.
“Boss, did you make this mung bean soup yourself? It’s so refreshing!” The young woman’s eyes sparkled with delight.
The man nodded vigorously.
“I’ve never had mung bean soup this good! Boss, give me one more cup!”
This was his third cup, and the man still looked like he could drink more.
Their enthusiastic response quickly caught the attention of nearby tourists.
“Is that mung bean soup really that good?” Someone asked.
“Boss, give me a cup too!”
“I’ll take two! Ice cold, right? Perfect!”
Soon, four more customers were trying Lu Qin’s mung bean soup, and without a doubt, it was a hit. Many of them bought second cups after tasting the first.
“This mung bean soup is incredible! Why is it so good?”
“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have wasted my stomach space on milk tea. I’d have saved it for this!”
No one seemed in a hurry to leave, staying around Lu Qin’s stall, sipping their drinks and praising the mung bean soup.
Seeing a crowd gathering at his stall, other passersby became curious and joined in.
“What’s everyone buying here?”
“Iced mung bean soup!”
“People are on their third cup. What do you think?”
“Boss, I’ll take one!”
In just fifteen minutes, Lu Qin’s stall was buzzing with activity.
“Young man, I’ll have a cup too!” Even the two women running the neighboring stalls temporarily ignored their own businesses and bought some mung bean soup to try.
“Boss, you’re amazing! This mung bean soup could melt my stomach!” One customer exclaimed.
“Boss, let me try your stir-fried noodles too.”
If the mung bean soup was that good, the stir-fried noodles had to be decent, right?
Customers were starting to think that this stall had something special.
When Lu Qin threw the rice noodles into the wok and began stir-frying, the enticing aroma spread quickly, making people’s mouths water.
“That smells incredible! The noodles must taste as good as they smell!”
“I’ll have an order too, with two eggs, ham, and meat, please.”
“Hey handsome, how much for a portion?”
“Give me two—haven’t had lunch yet.”