As a successful businessman who had started from nothing, Qin Guan was familiar with trading. If he'd brought products from his gallery there, not only would he have sold nothing, but his reputation would also have been affected. Selling snacks was the best choice for a fair.
Americans loved soft cotton candy, hot dogs, candy apples and fried food. These snacks were also popular among kids.
That was not enough for Qin Guan though. If he just sold those snacks at the fair, he would be just like the other pedlars. In order to become the king of sales and get an award from Columbia, he needed to explore new ways.
He had to sell Chinese food.
A white minibus from Xu's restaurant pulled up to Qin Guan's stand, revealing its true nature. The ingredients were sealed in different boxes, but their secret weapon was actually the large iron-plate cart.
Qin Guan lit up the small gas stove, which was the favorite tool of Chinese pedlars. Buns made by cooks from Tianjin were already in the steamer, and smooth, elastic noodles were boiling in the pot.
When the ticket office at the entrance opened, visitors began to pour in.
Adults had to pay one dollar, but kids could enter for free. The reasonable price encouraged the residents of the area and the students to visit the fair. Qin Guan put on an apron with the picture of a puppy and welcomed the customers.
He poured peanut oil from a mineral water bottle onto the burning iron plate. Pedlars considered this better than an oil can, because it saved oil and was way easier to handle.
Qin Guan started breaking eggs one by one with his other hand and spreading them onto the iron plate. He used a small spatula to flip them quickly. The sound and smell, as well as Qin Guan's elegant movements, attracted people's attention.
Sweet Guangdong sausage, grapes, soy sauce… He served a portion of fried noodles fast. It only cost six dollars, which was an extra reason for Americans to buy it.
"One portion!" the first customer ordered, pointing to the boiling noodles inside the pot.
"No problem. One minute!"
Qin Guan put the noodles in a lunch box with the spatula. The box was nearly full. The customer took the noodles and chopsticks with trembling hands. He suddenly realized that everyone around him was looking at him.
He stuffed some noodles into his mouth and then buried his face into the box with sparkling eyes, paying no attention to the surrounding noise.
Everyone was anxious. It was terrible to watch others eat when one was hungry. Some impatient people shouted at him, "Hey, bro! Stop eating and tell us how it tastes!"
"Yes, you are really selfish!"
Annoyed, the man roared at them, "Can't you f*cking see?"
At his words, everyone lined up before the stand as fast as they could. Qin Guan was up to his neck in work, while Cong Nianwei was busy collecting the money. The couple's stand was selling food like crazy.
Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoxiao, who was affected deeply by his life in Chinatown, served as a waiter and PR assistant. The three of them cooperated well. In half a day, all their food had been sold out. There were only two pieces of ginger left in a box.
Qin Guan was so tired that he couldn't even lift his arms up. The number of portions he had served had pushed him to his limit. He was not a pedlar working at the night market anymore.
It was hard to transition from a rich life to the life of a commoner!
The money made up for it though. He had earned about 1,000 dollars in one day.
Night fell. As all the stand owners began cleaning up, Qin Guan's stand won the Best Sales Award. The prize was equal to the stand's total income that day. This meant that Qin Guan's team got paid double.
Qin Guan felt as if a delicious pie had fallen down from Heaven for him to eat. The dollar bills swept his tiredness away. He was really excited.