Jiang Feng was busy in front of his stall.
He looked up and was momentarily taken aback by the customer before him.
The customer was dressed in yellow clothing and a yellow helmet—a Meituan food delivery rider.
"Are you here to buy braised meat?" Jiang Feng asked, slightly surprised.
The delivery rider nodded. "Mhm, I'm queuing on someone's behalf."
"I thought you didn't do delivery business here? A customer asked me to queue up here, buy the braised meat, and deliver it to them."
"Just treat me like an ordinary customer. I'd like two pig trotters and one braised chicken."
Hearing the delivery rider, Jiang Feng understood; it was a queueing service.
Jiang Feng's business didn't offer deliveries, only in-person sales.
But some people disliked traveling so far and were willing to pay someone else to queue for them, often at a high service price.
Jiang Feng glanced towards the end of the queue.
Wow, there are at least five delivery riders in line!
Where there's a policy, there's a workaround.
Jiang Feng didn't offer a delivery service, but customers always found ways to overcome such obstacles.
It just meant paying a bit more for the convenience.
People truly went to great lengths to taste delicacies.
"I really didn't see this coming. They're all so ingenious!" Jiang Feng remarked with a laugh.
He packed the braised meat for the delivery rider. The rider paid and then hurriedly left with the order.
This errand was quite profitable; I need to deliver it quickly, the delivery rider thought.
His name was Zhu Hong.
When Zhu Hong was a child, his family had a fortune teller predict his future.
The fortune teller noted he shared the surname Zhu with Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was destined for imperial greatness, the fortune teller said, sure to don yellow robes one day.
As it turned out, just as the fortune teller predicted, he grew up to be adorned in yellow robes—delivering for Meituan.
Zhu Hong was initially taken aback by this particular errand.
He had run errands to deliver flowers and keys before.
But this was the first time he'd been asked to queue for braised meat.
When he accepted the task, the customer had mentioned a long queue and promised a generous tip for the trouble.
Zhu Hong hadn't thought much of it at the time. It's just buying braised meat, how long could the line possibly be?
But when he arrived, he thought, Wow, this line is incredibly long!
Fortunately, Zhu Hong successfully bought the braised meat and had to deliver it to the customer quickly.
This errand would earn him over 40 yuan.
For a delivery rider, this was a fantastic profit.
The other delivery riders in the queue watched Zhu Hong leave with envy.
Next time we get a similar task, we'll have to come earlier, they thought. The braised meat might sell out, and then the errand would be impossible to complete.
Zhu Hong delivered the braised meat to the customer. Afterwards, the customer said, "I want to buy from this stall again tomorrow. I'll look for you then."
"Do the same as today: take a photo of the menu on the sign, I'll decide what I want, and then I'll send my order to you."
"The fee will be the same."
Hearing this, Zhu Hong was naturally pleased.
"No problem, boss! As long as you need it, I'll make sure to deliver it to you."
"Good, it's a deal."
The two added each other on WeChat.
After adding him on WeChat, Zhu Hong found the situation quite intriguing.
What's the deal with this stall's braised meat that customers are willing to pay such a high errand fee?
Zhu Hong decided he would buy some for himself the next day to try.
He wasn't the only one curious about Jiang Feng's braised meat.
After a short video about the queue went viral, many people became curious.
The surrounding shop owners, seeing Jiang Feng's business boom, also wanted to taste the braised meat.
After all, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles, they thought. We should see how they make their braised meat; that's the way to learn and improve.
But with something like braised meat, it all came down to the recipe and the precise mixture of spices.
Without knowing the recipe, one could ponder it endlessly and never figure it out.
It was precisely because so many people were curious that the queue was so long.
At that moment, a local food blogger named Liu Bao arrived at Shuize Resort's food street.
Food bloggers go wherever it's popular; staying on-trend keeps the audience watching.
Liu Bao was a fairly prominent local food influencer, with over 800,000 followers. He was also relatively decent—at least he never used his status to dine and dash.
He knew food bloggers weren't always well-received, so he took extra care with his reputation.
Liu Bao's assistant held up a phone on a stand, and Liu Bao spoke to the camera, "Everyone, I'm here at the food street of Shuize Resort."
"Did you watch that video yesterday? It talked about a braised meat stall that's set up here. Apparently, the braised meat is so good that loads of people line up for it every day."
"Today, I'm here to try this braised meat myself."
"Let's see why it's such a hit!"
His live stream currently had over 2,300 people online, most of them locals.
Hearing his words, these viewers, eager for some excitement, replied with barrage comments:
[I saw that video! The queue was incredibly long, and the stall owner is really young. I think it might just be hype.]
[Is there actually a stall worth queuing for at Shuize Resort's food street?]
[That braised meat is super tasty! I've been there; it's absolutely incredible! The customers queuing are all genuine!]
[For real? Is it that delicious?]
The viewers in the live stream grew increasingly curious.
Liu Bao walked further in. He hadn't even seen the stall yet when a long line of people came into view.
At a glance, there were more than forty people in line.
"Oh my god! So many people!" Liu Bao was a bit stunned. "It's even more exaggerated than the video I saw yesterday."
The assistant aimed the camera at the people in line, and the live stream viewers also saw the queue of customers.
[People are really queuing up!]
[Holy cow! That's insane!]
[Is the braised meat really that good?]
[I want to go queue up and check it out too!]
Everyone chimed in with comments.
Liu Bao first walked to the front of the line to check out the situation.
The customers were all queuing patiently, occasionally craning their necks to peek, afraid the braised meat might sell out.
"What? No more braised chicken?" a customer at the front of the line was asking Jiang Feng.
"Yes, the braised chicken is homemade. I only make a limited amount, and it's all sold out now," Jiang Feng replied.
"Hold on, let me erase it from the menu board."
Jiang Feng finished speaking, stepped out, and took an eraser to wipe off the words "Spicy Braised Chicken" from the board.
His plan was to erase an item from the menu board as soon as it sold out, making it easier for the customers further back in line to order.
The customer looked at the sign, then at the basins of braised meat on display.
"I'll have one pig trotter and half a pound of chicken feet, please."
"Sure."
Jiang Feng's business proceeded in an orderly fashion.
After seeing this, Liu Bao hurried to the end of the line to queue.
He also said to the viewers in his live stream, "This stall still has pots stewing, and the aroma of the broth is wafting around."
"I have to say, this broth smells so good. I wasn't that hungry at first, but this scent has made me hungry instantly."
"This smell is really tempting; I just have to line up."
Liu Bao walked to the back of the line.
In the two or three minutes he had taken to check out the stall, the line had grown by another four or five people.
Damn! Liu Bao cursed inwardly.
He joined the queue, which moved forward slowly.
The anticipation among the viewers in the live stream grew.
[Brother Bao, taste the braised meat and tell us what it's like! If it's good, I'll go buy some too!]
[Be objective! I've been watching your live stream for a long time. Don't give us a biased review!]
[How good can braised meat possibly be?!]
The viewer count in the live stream kept increasing.
However, the viewers' hopes were soon dashed.
About five minutes later, Jiang Feng suddenly shouted to everyone further back, "Ladies and gentlemen, sorry, no need to queue anymore! The braised meat is almost gone!"
"I only make so much each day."
"Please come again tomorrow!"
"Thank you all for your support!"
Upon hearing Jiang Feng's words, the customers at the back of the line looked visibly disappointed.
"It's sold out already?"
"Boss, make more! Don't you want to earn money?"
"Crap, missed it again!"
The customers started to murmur and complain.
The few people at the very front of the queue hurried their scan-to-pay transactions, afraid the remaining braised meat would be snatched up by others.
Before long, the braised meat was completely sold out.
Food blogger Liu Bao, refusing to give up, strode quickly to Jiang Feng's stall. All he saw were pots of rich broth.
"Boss, is it really all gone?"
"Really all gone," Jiang Feng replied.
"None hidden away?" Liu Bao asked again.
Jiang Feng's gaze shifted ever so slightly; he had indeed hidden away a braised chicken for his own lunch.
"None," he said firmly.
This is definitely not the time to bring out the hidden braised chicken, he thought. Who knows how the remaining customers would react?
"Okay then, I'll come over tomorrow," Liu Bao sighed.
Jiang Feng packed up his stall and, driving the food truck, quickly left the food street.