"Oh hey, today is really strange, no walk-ins, no regulars! Brother Fang and Brother Zhang haven't even replied to my messages," Xiao Na casually sat down on a small stool, surrounded by three of her friends.
Brother Squid eagerly ran over with a bunch of grilled squid, "Ladies, want to have a couple of skewers of grilled squid?"
Xiao Na glanced over, "Sure, if it's free!"
The three girls beside her immediately clung to Brother Squid's arm, "Yeah, if it's free, we'll have some. We haven't had any customers today, we can't afford this stuff."
"Exactly, if you treat us today, I'll treat you to a foot massage another day!"
The grilled squid costs 10 Yuan per skewer.
Uncle Liu saw Brother Squid getting teased by the four girls, his face turning red, and whispered to Chen Mo, "These girls usually don't come here to eat."
"Oh?" Chen Mo curiously asked, "Why not?"
"They have big spenders treating them!" Uncle Liu said knowingly, "They are usually treated to late-night snacks by clients, it's either barbecue or hotpot. They look down on our little street vendors. Probably no business today, so they came over to fill up."
Sure enough, Brother Squid eventually couldn't resist and handed over the large bunch of squids to the girls.
These girls scattered around the small tables on the street, most of them ordering snacks at the end of the row — hand-pulled noodles.
Machine-pressed noodles were thrown into a big pot to cook, a ladle of salty, oily broth poured over them, and it only costs 7 Yuan to get full.
While waiting for the noodles, Xiao Na scanned the area, noticing a food cart that was quite different among the row of stalls.
Other carts looked dirty, wrapped in red plastic sheets with their snacks and prices written on them.
But this cart was a clean light yellow, with "Chen Mo's Mobile Cart" written in white in the middle, surrounded by some flower arrangements on top, creating an artistic, fresh feel.
"What does that one sell?"
The three girls also looked over.
"Probably some young guy part-timing, selling cakes or something sweet."
"These types usually don't last a few days. People passing by here are our customers. Which middle-aged man would like that stuff?"
"Exactly. Should we go take a look? I think the young owner looks quite handsome."
Xiao Na smiled, stood up, and walked to the cart, "Hey, what are you selling here?"
Uncle Liu quickly turned back; at his age, he couldn't handle getting something for nothing, like free grilled hot dogs.
"Fried egg dumplings."
Xiao Na covered her mouth and laughed like silver bells, "So is it fried eggs or fried dumplings?"
The three girls laughed along.
Chen Mo knew he was being teased, but he replied seriously, "Fried, egg dumplings."
Xiao Na tiptoed to take a look.
They really were!
The egg dumplings in the electric pan sizzled with steam, the sight of their golden brown bottoms making one imagine their crispy flavor.
"I've seen these on Douyin!" exclaimed a girl in a fitted skirt, "Like when an old lady sits there, heats a spoon, pours in some egg, and wraps a meat filling! Every time I see it on video, I imagine it must be good."
"I've seen it too, but never tasted it."
Chen Mo saw that these girls looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, thinking to himself that it seemed young people hadn't often seen egg dumplings.
Xiao Na was intrigued too.
"How much are you selling them for?"
"Two Yuan each."
Hearing that, Xiao Na hesitated a bit, "That's quite pricey, no? Why don't you let us try some first, if they're good, we'll buy more."
Chen Mo closed the pan lid, "Two Yuan each."
Dead serious, with a righteous tone, leaving no room for negotiation!
Xiao Na was speechless, feeling that this young owner had a straightforward demeanor, so she stopped teasing, "All right, all right, there's not much business today, I'll buy some dumplings for my friends to lift our spirits."
As the top technician and Gold Medal Salesperson, Xiao Na now had quite a status in the shop, even earning commissions from the younger girls.
Soothing her friends' emotions was also part of her duty.
"Let's get..." Xiao Na turned to count, "twenty, five each."
Today she brought three friends, others had gone home, and as for the many girls outside, they were from other shops and had nothing to do with her.
Chen Mo nodded, swiftly serving four small bowls, each with five dumplings, "If you want vinegar, add it yourself."
She brought the dumplings over, the three girls chatting away.
"I bet Brother Fang and Brother Zhang were poached by another place!"
"Exactly, I saw some of those women, definitely not upright, mostly likely poached by them!"
"Sister Na~ Should we ask Brother Fang why he didn't come today? If other places really poached him, let's tell the boss!"
Xiao Na walked over with the bowl, "Better not. Men hate manipulative women. The more urgent you seem, the more they dislike you."
She said, exuding a big sister vibe, "You should do the same, talk more about feelings, life with clients, comfort them more, as long as the relationship is good, they'll naturally want to hang out."
The three young girls nodded thoughtfully, taking the egg dumplings from Xiao Na.
All four of them performed almost identical moves, tucking stray hair behind their ears, leaning slightly, and slowly placing the dumpling into their mouths.
"Mmm..." Xiao Na's eyes instantly lit up, "It's delicious!"
Another girl savored with her mouth, "I didn't expect this dumpling to be so tasty? I used to think it was just okay when I saw it on videos!"
In their line of work, they eat takeout and midnight snacks almost every day.
Especially Xiao Na, she would sleep until noon, eat takeout, go to the shop, get busy, and have no time to eat until after work.
With old regulars around, just a few flirtatious words during foot massage, and these men couldn't help but ask them out for midnight snacks, thinking there might be something more after.
The usual midnight snacks are hotpot, skewers, barbecue, heavy-flavored stuff.
So Xiao Na's taste has always favored spicy, oily, and salty flavors.
But just now, when that egg dumpling entered her mouth.
The first taste was the fresh and eggy aroma unique to fried eggs, followed by the burst of meat juices steaming out once the egg skin was bitten.
This was an almost unprocessed concentrated broth, coaxed out solely by slow steaming, indescribably delicious.
Then the taste of the minced meat follows.
A near-perfect ratio of green onions to pork, after frying and steaming, underwent the most primitive Maillard reaction, creating an exquisite flavor.
All of this mixed together, combined with the egg skin's soft moistness and the meat filling's tender texture.
Xiao Na took a deep breath, looking bemusedly at the four left in her bowl.
I just ate a dumpling.
Why do my tastebuds feel cleansed and purified?