Daddy's Gourmet Shop-Chapter 251 - 243: Abandoned by the Times

A new week, a new day begins.

It’s also the release day of the latest issue of Food and Beauty magazine.

Early in the morning, the postal truck delivered the magazine to the newspaper kiosk next to a bus stop.

Calling it a newspaper kiosk is actually a misnomer; it’s more like a convenience store now.

Both inside and outside, it’s packed with toys, snacks, cigarettes, and everyday items. The newspapers and magazines, once centered, are now pushed to the periphery, with reduced numbers and limited variety.

Mostly local morning and evening papers.

What can you do!

The once-popular paper reading has been abandoned by the times.

The book trade can’t survive anymore.

Selling newspapers alone can’t support life!

And the bosses who persist in business have had to find other ways to make ends meet, shifting mainly to selling toys and snacks.

If it weren’t for postal regulations requiring rented kiosks to sell publications with postal codes, he wouldn’t want to sell any magazines or even newspapers.

Selling water is better than selling newspapers!

Even if magazine profits are slightly higher, few people show interest, and even fewer buy them, meaning there’s little income.

Therefore, he’s targeted the residents of the nearby community, mainly selling toys and snacks.

Business!

It’s just so-so.

Back when the kiosk’s sales were good, it could support the whole family. Now, after deducting the booth rent, it can barely support one person.

And the reason he’s still holding on is that the kiosk rent is cheap, a few hundred bucks a month, much cheaper than renting a store.

"Boss, your magazine, I’ve placed it here." The postal guy puts the magazines, newspapers, and other publications on his extended small shelf.

"Ah, okay."

The kiosk owner nods helplessly.

Since they’re delivered, he can only try hard to sell them!

Even though in the end, he won’t sell many copies.

Seeing a few girls in a hurry passing by, he quickly picks up a copy of Food and Beauty, promoting it to them and starts hawking.

"Don’t miss it if you pass by; the new issue of Food and Beauty has arrived."

These days, who still reads paper magazines?

The passing girls are not really interested in a food magazine like Food and Beauty.

If they read, they prefer fashion magazines.

Like the big five, to enhance their dressing chicness.

But after a fleeting glance...

They’re suddenly drawn to the cover photo of the magazine.

"Huh? Isn’t this Boss Huang? How did he end up on the cover of Food and Beauty?"

"Boss Huang? Which Boss Huang? You don’t mean the one from Delicious Restaurant, do you? Let me see, let me see!"

"Ha~ It really is him! I must say, Boss Huang is quite photogenic! This magazine cover makes him look very handsome, no less than those male celebrities!"

"Last time I went to Delicious Restaurant for a meal, I saw Lin Manli, the editor-in-chief of Food and Beauty magazine inside. At the time, I heard they were shooting for the next issue of the magazine; I didn’t expect it to release so soon."

"Wow, this Dongpo Pork presentation is even better than what’s sold at the restaurant! Just looking at the picture makes me crave it again."

"Yes, just looking at these dishes makes my stomach hungry again even though I’ve just eaten~"

"Breathing deeply, just inhaling feels like eating! I need to buy a copy to keep, so when I can’t have Boss Huang’s food, I can look at magazine pictures while eating takeout."

"Is that possible? Then I’ll buy one too! Boss, I’ll take this one."

"Boss, get me a copy too."

"I want two copies, one for home and one for the office."

"Then I’ll have two as well..."

Almost like a scramble.

Just as before, the kiosk had only 20 or so copies of Food and Beauty, who knew less than a minute later, they sold ten copies.

In the past, only 3 or 4 copies sold per issue!

The kiosk owner, slightly surprised, has a big question mark in his mind.

Why is the Food and Beauty magazine suddenly so popular?

And this Boss Huang, Delicious Restaurant, why does it sound so familiar?

As his gaze falls again on the cover of this issue of Food and Beauty, looking at Huang Tao’s face, he feels a sense of déjà vu.

Yet he can’t recall where he’s seen or heard about it.

Combining the girls’ conversation just now, he concludes they’re buying this issue of Food and Beauty purely for the handsome guy on the cover and the food image from his store.

After the girls scanned and paid, they kindly reminded: "Boss, you have only a few copies of Food and Beauty left, surely not enough to sell. You’d better stock up more of this issue and make more money?"

Why are they so sure it’s not enough to sell?

Because they know about the popularity of Delicious Restaurant.

This issue of Food and Beauty will definitely be frantically snapped up by Delicious Restaurant’s loyal fans.

Yet the kiosk owner is bewildered by what he hears, but he notices the sincere looks on the girls’ faces, not joking.

This indicates this issue of the magazine is more popular than before.

But he feels half-convinced.

If this issue doesn’t sell well, it would be a hassle to return it, which is not great.

Although earlier, ten copies sold quickly.

Could this Delicious Restaurant really have such influence?

After all, now very few people buy paper publications; even Food and Beauty’s prestigious brand can’t drive the sales of printed publications offline.

As he hesitated, a call came, diverting his attention from this matter.

By around 8 o’clock, people started coming to the kiosk constantly, without stopping.

Every one of them started by asking, "Do you sell this issue of Food and Beauty?"

"Yes!"

Before he can nod and point, without him handing out, they all directly picked up Food and Beauty magazines from the extended small shelf and scanned to pay.

In just a few minutes, all were sold out.

And people kept coming asking, hearing they were sold out, complained, "Oh boss, you only prepared this much for this issue of Food and Beauty? I heard you sell it here and came specially, seems I ran all for nothing."

"Yeah, yeah, I’ve gone to many kiosks, they say it’s sold out, why don’t you kiosk owners stock up more?"

"Boss, this issue features Boss Huang from Delicious Restaurant on Food and Beauty magazine, you should confidently stock up more of this issue, business will be great no doubt."

The kiosk owner, his face with slight wrinkles, is still in shock and dazed at this moment.

How come today, twenty copies of Food and Beauty turned into "a dot"?

In the past, taking half a year wouldn’t sell this volume!

Finally.

Under the enthusiastic suggestion of a customer, quickly called the post office, asking them to help deliver some of this issue of Food and Beauty magazine over.

After the postal guy delivered, many people came again to buy this issue of Food and Beauty, and the freshly delivered 100 copies sold out in less than 10 minutes.

Is it that he didn’t want to stock up more of this issue of Food and Beauty?

No!

It’s because the post office had no stock left, still working overtime to print more!

He’s decided to call for 500 more.

Because many, upon hearing it’s sold out and still printing, prepaid and asked him to reserve a copy.

He busily registers in his notebook.

Never resting, his hand almost tired from writing.

He now sits directly on the small stool at the booth, leaning against the goods behind, smiling happily.

This issue’s sales exceeded sales during peak times!

He almost sees the scenes from the years when printed magazines prevailed.

Back then, many kiosks were distributed around schools and bus stations, every now and then new comics or novel serializations came out, magazines published, students buying them, bringing a bit of color to the dull study life.

Meanwhile, elderly people, going for a morning walk, bought a newspaper at the kiosk, reading through it, storing the previous day’s big events in their minds...