Riverbank, fried fish stand.

Yin Yu holds two bills, smiling.

Xu Wenyi silently steps back a few paces to avoid being implicated.

Xue Yuantong is fishing out fried fish, notices the two 50 yuan bills in Yin Yu’s hand, and says, "But, you don’t have enough money."

Yin Yu is momentarily stunned, are roadside stalls that expensive now?

A voice from behind accuses, "What are you pretending for if you don’t have enough money?"

"Little girl, you’re really cruel, can you sleep at night?"

Yin Yu remains unaffected, still wearing a fake smile: "It’s okay, I have more money."

She pretends to take more money out of her wallet.

Jiang Ning looks at her and says, "Limit one per customer."

Yin Yu: "Huh?"

She widens her eyes and earnestly says, "Wouldn’t it be better if I buy everything in one go for you? Once you’re sold out, you won’t have to stay out here, isn’t that much more relaxing for you?"

Xue Yuantong blinks, innocent: "Really? If I weren’t worried about you reselling at a higher price, I would definitely sell to you."

Yin Yu’s gaze falters, her plan has been seen through.

Actually, she had already prepared in her mind, to buy this batch of fried fish and then immediately resell at a higher price on the spot. What would Jiang Ning and the others choose to do?

They’re here to make money, can they really resist the temptation to raise prices opportunistically?

And how would the customers react?

Thinking about it, the scene would surely be interesting.

Unfortunately, her plan stopped at the first step.

Yin Yu, slightly pouting, says, "How could I be a profiteer, never mind, never mind."

In the end, she spent only 30 yuan and bought a large portion of fish.

The people in line behind her were relieved, quickly paid and bought fish, eagerly enjoying it with endless praise, it’s so delicious!

With more customers’ approval, many who found it expensive finally couldn’t resist the aroma and joined the line.

While frying fish, Xue Yuantong introduces, "We buy the grass carp fresh, kill, marinate, and fry it on the spot, that’s why it tastes so good!"

These words win the diners’ acclaim.

Particularly a middle-aged woman in luxurious attire holding a teddy bear, with a tone of reproach, "The grass carp live so well in the water, why did you kill them?"

Oh, turns out she’s an animal rights activist on a moral high ground.

Jiang Ning: "Then why are you in line?"

The wealthy woman: "I’m buying it for my dog to eat."

As soon as she said that, the people around eating fried fish all glared at her.

Xue Yuantong put on a stern face: "I’m not selling to you."

The wealthy woman was unhappy and accused, "You’ve already killed the fish, why won’t you sell to me?"

"Do you not want to do business?"

Tongtong wasn’t pleased, said crisply, "Just because of you, I’m going to kill ten more fish when I get home tonight, you’ve got ten fish lives on your conscience now, wait for them to come find you in your dreams!"

The wealthy woman’s face changed, just ready to start a scolding match.

Jiang Ning picked up a big ladle, scooped some hot oil from the boiling pot, and raised it slowly.

The wealthy woman saw his expression didn’t seem fake, got scared, and quickly ran away with her teddy.

Fortunately, she fled fast, otherwise Jiang Ning would have summoned Xiao Ben and shown the world what a truly unbeatable fierce dog looks like.

Batch after batch of fried fish sold out.

As evening fell, streetlights came on, and the dim light mingled with the dying rays of sunset in the sky. Fried noodles, fried rice, and various snack stands began to thrive. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Another group of people lined up, and finally, an elderly woman with her grandson reached the front.

She yelled, "Why is mine less than others’? Skimping, huh?"

The fried fish stand was in a rush, so they didn’t have electronic scales, relying solely on Tongtong’s scooping sense.

Actually, for this small portion, Xue Yuantong, considering she was an elderly person, had given her an extra piece on purpose.

Upon hearing the complaint, Tongtong took away two more pieces: "That’s all there is."

The old lady was shaking with anger.

Jiang Ning chimed in timely, "Are you buying or not? If not, someone else will."

The old woman looked at her wailing grandson and gritted her teeth, buying it.

Tongtong was elated: "Turns out vending is so fun, no wonder so many people like to do it."

Passersby who heard this got somewhat numb.

Yet, the crispy and fragrant fried fish from this stand was irresistible.

A fashionable young woman in line looked at Tongtong, her voice soft, "Kid, can you give me a little more fried fish?"

Tongtong’s mood instantly dropped, purposely giving less: "Is this enough?"

The young woman gritted her teeth and paid.

Meanwhile.

Not far from the riverbank on Nanhong Road, a white Mercedes C quietly drove by.

The driver was a young woman; she handled the steering wheel with a smile on her face, "Qing’e, aren’t the ambient lights beautiful?"

The interior of a Mercedes has always been renowned for its luxury, with the purple ambient lighting on, it can light up a girl’s heart. Shen Qing’e admired, "Hmm, beautiful."

Shen Hongdie looked even more delighted.

In 2015, owning a Mercedes C in a third or fourth-tier city was certainly a small accomplishment.

Shen Hongdie: "I’ll drive you home in the Benz for the New Year."

She could almost imagine the shock on the faces of those sisters, friends, and classmates from the village when they saw the big Benz logo.

Shen Qing’e glanced at her sister, recalling how the car came to be.

A while ago, Uncle Yao, who’s in construction, visited Uncle Jiang’s house and mentioned that someone owed him construction money and hadn’t paid, so they left him a Benz as collateral. But he had too many cars at home and couldn’t possibly drive them all, so he ’lent’ it to Uncle Jiang.

After a round of ’vigorous’ refusal, Uncle Jiang accepted, only to discover in the garage that it was a brand new 2015 model Mercedes C.

Even Shen Qing’e could understand that Uncle Yao had made a lot of money from projects that year, and to show his gratitude, he specially gifted the car to Uncle Jiang, thanking him for the job referrals.