I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 418

Chapter 418: We Adopt the “Dried Fish Diplomacy”!

 

As a coastal city, Shenzhen City features many “special snacks” related to seafood or aquatic products.

 

Since I was a child, whenever someone brought “snacks” from home to school, there were always small fish or eel strips. The small fish here aren’t the vacuum-packed spicy fish snacks found nationwide but a type of fish called “silverfish.”

 

When caught, they’re very small. Shenzhen City has a preparation method where the silverfish are marinated, stir-fried with sauce, dried, and then coated with a special sauce and sesame seeds before being packaged as a popular gift.

 

If possible… I can actually make these types of flavorful snacks, but the ingredients are hard to find. Most small markets don’t sell silverfish, and the fishing boats usually sell their catch directly to factories.

 

Spicy silverfish, due to not having any preservatives, have a shelf life of less than half a month. Typically, they’re exchanged as gifts among locals or brought by children when school starts to replace “Lao Gan Ma” chili sauce as a topping for rice.

 

Since the flavor is sweet and spicy, regions that prefer very spicy food might find it not spicy enough, while those that like sweets might dislike the chili. Hence, spicy silverfish holds a somewhat awkward position.

 

Besides silverfish, there’s also a snack called “spicy eel strips” prepared similarly. The eels are juvenile and have a lower yield than silverfish, making spicy eel strips a bit more expensive.

 

If none of these are to your liking, there are also squid strips, dried cuttlefish, ribbonfish, dried sardines, and ready-to-eat crab and shrimp in sauce packets.

 

The small crabs at the beach in Shenzhen City, like the shrimp, are very tiny, even smaller than my pinky finger, so they can also be made into snacks.

 

This time, the cafe is seeking “snack partners” not only because we’ve received a lot of requests to add a snack section in the café, but also partly due to Mayor Ye Yuqing’s personal request.

 

It’s said that in the past month, the number of tourists visiting Shenzhen City has increased, and instead of going to the Shenzhen Lake in the eastern district, more people are visiting the Nanqi Tower in the southern district and the commercial street and plaza near the cafe. After touring around, they come to the café, which is now a popular check-in spot.

 

This is a good sign, indicating that Shenzhen City’s tourism market is expanding.

 

So, Ye Yuqing thought I should prepare for this. If tourists pass by the café and want to buy local specialty snacks, they can get them directly from our shop.

 

In a broader sense, this is related to the city’s GDP, developing tourism, promoting economic consumption, and boosting domestic demand… These are things Ye Yuqing indeed needs to pay attention to.

 

She assigned this task to me, and to be honest, I feel quite pressured.

 

After all, when you really think about it, Shenzhen City doesn’t have any particularly memorable “special snacks.”

 

Here, it’s mostly seafood and various dried or stir-fried goods, which can easily cause inflammation. Some of the more “folk” snacks don’t seem very presentable either.

 

I can’t just… go back and make five-colored sticky rice every day, ferment probiotics into sour porridge for the congee, and then fry plain cut duck, can I? I’m not a chef.

 

“Local specialties and snacks?”

 

Near the wholesale market shop, after I explained my purpose, Zheng Zisheng was initially taken aback. Then he looked at his shop filled with various snacks and said, “Is this… considered a local specialty?”

 

“I don’t know either.”

 

I squatted down in front of a large snack basket filled with dried pineapple slices. “I remember you used to distribute your uncle’s… what’s that snack called again? Papa Rotti?”

 

“Ah, yes, Papa Rotti.”

 

Zheng Zisheng looked a bit embarrassed. “I can’t believe you still remember that name.”

 

“Of course I remember! The name isn’t like those generic ones like ‘Zhaocai’ or ‘Wolong,’ it’s very memorable.”

 

I pointed at the dried pineapple in front of me. “Can I sneak a few pieces?”

 

Zheng Zisheng waved his hand generously. “Help yourself. These just arrived this morning, freshly baked.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

I pulled over a small, handmade-looking chair, sat down, and took two pieces of dried pineapple from the snack basket, putting them in my mouth.

 

*Crunch.*

 

Instantly, the unique aroma of pineapple spread in my mouth, filling it with fragrance.

 

This dried pineapple isn’t the same as regular pineapple, its full name is “dehydrated jackfruit.” It’s made by drying jackfruit into something like a biscuit or “vegetable chips,” and it can be considered a local specialty here.

 

Southern cities are known for their fruit cultivation skills.

 

In many places here, jackfruit is actually in surplus, and you can buy a large box for just a few yuan. Even the green belts on both sides of the city are lined with huge jackfruit trees, ten to twenty meters tall.

 

So, many “fruit drying factories” have sprung up here, both large and small, where they can dry jackfruit, longan, lychee, strawberries, and more. Many of the dried fruits found in supermarkets across the country come from this region.

 

If it’s from a large plantation, the management will dehydrate and dry the harvested fruits each year, sending them to packaging factories to be made into products sold nationwide. Smaller or private orchards will sell their fruits directly if possible, and if not, they’ll send their surplus to small drying facilities to make products like these dried jackfruit, longan, or mango pieces.

 

“Can I sneak some of these too?”

 

After eating two pieces of dried pineapple, I gestured to the sweet potato and dried longan next to Zheng Zisheng.

 

“Sure!”

 

Zheng Zisheng responded cheerfully, “Eat as much as you want. As long as you can eat it, help yourself!”

 

“Then I won’t hold back!”

 

I took some dried longan and put it in my mouth.

 

Hmm… This is so sweet.

 

By the way, their chairs look so funny. I wonder which grandpa wove them.

 

I bent down to take a closer look at the wooden chair I was sitting on.

 

It’s obvious that this chair is a handmade product, made by elderly people living in remote areas and sold at a very cheap price. But it’s very comfortable to sit on, far more beautiful than factory-produced wooden chairs. The chair is filled with the scent of plants, with no industrial traces at all.

 

In Zheng Zisheng’s “dried goods” area, besides dried pineapple, longan, lychee, strawberry, and mango, there seem to be some more traditional items.

 

For example, these dried sweet potatoes… there are several baskets of them, but you can clearly feel that the dehydration methods differ.

 

There are the most traditional dried sweet potatoes, and then there are “steamed dried sweet potatoes,” also known as three-steamed and three-sunned. This method makes the dried sweet potatoes soft and glutinous, with a noticeable sweetness, and not as hard, which is very popular in the Shenzhen area.

 

I really enjoy eating these “dried goods.”

 

While sitting on the chair, I tried a piece of dried mango.

 

These… should all come from private orchards that send their fruits to be dehydrated by machines and then transported here.

 

For example, in the garden behind the Ai Luodi neighborhood, many elderly women work hard every day. During the grape harvest season, there are too many grapes to sell or consume before they spoil, so they take them to nearby small factories to be dehydrated into raisins.

 

It’s the same for jackfruit, mango, and sweet potatoes. Some elderly people planted many jackfruit trees in their backyards when they were young.

 

Now, the trees have grown, producing a lot of fruit each year. Since the elderly can’t sell them, and their children live elsewhere, leaving no one to eat the fruit with them, they take the jackfruit to be dried and sell them to merchants like Zheng Zisheng who deal in “dried goods.”

 

These dried goods usually don’t have special packaging, just a production date. Merchants like Zheng Zisheng either sell them at events like conventions or to smaller vendors, such as street stall owners. If I wanted to, I could actually buy some of these goods and set up a stall at the pedestrian street where I went with Xiao Mo.

 

In theory… as long as their supply is stable and sanitary, the cafe can also source from here and sell the snacks in the shop. We wouldn’t need to make a huge profit since these snacks are very cheap in their original price. The cafe is a high-end place, similar to KFC, so even if we double the price, people wouldn’t think it’s expensive.

 

Our main concern is the hygiene.

 

As long as these snacks can get the necessary permits and meet hygiene standards, the taste is perfectly fine. If that doesn’t work… we could ask Xiao Mo to use magic to clean the food delivered to the cafe daily. I remember she mentioned that water magic can do something similar, and it’s easy to learn.

 

“Isn’t she just too cute?”

 

Maybe seeing that I really started eating here, Zheng Zisheng’s classmate, Wang Li, lowered his voice and leaned toward Zheng Zisheng, thinking I couldn’t hear him. “Oh my gosh… I can’t even look at her. This is the first time I’ve seen such an adorable girl. Her personality, her skin, and that voice—how can someone be so perfect?”

 

“That’s why I called her a little angel when we met earlier.”

 

Zheng Zisheng also lowered his voice. “She really is a little angel, I’m serious.”

 

“Yeah, usually such beautiful girls are very arrogant in my experience, but she has none of that attitude… Also, it’s the first time I’ve seen a girl eat such… down-to-earth food. There was a guy in our area who bought street fruit for his girlfriend and she complained about it.”

 

“Aren’t you always on Tongmeng Net? Nuo’er is so popular, don’t you know?”

 

“I know, but I thought it was just marketing, with a PR team managing it.”

 

Wang Li said in an incredulous tone, “But I didn’t expect her to be almost the same in real life as she is online.”

 

“I think Nuo’er in real life is even better than her online persona,” said Zheng Zisheng. “When I got out of the hospital… you know, around that time, she was also in her work uniform. But back then, her uniform was a maid outfit. I was eating cake in the car, and I swear it was the best cake I’ve ever had. She even wished me a happy birthday. She was the only one to wish me happy birthday that day…”

 

“Got a story?”

 

“I’ll explain later. This girl, you could say she saved my life. At the very least, she helped me out in a critical moment. That day, I was planning to take the bus to the beach to end it all…”

 

Zheng Zisheng glanced over in my direction. “And she still remembers me. I’m really touched. Just like you said, with her background and looks, she came here and didn’t look down on this place at all. She truly is a little angel…”

 

“None of your stuff is expired, right?”

 

“Get out of here, what are you talking about? Most of it is from today, and a few are leftovers from yesterday or the day before. The shelf life is at least a week. Otherwise, why do you think I can’t make it in business? My uncle says I’m too honest for business.”

 

Seeing the two of them whispering, I stood up after sampling a lot of dried fruit for free and scanned the array of snacks around me.

 

“Do you have any health permits for these?”

 

“Of course!”

 

Zheng Zisheng walked over. “We have all the necessary permits. We just divided them this way for easy selling.”

 

“Oh…”

 

I nodded. “So, are you interested in a partnership? Are you still getting supplies from your uncle?”

 

“My uncle went abroad for vacation and left the entire company to me.”

 

Zheng Zisheng scratched his head. “That happened just a few days ago.”

 

“Really?”

 

I walked over. “Congratulations!”

 

“Sigh, it’s not really a good thing, actually, because my uncle’s company has been losing money for several months. Most of the employees have left, even the finance staff.”

 

Zheng Zisheng said awkwardly, “To put it nicely, my uncle handed the company over to me to develop it well. To put it bluntly, he ran away and left me to clean up the mess. I’m currently worrying about how to fill the company’s financial holes. Fortunately, it’s a small company, and the debt isn’t huge.”

 

I blurted out, “How much is the debt?”

 

“Around seventy to eighty thousand owed to the factory. But the factory is also run by our family, so they aren’t in a hurry to collect the debt. Still, the company has been operating at a loss.”

 

Zheng Zisheng placed his hands on his hips and gestured towards the pile of goods in the room. “Now the whole company has fewer than ten people.”

 

I pondered for a moment. “So your uncle transferred the ‘Papa Rotti’ company directly to you?”

 

“Yeah, just completed the handover a few days ago. He transferred everything to me, including suppliers, factories, online and offline stores. I used to be a franchisee, but now I’m the boss.”

 

Zheng Zisheng sighed wryly. “Starting off as a boss already owing a hundred thousand.”

 

“So, you don’t have any issues with suppliers and such?”

 

“No issues.”

 

Zheng Zisheng nodded. “Are you thinking of selling our goods at the cafe? Is that really feasible? Don’t you guys just take care of cats and sell food?”

 

“Lately, there have been more tourists visiting the Nanqi District nearby. Many of them are brought to our cafe by tour guides and often ask if we have any local snacks.”

 

I explained, “Apart from that, sometimes our customers, while playing with the cats, see them enjoying cat treats and get tempted themselves. We thought about selling snacks for people in the cafe as well. As for the volume… we’ve done some surveys these past few days, and here’s the report.”

 

After finishing, I took out a document from the rabbit backpack behind me. “The needed snacks and dried fruits are all listed here. If you have other types available, you can add them. Our requirements and acceptable prices are all specified.”

 

“Nuo’er, if it’s you, I’ll sell to you at the wholesale price.” Zheng Zisheng took the document from me.

 

“Hey,” I quickly interrupted him. “I didn’t really help you with much, just picking up some coins for you. Whatever your price is here, that’s what it’ll be. What we need is stable supply and hygiene—especially hygiene. That must not be an issue.”

 

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll give you the best goods,” Zheng Zisheng assured.

 

He briefly glanced over the document. “The volume is quite large. Besides seafood and dried fruits, do you also need candies?”

 

“Not too many candies, mainly seafood and dried fruits. These two are considered specialties of our Shenzhen,” I replied.

 

“What about beef jerky and pork jerky?”

 

“Not needed for now, mainly focusing on seafood and dried fruits.”

 

“That’s completely fine. Give me a little time, this afternoon… at the latest, tonight,” Zheng Zisheng said as he put away the document.

 

“I’ll bring the inventory list and price quote to you before 8 PM. Prices will be 30% cheaper than what other franchisees get. Don’t refuse this, it’s a win-win for both of us. With your volume, there’ll be a lot of exposure too.”

 

“Alright,” I nodded. “By the way, do you know any merchants who sell oranges?”

 

“Oranges?” Zheng Zisheng looked puzzled. “What oranges?”

 

“Mandarins, tangerines, navel oranges, pummelos… basically anyone who sells oranges regularly,” I clarified. “The volume might not be large, but it’s steady. Know anyone like that?”

 

“Wang Li… his family grows oranges, two types actually: sugar oranges and pummelos,” Zheng Zisheng turned to the young man behind him. “They have oranges in greenhouse all year round. Are you looking to buy?”

 

“Yeah, we might need to sign a supply contract too. The cafe will be purchasing a large quantity of oranges,” I explained.

 

“Ah, well…”

 

On the side, Wang Li scratched his chin and asked, “Can you tell me why oranges?”

 

I sighed softly.

 

“To repel cats.”

 

“……”

 

Although the Shangjing Cat Café specializes in fast food, desserts, and cat interactions, there are occasional customers who do not like cats. Some truly dislike cats, and some even fear them.

 

Some customers may simply come for a meal, or fans of “Age of Aquarius” might visit to use the internet and experience VR technology. Others who enjoy bubble tea might come to the second floor of the café for a relaxing afternoon tea with Wi-Fi.

 

For these types of customers, cats are unnecessary. Some may even be “anti-cat.”

 

The café has some very friendly cats, like Ding Man and others. When they see customers come in, they’ll approach to rub against their legs or meow affectionately, which can upset customers who don’t like cats, leading to complaints.

 

We can’t control the cats’ behavior in the café, but we can mark customers who prefer not to be approached by cats. After a brief discussion, Xiao Mo, Lan Jiajia, and I came up with a solution: we decided to give each customer who enters and doesn’t like cats a free orange.

 

Cats dislike oranges, they don’t like the smell of orange peel at all. So, if a customer doesn’t want cats approaching them, they can take an orange when they come in. This way, the friendly cats won’t bother them.

 

Additionally, the orange can be enjoyed as a dessert after the meal, and giving it out for free can also enhance the café’s reputation.

 

“……”

 

“I’m back!”

 

At 3:30 in the afternoon, having finally resolved the snack and orange issue, I returned to the café and headed straight to the staff lounge on the second floor.

 

“I’m tired. I want to take a nap.”

 

“Also, keep an eye on Xiao Mo. Don’t let her come in while I’m napping!”

 

“……”

 

……