Dragon Head Supreme Chapter 139
Chapter 139: You Were Born for Buffets
Laba Festival, a clear winter day.
As the saying goes, once Laba arrives, the new year is just around the corner. With the passing of Laba Festival, the festive atmosphere gradually builds up. Many migrant workers start returning home around this time. For businesses like arcades, the period after Laba marks the beginning of the most profitable season leading up to the New Year. The closer it gets to the holiday, the busier it becomes. This prosperity lasts until the Lantern Festival before business slows down again.
For Chen Xue Wen, this period is crucial. The profits during the New Year season are sky-high, making it a time he values immensely.
At seven in the morning, Chen Xue Wen woke everyone up. After freshening up, they headed downstairs for breakfast.
Li Tie Zhu, having spent half the night dealing with stomach issues, stood outside a breakfast stall, eyes gleaming at the sight of steaming soup dumplings.
“Wen Ge, I want to eat those!” Li Tie Zhu pointed at the dumplings, his voice eager.
Wang Zhen Dong looked at him in disbelief. “Tie Zhu, you still have room?”
Lai Hou chuckled. “You don’t understand him.”
“He emptied his stomach last night. Right now, it’s like he hasn’t eaten in two days.”
“This meal, he’s definitely going big!”
Chen Xue Wen grinned and waved at the stall owner. “Boss, I’ll take all your dumplings.”
The owner widened his eyes. “Brother, don’t joke.”
“You guys are only a handful of people. The most one person can eat is two trays, that’s just twelve trays total.”
“I’ve got over thirty trays here. You can’t finish them all!”
Chen Xue Wen laughed. “Don’t worry, we’ll finish them.”
He pulled out a hundred yuan bill and placed it on the table. “Just keep them coming!”
In 2003, a tray of dumplings cost two yuan. Even if he bought thirty trays, it would only amount to sixty or seventy yuan.
They ordered additional items like porridge, rice noodles, and wontons, occupying three tables, filling them with food.
Seeing the payment upfront, the stall owner beamed with joy.
He first served twelve trays of dumplings, grinning. “Start with these. The rest are still steaming, I’ll keep them warm for you.”
Before he could even finish speaking, Li Tie Zhu had already made his move.
He pulled a tray in front of him, grabbed a small dish of vinegar, and skewered five dumplings onto a pair of chopsticks. Dipping them into the vinegar, he opened his mouth wide and slurped them in one go, as if he were eating skewered lamb. He chewed a few times, swallowed, and immediately skewered the remaining dumplings on the tray, repeating the process.
In just one minute, a whole tray of dumplings was gone, devoured right in front of the stall owner.
Chen Xue Wen laughed. “Boss, let’s not waste time bringing them two trays at a time.”
“For my brother here, serve them five trays at once.”
The stall owner wasted no time, walking to the steamer and bringing over five trays, placing them directly in front of Li Tie Zhu.
Li Tie Zhu’s eyes sparkled. He pulled out another pair of chopsticks and, wielding both hands, speared ten dumplings at once, five on each side. Left bite, right bite—he ate even faster than before.
Watching him eat, Chen Xue Wen and the others felt their appetites increase as well.
By the time breakfast was finished, the five of them had eaten thirteen trays in total—an overachievement. However, Li Tie Zhu alone had consumed nearly twenty trays, leaving everyone in awe.
Wang Zhen Dong sighed in admiration. “Tie Zhu, with an appetite like yours, it’s a waste if you don’t go to a buffet.”
Li Tie Zhu scratched his head. “Buffet? What’s that?”
Wang Zhen Dong explained, “It’s a place where you pay twenty yuan and eat as much as you want.”
“You can take whatever you like and eat until you’re full.”
Li Tie Zhu’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Twenty yuan? Eat all you want? Seriously?”
Wang Zhen Dong nodded. “The cheaper ones are twenty yuan. If you want something better, there are ones for thirty-five or fifty.”
“The best one is the self-service barbecue spot at Central Square, fifty-eight yuan per person. It’s all meat—you can eat until you explode!”
Li Tie Zhu nearly leapt up. “Really?! For real?! No way?!”
Before Wang Zhen Dong could continue, Chen Xue Wen cut in. “Alright, stop tempting him.”
“If someone like Tie Zhu walks into a buffet, the owner’s going bankrupt.”
Wang Zhen Dong chuckled but said no more.
Meanwhile, Li Tie Zhu’s eyes burned with enthusiasm. As they headed back to Old Square, he refused to ride Lai Hou’s motorcycle, instead sticking with Wang Zhen Dong, bombarding him with questions about buffets.
Seeing his enthusiasm, Chen Xue Wen sighed inwardly. [This guy is definitely going to ruin some buffet owner’s day.]
At 8 AM, they arrived at Old Square.
Instead of heading to Brothers Game Arcade, they went straight to Electronic Dynasty.
“Monkey, open the door!” Chen Xue Wen ordered.
Lai Hou stepped forward, pulled out a wire from his pocket, stuck it into the keyhole, twisted a few times, and with a soft click, the lock popped open.
He yanked the door open, and they stepped inside.
Though it was already past 8 AM, Old Square was still relatively quiet.
Chen Xue Wen walked into the office, sat down, and instructed Lai Hou and the others to go buy firecrackers. At the same time, he sent Wang Zhen Dong to Brothers Game Arcade to bring over some staff.
Additionally, Chen Xue Wen put up two banners at Brothers Game Arcade, announcing his takeover of Electronic Dynasty. This move was meant to direct traffic toward the new venue.
After all, Electronic Dynasty was several times the size of Brothers Game Arcade, with a far better setup. During the New Year period, his main focus would be on Electronic Dynasty to maximize profits.
Brothers Game Arcade had its limits. Even during the busiest time of year, it could only pull in a few thousand a day, barely reaching ten thousand at best.
But Electronic Dynasty was different. Managed well, it could rake in tens of thousands daily.
As Li Er Yong, Lai Hou, and the staff from Brothers Game Arcade cleaned and set up drinks and cigarettes for customers, a commotion broke out at the entrance.
A group of men barged in, cursing loudly.
Leading them was a burly man, who pointed at them and barked, “Who the hell are you guys?!”
“Who told you that you could enter our arcade?!”
“And who the hell opened this door?!”
Sitting in the office, Chen Xue Wen smiled slightly.
He knew the real players had finally arrived.
Quan Shu’s men were here to take over Electronic Dynasty.
And he was right here, waiting for them.
Setting his teacup down, he adjusted his jacket, walked out of the office, and spoke in a clear, commanding voice.
“I let them in.”
“What, you got a problem with that?”
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation