Although the United States is known as a country on wheels, where almost everyone owns a car, mainly because cars are cheap and the used car market is well-regulated, in big cities like New York, not many people actually drive. If everyone had a car, the streets of New York would probably be impassable.
Therefore, in large cities like New York, taxis and subways are the preferred modes of transportation. As a taxi driver, Ben picks up and drops off passengers every day and knows very well where the crowds gather and where they are sparse. After Wang Kai consulted with Ben, he knew where he and Jimmy should set up their stall.
The next day, Wang Kai went to Jimmy's house, left his bicycle there, and got into the food truck. Jimmy drove towards their target location. The goal they had set the previous night was a business district, filled with high-rise buildings and home to many financial institutions. Moreover, there was a bustling commercial area nearby, where the foot traffic was no less than that around Wall Street.
After parking beside a small alley, Jimmy quickly got out and busied himself, propping up the side awning of the truck and opening the window, completing a service window. Then, Jimmy pulled out a sign from the truck, opened the rear support, and a billboard was ready.
It displayed the price list: Three-Egg Shumai and Golden Ratio Shumai were both ten dollars for three, while Roujiamo (meat sandwiches) were six dollars each. This pricing was considered mid-range; in the United States, a hamburger costs between two and seven dollars. Wang Kai had considerable confidence in his culinary skills.
As time passed, more and more people passed by, and some noticed Wang Kai and Jimmy's food truck. However, it wasn't lunchtime yet, so people just walked by without stopping to buy anything.
Jimmy was getting a little anxious, muttering to himself, wanting to find a mascot costume to stand in front and attract customers, or to dress up as a clown to attract customers.
"Don't worry, buddy, you have to have confidence. Don't forget you've tasted it. As long as we get one customer, we can light the fireworks of victory."
Wang Kai advised Jimmy, having absolute confidence that once someone opened Pandora's Box, he would succeed.
"Alright, then, I won't worry. Maybe after a while, when everyone gets hungry, we'll be able to make a fortune."
Hearing Wang Kai's words and thinking of the delicious food he had tasted, Jimmy could only hold back.
Success is reserved for those who are patient. Just as Jimmy was getting bored and about to squat down to count ants, he finally heard the sound he had been waiting for.
"Hello, can I have three of those Three-Egg Shumai?"
A white-collar woman in a suit came to the food truck and asked, finding the name on the billboard a bit tongue-twisting.
"Sure, coming right up. Please wait a moment."
Hearing the voice, Wang Kai immediately straightened up from the stool in the truck and quickly opened the steamer basket, picking out three Three-Egg Shumai and placing them in a custom-made paper box.
Jimmy took the money, his eyes almost sparkling as he held the ten-dollar bill. This was their first income of the day, and Jimmy wanted to ask the white-collar woman for an autograph.
The white-collar woman didn't go far, sitting on a stone bench nearby, ready to enjoy the three snacks she had just bought. Yes, snacks. These small shumai, which could be eaten in one bite, were almost like snacks in the white-collar woman's eyes. Moreover, the black jelly on top looked so beautiful that she wanted to take a photo and post it on her Facebook page.
After taking the photo and putting her phone away, the white-collar woman put a Three-Egg Shumai into her mouth, and her expression changed. A feeling of happiness that could intoxicate anyone arose spontaneously. She had never eaten anything so delicious, with such a rich layering of flavors. Perhaps only the world's top Michelin chefs could achieve such a thing.
Reluctantly swallowing the food in her mouth, she quickly put the second Three-Egg Shumai into her mouth,
and then the third. She quickly ate all three Three-Egg Shumai.
Seeing this from a short distance away, Jimmy's face lit up with joy. He believed that as long as there was a first customer, there would be a second and a third. He would definitely earn enough for his college expenses this holiday.
Wang Kai, however, didn't have time to be happy, because after Jimmy received the ten-dollar bill, he heard the voice of the Dimensional System again.
"Triggering random mission: Host must earn ten thousand US dollars within one week. Reward for completing the mission: Liu Angxing's cooking skills. Failure to complete the mission will result in the deprivation of all mission rewards, and the host will lose the Dimensional System."
This mission announcement almost made Wang Kai roar. Was it a mistake? The first mission didn't have any penalties, so why was the second one so serious? If he lost the Dimensional System, he would probably be a mediocre person in this passionate world. Maybe he would become a cook in a Chinese restaurant in the future, or escape the United States and return to his homeland across the sea. This was not what Wang Kai wanted. Since he had come, he wanted to live a magnificent life, even if he died, he wanted to die spectacularly.
However, this mission was quite difficult. Ten thousand US dollars was no small amount. If converted to shumai, he would have to sell three thousand of them, which meant an average of more than four hundred per day, or more than one hundred customers.
Wait, calculating it this way, he should be able to complete it. After his anger, Wang Kai calmed down. After doing the math, it wasn't very difficult. His anger just now was mainly because he was shocked by the ten thousand US dollars. He had only saved a little over a thousand dollars after working for so long.
"Reminder to host: The ten thousand US dollars here are pure profits."
Perhaps seeing that Wang Kai thought the mission was too easy, the Dimensional System spoke again, making Wang Kai want to curse. Just when he thought the mission was easy, it threw this at him, truly unable to bear seeing him have a good time. However, Wang Kai didn't get angry, because the cost of his shumai was very low. He controlled the raw materials and could get discounts for large-scale purchases. Calculating it, the cost of each shumai was less than one dollar, so he had almost half the profit.
"Kai, six more, three Three-Egg Shumai, three Golden Ratio Shumai."
Just as Wang Kai was still thinking, Jimmy shouted. Wang Kai looked up and saw that it was the white-collar woman from just now. She had already finished the three Three-Egg Shumai she had just bought and was now buying more.
"Okay, coming right up."
Wang Kai quickly took out two paper boxes, then filled them with six shumai and handed them out, while Jimmy collected the money outside.