Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 58 Xia Ming's Early Closing Down ~ As night falls, the hunt begins!
"Old Fang, look, does the boss sell a bowl of soup for 10 yuan?"

"Uh-huh"

"If I only buy one bowl of soup, do I only get one bowl of soup?"

"This is not nonsense!"

“Things are different now. At noon, 10 yuan can only buy me a bowl of soup, but in the evening, 11 yuan can buy me a meal, and even some cold dishes. Don’t I get a good deal?”

"That would be a huge profit!"

Seeing Lao Fang give a thumbs-up in support, Lao Zhang nodded in satisfaction.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's eat that!"

"Eat that bastard!"

At the stall, after a simple calculation, Lao Zhang convinced the two men.

Indeed, even if they didn't eat at Xia Ming's place, the cheapest fish noodles they could get would cost 8 yuan, and there wouldn't even be much fish in them.

At least, the pork blood and tofu soup contains pork blood and tofu, and it also comes with cold dishes.

Seeing that all three of them had bought pig's blood tofu noodles, Xia Ming smiled slightly.

Yes, this is a great deal, how can we not take advantage of it?
However, some viewers in the live stream realized what was going on.

Wait, something feels off.

[Don't just assume it's wrong; it's because when you eat rice noodles, the price is for the noodles and the toppings, not the soup.]

[The customer seems to be self-torture. Am I watching a food show or a psychological battle? This is completely off-track, it's like some kind of heretical practice!]

From a psychological perspective, this is the anchoring effect. When you accept that soup can sell for 10 yuan, you subconsciously raise the corresponding price, making the noodles seem cheaper, and you get the illusion that you've made a profit.

The most classic example is the combo meal. When you accept a burger originally priced at 28 yuan, you subconsciously feel that the 34 yuan three-piece combo is a good deal because the cola and chicken wings completely exceed that price. But is it possible that they originally had a premium?

To put it simply, during shopping festivals, prices rise first and then fall, with huge discounts and free gifts offered through short video platforms like Douyin. You're not just buying products; you're also experiencing the feeling of getting a great deal.

[The reason why food stalls can become so popular is precisely because they pay attention to every detail. Because food stalls are highly mobile, building a good reputation is extremely difficult, so a consistent approach is often more appealing to people.]

Xia Ming could roughly guess what people were talking about in the comments section, but so what?

He pays the money and delivers the goods simultaneously, the customer gets a good deal, and he makes a profit – it's a win-win situation! It couldn't be more righteous!

After all, no one's holding a sword or knife to their necks or forcing them to buy it, right?
If we really want to analyze it, it's just that the price of the magical pig's blood and tofu soup at noon was a little high, but it has now been brought back to a normal level.

But the skill is genuine. If it weren't for filming a variety show, where would you find such delicious pork blood and tofu soup on the street? At this point, you'd only consider the profit and not the skill involved.

He was simply selling food at its fair price in a simple food stall, what's wrong with that?

While he was making noodles, a few more customers came in looking for fast food. After hearing that there was no order, three customers left without hesitation. The remaining four people thought about it for a moment, and one of them bought a bowl of soup for 8 yuan and then went to buy other food.

The remaining three thought for a moment and finally decided to try the noodles.

Xia Ming was also aware that this strategy was not effective for everyone, but for him, as long as he could sell most of the last of the soup, that would be fine.

Although his fast food has low profit margins, it's not like he doesn't make money; the ice cream even covers all the costs.

With a cost of 1300 and a premium that's almost criminal, he's practically guaranteed to advance as long as he can sell enough.

He doesn't care what place you get; even if you get first place, he won't give you an award.

It's better to sell out quickly, visit other stalls to check on their situation, then go back to break through the Blood Gate, and then get some rest.

It's clear that the lunch break has left a deep impression on many working people; basically, customers who arrive before 6:10 pm are repeat customers.

After 6:10 p.m., the sky gradually darkened, and the lights on Shangbixiang Street began to come on.

Xia Ming's food stall cart comes with lights, but the stalls behind it don't; he didn't buy lights in advance.

However, at this moment he no longer cared about the diners, and took the opportunity to fold up the seats, then looked at the bucket.

There were only three portions left in the bucket. The aspic and fish skin had already been delivered. Since there were no customers, he poured the soup into a pot next to him and then put the bucket away.

Finally, he yelled directly at the crowd, "King of Turtle, Chicken, and Pig Blood Soup, only three servings left, 8 yuan a serving! You won't regret it, we're closing down soon!"

Most passersby ignored Xia Ming's calls, but he wasn't in a hurry. He called out every two minutes, believing that someone would eventually be interested.

Sure enough, 10 minutes later, he packed up everything on his stall, turned off the lights before it got completely dark, and then pressed the bell that the production team had given him earlier.

[Snack Street Competition Rankings]

Team Six: Sichuan and Chongqing's Ice and Fire Chefs

Operating hours: 12:00 PM to 6:32 PM (closed)

Total cost: 1300 yuan

Total revenue: 3527.2 yuan

Gross profit: 2227.2 yuan

[Temporary ranking: First]

Upon seeing this profit, the viewers in the live stream gasped in astonishment.

"Seriously, man? A gross profit of over 2200? Why even bother working? Everyone might as well set up a street stall."

[This is insane! A cost of 1300 yielded a profit of over 1%! Someone, a professional, please tell me this is fake.]

[A professional has arrived. A night market vendor with fifteen years of experience tells you that this is gross profit, which doesn't include electricity, labor, stall fees, equipment depreciation, and so on. But you have to admit, Chuanyu Binghuo Mochu (a barbecue restaurant chain) truly lives up to its reputation; their methods are incredibly sophisticated.]

[Ordinary people shouldn't even think about it. He has the strategy, the skills, and the clear thinking. I'm not jealous at all that he's making money.]

[Most people should be grateful if they can earn 150 yuan in 6 hours of street vending. Street vending isn't that easy. Don't be brainwashed by short videos!]

After finishing his work at his stall, Xia Ming stretched, took off his mask, packed up his things, and headed towards the inner street.

He deliberately saved his stomach at night so he could try the other contestants' food. As for aiding the enemy?

That's a joke; he simply doesn't believe anyone could make such huge profits without any prior promotion.

After wandering around for a while, the first thing I saw was a queue. Perhaps because it was much cooler in the evening, there were more tourists out and about, and finally there was a small queue in front of their stall.

Of course, this is also thanks to the fiery grilling performance by the graduate students at the banquet, which attracted many tourists.

Xia Ming waited in line for a while before it was his turn to order.

He grabbed some skewers and ordered a regular mojito.

Xiao Hua was stunned when she saw that it was Xia Ming, then nodded and went to get busy. The bald cook who was packing the food was particularly enthusiastic when he saw Xia Ming.

"The Demon Chef, are you out on a tour?"

"No, I'm done on my end, everything's sold out!"

The bald cook glanced at Xiaohua and then sighed.

"Sigh, it has to be you again!"

Just as they were chatting, a gust of wind suddenly blew in from the alley. Xia Ming subconsciously sniffed and found that an extremely spicy smell filled his nostrils.

"Nine kinds, no, it should be a mixture of eleven kinds of chili peppers, plus the flavor of fish. This must be Chef Zeng's stuff!"

Just as he was pondering this, the stall of Team Four had changed drastically. The original braised rice noodles had been replaced with braised edamame, but the cold shrimp was still there.

The fried dumplings have been put away and replaced with an iron plate, with a long row of grills set up next to them.

Under the lights, one grilled fish after another was being roasted on the grill.

Shuai Xiaojian looked kindly at the diners who had been drawn in by the aroma.

"Shuai's Secret Recipe Grilled Fish, Authentic Sichuan Flavor, 49 Yuan per fish, plus 5 Yuan to get a plate of specialty edamame!"

(End of this chapter)