Divorced and Determined: The CEO’s Ex-Wife Fights for Love

“Shen Muyan, where is Lu Qin setting up his food stall?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can’t you ask him? I want to eat that ice cake!”

“If you want to ask, ask yourself,” Shen Muyan replied while flipping through some documents.

Fang Ya clenched her fists, almost ready to hit someone.

Actually, Shen Muyan also wanted more of Lu Qin’s ice cake. But she was too embarrassed to ask him again.

…

After leaving the Ourei Hotel, Lu Qin rode his tricycle to the market. By this time, the rush hour for grocery shopping had passed, so the market wasn’t crowded.

Lu Qin found a pork stall and checked the color of the pork—it was freshly butchered today. Fresh pork is bright or dark red, while chilled pork has a pinkish hue.

“Boss, how much is your pork per pound?”

“19.5 yuan per pound, but if you buy more than three pounds, I’ll cut it down to 19.”

Lu Qin chuckled, guessing the pork seller was quoting high because he saw Lu Qin was a young guy. In reality, Lu Qin knew market prices better than the elderly who frequented the market.

“Too expensive, I’ll pass. I’ll check somewhere else.”

Lu Qin turned to leave.

“19.5 is already cheap!” The vendor exclaimed.

“I’ll buy from the stall next door.”

“Wait, wait, young man, how many pounds do you want?”

Seeing Lu Qin head towards the neighboring stall, the vendor quickly called him back.

“Twenty pounds.”

The vendor was stunned, then quickly put on a smile.

“Alright, alright, handsome, if you’re buying twenty pounds, I’ll sell it to you for 18.5 per pound, that’s the lowest price.”

“16.8 per pound. If you can’t do that, I’ll buy next door.”

The current market price for ordinary pork was around 17 yuan per pound, and since Lu Qin was buying twenty pounds, bargaining for two cents less per pound was reasonable.

If it had been one of those relentless bargaining aunties, she’d pull up a stool and haggle for half an hour, forcing you to sell it for 16.5.

Realizing Lu Qin wasn’t a novice and wasn’t budging on price, the vendor reluctantly agreed.

“Alright, alright, 16.8 it is. But come back next time, okay? Which part of the pork do you want?”

Lu Qin needed the pork to make twice-cooked pork, so selecting the right cuts was essential.

Four parts fatty hind leg, two cuts lean, six parts wide, and three fingers thick. Too fatty and it was greasy, too lean and it was dry, too wide or too narrow and it wouldn’t cook properly.

After buying the pork, Lu Qin left the market and returned home to prepare the ingredients for his afternoon food stall. He added a line to the small whiteboard he used at his stall.

[Twice-Cooked Pork: 30 yuan per serving. Limit one per customer. Available until sold out.].

Typically, twice-cooked pork was made to order in restaurants, so selling it at a food stall could be tricky. But Lu Qin had a special fresh-keeping thermal box he had won from a system lottery. He could blanch the pork, slice it, and store it in the thermal box until it was time to stir-fry.

Why not just stir-fry the pork in advance and store it in the thermal box, selling it as a ready-to-eat dish?

Well, that wouldn’t work. Anyone with some cooking knowledge would know that stir-fried dishes lose flavor and texture after sitting for a while.

Besides, Lu Qin’s twice-cooked pork was extraordinary. If it could maintain its perfection after being pre-cooked, it wouldn’t make sense. Modern technology hadn’t yet invented a magical box that could pull that off.

After spending two hours, Lu Qin finished preparing the mung bean smoothies and ice cakes he planned to sell in the afternoon.

300 cups of mung bean smoothie, 150 boxes of ice cake. The mung bean smoothies were put in the fridge to chill, while the ice cakes were placed in a cool area.

Lu Qin then started preparing the ingredients for his twice-cooked pork. He put the pork he had bought into cold water, adding ginger slices, green onions, peppercorns, and cooking wine. After cooking the pork, he quickly transferred it into ice water, which made it easier to slice.

With his mastery of cooking skills, Lu Qin’s knife work was impeccable. He sliced the pork into pieces as thin as coins. Next, he prepared a large stainless steel basin, laid a layer of lettuce at the bottom, and placed the pork slices on top—enough for about 80 servings of twice-cooked pork. He also chopped onions and garlic sprouts, which are essential side ingredients for the dish.

By the time he finished, it was already 12:30, and Lu Qin was feeling hungry. He cooked some rice—keeping it simple since it was just him—and stir-fried a portion of twice-cooked pork. As soon as the dish came off the stove, a rich aroma filled the air. The pork looked golden and incredibly appetizing.

Lu Qin took a bite, savoring the tender yet crispy texture. The flavor was rich but not greasy—perfect in every way. There wasn’t a single flaw in the dish, a testament to his top-tier cooking skills.

Having worked all morning and now eating such a delicious dish, Lu Qin ended up finishing two and a half bowls of rice, feeling completely full.

Although he wanted to take a nap, he had eaten too much and couldn’t rest comfortably. Since he wasn’t one to laze around, he decided to head out to set up his food stall. The sooner he sold out, the sooner he could pick up Lu Xiyao from school.

Lu Qin checked the stall map app on his phone. At this hour, the foot traffic at People’s Square wasn’t at its peak. According to the app, the busiest spot was Huaguo Mountain Park on the west side of town. It was Sunday, and there were plenty of people strolling through the park. There was a designated spot for stalls at the foot of the mountain, but business there was usually slow since most people were there for exercise, sightseeing, or hiking, not to buy food.

Selling water might do well in that area, but there weren’t many snack vendors. For Lu Qin, though, this wasn’t an issue. Having never been to Huaguo Mountain Park, Lu Qin opened up his GPS and set off.

After about 20 minutes on his tricycle, he arrived. Sure enough, at the foot of the mountain, there was a vendor selling grilled sausages, and the rest were mostly stalls selling water, drinks, and balloons or toys.

The park had a bit of altitude, and climbing up and down required quite a bit of energy. People were sweating, so drinks were in high demand. Lu Qin’s fried noodle stall, however, stood out awkwardly, looking out of place amidst the serene and green surroundings.

Most visitors were there for fitness, so the idea of eating stir-fried noodles didn’t really appeal to them. Some passersby, curious about what Lu Qin was selling, came closer but lost interest when they found out it was fried noodles and other snacks. It would definitely seem odd to carry around a box of fried noodles while hiking through the park.

The two women selling water at the neighboring stalls quietly laughed at Lu Qin’s situation. Seeing his brand-new food cart, they kindly gave him some advice.

“Young man, is this your first time setting up a stall?”

“There’s no way you’ll get much business selling food in a place like this.”

“You should try a busier part of town.”

Lu Qin smiled and responded, playing along with their comments.

“You’re right. I don’t have much experience. I’ll choose a better spot next time.”

As expected, there wasn’t much business at first. Some tourists and parkgoers bought water or drinks from the women next door, but no one came to Lu Qin’s stall.

Lu Qin did have chilled mung bean smoothies, but since customers were already heading to the neighboring stalls for drinks, he wasn’t going to start shouting out to steal their business. That just wouldn’t feel right.

At one point, a couple leisurely strolled by. They didn’t buy anything but stood near Lu Qin’s stall, admiring the view of the lake.

“Babe, I want some bubble tea,” the woman said.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? There’s no bubble tea shop in a place like this,” the man replied.

“Do you want bottled water or a drink?”

“No, I only want bubble tea.”

“Such a beautiful view, and no bubble tea. What a shame.”

The man was at a loss. There was no bubble tea shop anywhere nearby.

At that moment, Lu Qin turned to them with a smile and said, “How about trying some chilled mung bean smoothies? They’re just as refreshing as bubble tea.”