Chapter 81: Earning Money Is Not as Important as Spending Time with My Daughter

The power of a good example was strong. Liu Heming’s Dumplings and Rougamo opened a new door in the diets of the passing truck drivers.

Just on that first night, they gave away thirty-six bowls of Dumplings and one hundred and three Rougamo. The free giveaways on the second and third days were about the same as that night, with a slight increase.

The reason why these drivers had not tried the new foods before was very simple, just like that problem. They were afraid the new food might not agree with their stomachs and make them sick. That would affect their work.

The food’s hygiene standards were no problem, and George and the others could vouch for Liu Heming. That made the drivers brave enough to try on the first day.

The good results in the following days were thanks to the drivers from the first day. These drivers sometimes found driving boring, so they installed radios in their trucks. When they had nothing to do, they could chat with each other.

There was once a movie called “Joy Ride” about two brothers who got bored while driving and played with a radio. They accidentally provoked a deadly truck driver.

Of course, such killers might exist, but they were really rare. Normal truck drivers were decent people and really just used the radio to pass the time.

Those who often drove this route naturally formed small circles of friends. Then Liu Heming’s Dumplings and Rougamo spread within these circles. One reason was the good taste, and another was that they were free for these three days. As long as the distance wasn’t too far, making a little effort to stop here for a meal wasn’t a big burden for them.

For these three days, Liu Heming lost money, but he was happy about it. At the very least, he had successfully launched this round of advertising, and the effect was good.

On the fourth day, they finally started earning money. They sold twenty bowls of Dumplings and sixty-two Rougamo. Maybe this result still couldn’t compare to the Rougamo stall owners pushing carts on the streets in China, but Liu Heming and the others felt it was successful. The gross profit reached 377 US Dollars.

After deducting Lewis’s share and some cost expenses, Liu Heming could still earn nearly 170 US Dollars. This profit was really not low.

But that was only for now. Later, when there were more customers, the profit per item would definitely decrease. Right now, the operating costs were low, and the labor from him and his friends didn’t cost money.

His main focus was handmade Dumplings made on the spot. No matter how quick his hands were, he couldn’t tie himself here all the time. Hiring workers was the only choice. Even though Xiangshui Town in the United States had declined, the labor cost was still high.

On the fifth and sixth days, the revenue was stable, hovering around four hundred US Dollars. Liu Heming was so happy he was practically bouncing. Since coming to the United States, he had been spending money. These two days, he finally saw some money coming back.

“Dexter, I knew it. Once your foods were promoted, they would be very popular,” George said with a smile as he helped Liu Heming clean up after the day’s business.

“Ah, it’s all thanks to everyone’s help. It seems tomorrow I’ll have to discuss with Lewis about poaching some staff from here. Otherwise, I really can’t handle it all by myself,” Liu Heming said with a laugh.

“I have no problem with that. Your place is only busy in the evenings anyway. As long as they’re willing, I’ll let them go,” Lewis said with a smile.

“But this situation can’t last too long. There will be a period of rapid sales growth later. After that passes, things will stabilize. Then they won’t be able to work part-time for you anymore. There are other customers in the restaurant who need attention.”

Friendship was friendship, but business was business. Although the two were partners, Lewis couldn’t let helping Liu Heming affect his own restaurant’s business.

Right now, people were curious about the novelty. Even if sales continued to grow later, after eating it many times, that novelty would wear off. The traditional staple foods would become popular again.

“Then transfer Amelia to my side, and I’ll see if I can hire one more person. Actually, the work is quite simple. The main thing is to practice rolling the dough skins more,” Liu Heming said with a laugh.

“For the new hire, I think we should look within Xiangshui Town. George, see if there are any odd-job workers outside, men or women, as long as they are quick and nimble. Here with me, the salary will definitely satisfy them.”

“Leave it to me. Tomorrow I’ll go ask around. The children wandering outside should come back to live here,” George said happily.

Right now, he felt that Liu Heming was the savior of Xiangshui Town, and he definitely hadn’t misjudged him. The heavy responsibility of reviving Xiangshui Town had to be shouldered by Liu Heming.

With only two food varieties now, Liu Heming needed to hire two people. Later, when more varieties were developed, he would need to hire even more workers.

The fact that passing drivers chose to stop here actually proved that Xiangshui Town was slowly reviving. Even if it couldn’t compare to the former agricultural hub, it was a good sign. But he also knew Liu Heming didn’t like hearing such things, so he didn’t say his usual catchphrase aloud. He just kept it in his heart.

“Anderson, from now on, my ingredient supply will come from you. It saves me the trouble of purchasing and gives you some income. But one thing: the ingredient quality must be good, and the price must be cheap,” Liu Heming said, turning to Anderson, who had been eavesdropping.

“Dexter, you’re really a good person,” Anderson said, his eyebrows raised and his mouth grinning.

This was giving him money to earn; of course he was happy. The profit margin he could make, given the current sales trend, was substantial.

Liu Heming’s suggestion surprised Lewis, who was standing nearby. After all, Lewis ran a restaurant. He naturally knew that buying ingredients himself versus having Anderson act as a middleman meant some profit would be lost.

“I have no choice. Right now, I’m busy every day. In the morning, I go to buy ingredients. In the afternoon, I start preparing for business, and it goes on until night. It leaves me much less time to spend with Alex,” Liu Heming said with a bitter smile, then gestured with his chin toward Alex, who was asleep in a chair nearby.

“In my heart, no matter how much money I earn, it’s not as happy as playing with Alex. So I’d rather earn a little less and make more time to be with her. Otherwise, earning money loses its meaning.”

He had already missed a lot of time with the little one. Although making money was important now, spending time with his daughter was even more important. Especially with Sasha around—if she found out he was neglecting their daughter to make money, it would probably be hard to see her again in the future.

These past few days, his daughter had been accompanying him early in the morning and late at night. He didn’t know if Sasha had any complaints about that.