A Western Fast-Food Joint Opens in the Old County Town [1990s]

[This story starts October 25. Please add it to your favorites!!!]

Xu Mingyue, a food blogger, transmigrates to 1997, just as her family faces layoffs and their finances take a nosedive.

To help her family make it through the painful transition period, Xu Mingyue decides to return to her old line of work.

But where should she begin?

Her gaze lands on a sack of large potatoes in the corner. That's it, she'll make french fries!

The ingredients are easy to find and cheap, and the recipe is simple. Xu Mingyue gets straight to work.

With a tricycle, a simple sheet-metal stove, and a skimmer, Xu Mingyue sets up shop.

The woman next door, who sells sticky rice buns, mutters, "They're just fried potatoes. Anyone can make those. Who'd buy them?"

Xu Mingyue's fries are golden and crisp on the outside, soft and piping hot inside. One bite and their salty fragrance bursts across the tongue, making it impossible to stop after just one. Within days, they win over the county's residents, and business gradually picks up.

The woman next door comes over, fidgeting. "Um, I'll take a bag too. My son keeps pestering me for them."

Xu Mingyue smiles and hands over the fries. The woman turns around, pops one into her mouth, and mumbles as she chews, "How come I can't get mine to taste like this?"

At a bustling fair, Xu Mingyue becomes famous overnight with her soybean-paste fries and pickled-cabbage burgers. People start calling her the French Fry Goddess.

Soybean-paste fries, pickled-cabbage burgers, chicken-and-mushroom pizza, twice-cooked pork wraps, frozen pear sundaes, ginseng chicken soup mashed potatoes...

Combining her talents with local food culture, Xu Mingyue creates a series of Western-style fast foods with a local twist, beloved by the county's residents.

A Western-style fast-food restaurant quietly opens in this drab old county town.

After graduating from agricultural college, Han Yang heads to the front lines, visiting ginseng farms and fields and working with ginseng farmers.

During that time, he watches helplessly as farmers spend four or five years growing ginseng, only for prices to collapse at harvest and leave them with nothing.

Some cut down their ginseng to restore the forest. Others start adulterating their ginseng...

As a technician, he knows all about the market's many problems but is powerless to do anything.

Determined to create a healthier marketplace for ginseng farmers, Han Yang enters government service. Starting as an office director, he works step by step to improve and refine the rules governing ginseng trade, leading farmers out of poverty and helping Xuanbei County shed its impoverished status.

[Bonus scene]

The key turning point in Han Yang's life is his arrival in an old county town called Xuanbei.

The county official assigned to work with Han Yang happens to be Xu Mingyue's older brother, Xu Mingyang. Unfortunately, the county guesthouse is under renovation and has no available rooms.

Xu Mingyang sets his sights on Han Yang's five-yuan daily allowance and comes up with an idea. "Director Han, why don't you stay at my house? Everyone in our family is easygoing, we all get along wonderfully, and my mother is a great cook. I guarantee you'll be comfortable and satisfied."

Han Yang sees right through the other man's little scheme. Since he'd just arrived and wanted to get to know the people, and since he'd be able to come home to a hot meal, the offer is tempting enough.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he agrees.

To his surprise, before he even steps inside, he hears a heated argument coming from the house.

"Xu Mingyue, what did you just say? You want to quit your job?" Xu Zhongyi roars.

"Dad, Dad, calm down." Xu Mingyue hides behind her mother. "I mean, I want to quit and start a business."

"Start a business? What kind of business could you possibly start?"

"I want to make french fries."

Xu Zhongyi has never even heard of them. His face darkens. "French fries? I'll fry you first!"

"Ah, help!"

Xu Mingyue bolts for the door like she's running for her life and slams straight into the person outside.

Han Yang staggers backward, caught off guard, and looks at Xu Mingyang with a face full of confusion.

Is this what you meant by your family being easygoing and getting along wonderfully?

Xu Mingyang: "Director Han, let me explain. They're not usually like this!"

Xu Mingyue rubs her head and looks at the handsome young man. Suppressing her pain, she curls her lips into a playful smile. "Hey, handsome. How are you?"

[Reader's guide]

1. The story mainly follows the heroine's career, family, and love life.

2. Her career starts with a fast-food restaurant. Later, she'll branch out into other types of food, expanding her business as she continues to grow and succeed.

3. The leads aren't perfect and each has their flaws. They will get married later.

4. The setting is a small county town in Northeast China during the 1990s. Everyone has flaws, and each person has their own selfish interests and perspectives. No one is perfect.

5. Hope you enjoy reading.

Theme: We love french fries, burgers, and fried chicken!