Holding eight cups of beverages, Wenchu People smiled and said goodbye to the people in the shop before walking out. However, as soon as she turned around, the smile on her face faded, replaced by a worried expression.
The milk tea shop had actually been losing money for several consecutive years under the previous owner. Given its current situation, it would probably continue to operate at a loss. Even if the new boss was indeed a rich second-generation heir, he probably wouldn’t be able to accept such financial bleeding for long.
Filled with worry, Wenchu People carried the drinks and soon found her colleagues, who were slacking off under a tree. This was the life of community grid workers—rushed off their feet when busy, with absolutely nothing to do when idle.
Wenchu People placed the drinks in front of everyone. "One cup per person. The names of the drinks are on the cups, so just check the labels and choose for yourselves." After speaking, she picked up one of the cups and spaced out.
The others immediately thanked her profusely; after all, who wouldn’t like free drinks? Amidst the laughter and banter, they quickly divided the remaining seven beverages among themselves.
A moment later, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Team Leader Wen, where did you buy these? Why are they so good?"
"Is yours good too? What flavor do you have? This Mango Boba I’m holding is amazing!"
"Hey, are yours good too? My Peach Oolong is also really unique! The tea flavor is incredibly fresh, and the peach taste is so rich. There are even chunks of peach pulp inside. I’ve never had anything this delicious before!"
"My Green Grape Smoothie tastes great too. There’s so much grape pulp inside! The sweet and sour flavor is fantastic!"
Everyone was soon chattering away, eagerly discussing the drinks in their hands.
Hearing their lively discussion, Wenchu People snapped out of her worried daze. Since leaving the milk tea shop, she had been pondering its future, so preoccupied that she hadn’t even touched her own drink. Now, roused from her thoughts by everyone’s praises, she looked at the beverage in her hand and asked subconsciously, "Are all of your drinks really that good?"
Her tone carried a hint of disbelief. After all, she knew the condition of those children better than almost anyone else. Even with new equipment and recipes, she believed the extent of their improvement would be very limited. However, judging from her colleagues’ rave reviews, these drinks were indeed exceptionally good.
She quickly unwrapped her straw, her warm lips wrapping around it. The icy liquid instantly flowed into her mouth. The next moment, her eyes widened.
She thought, "This is delicious! Extremely delicious!"
Even before the liquid entered her mouth, a strong, refreshing lemon aroma hit her face. The sourness of this lemon tea wasn’t harsh; rather, it was a mild, refreshing tartness with a hint of sweetness. The natural acidity of the lemon and the slight bitterness of the tea blended perfectly, creating a well-layered yet harmonious taste. Then, a subtle sweetness slowly emerged, balancing the sharpness of the sourness and making the overall flavor far more rounded.
She looked at the drink in her hand in shock. She drank beverages quite often, but it was truly rare to come across one this delicious.
She immediately recalled the scene when Li Xiao appeared that day. At the time, Dong had indeed made a cup of lemon tea. But in her eyes, that cup was produced under Li Xiao’s guidance, so it couldn’t really be considered Dong’s own ability. Li Xiao took most of the credit for that tea being passable; without his guidance, Dong would quickly revert to his old ways.
However, what was going on with this drink right in front of her?
There were indeed two regular employees in the shop just now, but neither of them had participated in making the drinks, nor did they assist from the sidelines. The eight drinks she received were made entirely by the children’s own hands, from start to finish.
Seeing the surprise and confusion on Wenchu People’s face, the other seven exchanged bewildered glances. One of them joked, "Didn’t Team Leader Wen bring these back herself? Could it be that she snatched them from someone else on the way, which is why she didn’t know they tasted so good?"
Hearing this, Wenchu People rolled her eyes and said in exasperation, "With my scrawny arms and legs, who could I possibly overpower? I bought all of these from the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop."
Hearing her explanation, everyone exchanged puzzled looks. A young man wearing glasses asked in disbelief, "Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop? Team Leader Wen, you aren’t joking, are you?"
All of them were grid workers in charge of this district or the neighboring ones. Naturally, they knew of the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop’s existence and had tried it a few times before. Unfortunately, the drinks from the previous store were truly subpar, so everyone eventually opted for other beverage shops. Now, hearing that the delicious drinks in their hands came from that very shop, none of them could quite believe it.
Wenchu People naturally knew what they were thinking. She tore off the plastic bag covering her drink, showing everyone the logo on the disposable cup. "See that? It even has the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop logo on it."
Everyone quickly examined their own drinks. All the disposable cups featured a cute smiley face, accompanied by the stylized font of Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop.
Seeing the logo on his cup, the young man in glasses gasped. "Well, I’ll be damned! When we ordered afternoon tea from them before, wasn’t their quality really bad? How did the taste improve so much after just a short while of not ordering from them? These might as well be from two completely different shops!"
Wenchu People quickly explained the whole sequence of events to them. After hearing the story, they all clicked their tongues in amazement. No one expected that simply changing the equipment and recipes would enable those children to make such delicious drinks.
A young woman with her hair in a bun smiled and suggested, "If the quality at Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop can consistently stay this good, we should order all our afternoon tea from them from now on!"
Someone nearby immediately agreed, "Of course! This tastes way better than the Heytea I usually order!"
Hearing their discussion, the worry in Wenchu People’s heart dissipated significantly. Honestly, she had been anxious just a moment ago that the milk tea shop’s business would be as dismal as before, but hearing everyone’s enthusiastic words, she knew her worries were completely unfounded.
She subconsciously took a sip of the drink in her cup, but instead of the sweet, sour, and icy sensation, the straw let out a loud GURGLE. She looked down at the lemon tea in her hand. Without realizing it, she had already finished the entire cup.
A relieved smile appeared on her lips. With such excellent products, how could their business possibly fail?
Of course, what made her even happier was knowing that with such great products, the milk tea shop could survive on its own merit in the future, rather than relying on the pity and charity of others.