Chapter 136: Chapter 136: There’s really not a single drop left!
He’s here, he’s here! He’s coming with the ice cream!
Jiang Feng purposely arrived a bit late today, 11:45 AM, specifically to ensure the elementary school students could get ice cream.
Many parents were queuing up. They and their children had reached a consensus: first get the ice cream, then pick up the child! Children could be picked up a bit later, but if you didn’t get the ice cream, it would be gone.
Seeing the food truck approaching, the parents were overjoyed.
"He’s here! Executive Chef Jiang is here!"
"We’ve been waiting for him!"
"He’s finally arrived!"
Besides the parents, many of Jiang Feng’s regular customers were also there. The regulars were mostly girls; after all, delicious ice cream has always been a favorite among them. They were often willing to queue for an hour or two at popular ice cream shops.
Jiang Feng parked the food truck by the side of the road and turned on the illuminated sign on top.
Today’s Special Delicacies: Homemade Flavored Ice Cream, Jumbo Orange Bucket Ice Cream.
"What’s Jumbo Orange Bucket Ice Cream? I’ve never heard of it!"
"Are they not selling White Rabbit ice cream today? I absolutely love White Rabbit ice cream; it’s even chewier and tastier than White Rabbit candy!"
"I’ve never heard of Jumbo Orange Bucket Ice Cream either," quite a few people discussed.
Before long, Jiang Feng opened the window. He placed the ice cream containers—one for scooped ice cream and one for the special orange ones—in front of the window. The containers had a transparent glass top and refrigeration below, much like a display freezer. Only then could everyone clearly see what the Jumbo Orange Bucket Ice Cream was.
"Whoa, it’s that!"
"Oh my gosh, my childhood memories! How long has it been since I’ve seen this?!"
"Why can’t we find such delicious ice cream anymore?!"
"I loved this kind of ice cream when I was a kid; it was cheap and yummy, a truly dreamy treat."
The adults got excited in an instant, not for their children, but for themselves. It was as if everyone had returned to the start of the millennium. Some even reminisced about the nineties. The delicious tastes of childhood had vanished, but today, they had reappeared.
"Boss Jiang, I want two Jumbo Orange Buckets!"
"I want two as well!"
"This is so rare!"
"I need to take a photo and check in!"
A large group of people began queuing to buy ice cream.
Just then, the school dismissal bell rang. As soon as the teacher dismissed the class, a swarm of elementary school students flew out.
"Let’s go, get the ice cream!"
"Don’t let the adults get it all!"
"I want some too!"
The crowd bustled; it was very lively.
Soon, a long queue formed in front of Jiang Feng’s stall. It stretched down the road towards the school but didn’t obstruct traffic. On both sides, students and parents were heading home; many disliked queuing and were just watching the excitement.
The elementary school students looked at the orange-flavored Jumbo Ice Cream in the adults’ hands.
"What’s that? Ice cream? Why does it look so strange, like a mallet?"
"So many adults are buying it!"
"It looks so weird!"
"They look so happy eating it. Should we try it too?"
The queue kept moving. Every adult held one or two of the orange-flavored Jumbo Ice Creams, as if they were holding glow sticks and cheering for Jiang Feng’s food truck. The scene was exceptionally lively.
After a little while, two elementary school students reached the front of the queue at the food truck.
"Mister, we want two orange-flavored ice creams," one of them said to Jiang Feng, standing on tiptoes.
"Okay."
Jiang Feng took two Jumbo Ice Creams from the freezer and handed them over.
The elementary students handed Jiang Feng a thick stack of twelve one-yuan bills. These past few days, he had received plenty of small change from the students—some one-yuan bills, some five-yuan bills. Jiang Feng accepted it all.
The two elementary students happily left, holding their orange-flavored Jumbo Ice Creams. The ice cream was an orange-colored cylinder, hollowed out in the center and filled with white cream. To eat it, you started with the cream in the middle.
One of the students licked the cream in the middle of their ice cream. The sweet, yet not cloying, cream instantly delighted their taste buds. This cream was meticulously crafted by Jiang Feng; it wasn’t ordinary. It was rich with a milky aroma and had a very smooth texture.
"Wow!"
The student’s eyes lit up.
What kind of ice cream is this? they wondered. Why does it taste so good? It’s so incredibly sweet!
They continued licking the cream in the middle of the ice cream until it was almost gone, then started eating the orange-flavored shell. Jiang Feng’s orange shell wasn’t made from ordinary orange powder; it was a careful blend of orange juice, lemon juice, white sugar, and honey. After finishing the cream in the middle, which could feel a bit rich, biting into the orange-flavored shell brought an instant cool, frosty sensation. The melting orange juice began to cleanse their palates of the creaminess. This feeling was extremely pleasant.
The two elementary students kept eating until they had finished the entire orange-flavored ice cream.
"This is so delicious! No wonder so many adults love it too!"
"What kind of ice cream is this? It’s my first time trying it."
"Creamy ice cream and a fruity shell combined—it’s perfect!"
"That mister is pretty awesome!"
Shoulder to shoulder, the two left with a swagger.
At that moment, many people were taking photos with their ice creams and "checking in" online.
"Executive Chef Jiang really gets me! This is the taste of childhood!"
"I haven’t seen these orange-flavored jumbo ice creams for so many years, and today I finally found them again!"
"I never thought my dream of tasting this again would come true at Executive Chef Jiang’s stall!"
Everyone posted about it on their Moments.
Soon, these posts on Moments started resonating with their friends. Many people commented:
"Oh my god, where is this? I haven’t seen this ice cream for so many years!"
"Is that Executive Chef Jiang, the one with the food stall? Is he selling ice cream? This kind of ice cream?"
"Share the location! I want to go buy some!"
"This is so rare!"
An ice cream filled with childhood memories. It made everyone reminisce about the sweet tastes from simpler, perhaps tougher, times. Especially for those born in the ’90s, its impact was massive.
At that moment, an influencer named White Snow was holding one of the ice creams while her assistant helped her take glamorous photos. Her figure was extremely slender as she struck alluring poses, holding a conspicuous orange-flavored ice cream. She had found out Jiang Feng’s location from Liu Bao. After confirming it, she had rushed over to "check in" and take photos, then updated her status on XiaoHongShu. As she was an internet celebrity and the orange-flavored ice cream was so eye-catching, her post quickly garnered many likes and comments. Her status soon trended.
#TasteOfChildhood
#CheckInExecutiveChefJiangNewIceCream
#SuperSweetOrangeFlavoredJumboIceCream
After seeing these photos, netizens’ attention was drawn to the ice cream.
"Executive Chef Jiang is going to be even more popular!"
"He really understands what we want, making these orange-flavored ice creams and selling them from a small stall!"
"Where is it? I want to go too!"
With such publicity, Jiang Feng’s stall was bound to become even more popular. Before he knew it, he had become a photo check-in hotspot! Anyone who saw him would surely come over to buy an orange-flavored jumbo ice cream and then take a picture holding it.
But Jiang Feng, all told, had only made a little over two hundred of these ice creams. That was because he had bought many molds and could freeze more than ten at a time. The special orange ice creams sold out quickly, and incidentally, his other ice cream sold out as well.
This week’s business was destined to be brisk. He didn’t need to put much effort into it—just sit in the food truck and collect money.
Just then, Jiang Feng tilted one of the freezer containers and scraped out the last bit of scooped ice cream with a spoon.
"Everyone, it’s all sold out! Come back tomorrow!" Jiang Feng shouted to the crowd outside the window.
At that moment, many people were still laughing and chatting, waiting in line for the orange-flavored jumbo ice cream. Suddenly, they heard Jiang Feng’s shout. The smiles on their faces froze instantly.
What did he say? What’s he talking about? It’s gone?
"Boss Jiang, is it really all gone?"
"I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. I advise you to take it back!"
"You’re telling me it’s all gone?"
"Shouldn’t you work some overtime?"
A crowd of customers looked at Jiang Feng with pleading eyes.
Jiang Feng was used to such scenes, but he really couldn’t do anything about it. There truly wasn’t a single bit left. Ice cream—you always wish you’d made more when it runs out!
"Sorry, everyone, it’s truly all gone."
"You can find orange-flavored jumbo ice creams and other ice cream elsewhere. You can look online."
"My apologies!"
As he spoke, Jiang Feng skillfully packed up, sat in the driver’s seat, turned the key, and immediately drove off. The entire process was smooth and swift, without a moment’s hesitation. He didn’t linger for even an extra second.
"That’s it? So fast!"
"It feels like he was never even here!"
"Executive Chef Jiang’s ice cream is still too limited; there’s never enough!"
"Let’s search online!"
The customers watched the departing food truck, momentarily bewildered. He came quickly and left just as quickly. Getting to eat his ice cream was purely a matter of luck.
And so, many people started searching online for the same kind of orange-flavored ice cream. Strangely enough, this actually became a trend online. It seemed that today’s young adults were getting older and starting to reminisce about the past. #TasteOfChildhood suddenly appeared in trending searches.
Many social media marketing accounts, which usually lacked explosive gossip, saw this keyword and instantly created videos to post online.
"Do you all remember these orange-flavored ice creams? So full of childhood memories."
After seeing these videos, many people began to wonder why such orange-flavored ice creams were no longer commonly available. Some said it was because modern ice creams tasted better and were made more sophisticatedly, meaning the old-style orange ice creams couldn’t keep up. Others said the cost was too high; the profit margin on ice cream was already low, and that particular type was so large. Amidst the lively online discussions, many reminisced about their childhoods.
Some began to post about childhood toys: spinning tops, marbles, and collectible Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon cards. Jiang Feng’s ice cream had caused a butterfly effect. A butterfly flapped its wings, stirring up a wave of childhood nostalgia.
Jiang Feng himself was completely unaware that he was the cause of all this. He was just casually browsing short videos when he also came across some reminiscing about childhood.
Old cartoons and toys were genuinely fun. Even playing hide-and-seek with the neighborhood kids was a blast, he thought. Today’s animated shows are too childish.
Jiang Feng sighed. The world is indeed a circle, and unknowingly, Jiang Feng had become a link in it. However, he only browsed for a short while before getting busy with other things. After all, he had to work overtime making more ice cream.