Chapter 209 - 185: There Are Bad Guys in the Crowd

Chapter 209: Chapter 185: There Are Bad Guys in the Crowd

The tasting event for the braised dishes took place on the second floor of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant No. 1. All the tables on the floor had been pushed together, covered by a single, large red velvet tablecloth that made the patchwork of tables look like one solid piece.

In the center of the long table stood a giant, meter-high tower constructed from cans of apple cider vinegar, Coke, Sprite, and beer. Fine beads of condensation trickled down the cans, a clear sign that all the drinks had been thoroughly chilled.

At the base of the giant beverage tower, twenty-eight platters of braised dishes were neatly arranged. Each platter was as wide as a person’s embrace, piled high with an assortment of braised foods. The braising liquid, slightly congealed from being refrigerated, was now slowly sliding off the food, trickling down through the layered crevices.

Beneath the tables were three large basins filled with food-grade dry ice. Just as Xu An led the group upstairs, Tang Wen activated the dry ice with water. Chilly wisps of vapor floated up from between the tablecloths, and combined with the twinkling fairy lights overhead, the entire scene felt ethereal and dreamlike.

The moment people set foot on the second floor, they were captivated by the dreamlike scene. They stood frozen in place, unwilling to take even a single step for fear of shattering the beautiful tableau.

But the rich, enticing aroma of the braised dishes was too powerful to resist. After only a moment’s hesitation, the crowd descended upon the food. The most eager of them all was Liu Zhaowen. He’d only had a single hamburger for lunch and had been too busy to eat anything since. He was already ravenous, and the sight of the mouthwatering dishes was the final straw. He could no longer contain himself. He ripped open a pair of chopsticks and began to devour the food like a storm.

Liu Zhaowen’s frenzied eating inspired everyone else to drop their last shred of restraint. They all grabbed disposable bowls and chopsticks and began frantically scrambling for the food.

"This hot and spicy flavor is incredible! I feel like it blew the top of my head clean off! So satisfying!"

"You guys have to try the Sichuan peppercorn chicken wing tips..." The one speaking was Nanny He, who had secured a spot at the event and volunteered to help in the kitchen (read: sneak some bites). She was now tirelessly evangelizing her favorite Sichuan peppercorn dishes to everyone.

"The five-spice flavor is better for people like me who can’t handle spice. Mmm, the soy-braised flavor is also great."

"Meat and the mala flavor are a match made in heaven. Once you start, you can’t stop!"

"..."

Since the food was meant to be paired with drinks and served after dinner, Xu An had prepared about a pound of braised dishes and two cans of soda per person. But now, in less than twenty minutes, the platters had been wiped clean, while more than half of the drinks remained.

Looking at the twenty-eight empty enamel platters, everyone wore expressions of wanting more. If there weren’t so many people around, Xu An suspected some of them might have even picked up the platters to lick them clean.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, it was time to vote. With cards in one hand and pens in the other, they all fell into deep thought.

’The mala duck feet were excellent, and the large intestines were delicious too. The mushrooms were fantastic in both mala and five-spice flavors, and the Sichuan peppercorn was to die for... It seemed every single dish and flavor had its own unique charm. Being forced to choose only ten was just cruel!’

For a moment, the room was filled with people looking around and scratching their heads in frustration.

Liu Zhaowen and Liu Tong were the types to eat anything and everything. They had thoroughly enjoyed every single dish at this braised food feast, which made filling out their cards an exceptionally difficult task.

"Why can’t the boss just put all of them on the menu? I love every single one!" Liu Zhaowen lamented, chewing on the end of his pen. His card remained completely blank.

"Yeah, picking only ten favorites is just asking too much. Fifteen... no, twenty, that would be more reasonable," Liu Tong chimed in.

"Hey, do you think the boss is going to pick the final ten menu items based on the number of votes?" Liu Zhaowen asked suddenly, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I guess so. Didn’t the event rules say the top ten with the most votes?"

"Then tell me," Liu Zhaowen said, leaning close to Liu Tong’s ear and lowering his voice. "What if there’s a tie? For instance, what if for the tenth and final spot, three different dishes all get the same number of votes? What would the boss do then?"

"You mean...!" Liu Tong instantly understood Liu Zhaowen’s implication, and his eyes flew wide open.

"Exactly!" Liu Zhaowen nodded firmly. "Wanna give it a shot? What if it works?"

"Deal!"

The two hit it off instantly and split up to find people to lobby. Liu Zhaowen targeted the three college students who had been sitting near him at the bus stop earlier.

He hurried over to them, saw they were just filling in their third-to-last choice, and quickly stopped them to explain his theory and his plan. After hearing him out, the three students immediately joined his cause and started lobbying the other guests...

Xu An stood at a solitary table, ready to collect the completed voting cards. But suddenly, the atmosphere in the room turned strange. People started whispering amongst themselves, and when they looked at him, their eyes were... ’filled with cunning?’

’It must be my imagination. What is there to scheme about?’ Xu An shook his head slightly and glanced at the time on his phone. There were still three minutes until 9:40.

The strange atmosphere didn’t last long. Everyone soon went back to normal, diligently filling out their cards. But as they turned them in, Xu An couldn’t shake the feeling that their smiles were odd. Their eyes were all brimming with a mischievous, gossipy fire. Yet when he glanced at the cards themselves, everything seemed perfectly normal.

’It’s my imagination. It has to be!’

But when even the ever-honest Nanny He and her group had that same fiery look in their eyes, a seed of unease was planted in Xu An’s heart. ’Something’s not right. This crowd is up to no good. There are saboteurs in the crowd! These rascals are out to get me!’

Even though he sensed something was off, the event had to go on. Xu An handed the collected cards to Tang Wen to tally, then moved on to the third segment of the evening: a promotional event with prizes, which Tang Wen had planned.

AHEM—

Xu An coughed loudly twice, and once all eyes were on him, he broke into a brilliant smile. "So, did everyone eat their fill tonight?"

Amidst a scattering of "We did!"s, a few shouts of "It wasn’t enough!" rang out, particularly loud and clear. That was exactly what Xu An had been waiting to hear.

"I heard some of you didn’t get enough to eat. Well, do you want some more?!"

"YES!"

"Alright, we have a little activity coming up. Participation is completely voluntary, and anyone who joins in will get a free one-pound ’blind box’ of our braised dishes." Xu An said, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "And in one of those blind boxes, there’s a brand-new mystery flavor that won’t be revealed until our grand opening the day after tomorrow!"

The offer of a free pound of braised dishes was already tempting enough, but the mention of a mystery flavor sent the crowd into a frenzy. Everyone started clamoring for Xu An to announce the details of the activity.

Xu An held up his hands, pressing them down in a calming gesture. Once the room quieted down, he took out his phone, opened an app called "Big Eye," and showed the screen to the crowd. "Xu’s Fast Food has registered an official account under the name Xu’s Catering. All you have to do is post about your tasting experience tonight on the Big Eye app and tag our official account. Then you can come claim your prize from me."

As Xu An spoke, Zhang Dezhen and Li Xindong carried over two insulated containers and set them down in front of him. Inside were braised dishes, all packed securely in meal boxes and plastic bags.

Liu Zhaowen and Liu Tong, who had been hesitating just a moment before, saw the packed containers of food and reacted as if they’d been shot full of adrenaline. Inspiration struck like a tidal wave, and in less than five minutes, they had written a glowing review, attached a photo, and posted it...

Every time Xu An refreshed his phone, he saw the follower count jump by a few. It quickly rose to sixty-six followers, but it didn’t stop there. Friends and fans of the sixty-six guests saw their posts, clicked on the Xu’s Catering account, noticed the upcoming grand opening event, and immediately hit "follow." The follower count continued to climb until it reached eighty-nine, at which point the growth finally started to slow.

’As long as I don’t screw up, these eighty-nine people will most likely become die-hard fans of the Xu’s Catering account!’

’Free advertising really is the best!’ Xu An thought, putting his phone away with satisfaction. He began to hand out the prizes. All sixty-six prepared portions were distributed, with none left over. Even those like Nanny He, who didn’t have a Big Eye account, got help from Liu Zhaowen to sign up and post their reviews...

Just then, Tang Wen, who was in charge of tallying the votes for the most popular dishes, came up from the first floor. She walked straight over to Xu An and handed him a sheet of paper, her expression unreadable. "Boss, the results are in. But... there’s a small problem..."

Tang Wen’s hesitant, "I-have-something-to-say-but-I-don’t" demeanor made that feeling of unease return to Xu An’s gut. He took the A4 paper from her hands—it was still warm from the printer and smelled of fresh ink—and focused his eyes on it.

First Place: Mala Duck Feet, 43 votes;

Second Place: Mala Large Intestines, 39 votes;

Third Place: Five-Spice...

...

Tenth Place: Sichuan Peppercorn Chicken Wing Tips, seventeen votes;

Eleventh Place: Soy-Braised Chicken Feet, seventeen votes;

...

From tenth to fourteenth place, every single one had exactly seventeen votes!

Staring at the list, Xu An finally understood the source of his earlier unease. ’These guys actually found a loophole that wasn’t even a loophole! Damn it!’

’Technically, the final interpretation of the rules is up to me, but if I refuse, it’ll make me look like a sore loser. And even with fourteen different dishes, that’s still thirteen fewer than the original twenty-seven. I should be satisfied with that.’

"We have a bit of a surprise with the voting results. The five dishes ranked from tenth to fourteenth place all received the same number of votes..." Xu An deliberately dragged out the words and paused, building the suspense. After letting the crowd hang for a moment, he finished, "...So, Xu’s Braised Shop will offer a grand total of fourteen different braised dishes for you to choose from!"

WHOO-HOO—

Screams and cheers erupted across the second floor. They were happy that the braised shop would have fourteen dishes, but they were even happier that their little scheme had succeeded.

This was immediately followed by a wave of regret. If they had known that tied dishes would all make it onto the menu, they would have colluded to give all twenty-seven dishes the exact same number of votes! ’Damn it!’

And so, the grand feast—which featured twenty-seven types of food in four distinct flavors for a total of 108 unique dishes—drew to a perfect close with a group photo of all seventy people.