Chapter 231 - 196: Sons, Dad’s Back

Chapter 231: Chapter 196: Sons, Dad’s Back

The two students skeptically took the surveys Liu Zhaowen handed them. A quick glance confirmed there were only three simple questions and a printed QQ number, which immediately put them at ease.

"What flavors of braised food do you have in there? Can we pick? I can’t really handle spicy food." One of them craned his neck, peering into the insulated box at the individually portioned bags.

"You can pick. We have Spicy, Sichuan Peppercorn, Five-Spice, and Soy-Braised. Which ones would you like?" Liu Zhaowen had rehearsed this line in his head countless times, so his reply was perfectly smooth, practically rolling off his tongue.

"I’ll have the Spicy." "I’ll take the Five-Spice."

The words had barely left Liu Zhaowen’s mouth when the two students blurted out their choices in unison. Without missing a beat, Liu Zhaowen deftly picked two bags from the insulated box and handed them over.

Freed from the chilling ice and exposed to the heat of the scorching sun, the jellied marinade quickly melted back into a liquid state. As it did, a rich aroma escaped from the openings the students tore in their plastic bags. The scent danced in the air for a moment before wafting directly under their noses, invading their senses with each breath.

’It smells incredible! How could it possibly smell this good?!’

The two of them swallowed hard in unison. They eagerly tore open the bags to get a proper look at the tempting colors and rich aroma of the food inside. Lured in by the fragrance, they didn’t even bother with gloves, just grabbing the food with their bare hands and shoving it into their mouths. ℯ𝐥.

The one holding the Spicy bag started with a thick, succulent piece of wakame stem. The outer skin was tough and satisfyingly chewy, but the "flesh" inside was tender and smooth. At first, he tasted a rich, oceanic flavor, but as he chewed, threads of spice began to seep from the seaweed’s skin and flesh. The sensation traveled from the taste buds on his tongue to his brain, creating a numbing, prickly feeling.

This sensation was subtle at first, but as he moved on to different items, all with the same spicy flavor, the feeling intensified with every bite.

When the last spicy mushroom in the bag met its doom between his molars, that numbing, prickly feeling reached its apex. He felt as if a pair of giant, invisible hands had grabbed his head, unhesitatingly ripped off the top of his skull, and allowed his soul to float freely in the world for 0.01 seconds before roughly stuffing it back inside his body.

After swallowing the mushroom, his mouth opened uncontrollably. A pocket of air that had been building in his stomach surged up his throat, and a satisfying burp, fragrant with the spicy aroma, escaped smoothly.

The guy next to him, who was eating the Five-Spice braised food, was wolfing it down with just as much gusto. The only difference was that the Five-Spice flavor was mellow and rich rather than sharp and stimulating, allowing him to indulge without restraint, freely swimming in an ocean of flavor and enjoying the pure bliss of gluttony.

Only after devouring every last bite—less than five minutes after getting the bags—did the two of them snap back to reality. They had only planned to have a little taste, fill out the survey, and then take the food back to their dorm to savor slowly with an ice-cold Coke...

While the two were still in a daze, a black pen was offered to them, followed by the owner’s bright, expectant voice. "Now, if you two would be so kind as to review the food."

Flavor: Perfect score!

Price: Only five yuan a pound? Perfect score!

Will you be a customer after the grand opening? Absolutely! The tip of the pen didn’t hesitate, drawing a large check mark next to "Yes."

"You can add me on QQ," Liu Zhaowen proposed, seizing the moment. "If you’re interested in buying or want to place a pre-order, you can contact me there." The two students didn’t hesitate, immediately pulling out their phones to add his QQ and ask about the details of his grand opening.

Liu Zhaowen gave them a vague answer, promising he would post an update on QQ the day before the official opening and telling them to just keep an eye out for it.

After confirming with Liu Zhaowen one last time that the food in the insulated box was only for the survey and not for sale, the two finally left, albeit reluctantly, looking back over their shoulders every few steps.

While the first two had been sampling the food, its rich aroma had drifted through the area, attracting a great deal of attention. The moment they finally moved away from the stall, another pair of students eagerly pushed their way to the front...

The faces at the front of the stall changed in quick succession. The number of contacts on Liu Zhaowen’s QQ rapidly increased. The supply of braised food in the insulated box rapidly dwindled. Yet the crowd of students trying to get closer only grew larger...

Liu Zhaowen took another two bags of food from the insulated box to give to the next students in line, but when he looked up, he saw two familiar faces. It was the very first pair who had visited his stall.

Before Liu Zhaowen could say a word, one of them quickly spoke up. "Our roommates want to try some too. Can we take two bags back for them? We’ll make sure they give you a completely honest review and add your QQ, boss."

With their earnest gazes fixed on him, and with the testimony of the constantly updating chat window on his phone, Liu Zhaowen finally handed the two bags of food to them.

This maneuver immediately gave the others waiting in the crowd an idea, and they pulled out their phones to copy the move. But just as they opened their QQ apps, Liu Zhaowen made an announcement that sent a chill down their spines: "Only two bags left! When these are gone, we’re out!"

Hearing this, everyone immediately put their phones away and scrambled to thrust their hands toward Liu Zhaowen. In the end, two lucky winners, thanks to their longer reach, snatched the final two bags before anyone else could.

At Liu Zhaowen’s stall, the lids of both insulated boxes were wide open. Inside, there was nothing but melting ice; not a trace of food remained. The crowd could only disperse with regret, heading for the other braised food shops near campus. The aroma had been far too tempting—if they didn’t get their fix today, there would be no satisfying the hunger worms in their bellies.

Once all the students had left, Liu Zhaowen packed up his stall, pulled the ninety-eight completed surveys from his satchel, and began flipping through them. Ninety-five percent of respondents had given perfect scores for both flavor and price and checked that they would absolutely be customers after the grand opening!

’Perfect,’ he thought. ’I’ve got my negotiating leverage. Now I just have to figure out how to convince the owner of Xu’s Braised Shop to sell me his product at a discount.’

The two who had gotten food for their roommates ducked into a convenience store. They asked the clerk for two extra plastic bags, divided their haul into four portions, bought four cans of Coke, and then returned contentedly to their dorm. One of them kicked the door open, looked at the two roommates inside who were crying out like hungry baby birds, and announced with swagger, "Sons, Daddy’s home with the food!"