Chapter 277 - 236: The Commotion at Brother Hua’s Stall

Chapter 277: Chapter 236: The Commotion at Brother Hua’s Stall

"I want five yuan worth of necks!"

"I’ll take three yuan worth of potatoes and lotus root."

"I want an order of cold noodles!"

"..."

Even in the middle of his rush, the owner of the stall across the way didn’t forget to shoot a provocative glance at Brother Hua. It was as if to say, ’Your prices can be as cheap as you want, but you still have no business.’

Just then, two students walked by together, their faces etched with indecision, apparently struggling with what to eat.

Suddenly, one of the students’ gazes fell upon the vibrant "Xu’s Braised Shop" sign at Brother Hua’s stall. He ambled over curiously and asked in a loud voice, "Hey boss, is your last name Xu?"

"Nope." Brother Hua shook his head, not understanding the question, then enthusiastically pitched his wares, "Want to try some of my braised snacks? Veggies are six yuan a jin, pick what you want. Meats are twenty yuan a jin..."

"Then why is your shop called Xu’s Braised Shop?" the student interrupted Brother Hua, pressing on relentlessly. "Are you the same as that Xu’s Braised Shop over by the Silver Star Office Building?"

Hearing this, Brother Hua instantly understood and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, we are! All my braised dishes are from the Xu’s Braised Shop. It’s all the same!"

When they heard it was the same place, the two students got excited. Their voices grew even louder as they asked, full of anticipation, "Then do you have the Hellish Braised Flavor here?"

Hellish Braised Flavor?

While Brother Hua was still pondering what the heck ’Hellish Braised Flavor’ was, his partner next to him jumped in to answer the question. "Not today. You guys want the Hellish Braised Flavor, right? We’ll bring some over tomorrow."

"Alright then." Although a hint of disappointment flickered in the students’ eyes, they still took out five yuan and ordered a grand veggie combo, getting a little bit of all eight vegetable options.

Seeing the two students were planning to share the braised snacks, Brother Hua took four bamboo skewers from a prepared container and handed them over. "It’s easier to eat with these."

After taking the skewers, the two students turned to leave, but they had only turned halfway when they ran into their classmates from across the way.

"Hey, when did you guys buy that? How come I didn’t see you just now?" their classmate asked, looking doubtfully at the braised snacks in their hands.

"We bought it from this stall over here. The boss said he gets his stock from Xu’s Braised Shop, and tomorrow he’s going to bring the Hellish Braised Flavor to sell!"

"The Hellish Braised Flavor? For real?! They actually set up a stall at our school gate!"

"We’ll find out tomorrow."

As he spoke, he stuck a skewer into the bag and pulled out a pale yellow slice of lotus root. Amber-colored marinade, flecked with bits of red chili, slowly dripped down.

His teeth gently bit down, and a third of the lotus root slice vanished. In its place appeared fine, long, snow-white strands of lotus fiber. He had to swing his arm a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees before the strands reluctantly snapped, one by one.

This slice of lotus root wasn’t just savory, fragrant, numbing, and spicy. As he chewed and it dissolved in his mouth, he could also taste the inherent, refreshing sweetness of the lotus root itself.

"So good!" the two students roared in near-perfect unison.

Their exaggerated expressions, exaggerated movements, and exaggerated tone drew the attention of quite a few people. This was especially true for the classmate who had just been talking to them. A thought surfaced in his mind, ’Is it really that good?’

Though he was skeptical, his mouth was honest. "If it’s that good, can I have a bite?"

At that moment, there was only one slice of lotus root left in the bag, but there were two classmates...

The two hesitated for a second, then broke the lotus root slice into four pieces through the bag. With great pain, one of them speared a quarter-slice with a skewer, handed it to the classmate, and warned, "Savor it properly. Don’t just wolf it down. This little piece is all that’s left."

This serious attitude, this pained expression, this careful movement—it made the classmate treat the offering with caution as well. With a solemn look, he took the skewer, placed the quarter-slice of lotus root in his mouth, and began to chew slowly.

Then, his eyes lit up. And as he continued to chew, they grew brighter and brighter.

"It really is so good!"

The four of them, one after another, shouted the two words, "So good!", attracting the attention of many students who had already noticed the new stall. Some students who knew them gathered around, chattering away and asking if it was really that good.

As the two words "So good!" were repeated again and again by the four of them, many people slowly started walking over to Brother Hua’s stall...

Several students who had been hesitating between the two stalls saw this and chose Brother Hua’s stall without a second thought...

A student who had just ordered three yuan worth of braised snacks from the opposite stall snatched his hand back as if electrocuted the moment the owner was about to take his money. Leaving behind a sharp "Never mind," he turned and went to stand in front of Brother Hua’s stall...

As the crowd in front of Brother Hua’s stall grew larger and the one at his own stall dwindled, the anger in the other owner’s eyes burned hotter.

Finally, when he saw a regular customer get pulled aside by other students to wait at Brother Hua’s stall, the last thread of his composure snapped...

"Don’t go over there! You can tell it’s unsanitary just by looking at it. They say it’s delicious, but who knows how many additives they’ve put in it!"

The stall owner strode out from behind his stand, grabbed his regular customer’s arm, and raised his voice, his words clearly meant for Brother Hua and his partner to hear.

"The braised snacks at my stall, huh? They’re all made and sold fresh daily! Every single item is hand-picked by me to be fresh, healthy, and sanitary! Not like at some other stalls, where two cripples can somehow prepare eight or ten different kinds of braised dishes, even better than a normal person..."