Free Web NovelChapter 273: Chapter 273: Sister Xu from the Pharmacy Visits Jiang Liu’s Store
Under the crowd’s expectant gaze, Jiang Liu announced, "We’re open for business. Tonight, we have a temporary special: Shrimp and Egg Pancakes. Forty yuan for a two-hundred-gram portion. Sixty portions total."
"Holy shit! A special dish tonight? We hit the jackpot!"
"Is it good?"
"Is it good? Are you an idiot? With Brother Jiang’s food, you just buy it, no questions asked. Don’t you know that getting your hands on it is a win in itself?"
"No time to talk, they’re already selling."
"Hey, you guys up front, hold your spots! Don’t let anyone cut in line!"
The customers at the front packed tightly together, terrified that some shameless woman would try to cut in line.
It had happened before.
Whenever Boss Jiang released a new dish, the older men and women would desperately shove their way to the front.
And shove they did.
But you couldn’t touch them.
What, you want to reason with them?
Too bad. An entire mob of them would instantly start screaming at you.
In less than ten seconds, every seat in the restaurant was taken.
A customer getting takeout from the doorway craned his neck. "Boss Jiang, I’ll take one order of ham, one order of the shrimp pancakes, and fifteen shrimp buns to go."
Jiang Liu said, "You can only select one type of the limited items. That applies to orders both over and under one thousand yuan."
"Ah? No way... In that case, forget the buns, boohoo."
The student was crushed.
Huang Yunfeng said, "Boss Jiang, business is booming! I’ll have one order of yak beef, one of ham, and two orders of the shrimp and egg pancakes. It’s for two people."
Meanwhile, the ordering inside was just as frantic.
Jun Qingmeng bustled about in the main dining area.
However, the customers who made it inside were all very polite and didn’t dare to boss Tongtong or Jun Qingmeng around.
If they needed a napkin, they got it themselves. If they wanted water, they poured it themselves.
It was a no-brainer.
Boss Jiang sold such amazing food that the whole neighborhood wanted to stay on his good side.
Who would be dumb enough to cause a scene and make demands?
Sister Xu, dressed in a white lab coat, sat inside with her husband, squeezed in with a bunch of old ladies.
Sister Xu was growing increasingly impatient.
"I’m serious, Zhao Hang, are you out of your mind? Or maybe I should prescribe you something? Why on earth did you drag me here when we could have gone to Xiaotong’s Restaurant? It would’ve been so much better!"
They had waited in line for two hours, only to be crammed in with a crowd. She wanted to ask a waiter for some water, but her husband wouldn’t even let her do that.
’So infuriating!’
Zhao Hang said helplessly, "Yan-yan, can’t you just trust me this one time? The food here is incredible. A colleague of mine brought me two slices of ham, and you have no idea how much he treasured them. I didn’t think much of it at first, but after I tried it, I realized that ham’s flavor is the real deal!"
"You have no idea. I had to send him a cash gift before he’d even tell me the location."
Xu Yan scoffed and shook her head.
"You’re such a sucker. Fine, I can’t be bothered to argue with you. After this, I’m taking you to Xiaotong’s Restaurant. Once you’ve been there, you’ll understand what a great new restaurant is really like!"
’Could it really be better than the buns at Xiaotong’s Restaurant?’
She was already a devoted fan of Xiaotong’s Restaurant.
For the past two days, she’d practically been living there, treating it like her personal cafeteria. She had wanted to surprise her husband by taking him, but instead, he’d acted like a madman and dragged her to this dump.
’Just look at this crowd. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were giving away snake oil for free!’
Just then, the customers who had ordered the shrimp and egg pancakes began to eat.
The shrimp and egg pancakes were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
The first bite revealed the crisp tenderness of the shrimp and the fragrant softness of the egg.
The exquisite flavor of the green dragon lobster meat combined with the aroma of the pancake.
It was a veritable feast for the taste buds!
"Wow! Delicious! So delicious! HISS... a little hot!"
"Forty yuan for five palm-sized pieces of this shrimp pancake. What a bargain! And to top it off, it tastes this amazing!"
"Yeah, after eating Boss Jiang’s food, I finally know what the gods eat!"
"Fuck, I ordered two beers, how did you drink them both already?"
Some customers in the restaurant were eating, others were arguing.
The one thing they all had in common was that every customer eating Jiang Liu’s food had a look of pure bliss on their face.
For just a few dozen yuan, they could experience the taste of world-class cuisine.
It was the bargain of a lifetime!
Xia Changzhi had queued up and gotten into the restaurant tonight.
He savored the golden-brown shrimp and egg pancake, full of admiration.
"Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. This must be the same kind of shrimp they use in the shrimp buns. The flavor is so unique!"
"Delicious! So incredibly delicious! If I could live to be two hundred, I’d eat at Boss Jiang’s place until I was two hundred!"
Zhao Hang said, "Look at everyone here. Go on, ask them. Is there anyone who wouldn’t give Boss Jiang a thumbs-up?"
Xu Yan curled her lip in disdain.
"That’s just because they’ve never been to Xiaotong’s Restaurant. If they went, they’d know what real deliciousness is."
The buns and nourishing congee from Xiaotong’s Restaurant...
...in her heart, they were without a doubt the best in South City!
She had been eating buns for thirty years, but that was the first time she’d ever tasted any with that kind of flavor.
The aroma was natural, and you could taste the quality of the carefully selected ingredients in every single bite!
"Customer number twenty-one, your ham and buns are ready. Come and get them." Jiang Liu placed two plates and two glasses of juice on the counter.
"Coming, coming!!"
Zhao Hang excitedly jumped to his feet and trotted over.
Xu Yan’s expression soured.
’My husband is so embarrassing!’
Ten seconds later, Zhao Hang returned with the plates, leaning in to smell the buns as he walked.
So fragrant!
So damn fragrant!
The buns exuded a clear, wheaty aroma.
The fragrance of the filling was more subtle.
"Yan-yan, hurry up and eat. Try the buns from this place."
Zhao Hang picked up a slice of ham, its meat red and fat white. The moment it entered his mouth, a smoky aroma seemed to jet out from his nose. The taste was savory but not greasy, lingering long on the palate with a hint of saltiness.
Xu Yan frowned.
She reluctantly picked up a pork and scallion bun and took a small bite.
The skin was neither too thick nor too thin, but soft and satisfyingly chewy!
As she bit through the outer layer, scalding, rich juices flooded her mouth.
The shredded pork had not the slightest hint of gaminess, only pure fragrance.
The scallions were crisp and pungent, paired with tender suckling pig meat that had the perfect ratio of fat to lean, all enhanced by the natural aroma of ancient-style seasonings.
With that one bite, Xu Yan’s eyes went wide.
Unbelievable!
"How can these buns be so delicious?! They’re even better than the ones at Xiaotong’s Restaurant!!"
Her attitude did a complete one-eighty.
Her eyes involuntarily drifted toward the busy Jiang Liu.
’How does he do it???’
’Oh my god!!’
"Good, right?"
"Mhm! Delicious!"
"Hurry up and eat. Remember to save some to take back for our son," Zhao Hang said, unable to stop himself from eating.
"This shrimp bun is incredible!"
Xu Yan finished the shrimp bun in her hand in two bites.
The shrimp was crisp and tender, and the savory juices inside were piping hot, filling her mouth with flavor.
It was so good her tongue felt like it was melting!
"What time does this place open in the morning?"
"Seven, I think. But you have to come really early to queue, or you won’t get a spot. You believe me now, right?"
"I believe you, I believe you! Slow down, leave some more for me."
"Honey, you have to try the chive and egg one! It’s so good!"...
7:48 PM.
The food was sold out.
Even though he had been through this several times, Jiang Liu was still secretly amazed.
’It’s too fast.’
Especially when he was busy, time flew by without him noticing. A short half-hour passed in the blink of an eye.
When he looked up again, all the food on the counter was gone.
At this moment, there were still many customers who hadn’t been able to buy anything.
They stared at Jiang Liu, their faces full of disappointment.
"Brother Jiang, why don’t you go check the kitchen again? Maybe there’s another steamer of buns you forgot to sell."
