Chapter 359: Chapter 271: Advice—Don’t Be Curious, It Might Ruin Your Appetite

The saying that any species grows larger when it goes abroad isn’t just talk; in most cases, it’s true.

Take blackfish, for example, an omnivorous creature with almost no natural enemies in the wild. It eats whatever it sees, making it the glutton of the fish world.

In Great Xia, because blackfish is so popular among diners, it doesn’t grow big before it’s served on the table, so its size is limited.

But abroad, the blackfish’s biggest enemy—Great Xia diners—doesn’t exist, so it’s free to grow larger, easily surpassing the size of domestic blackfish by several times.

Bullfrogs, though not a Great Xia species but a North American one, have spread across the globe as tourism and transportation have developed.

Bullfrogs are similar to blackfish; they eat whatever they see and if they’re hungry, they’ll even eat their kind.

While others say "big fish eat little fish," for them it’s "big frogs eat little frogs," and eating their own is quite normal, sustaining themselves self-sufficiently.

The blackfish John brought last time was about the size of an arm, and the bullfrog he brought this time was equally ridiculous, almost the size of a small grapefruit.

Just looking at those muscular legs makes your mouth water, imagining how satisfying it would be to take a bite.

Lin Chen stared intently at the few fat bullfrogs, lost in thought, automatically cleaning them in his mind and comparing their size to domestic bullfrogs.

Just the meat on one frog leg could probably rival a chicken wing root back home, couldn’t it?

What are these bullfrogs eating here to grow so much meat?

"Can these really be made into something tasty?"

John started swallowing, too, though he wasn’t sure why, as Lin Chen hadn’t acted this way when he brought the blackfish last time.

Does this mean bullfrogs are tastier than blackfish?

Blackfish at least look normal, just a bit dark in color, but bullfrogs truly look disgusting, making it impossible to associate them with delicious food.

"Yes, they can!"

Lin Chen nodded enthusiastically, his eyes gleaming.

"There are so many more ways to prepare bullfrogs compared to the blackfish you brought last time. You can fry, roast, boil, simmer, and pan-fry them. Their meat is plump, tender, and juicy, with a texture between chicken and fish. Once you try it, you’ll never forget it!"

"Is it really that good?"

John chuckled twice, handing the net bag to him.

"I know you’ve just finished and you’re tired, no rush. You can rest first and cook later, or I can come back for dinner. Whatever’s convenient for you?"

"..."

Facing those expectant eyes, Lin Chen’s lips twitched slightly, and he sighed helplessly.

"Come with me then."

He’s the type who likes to finish everything at once when he’s busy, and rest well when he’s free.

Having made John wait for nearly an hour already, he felt bad letting him wait even longer.

After all, it’s an acknowledgment of his skills.

Even if it’s just for the thrill of trying something new, who else but Boss John and Dais would dare to try such bizarre ingredients?

Though his business is booming every day, don’t think Westerners love Chinese food so much.

They’re here to try something new.

Just like Great Xia people eat home-style dishes every day, they too like to occasionally dine out for a change. Sometimes getting some fancy food feels great.

But if they eat Western food every day, they might get sick of it and crave their familiar home-style meals.

This is why he offers different dishes every meal, every day.

The hotel guests here are tourists, and tourists don’t usually stay long in one place, so they’re here to try new things.

Plus, since every meal is different, it keeps them coming back to his stall, so there’s no worry about losing customers.

This approach also has additional benefits.

Tourists who’ve tasted his skills will likely continue following Lucas’ account or the hotel’s website and forum, knowing he’s always offering something new, piquing their curiosity.

When they travel again, there’s a high probability they’ll visit again.

The main purpose of his food truck isn’t to make Westerners fall in love with Chinese cuisine; that’s unrealistic.

His focus is promoting Great Xia culture, introducing Chinese food to the world, explaining what Chinese food is, its flavors, cooking methods, etc.

And maybe make some money along the way, a win-win situation.

If, on this journey, he can attract a group of foreigners truly interested in Great Xia cuisine and willing to try new foods, that would be an unexpected joy.

Like John, or Boss Magna and Daniel.

So far, it seems those in the food supply business are more willing to try new things, as are hard workers like Old Hei, who aren’t picky eaters.

Carrying the heavy net bag back to the food truck, John didn’t follow but leaned over the window, peeking in.

Their actions attracted a group of nearby diners.

Some even brought over their spicy hot-pot to see what delicacy the head chef was working on now.

Mainly because the bone broth and tomato soup were so delicious, flavors they’d never encountered before, raising their expectations for Chinese cuisine.

"Isn’t this Mr. John? Here to buy food too?"

Many people recognized John leaning against the window and greeted him.

"Hmm? Oh oh, you’re the guests who were here this morning, right? Hello, hello, isn’t the food here quite good?"

John smiled and exchanged pleasantries with everyone, although he couldn’t remember exactly who was who. Anyway, they all looked familiar, so a few vague words would do.

"What delicious things are being made now? Weren’t they sold out just now?"

"Yes, the one in my hand is the last portion. I’m so lucky!"

The diners carefully held their meal boxes as they ate, afraid of spilling anything. Meanwhile, they gathered around the window, curious to see what Lin Chen was up to.

John showed a mysterious smile.

"I suggest you don’t look right now, maybe check back in a few minutes, or you might lose your appetite~"

"Huh? Why?"

"What’s going on that’s so mysterious we can’t see?"

"Hey, I don’t believe it. I’m not even afraid of horror films. Is there really something that could make me lose my appetite?"

In no time, a group of rebellious young men edged closer to the window, tiptoeing to peek inside.

What they saw left them frozen.

Lin Chen, wearing thin black rubber gloves, was holding a large, ugly brown frog in his left hand.

He gripped it so tightly that the frog’s flesh bulged between his fingers, like grabbing the fat on one’s own stomach.

The key was that the frog was really ugly, to the point of speechlessness.

Gripped tightly by Lin Chen, the large frog’s mouth was forced open, revealing its pink oral cavity and curled tongue. Its strong legs kicked a couple of times before going limp, completely immobilized.

In the next second.

Lin Chen’s right hand held a sharp pair of scissors, and without hesitation, he positioned the scissors at the frog’s neck.

No time for anyone to react.

"Snap"

"?!"

"!!!!!!!"

With a slight crisp sound, most of the triangular frog head was cut off, leaving a small piece still attached to the body, dangling in midair.

The injured bullfrog’s limbs flailed wildly, with bright red blood slowly trickling down through Lin Chen’s fingers.

Through the cut neck of the frog, the faintly visible bloody internal organs in its chest were clearly seen.

"Ugh!!!"

Several men’s expressions changed drastically, and they quickly turned away, gagging.

John shrugged innocently: "See, I did warn you not to look. You can’t blame me~"

Let alone slaughtering bullfrogs, he’d seen cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens being processed every day at the farm’s abattoir. He was long used to it. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Compared to those large livestock, a frog was nothing~

Lin Chen continued to cut off bullfrog heads swiftly, discarding the intestines and organs into the kitchen waste bin as if he were tossing ordinary garbage, not warm, fresh entrails.

The bullfrog’s skin needed to be peeled off too, mainly because it was unsightly. Although not poisonous, it had high nutritional value.

But people are visual creatures, and a skinned bullfrog and one without its skin look like completely different levels of food.

Unless deep-fried with a batter coating to cover its ugly skin, most people can’t bring themselves to eat it.

It’s not just foreigners; even he found it off-putting.

As Lin Chen peeled off the skin, the bullfrog’s legs continued to twitch uncontrollably, trying to escape his clutches, creating a terrifying scene.

Even some guests with strong nerves who held back from gagging earlier started to struggle now.

The bullfrog, lively one moment, had its head cut off, skinned, gutted, and its tendons pulled the next, a headless pink body still frantically thrashing about, a scene far bloodier than any horror movie.

"Hmm?"

Boss John seemed to have discovered something novel, leaning in with interest.

"Even after being gutted and drained of blood, the bullfrog still moves. Is it really that resilient?"

Of course, he knew that the nervous system of a freshly slaughtered animal hadn’t completely died, and some muscle tissues would twitch—this was normal.

But seeing a bullfrog move its limbs like this was the first time he’d ever witnessed.

"The nervous system of a bullfrog is quite developed. After all, they’ve spent their whole lives jumping, so it’s normal for the nervous system to retain pre-death habits."

"Usually, to determine if a frog is fresh, we see if it moves when served. If it moves, it was freshly slaughtered."

Lin Chen casually explained as he continued working, quickly washing the processed bullfrogs and placing them in a nearby metal basin to prevent them from hopping away.

"Served fresh?"

Boss John keenly detected the keyword in his words, looking puzzled.

"Is it even edible raw, or are the diners supposed to cook it themselves?"