Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 285 - 274: Psychological Defense Gradually Crumbling (Part 2)

Chapter 285: Chapter 274: Psychological Defense Gradually Crumbling (Part 2)

"Give me a skewer! It’s just a pig eye. I love eating fish eyes all the time, what’s the difference?"

"Well said! It’s just a pig eye. We eat kidneys and other stuff all the time, what’s so scary about an eye?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

People flocked to the food truck, lining up to buy. But like Xiao Xin, most people decided to try one skewer first. If it tasted good, they could always buy more; if not... well, forget it.

Qin Xiufen watched Hu Jian Country devour pig eyes and swallowed with mixed feelings, "Brother Hu, are they really tasty?"

Hu Jian Country picked up a skewer and held it out to Qin Xiufen, "Try it, Director Qin. It’s really delicious! At first, I found it gross too, but once you try it, you’ll totally get addicted!"

Qin Xiufen and Zhang Zhenhua exchanged a glance, seemingly resolving some decision together.

They each took a grilled pig eye from Hu Jian Country and simultaneously took a deep breath before biting into it!

Hou Qingyun watched them eat the stuff, his face contorting, and couldn’t bear it, "Is there nothing here except this weird stuff?"

He got up and walked toward the food truck, "Boss, bring us some other grilled skewers too."

As soon as he said that, Hou Qingyun abruptly stepped back, "Why is it on fire!"

First-time customers were startled and stepped back, while those who had been coming for days didn’t bat an eye, and some even applauded.

"This is Boss Xiao Chen’s unique method. The skewers grilled over an open flame are so delicious."

"Amazing, such a beautiful skill should be on a talent show; he’d easily walk off a runner-up!"

"No way. If he really went on a talent show, he might make the audience drool to death. Hey, Boss Xiao Chen, give me five more skewers of eyes!"

As more people tried the grilled pig eyes, the dark delicacy started to be accepted by diners. Two hundred skewers of pig eyes were sold out in the blink of an eye.

"What’s going on, little boss? Hurry and bring more pig eyes!"

"Can’t we stop calling them eyes? They’re called Spiritual Eyes; calling them eyeballs just sounds gross."

"Yeah, boss, hurry up and grill more of those Spiritual Eyes, they’re quite tasty."

Chen Mo rotated the skewers with both hands, the flames died out, and the skewers were immediately snatched up without a word, "Spiritual Eyes are coming up."

Two hundred more skewers of grilled pig eyes were placed back on the grill.

While grilling earlier, everyone was busy watching the gym challenge, and no one had paid attention to Chen Mo’s side.

Now that the two hundred skewers of eyeballs were on the grill, people finally saw clearly.

"Forget it, I’ll just eat. This stuff is tasty but still creepy to look at."

"Little boss, you can do it. If it were me, just seeing it would make me lose it."

Grilled pig eyes initially require slow grilling over a low flame to cook the muscle and fat on the back for seven to eight minutes.

This freed up a lot of time for Chen Mo, who slipped through the crowd to the grill outside, holding a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, scooping cooked chili-garlic sauce into the oysters.

Adding the sauce is a flavor enhancer. As the last oyster is filled, the first one is ready to eat.

As agreed, Chen Mo brought twenty oysters to Hu Jian Country’s table, "Enjoy, everyone. By the way, after this round, you’ll have to line up to buy more!"

Hu Jian Country was enjoying the pig eyes, but once Zhang Zhenhua and Qin Xiufen tried them, they immediately stopped letting him eat.

Leaving Hu Jian Country feeling a bit empty inside.

Seeing the oysters served, Hu Jian Country was about to reach out when Qin Xiufen, still chewing on a grilled pig eye, stopped his hand.

"Brother Hu, there are 20 oysters in total, and there are just four of us, so let’s each have five."

Hu Jian Country awkwardly rubbed his hands, "Sure, no problem, I’ll treat today! Let’s eat first, if it’s not enough, I’ll line up to buy more."

Qin Xiufen smiled contentedly and continued eating the pig eyes in front of her.

Thinking to herself, old Hu is indeed not bad but a bit too clever. If she hadn’t stopped him earlier, Hu Jian Country probably would have said something like whoever eats faster gets more.

The oysters were quickly devoured in no time.

The grill was freed up, and Chen Mo certainly wouldn’t continue grilling oysters as new dishes needed to be added.

He turned around and brought out a large tub from the food truck, attracting curious diners to gather and watch.

"Whoa, huge bugs!"

"Aren’t these cicada pupae? We just had dark barbecue from the south, now there’s northern dark delicacy?"

"The pupae look so plump, can you really eat them?"

"This stuff is delicious, super high in protein, and grilled to perfection! Boss Xiao Chen, let me have ten skewers first!"

A guy in the crowd with a northeastern accent raised his hand, pre-ordering before the skewers were even ready.

"Mm, four per skewer, let’s start skewering." Chen Mo took out skewers and started working.

He did consider pre-skewering, but cicada pupae skewered in advance would dry up quickly. To ensure ultimate freshness, it’s best to skewer and eat on the spot.

Of course, most barbecue joints wouldn’t do this. During busy times, who has time to skewer fresh...

Even so, grilled cicada pupae remain a top-selling item at northeastern barbecue stalls.

That speaks volumes of its astonishing tastiness!

Seeing Chen Mo just starting to skewer, the northeastern fellow boldly squeezed through the crowd to help out, "When will this be ready! You go grill your pig eyes; I’ll skewer my own ten. I’ll call you when I’m done."

A man with a northeastern accent and an easy camaraderie.

Chen Mo laughed and nodded, handing over the skewers, "Thanks, Brother."

The northeastern guy’s body straightened, and he stood a bit taller upon hearing this, looking at Chen Mo solemnly, "Thanks? Do your thing, I’ll skewer all these for you!"

Chen Mo nodded, confirming that calling someone "Brother" in the Northeast changes the dynamic.

It sure does!

To show his gratitude, Chen Mo went back to the food truck and brought a cup of "pure natural wheat juice" for the skewer-threading northeastern guy, "It’s hot, drink while you skewer."

"Sure thing!"

Back at the food truck, Chen Mo continued to watch the pig eyes grill.

On Xiao Huang’s table.

The pig eyes, skewers, and oysters were quickly consumed by the group of four.

Qin Xiufen wiped her mouth, "Who would have thought that street food could taste this good and be so cheap. Brother Hu, you really helped us find a great spot today. For future company gatherings, we’ll choose this place."

Zhang Zhenhua picked his teeth and nodded repeatedly, "What a pity. It’s just that this little boss’s business is too good. For gatherings, we’ll have to line up and book in advance; otherwise, we won’t get to eat."

Hou Qingyun saw the timing was ripe and attempted to steer the conversation.

"By the way, old Hu, you’re getting older now. Driving a bus is physically demanding, can you handle it?"

Hearing this, Hu Jian Country raised an eyebrow, "I’m in good shape!"

Seeing the three of them looking at him, old Hu immediately understood what Hou Qingyun meant.

They were helping him out!

Even though, in today’s society, sixty doesn’t exactly mean "old," there’s still a younger, physically stronger middle-aged competitor.

The fact that the two leaders came to dine today showed great respect.

Hu Jian Country immediately stood up, "By the way, I have another way to get barbecue, you all just wait and see!"

Qin Xiufen and Zhang Zhenhua looked curiously, only to see old Hu bypassing the line to buy barbecue and heading towards the fitness equipment area behind.

They had noticed the challenge activity earlier, there were quite a few people lined up to participate when they first arrived.

Later, because of the commotion over the pig eyes, most people went to line up for barbecue, leaving the fitness challenge area almost empty.

Cao Tianrui was puzzled.

Everything was going well yesterday with an endless line of challengers, but today a single grilled pig eye seems to have driven everyone away?

But he had no choice; even as a fitness coach, he had to line up to buy barbecue.

Cao Tianrui only had dozens of skewers and oysters at hand, evidently less appealing than the pig eyes and cicada pupae.

Seeing the challenge area deserted, Cao Tianrui was worried.

Just then, Cao Tianrui saw an older man in a white vest walking towards him.

He immediately called over Ma Juntao.

At times like this, he had to cherish every challenger and bring the crowd back!