Universe Infinite Canteen

"Okay, 18 yuan each."

"How much?" The college girl was taken aback and instinctively looked towards the bespectacled man, who also felt a bit embarrassed under her gaze, as if the word 'sucker' was written on his forehead.

But after taking a bite of the meat pie, his expression instantly changed, as if he'd encountered something bewildering, and he stood there dumbfounded.

Not until the distinctive chewing noises of a bear brought him back to reality did the bespectacled man looked down and spotted a pair of greedy little eyes fixated on the meat pie in his hand, from which he'd only taken one bite.

Without any hesitation, the bespectacled man immediately opened his mouth and devoured the rest of the meat pie in three bites, all the while saying, "You've already had two, you can't have more, little kids shouldn't eat so many fried foods."

"Then I'll have another one tomorrow!" The little boy licked his lips, still not satisfied.

"We'll talk about tomorrow... later." The man savored the lingering taste on his tongue, surprisingly not dismissing the idea outright as usual, and then made a resolution, turning to Ma Lu and saying, "Another... another three to take away, no, make it three."

After speaking, he promptly took out his phone, paid the 90 yuan with ease, and then turned back to warn his son, "This is for your mom, you're not allowed to eat it."

The college girl by now had understood that although the pies were expensive, they were indeed delicious.

She had been strolling around when she saw the father and son scuffling over a fried meat pie, which piqued her curiosity, and she followed them all the way here.

Without further hesitation, she followed suit and scanned the QR code to pay.

Once she had the fried meat pie in her hands, she didn't rush to eat it but instead took a photo of it and posted it to her social circle with the caption:

——Stumbled upon a weird roadside stall today, a fried meat pie for a whopping 18 yuan. Let's see which idiot would buy it; well, it's me. ☻

Only after hitting the "Post" button in the top-right corner did she start to eat, and then she was completely amazed.

The next second, her evangelistic fervor exploded, and she quickly opened her social circle again:

——This is just too amazingly delicious, Guo's Village Subway Station, hurry over!!!

Shortly after, a comment appeared below:

——Really? Or are you just trying to find someone to cushion your own mistake?

——Truly truly truly delicious, I swear!

The college girl typed as she ate:

——Just now a father and son, they bought five in one go!

——But Guo's Village is so far, and the sun outside is so strong, I'll get a tan if I go out now. How about you bring one back for me?

——I want one too.

——+1, I want to try, if it isn't good, I'll beat you up.

Most of the commenters below were her dorm mates, and the college girl figured that carrying one was as good as carrying a bunch.

If someone else wanted to try but hadn't seen her post, she would definitely get complaints later, so she decided to just shout in the dormitory group chat:

——Super delicious treasure of fried meat pies, 18 yuan each, who wants me to bring some back?

——Hahaha, Little Monkey, are you trying to organize a group purchase for our room?

——I bet you're in cahoots with the stall owner, ready to split our money fifty-fifty.

One of the girls who had commented in the social circle teased.

——You'll know once you try them. If they're not good, I'll treat you all to milk tea!

——No way, you're that confident? Well, with milk tea on the line, I want a meat pie too, and if it's not good, I'll just claim for my meal. (sniggering emoji)

The other five people in Dormitory 205 finally decided to place an order together.

So the girl nicknamed Little Monkey approached the fried meat cake stand again and said to Ma Lu, "Boss, another 5 portions, no, make it 6 to go."

As Little Monkey spoke, she noticed that a new message had popped up in the WeChat group.

——Jia Jia wants one too, she's dropping by our room for a visit right now.

"Wait, make that 7 portions."

Ma Lu hadn't expected that after serving just two customers, he'd be able to sell thirteen Fried Jackal Meat Cakes in one go.

And soon the fourteenth one was reserved as well.

Henan Brother stood right by Ma Lu's side, witnessing everything that had just happened, while the online family in his live stream also bore witness to the sudden success of the fried meat cake stand.

By now, the number of viewers in his stream "Zen Life" had broken a hundred, with many sending barrage comments urging the host to try it out too.

Some impatient viewers even sent gifts, although it was just a lollipop, it served as a reminder to others, and soon there were more gifts of lollipops, doughnuts, cheers, and even a big spender who dropped a 599 coin firework.

Even after deducting the platform's cut, the income translated to more than the cost of a meat pie, so Henan Brother now had no excuse not to buy one.

After getting the meat pie, he first rotated it 360° in front of the camera, making sure everybody got a good look, before he finally took a bite.

The next moment, he triggered his classic triple reaction.

"Yi, bam, spot on! This meat pie is really delicious!"

As Henan Brother made a swallowing gesture, it seemed as though all the pores on his body opened up in relaxation, prompting the viewers in his live stream to salivate along with him as someone quickly said.

——Don't just eat, talk about the taste!

However, Henan Brother was no professional mukbanger, and after thinking for a while, he could only squeeze out a few words like "fresh," "crispy," and "aromatic."

Fortunately, he summed it up in the end.

"I now feel that the price of 18 isn't too expensive, but if I had to pay for it myself, I wouldn't be willing to buy it."

Business in front of the fried meat cake stand was bustling now, drawing the attention of other passersby.

However, most people shook their heads and walked away upon hearing the price, but there were always some adventurers who weren't short on cash.

And those who bought the first one, without exception, never stopped at just one purchase.

Moreover, having several people clustered around, crunching on meat pies, was quite tempting, effectively advertising for the meat pie stand. By 2 p.m., Ma Lu and Old Wang had sold a total of 39 Fried Jackal Meat Cakes.

But after the lunch rush, the number of customers noticeably decreased, eventually returning to the state where they might not sell a single order for tens of minutes.

Ma Lu took the opportunity to rest for a while, setting up his folding stool and taking out a bottle of mineral water.

He had frozen it in the fridge that morning, putting five bottles at once. When heading out to set up the stand, he put them in an insulated box to keep the ingredients fresh, and now he could take one out to drink when he was thirsty. Paired with two Fried Jackal Meat Cakes, it was his lunch.

As for Old Wang, being a silicon-based life form, he just needed to charge and had no need for food.

The afternoon passed by in a flash, and only ten more Fried Jackal Meat Cakes were sold, five of which were bought by a local viewer from "Zen Life," who then highly recommended it in the live stream.

Unfortunately, Henan Big Brother's number of followers was limited, and there were even fewer within the same city who were willing to come over for a taste.

Luckily, after 5 p.m., the flow of people picked up again, with a large number of office workers emerging from or heading towards Guo's Village Subway Station.

Ma Lu seized the moment to launch a tasting event, actively attracting business.

The effect was obvious.

Everyone who tasted it, even faced with the slightly high price, more than half of them ended up paying, and as the number of customers increased, it caused a clustering effect, attracting even more new customers.

Adding to that Ma Lu's vigorous shouting, the meat pie stand not only recaptured the midday rush but even surpassed it, reaching a new sales high. By 8 p.m., they had sold over 110 Fried Jackal Meat Cakes, envied by other snack stand owners.