Chapter 23 023 Twice-cooked pork over rice [First update]...

Soon, the big dumpling's meal arrived.

Perhaps because they were not far apart, the two restaurants opened their food stalls one after the other. Da Tuanzi responded to the call and went to open the door, quickly bringing in two bowls of rice with toppings.

He raised the live streaming machine so that viewers in the live stream could see the platform.

"Come on, let's start the evaluation."

The public chat was refreshing rapidly with messages.

[It's here! The packaging of the divine Chinese style!]

[Hilarious! Seeing this packaging, I knew it was a sure thing.]

La la la, trendy Chinese-style packaging goes perfectly with ready-made meals!

[Trendy Chinese-style packaging, soft spoons, and a free drink for an extra cent... it's impossible not to be disappointed!]

A group of people joked around, and Da Tuanzi quickly unpacked the food. After thinking for a moment, she found a sticky note left by her nephew and put a red sticker on Wen Ji's and a yellow sticker on Wu Ji's, so that the viewers in the live broadcast room could distinguish them.

"Well, let's take a look at the differences between the two. First, the left one..."

The little dumpling picked up a small box of soft-pack iced tea and put it aside: "Wu Ji gave us a free drink for an extra 10 cents, and the delivery guy from Wen Ji said that if we leave a good review, they'll give us bottled water next time we come."

[Unidentified beverage +1. You can get this from the wholesale market; a bottle costs less than 50 cents.]

Sometimes I admire those businesses; where do they get their unbranded, substandard drinks from? I've never even heard of those brands.

[Those in front, they can make a profit even on a 50-cent bottle, you have no idea how exorbitant the profit margin is on beverages.]

I'd rather not receive a drink at all than be given one.

[I'm more looking forward to the big dumpling going to the store later than the drink, hahaha. Every time they've served this kind of drink before, without exception, it's been a disaster.]

[Hey streamer, open your lunchbox! My takeout's arrived, I'm just waiting to eat with you!]

Da Tuanzi first opened Wu Ji's: "I ordered the chicken and potato rice bowl from this restaurant, which is the best-selling item in the store."

With a crackling sound, the big dumpling frowned.

The lid of the box chipped open instantly when it was opened, and the plastic fragments that flew out almost fell into the bowl.

Wow, Da Tuanzi explained before that these plastic boxes are the cheapest, and because they're cheap, they're made very thin.

A meal there only costs a few dollars, so controlling costs is normal.

"What do you mean 'normal'? It's so thin! It's only okay with rice, but if you order it with soup, see if it spills!"

Before even eating, Da Tuanzi already had a premonition.

Sure enough, when Da Tuanzi saw the takeout in the lunchbox, the potatoes were cut into all different sizes, and there were only a few pieces of chicken. Although it smelled good, the color was obviously wrong, and Da Tuanzi immediately gave her opinion.

This chicken is most likely from a pre-packaged meal kit.

It was Sun Mengyun's idea, really. With the takeout business getting better and better these past few days, Sun Mengyun thought about cutting her already meager costs even further, so she simply went to her sister-in-law's shop and got some nearly expired braised chicken seasoning packets.

These seasoning packets are simply boiled, and with the addition of side dishes like potatoes and mushrooms, they surprisingly sell quite well as rice bowls.

But for a big dumpling who's used to all kinds of takeout, it can recognize it in a second.

Viewers who have seen many reviews of the large dumpling have a keen eye for detail.

This is braised chicken, isn't it? It's not even as good as what you'd get at a braised chicken restaurant.

[This is hilarious! It reminds me of when my little dumpling asked the delivery driver what kind of takeout was best to avoid. Braised chicken with garlic sauce is basically a classic case of "twelve scrolls of military orders, each scroll bearing the name of the master."]

[My little dumpling said before that she would never eat braised chicken again, but she ordered it again today when she ordered rice with it, hahaha.]

The little dumpling looked pained: "Please stop talking... I'm already feeling terrible, okay?"

As is the principle of mukbang, Da Tuanzi still scooped up a spoonful of chicken and stuffed it into her mouth.

What does it taste like?

The big dumpling stretched its neck and swallowed: "...a familiar taste."

Hahahaha

Amidst a barrage of "hahahaha" comments, the little dumpling finished her meal with a conflicted expression.

[I still have to give the streamer a thumbs up; he finishes every last bite, no matter how bad the food is. That's really dedicated.]

After finishing his meal, the little dumpling quietly found a bottle of mineral water.

[Will the host eat the next serving?]

"eat!"

Da Tuanzi quietly opened another portion.

While opening the menu, he said, "It seems like this restaurant changes its menu every day, so I can only order randomly."

[My family also runs a restaurant, and we say that restaurants that change their menu daily or frequently introduce seasonal dishes are generally less likely to disappoint.]

That makes sense. Some seasonal vegetables are cheaper, but if the same few vegetables are available all year round and the prices don't change, then you should start to wonder if there's a problem.

[Everyone, I hope our dumpling won't go to either extreme today?]

[It's possible; maybe we'll get a long-awaited SSR.]

Da Tuanzi opened the takeout box. Wenjia used a simple transparent box, but even though it was a transparent box, when placed next to Wuji's, it was obvious that one takeout had more and the other had less.

"Here you go, twice-cooked pork over rice."

Although Wenji's meal had been sitting for a long time, Da Tuanzi still took a deep breath the moment it was opened.

It smells so good!

Upon closer inspection, one sees a layer of glistening, appetizing slices of pork belly atop plump grains of rice. The pork belly is cut into thin slices, about two fingers wide, with the edges of the fat curling up and gleaming with oil. The lean meat is stir-fried until crispy and chewy. Green chilies are scattered throughout, and the red sauce and oil have seeped in, even turning the rice a shade of red.

The live chat only paused for a moment before it was instantly flooded with comments.

Wow! It looks so delicious!

[There are potato chips inside! Wow! Golden fried potato chips! I want to eat them!]

This stuff must taste terrible; if it were delicious, I'd eat it all!

[Hey streamer, I'm telling you, adults can't eat this. Send it to me, and I'll eat it for you. I'm a little person.]

The little dumpling looked blissful; even though it had just eaten a meal, its taste buds were clamoring for more.

I couldn't wait to scoop up the rice and put it in my mouth. In an instant, the taste of twice-cooked pork, along with the warm and soft rice, bursted on my taste buds.

The chewy texture of the fatty meat and the caramelized aroma of the lean meat, the salty and spicy flavor with a hint of fermented bean paste, the wok hei (wok aroma) from the high heat mixed with the fragrance wafting into the nostrils, the rice soaked in the twice-cooked pork broth, oily and savory, the potato slices few, the simple few slices were eaten with great care by Da Tuanzi, the fried potato slices puffed up, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the flavor was in no way inferior to the meat slices.

The little dumpling stopped maintaining its live stream and just kept eating.

【Aaaaaah, I want some too!】

[Hey streamer, look at the screen! Which delivery company is it?!]

I'm already on my way to Qunying Middle School, wait for me!

Ugh! I've never been so hungry before; the food in my mouth doesn't taste good at all.

The little dumpling ate a whole meal, even carefully scraping the rice grains off the lid of the lunchbox into its mouth.

"Everyone, this is the first time I've ever had such a delicious rice bowl..."

After eating his fill, Da Tuanzi leaned back in his chair, his eyes glazed over: "This place definitely makes everything fresh; the food is top-notch."

[…Nonsense!]

[Aaaaaah, hurry up and move on to the next step! I want to see it live!]

[Yeah, hurry up and film the store. If the hygiene is okay, I'll go tonight!]

The little dumpling flashed an OK sign at the camera: "No problem, guys, I'm going to check out the restaurant in a bit!"

Originally, reviews and restaurant visits didn't have to be done consecutively. Usually, we'd eat lunch and then visit a restaurant in the evening. But when Da Tuanzi saw the number of viewers in the upper right corner of the live stream gradually increase to over three thousand and it was still growing, she made a snap decision: go now!

After a few adjustments, he secured the live streaming device to the handlebars, hopped on his electric scooter, and set off.

They quickly found Qunying Middle School by following the address of the takeout shop.

He first went to Wu's Restaurant, but it was already the tail end of the lunch rush hour and there were very few people on the street.

The little dumpling watched from afar, its brows furrowed.

The area in front of Sun Mengyun and her husband's shop was a mess. Even though it was midday, a huge braising pot sat outside, with no fire burning underneath. Various braised dishes floated inside, covered in a thin film. The shop was dark inside, clearly without air conditioning or lights. Two delivery drivers were waiting for orders at the door, each fanning themselves with something.

After a moment's thought, Da Tuanzi took out a helmet from the basket of his electric scooter, put it on, and pretended to be a food delivery driver as well, then went over to chat with the deliveryman.

"Hey bro, is this place any good? I just finished my run and I'm looking for somewhere to eat!"

The two deliverymen exchanged a glance, and seeing that Da Tuanzi had delicate skin and tender flesh, they assumed he was a part-time worker doing crowdsourcing.

Lowering his voice, he said, "What should we eat? This place is terrible."

The little dumpling pressed on, "Why not? It looks like a new shop to me."

One of the deliverymen was clearly familiar with the area, and he pulled Da Tuanzi aside and whispered, "This place used to sell rice noodles, not meals at all. Look at this stuff, it's all freshly made."

"Then why don't they sell rice noodles and instead sell this?"

The deliveryman, looking on with a gossipy expression, said, "Why else? Just walk in and you'll see. This place specializes in collecting shells."

The term "shell picking" refers to targeting an established or popular store, specifically intercepting customers or piggybacking on its fame. It's like a cannonball falling, making a bang, and then picking up the shell after the customer leaves.

Big Dumpling: "Which shop should I pick? Is it Wen's?"

The deliveryman nodded: "You're here for that too? Then go inside, it's the one next to the pharmacy and convenience store, don't go to the wrong one."

The little dumpling thanked the deliveryman and then peeked inside, just in time to see the boxes by the door.

Whether Sun Mengyun was too carefree or had completely given up on the business, the box at the entrance had the words "Braised Chicken Seasoning Packet" written on it in big letters, and thousands of people in Da Tuanzi's live stream saw it instantly.

Wow, this company really doesn't hide anything.

[They're so bold, just leaving it like that at the door.]

Am I the only one who noticed this place didn't have air conditioning? Seriously, they're being stingy with this little bit of money. Aren't they worried about the stuff burning in this heat?

Did you see that just now? The shop was really dirty, with lots of flies.

[They're even opening this place right in front of a school? Aren't they afraid of feeding the students bad food?]

Big Dumpling was also feeling nauseous. If he had mentally prepared himself before eating, he now realized that he hadn't prepared enough.

I thought the location was near a school, so the hygiene would be better, but who would have thought it would be just like those unlicensed food delivery services in the alley!

The little dumpling hopped on its electric scooter and casually submitted a hygiene complaint on the platform before continuing its journey down the street.

As soon as he left, Sun Mengyun came out of the kitchen.

"Hey, what was that noise I just heard?"

Is someone coming to the store?

Neither of the two deliverymen responded to her, which angered Sun Mengyun so much that she kicked the box by the door.

"Wu Daneng! Did I tell you to move the boxes inside? They're blocking the way at the door!"

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Author's Note: There will be another update before midnight!