Chapter 155 Is she still asleep?
She had no choice but to move slightly in that direction, seemingly unintentionally, and taking advantage of a lull in the customers, she whispered and quickly offered a suggestion in a voice that wasn't loud but loud enough for the other person to hear:
"Um... when you pour the batter, you should rotate your wrist like this, gently..."
"You can turn the heat down a little bit..."
"Yes, use the edge of the scraper to gently move it over..."
"Now you can flip it over, pry it from the edge..."
Upon hearing the voice, the handsome stall owner was initially taken aback, but then, as if grasping at a lifeline, he very earnestly and diligently followed Su Xiaonuan's instructions.
Although the movements were still not very skilled and the pancakes were somewhat abstract in shape, at least... they weren't completely burnt, and they seemed to smell acceptable.
Looking at the "successful" steaming pancake in his hand, a bright, relieved, and slightly silly smile instantly spread across his face. He excitedly turned to Su Xiaonuan and thanked her repeatedly, "Thank you, sister! Thank you so much! You're truly my savior!"
His tearful gratitude didn't seem like he had successfully made a pancake, but rather like he had accomplished some incredibly difficult task.
Su Xiaonuan felt a little embarrassed by his overly sincere thanks and quickly waved her hand, "You're welcome, you're welcome, it was nothing..."
The eeriness in my heart grew stronger and stronger.
Isn't this reaction a bit too exaggerated?
Before she could think it through, a loud commotion came from behind her.
She turned her head and saw... wow! Good heavens!
Two stall owners, each with a sign that read "Authentic Chongqing Crispy Chicken Neck Bone," were arguing about something!
A man in a floral shirt, with a booming voice, shouted: "What do you mean? You're saying I cut corners? This whole pot of oil is freshly changed!"
Another person, wearing a baseball cap and speaking excitedly, said, "Newly replaced? The oil color is wrong! It must have been used repeatedly! How can you even eat the food fried in it?"
"You're talking nonsense! I think you're just jealous that my business is better than yours!"
"I'm jealous of you? Your chicken collarbone looks like charcoal fried up, and you have the nerve to say that!"
The two argued heatedly, their faces flushed and spittle flying, attracting the attention of many customers and stall owners around them.
An Ran had somehow gotten close to Su Xiaonuan, pulling out a small handful of sunflower seeds from somewhere. She smiled and gave half to Su Xiaonuan, while she herself was happily munching on some, her eyes sparkling with excitement, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
She leaned close to Su Xiaonuan's ear and whispered quickly, "Live broadcast!": "Nuannuan, look! That floral shirt guy insists that the baseball cap used too much oil and is unhealthy! The baseball cap guy says the floral shirt was fried too much and tastes bad! They've been arguing for almost ten minutes! It's hilarious!"
As she spoke, she gestured with her chin to the side.
Su Xiaonuan followed her gaze and saw that Qin Haochu had also taken out his little notebook at some point—
Su Xiaonuan strongly suspected that he carried countless such notebooks with him.
Standing at a safe distance where he could hear the argument but wouldn't be affected, he frowned slightly and looked extremely serious as he... took notes?
It looks like they're recording the key points of the argument and the emotional changes of both parties.
Su Xiaonuan: "..."
She silently accepted the sunflower seeds An Ran offered, feeling that the scene before her was so absurd it seemed unreal.
Is this really a street stall? Or is she still half asleep and has accidentally wandered onto the set of some sitcom?
Given Su Xiaonuan's usual personality, if she sees people arguing, especially neighborhood disputes that could affect her business, she will most likely step in to mediate, adhering to the principle that harmony brings wealth.
She had just shoved the sunflower seeds back into An Ran's hand, preparing to step forward as a peacemaker, when her gaze inadvertently swept over the stall of the floral shirt vendor.
It was a modified tricycle. In addition to the equipment and ingredients for frying chicken, the truck bed was also cluttered with cardboard boxes, plastic bags and other miscellaneous items.
In the gap between a pile of clutter, a cold, extremely familiar metallic gleam suddenly caught her eye—the shape, the texture… it was clearly a pair of silver handcuffs!
Next to the handcuffs, there was a small, black device with an antenna, half-hidden, which looked exactly like a police pager!
Su Xiaonuan froze in place, the eerie feeling that had been lingering in her heart for so long reaching its peak at this moment!
She suddenly looked up, her gaze sharp as lightning, quickly scanning her surroundings—the other stall owners who had been watching the commotion or busy "doing business" did not show the usual concern or detached attitude of ordinary vendors when faced with this escalating argument. Instead, they displayed a kind of helpless acceptance.
Some people even began subtly persuading the few remaining customers in line to leave:
"Oh dear, it probably won't be ready anytime soon. Why don't you try another place?"
"Sorry, brother, there's a little problem here..."
A bold, almost absurd yet perfectly relevant idea struck Su Xiaonuan like lightning—could these people all be plainclothes police officers disguised as food stall owners?!
Once this thought arises, it can never be shaken off.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed that although the handsome young man at the pancake stall was clumsy in his movements, he had an upright posture and sharp eyes; the two arguing men, though fiercely quarreling, walked with steady steps, subtly revealing their fighting skills; and the old man selling preserved vegetable pancakes, whose hand movements seemed slow, had an exceptionally accurate eye for observing passersby... All the details pointed to this conclusion.
Su Xiaonuan took a deep breath and decisively gave up her plan to mediate the fight.
She turned her foot and sat back down next to An Ran with remarkable ease. She picked up the sunflower seeds she had just found absurd and calmly began cracking them open, looking completely ready to watch the show unfold.
An Ran was taken aback by her sudden change of heart, blinking as she looked at her: "Nuan Nuan, aren't you going to try to persuade her?"
Su Xiaonuan spat out two sunflower seed shells, looking calm: "No, I think this argument is quite sophisticated, I'll learn from it."
Hmm, let's learn how plainclothes police officers "go deep into the community" to experience life.
Since it wasn't a typical stall owner dispute, it was clearly not something she, a "real ordinary stall owner," should get involved in.
However, these people's faces are all unfamiliar, and they don't seem to be from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division. Could they be colleagues from the local branch or a more special department?
Why are they going to such lengths to disguise themselves and lie in wait here? Is there some incredible fish lurking nearby?
Driven by intense curiosity, Su Xiaonuan silently opened the system panel in her mind while munching on sunflower seeds, bringing up the area monitoring and red name list attached to the [Reputation System].
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