The next morning, Xu An set off for the wholesale market in search of the spiciest chili pepper in the country—the Shuan Shuan La. He thought that even if he didn't have to visit all the wholesale markets in Haishi, he would still have to go to three or five wholesale markets to find it. Unexpectedly, upon entering the first wholesale market, he found the Shuan Shuan La in a shop specializing in all kinds of chili peppers.
This type of chili pepper has a cone-shaped fruit with a wrinkled skin, resembling a crumpled piece of clothing, and covered in bumpy protrusions. When ripe, the 'Shuanshuan' chili pepper displays two colors: bright red and orange, with bright red being the most common. What Xu An saw was a bright red 'Shuanshuan' chili pepper. What surprised Xu An most was that this shop specializing in chili peppers actually had fresh 'Shuanshuan' chili peppers!
As Xu An reached out to pick up a chili pepper to examine it closely and see what was so special about this hottest chili in the country, the shop owner shouted in horror, "Hey you, don't you want that hand anymore? Put it back!"
Xu An's finger hovered 0.3 centimeters in mid-air, just 0.3 centimeters away from the spicy hot pot. He felt that if he breathed a little harder, his finger would make intimate contact with the hot pot.
Just then, the owner rushed over and, seeing that there was still some distance between Xu An's fingers and the hot pepper, breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly slapped Xu An's hand away, muttering, "This chili pepper is the spiciest in the country. Even a slight touch from its trunk can make an elephant run wildly, its trunk flailing around. A few days ago, some unlucky guy touched it and had to apply ice water and popsicles for half an hour, but he was still screaming like a banshee."
After the boss finished speaking, he suddenly grabbed a fly cover from the side and covered it with the fly cover, muttering to himself, "No, I have to get a lockable acrylic box made. No one can touch it without my permission!"
After a long chatter, the shopkeeper finally realized what was happening and noticed Xu An still standing there. He asked, "Are you buying chili peppers? What kind? Dried, wet, or chili powder?"
"I want this chili pepper, dried, wet, and a little bit of chili powder." Xu An's finger, which had been slapped away, returned to its original position and gently tapped twice in the air towards the direction of the chili pepper.
The owner followed Xu An's finger, but his gaze fell on the small red chilies displayed next to the hot pot. He nodded, reached out and tore off a red plastic bag, opened it, picked up a spatula and held it above the chilies, asking, "How much dried? How much wet? How much chili powder?"
“Not the small red chili pepper.” Xu An moved his finger closer, landing directly on the fly trap covering the hot pot chili pepper. “I want this hot pot chili pepper, the spiciest chili pepper in the country.”
"What do you do? Why are you buying this chili pepper?" The shopkeeper stared at Xu An warily, as if he would pin Xu An to the ground if he made any rash move.
"My family runs a catering business, and I'm buying these chilies to make braised dishes," Xu An replied helplessly. Why was he treated like a bad guy just for buying chilies?
The shop owner looked at Xu An suspiciously before reluctantly walking back into the shop, taking out a notebook and handing it to Xu An: "Write down your name, shop name, phone number, and how much you bought. This will make it easier for the police to find you if any problems arise."
Um
Xu An didn't know what had happened, but he knew that behind every seemingly outrageous rule, someone must have done something even more outrageous than the rule itself.
I reached out and took the notebook, flipped open the cover, and was surprised to find that the first page was already filled with the same person's name. They would come to buy things about every two or three days, and each time they would only buy ten. I flipped through five more pages, and finally found a blank space on the sixth page. I quickly wrote down my name, the shop, my phone number, and the quantity I needed, and handed the notebook back to the shopkeeper.
The shop owner took the notebook and immediately glanced at the quantity section: one pound of wet chili powder, one pound of dried chili powder, and ten pounds of chili powder? This quantity! The shop owner's expression instantly turned strange. This order didn't seem absolutely necessary; perhaps he should just let it go?
Xu An had observed all the changes in his boss's expression. From his boss's actions, it was clear that his boss harbored deep misunderstandings and suspicions about him. Xu An sighed and finally spoke up to explain.
"The braised food shop hasn't opened yet, but we plan to use the spiciest chili pepper in China to make the spiciest braised food. We've already contacted an advertising company to film it, and you'll be able to see our shop's advertisement on a local TV station during prime time as early as tomorrow."
Xu An rambled on and on, and seeing that Xu An seemed to have a lot to say, the shop owner finally lowered his guard. He returned to the cashier, took out five pairs of airtight rubber gloves, and meticulously put them all on. Then he took out a gas mask, put it on, and gruffly told Xu An to go away. Finally, he shouted to everyone around, "I'm going to pack the ghost peppers! Everyone get ready!"
Upon hearing this, the shop owners who had been soliciting customers at the entrance all went back inside. When they came out again, they were all wearing masks, and some even had several new masks in their hands, which they distributed to customers. Xu An also got one from the chili shop owner and put it on under the owner's stern gaze.
After everyone was ready, the owner carefully opened the glass jar containing the chili powder, and cautiously took out a spoonful of chili powder, quickly putting it into a bag. Then came the second, third, and fourth spoonfuls.
From the moment the lid was opened, colorless capsaicin mixed with the oxygen and, carried by the slight breeze, quickly spread in all directions. Xu An was the first to smell the pungent odor; before he could even react, he let out two sharp sneezes. These sneezes seemed to be a signal, as a series of sneezes echoed down the street, their pitches rising and falling, as if composing a symphony of sneezes.
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