"Boss Zhou!"
"Boss, you're finally back!"
"Let's open the stall! We're starving!"
The atmosphere at the scene reached its peak the moment Zhou Yang appeared!
Countless eyes turned to them, and the queue immediately surged forward.
"Don't push! Don't push! Be careful!"
Zhou Yang quickly raised his hand to signal and raised his voice to reassure him.
"Thank you for your support. I guarantee that my braised food is made with high-quality ingredients and is absolutely clean and hygienic. I eat it every day myself, so you can buy with confidence!"
As he spoke, he quickly rearranged the stall, lit the fire to heat the braising liquid, and prepared to open for business.
Xu Yao also helped out from the side, her movements were skillful.
The rich, magical aroma of braised meat rose again with the steam and filled the air.
This made the already restless crowd even more excited, with sounds of swallowing saliva rising and falling.
Seeing the bustling scene and the streamers who were clearly there for the hype, the two policemen exchanged a glance and saw a hint of worry in each other's eyes.
With so many people, it would be terrible if a stampede or a dispute were to occur.
"Old Zhang, how about we stay put for now?"
One of the policemen suggested in a low voice, "Shall we leave once things have stabilized a bit on Boss Zhou's side?"
The other policeman nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's observe the situation and make sure nothing goes wrong."
After all, they were the ones who brought the person back, so they have to take full responsibility.
To allow more people to enjoy braised food, Zhou Yang has started implementing purchase limits again!
One person can only consume one pound each of meat and vegetables.
Even so, those who lined up later couldn't get any.
Just then, in a corner of the square, a figure stood out from the crowd.
It was a man, his hair a messy, tangled mess that almost covered most of his face.
He was dressed in tattered, dirty clothes and smelled sour; he looked exactly like a street beggar.
Even more striking is that he appears to have a disability in his lower body, sitting cross-legged on a homemade wooden board with four small wheels.
He braced himself with his hands on the ground and moved forward little by little, his movements appearing very strenuous.
He was clearly drawn in by the overpowering aroma of braised meat.
At that moment, he was tilting his head back, his nose was twitching, and a clear "gulp" sound came from his throat as he swallowed.
His eyes were fixed on the tempting braised dishes on Zhou Yang's stall, his cloudy eyes filled with undisguised longing.
The beggar struggled to move his body, trying to squeeze into the queue.
He pulled out a few crumpled ten-yuan bills from his tattered pocket and clutched them in his hand.
Because of his height, he appeared unusually short in the crowd, and his pitiful appearance contrasted sharply with the excited diners around him.
This scene was immediately spotted by a sharp-eyed streamer.
"Family members! Family members! Look this way!"
The anchor immediately pointed the camera at the beggar-looking man, his tone exaggerated and sentimental.
"My goodness! Look at this! Even this elderly person with limited mobility couldn't resist queuing up to try Boss Zhou's braised food after smelling its aroma!"
"What does this mean? It means that Boss Zhou's braised food is really fragrant! It's truly delicious to the extreme!"
The live stream chat exploded with comments.
"Wow! Really? Even beggars are buying them?"
"They look so pitiful..."
"This braised food is just too irresistible!"
"Host, please help this old man, he looks so pitiful!"
The streamer's eyes flashed; he saw the traffic!
He immediately went to the beggar's side and shouted, "Handsome men and beautiful women! Look at this old man, he's gone through so much just to try a bite of Boss Zhou's braised food!"
"Let's uphold the Chinese tradition of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and showing some consideration for others. How about we let the old man go first in line?"
Upon hearing this, the people around all turned to look at the beggar.
Seeing his pitiful state of poverty and inconvenience, and recalling the anchor's words about "caring for disabled elderly people," many people felt compassion.
"Alright! Let the old man buy it first!"
"Yes, it looks like it's not easy."
"Sir, please come to the front!"
With everyone's greetings and courtesy, the beggar-like man, a barely perceptible glint in his eyes, obediently scraped his way to the front of the line.
He pitifully bowed to the crowd in gratitude.
This appearance drew even more praise from the live stream audience.
"Waaaaah, I'm so touched! This is the kind of warm society we have!"
"The host is so inspiring! Everyone here is so kind-hearted!"
"Thumbs up to the kind person who gave way!"
"That's what human kindness is all about!"
However, the two policemen standing not far away frowned almost imperceptibly when they saw this scene.
Zhang Wei is very experienced and has seen all sorts of people.
He whispered to the young policeman next to him, "Xiao Lin, keep an eye on that person."
The young policeman, who had been paying attention, lowered his voice and replied, "Brother Zhang, I also feel a bit... I can't quite put my finger on it."
“Logically speaking, disabled people facing such difficulties should either have family members to care for them or receive community assistance. How could they have fallen to this state? And look at the look in his eyes…”
Although they were some distance apart, their observational skills as police officers far surpassed those of ordinary people.
This so-called "disabled old man," though pitiful in appearance, seemed to have a look in his eyes that was not as murky and helpless as he appeared.
“Yes,” Zhang Wei nodded slightly, “there are quite a few scammers on the streets these days who exploit people’s sympathy.”
"Let's not make a sound for now. After he finishes shopping, we'll go over and find out what's going on. If he's really in trouble, we'll contact the relevant departments to help him if necessary."
The two policemen decided to hold back for the time being, but their eyes were subtly fixed on the "beggar" at the front of the line.
At that moment, the "beggar" had moved to the front of the stall, looking up at Zhou Yang's pot of fragrant braised food with his particularly eager eyes.
He tilted his grime-covered face up, his eyes darting around before finally settling on the glistening, tempting braised meat.
He said in a hoarse voice, "Boss... half a jin... braised meat."
Zhou Yang wore a standard business smile and worked quickly: "Okay! Half a pound of braised pork, fifty yuan."
Xu Yao calmly accepted the crumpled, smelly banknotes, handed over the packaged braised meat, and said gently, "Here's your braised meat."
Throughout the entire process, the two treated this "beggar" no differently than they would any other well-dressed customer—with the same politeness and professionalism.
A greedy glint flashed in the man's eyes as he received the braised meat.
He couldn't wait to grab a piece with his dirty hands and stuff it into his mouth, the grease instantly covering his lips and fingers.
tasty!
It's fucking delicious!
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