Chapter 34: Snatching Food from the Tiger’s Mouth
The thought of the university made Xu An’s eyes light up.
’College students are the best consumer group in the world!’
Xu An had been to college himself, so he was very familiar with the food in university cafeterias.
It wasn’t that the chefs in university cafeterias were culinary masters, but their skills were definitely above average.
Add in the low prices, and it wasn’t just students who found them appealing, but also office workers and nearby residents.
However, the Hai City Nautical College was a semi-closed campus. Even school staff needed their ID cards to get in and out, and outsiders were completely barred from entry.
The comprehensive university Xu An had attended, by contrast, was completely open, allowing anyone to come and go as they pleased.
Every day at noon, when he went to the cafeteria to eat, he would see all sorts of people: office workers in suits, retired men and women in tank tops and flip-flops, and even preschoolers between the ages of zero and six. They were all eating in the cafeteria.
But the cafeteria food could only satisfy the students’ basic needs for survival, not their craving for delicious cuisine.
If they wanted to eat something different, something better, they had to head to the food street right outside the campus gate.
This food street was usually made up of small stalls and a few restaurants, with barbecue stands typically found at the very end.
From breakfast, lunch, and dinner to late-night snacks and tidbits, they had you covered. You could find food from all corners of the country.
As Xu An was lost in his memories, a few young men who had been pushing and shoving at the street corner seemed to have finally reached an agreement. They started walking toward the food street where Xu An was.
"When did this food street pop up? Looks like they have a lot of stuff."
"Ooh, they have pan-fried tofu over there. I want some of that."
"Wow, that sweet soup stall looks pretty good too."
"And there’s a fried skewer stall over there. They have a better selection than the one on campus."
Chatting as they strolled, the group soon arrived at Xu An’s boxed lunch stall.
"Eight yuan for a boxed lunch?" one of them noticed Xu An’s stall and asked, "Boss, what dishes come in your boxed lunch?"
"Steamed pork with rice flour, crispy fried mushrooms, and scrambled eggs with tomato, plus a chilled mung bean soup. Eight yuan for a box. Want one?" Xu An took a boxed lunch out of a styrofoam cooler to show them the dishes inside.
Hearing this, the whole group crowded around, packing in tightly around Xu An’s stall.
"What kind of meat is in the steamed pork with rice flour?"
"What kind of mushrooms are in the crispy fried mushrooms?"
"Three dishes and a soup for only eight yuan?"
After getting an affirmative answer from Xu An, they quickly began calculating in their heads.
A meal with one meat and one vegetable dish in the cafeteria cost five yuan, so eight yuan didn’t seem too expensive. Besides, the portion was huge. Just lifting one, he could tell it weighed over three pounds.
While they were hesitating, two workers who had finished their shift late walked straight over. They grabbed a boxed lunch, paid for it, and found a shady spot under a tree to squat down and eat.
After a moment’s hesitation, the students moved closer, wanting to get a better look at what was inside the boxed lunch.
Before, they had only seen it through the plastic lid, which was a bit steamy, so they couldn’t see clearly.
The moment they leaned in, they saw one of the workers pick up a piece of the steamed pork.
His chopsticks gripped the middle of the pork, its ends wobbling slightly in the air as a few glistening drops of sauce dripped from the bottom.
The worker opened his mouth wide and stuffed the entire piece in. He followed it with two quick chopsticks-full of rice, then closed his eyes in contentment, a blissful look on his face.
Before he had even swallowed the food in his mouth, the worker’s chopsticks were already reaching for the crispy fried mushrooms.
The instant the chopsticks touched the mushrooms, the onlooking students could almost hear the crisp batter give a sharp CRUNCH.
After swallowing, he shoveled the large helping of crispy mushrooms into his mouth. A series of CRUNCHES followed.
The students watched the worker eat his entire meal, mesmerized. It was only after the man drank the last sip of his mung bean soup and let out a comfortable burp that they snapped out of it, simultaneously raising their hands to wipe the corners of their mouths.
Xu An watched them, finding their behavior a bit odd. ’Are these guys a little slow or something?’
’After asking about the dishes, they run off to stare at someone else eating, and they look completely captivated.’
’How very strange.’
The group was oblivious to Xu An’s inner monologue. Just before the worker stood up, they all returned to Xu An’s stall in unison.
Each one picked up a boxed lunch with their right hand, reached into their pocket with their left, and handed the cash to Xu An.
The entire sequence was performed in one smooth motion, without a hint of hesitation.
When they had walked over, they were so focused on finding a restaurant that they hadn’t paid attention to how far they’d gone.
Now, on their way back, they realized just how long and far the walk was. It felt like a journey that would never end.
By the time they finally made it back to their dorm, they looked like they had been fished out of the water, drenched from head to toe.
They placed the boxed lunches on their desks, took a quick shower, and changed their clothes, finally cooling down a bit.
But the heat had killed most of their appetite. Even though they felt hungry, they had no desire to eat.
However, the memory of the worker’s sheer enjoyment while eating made one of them unable to resist opening his boxed lunch.
’Maybe I’ll just have the mung bean soup first! It’s supposed to cool you down. Maybe my appetite will come back after I drink it.’
The guy picked up the container of mung bean soup from the top of the box and was immediately surprised.
The mung bean soup was still slightly cool.
He took a small sip. Along with the sweet broth, a few mung beans entered his mouth. They had been cooked so soft that they melted the instant they touched his tongue.
The cool, sweet liquid flowed down his throat and through his body, quickly dispelling the stifling heat within him. It all ended in a long, satisfied sigh.
’So refreshing!’
With the bowl of mung bean soup down, his lost appetite came roaring back. He felt like he was starving, his stomach practically caving in.
He quickly unpacked the rest of the meal and began to dig in.
Just as he was eating, his three roommates, who had eaten in the cafeteria, returned. They were surprised to see him.
"Old Han, didn’t you go out with Old Chen and the guys to eat at a restaurant? Why are you eating a boxed lunch in the dorm?"
Old Han was completely absorbed in his delicious meal and had no interest in chatting about this and that. He managed to find a brief pause to say, "Talk after I’m done," and immediately dove back into the joy of chowing down.
Seeing this, his three roommates found it even stranger. What could possibly be so good that he couldn’t even be bothered to talk?
They walked up behind Old Han and peered over his shoulder at the boxed lunch in front of him.
Steamed pork with rice flour! Crispy fried mushrooms! Scrambled eggs with tomato!
There was also a soup container. From the residue inside, they could tell it had once held mung bean soup.
’When did they start selling such a lavish boxed lunch near campus? A meal like this must cost over ten yuan.’
’But... it looks really, really good.’
The three of them had just eaten, but watching Old Han, they suddenly felt a little hungry again.
Finally, one of them couldn’t resist. He reached out a villainous hand and, as if snatching food from the jaws of a tiger, plucked a crispy fried mushroom.
Before anyone could react, he popped the mushroom into his mouth. A sharp CRUNCH echoed in their ears.
’So crispy!’
Old Han quickly shielded his food and opened his mouth to curse at them.
But if he opened his mouth, the food inside would spray out, so he had to immediately clamp it shut.
But one man is no match for three. In the end, Old Han couldn’t protect his food. His precious, tempting, mesmerizing fried mushrooms were completely devoured by his roommates.
Only the steamed pork with rice flour and the scrambled eggs with tomato were left.
The only reason these two dishes survived was because they were saucy and not easy to grab by hand.
"You bastards!"
Old Han’s furious roar shot out from the dorm window, echoing throughout the entire building and across the campus sky.