Chapter 252: Old Jun, Would You Believe Your Ham Is Trash?
Chapter 252: Chapter 252: Old Jun, Would You Believe Your Ham Is Trash?
The customers who hadn’t bought any were getting anxious.
The price wasn’t cheap, and with their pockets feeling a bit light, all they could do was drool from the sidelines.
Xia Changzhi’s eyes shot open, filled with utter disbelief!
"Delicious! As far as I’m concerned, this ham is the best I’ve ever had!"
For real!?
Many people knew that Old Xia had a high social standing. If even he was saying this, just how good could Boss Jiang’s ham be!?
At that moment, the customers who had ordered the ham eagerly began to sample their slices.
Gasps of amazement echoed endlessly throughout the room.
Every customer who tasted the top-tier ham was in a state of disbelief.
It really was incredibly fragrant!
Ham is known for its savory aroma.
But Boss Jiang’s ham was fragrant to the extreme, and it was a completely natural aroma!
Chu Songrong watched as Wu Lingling took a small sip of the unfiltered beer.
He quickly asked, "How does it taste? Is it good?"
He still had a day shift to work later, whereas Wu Lingling was already off.
Wu Lingling frowned. "It’s cold and a little bitter."
She didn’t like beer.
"Bitter?"
Chu Songrong’s eyes lit up.
’That’s more like it!’
Good beer is supposed to be bitter at first sip.
He had high expectations for Jiang Liu’s beer.
Due to the high pressure at work, he usually had a few drinks after his shift.
"Close your mouth and breathe through your nose."
"Okay."
Wu Lingling closed her mouth and breathed slowly through her nose.
An aroma gradually bloomed on her taste buds, spreading, then exploding!
The aroma was pure, rich with the scent of malt, as if she were standing in a wheat field as a breeze swept through, sending ripples across the golden stalks.
"Oh my god! My mouth is filled with this amazing aroma! Wasn’t it supposed to be bitter?"
Wu Lingling’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The surrounding customers had looks on their faces that said, ’I knew it’.
Boss Jiang’s beer tasting bad?
Impossible!
Chu Songrong quickly snatched the beer back. "Alright, you’ve had a taste. I’m taking the rest home to enjoy slowly."
"Huh!? Director, please let me have another sip! I want more!"
Wu Lingling had completely fallen in love with the beer.
Chu Songrong said, "Just go buy a Tsingtao from the convenience store. They taste about the same."
Wu Lingling was speechless.
’Does the Director take me for an idiot? How could a beer that costs a few yuan taste as good as one that costs a hundred? Besides, the value for money on Brother Jiang’s food is off the charts!’
Inside, the customers who had tasted the ham and unfiltered beer couldn’t help but shower it with praise.
"This is delicious, so satisfying! My cousin bought an imported ham for his wedding that cost over thirty thousand, and it can’t even compare to Brother Jiang’s. The difference is just too huge!"
"Yeah, those domestic hams we have are expensive and taste terrible. Eating at Boss Jiang’s place is just so much better!"
Customers who had eaten other hams could truly appreciate the difference.
As for those who hadn’t, they were just amazed that ham could be this delicious!
Xia Changzhi took his plate of ham and his unfiltered beer right to the doorway and started eating.
The customers outside stared, their eyes wide!
"Grandpa Xia, can you let me try a piece?"
"Old Xia, with our relationship, you can spare a couple of slices for me, right?"
Xia Changzhi hesitated.
He cherished the hard-won ham and was reluctant to part with it.
However, his love for showing off won out, and he nodded. "Alright, anyone who knows me can come have half a slice."
He had originally wanted to say he was doing it to promote Boss Jiang’s food, but on second thought, with ham this good, would Boss Jiang really need to worry about repeat customers?
The uncles and aunties who used to team up to pick on Xia Changzhi now came over with sycophantic smiles, asking for a piece.
"Delicious! This meat is so fragrant. It seems like besides salt, there are no other seasonings."
"I know, right? It’s hard to imagine meat without any flavor enhancers could be this aromatic. There seems to be a fruity aftertaste, and the texture is so soft and tender."
After finishing their pieces, the uncles and aunties were still not satisfied.
"Old Xia, I always thought you were a generous person, but I didn’t realize you were so stingy! Half a slice isn’t even enough to get stuck in my teeth!"
"Give me another slice. Come on, just one more."
Xia Changzhi guarded his plate, took a sip of his unfiltered beer, and said with his eyes narrowed in satisfaction, "I’ve already given you half of it. If I give away any more, I won’t have anything left for myself."
"If you want to eat, go line up yourself!"
Aunt Xu was displeased. "If I could line up, would I be asking you? Look at that smug, petty face of yours."
Xia Changzhi sneered, "Look at you. A classic ingrate, aren’t you?"
The neighbors gathered around, describing the deliciousness of the ham. Overcome with cravings, all they could do was talk about it to get their fix.
Uncle Liu walked up to the window and said, "Boss Jiang, can you make more? It’s fine even if the next batch is more expensive. We’ll buy it all."
Jiang Liu shook his head. "This ham is in short supply. There’s only a little bit each day."
Hearing this, the customers were all dejected.
Before long, the seventy servings of ham were sold out.
Followed shortly by the fifty servings of beer.
"Boss Jiang, is there any ham left? Even the bone would be fine."
"The bone?"
Jiang Liu was puzzled. "Uncle Yu, you can’t eat the ham bone. I already threw it in the trash."
"Ah, well. I was thinking of taking it home to make soup."
Yu Qingzheng was disappointed. He had rushed over the moment he heard Jiang Liu had a new item, even paying a high price for a spot in line.
Who would have thought he still wouldn’t get a taste.
"In that case, I’ll have ten shrimp buns and five chive buns. I’m not exaggerating, Boss Jiang, the ingredients in your buns are truly top-notch. The texture is fantastic."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Yang Touyang walked into the shop with a few of her junior schoolmates.
She greeted him sweetly, "Brother Jiang, good morning! You’re working so hard!"
Her junior schoolmates were already captivated by Jiang Liu’s handsome appearance.
"Wow! He’s so incredibly handsome! Even more handsome than Xiaoxiao!"
"Does he have a boyfriend? I want to be his sugar mommy."
Jiang Liu continued making buns without looking up.
Pretending to be a robot.
’My vinegar-jar girlfriend is in the shop today, so I’d better stir up as little trouble as possible.’
Yang Touyang placed her order for buns and juice.
She then explained to her juniors, "You all should probably give up on Brother Jiang. I’ll let you in on a secret: he’s already taken!"
"Sister Yang, you’re not just trying to keep him for yourself, are you?!"
"I don’t believe you! Brother Jiang is my one true love."
Right up until they started eating their buns, the three of them couldn’t stop talking about Jiang Liu.
"Whoa, these buns are so good! They’re ten thousand times better than the ones at our school!"
The junior schoolmate looked utterly shocked after finishing her bun.
Her mind was truly buzzing from the experience.
’Can such delicious buns really exist in this world?’
"Actually, the buns at our school aren’t so bad. At least they’re harder than Brother Jiang’s. You could use them for self-defense."
"Hahaha!"
"Another day, I’m going to take my mom to eat the school’s buns, and then bring her here to try Brother Jiang’s. Hmph, let’s see if my dad will give me an allowance then!"
"I see five dishes written on the blackboard, but we only got to try two today. What a shame."
"Isn’t tomorrow the weekend too? Let’s come super early. I’ll ask my dad for some money, and we can all eat the ham together!"
The group chatted happily amongst themselves.
Having finished his ham at the doorway, Xia Changzhi savored the last dregs of his unfiltered beer, still feeling unsatisfied.
’It’s not nearly enough!’
He suddenly thought of his old friend.
He took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Jun Xinghe: "Old Jun, you might not believe this, but all the hams in your collection are garbage."
Jun Xinghe had a lot of social engagements on weekends.
He had just woken up and was getting ready to go out when he saw the message.
He raised an eyebrow and replied: "What nonsense are you talking about? My hams are collected from all over the world. How could they possibly be garbage?"
Xia Changzhi didn’t argue back. "When are you coming to South City? I’m telling you, you visited once, had a meal, and then never came back?"
Jun Xinghe replied with a bitter smile: "Don’t even mention it. I can’t help it, I’m busy with factory business every day. Of the two bottles of juice I brought back last time, I only have a small cup left, and I can’t even bring myself to drink it."
"Do you think I don’t want to go find you and eat together?"
After sending the message, Jun Xinghe felt a wave of melancholy. He straightened his tie in the mirror, his face full of sorrow.
’If only his daughter’s boyfriend was Jiang Liu.’
’Then he could just sit back and enjoy life.’
’The company would have an excellent successor, too.’
But things never go as planned. His daughter had to go and fall for some idiot boyfriend from who knows where.
’What a fool!’
’When it comes to picking men, could his daughter’s judgment possibly be as good as his?’
Jun Xinghe didn’t think so.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!
Jun Xinghe sent another message to Jun Qingmeng: "Is your boyfriend ready yet? How long do you plan to drag this out? My patience is limited. Also, I expect your ’boyfriend’ to be dressed decently when he comes to meet me. I don’t want to be laughed at by my friends."
「Inside the shop.」
Jun Qingmeng, who was helping Jiang Liu pack orders at the counter, glanced at the text message and then deleted it.
A flicker of confusion went through her mind.
’Did Dad take the wrong medicine or something?’
’Sending me such a fiery, demanding message so early in the morning.’
’All those meetings must be messing with his head, right?’
「8:25 AM.」
Rain began to fall again from the fickle sky.
The customers at the door wore looks of utter despair.
Everything was sold out.
There were still five hours until the next meal service.
How were they supposed to survive!
—PS
Happy National Day.
Wishing our motherland ever-increasing prosperity,
And wishing everyone more happiness with each passing year.