Chapter 254 - 219: Mr. He, Are You Sure About a Direct Price Cut of 200,000?

Chapter 254: Chapter 219: Mr. He, Are You Sure About a Direct Price Cut of 200,000?

Bao was one of the earliest internet users in the country and a hardcore web surfer.

He got off work at 5:30 PM, finished dinner by 6:00, and was back home by 6:20. He immediately collapsed onto the sofa, phone in hand, and started scrolling.

If you had to pinpoint a turning point, it would be 6:30 PM.

Before 6:30, the content he scrolled through on his feed was varied, with nothing repeating. But after 6:30, a post titled "SHOCKER! A 9,999-Yuan Braised Dish! I’ll Be the First to Try It!" appeared.

The short title used a full three exclamation points. It was obviously clickbait, so Bao scrolled past it without hesitation.

But before he’d even scrolled two screens down, he saw the same post again. This time it was shared by a food vlogger. He scrolled past it again.

After scrolling down one more screen, the post appeared for a third time...

’This is getting ridiculous!’

Bao flicked his finger up, sending the content flying past. In the blur, the post with "SHOCKER!" in the title flashed by a full three times!

’Oh, for crying out loud! It really never ends, does it? Now I’m getting annoyed. I have to see if this so-called 9,999-yuan braised dish is made of gold or something!’

After seeing the post again and again in different vloggers’ feeds, Bao’s short temper flared. He tapped the video link, which took him to the playback page.

"Folks, you’ll never believe what I found! A braised dish that costs 9,999 yuan a pound! And at that price, three rich idiots have already bought it!"

The vlogger held his phone up to the camera, showing everyone the listed price on the TaoBao product page. As if worried the audience couldn’t see, he had thoughtfully circled the price in a thick red ring. The huge Arabic numerals—9999—appeared before Bao’s eyes.

’It’s really 9,999 yuan?’

Bao paused the video and looked at the product image above the price. It showed an exquisitely packaged braised dish—a large, gold-stamped character, "Xu," printed on a deep-red bag. In front of the bag sat a plate, on which all sorts of braised items were neatly arranged.

There were braised potatoes, golden-brown and glistening with oil; plump duck feet, a deep reddish-brown, with bones stained a faint yellow from the marinade; deep green, glossy, and plump wakame seaweed... Amber-colored sauce trickled down the varied surfaces of the food...

GULP—

Just looking at the picture made Bao swallow hard, a sudden urge to eat washing over him.

But the thought of the 9,999-yuan price tag made that urge vanish without a trace. ’For almost ten thousand yuan, I could be eating abalone, sea cucumber, and fish maw! Is king crab not good enough? Is rock lobster not tasty enough? Why waste it on a braised dish!’

Still, the braised dish had successfully piqued Bao’s curiosity. Since the title promised he’d be the first to try it, that meant the vlogger had actually ordered the dish. There was going to be a taste test!

’Even if I can’t have any, watching someone else eat it is the next best thing!’

Bao hit play, and the video resumed.

The vlogger swiped on his phone, switching to the next image—a screenshot that read "Order Successful." This confirmed Bao’s suspicion: the upcoming taste test was definitely going to be of the ten-thousand-yuan dish.

Sure enough, the next second, the vlogger pulled a bag with identical packaging from just off-camera.

"Ta-da! This is the ten-thousand-yuan braised dish! I specially picked the most popular one, the Hellish Braised Flavor, to try it for all my friends outside the province. I’m here to see if this so-called ’hellish’ flavor is as insane as the rumors claim. Even though I’m a Hai City native, I can handle my spice pretty well. For example, with spicy hot pot from Celestial Paradise, I can take it medium-spicy..."

As the vlogger rambled on, he tore open the outer packaging, revealing a rather plain, vacuum-sealed bag of food inside.

’All style and no substance! The outer packaging is so exquisite, but the inside is so lame. This dish should be 999 yuan, tops...’

Bao was tearing it apart in his mind, but his silent critiques didn’t stop the vlogger. Soon, he tore a slit in the inner packaging. With a HISS, the plastic that had been clinging to the food inflated. The contents, no longer tightly packed, settled loosely in a corner of the bag.

COUGH, COUGH—COUGH, COUGH, COUGH—ACHOO—ACHOO—

The vlogger was about to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth, a series of coughs and sneezes erupted. His nose and ears turned red before their very eyes, and his own eyes started to water.

"Holy shit! The spicy smell is stinging my eyes! This is the most pungent spicy aroma I’ve ever smelled in my life, bar none!"

While speaking, he tore off a tissue, rolled it into two little balls, and stuffed them up his nostrils. Once his nose was completely plugged, the redness in his nose and ears subsided slightly.

"Just smelling it is making me a little nervous..."

Despite his words, the vlogger’s chopsticks moved honestly toward the dish. Even after being vacuum-packed and shipped, it still looked incredibly tempting. He picked up a thin slice of beef and popped it into his cavernous mouth.

"SMACK... SMACK... SMACK... Mmm, this Hellish Braised Flavor is definitely spicy, but... not as spicy as I imagined. It’s got a kick, but it’s totally bearable... Hehe... The flavor is actually quite good, very unique... Any of my spice-loving friends outside the province should give this a try. I think it’ll be right up your alley..."