Chapter 303 - 177: A Braised Goods Stall? The Possible 3rd Team Industry! A Forging-Type Recruit

Chapter 303: Chapter 177: A Braised Goods Stall? The Possible 3rd Team Industry! A Forging-Type Recruit

The trading market had changed dramatically, so much so that even Chen Chong was surprised. ’It’s actually developed to this extent?’

It wasn’t that there were more people. Rather, the goods being sold at the stalls were no longer limited to ordinary food and supplies. Various food processing and even blacksmithing stalls had appeared.

Clearly, trade in the market was beginning to evolve in a different direction...

"Step right up, step right up! Zhang’s Braised Goods—delicious and affordable! This master broth has been simmering since the seventh day after we got here, and the fire has never gone out! We can braise anything, from all kinds of meat down to wild vegetables. We just charge a processing fee of one-fifth of the food you bring us."

In front of the young man’s stall, a large cauldron was boiling over a fire. Inside, a coffee-colored broth churned, filled with what looked like herbs.

Behind him, two other people were busy: one feeding firewood into the flames, the other dunking something into the broth with a ladle.

An enticing aroma drifted from the cauldron, attracting a number of people who stopped just to enjoy the smell.

Of course, Chen Chong’s group was among them.

"A braising broth?" Xu Jun asked, her face full of doubt, as if she’d heard something completely unbelievable.

In fact, even Chen Chong was taken aback for a moment when he heard the young vendor’s shouts.

’After all, a master broth like this is used for braising food. It wouldn’t have been uncommon before all this happened.’

’But this was *after* they’d been brought here!’

’Something like a master broth still existed at the school?’

Though he was puzzled, he had to admit the aroma was definitely that of a typical braised-goods stall, even if there was something a little strange about it.

Chen Chong was both puzzled and intrigued. ’Where on earth did these three get their master broth?’

Just then, someone in the crowd voiced the very question on Chen Chong’s mind.

"Is that really a braising broth in your pot? How’d you get it?"

The young man at the stall chuckled. "Buddy, if this isn’t a braising broth, what is? I couldn’t fake this aroma even if I tried. As for how I got it... well, you don’t need to worry about that."

Then, another voice called out, "Don’t tell me you made it yourself from spices and herbs you foraged in the Primitive Jungle?"

The raw materials for a master broth were all sorts of spices and herbs.

Since every family’s recipe was different, the specific ingredients varied, but the basic components were largely the same.

Whether these spices and herbs could actually be found in the Primitive Jungle was something most students had no way of knowing.

But you couldn’t rule out the possibility that these guys actually recognized the right herbs and spices, gathered them, and made the broth themselves.

"If you really did find those herbs in the Primitive Jungle, I hope you didn’t pick any poisonous ones by mistake. The aroma is a pretty good imitation, but if you picked something toxic, anyone who eats this will probably be a corpse by tomorrow."

As soon as he said that, many of the onlooking students started to murmur in agreement.

Some who had been eager to give it a try immediately turned and walked away.

Who wouldn’t want to eat braised food?

Everyone did.

The aroma was making their mouths water.

But as delicious as braised meat was, their lives were obviously more important.

Seeing this, the young man at the stall grew anxious. His neck flushing red, he roared:

"Hey, man, you can be careless about what you eat, but not about what you say! You don’t have to buy anything, but don’t you dare spread rumors! My master broth isn’t made from some spices I picked in the Primitive Jungle."

"This was made from a genuine braising spice packet! I bought it from a big supermarket off-campus. I was planning to take it home over the break to make braised beef shank, but who could’ve known this would happen..."

Someone in the crowd shot back, "Who are you kidding? Your broth might have that braised aroma, but it also has a weird tang to it. There’s no way it came from a spice packet."

The young man got flustered again. "Who says it’s not from a spice packet? The empty packet is still in my dorm! You want me to go get it and show you?"

"As for the weird smell you mentioned, that’s because on the first day we got here, I was starving. I tore the packet open and tried to eat the spices, but I couldn’t stomach them, so I just tossed them in my locker."

"Later, I managed to survive by hunting with a few friends, and we solved our immediate food problem. That’s when I remembered the spice packet and decided to start this braising business. The so-called ’weird smell’ is just because the spices got a little damp."

"But I guarantee it, this broth won’t make anyone sick! I’ve been in business for a few days now. I’ve braised meat and veggies for other students... if not a hundred orders, then at least forty or fifty."

"I’m surviving on the one-fifth fee I collect. If the food made people sick, do you think I’d still be standing here advertising it?"

After hearing the young man’s explanation, the crowd was gradually convinced and no longer dwelled on the source of his ingredients.

Still, some people started to nitpick, complaining loudly that a one-fifth processing fee was too expensive.

After all, food was so scarce. Even though they had all survived this long and mastered some basic survival skills, most could only find enough to barely fill their own stomachs. They hardly had enough to eat for themselves, let alone spare extra meat for a processing fee.

A one-fifth fee meant giving up a significant chunk of their hard-earned food.

Bring five pounds of food, and you’d lose an entire pound.

For most students, that was a cost they simply couldn’t afford.

If it were one-tenth, they might have given it a try.

Hearing people trying to haggle, the young man immediately shot back:

"Listen, man, you have to understand—I’m the only one doing this in the whole school. Ever heard the saying ’the rarer something is, the more it’s worth’?"

"This is a voluntary exchange; I’m not forcing you. One-fifth isn’t that much of a fee. Besides, we only get a few orders a day. Between the three of us, after working all day, the fees we collect are just barely enough to fill our own stomachs."