Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 45: It’s Cheap Because the Ingredients Are Inferior
"Underwear model?"
"No way, Dreya, you don’t know? You’ve at least seen the new poster at the Victoria’s Secret entrance, right?"
"!!! That beautiful model is her??"
"Yes, she’s the one who won the Best Newcomer Model title three times in a row! It’s surprising that she’s working around here, it’s such a coincidence, a living little celebrity!"
The man didn’t make a fuss, just quietly discussed with his buddy. After all, it’s just an underwear model, not some big-name celebrity. If you haven’t been paying attention, even if the name’s mentioned, not many would recognize it.
Dreya had her baseball cap pulled down low, almost covering half her face, and wasn’t wearing a mask. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Hurry up, let’s line up first. My friend said this place is very popular too, if we’re late, we might not get any."
They tried the kimchi food truck yesterday and it was pretty good. Even though she couldn’t tell what’s authentic or not, since her friend recommended this one run by Great Xia People, she had to try it to compare.
"Come, come, those buying ice jelly, get it over here. The noodles take time to cook, so have some dessert to tide you over~"
After making over a dozen servings, Lucas gradually became more skilled, lining up about ten takeout bowls and preparing them all at once.
With his assistance, the customers didn’t complain, sipping on the cold ice jelly as they slowly waited for their noodles to be ready.
After all, most workers have short work hours, only working 35 hours a week, four and a half days, with usually a one and a half hour lunch break, so there’s no rush.
Others might not be in a hurry, but Dreya was.
As a model, her working hours were flexible, entirely based on the jobs her company and agent arranged.
Seeing over twenty people ahead in line waiting for noodles, without any sign of movement, after checking her watch several times, she couldn’t wait any longer and pulled her friend towards Lucas.
"Hi, I’m really sorry, but I have to get back to work soon, could you prepare two takeout servings for me first? I can pay you directly."
"Sure! No problem!"
Ice jelly is quick to make, taking just half a minute, maybe even less.
He quickly prepared two and handed them over: "Ten euros, thank you for your patronage~"
"Okay."
Both of them held a ten-euro bill, handing them to him as they prepared to leave with the ice jelly.
"Hey?? Wait a minute!! You gave too much!"
Lucas was slightly taken aback, hastily calling after them, "It’s ten euros for two servings, not ten euros per serving."
"What??"
Dreya and her friend were stunned: "You mean... this bowl is five euros?"
"Yes, that’s the price we’ve always sold it for."
They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief.
It’s not that the pricing was particularly cheap, but this bowl of fruit jelly looked incredibly generous, with fruits and extras almost overflowing.
In comparison, the fruit jelly sold next door was mostly jelly, with few fruits, and those were cheap ones like cantaloupe and pineapple.
The main point was, the price was twice as much!
When they passed by earlier, they specifically took a glance; over there, the price had increased again, up to 12 euros a bowl.
Having bought the expensive one before and now getting a cheaper, more substantial one, the two felt a bit unreal.
"Eat it soon. It tastes best when cold; it won’t be as good if it sits for too long."
"Okay, thank you."
Dreya politely nodded; she felt it was too full and might spill at any moment, making it inconvenient to rush around, so she leaned in to sip some syrup.
"Slurp"
The rich mint flavor instantly exploded in her mouth, rushing straight to her mind, the icy coolness revitalizing her somewhat fatigued spirit.
The syrup was perfectly balanced, not overly sweet, tasting just right with a refreshing sensation; the mint’s coolness balanced a bit of the sweetness, making it more addictive with every sip.
She sucked a bit too hard, causing an ice jelly piece to break.
Before she could react, it had slid right down into her stomach.
"Hey? This softness... so amazing!"
The jelly made by Kimchi Lady was the chewy type that you could bite into; she had assumed this would be the same, but didn’t expect the jelly in her hand to be so soft, drinkable with just a sip!
With a slight shake of her hand, she could clearly see the jelly inside the bowl swaying and reflecting magical colors under the sun.
Looking closely, it wasn’t completely transparent; there was a slightly unclear color, maybe grey or yellow, with visible bubbles inside the jelly.
The television screen flickered, switching to the ice jelly making process.
Lucas winked at the two, indicating they could take a look.
"This is a traditional Great Xia plant jelly made from plant seeds, not gelatin, purely natural food, entirely different from the taste made from store-bought gelatin powder."
The ice jelly-making process was simple, just based on kneading.
The two sipped their ice jelly, curiously watching the screen for over ten seconds before realizing: "So that’s how it’s made, how amazing, natural food should be very healthy."
"Yes, and we use brown sugar, not white sugar. Brown sugar is particularly nourishing for women, with benefits like replenishing blood and energy..."
Knowing the two were in a hurry, Lucas didn’t ramble on and briefly introduced it before bidding them farewell.
In just half a minute, the two were completely captivated by the delicious hand-made cold jelly, their delicate, pretty faces beaming with uncontrollable happiness.
"Delicious, so delicious, no wonder my friend recommended it, the authentic taste is unbeatable!"
"Yeah, the key is, delicious and with so many fruits, only sold for five euros. For the same jelly, in comparison, some claim to have a thousand years of history... doesn’t seem to have developed much, huh?"
The two retraced their steps, their striking beauty and perfect proportions naturally drawing the attention of the queued diners.
Although most people couldn’t recognize them as models, beauties are always the center of attention wherever they go.
They didn’t lower their voices intentionally, making their conversation clear to those around them.
Seeing the two with similar food from a different food truck, the crowd, not blind, compared it to the jelly in the hands of others around them...
How could this place dare sell it for 12 euros?
Almost instantly, 90% of the people left the queue and started heading towards Lin Chen’s truck.
"Hey?? Ah Ni, don’t leave, what’s going on?"
Kimchi Lady was proudly boasting about the glorious history of this jelly in front of a customer when she suddenly saw the queue disperse, heading towards the Great Xia Food Truck, and she panicked.
"That’s a copy of mine!! Don’t be fooled, the materials are inferior, that’s why it’s cheap; only the expensive ones have guaranteed quality!!"
Surprisingly, her shout really stopped quite a few people.
Foreigners are simple-minded; on careful thought, it made some sense.
Isn’t the point of doing business to make money? If it’s sold cheap, the ingredients must be cheap too, otherwise, how would there be profit?
