Chapter 75 - 70: Festive Spectacle

Chapter 75: Chapter 70: Festive Spectacle

While customers from the Inner Three Rings were still on their way, those who lived closer or had faster private transportation had already arrived.

Leitel’s chat group friends had even chartered a vehicle, arriving in successive batches. A line started forming at Ning He’s stall before eight o’clock.

Fortunately, thanks to thorough preparations and a few trainees assigned to guide the crowd, everything was busy but orderly. The third-level stalls selling meat were on the other side of the line, so if someone decided they wanted to buy some while queuing, they didn’t have to leave their spot—they could just shout, and someone would bring it over.

Mrs. Leitel was out with her husband today. The first thing that caught her eye was the massive, exquisite ice sculpture in the center of the plaza: the Snow Angel.

"It’s simply breathtaking. So many details, and on such a huge sculpture. How long must it have taken?"

"The Fourth Ring has plenty of master artisans. What does our First Ring have besides more advertisements? How can we compare?"

"It’s not just the ice sculptures we can’t compete with; the food is a step down too. Didn’t you say you were taking me for some freshly made malatang today? Let’s go!"

Leitel took his wife’s arm and said with a wide smile, "Right this way!"

The old man with the cane watched the couple leave from behind, pursing his lips and huffing, "That guy’s the same as always. Gets a wife and forgets his buddies!"

The gray-haired old man patted his shoulder consolingly. "He’s not like us. If you had a young, beautiful wife, you’d probably be following her around all day too."

"All that lovey-dovey stuff... it won’t last!" the skinny old man muttered furtively from the side.

The gray-haired old man shook his head, not knowing what to say. It wasn’t until the plump middle-aged man spoke up that everyone remembered their main reason for being there.

"Let’s go, let’s go, get in line! It’s been two days since I’ve had this; I’ve been craving it!"

The old man with the cane quickly hobbled toward the heated tent, his cane tapping, and the others hurried to follow.

It was negative twenty-seven degrees outside today. A short while spent looking at the ice sculptures was enough to get a person chilled to the bone; it was only upon entering the heated tent that they began to warm up. As they neared Ning He’s stall, ten stoves were steaming away, and a rich aroma of bone broth and chili peppers wafted into their noses. It was enough to make one feel they had come back to life, suddenly full of energy as their appetite roared open.

The line wasn’t long yet. Leitel and his wife had arrived a bit earlier and were near the front. The old man with the cane, meanwhile, had moved with a speed that most people would struggle to match, snagging a good spot for himself.

"I bet the North Third District is going to win this thing!" the gray-haired old man said with a squint and a smile, looking at a promotional poster standing nearby.

The skinny old man followed his gaze and saw the poster, which read: "Vote for our district’s ice sculpture and get 10% off your malatang, or receive one free designated dish!"

"Miss Ning doesn’t play fair. With a move like this, isn’t everyone going to vote for the North Third District? How is anyone else supposed to win?" the skinny old man complained under his breath, glancing at Ning He, who was busy working behind the stall.

"Then you should have the restaurants in our First Ring do the same!" the old man with the cane snorted, stamping his cane on the ground. "You can’t blame others when you’re disorganized and can’t be bothered to compete!"

As he spoke, the old man with the cane took out his communicator, opened the voting website, and cast a vote for the North Third District.

The skinny old man grumbled, but he also took out his communicator.

"I’m not just doing this for the food, you know. This Snow Angel sculpture is actually quite good. It’s no worse than the one I saw in Los City back in the day. It deserves the vote."

It wasn’t just them; almost every customer in line who saw the poster took out their communicator and voted.

Most people had been stunned by the ice sculpture the moment they arrived at the plaza, but they had either forgotten to vote or hesitated for a moment. Now, lured into a state of bliss by the aroma of malatang and prompted by the poster and the smiling, courteous servers, they had no reason to refuse.

Besides, it wasn’t like each person could only cast one vote.

Seeing how effective this was, the trainees helping out became even more energized. They tirelessly described the various meat ingredients from other stalls that were suitable for malatang, explaining their unique flavors and recommending them to the waiting customers.

The old man with the cane’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Young lady, give each of us one of those... what did you call them? Flowering sausages, cilantro meatballs, and the artful giblet skewers!"

"Of course, one moment!"

The female trainee hurried over to a nearby third-level stall, filled a basin with the meats the old man had ordered, and brought it back.

The old man with the cane took a look. The meats in the basin were all on skewers. One end of the sausages had been cut a few times, making them open up like flower petals. The bite-sized cilantro meatballs had already been deep-fried to a tempting golden brown. As for the Artful Giblet Skewers, each skewer held chicken gizzard, intestine, heart, and kidney, and the portion was twice the size of the meatballs or sausages. For anyone who loved giblets, it was a sight to make them burst with joy.

These preparation methods were all requirements set by Ning He, and she naturally paid the stall owners an extra processing fee. The prepped ingredients were a better match for the malatang, allowing them to quickly absorb the flavor and achieve the optimal texture.

Although Leitel was listening to his wife, he had been keeping an eye on his friends. Seeing his old buddies all adding to their orders, he wasn’t about to be left out and ordered a portion for himself and his wife as well.

’Now this is perfect.’

With vegetables, meat, eggs, and broth, only then could it truly be called a complete feast!

The line moved quickly. Before long, Ning He was serving Leitel and the beautiful woman by his side, who looked to be in her early forties.

Seeing them arm-in-arm and looking so intimate, Ning He’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

’There must be a twenty-year age gap there!’

’Who knew the old guy had so much charm!’

"You must be Mrs. Leitel, right? You’re even more beautiful than the rumors say!"

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Sure enough, Mrs. Leitel laughed, covering her mouth, looking all the more glamorous.

"Leitel only told me how good your cooking was. He never mentioned you were so silver-tongued!"

"I’m only telling the truth. Anyone who meets you would say the same thing," Ning He replied, her hands busy but her words flowing just as smoothly.

Mrs. Leitel was blushing from smiling so much, and Leitel shot Ning He an appreciative glance.

In the end, Ning He prepared one bowl with bone broth and another with tomato broth for the couple. A server carried them to a nearby table, and the two went off to enjoy their meal happily.

The old man with the cane and his friends, on the other hand, didn’t say much to Ning He. Their minds were solely on the food, and they impatiently carried their bowls away to eat the moment the malatang was ready.

Besides the consistently high-quality fried eggs and tofu puffs, the new meat options were also stunning. Although the flowering sausages had a high starch content, they paired perfectly with the spicy and numbing flavor of the broth—so much so that one serving didn’t feel like enough. The fried meatballs soaked up the soup, becoming little flavor bombs that infinitely amplified the meaty aroma. But the most amazing addition of all was the giblets.

A variety of different textures—crispy, chewy, firm, and tender—all came together in one bowl. Every bite with the chopsticks was a random draw, like a lottery, and this novelty, combined with the delicious taste, made the act of eating fun.

By the time their group had eaten their fill and left feeling utterly satisfied, a second, even larger wave of customers swarmed in, packing the entire food area to the brim.

Meanwhile, on the large screen in the plaza, a TV broadcast showed the real-time voting rankings for each district. The North Third District had already climbed into the top half among the city’s fifty districts, and its vote count was still rising rapidly.

While the entire city was celebrating, a meeting was quietly underway in a basement in Beiluo City’s Third Ring.