Chapter Thirty-Four: The First to Brave the Unknown

When Tanya arrived at “Next Door Kitchen,” the place was already surrounded by a thick, impenetrable crowd of onlookers.

She tried several times to push her way forward, but each attempt failed.

Left with no other choice, she spotted an empty stone bench on the outskirts of the crowd, climbed onto it, and relied on her newfound height to gain an advantage.

Her livestream viewers were nearly in hysterics, flooding the chat with: The woes of being short.

After all, Tanya stood only one meter sixty.

Her field of vision now unobstructed, the entire situation unfolded before her eyes.

The restaurant was nothing like the upscale place she’d imagined; it was just a typical hole-in-the-wall eatery, with only six tables in the front room at most.

By size and customer count alone, it couldn’t even compare to the bustling Firestorm Kitchen.

Yet,

Unlike the noisy chaos of Firestorm Kitchen, Next Door Kitchen was conspicuously quiet. Most of the commotion came from the gawkers outside rather than the diners within.

“Old Zhang, what are you doing eating at this shady joint?”

“Hey, isn’t that Mr. Zhang from Building Four? Just last night he was complaining about losing money at mahjong and needing to save up, and now he’s here?”

“Hah, that’s not all—almost everyone inside looks familiar. Look, even the pickiest eater, Zou Ming, is here.”

“I remember Zou Ming came yesterday too, didn’t he?”

“Do you think it’s possible they’ve all been bribed by the restaurant?”

“Zou Ming’s loaded—would he even care?”

“Hard to say…”

“Pfft, you all talk so much, why not try it yourselves? Why trust what others say?”

“Then you go! We can’t afford eighty bucks for a plate of scallion beef.”

“Hahaha…”

“Damn, if I had that kind of money, you wouldn’t need to tell me twice.”

…

The crowd was abuzz with speculation, but no consensus was reached—the scene was utter chaos.

Tanya refrained from making hasty comments in her livestream.

From overhearing their conversations, she drew a few conclusions:

First, the restaurant’s prices were indeed outrageous; scallion beef, which cost no more than thirty elsewhere, was listed here at eighty.

Second, the place likely hadn’t been open long, or it wouldn’t draw such daily crowds of onlookers rather than diners.

Third, it was possible the diners inside were fakes, planted by the restaurant.

Fourth, the beautiful proprietress inside seemed entirely unfazed by the crowd’s accusations, focusing solely on her work—serving dishes, settling bills, clearing tables.

As for a fifth point…

Tanya let her gaze sweep over the faces outside. Most people neither intended to go in nor to leave; they simply joined in the uproar, as if waiting for something.

But the question remained: was no one going to talk about the food itself?

For example, the taste?

The proprietress said nothing.

Neither did the customers.

It was all too strange!

Sigh—

A long, drawn-out sigh suddenly drifted from nearby.

Turning to look, Tanya saw a thin, middle-aged man with his arms crossed, shaking his head in helpless resignation at the crowd ahead.

She was a bit surprised, unsure what had prompted his sigh, and tried asking,

“Uncle, have you ever eaten here?”

The man studied Tanya closely, then asked uncertainly, “First time in Old Street?”

“Yes, I’m a food streamer, looking for good eats for my fans,” Tanya explained.

The man instantly understood, glanced around, then replied in a low voice, “I’ve eaten here.”

‘This guy is weird—does he really need to be so secretive, like he’s up to something?’ Similar doubts popped up in the chat.

…

Tanya also found it odd, but didn’t let it show. She continued, “So, how does it taste?”

Without hesitation, the man gave a thumbs-up. “Top-notch!”

“But everyone…” Tanya couldn’t help but laugh at his tone.

“Miss, let me tell you, don’t listen to these people—they’re a bad bunch.”

He nodded toward a man in a floral shirt at the front.

“A lot of them are with him, here just to stir up trouble.”

Tanya guessed this must be Firestorm Kitchen’s head chef, Zhao Gang.

“Why would he do that?”

“Competition.” The man kept his voice low. “Not just him—those few fat fellows, too, all own restaurants on this street.”

“See, their own cooking isn’t good enough to earn a living, so they team up to sabotage others.

Think about it: if Next Door Kitchen can keep charging such prices, passersby will assume their food must be the best. Otherwise, the other restaurants become mere sideshows.

Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“It does, but isn’t it still up to the customers to choose?” Tanya, straightforward as ever, couldn’t untangle such intrigue.

“Miss, you’re too naive.” The man shook his head with a smile. “This is an invisible battle—whoever lasts longest wins in the end.”

“How so?”

“Look, a little hole-in-the-wall like this can’t withstand constant slander. Even if the owner can take it, customers won’t. People come to eat, not to be gawked at like monkeys.” The man hit the nail on the head.

“That does make sense.” Tanya nodded thoughtfully. “Uncle, aren’t you going in to eat?”

The man gave a wry smile and waved his hand. “I came today planning to order the shredded pork with garlic sauce again, but the restaurant suddenly took it off the menu.”

“Never selling it again?”

“Seems that way. The owner, Ms. Su, said they only offer one special dish a day, and whether a dish returns depends on the chef.”

“What do you mean by special dish?”

“Look, today’s scallion beef is the special.”

“That’s considered a special?” Tanya was speechless.

But thinking about it, compared to the other two dishes, it was indeed a bargain.

“Then just order the scallion beef.”

“I was going to, but when I saw Zhao Gang’s crowd arrive, I held off—wanted to see what would happen first.”

“Are they going to resort to violence?” Tanya shrank her neck instinctively, wondering if she’d be roughed up if she went in.

“He wouldn’t dare.”

The man gave a peculiar smile, lowering his voice even further.

“I heard this morning that the chef from Next Door Kitchen caused a stir at Firestorm Kitchen last night, and Zhao Gang didn’t even dare utter a word. Not sure what really happened.”

Tanya suddenly recalled the door being repaired when she’d eaten at Firestorm Kitchen earlier.

“If that chef has your back, then what’s there to worry about?”

“Ah, I’ve lived on this street for decades. We see each other all the time—hard to fall out over this.

And honestly, Next Door Kitchen’s prices are too steep. It’s fine for an occasional treat, but to eat there regularly would break the bank. So most of the time, I still eat at Zhao Gang’s place. Best not to make enemies if you can avoid it.”

He pointed out several neighbors in the crowd.

“I bet they all feel the same.”

“But just waiting around doesn’t solve anything,” Tanya sympathized with these old regulars.

“Don’t misunderstand—if people wanted to leave, they’d have left already. We’re just waiting to see who’ll be the first to take the plunge.”

“You mean, no one’s ordered the two most expensive dishes yet?”

“That’s right.” The man nodded with certainty, face full of anticipation.

A Super Rocket from “Little Star” just arrived!

At that moment, a virtual rocket worth two thousand yuan appeared in the stream.

Before Tanya could even thank them, “Little Star” sent a dazzling message across the chat:

“Tanya, this is from all of us—go be the first to take the plunge and see what those two dishes are all about! The suspense is killing us!”

(To be continued…)