Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 363 - 337: The Mega Influencer Arrives!

The two brothers swiftly took on their roles, one in charge of setting up the poles, and the other fastening the red rope to create a boundary.

In no time at all, they had created a space for only one person to line up at a time.

"Everyone, please line up in an orderly fashion! No need to rush. If you’re starving, feel free to grab a couple of meatballs while waiting in line. No queue for our meatballs!"

With Xue Ping’s shout, people in the line started ordering meatballs one after another.

Hearing the sound of payments through the speakers, Chen Mo was ecstatic inside.

Business is about to start!

At that moment...

Gao Hao was getting bored of streaming over at Huang Bo’s side. With a vacant stall, the viewers in the livestream had already switched over to the cultural tourism account.

So, Gao Hao headed to Chen Mo’s side.

He found a perfect spot where he could not only catch Chen Mo cooking fried rice in the food truck but also capture the line of people waiting.

The queue wasn’t very long, only about a dozen meters.

"Folks, right now it seems Boss Xiao Chen has a slight edge! But with so many people arriving, I wonder which side they’ll choose for fried rice?"

As soon as Gao Hao finished speaking, the comments in the livestream chat went wild.

"That silhouette looks familiar! Could it be a celebrity?"

"No, it’s not a celebrity. Since when can celebrities be that chubby? It looks like that... what’s his name... Jie?"

"It’s Huibidu! It’s Huibidu!"

"What the heck is Huibidu? It’s Teacher Tang, he has a name, damn it!"

Seeing the comments, Gao Hao squinted his eyes and took a closer look.

There it was—a hefty middle-aged man sauntering over, followed by three other people, one with a mini camera, another with a lighting tool, and one carrying a suitcase and wearing a backpack.

"Huixiang, Huixiang! Damn, it’s that big influencer coming! Why is he here?"

Zhang Huixiang took a good look, "Quick, go take a picture with him, damn, it really is a famous influencer in person! Don’t you remember what they said in the meeting, about making Yangzhou a city of influencers this year? They invited several scouting influencers to film videos about Yangzhou for promotion. But why isn’t Teacher Tang at one of the four famous buildings? Why is he here at the Ecological Garden?"

Ignoring it, Zhang Huixiang ran over with his phone, "Teacher Tang, can I take a photo with you?"

The chubby man smiled wide, "Sure, hand over your phone."

Zhang Huixiang closed the cultural tour’s stream, quickly snapped two selfies, and uploaded them to his social media without a moment’s delay.

The people in line became restless, wanting a photo too but worrying about losing their place and needing to requeue.

Fortunately, as Old Tang got closer, his assistant turned on the lights and camera, entering work mode, which made others hesitant to approach.

"Spotting Influencer Huibidu, real or fake chef speak!"

The diners watched curiously. For many, it was their first time seeing an influencer shoot a video. Someone blurted out, "How much does a meal for four cost today?"

Old Tang laughed heartily, "Wouldn’t you only know after eating? I came to check out what’s happening at this super popular stall outside Yangzhou Ecological Garden!"

Work doesn’t mean he can’t talk to fans. After all, influencers just need to shoot normally, then let the editor piece it all together later.

Old Tang first approached the stall closest to him.

"I saw this stall battle trending online a couple of days ago. Couldn’t resist joining the fun. Let’s check out this one first."

"Authentic Yangzhou Fried Rice, 188 yuan a portion!"

Huang Bo straightened his back with more intensity, his expression gravely serious.

He never expected a mere bet would bring such a famous influencer to check out not just him, but also represent Jingya Pavilion!

"As per online buzz, the chef from one of Yangzhou’s four great establishments, Jingya Pavilion, is manning this stall. Normally, dining at Jingya Pavilion might involve at least a half-hour wait for this fried rice."

"Let’s give it a try today then!"

With that, Old Tang walked straight over, "Chef, give me four..."

Before Old Tang could finish, Xue An, charged with maintaining order, came running over, grinning mischievously, "Teacher Tang."

"Huh?"

"You can order half a portion here, and try half a portion there. If you find one side tastier, you can get a full serving of it. The half you didn’t like will be free!"

Huang Bo shot Xue An a vicious glare.

Good heavens, I stood with you yesterday, and today you’re messing with me! When Teacher Tang is about to order four servings, why interrupt with such an idea?

Clearly, Xue An’s suggestion genuinely tempted Old Tang.

"Oh, that’s quite interesting! Everyone knows Boss Chen and Chef Huang are having a bet. Let’s take advantage of this today, Chef Huang, give us four half-portions!"

Then Old Tang went next door, "Look here, they still need to queue."

Afterwards, he realized something seemed off, as if he was taking sides with Chen Mo, "Cut that, cut that. Edit this part out later."

Then Xue Ping came over, "Teacher Tang, if you find queuing boring, you can also try our meatballs while waiting."

Ah!

Old Tang clicked his tongue, "See that? They’ve got a good business strategy. Alright, let’s have four meatballs."

Huang Bo saw the commotion and genuinely started to worry.

You can’t keep playing like this. Are they really hard-selling meatballs to passersby to cure their boredom?

Old Tang and his assistants held onto the meatballs, marking the first piece of recorded content for today.

Being such a renowned influencer, while others dug into and watched the fried rice, as anticipated, Old Tang lavishly praised the vinegar-dipped meatballs, nearly running out of adjectives.

"Delicious, incredibly delicious, who’d have thought meatballs could be made like this? Worth 88 yuan each!"

Having devoured four meatballs, Old Tang couldn’t help but say, "I must say, why haven’t these restaurants realized before that vinegar cuts through richness? I ate four without a hint of cloying. Now it’s our turn, let’s get the boss in the frame."

The camera captured Chen Mo’s movements as he prepared fried rice.

Old Tang stood there bewildered for a long moment before chiming in, "Boss Chen, I checked, it’s about 37° outside right now. Aren’t you hot cooking in that outfit?"

Chen Mo raised his eyelids, grinning, "Not hot. Your fried rice is ready." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Alright! Half-revamped fried rice, half-authentic Yangzhou Fried Rice, let’s taste both!"

Holding two bowls, an enthusiastic fan kindly offered the spot at Xiao Huang’s table.

Cordially thanking the fan and taking a photo together, Old Tang sat down.

Lights on, camera ready!

Dig in!