The Game of Life-Chapter 798 - 797 Which One Do You Think is Abnormal

Chapter 798 -797: Which One Do You Think is Abnormal? (Double Update 8000 Words)

Chapter 798 -797: Which One Do You Think is Abnormal? (Double Update 8000 Words)

After wrapping up the backup shooting, the program team returned Jiang Feng and his three colleagues to Taifeng Building. Although it was somewhat inappropriate for the program team to block people so early in the morning, their intentions were good, and it didn’t interfere with everyone’s regular work.

By the time the four of them arrived at Taifeng Building, it was only 8:10 AM, even before the official start of the workday.

“Fengfeng, did you notice that those two girls earlier seemed to be taking photos with the sign at the entrance?” Wu Minqi, after changing back into her clothes, couldn’t help but bring it up when she returned to the kitchen.

“Taking photos with the sign?” Jiang Feng hadn’t noticed at all. “They were probably just taking selfies. Our restaurant has been open for more than a year; it’s not like people think it’s a scenic spot to take pictures with.”

Wu Minqi was still unsure; it was her first time seeing people take photos with the sign at Taifeng Building: “Maybe I saw it wrong. Fengfeng, how many servings of the pure meat wontons are you preparing to make today?”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

“500 servings!”

Since the pure meat wontons were priced so cheaply at one yuan each, the program team was worried that Taifeng Building would use such low prices to inflate their sales. After a fierce debate during the price tug-of-war last night with Mrs. Wang Xiulian and the program team, the non-limited price for the pure meat wontons was set at an exorbitantly high five yuan each—a price that one would feel is extortionate upon seeing and downright heartless after eating.

To prevent Taifeng Building from artificially inflating sales, especially since selling wontons one by one could easily inflate the numbers, Liu Qian alone could eat a thousand in one day, the non-limited pure meat wontons were in fact limited, with a cap of six per person per meal.

Jiang Feng didn’t mind; with a cap of six per person per meal, he had confidence in the art college students.

He was equally confident in the depths of the art students’ wallets.

Besides preparing a large amount of pure meat wontons, Jiang Feng also asked Zhang Weiyu to cut more yams this morning. The pure meat wontons were popular for being unappetizing, while the sweet and sour yam was popular for being tasty; if the yams weren’t limited, Jiang Feng believed their sales would be off the charts.

But perhaps not that off the charts since the non-limited sweet and sour yam was priced at one hundred and eighteen yuan per serving—an exorbitant price that would likely deter many customers.

The more expensive the price, the worse the taste felt, and Jiang Feng was starting to feel more and more like a heartless capitalist.

Being a capitalist felt great!

Jiang Feng was busy all morning in the kitchen and didn’t notice that the number of cameramen stationed there had been reduced from two to one.

Due to the overwhelming online reputation, the program team realized that when the storyline wasn’t strong, lacking emotional or humorous elements, they could rely on the food itself to fill the gap.

The dishes in the kitchen had already been filmed by various other restaurant cameramen last week; to film and broadcast them again would feel clichéd. This week, the program team decided to take a different approach by focusing on capturing the guests’ reactions and evaluations, particularly highlighting their expressions and feedback while eating.

Last week, the program team had barely captured any footage of the guests, mainly to avoid exposing the fact that the restaurant was recording a variety show, which could lead to artificially inflated competition results. Now that the first episode had aired, there was no fear of exposure, and the program team believed the other restaurants would think twice before engaging in any underhanded tactics after seeing what happened with Eight Immortals Restaurant.

When it came to issues of likeness rights, the program’s photographers would communicate with the guests; if any guest disagreed, they wouldn’t film.

Of course, this communication would involve a translator.

The unnecessary production cost increased again.

That was why this program was always short on money.

This time, all the cameramen received the task to capture the guests’ reactions and expressions well, preferably catching those moments that could be a highlight.

The other groups’ cameramen found it quite challenging and silently cursed the foolish director, foolish boss, and foolish leadership multiple times in their minds. How could the guests’ reactions be explosive? Were they expected to capture crying and laughing?

Could it really be that people might start crying out of nowhere while eating, or suddenly jump up and yell, “This is so delicious, I love the chef!”

The videographers in charge of Taifeng Building would tell them that the latter might not happen, but the former really has.

God knows how much they wanted to grab their cameras and rush out last week.

Now, their chance for promotion and a raise had arrived.

The three videographers outside the kitchen exchanged glances without a word, knowing exactly what they needed to film at lunch today.

Wontons!

At eleven-twenty, Taifeng Building was as packed as usual, the lobby filled with an assortment of characters who were clearly from the art world and art school students. If there had to be one difference, it would be the addition of three very conspicuous cameramen in the lobby.

Although the online reality show had good reviews, not many people watched it, with only four million views by eight o’clock this morning. Not many of the diners had seen the show. Seeing three professional-looking and non-local cameramen in the lobby, many guests couldn’t restrain their curiosity and began asking the waitstaff what exactly was going on.

Then the waitstaff told them that Taifeng Building was filming a reality show and that these were the videographers for external shots.

The guests suddenly became interested, “Filming a reality show? Are there any celebrities? Who’s here, where are they?”

The waitstaff could only respond with a smile, “No celebrities, just a few of our chefs are filming a reality show.”

The guests looked disappointed: “I thought there were celebrities, maybe I could get an autograph or something. What you said must be a documentary, not a reality show.”

Waitstaff: …

Many guests had this reaction. Some said they didn’t mind being filmed and even actively asked to be on camera, while others did mind. The waitstaff informed the cameramen of those who were uncomfortable, asking them to film carefully and avoid those people.

At a table by the window in Section A, two female diners were excitedly observing the cameramen moving around the edge of the lobby.

“Yufang, there really are cameramen, you were right. They are still filming this show.”

“I told you it’s this place. Every day we pass by, and you still didn’t believe me. Chen Qi, you really need to get a new pair of glasses.”

If Wu Minqi were in the lobby right now, she’d certainly recognize these two as the women who were taking selfies in front of Taifeng Building’s sign this morning.

“Who would’ve thought, the place we pass by every morning on the way to work is filming a reality show,” Chen Qi said in amazement, “and it’s not doing well.”

“But why did we come here for lunch today? It’s so unusual to get time off, and you dragged me out of bed early when I wanted to sleep in. I checked online; the food here is expensive. If we really want to have a good meal, it could cost us half a month’s salary,” said the girl named Yufang, still feeling pained about the cost, “We should just order some of the cheaper dishes.”

“Order whatever you want; I mainly came for the ‘Ding Lake’s Supreme Vegetarian Delight.’ I’ve been dying to try it since I watched the reality show last night. Let me tell you, the last time I went on a business trip to Hong Kong City with the manager, the clients took us to eat at a very fancy restaurant. I forget the name, but it served Cantonese cuisine, and it had this dish. Wow, the taste was out of this world.”

“Must be nice to be rich!”

Yufang laughed, “It’s just a vegetarian dish, how good could it possibly be? Eight-treasure House and Yonghe House are also in Beiping. I think the dish made by Master Tong from Eight-treasure House, the ‘Crispy Double Delight,’ looks very tasty. Let’s go eat there this Saturday.”

“Okay,” agreed Chen Qi. “I also want to try the pastries made by Master Zheng. Wow, his hands are just so good-looking.”

“I think in terms of good looks, it’s still the blonde hunk in the back kitchen of Taifeng who wins. It’s a pity the kitchen isn’t open plan. Why don’t they make it open plan?”

Chen Qi and Yufang discussed the variety show they watched the previous evening while ordering dishes, quickly selecting what they wanted to eat.

Vegetarian Delights at Ding Lake, Scallion Exploded Lamb, Mapo Tofu, and Pure Meat Wontons.

At 11:30 AM sharp, the Taifeng Building’s dish-snatching contest officially began.

Today’s participants were as excellent as ever, and in almost one second, the limited Sweet and Sour Yams and Pure Meat Wontons were sold out, vividly teaching Chen Qi and Yufang a lesson on how hand speed determines destiny.

“No more wontons,” Chen Qi realized that the Pure Meat Wontons were sold out only when she tried to place her order.

“That was fast,” Yufang was astonished, “Those wontons must be delicious, no wonder even the non-limited ones are sold at five yuan each. Let’s order a couple to try.”

Chen Qi’s attempt to order two more wontons was on a returnless journey.

Unlike the two newbies with slow hand speeds, the table next to Chen Qi was filled with art school students, and they were among the first to eat the Pure Meat Wontons. After such a long battle, they had developed remarkable hand speed and successfully snatched the limited wontons endowed with a buff.

These professional wonton snatchers would only order wontons at first, and after securing them, they would then order other dishes.

“We finally got them; let’s have something good today. Let’s see if Master Jiang’s dishes can still… Hey, how come there are still wontons?” The guy in charge of ordering was surprised to find that the menu still listed wontons.

“There are still some? Are they different? You must have seen it wrong,” a person from his table leaned over to look.

“No mistake. Look, Pure Meat Wontons, with the same picture. They are also made by Jiang Feng, limited to six per person per meal, just that they are a bit more expensive at five yuan each.”

The neighboring patrons urged him, “Hurry up and order, isn’t it just five yuan each? There are four of us, four times six… Twenty-four! Order the maximum twenty-four wontons.”

The guy hurriedly placed the order.

The other tables had pretty much the same reaction, those who snatched the wontons thought the more the better, and those who missed out felt it was a delightful surprise.

In no time, orders for the wontons floated into the kitchen like snowflakes. If Jiang Feng hadn’t prepared adequately with five hundred wontons, it wouldn’t have been enough.

As Jiang Feng made the wontons, he estimated that he would need to prepare more for the afternoon, with another wave of customers expected in the evening.

The wontons with buffs were cooked separately from those without, mainly because Jiang Feng didn’t want to mix them up. Although the ingredients and technique were the same—both dreadfully bad, looking unappetizing, haphazard, disrespectful, and highly deserving of complaints and bad reviews—the difference between those with buffs and without was immense.

Bad taste also varied, from the soulful bad to the soulless bad.

By the time the first batch of wontons was served, the cam operators in the lobby were ready.

They lifted their cameras, steadying their aim on the customers who agreed to be filmed and consented to close-up shots of their faces, those who had snatched the limited Pure Meat Wontons.

In fact, the cameramen didn’t quite understand the difference between limited and unlimited, they simply thought the limited ones were more worthy of being filmed.

It turned out their intuition was right.

The customers who got the wontons excitedly held up their bowls, and under the camera, they opened their mouths in bliss.

The spoon moved.

The wonton was brought to the mouth.

Enveloped in one bite.

Almost simultaneously, expressions shifted from bliss to sadness, from sadness to agony, yet within this agony, there was a twisted sense of pleasure and excitement.

If it weren’t for witnessing it themselves, the cameramen would never have believed such complex and baffling expressions could exist in the world.

Big tears jumped from their eyes, soon forming a stream, swishing down their cheeks, flowing and flowing.

The cameraman’s hands trembled with excitement; he knew his chance for promotion and a raise had arrived.

If this footage didn’t work, he would go back and smash the director’s head with the camera!

“I’ve found the feeling, I’ve lost the feeling, that’s right, it’s finally right!” Someone at the table suddenly cried out excitedly, standing up from his chair in his agitation, his tears nonstop even amid the thrill.

To such seemingly insane behavior, the surrounding patrons didn’t bat an eye, continuing with their meals and drinks, and some even looked on with envy.

While crying profusely, they were jubilant and exuberant; their expressions distorted, their bodies animated.

If this were a movie, and these performances didn’t earn an Oscar, it would be the biggest scandal in the show’s history.

His excitement made those beside him even sadder, their sorrowful tears piercing their hearts as they mournfully queried, “Why haven’t I found the feeling? Is my painting really inadequate?”

“Could it be that I’m truly not good enough? Could I really be fearless in the face of inspiration?”

After speaking, they sobbed uncontrollably on the table for nearly two and a half minutes before suddenly lifting their heads, the crying having stopped, though their faces still bore tear streaks.

The cameraman quickly turned the lens on him, capturing a close-up of his facial expressions; indeed, this guy did not disappoint.

He picked up his bowl and finished the soup in one go, and as soon as he did, tears flowed again along the previous streaks. But feeling it wasn’t enough, that the sensation hadn’t come, he snatched the soup from the person next to him and gulped it down too.

Chen Qi and Yufang at the next table were dumbfounded.

They felt that coming to this restaurant today might have been a mistake.

It was terrifying, not because the person next to them had suddenly changed this way, but because no one except them found it strange that he had.

Chen Qi shivered, swallowing salivasy with a trembling voice, “Yufang, do you think it’s them who are abnormal, or could it be that just now, that, bowl of wontons wasn’t normal?”

Chen Qi even stammered as she spoke.

Yufang shivered as well.

“I think they’re all abnormal, the cameraman most of all,” she said.