Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 56: The Magical Pig Blood Tofu Soup - Repeat Purchases, the Fish Has Taken the Bait!
【What the hell? Frozen turtle jelly? Holy crap, is that even edible?】

I can understand that turtle shells have a lot of collagen, and I can understand that ice syrup is good, but isn't combining the two a bit too much?

[For those who don't understand shaved ice, think of it as fruit shaved ice with a little bit of glutinous rice crumbs added. The difference is that it was supposed to have coconut jelly or popping boba, but now it has turtle jelly added.]

[It sounds delicious, doesn't it? There's a "Bouncing Turtle Soup" in Master Boy, right?]

[Upstairs, you're treating comics like reality? Well, you've really got yourself into this world! There's even a giant cosmic shumai in there, why don't we ever see anyone making it?]

[This shouldn't be criticized indiscriminately; a content creator on Bilibili actually made a video about the "Cosmic Shumai" dish.]

While everyone was discussing their childhood memories, Xia Ming had already poured out the last bit of the King Turtle Chicken from the bucket, then made a bowl of Magical Pig Blood Tofu Soup, then took two bowls of vegetables that had been placed aside, and then quickly ate a bowl of rice.

Competition is competition, but we still need to eat.

Otherwise, how can they survive until the night harvest if they're hungry?
Moreover, he understood that the most crucial thing for the ice cream business was the initial wave of popularity. As long as there were two or three orders being made and two or three customers sitting and waiting, the business could start to snowball.

Especially for these kinds of food streets, no matter how delicious the freshly made shaved ice is, if there are no customers waiting at the door, tourists will start to have doubts.

Older stalls are better off, as they might have a regular customer base. But for a stall like his that's only been open for one day, there's no point in relying on that.

Furthermore, unlike the gimmick of "Overlord Turtle Chicken" or the fragrant aroma of "Pig Blood Tofu Soup," the advantage of "Iced Cream" lies in its ability to spread among passersby and encourage repeat purchases.

As for displaying a few bowls at a special price, it's simply to let people know what you're selling; you don't expect these few bowls of shaved ice to achieve anything significant.

Moreover, ice cream is different from ice cream; it melts very quickly. If no one comes to buy it after Xia Ming finishes his meal, he plans to eat these portions himself.

As it turned out, his idea was quite practical.

The rice in the bowl was all gone, the soup was finished, and only one piece of fish remained uneaten, yet the 2-yuan ice cream still hadn't been sold.

Seeing this, viewers in the live stream started discussing it again.

Sales aren't picking up. The low-priced fast food strategy worked well before, but now that popularity has waned, and they're selling iced drinks that depend on luck, it's tough.

[Yes, they rushed in too aggressively at the beginning. The race lasts 12 hours. They're still too young and only wanted to make a splash. They weren't composed enough.]

[If you ask me, we should sell noodles while they're still hot at lunchtime; we might be able to sell a few more bowls.]

[What are you saying upstairs? The Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef is just one person. He serves the dishes, collects money, and ladles the soup. You might as well give him eight arms!]

[Lunch is like this: many restaurants that specialize in lunch close in the afternoon. It's not just Ice and Fire Chef; Team Three is also starting to have slow sales.]

[The cold-served shrimp from Team Four and the fermented rice wine from Team Five are starting to become popular. It's so hot outside, it's quite refreshing to stroll around in the afternoon and spend some time on a drink.]

Just as Xia Ming finished eating the last piece of fish and was about to clear away the disposable bowls and chopsticks, a boy came running up to his stall from the inner street, panting heavily.

"Phew, boss, you've changed the signs in the hour I've been gone! I ran over and mistook them for yours. I realized halfway there that they were all written on red paper."

The boy wiped his sweat as he spoke and then took out his phone.

"Um, do you still have pork blood and tofu soup? Give me a big bowl."

Xia Ming first put the bowls and chopsticks into a plastic bag, then poured some water to wash his hands, nodding as he did so.

"Okay, just a moment, please sit down, I'll get you some food. Oh, by the way, didn't you have a female companion when you bought your food?"

Upon hearing Xia Ming's words, the boy grabbed a stool from behind and plopped down on it.

"You mean my girlfriend? She's at a hotel. Don't even mention it. We had just checked out of the hostel over there when we were buying takeout. We had lots of bags and bags of stuff. We passed by here and she insisted that the food smelled delicious, so we packed four meat dishes and two vegetable dishes to take back with us."

"Once we got to the hotel, we put our things down, turned on the air conditioning, and started eating. After we finished eating, she insisted that the soup was so delicious that she was craving soup and asked me to come down and buy some."

"When I looked at it, I realized it was only 8 to 900 meters away. I thought it would be a waste to take a taxi, so I ran over. I still have to go back later."

Hearing the boy's words, Xia Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

That's right, he was particularly impressed by the couple because they brought a lot of stuff, so he could understand why they had just moved out of the hostel.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly complaining words the boy utters; you can tell from his expression that he's actually enjoying himself.

However, thinking about the hostel and the fact that he had run over, Xia Ming instantly understood that this guy probably had a limited budget and wanted to spend his money wisely. Otherwise, in this heat, he wouldn't have gone out to buy soup without even using a shared bike. Looking at his sweaty face and remembering the half-eaten Snow King ice cream that the girl had been holding earlier, he narrowed his eyes slightly and then smiled.

"You're so good to your girlfriend."

As he spoke, he turned around, picked out a bowl of ice syrup that wasn't too melted, and handed it to the boy.

"You eat this first, I'll go get you some soup."

The boy waved his hands repeatedly when he saw it was shaved ice.

"No, no, I just want soup."

"Haha, it's free. If you don't eat it, I'll eat it myself."

Upon hearing "free," the boy's eyes flickered slightly, thinking about how he had run all the way and was covered in sweat.
"Thank you, boss! We'll eat here again tonight if we're free!"

Xia Ming nodded slightly, then placed the ice syrup on the table. He then turned around to fetch soup. The boy wiped his sweat with his T-shirt, picked up the ice syrup, scooped up a large spoonful, and put it in his mouth.

Upon first sip, there's a slightly warm, cool sensation. It's understandable, as the ice syrup has been left out for too long, and some melting on the surface is normal.

The boy didn't expect the food to be particularly delicious; he just wanted something that could cool him down.

But as the strange warmth dissipated rapidly, he was immediately struck by the sweet and sour taste of mango, which had the texture of crushed ice and kept assaulting his mouth. Then, with a cool sensation, it flowed down his throat.

Just as he was feeling the frost, he suddenly noticed something jelly-like and a few hard little pieces in his mouth. The boy's first thought was that the former was coconut jelly. He was about to open his mouth to chew when the jelly melted as his tongue trembled slightly.

Unlike the icy coldness of the ice syrup, this jelly had a slightly sour taste, but it was clearly not the sourness of mango. Instead, it was more like the appetizing sourness of plum. After this sour taste, he noticed a faint saltiness.
The boy's throat bobbed, and he felt the flavor explode on his tongue. It wasn't like the chewy texture of coconut jelly, nor the skin-like texture of popping boba. It had a slight feel of herbal jelly, but without any turtle-like aroma. To call it white jelly would be to greatly underestimate the flavor of this frozen treat.

As he searched his mind for the source of the taste, his eyes suddenly widened.

"What...what is this?"

At that moment, he felt as if a colossal creature had appeared above the ice crystals, blowing a breath upon him as he sweltered. Accompanying the cool ice shards and large, granular ice crystals, he felt as if he were dancing in a frigid, air-conditioned room.
With just one bite, the burning sensation subsided considerably, yet the mysterious sour taste still tempted him to take another bite.

One spoonful, two spoonfuls
There wasn't much ice syrup in the small bowl to begin with, and the boy finished it in four or five spoonfuls, not even leaving the melted ice water at the bottom.

After finishing his meal, he exhaled a slightly cool breath, feeling the heat from running dissipate, leaving only a craving for that sour taste on his tongue.

Just then, Xia Ming placed the packaged soup in front of him.

"Okay, here's a big bowl of soup, 10 yuan."

The boy slowly opened his eyes and looked at Xia Ming.

"Boss, what exactly is the frozen part in your shaved ice?"

Hearing the boy's words, Xia Ming blinked.

"First of all, this is called ice cream. Compared to shaved ice, it requires the addition of fresh fruit and coconut milk or milk. Of course, it is also made to order."

"Secondly, the frozen food you're eating is my secret recipe~ You absolutely can't get it anywhere else without me."

The boy glanced at the soup and hesitated for a moment.

"Boss, how much is this ice cream?"

"A sample costs 2 yuan, and a regular cup costs 10 yuan. There are four flavors: mango, strawberry, banana, and watermelon."

Upon hearing Xia Ming's words, the boy paused for a moment, then seemed to have made a decision.

"Boss, wait a moment while I get a ride coupon, then start cooking after I get a car. When you pack it, put extra ice on the outside; I'm taking it to my girlfriend, she'll definitely love it!"

"Oh, by the way, she makes strawberries, she likes to eat strawberries!"

Xia Ming smiled slyly behind his mask as he watched the boy in front of him take out his phone and start searching for the DD Taxi app.

The fish took the bait!
(End of this chapter)