I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

"Vegetarian? Really vegetarian?"

Yu Shen couldn't help but poke the top piece of meat in the 'meat tower' with his chopsticks.

The moment the tip of his chopsticks touched the deep reddish-brown skin, the piece of meat trembled and wobbled slightly, like a jelly. He then picked up a piece and smelled it; the aroma of the sauce was rich, the meat was irresistible, and there was a faint, almost imperceptible, scent of roses.

"You're telling me this is a winter melon?"

"This is clearly braised pork belly! Look at the texture, the layers of pork belly, the jiggling collagen! Can a winter melon look like this? Does it even deserve it?!"

Cha Xiaochai and Pang Yi nodded at the same time: "If this were winter melon, I would eat the whole plate. This is clearly pork belly."

Li Zhibai shrugged: "If you don't believe me, you can order another serving of real braised pork and compare them. Put the real meat and the vegetarian meat side by side, and you can compare them yourselves."

Yu Shen and the others quickly refused, saying, "Then forget it."

Damn it, Li Heizi is trying to trick them again, but they're not falling for it.

Lu Qianshan had already expressed his doubts through his actions. He picked up a piece of meat, blew on it, put it in his mouth, and slowly savored it.

A moment later, his eyes snapped open, his expression one of disbelief.

Holy crap!

"What's wrong, Lao Lu? Is it meat? Did he trick us?" Yu Shen asked hurriedly.

Lu Qianshan shook his head: "What the boss said is true, it is winter melon."

"What?"

"It really is a winter melon."

"Yes! The taste is almost indistinguishable from real braised pork, just a little lighter and without the heaviness of animal fat. But it has all the flavors of meat and sauce, and if you look closely, the fibers are indeed the fibrous structure of winter melon, not animal muscle fibers."

"Impossible!" Yu Shen stuffed the piece of meat he had picked up into his mouth; he wanted to verify it himself.

As he chewed, he gradually fell into self-doubt.

Honestly, if Li Zhibai hadn't reminded him beforehand, and if Lu Qianshan hadn't confirmed it, he wouldn't have thought it was made from winter melon at all.

The taste of this stuff was almost exactly the same as the braised pork he had eaten before.

The four of them finally accepted the fact that this was braised pork made from a piece of winter melon, and were deeply impressed by Li Zhibai's culinary skills.

That's amazing! They can make vegetarian winter melon look just like the real thing!

They immediately began to feel sorry for him.

"I spent 139 yuan to eat a piece of winter melon."

"To correct you, these are over a hundred pieces of winter melon, with a total price of nearly 20,000 yuan."

"Li Heizi is simply a genius!"

"..."

Just then, the wind chimes at the shop entrance rang.

Grandpa Huo strolled in slowly, his hands behind his back. As soon as he entered, he saw Yu Shen's table, or more precisely, the meat tower that was nearly half a meter tall, and he was quite surprised.

"Whoa!"

"Young people have such good appetites! They eat so much!"

The four people: "..."

"Sir, you have no idea how much we suffer!"

"We didn't have a good appetite, we were just fed like pigs by Li Heizi. We only ordered one serving, who knew it would be this big?"

Grandpa Huo also came to their table, looked at the meat tower that was arranged very neatly and impressively, and clicked his tongue and said, "This young boss's skills are really good. Look how neatly this tower is stacked, piece by piece, and it won't collapse."

"Grandpa, is this the time to praise him? The four of us got ripped off by him again today, even though we've already taken our underwear."

Grandpa Huo: "You young people are too complicated. Eating well and being happy is the most important thing. Money can be earned back after it's spent. Nothing is more important than being happy."

Yu Shen and the others curled their lips upon hearing this.

Sir, you really have it easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering.

However, to be fair, the old man really couldn't empathize with them, because he was the only customer in the shop who wasn't afraid of being ripped off by Li Heizi.

The reason is simple: the old man has his age as a shield.

Even if Li Heizi is incredibly ruthless, would he dare serve a whole pot of braised pork to a seventy-year-old man? Would he dare?

If the old man develops high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high blood sugar from eating this, or if something bad happens to him and he dies at his shop, then he'll be in trouble.

This is also the main reason why Li Heizi only dared to serve Grandpa Huo a maximum of ten pieces of meat each time he came, and never went too far.

Unlike them, who get slaughtered like lambs every day just for eating out, it makes me angry just thinking about it.

……

"Boss, same old rules, just give me whatever you want." Huo Wang didn't even look at the menu, and shouted directly towards the kitchen.

"Alright, sir, I'll arrange it right away!" Li Zhibai replied from the kitchen.

The four of them felt even more envious.

Look at this treatment they get! Now that's what you call a proper meal!

The old man didn't even need to look at the menu when he walked in; he just asked the owner to arrange what he wanted to eat, and he didn't have to worry about being ripped off.

They're both diners, so why is there such a big difference?

Just then, a thought suddenly struck Yu Shen. He stood up and went to Huo Wang, saying, "Sir, how about we make a bet with you?"

Huo Wang immediately became interested and asked curiously, "Oh? What do you want to bet on?"

Yu Shen pointed to the braised pork on their table: "Let's bet on whether Li Heizi served you a plate or a pot of braised pork today. If it's a pot, you treat the four of us to this meal; if it's a plate, the four of us treat you. How about it?"

Although Huo Wang didn't know why they wanted to bet with him, he still shook his head: "That's definitely not going to work. If I lose, I'll treat all four of you, and if you lose, you'll treat me. No matter how you look at it, I'm losing."

"I won't gamble unless you treat me to four meals."

Yu Shen gritted his teeth and agreed: "Fine! Four meals it is!"

Grandpa Huo was somewhat surprised by his straightforwardness.

He just said it casually, and these kids actually agreed. What are they up to?

However, upon further reflection, he realized that he was a shoo-in for victory in this game.

At his age, a man in his seventies, would the young owner really dare to serve him a pot of braised pork? If he gets sick from eating at the restaurant, would the young owner still be able to keep the business running?

These kids are too young. They're only thinking about how to trick him, but they've overlooked the most fundamental problem.

"Alright, I'll take the gamble. I want to see if the young boss will give this old man special treatment today."

"Deal! Sir, you can't go back on your word!" Yu Shen quickly finalized the bet.

A gentleman's word is as good as his bond!

Not long after.

Li Zhibai came out carrying a large blue-and-white porcelain bowl, which was filled to the brim with what looked like glistening, reddish-brown braised pork.

"Grandpa, your braised pork is here!" He slammed the large bowl down on the table.

Huo Wang: "..."

Huo Wang looked at the large bowl of braised pork in front of him and asked Li Zhibai, "Boss, did you bring the wrong amount? Is this the right portion?"

Li Zhibai smiled and said, "Grandpa, I've noticed you always hesitate to eat too much, saying you're worried about high cholesterol and high blood pressure. So today I've specially increased the portion for you. Don't worry, this dish is low in fat and cholesterol-free, so even if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high blood sugar, you can eat as much as you want!"

Huo Wang: "???"

Low-fat? Zero cholesterol? Do you think I believe that?

The four people next to them were laughing hysterically.

"Hahahaha! Sir! You lost! A whole pot! It really is a whole pot!"

"A bet's a bet, sir! This meal's on you!"

"Sir, you're just like us today! Welcome to the rip-off club!"

"..."

Huo Wang looked again at the enormous bowl of braised pork in front of him, then at the laughing young people beside him, and asked again, "Young boss, tell me the truth, did you conspire with these kids? Don't you know I can't eat too much meat?"

Before Li Zhibai could explain, Yu Shen preemptively revealed the answer: "Grandpa, this isn't braised pork, it's winter melon!"

"Winter melon?" Huo Wang was stunned.

"Yes! It's completely vegan, made with winter melon! It's a new item today." Yu Shen pointed to the 'meat tower' in front of him: "Our plate is the same. It looks exactly like braised pork, and it tastes similar too, but it's actually made with winter melon."

Huo Wang picked up his chopsticks with some skepticism, picked up a piece of meat, and held it up to his eyes to examine it carefully.

The texture, color, and even the translucent gelatinous texture of the skin were so lifelike that he couldn't tell it was made from a winter melon.

Then he blew on the steam, took a small bite, and found it soft, chewy, and rich in soy sauce flavor, with a strong meaty aroma.

The taste was almost identical to real braised pork!

Huo Wang's eyes lit up immediately. He devoured the rest of the braised pork in one bite, exclaiming as he ate, "It really is winter melon! Interesting, so interesting!"

He used to worry that eating too much braised pork would cause high cholesterol and high blood pressure, so he never dared to eat too much. Now, what is there to worry about?

Today I can finally have braised pork free!

Seeing that Grandpa Huo was enjoying his meal more and more, the four men reminded him again, "Grandpa, you lost! You have to treat everyone to this meal!"

"What did I lose?" Huo Wang asked.

"It's a bet! We're betting whether the boss will serve you a whole pot or a plate, but this is clearly a whole pot! You lost, so you have to treat everyone!"

Huo Wang chuckled and said, "You guys bet with me whether it's a whole pot or a plate of braised pork, right?"

The four of them nodded in unison: "That's right!"

"Is this braised pork?" Huo Wang pointed to the winter melon chunks in the large bowl.

What the hell!

The old man is trying to cheat!

Yu Shen became anxious: "Grandpa, you can't go back on your word! Although it's made from winter melon, it's called vegetarian braised pork, so it still falls under the category of braised pork."

Huo Wang shook his head and said, "You can't say that. Vegetarian is vegetarian. Vegetarian braised pork isn't braised pork. Just like vegetarian chicken isn't chicken, vegetarian fish isn't fish, there's no wife in wife cake, no husband and wife in husband and wife lung slices, and no Bai Suzhen in Leifeng Pagoda. You're betting on braised pork, and I'm eating winter melon. How can that be the same?"

The four people: "..."

They stared blankly at Grandpa Huo, speechless for a moment.