Unit 304, Sunshine Apartment.
Zhou Meimei had just finished a beef noodle takeaway and was boredly playing a match-three game on her phone.
Just as she was about to clear the level, a strange aroma suddenly wafted through the room; it wasn't from the leftover beef noodles on the table.
The rich, savory scent instantly made her feel a little hungry.
Even though she had just finished dinner.
Strange, where was that smell coming from?
As Zhou Meimei pondered, her phone made a sound.
She lost the game.
But she didn't care; all she could think about was the inexplicable aroma that had just wafted over.
It was too enticing.
Zhou Meimei's nose twitched, and she followed the scent out of her room, only to see her roommate eating dinner.
They had lived together for over half a year and were quite familiar with each other.
She walked over and curiously asked, "Hey, Xue Yue, what are you having for dinner? I can smell it from my room; it's even more fragrant than the beef noodles I bought."
Xue Yue, sitting at the dining table, was the second-grade teacher who had packed a braised lion's head from Su's Little Dining Table.
"This is a new Small Restaurant near the kindergarten where I work, right across from the old fried chicken and burger place. The taste is really good; it's top-notch in my opinion!"
"Even the parents of the kids in our class are craving it like crazy."
Xue Yue vividly recounted what happened after work that day to Zhou Meimei, a hint of regret in her eyes as she finished: "It's a shame I spoke too late, otherwise I could have bought that vegetable and shrimp roll too."
"Can I get a meal card at that Small Restaurant you mentioned?" Zhou Meimei continued to ask.
"Probably not."
"They're all for kids..." Xue Yue replied hesitantly, then offered a small piece for Zhou Meimei to try.
Zhou Meimei's eyes immediately lit up; only two words filled her mind: delicious!
Her gaze towards Xue Yue instantly became fervent.
Seeing this, Xue Yue opened her cherry-red mouth and, under Zhou Meimei's wolf-like gaze, quickly gobbled down the last bit of the braised lion's head in two or three bites.
She then shoveled several mouthfuls of rice with her chopsticks, finishing the entire meal in the takeaway box before stopping.
Then, she let out a satisfied burp, a smile playing on her lips.
This blissful sight directly stimulated Zhou Meimei.
She swallowed, secretly noted the location, pulled out her phone, and ordered from another Small Restaurant that was supposedly the highest-rated nearby.
It also sold braised lion's head, for twenty-two yuan a portion.
Although the taste might not be the same, what if it was good?
She had already had her appetite whetted by Xue Yue's meal, and she simply couldn't bear not to eat.
She had to take a gamble.
After placing the order and seeing that the merchant had accepted it on the app, Zhou Meimei finally put away her phone with relief and then asked, "Oh, right, since your portion tastes so good, it must not be cheap, right?"
"No, it was only sixteen yuan, and the price is quite good."
"And you smelled it yourself, it's incredibly fragrant."
"Actually, my meal just now not only had braised lion's head but also some baby bok choy drenched in sauce."
"It was so crisp and delicious, with the fresh scent of vegetables and the meaty aroma of the braised lion's head filling my mouth."
"The rice was also plump and shiny, just the right softness, and even with just the sauce, it was absolutely amazing."
"And..."
Listening to Xue Yue, Zhou Meimei felt her stomach grow even hungrier.
"Alright, alright, stop talking! If you keep going, I won't be able to sleep tonight."
She quickly interrupted Xue Yue before she could finish, decisively stating, "Tomorrow, I'm going to try that Small Restaurant you mentioned and see if it's really as exaggeratedly delicious as you say."
"Sure, if you can't find the place then, you can call me, and I'll take you to buy it!" Xue Yue said with a grin.
Anyway, she hadn't had enough braised lion's head yet, and she still wanted to try that vegetable and shrimp roll.
...
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang outside Unit 304, Sunshine Apartment.
Ding-dong—Ding-dong—
Zhou Meimei opened the door and took the steaming hot braised lion's head.
As soon as she opened the takeaway box, she noticed something was off.
The aroma simply couldn't compare to the one from Xue Yue's portion earlier.
Even the presentation wasn't very good.
The stewed meatballs were quite large, but when poked with chopsticks, they felt a bit loose, and the color on the outside wasn't as appealing as Xue Yue's portion, appearing somewhat dull.
Maybe the taste is good.
We can't judge a book by its cover.
Zhou Meimei comforted herself with a couple of sentences, then picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.
The next second, she heard spitting sounds.
It felt very loose in her mouth, not firm at all, and there was no meaty flavor.
It was a world of difference from the bite she had from Xue Yue's portion earlier.
"What the hell is this?"
Her appetite was instantly gone.
And what highest-rated Small Restaurant? It was disgustingly bad.
Not only did the taste not compare to Su's Little Dining Table, but the price didn't either.
Impulse is the devil.
She wasted over twenty yuan.
How could this be called a good Small Restaurant, with such a high rating? It was utterly ridiculous.
Bad review, must give a bad review!
In a fit of anger, Zhou Meimei threw the disposable chopsticks into the bag, pulled out her phone, and furiously typed out a long message.
Because she frequently ordered on the takeaway app, she was considered a VIP customer on the platform.
The platform automatically recognized this negative review and directly processed a refund for Zhou Meimei.
Looking at the twenty-two yuan refund that had automatically arrived, Zhou Meimei irritably ran her fingers through her hair and threw the received takeaway directly into the trash can.
Out of sight, out of mind.
...
Meanwhile, Lin Dadong, who had been busy all day, was tidying up the kitchen when he heard a voice message automatically play on his phone.
"You have a new negative review; please check and handle it promptly."
???
Negative review?
Lin Dadong didn't even bother wiping the counter; he just wiped the water from his hands on his apron and opened the app on his phone to check.
It turned out that the last takeaway order had received a negative review.
He had been in the catering business for several years, and although his skills weren't as good as a hotel chef's, they were still quite good.
He had built up a good reputation and a lot of repeat customers.
He never thought someone would find his food unpalatable.
"Not fragrant enough?"
What kind of review was that?
"And the sauce color is wrong? The stewed meatballs..."
Lin Dadong looked at the lengthy review, nearly a hundred words long, and almost laughed in anger.
They even suspected he wasn't using good meat.
It was truly infuriating.
The ingredients he used every day were carefully selected and bought by him at the market early in the morning; he only used high-quality pork belly.
You could say it wasn't delicious enough, but it was certainly not to the point of being unpalatable.
Lin Dadong had never seen such a disheartening review, and suddenly, he lost all desire to work.
He opened the order details, found the customer's phone number, and called.
After a few beeps, the call connected.
It was a female voice.
Lin Dadong suppressed his anger and began, "Hello, customer, I am the owner of Delicious Restaurant. I wanted to ask about the braised lion's head you just ordered..."
However, before he could finish speaking, the call was hung up.
When he tried to call back, he had already been blocked.
???
Fuming, Lin Dadong had no choice but to re-read the review carefully, and suddenly noticed it mentioned a Small Restaurant called Su's Little Dining Table.
The other party praised that Small Restaurant as if it were unmatched, a stark contrast to the review of his own Small Restaurant.
Several old customers had their attention drawn by this review and were asking questions below.
"Hmph, I'll have to see if it's really that delicious."
Lin Dadong secretly vowed, noting down the address mentioned in the replies.