CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57: MOUTHWATERING CHICKEN GOES VIRAL!

Just past noon, a new post quietly appeared in the "Campus Topic" section of the campus forum.

The poster, who had previously stirred up the "Soup Dumpling Betting Game" on the forum, was the notorious "Lao Glutton," with a striking title:

"A New Way to Eat Sichuan Mouthwatering Chicken: Truly Irresistible!"

In the post, the poster "Lao Glutton" went on extensively, writing about the origins and anecdotes of Sichuan mouthwatering chicken, all the way to its specific ingredients and preparation methods.

He then used a large portion of the post to share his personal experience tasting mouthwatering chicken, with such detailed wording that readers couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

At the end of the post, he wrote:

"In the second dining hall, most students order mouthwatering chicken as a dish to go with soup dumplings. I’ve tried this method too; it’s indeed delicious but has a shortcoming.

That is, the spicy taste of the mouthwatering chicken can mask the freshness of the soup dumplings, while the rich broth of the dumplings can dilute the spicy flavor of the mouthwatering chicken.

Some students also have it with beer. Well, I must say, that’s indeed a good way to enjoy it, but students still have classes to attend, and during school time, it’s best to avoid drinking alcohol. It’s not a good habit.

Today, I’m going to share with you a new way to eat mouthwatering chicken that I discovered myself.

This new way might have been tried by some out there, but in the second dining hall, I haven’t seen anyone eat it like this before.

This new eating method is: mouthwatering chicken over rice!

Get a steaming bowl of rice from the fast-food window at the dining hall, then pour the mouthwatering chicken along with its red oil sauce into the rice, give it a little stir...

Every single grain of rice is coated in the red oil sauce. Take a bite, and the aroma of the rice melds with the freshness of the chicken soup and the spiciness of the sauce, continuously stimulating your taste buds. The feeling is as if you’re ascending to immortality!

With this method, I can eat three bowls in one sitting; it’s truly irresistible!"

The moment this post was published, it immediately skyrocketed to the trending list with countless students roaming the campus forums. Within a few minutes, dozens of replies appeared below the post!

"Oh, it’s ’Lao Glutton’ who posted it, then it’s all good~"

"Haha, the poster is such a foodie, analysis complete!"

"I must say, the poster writes really well. I’ve had the fortune to grab mouthwatering chicken once, and the taste was indeed extraordinary, but it seems as though it’s not as delicious as the mouthwatering chicken depicted by the poster..."

"Crap! I didn’t have lunch; why did I click on this out of curiosity?! Now my stomach is growling, and I’m drooling everywhere!"

"What the heck! I thought it was raining just now, looked up and it’s actually the ceiling leaking! Are you upstairs drooling?!"

"Mouthwatering chicken over rice, I truly never thought of eating it this way. Everyone probably thinks that the dumplings from the soup dumpling shop are so good that pairing them with food from other places might ruin their original flavor, right?"

"That’s a valid point! After a while, I’ll line up; tonight, I must grab a serving of mouthwatering chicken and make it into a rice dish just like the poster!"

"Count me in..."

...

"Jiang Family Soup Dumpling" shop.

It was just four o’clock in the afternoon, still some time away from business hours, and Yan Tongtong was meticulously wiping down the window counter with a cloth, while Shen Deqing stood by the sink, washing various vegetables like wood ear fungus, shiitake mushrooms, and tomatoes.

As usual, Jiang Yu was sitting at the kitchen counter, earnestly making soup dumplings. Beside him, Lu Shuwu remained calm, eyes focused on his task.

On the chopping board next to them, stacks of small bamboo steamers were already filled with ready-to-be-cooked dumplings, just waiting to be steamed.

Aside from these few, Hu Zhihai and Li Yue were not in the shop; both had classes in the afternoon and hadn’t had a chance to come over yet.

In fact, lately, Hu Zhihai had started to let go of things here. He was originally a temporary helper, and now that the shop had enough staff, his presence or absence didn’t make much of a difference.

The people in the shop were quietly focused on their work until suddenly, a group of students rushed in through the canteen doors with a clear purpose, heading straight for the soup dumpling shop, giving Yan Tongtong a fright as she was cleaning the counter.

Before she could step aside, she saw the students slow down as soon as they reached the window, lining up one by one as if they had been trained, leaving Yan Tongtong dumbfounded.

A boy at the front of the line saw Yan Tongtong standing there dazed, flashed what he thought was a charming smile, and sweetly asked:

"Miss, what time does the shop open?"

"Five, five-thirty!"

Yan Tongtong suddenly came to her senses and responded instinctively.

Yes, the shop opens at five-thirty, but why are these students lining up so early?

Didn’t they usually come over at four-thirty or five?

The boy solved her confusion:

"I heard mouthwatering chicken over rice is really delicious; we came to queue for mouthwatering chicken!"

Mouthwatering chicken over rice?

Yan Tongtong was stunned again, what kind of way of eating was this?

The shop doesn’t sell rice!

Time flew by quickly, and at five-thirty, 50 servings of mouthwatering chicken sold out immediately. The students who couldn’t get it sighed and settled for soup dumplings and hot and sour soup instead.

Among those who bought the mouthwatering chicken, a few quickly headed to the fast-food window in the canteen with their trays, each just buying one serving of rice, not any other dishes.

The lunch lady was dumbfounded!

In all her years of serving, it was the first time seeing students only buy rice without any dishes...

After getting their rice, the students didn’t waste any time, quickly pouring the mouthwatering chicken from their trays onto the rice, gave it a quick stir, and began devouring it.

As soon as the rice, covered in sauce, hit their mouths, their eyes widened in surprise, and they couldn’t help but exclaim:

"Wow! It’s really delicious!"

"This is divine! Just this rice alone, I can eat till I’m stuffed!"

"It’s indeed tasty, so numbing, spicy, and fragrant! Even rivals the soup dumplings!"

"Mom won’t worry about me being hungry anymore!"

"..."

They exchanged glances, seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes. Without saying much more, they lowered their heads again, devouring one bite of rice with meat after another.

That night, new posts appeared continuously in the campus forum:

"Mouthwatering chicken over rice, the best ever!"

"Another new way to eat mouthwatering chicken: mouthwatering chicken noodles, too good to stop!"

"The newest way to eat mouthwatering chicken..."

...

Mouthwatering chicken, it’s gone viral!!!