Two other contestants were shopkeepers from different restaurants. Although their businesses weren’t as big as Fuman Building, they too wanted to taste this peculiar dish, and of course, they belonged to the skeptical faction.
With ten contestants ready, Shopkeeper Liu cracked a smile and said, "Ready, start," and thus, the competition began.
The first to pick up and eat was the companion of the man. Seeing how heartily he indulged, San Er’s last bit of doubt vanished, and he hurriedly grabbed some and stuffed it into his mouth. To his surprise, it tasted unexpectedly good! San Er didn’t even have time to nod at Ma Junying and his sister before he eagerly continued eating one piece after another.
The two shopkeepers from the other restaurants, however, were much more refined. After all, they stepped up to the challenge merely to try the dish, not for the several dozen taels of silver.
They exchanged glances, then each used chopsticks to pick up a piece of stinky tofu. First crinkling their noses, they sniffed at it—oh, how stinky it was, nearly causing them to toss their chopsticks away!
Bearing the stench, they finally opened their mouths and gently took a careful nibble, closing their eyes to chew and savor the flavor thoroughly.
As expected, both widened their eyes upon tasting it, seeing the word "delicious" written all over each other’s faces.
Up on the second floor, Lin Yuan sat calmly as if fishing, musing that stinky tofu could only be considered a snack. It had a unique flavor and was divisive among those who liked or disliked it but once one overcame the initial fear of its smell, most people tended to enjoy its taste. Especially the crust of the tofu after being fried was very tasty.
Once you take the first bite, the rest was easy. In a short while during the competition, someone raised their hand, and predictably, the three who came with the man ate the fastest. While San Er also ate quickly, he began a slight moment behind these three, and that small margin decided the ranking of the top three.
Shopkeeper Liu cheerfully distributed the silver to the three of them and then asked each to share their thoughts on the flavor of the stinky tofu. The other seven contestants were also inquired about their experiences after tasting the stinky tofu.
The two shopkeepers from the rival restaurants sincerely admired it, acknowledging they couldn’t have created such a novelty. What impressed them even more was the Owner of Fuman Building’s ingenious strategy of releasing a new product in such a manner. It seemed that many would soon be following Fuman Building’s example.
Having not secured a top-three spot, San Er returned, disheartened, clutching a box of glutinous rice balls.
Ma Junying was inwardly amused, though she maintained a straight face. She rapped him on the forehead and scolded, "What’s this? Haven’t I been paying you a salary? You’re nearly crying over those few dozen taels of silver!"
San Er bit his lip, "This servant... this servant hoped to earn that reward silver to marry Cuicui! Sob, Master, my wife’s savings are gone, sob, all gone."
Ma Junying frowned, somewhat baffled.
Ma Xiaonan, however, couldn’t help but laugh, "Don’t be shameless; with you crying , watch out or Cuicui might look down on you!"
At this, San Er’s crying abruptly halted, leaving Ma Junying dumbfounded. He knew his young servant loved to joke around but hadn’t realized he was also a master at quickly managing his emotions. From now on, he would have to harden his heart against his servant’s tears.
After the competition, another ten people proclaimed stinky tofu delicious, leaving the rest of the crowd with their appetites whetted, eager to try the foul-smelling yet delicious dish.
Seeing the perfect opportunity, Shopkeeper Liu announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the newest dish of Fuman Building. As you all have seen and tasted, despite its somewhat off-putting aroma, the flavor is exceptionally delicious. This goes to show that, just like people, one should not judge solely by appearance. To get back to the point, our Fuman Building’s new dish is made from tofu, hence it has been aptly named ’stinky tofu.’ Starting today, stinky tofu will be on sale in our restaurant, and we welcome everyone to come and try it."
"Furthermore, to give everyone a chance to quickly taste for themselves, Fuman Building has specially prepared samples. We invite any interested guests to go to our young servants and try some."
As Shopkeeper Liu’s words ended, immediately twenty uniformed young servants emerged from the doors of Fuman Building. They all uniformly carried small trays, each with two large bowls on them. These bowls were filled with steaming stinky tofu but in comparison to the tofu on the stage, these servings were about half the size.