I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 360
Chapter 360: Hello! Stranger
The “Ga Mian Pian (hand-ripped noodles)” at this small county’s breakfast shop gives me a very “wild” feeling.
I don’t know exactly how to describe this taste. If the exquisite snacks in cafés are like young ladies raised in wealthy families, then the dishes here are like wild girls growing up on the African savanna.
Without a doubt, this pasta is purely handmade. I watched the shop owner make it piece by piece at an astonishing speed.
First, the kneaded dough is cut into small pieces, then using some technique, it is pinched into thin slices, somewhat resembling potato chips or prawn crackers. These slices are then placed into the prepared soup to cook.
Especially the flavor of this soup… it’s umami and spicy. I couldn’t pinpoint all the seasonings in one bite, but it perfectly matches the impression the prairie gives me.
Especially having this for breakfast, it feels like my whole mood is transported to a vast, sparsely populated plateau, with visions of mountains and snowfields, and hardworking people herding cattle and sheep on the prairie.
Besides Ga Mian Pian, the lamb soup here is genuinely delicious.
I don’t know if it’s because I currently prefer meat or if the lamb here is really well-prepared, but this five-yuan bowl of lamb soup is not only flavorful without any gaminess, but it’s also packed with an absurd amount of lamb. It feels like the same quality in a big city like Shenzhen City would start at least ten yuan.
Besides these, Xiao Mo and I also bought beef jerky and milk tablets from the shop, which I truly love as well. The shop owner generously let us sample them and jokingly said, “If you don’t buy more, pretty girls like you probably can’t go back.”
Like the lamb soup, the beef jerky and milk tablets here are also very affordable and good quality. For just a few dozen yuan, you can buy a large amount. The cheerful demeanor of the shop owner and his wife also gave me an impression of the local people’s honesty and hospitality.
Before coming, I checked online that in such high-altitude regions, the main meats are usually beef or lamb, especially beef. The cattle here are considered the ultimate “labor models”.
Their milk can be drunk after boiling, made into cream, butter, or milk tablets, and the beef can be air-dried and preserved for a long time. Combined with the local craftsmanship, it perfectly suits the food needs for Xiao Mo and me during our travels.
In addition to the beef and milk tablets, we also bought something called “Dog Pee” from this shop.
The name might not sound appealing, but it tastes quite good.
It’s a type of golden pastry—at least I liked it a lot. Personally, I think it’s more suitable for breakfast than Ga Mian Pian, which might be better suited for lunch or afternoon tea.
“Is that all we need?”
After happily having breakfast with Xiao Mo at this small county’s snack shop and buying quite a few local specialties, the shop owner generously gave us several qingke (highland barley) cakes when we were checking out.
“Are you traveling around here? Recently, fewer tourists have been coming, and there are fewer vehicles. If you plan to explore around, you might have to walk.”
This is probably one of the benefits of buying local specialties in a small county. This place, where the dart landed on the map, is a very remote tourist spot, which might not even be considered a tourist spot since no tour groups would choose it as a destination. Therefore, the locals haven’t developed a tourism industry here.
According to the shop owner, “travelers” like us only show up two or three times a month.
The advantage of not having many influencers or travelers is that the locals don’t change their work and living habits for this phenomenon, and there’s no severe price gouging. Many things maintain their local flavor and prices.
A long time ago, I read online advice for those who love traveling, saying that if you really want to experience local culture, don’t go to those popular tourist spots. The food is expensive and not tasty, forming a specific industry chain.
Merchants flock to those big spots, set up a few local food stands, and sell at high prices to unsuspecting tourists. Smaller spots don’t have such issues, and everything retains its authentic flavor.
Today, I truly experienced this feeling, as the food at this breakfast shop was incredibly cheap.
Not to mention anything else, but with this beef jerky, if Xiao Mo and I take it back to the café, we could easily sell it at double the price.
“Thank you.”
Seeing that we got such a large amount of food for just a few dozen yuan, I expressed my gratitude to the shop owner and carefully placed the food into my rabbit backpack.
“Where are you planning to go next? Do you have a car?”
While talking, the shop owner discreetly glanced at the three men who were sitting at the table next to us when we were eating.
“Earlier, I saw several men accompanying you when you came in. Consider those cakes on the house.”
Men accompanying us outside earlier?
The shop owner’s words left me stunned for a few seconds before I realized—he was trying to protect us.
Just like Xiao Mo mentioned, the three men at the next table were giving us strange looks during breakfast.
The shop owner must have noticed this and was loudly hinting to those men, misleading them to think that we had male companions with us to deter any misbehavior.
Come to think of it, Xiao Mo and I do look out of place here.
This shop has been around for quite some time, with many items showing signs of age. The shop owner and his wife are older, probably in their forties or fifties. Many customers were dressed quite conservatively, whereas Xiao Mo and I were both wearing dresses.
It feels like… in a single-player game, the protagonist buys a cute Lolita dress or sailor outfit and then goes out monster hunting with the local villagers.
“Thank you.”
I might not have caught on immediately, but Xiao Mo wasn’t as slow to react. She accepted the small gift from the shop owner and nodded, “We’re just here to wander around.”
“That’s good, haha.”
The shop owner nodded, “Have fun, girls.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I took Xiao Mo’s hand, “Let’s go!”
As we stepped out of the shop, the sky had completely brightened, and the streets were now filled with people. There were elderly folks jogging, kids with schoolbags running to school, and some ordinary office workers.
However, compared to Shenzhen City, this small county felt incredibly spacious and empty. People here either walked or rode very old bicycles, with hardly any cars and no buses at all. The large county was particularly quiet, creating a very unique experience.
“They don’t seem to have given up.”
After walking for a while on the small county roads with Xiao Mo, she leaned in and signaled toward the three men trailing us from a distance.
“Eh?”
I was puzzled, “What do they want?”
To be honest, I’m somewhat face-blind, especially when it comes to men who dress in nondescript, ordinary clothing. I can hardly remember their faces.
“Maybe they want money, or perhaps…”
Xiao Mo hesitated for a moment and then took a deck of cards from her backpack, “I just don’t think they mean well.”
Seeing the deck of cards, I was curious, “What are you planning to do with those?”
“I don’t like being passive. Rather than walking to an isolated place and getting ambushed by these guys…”
Xiao Mo casually drew a few cards from the deck, holding them between her fingers.
“We might as well confront them first.”
“……”
……