Chapter 778 - 797: A Comedy of Errors: Mistaking Juju for Xiao Huang
Chapter 778: Chapter 797: A Comedy of Errors: Mistaking Juju for Xiao Huang
But after opening the package, she felt that something was off.
...
’Didn’t they say the packaging was new? Why is it still the old one?’
It looked nice, but... but the original sauce, you couldn’t say it was bad, but for 200 credits compared to the 80-credit Gugu Meat Sauce next door, it just felt like a total rip-off.
’For 200 credits, I could buy two and a half jars of Gugu Meat Sauce. Wouldn’t that be a better deal?’
’Ah, it’s the original packaging. But maybe they just used leftover jars, and the sauce inside is actually the new one?’
Filled with anticipation, she opened the lid. It was completely different from the overwhelming fragrance the original poster had described. It was fragrant, sure, but just a little.
A pool of glistening oil, crab meat, and crab roe—
’Hmm, it’s just okay. Once you’ve had better, this is just average.’
She scooped up a spoonful and tasted it. It was the exact same flavor as before.
’Damn, that original poster... they’re not some kind of marketing account, are they?’
She posted about her experience in Little Cookie’s thread.
Little Cookie: ???
[Impossible.]
[Mine really was new! You... could you have gotten old stock?]
[...But didn’t they sell out before?]
Right. They had sold out. How could something bought during a pre-sale be old stock?
Things were suddenly a bit complicated. But what was more complicated was that after this girl said she had received the original version, many more people popped up, saying they hadn’t received any new version with new packaging either.
The replies of confusion piled up, one after another.
Everyone was completely baffled. Someone even went to the Gourmet Connoisseur Factory’s official account to leave a comment asking what was going on.
They were just as confused.
’Change the recipe? We’re rushing just to make the sauce. Where would we find the time to mess with the recipe?’
Just as everyone was scratching their heads, someone else in the interstellar food community posted a picture of the sauce they received.
It was the exact same crab roe sauce that Little Cookie had shown in her picture!
[You got it too! It’s the improved sauce, right? It’s really savory, isn’t it?]
[I knew I couldn’t be the only one! I really wasn’t lying, I wasn’t just making things up!]
—Yeah, I got it. It’s incredibly savory.
—Way more savory than that other crab roe sauce. @Little Cookie, it leaves the old one a hundred and eighty planets in the dust, right?
[Right!]
—It’s a completely different recipe. Not on the same level at all.
[Right!]
—After eating this, the old one feels completely unpalatable.
—It didn’t bring out the best of the crab at all, did it?
[Right!]
—Super duper delicious! It slays everything else!
[Yes, yes, yes! Especially if you like this kind of flavor! It’s an absolute killer!]
—You’re a fan of that Master Huang, right?
[Yeah! I am!]
[Even though Master Huang is getting older, he’s always improving!]
—Well, little one, I hereby announce that your status as a Little Yellow Man fan has been revoked.
[???]
’Little Yellow Man?’
As a relatively chill student who rarely got involved in drama, Little Cookie knew that "Little Yellow Man" was a derogatory nickname given to Master Huang’s fans by Jiang Qiuqiu’s fans.
’Why is this random person calling me a Little Yellow Man, and... why are they saying my fan status has been revoked?’
—Little one, don’t you look carefully after you get your package?
—Do you know why nobody here received the ’new sauce’?
—Hee hee, because this isn’t your sauce at all!
The user "Eat-eat-eat-nonstop," who was posting this, was about to die from laughter.
—#Image#Image# Little one, look at the bottom of the jar after you receive the sauce. Jiang Qiuqiu • Delicious Factory Crab-Flavored Sauce (Free Gift). This is the free gift you get for purchasing the Delicious Gugu Meat Sauce twice or more, tee hee~~~
[????!!!!?]
...
It was a tragedy for the ages.
Little Cookie was a fan of Master Huang.
Little Cookie received a jar of crab roe sauce.
Little Cookie believed the crab roe sauce was Master Huang’s new, improved product.
She frantically promoted it to every Little Yellow Man in the world, believing the improved sauce was the best on Earth. Her tone was utterly sincere, and the heartfelt essay she wrote for the new crab roe sauce was deeply moving.
With the utmost sincerity, she praised Master Huang’s rapid progress, claiming he’d left his old self a hundred and eighty streets behind and that the old sauce wasn’t even worthy of carrying the new one’s shoes! Her confident tone, the joy overflowing from her pictures, and the conviction between the lines that she had backed the right person made her "Little Yellow Man" fan status shine brightly above her head.
That brightly shining fan status attracted a huge crowd of fellow fans and fans of the rival.
The rival’s fan: Thanks for the invite, little one, but you’ve got the wrong sauce.
Key point: This isn’t the new sauce. This is the sauce the rival gives away for free.
Connecting the dots: "The new sauce leaves the old one a hundred and eighty streets behind" = "The free stuff from the rival tastes better than the stuff you pay for." Master Huang worked hard to improve his recipe (except he didn’t), only to have his recipe get completely demolished.
The entire affair, from start to finish, was full of drama and plot twists.
And it was brimming with comedic irony.
The thread went viral.
At the very least, it exploded in Jiang Qiuqiu’s and Master Huang’s food communities.
Little Cookie was stunned, suffering a social death amidst her bewildered thoughts.
’...What have I done?’
That same afternoon, the thread was reposted on various social media platforms for being "just too hilarious," and then it broke out of its niche.
It was no longer confined to just the "food community."
Little Cookie experienced a further social death.
At the same time, her fan status was indeed revoked.
The Little Yellow Men had initially flocked to her, thinking she was awesome, but after the truth was revealed, some questioned whether she had taken money from Jiang Qiuqiu to stage the whole thing just to attack Master Huang’s new sauce.
Little Cookie, who had originally felt a bit guilty, flared up in anger when she heard this. She argued that she hadn’t taken any money and there were no shady dealings; it was all a coincidence.
They didn’t believe her. "How is that possible? We just think you’re exaggerating. Master Huang’s sauce isn’t bad at all," they said, and then kicked Little Cookie out of the group chat.
"..."
Little Cookie was a little angry.
She might have mistaken the jar, but she wasn’t lying.
The crab roe sauce in *this* jar was clearly the more delicious one!
In her anger, she received the real fresh-food delivery from the Gourmet Connoisseur Factory. After having tasted a masterpiece, trying this common stone now felt truly bland and uninspired.
So, that night she angrily posted another thread, this time with a direct comparison of the two. In an instant, the tale of two sauces spread even further.
Countless curious people went to check out Jiang Qiuqiu’s side, asking about the crab roe sauce, only to be told that it was just a free gift that came with the Gugu Meat Sauce.
The customer service at New Star was quite savvy. After answering the question, they smoothly slipped in a promotion: "Purchase Gugu Meat Sauce more than twice to receive the crab roe sauce! The event only runs until August 25th. If you’d like to try it, dear, you can buy the Gugu Meat Sauce in two separate orders to get the free gift~"
And so, sales for the Spicy Gugu Meat Sauce skyrocketed.
The market is only so big.
As one rises, the other must fall.
The surge in Gugu Meat Sauce sales led to a nosedive in sales for Qian Song’s crab roe sauce.
Although the number of daily shipments was still there, those were all pre-orders. New paid orders were few and far between. This was very bad news.
But even worse news was yet to come.