Sky-high priced lamb skewers

A wave of dizziness and weightlessness washed over Li Ye, but soon the reassuring feeling of solid ground beneath his feet calmed him down.

He quickly opened his eyes and found himself back on Earth.

It was still the same small square, but now the night was deep, and there was not a single soul on the square.

It was around two in the morning.

Li Ye estimated the time; Earth and that ancient parallel world seemed to have a time difference of exactly twelve hours.

Earth's night was the parallel world's daytime, but Li Ye wasn't sure if the parallel world also followed a twenty-four-hour day or a twelve-hour system.

Li Ye quickly lowered his head, his gaze fixed on his feet. He remembered clearly that when he left the parallel world, his pants had been caught by the hind leg of the antelope monster behind him.

Now, it lay lifeless, completely devoid of any signs of life. The body was split in half from the waist, and the rear part, presumably trapped in the moment Li Ye returned to Earth, had been forcibly left behind in the parallel world.

Only the front half of the body had accompanied Li Ye back to Earth.

Blood stained the ground, the scene was gruesome.

Li Ye scanned his surroundings and dragged the carcass under the barbecue cart before struggling to push the cart back to his residence.

This is a creature from another world's corpse. Regardless of the reason, Li Ye couldn't just abandon it in the wilderness.

Due to his job, Li Ye didn't live in the school dormitory but stayed outside.

Of course, being as poor as he was, Li Ye was extremely frugal and couldn't bear to spend a few hundred yuan to rent a luxurious house outside.

His dwelling was in a deserted construction site not far from Jiangnan University.

Inside the construction site was a rundown container. When Li Ye stumbled upon it, he made it his temporary residence.

Upon his first entry into the parallel world, Li Ye obtained a storage bag. However, he couldn't open it temporarily and had no idea what was inside.

Now, all he had left was the large portion of the seemingly antelope-like monster's corpse.

He had to continue his barbecue business; otherwise, Li Ye would struggle to maintain a normal life.

But the sheep meat ingredients he bought with the few hundred yuan borrowed from his high school classmate Glasses had been smashed beyond recognition and were completely inedible. He had to figure out another solution.

Now, his pockets were emptier than his face, and he couldn't even afford instant noodles for tomorrow, let alone reopening his barbecue stall.

Should he ask Glasses or Fatty for another loan?

Thinking about it, Li Ye shook his head with a bitter smile. These two brothers, his best buddies in high school for three years, weren't any richer than him.

Besides, Li Ye wasn't in the habit of borrowing money from people. Asking once already made him feel embarrassed; he couldn't bring himself to do it again.

Where could he get money to buy lamb? Without lamb meat for the barbecue, how could he reopen?

Lamb meat, lamb meat, lamb meat!

Oh, right!

Li Ye's expression froze for a moment. Wasn't there over a hundred pounds of meat right next to him?!

His gaze suddenly fell not far away, on the body of the antelope-like creature with horns that he had dragged back.

This was a monster from another world. He had no idea if there would be any side effects from eating it.

But he had to give it a try!

With that thought, Li Ye took out his boning knife, dismembered the antelope-like monster, skewered a few pieces of meat with steel skewers, lit a charcoal fire, and started grilling.

"Damn! Is this stuff really so delicious?!"

Li Ye's eyes widened as he mumbled unclearly, his mouth full of the silky smooth and aromatic grilled meat.

He had already left about twenty skewers on the grill in front of him.

He reluctantly swallowed the morsels of grilled meat in his mouth, still feeling unsatisfied.

The flesh of this antelope-like monster was tender and flavorful, with a satisfying chewiness. It was smooth but not greasy. The rich aroma of the meat mixed with the fragrance of cumin seasoning formed a unique flavor that was simply irresistible!

It was several levels above the taste of lamb skewers grilled on Earth.

Li Ye considered himself a very picky eater, but faced with the grilled meat skewers made from this antelope-like monster, all he could do was praise them from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful for throwing away the skewer of grilled meat that he had given to a stray cat earlier, just to confirm that it was safe for humans to eat.

If he sold this kind of grilled meat skewers, Li Ye was absolutely certain that they would be in high demand.

With a determined gaze, he suppressed his urge to continue grilling more skewers for himself, and instead skewered all the raw meat he had, totaling over seven hundred skewers, before calling it quits.

By now, the sky had already brightened.

"How much should I price these delicious lamb skewers?"

Looking at the pile of lamb skewers before him, which showed no signs of discoloration or deterioration and still retained their vibrant colors, Li Ye couldn't help but feel a bit melancholic.

Surely, one of the most painful things in the world must be this, right? Having so much delicious food right in front of you, but having to restrain the raging appetite within.

The constant salivation in his mouth was truly uncomfortable.

Li Ye felt that pricing the skewers too low would be an insult to the Lamb Beast, so after much contemplation, he settled on a price: 88 RMB should be just right.

After all, only a price this high would be worthy of such a unique grilled meat ingredient in the world!

Glancing at the time, it was seven in the morning.

Today was the weekend, and Li Ye didn't have classes, so he didn't feel like going back to school. Without caring whether the early morning was suitable for selling grilled meat, he pushed his barbecue cart and headed to the small square from last night to quickly open his barbecue business.

Without the presence of urban management, the small square was essentially unregulated. Therefore, if one wanted to set up a stall, they had to seize the space early in the morning. Coming late meant having to choose a secluded spot with sparse foot traffic, which was a major taboo for street vendors.

After pushing the barbecue cart for about fifteen minutes, Li Ye arrived at the small square. It was the perfect time for morning exercises, and there were already a few scattered vendors selling fried pancakes, buns, and soy milk around the square.

Li Ye's barbecue stall stood out like a sore thumb among them, completely out of place.

However, he didn't feel embarrassed at all. He started the charcoal fire and skillfully placed ten skewers of meat on the grill, flipping and cooking them with practiced ease.

A faint aroma of meat slowly wafted out, like enticing spirits beckoning to the appetites of everyone nearby who was exercising or vending.

"Hmph, is this guy crazy? Selling barbecue so early in the morning?"

"Yeah, who does he think he is? Probably just a young college student. Without any experience in street vending, he's bound to lose money."

"Let's see if he can sell any. He might end up not selling a single skewer and embarrass himself."

Two middle-aged women from nearby stalls huddled together, whispering and gesturing towards Li Ye with a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.

An elderly man who had finished his morning exercises slowly approached from a distance. As he passed by Li Ye's barbecue stall, he seemed to catch a whiff of the unusual meat aroma. He stopped in his tracks, slightly surprised, and looked at Li Ye, who was grilling meat. He asked, "Young man, why are you selling barbecue so early in the morning? Do you really expect to make any sales?"

Li Ye smiled and skillfully brushed some oil onto the partially cooked lamb skewers. Then he sprinkled them with cumin, chili salt, and other seasonings before confidently replying, "Sir, as long as it's delicious, there will always be business regardless of the time."

The old man didn't expect Li Ye to answer like that. He chuckled and seemed to be laughing at Li Ye's ignorance of business. He gestured towards the grilled lamb skewers and asked, "It does smell good indeed. How much are you selling these lamb skewers for?"

Li Ye replied, "Eighty-eight each."

"Oh, eighty... what?! How much did you say?" The old man was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized something and stared at Li Ye incredulously, asking again uncertainly.

"Eighty-eight each," Li Ye answered firmly. Then, as if he remembered something, he added, "No discounts."

The old man chuckled meaningfully, seemingly amused by Li Ye's youthful arrogance. He appeared to be laughing at Li Ye for being inexperienced and daring to start a business without knowing anything.

"Unfortunately, as one gets older, the appetite diminishes. I can't have anything too greasy early in the morning. Otherwise, this old man would have loved to taste your lamb skewers priced at eighty-eight bucks." The old man chuckled and smiled before leaving with his hands behind his back.

"Eighty-eight bucks for a lamb skewer? Hey! Did you hear that? Eighty-eight bucks! Is his lamb skewer made of gold or what?"

"This young man is definitely money-crazed!"

"That's right! In my opinion, young people nowadays are too impatient. They value money more than anything else!"

The two middle-aged women nearby continued to gossip without any restraint, not bothering to conceal their disdain as they laughed loudly.

Li Ye furrowed his brow, not bothering to explain anything to these narrow-minded busybodies.

He suddenly noticed that something was not quite right with his body. His stomach felt warm, and there was an indescribable sense of comfort. This gentle warmth circulated throughout his body along with his meridians, dispelling the slight fatigue he had felt and even alleviating his longstanding arthritis. It seemed to be gradually improving.

Could this be the effect of eating the grilled meat from the antelope monster?!

He hadn't expected it to have such effects!

Eighty-eight was definitely selling at a loss! At the very least, it should be one hundred and eighty-eight soft sister coins!

Li Ye felt a pang of regret, but then he thought, since he could freely enter and exit that otherworldly realm, he might as well consider this first sale as opening the market, right?

To avoid trouble, Li Ye directly took out a piece of paper from the barbecue cart and wrote a message in large letters.

Grand opening discount! Only eighty-eight for our specially formulated lamb barbecue that can cure chronic illnesses and dispel fatigue, breaking through rock-bottom prices!

Everyone who saw the promotional poster Li Ye put up in the square had the same thought: Is this guy insane?