After brainstorming, the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Lin Chen felt like he had found the right way to complete the challenge task.
After saying goodbye to Chef Raphael, he hurried to the East District to meet up with Lucas.
Lucas, bored at home, went to M's to have lunch early, and also took the opportunity to look up relevant interview videos and information on differences in eating habits among different nationalities.
By the time Lin Chen arrived, Lucas had already listed more than a dozen interview questions, just waiting for implementation.
After buying a couple of small burgers to satisfy their hunger, the two had a brief discussion and started choosing a suitable interview location.
Lin Chen's target was clear.
The target location needed to have a relatively large flow of people, be convenient for transportation, and lastly, be safe.
Don't think that being in the city means you can let down your guard; incidents of street robbery happen frequently, and people often jump onto subway tracks. In short, it's best to avoid dirty and chaotic areas to prevent the food truck from being looted.
"There are quite a lot of homeless people on this street; I've seen several up ahead."
Having not been back to the country for years, Lucas wasn't very familiar with the area either. The two of them took a brief stroll around Old Chinatown and felt it wasn't very suitable.
Most people here are of Asian descent, which didn't fit their interview theme this time; it would be better to go to an area with more Caucasians.
"Safe with a large flow of people and lots of Caucasians; if we're talking about such a place... it must be there, right?"
Lucas stroked his chin and pondered for a few seconds, quickly having an idea.
Ten minutes later.
The two appeared at the entrance of a public elementary school, with a subway station five hundred meters away and a daycare center nearby, which was also a kindergarten.
The surrounding area mainly consisted of single-family homes, with a few apartment buildings and office buildings nearby, making it a relatively ideal location.
This place was already on the edge of the East District, away from Old Chinatown's influence; further away were other small towns not under the jurisdiction of the city.
It was lunchtime, and some students living around would go home for lunch, while many parents would come to pick them up.
Their target was clear; they only focused on people with white skin. Lucas took the lead to inquire and, after confirming they weren't from one of the major culinary countries, Lin Chen would join in for the interview.
Lucas always wanted to create a channel, so he didn't overthink it. He asked everyone he met, while Lin Chen's appearance on the side went unnoticed by him.
"Hi, could we bother you for two minutes for a simple interview about food?"
This time they caught a couple that looked obviously American. Without Lucas, Lin Chen wouldn't have been able to tell.
Just like how Great Xia people can easily distinguish Sakura People, Kimchi People, Tai Island People, but not Westerners' features, foreigners have their own methods of distinction.
The couple, initially uninterested, perked up when they heard it was a food interview.
They had nothing else to do while waiting for their child.
"What do you usually like to eat the most?"
"Pizza."
"Mac and cheese."
"Oh, nice, those two are indeed always classics. What about meat?"
"Steak, of course!"
"I like lobster."
...
Lucas, having done his homework, asked questions that were logically connected and chimed in appropriately, keeping a light and happy tone throughout the interview.
Finally, toward the end of the interview, Lin Chen chimed in.
"So if you had to pick one part of an animal's body that you absolutely couldn't accept and would never eat, what would it be?"
The couple was taken aback, exchanged a glance, and had a quiet discussion, clearly not because they couldn't think of an answer but because there were too many.
The man decided first: "If I could only pick one, I'd say intestines because they're for holding feces; it's too disgusting."
"Oh, right, now that you mention it, at least other parts are clean meat, mostly just with a weird texture, but intestines just thinking about it makes me feel gross."
Intestines?
Honestly, Lin Chen had thought of this answer, but he didn't expect it to be such a hit right off the bat.
Lucas completely empathized, nodding repeatedly, "Indeed, I used to think the same way, but after I went to Great Xia, I realized intestines are the best part within an animal, bar none!"
"Especially pig's large intestines and beef small intestines, with that fatty oil, one bite and the aromatic fat explodes in your mouth, it's so good~"
The couple gave him a few incredulous stares and quietly walked away.
The two of them continued interviewing many parents, and later they even approached elementary students, since they are the pickiest eaters and have tried fewer foods, which could broaden the range of answers and reduce repetition.
If the interview results ended up with tied votes in the top three, his options would naturally expand.
"The survey results are out."
Lucas held a piece of paper, but Lin Chen already had a rough idea in mind.
"The most popular food is still pizza, followed by pasta, and for meat, it's steak, followed by barbecued ribs, nearly an exact match with what I remember about Western diets, never changing."
"Additionally..."
"Then there's the question you're interested in, the least favored animal body part food, first place goes to intestines with 6 votes, second place is brains with 5 votes, while third, fourth, and fifth places tie with 2 votes each, being claws, eyeballs, and fatty meat."
Upon hearing these results, Lin Chen quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Interviewing kids was indeed the right choice; claws and fatty meat came from the mouths of elementary students, clearly indicating that younger people have simpler thoughts and didn't consider internal organs.
He couldn't imagine if only intestines, eyeballs, and brains were available options, how he'd complete this challenge task...
No matter what you'd do with these three ingredients, their appearance remains the same, creepy to look at, unless you turn them into a paste, which isn't the cooking method of Great Xia.
[Ding, the interview phase is complete, please select one of the above five options for the street stall challenge]
[Note: If the challenge fails, you can reselect next time, but cannot redo the interview; besides, the higher the difficulty of your chosen ingredient, the more additional rewards you receive for completing the task]
"???
No way, don't tempt me with rewards, am I the type to get greedy over such small benefits!
Lin Chen wasn't swayed at all, choosing the first-ranked intestines without hesitation as the target for this challenge.
"Ah? You're going to make intestine dishes?"
Lucas touched his forehead, "And you don't even have a fever, but this is the least popular part, the challenge is extremely difficult, you might not even sell a single portion, are you sure?"