Li Xiao had Zhou Shishi send out a livestream notification, then called his other dorm mates to get in the car.
Previously, he had Zhou Shishi gather information on some of the more controversial restaurants in Yangcheng.
The one he was going to today was one of those controversial restaurants. Online, its reviews were what you could call polarized.
The good ones praised it to the heavens, but there were plenty of bad reviews too.
He wanted to see for himself whether the restaurant had hired shills to praise itself, or if a competitor had hired trolls to deliberately bad-mouth it.
The car soon stopped next to a multi-story parking garage.
This parking garage was clearly built in the last two years and looked incredibly futuristic.
The entire structure was silver and white. At the entrance, an intelligent camera system recorded vehicle information, making it fully automated without any on-site staff.
The parking process was also very convenient. You just had to stop the car at the drop-off point on the first floor.
A mechanical conveyor belt would then move the vehicle to an empty parking space above.
When it was time to leave, you just had to enter your license plate number at the main entrance, and the vehicle would be brought back to the initial drop-off point.
Zhou Yu looked up as the black Mercedes was swiftly carried to a spot on the 8th floor by the conveyor belt, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"This is so damn cool, right? I can’t believe something out of a sci-fi movie is actually real now!"
Huang Zhiyuan, standing beside him, explained in a low voice:
"This kind of thing has been around for 100 years. It just wasn’t as advanced as this one—it needed manual operation and wasn’t as safe."
"Brother Li is streaming right now. It’s one thing if you embarrass yourself, but don’t make Li Xiao lose face too."
Li Xiao waved his hand dismissively.
"It’s fine."
"It’s just surprising how advanced this parking garage is."
"It seems economics and military needs are always the main drivers of technological development."
"If land prices here weren’t so expensive and parking spaces so scarce, no business would probably be willing to build a modern multi-story garage like this."
"After all, compared to a ground-level parking lot, this type of multi-story structure is still relatively expensive to build."
The four of them chatted as they walked, and soon they arrived in front of a building with a distinctly classical Western architectural style.
Inside the livestream.
"Huh, is the streamer taking us to eat foreign food today?"
"This building looks pretty old, doesn’t it?"
"This road looks familiar, but I can’t quite place where it is."
"Why are there armed guards stationed nearby? Where is this place?"
"I saw a lot of unique-looking buildings on the way here. Is this some kind of movie set or something?"
...
Seeing the questions from the viewers in the chat, Li Xiao explained with a smile:
"The place with the guards stationed outside is an embassy. As for which country’s embassy it is, I probably can’t say on stream, or I might have to end the broadcast right away."
"The place I’m at right now is called Shamian Island. It’s a very unique tourist attraction in Yangcheng."
"Shamian Island was once an important commercial port in Yangcheng. Over a hundred years, more than ten countries established consulates here. Nine foreign banks and over forty foreign firms operated on Shamian Island, witnessing the changes in Guangzhou’s modern history. Its European-style architecture has formed a unique architectural ’museum’."
"Even today, several countries still have consulates here. Nearby, there are also museums, churches, a customs house, and several piers."
"If you’re looking for something to do on the weekend, you could easily spend a whole day here."
"Today, I’m still bringing you all to eat Cantonese food, but it’s a ’new-style’ Cantonese restaurant called ’New-Style·Cantonese Taste’."
"This is also the shop that my little assistant picked out based on everyone’s comments."
Li Xiao turned the camera in his hand, capturing the surrounding environment for his viewers.
After finishing his introduction of the area to the audience, Li Xiao and the other three walked into the restaurant before them.
The restaurant in front of them was the former French consulate. However, the consulate later relocated, and this place was left vacant.
After being vacant for some time, the current owner leased the property and opened this restaurant.
A young woman in a qipao at the entrance saw the group of four approaching and hurried over to greet them.
"Good evening, you four. May I ask if you have a reservation?"
Li Xiao gave his phone number, and the woman in the qipao led the four of them into the building.
The building’s interior hadn’t been changed much, with only some modern facilities added.
So, as Li Xiao stepped through the door, he had a fleeting illusion that he had returned to the war-torn era of the Republic of China.
Led by the woman in the qipao, the four of them went to a private room on the third floor.
The room was in an excellent location. Outside the window was the Zhujiang River, adorned with colorful lights, and from time to time, brightly lit cruise ships would glide by on the water.
Li Xiao took the iPad from the woman and, with her recommendations, quickly placed their order.
While they waited, he used his phone to show the viewers in the livestream a bit of the Zhujiang’s night scenery.
Livestream.
"I didn’t see the prices on the menu just now, but just by looking at the view outside, you know it must be expensive."
"This view really is beautiful!!!"
"Isn’t this that one Cantonese restaurant that’s super expensive and doesn’t even taste good?"
"It’s not good? I’ve seen a lot of bloggers recommend it. It can’t be that bad, can it?"
"The user above doesn’t get it. A lot of food streamers these days take money. Whoever pays them the most gets a good review."
...
Watching the debate in the livestream chat, Li Xiao nodded.
"This is indeed that highly debated restaurant. Today, I’m going to get to the bottom of it for you all and see if this place is genuinely good or just all hype."
If some people had been skeptical of Li Xiao’s impartiality before, his big-spending giveaways had made those trolls shut their mouths.
After all, even streamers backed by corporate sponsors couldn’t come close to the scale of Li Xiao’s fan giveaways.
After chatting with the audience for a while, the first dish was brought out.
"Good evening, our four honored guests. This is the Ginger and Scallion White-Cut Chicken. Please enjoy."
Three tender pieces of white-cut chicken rested quietly in the center of a pale green dish. The meat was smooth, tender, and white, and the skin was translucent, shimmering with a faint yellow hue.
Seeing the dish appear on camera,
the livestream chat instantly erupted.
"Oh my god, what am I seeing? Three pieces of chicken??? The portion size is ridiculously small, isn’t it?"
"I just looked it up. A single serving of white-cut chicken at this restaurant costs a full 58 yuan!"
"For 58 yuan, I could buy a whole white-cut chicken! And they only give you three pieces here? That’s insane!"
"Thank god I’m too poor to eat at high-end restaurants, or this would break my heart."
...