novel bin Chapter 27: Clark: This beef doesn't smell good at all.
Chapter 27: Clark: This beef doesn't smell good at all.
On the main road of the town.
Just a few hundred meters from Smallwell High School, the golden arches in front of McDonald's are always the most eye-catching landmark.
Especially the recently launched flagship product—
A quarter-pound beef burger.
Its generous portions of meat make it a favorite among the town's residents.
By this time of day, McDonald's is usually already packed with people.
Students passing by would always surround the area.
But today seems a little different.
A nearby old-fashioned fast food restaurant called Ed Bear was having a promotion, which attracted a crowd of onlookers.
On the warm yellow poster, a huge beef burger takes up the entire image, with a line of striking English text standing out prominently:
Our new 1/3 pound pure fresh beef burger is now available!
A loudspeaker was set up at the store entrance, playing a promotional video on a loop:
More beef, same price, a third-pound burger gives you far more satisfaction than a quarter-pound – more for the same price!
"That shameless swindler actually claims the 1/3-pound beef burger is bigger, when it was clearly the 1/4-pound one that was the biggest! 4 is bigger than 3, a question I knew in elementary school!"
A dark-skinned boy who squeezed in to watch saw the contents of the poster and immediately began to swear, feeling that his intelligence and his wallet had been severely insulted.
His "speaking out for justice" garnered widespread approval.
Soon, the crowd surged back into the golden archway next door.
The owner of Ed Bear stood inside the store, gazing at the lonely sign outside, covered in slogans, standing by the roadside.
Looking at the ever-flowing crowd at McDonald's across the street, I was completely dumbfounded.
He had been preparing for a long time in order to steal some business from McDonald's, but who would have thought that not only did he fail to attract customers, but he also inexplicably received a bunch of bad reviews.
This was nothing short of a bolt from the blue for the owner of Ed Bear, whose business had been declining recently.
As for leaving it to sell the next day?
That's something only a fool would do.
The Kansas health department conducts random inspections every so often, and if caught, the consequences are severe: fines, business closures, or even license revocation.
Until a clear and bright voice came:
"Boss, I'd like to buy some of your new burgers."
Lucas casually pushed open the store door.
Immediately, a drawn-out, emotionless "Welcome!" rang out from the shop entrance.
"Hi, how many would you like? We have bigger and more generous beef patties here, you'll definitely want more after you start eating them."
The owner of Ed Bear went all out to promote it.
Lucas did a quick mental calculation.
Ms. Martha doesn't eat much in the evening, but because she has a lot of farm work to do lately, one meal might not be enough.
As for Jonathan and Clark, including myself, they are all typical big eaters, and they need at least three of them.
In addition, some can be saved for dinner tomorrow, so that mother can sleep in a little longer in the morning.
Ultimately, Lucas called out the number 15.
This made the owner of Ed Bear beam with joy.
"But could you make it cheaper?"
Lucas believed his demands were not excessive.
After all, he was definitely a big customer tonight.
"This... I'll give you a price of one yuan and fifty cents each, which is already the lowest price. We've not only added more beef, but also cheese, onion rings..."
The owner of Ed Bear paused for a few seconds before agreeing to Lucas's offer.
"How about one dollar?" Lucas frowned and asked tentatively.
"This price is too low; I'm not making any profit at all."
The owner of Edgware complained bitterly, but ultimately agreed to the offer.
It's clear that today's low passenger volume has dealt a significant blow.
"Hey buddy, settle the bill." The owner of Ed Bear called out to the cashier.
He was a young man wearing glasses, not very old. Upon hearing this, he immediately took out his computer and started typing furiously.
Half a day later, he looked at Lucas, who had already taken out fifteen dollars and was waiting with a strange expression, and smiled, saying:
"Hello, that'll be fifteen dollars in total."
"..."
The wait for the burger to be made was boring, especially for Lucas, who was already starving.
Fortunately, the hamburgers are always made very quickly.
"Thanks!"
Lucas couldn't wait to take one out.
He could already smell the aroma of beef.
He took a bite, mumbled something, and turned to leave.
Just then...
"Welcome!"
The deliberately drawn-out electronic sound rang out again at the entrance of the Ed Bear store, sounding just like the pronunciation in a skit.
next moment.
A middle-aged man in a police uniform strode quickly to the cashier:
"Five hamburgers, two beer drinks, one Connie hot dog, and one mozzarella cheese stick, to go."
The other person was tall and looked rugged and tough, but perhaps because he was middle-aged, his belly had become a little bloated, and his face showed a kind of fatigue from long hours of staying up late and drinking heavily.
"Sixteen dollars in total."
After frantically clicking on the calculator, the cashier successfully provided a quote.
"Sheriff Hopper, how's everything been going lately? I mean, what brings you to our town?"
The owner of Ed Bear plopped down in front of Fubola, a complete stranger to Lucas, clearly recognizing the latter.
"It's not going very well. We've been searching for a whole day and night, but we're still empty-handed."
The man addressed as Sheriff Hopper shook his head, his expression slightly somber.
"Someone said they saw the little boy in the woods along Highway 8. He seemed very flustered, as if something was chasing him... I think we might need to expand the search area."
"May God protect us. There have been too many strange things happening lately. A while ago, a group of mysterious people took over the hospital in our town, and I couldn't even get a doctor to prescribe some tranquilizers for a few days."
"The owner of Ed Bear complained."
"By the way, what's the name of that missing little boy? Maybe I can find out for you."
"Will Byers, a very quiet little boy."
……
Lucas swallowed the last bite of his burger and, before leaving, asked the owner of Edgwyn for a few more packets of ketchup.
Although this chubby man, who weighs a good 300 pounds, couldn't understand how Lucas could be so shameless without buying fries or chicken nuggets.
But compared to the losses from the hamburgers, the ketchup was clearly a drop in the ocean.
He simply grabbed a handful and handed it to Lucas.
……
Kent Farm.
dinner.
"Thanks to Lucas tonight."
Ms. Martha's tired face could not hide her joy.
Although she enjoys cooking for Jonathan and their two children, it can also be very tiring at times.
For example, today, after a busy day in the fields, she didn't want to move a single finger.
"This is a new product launched by Ed Bear." Lucas poured Ms. Martha a cup of freshly heated black coffee.
"Lucas, you're so sensible, so sensible that your mother feels it's too cruel to you."
Ms. Martha never hesitates to praise her children.
Clark, who was eating a hamburger nearby, suddenly found that the beef in his mouth didn't taste good at all.