Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 55: Volcano Sausage

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

Street snacks come in all shapes and flavors, and if you ask which is the most delicious, that debate could go on for days without a clear winner.

But if you ask which one appears the most often, there’s no contest.

—Grilled Sausage.

Anytime, anywhere, as long as there’s a food stall, grilled sausages are a guaranteed presence. Sometimes, in a single area, you’ll find multiple stalls selling sausages.

This is largely because sausages are perhaps the easiest of all street snacks to make.

You don’t even need any cooking experience; just a portable gas stove, a grill pan, a table, or even an electric bike, and you’re ready to set up shop.

The starch sausages used as ingredients can be sourced directly online, costing just 40 or 50 cents each. They’re easy to store and won’t spoil, making them a favorite among beginner vendors.

Some people work day jobs and then come out at night to sell sausages, earning extra pocket money to support their households.

For customers, sausages are cheap, high in oil, salt, and starch, providing a satisfying snack.

And most importantly, sausage prices are almost universally standardized across the country, typically costing 2 to 3 yuan per stick.

However, this time, Universe's Best Snack Stall blatantly broke this rule, raising sausage prices and deeply offending many sausage lovers.

In response, sausage fans took to the streets, determined to band together and teach this unscrupulous merchant a lesson. They even came up with a slogan.

—“You don’t buy, I don’t buy, and tomorrow it’ll drop by 5!”

“This time we must unite and show the spirit of Civil Aviation University!” a determined student rallied.

Ma Lu noticed that while a lot of people had shown up, the atmosphere was noticeably colder than usual; unlike previous times, the crowd didn’t immediately swarm his stall.

But Ma Lu wasn’t worried—this time, he had an ace up his sleeve.

As Old Wang pulled the sausages out of the insulated box, the large, plump sausages immediately caught everyone’s attention.

At a glance, 16 yuan each didn’t seem so pricey after all.

Some people were already tempted, itching to pull out their phones to scan and pay.

But thankfully, their friends quickly pulled them back, with one pointing to an A4 sheet at the front of the stall, reminding the eager buyers, “Look at what’s written there!”

The would-be customers took a closer look and saw it printed with “50g” in bold letters, realizing they had almost fallen into the trap of this “unscrupulous merchant”!

Of course, a merchant couldn’t be so kind, selling such a large sausage for only 16 yuan.

Ma Lu never intended to play tricks on this matter; otherwise, he wouldn’t have clearly marked the portion size on the sign, even highlighting it.

But no matter—these sausage fans were steadfast in their skepticism, ignoring the clear, bold words right before their eyes.

Meanwhile, Old Wang had already started grilling the sausages.

When people first heard of the Volcano Sausage, most assumed it would be one of those trendy sausages grilled on a hotplate lined with black pebbles pretending to be volcanic stones.

But Universe's Best Snack Stall was clearly not taking that route.

Old Wang was simply pan-frying them on an ordinary iron skillet, but the sausages looked distinctly different.

Portion size aside, the most eye-catching feature was their color.

Unlike typical grilled sausages, these were a deeper red, and staring at them long enough gave the illusion that what was under the casing wasn’t meat but scalding lava.

As they sizzled on the grill, the sausages made hissing sounds, resembling the prelude to a volcanic eruption, leaving the crowd wide-eyed in anticipation.

Under the Maillard reaction, the sausages quickly developed brown char marks on the surface, and oil began to seep out.

Old Wang didn’t rush; he occasionally used tongs to turn the sausages, ensuring every side was evenly grilled.

In the final moments of cooking, he took out a blowtorch and waved it over one end of the sausage.

The next second, a miracle happened—the sausage suddenly spewed out a burst of flames like a volcano.

This spectacle, akin to a circus performance, left everyone stunned.

Old Wang then used the blowtorch to ignite the remaining three sausages, proving that the flaming display was no fluke.

The onlookers snapped out of their daze, excitedly pulling out their phones to record the amazing sight.

Someone urged, “Quick, do it again! Do the flaming thing again...”

However, Ma Lu remained calm and pointed to the sausages on the grill. “These aren’t sold yet, so we can’t make new ones.”

Before he even finished speaking, an impatient customer rushed up to pay. “Quick, I want one!”

“Me too! I want to see the sausage breathe fire!!!”

Seeing more and more people wavering, the determined protesters grew anxious. “Don’t be fooled by this trickery. He’s selling a single sausage for 16 yuan!”

“But his sausage can breathe fire!”

“If we lose this battle, the prices of future items will become even more outrageous! We’ll all be lambs to the slaughter then!”

“But his sausage can breathe fire!”

“If we just endure a few more days, the tide will turn in our favor!”

“But his sausage can breathe fire! Let go of my hand, I want to see the sausage breathe fire again!”

As more and more people rushed to buy the Volcano Sausage, the protesters realized they had lost, their expressions turning gray with defeat. All their hopes dashed, they wanted to leave in despair.

But after taking a few steps, they stopped—mainly because they still wanted to see the fire-breathing sausage one more time. After all, it was truly a rare sight.

Though Lava Lizard Sausage shared the same ★★☆ rating as the Sandfish Burger, it clearly had a stronger visual impact.

Old Wang cleverly applied the classic Chinese cooking technique of “igniting the fire” to the sausage. He deliberately left a hollow space inside the sausage during the stuffing process. As the sausage heated up, the juices flowed into the cavity, turning into a mix of steam and oil vapor with further heating. When this oil mist met the blowtorch’s flame, it ignited, creating the amazing fire-breathing effect of the sausage.

Ma Lu thought the person who created this dish must have been a genius, using this method to mimic the attack of a Lava Lizard.

When he saw it for the first time, he was also amazed.

It turns out a dish can satisfy not just the nose and mouth of diners but also provide a feast for the eyes.

This was why Ma Lu was so confident in the Lava Lizard Sausage—not only did it taste great, but it was also a visual spectacle!

Before long, word spread across Civil Aviation University that the Volcano Sausage at Universe's Best Snack Stall could really breathe fire, attracting more and more people to watch and taste it.

Some even uploaded videos to Douyin and Xiaohongshu, and by the afternoon, the buzz had spread beyond campus, drawing in visitors from outside the university.

(Translator's Note: China’s version of TikTok. It’s made by the same company.)

Ma Lu had Old Wang prepare 100 sausages this time, each divided into 10 pieces, making 1,000 portions. To their surprise, they sold out before 5 p.m.

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