Chapter 93 - 88: Lei Ao’s Choice

Chapter 93: Chapter 88: Lei Ao’s Choice

"Heqi Chinese Restaurant? I don’t know where Mr. Leitel found them, but the food is really good."

The ladies sitting at the table next to Gates finished their meals with satisfaction and began to chat.

"Yeah, I went to Mrs. Will’s for a wedding last week. The banquet was catered by Holy River Restaurant, and it was still the same old stuff. I lost interest just looking at it."

"Holy River Restaurant is considered good. The others aren’t even as good as them!"

"What’s so good about it? Don’t you all think the cream of mushroom soup and spaghetti with meat sauce here are better than Holy River’s?"

"That’s true, especially these noodles. If my Little Lisi came, she would definitely love it. Holy River Restaurant doesn’t do a bad job, but when you compare them..."

The speaker gently shook her head.

"Speaking of which, judging by the name, this place makes Chinese food? We don’t have many Chinese restaurants in Beiluo City, do we?"

"I don’t think so. I heard making Chinese food requires a lot of spices and complex cooking techniques. After the Great Cataclysm, chefs with these skills became increasingly rare. Only Central City has specialized restaurants for it. I didn’t expect we’d have such an impressive one here in Beiluo City."

"Yeah, but why is the address on the business card in the Fourth Ring? Whatever. If the food is really this good, the Fourth Ring it is."

"We could also invite them to our homes to cook. Isn’t it Mona’s eighteenth birthday next month?"

"That’s right, I almost forgot! Let’s do that!"

These words drifted into the ears of the people at the neighboring table without missing a single syllable.

"It seems the restaurants under the Chairman have met their match." Carolyn swirled her wine glass, flashing a meaningful smile.

Gates’s face twitched. He gave a soft snort, "If she wants to be my rival, this little bit of skill isn’t enough."

"I heard you sent a notice to the Chamber members, blacklisting this little girl surnamed Ning. Being able to make you act personally can also be considered a kind of skill," Carolyn said.

"Blacklisted?"

The one who spoke was Leo.

"That’s right. Boycotted by the entire Food Chamber of Commerce. I’m afraid it will be impossible for the little girl’s restaurant to buy any decent ingredients now." Carolyn tilted her head and explained.

Gates cast a sidelong glance at her.

"Don’t push your luck. First, I invested a huge sum into your lab, and recently I bled out a lot of money scraping together funds. Now you want me to let a competitor off the hook? Do you think I run a charity? Since she doesn’t know what’s good for her and refused to cooperate, she brought this outcome upon herself."

Carolyn smiled and shook her head, changing the subject.

"It’s rare to see Lieutenant Colonel Leo sitting at the dining table for so long. It seems this food really suits your taste."

Leo nodded. "It really is quite good. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this relaxed."

Carolyn curled her lips. "I wonder how long this relaxation can last. Things will be tough for you from here on out."

"It’s my duty, and I will do my best," Leo said. He suddenly paused and added, "According to regulations, what is the penalty for a resident of Beiluo City privately possessing plantable soil?"

Carolyn paused her wine tasting and looked at him in surprise.

"What made you think to ask this?"

Leo cleared his throat lightly. "I heard some people chatting about it a couple of days ago, and I was just a bit curious."

Carolyn’s gaze swept across his face before she looked away. After a brief moment of thought, she said:

"According to the regulations, residents who privately possess plantable soil will have all their soil and illegal profits confiscated, followed by a minimum of one month in prison. After that, their credit value will be downgraded to the lowest tier and frozen for over a year. If the circumstances are particularly severe, the prison sentence can be up to ten years."

Leo nodded. "Understood. Thank you."

Gates scoffed. "What kind of idiot still uses mud to grow vegetables nowadays? Do they think it’s still before the Cataclysm?"

The topic was quickly brushed over. Meanwhile, Ning He was also finishing her work.

All the dishes were sold out. Even the pickles she had brought out were secretly taken away by a servant on Leitel’s orders and stuffed into his own fridge. More than half of the business cards she had prepared were given out.

This banquet was undoubtedly a great success.

Carrying the check for 4,000 original coins given to her by Leitel, Ning He hummed a tune as she headed home.

After deducting the costs of the various seasonings, the wages paid to Connie, Vance, and the others, as well as the expenses for renting the car and equipment, Ning He had cleared a net profit of at least two thousand for this trip.

It was already past ten at night when she got home. Ning He hadn’t eaten a proper meal all day, so the first thing she did was make herself a plate of fried noodles. Just as she brought it downstairs and was about to dig in, a sudden knock came from the door.

"Who is it, this late at night?"

Ning He vigilantly set down her chopsticks, grabbed a plastic baton leaning against the wall, and walked over to the door.

"Who is it?"

"It’s me."

A familiar voice rang out. Ning He immediately recognized the person, lowered the baton, and opened the door.

"Why are you here so late?"

Leo stepped into the house.

"I think I left something at your place yesterday, so I came to look for it."

His gaze landed on the still-steaming fried noodles on the table.

"You haven’t eaten yet?"

Ning He waved her hand. "I was too busy and didn’t have time. Do you want some?"

"No thanks, the banquet was very rich, and I’m quite full. You’re hurt?" Leo asked, slightly surprised.

Ning He’s left hand was wrapped in a layer of gauze.

"It’s nothing. Working in a kitchen, getting a few minor injuries is perfectly normal. I just got burned a bit; applying some ointment is enough." Ning He didn’t care at all. She picked up her bowl of noodles and greeted Leo while eating, "Look wherever you want. I haven’t moved anything in the house since I fell asleep yesterday, so if you really left it here, you’ll definitely find it."

Leo gave a hum of acknowledgment. After pacing around the living room for a few steps, he walked over to the stairs and began to head up.

Catching this out of the corner of her eye, Ning He didn’t even have time to bite off the noodles in her mouth. She rushed up, taking the stairs two at a time, and blocked his path.

"Um... I remember you didn’t go upstairs yesterday, right?" she reminded him carefully.

Leo’s expression remained unchanged.

"This apartment of yours is quite nice. After you fell asleep yesterday, I took a tour upstairs. The item might have dropped up there, so just in case, I’d better go take a look."

"Then I’ll go with you!" Ning He said hurriedly, walking up the stairs ahead of him.

The first thing that came into view upstairs was Ning He’s large open kitchen, featuring a massive island counter. Behind it, a refrigerator, a warming cabinet, and a stove were all readily available.

"There’s only this much space up here. Just point in a general direction, and I’ll find it for you!"

As if unable to see Ning He’s nervous expression, Leo scanned the surroundings and said, "The dimensions are off. There should be another room, right?"

The hairs on the back of Ning He’s neck stood up, and her tongue got a bit tied.

"N-No... there isn’t!"

Leo took two more steps forward and raised a finger to point at the wall behind the kitchen.

"What is behind here?"

Ning He practically wanted to knock this guy unconscious with a baton, drag him out, and bury him to silence him for good.

Unfortunately, this guy’s arms were thicker than her legs. She simply couldn’t beat him in a fight!

"This... this... is actually just an empty room. But rumor has it that it used to be haunted, so it was blocked off with a wall. Let’s not go in there!"

As soon as Ning He finished speaking, she wanted to slap herself. How could someone like Leo possibly believe anything about it being haunted?!

Sure enough, she saw Leo frown.

"Haunted...? That truly is—"

"—not something to be careless about."

Ning He snapped her head up, thinking she had misheard.

"In my opinion, not only should this wall be completely blocked off, but not a single window should be left unsealed either. They should all be boarded up. Also, it would be best to install an alarm system. If someone accidentally breaks in, they will be warned in time, saving them from bumping into a ghost."

’This...’

’Is there something wrong with my ears?’

’Am I hallucinating?’

"...You’re right. I’ll find someone to seal them all up tomorrow!" she said while observing Leo’s expression, yet she couldn’t find anything unusual.

’No way, right?’

’Did he actually believe it?’

Leo nodded and said no more. He turned and headed toward the stairs. Ning He quickly followed.

As they neared the door, Leo stopped in his tracks.

"It seems I didn’t leave my things here. Sorry to bother you. Oh, by the way, I saw your electricity bill yesterday, and it’s more than what ordinary people pay in a year. You’d better check if the power bureau made a mistake. An electricity bill of over three hundred for one month is absolutely abnormal."

The heart that Ning He had just managed to calm instantly leaped back into her throat. She stammered, "O-Okay, okay, I... I’ll definitely... definitely go check... check it out."

"Mhm, and also, if you are really afraid of the ghost upstairs, you should figure out a way to become its true master. Then you won’t have to worry about it." After Leo finished speaking, he turned around before she could react. "I’m leaving. Take care."

The moment the door closed, Ning He let out a long breath. Her back was already covered in a layer of cold sweat.

It felt freezing cold.

’I was almost done for!’

Ning He patted her chest as she returned to the dining table to shovel the fried noodles into her mouth. It took quite a while for her mood to settle. Before falling asleep, she thought to herself, ’I definitely have to find someone to board up the windows tomorrow!’

As Leo walked into the alley, he also let out a long breath, a trace of awkwardness surfacing on his face.

’Haunted?’

’To think she actually came up with that.’

’I almost couldn’t keep up the act.’

’But from now on, she’ll have to rely on herself.’

Leo cast a glance at the house, then strode off into the distance.