Chapter 618 - 633: A Meal with Hei Niu

An Ning arrived right on time and found the barbecue place Hei Niu had mentioned. Hei Niu was already there waiting.

"Over here!"

Hei Niu stood up and waved. An Ning rode her bike over, parked it on the side, locked it up, and walked over to Hei Niu.

"You’re here early."

"Well, I’m the one treating, so I have to get here early. It’d be bad form otherwise."

An Ning sat down across from Hei Niu. Hei Niu held up a bottle of beer, and An Ning nodded.

Hei Niu took a pair of disposable chopsticks, pried at the bottle cap, and with a PSSST, it popped off.

"Impressive!"

Hei Niu handed the beer bottle to An Ning.

"What, have you switched from being Li Kui to Lin Daiyu lately?"

An Ning nearly spat out her beer at Hei Niu’s quip.

Hei Niu grinned smugly from across the table. Their beer bottles clinked together, kicking off their feast of roast lamb and beer.

"The lamb here is delicious."

"Come here often?"

Hei Niu shook her head and pointed to the leg of lamb roasting on the grill. "I hunted it."

That explained it.

One roasted leg of lamb and a bunch of lamb skewers. Hei Niu also ordered two handfuls of grilled kidneys, while An Ning got a few skewers of roasted cicada pupae. The two dug into their intensely flavored barbecue.

Hei Niu’s father had mostly recovered. He could move around freely but still lacked the strength for manual labor.

In the village, no work meant no income, so naturally, Hei Niu had to shoulder the burden of supporting her family.

An Ning laid out the salary and benefits for Hei Niu, who, of course, had no objections.

"You wouldn’t have to be tied to one place. I want to hire you mainly for your skills in the mountains. You could be a freelance Medicine Seeker. Lots of pharmacies need rare medicinal catalysts or unique herbs."

"No problem. I’ve flipped through that Compendium of Materia Medica countless times recently."

The two continued to eat and drink, their collection of empty beer bottles easily rivaling that of the guys at the next table.

In fact, the shirtless guys eating barbecue at the next table, seeing that the two girls were about to out-drink them, ordered another case of beer from the owner—whether to save face or because the alcohol had gone to their heads, who knew.

With a THUMP, one of them planted his foot on the case.

They were drinking with a foot propped on the case!

An Ning and Hei Niu were completely unfazed. They hadn’t come for a drinking contest; it just so happened that they could both hold their liquor surprisingly well.

Besides, what’s the alcohol content of beer? It’s nothing compared to the kick of hard liquor.

Hei Niu often went into the mountains alone, and hard liquor was always an essential part of her kit.

That stuff wards off the cold, works as a disinfectant, and gives you a boost. Good stuff.

When the roast leg of lamb was about ready, Hei Niu pulled a small knife from her pocket and, in a few deft movements, stripped the leg clean, leaving nothing but the skeleton.

From a distance, the skeleton looked a little terrifying.

After all, it was enough to scare the four competitive guys at the next table sober.

With knife skills like that, she was not someone to be messed with.

Their barbecue and beer feast lasted from daylight until it was nearly dark.

The barbecue joint’s owner was a savvy businessman. He’d hung up little colored lights and started blasting some upbeat music, instantly creating a lively atmosphere.

As dusk settled in, not yet fully dark, more and more people arrived, drinking and eating barbecue in small groups.

There was even someone singing out front, a unique feature for a place in this town.

"Isn’t that Liu Shengnan?"

A group of three girls and two boys stopped by An Ning and Hei Niu’s table.

’It took An Ning a moment to place the name as she looked at Hei Niu. She wasn’t used to calling her Liu Shengnan, but she had to admit the name was a surprisingly good fit.’

Hei Niu drained the last drop from her bottle and slammed it on the table with a THUD.

That sound alone made the group of five take a step back. Then, feeling like they’d lost face, they started getting loud.

"Still the same as ever. Acting like some kind of delinquent. Who do you think you’re scaring?"

Hei Niu simply arched an eyebrow, shot them a sidelong glance, and said in a very low voice,

"Looking for a fight?"

"Who wants to fight you? We just came to say hi. After all, you and my Ah Wei used to be a thing."

One of the girls clung to the arm of the guy named Ah Wei, her chin held high, though her eyes kept darting nervously toward Hei Niu.

"Ohhh, here to mark your territory."

An Ning chimed in, leaning back in her seat and raising her beer. It couldn’t have been more obvious that she was settling in to watch the drama unfold.

Hei Niu shot An Ning an exasperated look before turning to the smug girl. "Do you know what an ex-boyfriend is? It means I was done with him. I threw him out. Now you’ve picked him up like scrap. What are you trying to show off to me for? Do I look sad about a pair of shoes I wore out years ago? That’s a laugh."

This was clearly not the response the girl was looking for. She hugged the man’s arm tighter and scoffed, "Tch, that’s just because you’re blind. You never even saw half of how great my Ah Wei is."

"Alright, so you’ve seen how great he is. He’s all yours. Now that you’ve had your say, you can go. Don’t tell me you guys are broke and looking to freeload some drinks off us?"

Hei Niu snatched up a beer bottle, a look of mock concern on her face as she eyed the group.

Clearly, the girl was no match for Hei Niu. She tugged hard on Ah Wei’s arm.

The guy named Ah Wei looked up, his gaze lingering on Hei Niu for a long moment before he finally asked, "Are you doing okay?"

"Can’t you see for yourself?"

The guy, Ah Wei, nodded. He started to pull his current girlfriend away, and their friends helped, also urging the girl to leave. They didn’t want to mess with Hei Niu.

That Hei Niu was just vicious!

Once the five of them had left, An Ning, who had been leaning back, sat up straight.

"That’s it? It’s over?"

"I never realized you were such a gossip."

"Probably because I’ve had too much time on my hands lately."

Hei Niu leaned in, studying An Ning’s face with a thoughtful expression. "Something tells me you’ve got a man on your mind."

An Ning’s jaw dropped.

"It’s that obvious?!"

Holding nothing back, An Ning and Hei Niu burst into laughter together and polished off another half-bottle of beer.

"It’s that Jiang Xia guy, isn’t it?"

"Yeah. You knew?"

Hei Niu set her bottle down. "It’s not hard to guess. He’s basically the only guy in your orbit, and he’s not exactly subtle about his feelings."

"Really? Tell me everything. How is he obvious? Why haven’t I noticed?"

An Ning looked exactly like a high school or college girl who’d just found out her crush liked her back and was begging her roommate to list all the evidence.

An Ning nodded in vehement agreement as Hei Niu listed off a few examples.

"Alright, my turn to be nosy. Who was that Ah Wei guy?"

"Ex-husband."

"PFFT—"

An Ning did a spit-take with her beer. Hei Niu, who had clearly anticipated this, had already leaned back and calmly offered An Ning a napkin.

"Wipe it up."

An Ning took the napkin, still stunned, and looked at Hei Niu. In a tone of mock indignation, she said, "You got married and you didn’t even invite me?!"

This time it was Hei Niu’s turn to laugh.

"Is that really your takeaway from this, An Ning?"

"How is that not the point? As far as I’m concerned, it’s the most important thing! I thought we were best friends, soulmates even! And I didn’t even get to go to your wedding! I—"

An Ning put a hand to her forehead in an exaggerated display of heartbreak.

"Oh, give me a break. Playing the tragic Lin Daiyu doesn’t suit you. Besides, I never had a wedding."