wind in the dark night

Chapter 290 Bad Premonition

Soon, the food was served on the table.

Braised pork slices, braised fish and river shrimps with sauce, dried tofu with hot peppers, a big bowl of brightly colored egg soup, and the staple food is sorghum rice.

"Where are the dried tofu and hot peppers?"

Zhao Zhenhai asked the proprietress.

Dried chili pepper tofu is made with dried chili peppers.

The lady boss smiled and said, "We can't buy fresh vegetables in winter. We can only use dried chilies instead."

"The spicy pepper dried tofu is for the fresh fragrance of the spicy pepper, do you understand?"

Zhao Zhenhai blew his beard and glared.

The lady boss said apologetically: "I'm sorry..."

Qi Yue had just washed his hands and walked over to the proprietress, saying, "It's okay, just do your thing. He's just joking with you. He's like this everywhere. He just likes to tease women."

The proprietress smiled and walked away.

Qi Yue sat down and said, "Don't be too ostentatious when carrying out a secret mission."

Zhao Zhenhai asked: "Is this mission related to Assistant Wang?"

Qi Yue put down his chopsticks and looked at him: "What Assistant Wang, what are you asking about? Everyone knows it. Can you still call it a secret mission?"

"........."

"Ask what you should ask, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask!"

Qi Yue ate slowly, paying attention to the movements in the private room. Generally speaking, it was not common to eat in a restaurant at this time.

The door opened and the cotton curtain was lifted. A man in his forties, wearing a dog-skin hat and a dirty cotton jacket, walked in with a chill.

As soon as he entered the room, he took off the Type 38 rifle from his shoulder and threw it on the nearest table, muttering: "I'm freezing to death, I'm freezing to death..."

Wang Peng reached for his gun at his waist.

Qi Yue stopped him with his eyes.

The proprietress came forward and said, "Eryong is here, what do you want to eat today?"

Eryong said, "Same old stuff... Damn it, it's too cold."

The proprietress agreed, and when she passed Qi Yue's table, she did not forget to explain: "It's okay, he's from the militia, and he just came down from the blockhouse."

"I thought they were bandits..."

Wang Peng muttered.

After a while, with a shout, the proprietress came out from the kitchen with a tray containing a steaming bowl of pork, cabbage and vermicelli stew, four cornmeal buns, and a dish of fried pork liver.

Eryong said: "I didn't ask for pig liver?"

The lady boss smiled and said, "It's a gift."

"How can this be so embarrassing..."

"Just come more often in the future."

"Thanks."

Eryong sat on the bench, took off his cotton-padded jacket and hat, rolled up his sleeves, and ate the food like a whirlwind. In less than ten minutes, he had finished all the food.

He was in no hurry to leave. He took out his pipe from his waist, filled it with tobacco, took out a match and lit it. He took a long puff and said to himself, "A bag of cigarettes after dinner is better than being a living god..."

The door of the private room opened, and a flat head poked out: "Madam boss, check out!"

The proprietress walked over quickly and said, "Mushu pork, pan-fried white fish, braised pork intestines, stir-fried shredded vegetables, plus rice... the total is three dollars and fifty-six cents. After deducting the deduction, you can just give me three dollars and fifty-six."

"Wait a mininute."

The flat shovel shrank its head back.

After a while, Flathead came out, and the others in the private room followed him out, including Flathead, a total of four people. After paying the bill, these people left the restaurant.

Eryong said to the boss lady, "See? There are still many rich people in our town. If this happens every day, you will be rich."

The proprietress smiled and said, "I'm only making a living, why would I make a fortune... Oh, I forgot to ask you, weren't you on duty last night? Why did you come so late?"

Eryong sighed, "Don't mention it. Late last night, someone fired a gun near the blockhouse. I thought it was bandits sneaking up, so I quickly notified the militia to assemble. Who would have thought that we didn't see any trace of the bandits until dawn, and I almost froze to death."

"What's the matter with the shooting?"

The proprietress asked.

Eryong said: "We just searched around and found a body in the woods north of the blockhouse. The head was blasted open by a bullet. That's where the gunshot I heard came from."

"Who died?"

"do not know."

"Could it be the bandits who did it?"

"I suppose so."

"So, the bandits have entered the town?"

Eryong didn't care: "It's okay, there are only one or two people in the town."

"One or half of them is scary too."

The proprietress was worried.

Qi Yue said at the side: "Let me ask, has the identity of the deceased been confirmed?"

Er Yong looked at him and asked, "Why are you asking this?"

Qi Yue said: "Just asking, oh, we are from the Transportation Bureau, and we are here to do some business in town."

When Er Yong arrived, he saw the truck parked at the door. He thought Qi Yue was just curious, so he said, "Not yet. The body has been sent to the funeral home. They said they are waiting for someone from above to come and do an autopsy."

Qi Yue said: "The person is dead and his family doesn't even know... It's so pitiful."

Eryong stood up, put the meal money on the table, and said while putting on his cotton jacket: "Don't be afraid. Our leader said that we will go into the mountains to suppress the bandits in the next day or two. The bandits won't be able to stay for many days."

The proprietress curled her lips and said, "We go into the mountains to fight bandits every year, but the result is that the more we fight, the more bandits there are... Oh, how can we live like this?"

Eryong laughed and said, "It's good to have so many bandits. At least, people like me can still make a living... Let's go! Go home and have a good sleep!"

As he spoke, he walked out of the restaurant.

The proprietress stood there for a while, sighed helplessly, and went into the private room to clean the table. When she came out, Qi Yue noticed that there were only empty bowls and plates, without even a trace of leftovers. The food was cleaner than what Eryong had eaten.

……

ten minutes later.

The truck drove along the street.

Wang Peng, who was driving, asked, "Captain, should we go directly back to Binjiang, or where else?"

Qi Yue pondered for a moment and said slowly: "The militia said that no one knew the deceased and the murderer was probably a bandit. I wonder if the deceased was a scout sent by the police department?"

Zhao Zhenhai immediately said, "It's possible. Every year when they go into the mountains to suppress bandits, the police brigade sends out scouts in advance... Wang Peng, go to the charity cemetery!"

Ever since arriving in Lianhua Town, Qi Yue had a bad feeling. Li Yongxin's undercover work seemed ordinary, but for some reason, it exuded an inexplicable weirdness.

For example, the consumption of the four customers in the private room just now is definitely a considerable expense based on the income of ordinary people.

The problem is, four people, so many dishes, but they ate everything. For a meal that costs three dollars and fifty cents, it seems that this is not the way to eat. I have never seen any rich people finish their meal with plates as clean as if they were licked by a dog...

The truck drove all the way to the charity cemetery.

The so-called charity cemetery is a place where coffins are placed. It belongs to an ancient charity industry and is usually funded by local wealthy people. A house is built in a remote area. If for special reasons the coffin cannot be buried temporarily, it will be placed in the charity cemetery.

(End of this chapter)