"Miss, let me confirm with you again. We need ten plates each of our signature beef and lamb rolls, five plates of shrimp balls, and five plates of pig throat..."
The waiter seemed to be reading the menu of this hot pot restaurant, attracting the diners at the surrounding tables to look at Lin Luo's table frequently.
— So much? Can you finish it?
The waitress herself was numb after the announcement. After finally finishing her explanation, she couldn't help swallowing her saliva, then kindly reminded, "Miss, we advocate moderation in consumption. You can order a portion first, and you can always refill if you need more later."
Lin Luo waved his hand. "I know, that's why I ordered these first. We'll add more if there's not enough later."
Not enough? Add more?
Looking at Lin Luo and Yun Shu's perfectly proportioned figures, the waiter wondered if he was out of touch with the times. "Do you have any friends coming over? This is a table for two, so there might not be enough room."
She thought she had guessed the truth. It must be a big dinner with friends. She probably chose the wrong number of people. So...
"I was just about to say this." Lin Luo interrupted the waiter's guess, "Can we change to a private room? We ordered so much and it's not enough."
The waiter confirmed his guess, smiling and nodding repeatedly. "Sorry, sorry, of course. We have a private room for ten people available. Is that okay with you?"
As he spoke, he led Lin Luo and Yun Shu towards the private room. "The name of the room is D88. Your friends can come directly in when they come..."
Lin Luo stepped into the empty box and looked back in confusion: "Friends? Just the two of us. I asked before I came in if two people could use the box. Your colleague said no."
The waitress paused, but her professionalism allowed her to quickly recover. "Ha, ha, really? I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."
——Don’t blame that colleague? No one would have thought that two people would order so much, right?
The private room is really convenient, there are even two pots.
Lin Luo originally brought Yun Shu here to taste the delicious hot pot, so naturally he wanted to try all kinds of it.
For example, the soup bases include spicy, mushroom, tomato and butter. There are two double-flavored hot pots with four flavors, two spicy and two non-spicy. You can eat whichever one you want.
While the store was preparing the soup base and ingredients, Lin Luo took Yun Shu to the condiments area. Her hot pot ingredients have always been a hodgepodge, with no distinction between regional flavors.
"Just put in whatever you like, adjust it as you like." After saying this to Yunshu, Lin Luo went to add the seasoning himself.
Mushroom sauce, beef sauce, oyster sauce, chili pepper... Let's start with a dish of these flavors that don't conflict with each other.
Peanut butter, sesame paste... Another plate of this delicious and fragrant sauce. Lin Luo quickly prepared his own sauce.
When I turned to look at Yun Shu again, I found that he was adding a spoonful of fermented bean curd sauce to the dish.
——Yunshu has eaten fermented bean curd before, so you should know what it tastes like, right?
Lin Luo didn't say anything. The two of them returned to their seats carrying four plates in their hands and found that two pots had already been brought up.
The waiter handed Lin Luo and Yun Shu an apron each to prevent them from accidentally getting splashed with water.
Although this hot pot restaurant was crowded, the food was served very quickly. Two waiters pushing a cart placed plates of ingredients on the long table, and soon the table that could seat ten people was filled up.
Lin Luo and Yun Shu sat facing each other in the middle of the table so that they could reach the pots on both sides.
Start the spicy hot pot first.
Lin Luo picked up a plate of beef rolls generously and went in.
"The meat slices are thin and can be eaten in a short time." Lin Luo also pointed to the small sign placed by the merchant next to it, which listed the cooking time of various ingredients, accurate to the second.
Yun Shu had never eaten hotpot outside, but she had eaten it with Lin Luo at home quite a few times in the winter. Seeing that Lin Luo was worried about her now, how should she say... she felt a little happy.
"Yeah, okay."
Yun Shu was like a humble and studious child at this moment. "Luoluo, should I put the tofu in first?"
Lin Luo nodded. "It doesn't matter if it cooks a little longer. Go ahead and put it in. Yunshu, can you help me put some shrimp paste in the butter pot?"
The spicy shrimp paste is so fragrant.
Soon, the red and white beef changed color rapidly. Lin Luo scooped up a bunch of it with a colander in one hand, and used the other hand to pick up a large spoonful of it for Yun Shu with a serving chopstick, and put the rest in his own bowl.
"start!"
Lin Luo picked up the beef and put it into the dipping sauce, rubbed it back and forth, and then put it into his mouth.
call--
A breath of hot air came out of Lin Luo's mouth.
Eating hot pot in this air-conditioned room is a truly unique experience.
There's a reason this restaurant has such a good reputation. Just like its signature beef, the meat is tender and even though the dipping sauce is very strong, you can still taste a light milky aroma after chewing it carefully.
It seems to be the meat itself? With it!
After eating this piece of fatty beef, have a sip of iced sour plum soup, what a perfect match!
He quickly finished the beef in the bowl, and the mushroom pot and tomato pot on the side were also boiling at this time.
Some vegetables taste better when put in a clear pot like this, such as lotus root slices, bamboo shoots slices, enoki mushrooms... These are vegetables that can be cooked for a long time, so put them in first.
Yun Shu saw Lin Luo busying himself and quickly swallowed the food in his mouth. "Lolo, I'll do it. You just sit there."
Lin Luo waved his hand, "It's okay, I can still do this simple dish arrangement. You usually do the hard work, so let me cook a meal today, even though it's not very sincere."
Yun Shu laughed, "I really enjoy cooking for Luo Luo. It doesn't feel tiring at all."
This is what Yunshu really thinks. He likes to see Luo Luo smile happily after eating delicious food. This makes him happier than eating it himself.
When Lin Luo heard this, her expression was obscured by the swirling heat, but her smile could still be vaguely seen.
Yun Shu might think that he saved him and has been raising him, but Lin Luo knows that if it weren't for Yun Shu, he would be practicing alone in Zhoujiawu all day long. How could he be so interested in eating hot pot with others?
In the end, there is a high probability that you will return to an old path that is no different from the previous life.
She actually had a vague feeling that when her mental power advanced in her previous life, Lin Luo had a feeling that everything didn't matter. The power at that time was cold.
However, after living with Yunshu, the occasional care from Grandma Yao and Uncle Zhou made her heart change.
No longer as cold as in the previous life, it seems to have more popularity, and even the mental power seems to be infected with this warmth.
Lin Luo didn’t know whether this change was good or bad, as long as she felt happy.
"Lolo?"
"Ah, this tripe is almost overcooked, hurry up and take it out!"
…
In the end, Lin Luo lived up to everyone's expectations and ate everything she ordered. She even ordered three servings of multi-grain noodles, but these were all for Yun Shu.
Lin Luo's appetite has increased a lot as his physical condition has improved, but no matter what, he can't compare to Yun Shu. His appetite has also increased a lot in less than a year.
Maybe he's still growing.
When the waiter finally came in and saw the table full of empty plates, a hint of shock inevitably flashed in his eyes.
——A real-life big eater!
When they finally left the hotpot restaurant, the owner gave Lin Luo and his friends some small gifts, hoping they would come again.
After all, this table is equivalent to several tables of others.
It was almost eight o'clock in the evening when they walked out of the hot pot restaurant, and Lin Luo and Yun Shu were not in a hurry to go back.
The temperature at this time was not as hot as during the day, and there was a hint of coolness at night. The two began to walk along the commercial street, commonly known as digestion after a meal.
There are many small stalls on both sides of the road, and the things sold there are also varied, as if there is everything.
Yun Shu's eyes were fixed on a young couple not far ahead. The man bought a glowing balloon for the woman, tied it around her wrist, and then quietly approached her and said something.
The girl shyly hit the boy's chest, but the boy didn't care and quickly turned his head to kiss the girl on the face.
The two of them walked forward while playing and joking.
——Is there such a thing?
At this moment, Lin Luo and Yun Shu walked up to the balloon vendor. Yun Shu stopped and asked, "Lolo, do you want some balloons?"
--balloon?
Before Lin Luo was in the first or second grade of elementary school, he would occasionally pester his parents to buy him a balloon, but he lost interest in it when he was in the third or fourth grade.
Even when Lin's father and mother see people selling gas balls while shopping, they won't ask her if she wants one.
I didn’t expect that even though I’m this old now, there are still people asking me if I want a balloon?
"Okay." Lin Luo picked out a green double-layer balloon with a light strip on it. Because of the color of the balloon, it emitted a bright green light. "What about Yunshu? Which one do you want?"
Since she has one, Yun Shu must have one too.
Yun Shu blinked quickly. Does he have it too?
"Give me the red one."
A balloon costs twenty yuan. When Lin Luo was about to pay, Yun Shu had already paid.
Lin Luo looked at Yun Shu's smooth and natural movements and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Is the New Year's money from grandma almost gone?"
Yun Shu didn't care, "It's okay, Luo Luo will support me."
puff--
This guy...
He said it without hesitation and didn't feel ashamed at all about being raised by Lin Luo.
"Behave well, and I will make sure to make you plump and white." Lin Luo said this with a smile. Before he realized anything, the look of the guy who was selling gas on the side changed instantly.
The look in his eyes when he looked at Yun Shu probably expressed this meaning: Sure, brother!
Wouldn’t it be nice to be supported by a beautiful girl like Lin Luo? There are so many people lining up to support her, right?
Yun Shu took the balloon and didn't care about the vendor's look at all. He looked at Lin Luo's empty left hand, walked directly to the other side, bent down and tied the red balloon to Lin Luo's wrist.
"Give Luo Luo double the happiness!"
If one balloon can be happy, two should be even happier.
Lin Luo: “…” I can’t be happy.
She looked at the green balloon in her right hand, and then at the big red balloon in her left hand. Both were glowing in the night, one red and one green, particularly eye-catching and... dazzling.
He is simply the brightest guy on this street!
Lin Luo handed the balloon in his right hand over without hesitation, "One for each of you, take it."
Yun Shu tightly held the balloon given to him by Lin Luo, with a bright smile on his face. Against the backdrop of the green light above his head... he looked particularly silly!
For the next two days, Lin Luo and Yun Shu did not go out again. They just stayed in the small yard, eating watermelon and enjoying the joy of summer.
But the atmosphere in Zhoujiawu became increasingly strange.
The murderer has not been caught, and the police are seen going in and out of the village every day. Even when he goes to the town to buy something, he will be pulled aside by people he knows and questioned mysteriously.
The murder case in Zhoujiawu had already spread to the surrounding villages, big and small, including the town.
But it is too difficult to crack.
Wang Ahua's interpersonal relationships are simple. Although she is a bit talkative, it is not easy to find out who has the motive to kill among them.
Moreover, her body had been almost completely corroded, the clues were limited, the conditions in the town were not adequate, and it would take some time to send it to the city for an autopsy.
In just this short period of time, a rumor started to spread unconsciously.
Zhoujiawu had offended the gods. Wang Ahua was only the first one, and there would be a second and a third...
Combined with the previous anomalies in the ancestral hall, this "rumor" actually seems somewhat credible.
Now, the few villagers in Zhoujiawu could no longer sit still and contacted their children to say that they wanted to stay there for a while.
Even though the police and Zhou Guangzong repeatedly emphasized that these were nonsense and had no scientific basis, they could not stop the villagers from believing in their own ideas.
From the time the first one left, in just two days, there were only seven or eight old people left in Zhoujiawu, except for Lin Luoyunshu, Grandma Yao, and Zhou Guangzong.
All of these old people are very old and no longer care about life or death. As a result, the already deserted Zhoujiawu becomes even quieter.
It's like a dead village!
If this continues, let alone building a sanatorium and developing Zhoujiawu, this village will become deserted sooner or later.
On this day, Zhou Guangzong knocked on Lin Luo's door again.
"Uncle Zhou, what's going on?"
Looking at Zhou Guangzong who looked a little tired, Lin Luo guessed that he probably didn't sleep well these days.
"Girl Luo."
Although Zhou Guangzong looked tired, his eyes were still as sharp as ever. "Can you buy me a cup of tea?"
Lin Luo's smile remained unchanged: "Of course."
Zhou Guangzong sat on the sofa in the living room, while Lin Luo and Yun Shu each had a stool opposite him, and the three of them happened to form a three-way confrontation.
Holding the freshly brewed hot tea in his hand, Zhou Guangzong didn't mind the heat. He blew on it twice and then took a sip.
"Good tea." He sighed.
Lin Luo: "It's ten yuan a pound in town, it's the one across from the station."
Ten yuan... and a pound? Is this tea?! No wonder it tastes wrong.
Zhou Guangzong, who wanted to say a few more words before speaking, was forced to stop, so Lin Luo continued.
"Yun Shu and I don't like tea. If you like it, you can bring some back later."
Zhou Guangzong: "..." Did he come here specifically to get some tea from the young man at ten yuan a pound? If those guys heard him, they would laugh their heads off!
He now realized that Lin Luo was indeed not easy to fool. She didn't look like a young girl whose parents had both passed away and who had never entered society.
This mentality alone is better than many people!
The cousin next to him had no intention of interrupting or saying anything from beginning to end. He kept looking at Lin Luo most of the time, as if she was the only one in his eyes.
——It’s so damn difficult!
Zhou Guangzong cursed in his heart, and after thinking for a moment, he decided to overturn his previous plans.
Uncle Luo has done their family a favor. He couldn't bear to be mean to his only relative. Besides, he might not succeed.
"Girl Luo." Zhou Guangzong put down the teacup in his hand. "I won't beat around the bush. What do you think of Wang Ahua?"
Lin Luo tilted his head: "How do you see it?"
She looked at Zhou Guangzong without any aversion, "I'm not familiar with her, how can I see her?"
Zhou Guangzong: "But I asked the villagers, she once said some bad things about you, you heard it, and there was a small conflict."
Lin Luo only downplayed his and Yun Shu's presence, but did not erase their memories, so if someone asked, the villagers would still be able to remember some things about Lin Luo.
What happened before with Wang Ahua and the other two at the village entrance? In addition to Grandma Yao who was standing nearby, there must have been other people who saw it.
Lin Luo: "So? You suspect I was the one who killed him?"
"Lolo!" Yun Shu spoke before Zhou Guangzong could reply, "You? How could you possibly kill someone!
Yun Shu knew how serious the crime of killing was in this society.
Seeing Lin Luo mention these two words so lightly, Yun Shu couldn't help but frown.
It's not like he hasn't seen those reports about wrongful convictions being overturned decades later. This shows that not all innocent people can be cleared by the law, and even if they are eventually cleared of the charges, it's too late.
Lin Luo turned his head away, "Yun Shu, don't worry."
The two looked at each other, and Yun Shu slowly calmed down, no longer as anxious as before.
Zhou Guangzong finally found an opportunity to interrupt, "I didn't mean that!"
——Why do you make me act like a villain who forces women of good character into prostitution?
Two pairs of eyes looked over at him, and Zhou Guangzong sighed inwardly, "I won't say any more nonsense, Luo girl, I just want to ask you one question: do you know... or guess who the murderer is?"
Lin Luo laughed: "Uncle Zhou, how would I know? I'm not some great detective hiding among the people."
Zhou Guangzong didn't laugh: "You? Guess one, okay?"
He knew that Lin Luo was eccentric. Zhou Guangzong had met such eccentric people before, and Lin Luo was not the first one.
There is no point beating around the bush when dealing with these "special" people.
Zhou Guangzong could see that although Lin Luo did not show it on his face, he was actually very arrogant and proud, and simply disdained to do anything sneaky.
Even if such people are scheming, they are doing it openly and honestly to make you fall into the trap willingly.
Zhou Guangzong had been "hanging out" in the outside world for so many years. If he didn't have a pair of eyes that could see people, no one would know where his body was buried.
After he finished speaking, he immediately stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Luo. "I know I'm forcing you, but Luo girl, just treat me as an old man taking advantage of my age. Please tell me a name."
Lin Luo looked at Zhou Guangzong. She could see that the old man had discovered something, but Lin Luo didn't care or was afraid.
With her current strength, there are very few things that can pose a threat to her. She is really desperate...
Lin Luo's personality is such that he would rather die than live in disgrace. I believe no one would want to see that consequence.
However, seeing this old man whose back was always straight now bending over like this, Lin Luo felt little moved. Instead, his face showed a thoughtful look, as if this scene brought back some memories.
Then Lin Luo pursed her lips slightly and looked at Yun Shu beside her, who seemed to want to do something. She signaled him with her eyes not to move.
Yun Shu obeyed with a little grievance.
"Zhou Asheng."
In the end, Lin Luo uttered these three words softly. In fact, it was very simple for her to know the real murderer. She just needed to hypnotize everyone in the village and ask.
The murderer must be from Zhoujiawu.
But Lin Luo didn't do that.
She only said this name at the old man's request, a name that was really just a guess.
The author has something to say: The old fox and the little fox are testing each other, only... Yun Shu:???
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