65 Chapter 65 (Two in One)
◎Urgent, urgent, I'm here to try Mr. Ye's meal!◎
"One million for a banquet? That's quite a sum of money. You have to be worth at least a hundred million to dare to eat like this, right?"
Ye Ping'an sighed and bombarded him with questions, "What kind of banquet? How many tables are needed? What are the ingredients? Are there any special requirements? When will the menu be finalized for tasting?"
Cheng Yi: Ababa Ababa Ababa.
"It's a 'wedding banquet', which will be held in a few days. Everything else should be provided by the other party."
Apart from these questions, Cheng Yi knew nothing about anything else.
[Ding Dong! 100,000 yuan has arrived!]
This has only one advantage: the money is transferred very quickly.
Ye Pingan smiled happily, "The customer trusts me so much... then I will pay more attention to it!"
Looking at the ever-increasing figures, Ye Ping'an finally managed to suppress his smirk and straighten his expression. "By the way, Xiao Cheng, you still need to ask them the right questions, like when they'll be able to make time, how much they need to make, when the final payment is due, and so on. Don't expect me to take care of their entire banquet; cooking and hosting the wedding banquet are two different things!"
Cheng Yi's face showed a bit of fierceness, "How dare they not pay!"
Ye Pingan glared, "Hey, hey, you can't do this to your sponsor. What if you turn away the business that's already come in?"
Cheng Yi shut up for a second, lowered his head obediently, and wiped the table with a rag.
Ye Ping'an had some understanding of this hardworking but silent and introverted employee, and he could tell at a glance that she was nervous.
"That's enough. If you keep wiping the table, it's going to get dented."
Ye Ping'an pushed her shoulders, stuffed a freshly steamed tofu skin bun into her mouth, and pushed her out the door. "You've done a good job with the business you've introduced. Keep up the good work. I'll give you a commission when we close this deal. Go wherever you want and buy whatever you want. I told you I'd give you the morning off, so don't stay in the store any longer—remember to come back for lunch before the store closes!"
In the early morning of summer, the sun is still so bright that it is hard to open your eyes.
Cheng Yi stood outside the door for a long time before putting down her hands that were covering her face.
She walked along the food street in confusion, not knowing what to do.
The construction site across the street was nearing completion, with work intermittent. At the corner convenience store, the night clerk dozed off, while the security cameras diligently worked.
The breakfast stall at the intersection ahead is already open for business. Students and office workers pouring out of various dormitories and residential areas, carrying their breakfast, squeeze into the sardine-filled traffic.
If she could be admitted to a university through the college entrance examination, she would probably be a busy and inconspicuous member of the university.
But compared to cult parents...
It is better to be busy early in the morning than to get up early in the morning and pray to the gods and offer all kinds of strange sacrifices - especially when the sacrifice is yourself.
The sound of water splashing from the machine came from the Xile Hotel behind me.
The dishwasher must be rinsing the crayfish.
Cheng Yi took some effort to carry the two large tanks of crayfish that were delivered early in the morning into the house. Each one had plump claws, waving vigorously, and looked very meaty.
Cheng Yi swallowed unconsciously.
As expected, lunch was the first batch of crayfish out of the pot.
Except when there were too few ingredients or when she was tasting the food, the boss rarely made any special arrangements. He would serve whatever the boss took her to eat.
Or maybe the boss wanted to eat it anyway, so he changed the menu.
The boss is sometimes very concerned about keeping his cooking skills intact, and for this reason he may watch a food video over and over again for two or three days just to observe a certain technique.
Sometimes, the boss doesn't mind being lazy with the machines. The store has more than one set of blenders, dishwashers, and even the food processors that some traditional cooking videos claim have no chef's soul.
This made the boss less busy, and the guests all liked Xile Restaurant very much. Although the boss never said it, Cheng Yi felt that the boss also liked the current atmosphere in the restaurant.
After all, if half of the equipment in the kitchen is removed, the number of guests that the lobby can accommodate will at least double.
Cheng Yi walked forward aimlessly, his eyes stopping at the door of another store at the end of the street.
The coffee shop, which was transformed into a half-bookstore after a new owner, has been renovated but has not yet opened for business.
The door opened very early, and Cheng Yi saw the white-haired man sitting inside reading a book early in the morning.
He looks gentle, aloof and cold, but!
On the bookshelf, there's a row of magazines, a row of textbooks, and the rest, just look at the covers... those are weird, male-oriented monster-fighting covers, right? Those are hot romance novels, right?
What he was holding seemed to be the original novel of an old TV series that was rebroadcast this year. What was it called? "The Fox Demon of Trouble in the Country: Love in the Fallen City"?
Reading a romance novel and taking notes with a cold expression?
Cheng Yi curled her lips, "He's really not a serious person! I'll tell the boss when I get home!"
-
"Advisor, these are the top ten most popular literary creations of a specific genre. But, but the content is for entertainment only. Please take a look and don't take it personally."
The assistant gritted his teeth and put down a few novels. The covers of all of them had foxes drawn on them, and the content... was mostly the popular online novel for men and women, the Nine-Tailed Fox version.
Ever since he was caught in his fox form, Consultant Tushan no longer concealed his true feelings from him.
I heard that they were going to work with Ye Ping'an to screen out relatively safe yet difficult ghost dens. After meeting with the director yesterday, the consultant had been looking through the information on various ghost dens without a break.
The assistant was really afraid that the consultant would get angry and something bad would happen to him after seeing the strange image of the fox demon.
"Would you like to take a break before watching?"
"No need." Tu Shansui's voice was no different from before he stayed up late.
When he woke up, he didn't need to rest anymore. Reading other content was already a leisurely rest.
Tu Shansui picked out the key marks of the ghost den that showed signs of being related to the restricted area, put the questionable information aside, and picked up the book that was handed to him.
Completely different from the black and white sealed information, the colorful cover dazzled his eyes.
Technology was developing, and books were becoming more colorful. The amount of text that could be recorded had made a huge leap forward even compared to when he first woke up.
It's very convenient. It would be even better if this wasn't the era of weird resurgence and we weren't heading towards doomsday.
The rigorous archival records were similar to the past habit of carefully considering every word, but the style of the magazine stories he had seen before was quite different.
Speaking of which...what is a magazine?
The story of the fox warning its tribe, could it be a summary of idioms and aphorisms?
These colorful books are very thick, how much content will be recorded——
Look at the text on the cover clearly, Tushan Sui:?
Demon, fox? Love?
Tu Shan Sui could understand these words, but why couldn't he recognize them when they were put together?
Tu Shansui opened the story and flipped through a few pages. Looking at the story about fox spirits, which was said to be the most popular, his mind went blank.
So, can the stories recorded in books still be used as entertainment? But this entertainment...
Tu Shansui felt something was amiss with the stories in the magazine. After finishing the inscription on the "Hungry Ghost" tablet and having some free time, he asked his assistant to find some stories. He immediately discovered:
Tushan's reputation seems to be over...
The fox is not the one that brings disaster to the world!
Blame it on those authors. Fabricating fanciful things is fine, but how could they turn an auspicious fox spirit into a bewitching, harmful monster?!
Ye Ping'an was so casual with the fox, he must have been influenced by these stories!
In the past, the awakening was short, and Tu Shansui did not pay attention to it, and had no energy to pay attention to these details.
But after seeing it, I can’t continue like this.
Searching through historical texts, only fragments of information remain. Official historical research links are searched for far less than the novel in his hand.
Tu Shansui's face was tense. He searched for the original serial URL displayed on the book in his hand, and struggled to click on "Author Registration" in a field of small green print.
Maintaining the dignity of Tushan clan starts with him.
Tu Shan Sui is not a serious recorder, but he can still write down the past he remembers.
At least... the Nine-Tailed Fox must be auspicious!
After writing a few strokes, Tu Shansui frowned slightly and looked up.
Cheng Yi, who had stopped at the door and looked at him angrily, was now only a back figure.
Ever since Zheng Xin was arrested, the Investigation Bureau had been keeping an eye on this remaining member of the True Spirit Society. Knowing she wasn't a core figure, and with Ye Ping'an in charge, they didn't take her away immediately.
But someone had taken the bait I threw out yesterday, and Cheng Yi had rarely left the shop, so naturally he had to find a chance to intercept it. He couldn't just sit there and watch the True Spirit remotely direct the fish to go off like a timed bomb.
The crowd inadvertently swept Cheng Yi away and took her away from the food street.
"Ms. Cheng Yi, you are suspected of being involved in an incident endangering public safety. Please cooperate with the investigation. We are..."
The normal process of introducing identities had not yet been completed when the girl interrupted them with an expressionless face.
"Investigation Bureau, the sworn enemy of the True Spirit Society, right? No need to waste time questioning. The True Spirit Society is indeed targeting the boss. What are the details? Are you sure you want to hear it here? I have to go back to the store before opening, please hurry."
The girl, who had just reached adulthood, had a faint look of annoyance on her face, and she wasn't very happy with the investigators.
It was not the resistance, cry for help or cooperation that was expected. He cooperated, but not completely.
Cheng Yi showed the communicator and revealed everything he knew. "The True Spirit Society contacted my member, codenamed 'Tai Sui,' and wanted the boss as a sacrifice. He wanted to lure the boss to a certain place and told me that he could use a 'wedding banquet' as an excuse."
"Tai Sui... got it!"
The information personnel transferred to cooperate with the team moved their fingers quickly, and the searched information popped up on the screen, with the key points marked in red letters line by line.
Some are self-proclaimed code names, and some are words that appear in the vicious crimes of evil cult organizations. There are at least a dozen people who call themselves "Tai Sui".
...The main reason is that there are always endless crazy people, and there are also quite a lot of people trying to find high-sounding names from myths and legends.
Yan Mingyue's expression became serious, and his gaze stopped at the person who had caused the greatest damage.
"If it's that 'Tai Sui'... a ghost tamer suspected of possessing the B-level ghost item [Tai Sui], skilled at using low-level ghost tamers and certain strange laws to create mass incidents. He was previously active within the Snow Country, and several teams disappeared during their pursuit. 'Tai Sui' disappeared from record as the Snow Country fell more rapidly a year ago, and he's suspected of a mysterious revival."
Zhou Xing was playing human-machine mahjong, and Shadow and she both touched their chins. "The Forbidden Zone's arrival was interrupted, and the True Spirit Society is really anxious. Instead of targeting Consultant Tushan, they're targeting Boss Ye. Are they picking on the weak? Or has their old, stubborn president really gotten some information about the Forbidden Zone, discovered Boss Ye's peculiarities, and wants to take a bite?"
Yan Mingyue looked at Cheng Yi calmly.
To professionals, Cheng Yi's emotions and reactions were simple and clear. Cheng Yi was just repeating what she had said.
She obviously had no idea what "Tai Sui" represented, was too far from being a formal member of the True Spirit Society, and didn't understand the difference between a designated sacrifice and a random sacrifice.
Cheng Yi exuded a sense of madness that was common among members of evil cult organizations, but he was also exceptionally calm.
Yan Mingyue had seen members of cults go berserk and take revenge on society. She had also seen their faith crumble and turn against them. It was rare to find someone who hated both the Bureau of Investigation and the True Spirit Society equally.
It doesn't look like he's defecting to the FBI, nor does it look like he's seriously working undercover.
"Why tell us?" Yan Mingyue asked.
"I hope you can put some pressure on them. Destroy their stronghold, catch them planning ahead of time, or something..."
For the first time, a glimmer of anticipation appeared on Cheng Yi's gloomy and world-weary face. "Then he'll transfer money to the boss faster, and transfer more money. One million is really too little, not enough to pay the boss to cook!"
Yan Mingyue: ...?
The sudden turn almost hurt her waist.
"...The True Spirit will give money?" Yan Mingyue was surprised.
This isn't the first time a cult organization has used money to trick people into giving away sacrifices. But...
Is Cheng Yi wholeheartedly focused on making money for the store?
Is Boss Ye’s business acumen contagious?
Yan Mingyue's expression couldn't help but become strange.
So, would the True Spirit pay Boss Ye to beat them up? A small shop assistant who's in Cao's camp but has his heart in Han, and still thinks the pay is too little, wants the Investigation Bureau to force them to squeeze more money out?
"Thank you for the intelligence you brought us. We will assess the danger and do our best to control the impact..." Yan Mingyue's mouth twitched, "and ask Boss Ye to take action when the time is right."
Yesterday I was still thinking about how to keep an eye on the True Spirit Society’s plan, and today the plan was delivered to my door.
The demon dens that we're collaborating on to crack haven't been identified yet, so we can start this time by cooperating with Boss Ye. Of course... it would be even better if we could solve the problem without Boss Ye's intervention.
The newly formed mobile team launched an investigation based on the intelligence and arranged for someone to send Cheng Yi back.
Cheng Yi took her new mobile phone, queued up to buy a cup of milk tea, and returned to the store before noon.
The spicy, hot steam gushing out of the store dominated the entire street. Cheng Yi touched her stomach and rushed into the store.
"Boss! I bought the new lychee iced tea."
When Cheng Yi saw the white-haired man standing next to Ye Ping'an, the smile on his face disappeared immediately.
To be fair, Tu Shansui's handsome appearance, like a handful of mountain snow, was very attractive. Especially when the spicy smell slightly inflamed the tip of his nose and he lowered his head to look intently at the boss, he had a strange allure.
But there was no appreciation in Cheng Yi's eyes, only vigilance. He lowered his head and secretly rolled his eyes.
Why do you keep looking for the boss instead of opening your own shop? It looks so dishonest!
Ye Pingan poked his head out, "You brought back a gift too? Why don't you drink it yourself?"
"Yeah." Cheng Yi glanced at the plastic bag in Tu Shansui's hand and secretly curled his lips.
How dare this person use random items bought at the supermarket as gifts?
Cheng Yi trotted over to Ye Ping'an and handed her the cup of milk tea. "I've had it! This cup is for the boss. Thank you for teaching me how to cut vegetables these days!"
"Then I won't hesitate." Ye Pingan took the cup with a smile. "The lychee version of this store has good reviews, but it's too hot to queue up, and there's a surcharge for takeout. I'm thinking of ordering a cup someday."
A sip of the drink brings up the lychee flesh and the cool, icy jelly. It's a bit sugary, but not cloying, and the sweetness cuts through the summer heat.
Ye Ping'an narrowed his eyes happily. "Not bad, not bad. It should be Guiwei. The quality of this new batch of lychees is very good."
While drinking the fruit tea that the clerk thoughtfully brought him, Ye Ping'an opened the "gift" brought by Tu Shansui.
A bag of edamame.
As an excellent cook, Ye Ping'an knew what was inside the bag even through the bag.
As one of the summer limited edition products, it’s time for edamame to be on the market.
However, seasonal vegetables are not necessarily better the earlier they are put on the market. Edamame that is put on the market too early will either be full of water when you bite it, or have the taste of greenhouse vegetables, lacking the freshness of the season.
The batch of vegetables grown in Aunt Qin's vegetable base is not yet fully ripe. It will take a few days, so Ye Ping'an is not in a hurry to put it on the menu.
It wasn't until he opened the bag that Ye Ping'an's eyes lit up.
The surface of the green bean pods is covered with fine hairs, and they burst open crisply when pinched, and are extremely fresh and tender.
"What fresh edamame." Ye Ping'an was a little surprised and looked at Tu Shansui.
Tu Shansui still dresses with his shirt buttoned up no matter how hot it is. His overly fair skin shows that he is an indoor clerk and he doesn't look like someone who can be picky about food.
But every edamame in the bag is in the best condition, there is no way you just picked a handful at random.
Ye Pingan: "I didn't expect you to be so picky."
Tu Shansui raised the corner of his lips slightly, "I can smell it... cough."
As soon as he spoke, the spicy aroma that he had been holding his breath to resist came in uncontrollably.
The spicy base sauce continued to stir-fry, and the hot fumes were almost all sucked away by the range hood, but the store was still the place with the strongest aroma. Tu Shansui couldn't help coughing, and suddenly not only the tip of his nose turned red, but also a little red under his eyes.
"With such a great talent, it would be a shame if you didn't become a chef."
Ye Ping'an poured him a glass of water and went into the kitchen impatiently with the bag.
The crayfish that need to be processed and the base ingredients have been prepared. They are neatly placed and just waiting to be cooked when the business opens.
A bag of edamame weighs only two or three pounds. You can quickly wash them clean, cut the ends slightly, and put them in the pot.
Fry the spices until fragrant, then add cold water and edamame into the pot.
Fresh edamame doesn't need to be cooked for a long time and can be eaten within a few minutes of boiling.
The gradual warming of the cold water preserves the fresh taste of the edamame and keeps its color green and lovely.
The freshly cooked edamame is still hot, unlike the hard, summer-like beans. I pinch the skin and slurp it, and the soft, tender edamame, dripping with juice, pops into my mouth. The five-spice flavor permeates the inside and out, and I can even suck the skin down to the veins.
Ye Ping'an took out a dozen or so, covered most of them with lids, and continued to simmer them.
Snacks like boiled edamame and peanuts become more flavorful the longer they are simmered. If you chill a portion of them, they will have a crispier taste.
When it's simmered in the evening, ice cola with the well-seasoned edamame is the perfect dish to go with your meal.
Ye Pingan satisfied his craving and stuffed one into the mouth of the employee who had just returned and worked silently. He handed the others to Tu Shansui, "Here, your return gift. Eat it while it's hot. I know you don't have a good appetite, so just give it a small taste."
A spoonful of edamame scooped out of the bowl was emerald green, and the chili peppers inside were really eye-catching.
Tu Shansui hesitated for a moment, picked up one with chopsticks, and gently bit it open.
Not spicy?
On the contrary, it is very fragrant, and you can taste the sweetness of the beans more clearly.
"Isn't it delicious?" Ye Ping'an raised his eyebrows proudly, "Remember to call me when you come across good ingredients in the future."
Ye Ping'an's abacus was clattering.
Tu Shansui seems to be on frequent police trips, and he has a keen nose, so he'd be remiss not to scout out the ingredients... It's not like she's not paying! If there's something delicious, he'll benefit too, right?
In order to queue up in advance at mealtime, Xiao Kui tried hard to recommend a supplier of multi-grain steamed buns to her for several days, but Ye Ping'an refused.
After all, Xile Restaurant is not a diet restaurant. People can steam their own steamed buns. What is there for her to cooperate with semi-finished steamed buns?
"I'll pay attention." Tu Shansui swallowed a mouthful of edamame and nodded slowly.
The investigators on duty outside the Xile Hotel looked at each other and swallowed their saliva. "What do you think, will Boss Ye sell edamame? They look delicious..."
"The amount is too small, probably not."
"Did anyone notice where the consultant bought it?"
"Who's going to ask the cafeteria if they have any new edamame?"
As I watched enviously, a shared bike pulled out of the construction site intersection. A young woman in a suit puffed and sped up. Her makeup had melted away, her eyeliner and foundation smudged like a panda, making her unrecognizable.
The moment he appeared, a warning came from the earphones, "Stop her! She has a strange aura!"
Could it be that the True Spirit Society is going to attack Boss Ye now?!
The investigators were startled, the car took off, turned sideways, and braked suddenly to block the intersection.
"Please move aside, I have to go to work." The girl on the shared bicycle said politely.
She didn't wait for the car blocking her way to respond, nor did she stop. She turned a corner, accelerated onto the sidewalk, and headed straight for the Xile Hotel.
"The surveillance comparison is correct. She's fallen into a strange hallucination."
Zhou Xing jumped out of the car, his elongated shadow cast on the bicycle's shadow. "Old people can't even take a break. How can I let you get close to the Xile Hotel if I'm here?"
The girl in the suit kept pedaling, but she and the bicycle couldn't move forward, as if they were entangled by shadows on the ground.
The investigators got out of the car together, carefully raised their restraints/guns, and surrounded her.
Zhou Xing frowned. "Strange, no weirdness covered? Just a ghost slave with a distorted consciousness?"
The girl in the suit was stopped in her tracks, her expression anxious and sweating. She looked at the group imploringly, "What are you doing? I really don't have time. I can pay you! I need to go to the Happy Hotel. I'm running out of time for work! Make way! Please make way! If I don't finish my work, I won't pass my assessment and it will be over..."
Judging from the voice, he sounds like an ordinary worker who was unlucky enough to be intercepted by a bully.
She begged while pedaling the shared bike frantically, seemingly not noticing that the bike was spinning in place.
The ankle was bleeding from overexerting. He turned around and around holding the handlebars trying to find the way. His swollen palms were broken and bleeding from the constant exertion.
Zhou Xing had no doubt that if he kept trying to stop her, she would continue pedaling tirelessly.
No matter if my ankles are bleeding or all my skin and flesh are worn off, I will not stop until I reach my destination.
...All deceived ghost slaves are like this.
Based on Zhou Xing's experience, it seemed that her transformation into a ghost slave had just begun, and it was still time to send her to the hospital for emergency treatment.
The girl pedaled her bike continuously and pulled out her phone, completely unaware that the call hadn't been connected. "Hello? Boss Ye, I'm sorry, I'm Lin Yu from Xingkui Group. Today's group meal tasting might be a little late. Someone's been blocking me on the road..."
The investigators who were about to knock her out:?
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