69 Chapter 69 (Two in One)
◎Group meal order +1◎
"So, it was the food from the [Ordinary People] that awakened him a little, allowing him to be successfully rescued? He's already become a ghost slave, so as long as he's not dead, eating him would be useful???"
"That's right, that's right. The ghost slavery is irreversible, but the influence of the previous strange rules is also irreversible! Now, 'Ordinary People's Food' has truly become an essential medicine."
"No, no, to be precise, this is the power of ordinary people.
"Do you remember the strange changes in Jiang City mentioned in the data? In the first half of this year, there were several suspected strange incidents and disappearances, but no real ghost slaves were born...
"We previously speculated that the B-level ghost den had failed to revive, that the ghost-enslaved victim trapped in the hearse hadn't crossed the danger line, and that the sleep paralysis victim and the beast had only just begun to come into contact before being captured. But Ye Ping'an appeared in all of these incidents."
"If the ghost slaves go from irreversible to salvageable, who knows how many more people will survive! No matter how hard the Bureau of Investigation tries, or how strict the vigilance of all departments is, it will be difficult to detect the strange creature before it acts. Even the most minor strange incidents, if interrupted promptly, will still result in at least one victim affected by the strangeness."
Those who can't hold on may become ghost slaves or struggle to the brink of death. Those who can hold on may become survivors or reserve investigators. With even stronger willpower and greater intelligence, they may discover patterns, counter-control the strangeness and become ghost masters.
"But the investigators' backup force was always too small... Now it's different. Just the remnants of the Zhoukou ghost den alone can free at least hundreds of thousands of people! Even if their willpower was a little weaker than mine, they still survived. Not to mention, perhaps this research can reveal the mechanism of contamination and erosion caused by the strange aura?"
"The ghost slaves were no longer considered living, but now—even the slightest reversal is a chance for reversal!"
The conference room was filled with excited discussions. The last time people were so excited was when they learned that the Hungry Ghost den had dissipated.
Amidst the discussion, a question arose: "Wait, when the medical team at the state entrance discovered the effect of saving lives, didn't they find that the food was effective on ghost slaves?"
As soon as the words fell, someone shook their head. "There have been so many bizarre things happening lately that you've been so busy that you've lost yourself. How long has the [Hungry Ghost] den been over? We haven't even finished rescuing the most critically ill patients affected by the strange rules. We've asked [ordinary people] to cook, and even the control group and ingredient testing aren't enough. And we haven't even started capturing the imprisoned ghost slaves in the city yet!"
"A glimmer of hope, truly a glimmer of hope..."
The voice of surprise echoed in the conference room, full of disbelief and hope.
It was like finally seeing a glimmer of hope after a long period of despair.
Director Zhang looked at them with a smile, "Everyone, I think we should change our attitude towards Ye Ping'an. What do you think?"
Even the most vigilant person in the meeting room couldn't help but nod his head.
"Yes, it's time to change."
"Thankfully, we've gotten along well with her in Jiang City, Huaxi, and Zhoukou. We'd better strengthen our protection, maintain her preferred environment as much as possible, and obtain more 'medicine'."
"Let's forget about the cooperation with Yucai College. The safety of ordinary people is more important. Yes, she can suppress weirdness, but our observations of the Happy Restaurant show that she doesn't devour weirdness. Those guys in the restaurant have never given up on escaping. Even a high-level weird controller could fall into trouble in a den of ghosts. We can't guarantee her safe return. She enjoys cooking and running a restaurant, so let her continue. Our people can pretend to be diners and pick up the 'medicine'..."
The senior executive pondered anxiously, receiving strange looks from his colleagues. He coughed uncomfortably, "Ahem, I voted against her before, suspecting she was a Transcendent A-Grade Freak. But [Ordinary People] can help more people survive! Even if she really is a Freak with some special circumstances, the kindness she gives is still real. Before she falls like a forbidden zone deity, I am willing to support her!"
Director Zhang shook his head. "In this absurd world, the gods return from their graves and the dead awaken from their coffins. We can only choose the least bad options and hold onto hope for the future. But... I don't think what you're proposing is a good idea."
Director Zhang tapped the table slowly. "Everyone, the evil cult, led by the True Spirit Society, has noticed her. We can't completely isolate her from the real world. Even if we could, do you think she would see this as protection, or as captivity, like in 'The Truman Show'? Would it continue to earn her goodwill, or would it anger her?"
The air in the conference room suddenly dropped to freezing point, and some people shivered with fear.
Director Zhang looked at everyone gently yet firmly. "[Ordinary Person] Ye Ping'an chose to be an ordinary person, open a shop, earn money, and cook. Perhaps it's out of habit, perhaps due to cognitive influence, or perhaps it's simply her anchor point. Whether it's from an anchor point or just plain friendship, it's best we don't interfere too much with her life. Let's vote now."
"I agree."
"agree."
“…”
The senior executive whose proposal was rejected again looked at the old woman sitting at the top who had persisted since the beginning of the strange revival, and also looked at the huge world map behind her.
Large black patches appeared on the world map, with scattered names of countries and regions interspersed within them, each lit with a small light, like the only bright lights left in the dark world. On the largest patch, the name of "Blue Country" still glowed brightly.
The old man's deep wrinkles have seen many ups and downs, and the dilapidated ship is still sailing with difficulty.
The senior executive spread his hands and cast his final vote. "I agree. I hope this friendship will last forever—just as I hope our world will last forever."
Passed unanimously.
Director Zhang smiled. "Then, order the 'medicine' through normal channels. The Ghostly Den will continue preparations to suppress the True Spirit Society's actions. Hopefully, our world's less-than-lovely 'specialties' can add a little fun to her ordinary life."
……"specialty"?
Many people in the conference room choked.
After the emergency closed-door meeting in the early morning, Yan Mingyue looked at the instructions she had just received and couldn't help but laugh, "...Now, maybe Cheng Yi can really get 10 million from Boss Ye."
"Captain Yan? What do you mean by ten million?" Yao Qing was confused as soon as he entered the room.
Yan Mingyue shook her head and put down her phone. "You took Lin Yu on a surprise inspection of the Xingkui Group. Did you find anything new?"
After treatment, Lin Yu's memory was still very confused, and she still couldn't figure out how she got sucked into the demonic den. A mental scale test also showed that her condition was very serious, but fortunately she had not completely collapsed.
Dr. Feng's team suspected that she was the first person in this incident to return from being a ghost slave to the state she was in at the beginning of her transformation.
But no matter how chaotic her memory was, at least she had provided a breakthrough in the Xingkui Group. The investigation into the Xingkui Group's doubts could continue.
Yao Qing's expression was a little strange, "Yes."
Yao Qing pulled a thick file from his backpack and slammed it on the table. "Xingkui Group President Xiao Zhuan has reported irregularities in the flow of funds within the group and the disappearance of relatives. He hopes we can station a special task force to investigate."
Yan Mingyue:?
Yao Qing sighed, "Previously, this Xiao CEO was very cooperative with our investigation. She simply insisted on maintaining the group's reputation and industrial stability, and didn't believe there were any internal problems. She rather believed that it was an employee accident or some corrupt officials within the company. But recently... incidents involving Xingkui have become frequent, so she began a secret internal investigation and found some aberrations."
Yan Mingyue flipped through the file.
Wow, half of it is internal information of the group.
The pages contained notes from experienced criminal investigators, who assisted in the analysis, filling in the gaps left by the investigators and clearly listing several suspicious incidents.
"Xiao Zhan's parents died, and Xiao Zhan's brother is suspected of disappearing shortly after returning home. We've discovered abnormal fund withdrawals from multiple projects, and this has been going on for at least a few years..."
The file stopped at the connection diagram of Xiao Zhuan's relatives, one photo after another, and at the top was a face that had aged a long time ago. Xiao Zhuan's grandfather, the first chairman of Xingkui Group who had not resigned.
Yan Mingyue frowned. "The criminal investigation department suspects that a close relative is taking risks and transferring funds for the family property. But from the Bureau's perspective, this is very dangerous. If this is a member of a long-hidden evil cult, who used to only provide financial support but recently began using his own property as a sacrifice site, then either he's gone crazy and doesn't care anymore, or... his goal is almost achieved."
Yan Mingyue closed the file and said, "Transfer it to Jiang City and forward it to the city investigation bureau that owns Xingkui Group's assets. They will investigate as soon as possible. Our mobile team has other tasks to do."
The Mobile Action Team's investigation was originally just a follow-up to Ye Ping'an's involvement in the incident. If the investigation yields any clues, the other colleagues will continue their efforts.
Yao Qing responded, somewhat curiously, "Captain Yan, our training isn't over yet. Next... are we going to a nearby city to complete the strange events before becoming a regular employee?"
"No, you don't need to go to another city." Yan Mingyue couldn't help laughing, "Someone will send you 'teaching aids'."
Yan Mingyue cleared his throat and said, "Anyway... let's go strengthen the defense line near the food court first."
Yao Qing came in confused and left in confusion.
Yan Mingyue made a video call and the other party answered immediately.
"Xiao Yan! Did you receive the notice from above?" In the video, Zhou Xing's hair was disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot, clearly having not slept all night. But she was in good spirits, her eyes and eyebrows full of smiles.
Zhou Xing moved the camera away to show Yan Mingyue the corridor behind her.
Yan Mingyue was very familiar with the corridor decoration. The separate hospital buildings prepared for ghost fighters and victims of strange events were similar in every city.
Extremely easy-to-clean walls, specially designed restraints, defense devices ready to deploy at any time, stressed-out and exhausted medical staff, the long, dead silence in the wards, and the ultimate wailing of those trapped inside...
The Baixian, with their keen senses, rarely approached the hospital, and the ghost controllers were always in a hurry to receive treatment. After all, watching one's own kind and oneself dying was not a pleasant experience.
But Jiang City Hospital is a little different.
The victims who got off the hearse in the [Hearse] incident walked out of the ward one by one. Those who survived the [Hundred Eyes] incident quickly returned to their normal lives after receiving treatment.
Strange things happened one after another, and now it was the turn of the more than 20 people who had just left the cram school.
It was still dark, but the lights in the operating room had been turned off, and patients in the wards were waking up one after another.
Someone in the corridor looked around confused and weakly, trying to find memories from his confused brain.
Some people also grabbed the nurses with tears in their eyes.
"Thank you, thank you for saving my life! ...By the way, what did you give me to eat before the emergency? It seemed delicious, but unfortunately I can't remember what it tasted like. Can you give me another bite? Everything else tastes bland!"
Zhou Xing looked at them and couldn't help but smile. "I never thought I'd see such a busy day at the hospital. Doctor Feng, who arrived overnight, is arranging personnel. The previously detained ghost slaves are being tested in batches based on their detention time and condition. She asked me to ask you, do you think it's better to ask Boss Ye to 'order food' in the name of the hospital, or to go and buy it as an ordinary customer?"
"It looks like the hospital is going to be even busier."
Yan Mingyue also laughed. "I think... we can bring the patients' feedback before we go to 'order'. Boss Ye will probably appreciate this compliment."
-
In the early morning, the only things passing by in the food street were delivery trucks. Amid the clattering sound of rolling shutters, the Xile Hotel opened its doors.
Cheng Yi brought in the basket of vegetables and carefully ticked the box on the delivery note.
"Boss! The crayfish are here!"
A yawning sound came from the second floor.
Ye Ping'an opened the curtains, and the morning light shone on the gold coins covering the bed, making them sparkle.
Employees are diligent and have gold coins to sleep with them, so their sleep quality improves dramatically and it is inevitable that they will sleep in.
Graduation season is here, beware of theft and trafficking...
[Please choose a reputable institution for tutoring and training, be careful not to lose both your money and your life.]
The notice board across the street changed a few words. Ye Ping'an looked down at the parking space for a second and felt relieved when he saw that the van was still there.
"It's okay. No more car thieves."
Ye Ping'an took out his cell phone, scrolled down and found the owner of the car dealership.
Old Liu was still in Zhoukou Hospital, sending her a barrage of messages every day, either full of grateful ramblings, trying to give her the entire car dealership, or eagerly asking if there was anything he could do to help.
Ye Ping'an suspected that the oil factory's pyramid scheme had brainwashed him and he was too lazy to even read it.
AAA Xile Restaurant: [Lao Liu, do you have any good car locks? The kind that locks the wheels tightly and few thieves can open.]
My previous car lock was not designed to lock a motor vehicle. After being stolen once, it can no longer be used. It's a good opportunity to ask a professional.
A dialog box popped up with a series of car lock options. Lao Liu enthusiastically offered to have his staff come to install the car locks immediately after selecting them, and also upgrade the interior trim at the same time—free of charge!
"That's great." This sounded much more serious than the nonsense about giving away the car.
Ye Ping'an made an appointment with satisfaction and opened the reservation on the food delivery platform.
Today's main dish is still crayfish.
When I got the car back yesterday, the crayfish I had cooked were no longer as delicious as when they were freshly cooked.
Fortunately, the crayfish season lasts a long time, so not only can we eat them for a few more days, but we can also have a big meal before the market opens.
Knock knock. The door knocked.
Ye Pingan threw away his gloves, which were covered in red oil, and opened the door for Yan Mingyue. "Officer Yan? Are you going to take notes about yesterday's cram school?"
"We went together yesterday, so there's no need to take a statement. But this time, our visit is indeed related to the 'cram school'."
Yan Mingyue smiled and said, "Yesterday when Lin Yu was undergoing a checkup, the meal she brought was very popular in the ward. The hospital hopes to order group meals from Boss Ye. I've asked you to ask... I know Boss Ye changes the menu frequently. If it's inconvenient, you can just keep the dishes the same as in the restaurant."
"The hospital also wants to order food?" Ye Ping'an's eyes lit up.
The order from Xingkui Group was dragging its feet, with no certainty. But as the sun shone in the east, there was light in the west. Before the summer off-season arrived in University Town, a steady stream of business arrived!
Yan Mingyue nodded. "Minimum of fifty servings per time. It would be best if there is a drink paste that you can make yourself. The meal price is 100, and the thank you fee is extra."
With every word Yan Mingyue said, Ye Ping'an's eyes brightened a little.
Yan Mingyue fished out a box of notes from her pocket and handed it to her with a smile. "The patients really like Mr. Ye's food, so they asked me to bring these. I want to tell you, they are really delicious."
There were not many words written on the note, and few of them were flowery.
Words like "delicious" and "feels warm and comfortable" are the most common.
Some of them were written by more than 20 people whose emergency treatment was completed last night, and some were written by patients in Zhoukou who had just woken up after receiving treatment.
Most of them don’t know the purpose of the food, but the sincere exclamation of its deliciousness may be more suitable for Ye Ping’an.
The sun gradually rose overhead, shining brightly and radiating heat.
The bright sunshine illuminated Ye Ping'an's face and the thick stack of papers in her hand.
Ye Ping'an flipped through the pages one by one, his face smiling as usual. Yan Mingyue couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she was certain that she was reading very seriously.
After reading the last one, Ye Ping'an carefully put the note paper back into the box and put it directly into his pocket.
She patted her chest proudly, "Of course, this is a recipe passed down from my ancestors, I guarantee it's delicious! As for the hospital meals, I just made them two days ago. I'll take care of the hospital's meal orders. We can sign a long-term contract, and I can handle a few more orders."
"How much is the thank you fee?"
Ye Pingan lowered his voice, his eyes rolling around, "Ten thousand?"
Yan Mingyue agreed immediately, "Okay, 10,000 each time. I'll ask them to prepare the contract later."
Ye Pingan watched her leave and twitched his lips. "...Why does it feel like the quote is too low again?"
"It's the police officers who introduce the business. They're the easiest to do business with. They're wealthy and they pay you quickly."
Ye Ping'an happily took a box of notes upstairs and put it together with the account book.
The thick stack of deposit slips had been put away in a corner, next to a wardrobe that was rarely opened.
Next to the account book beside my pillow, a lot of things gradually appeared. There were projected food documentaries, raffle medals, plush toys, gold coins, and... a box of surprising reviews from diners.
"Starting from scratch shouldn't be that hard, right?"
Ye Pingan laughed.
Ye Ping'an walked downstairs briskly, looked around the wall, moved out a blackboard, and placed it in the corner of the side wall where there was no window.
On the blackboard, a few large characters were written in colorful chalk: [Customer Message Area]
"Xiao Cheng, go buy a few sets of sticky notes next door. They need nice shapes. If they don't have any, ask the stationery store on the next street."
"?" Cheng Yi hesitated to speak.
Ye Pingan smiled and waved his hand, "I know, the sticky note wall doesn't match the store's decoration style. It's okay, it's a new store, new look, it looks good, go buy it!"
Cheng Yi walked out without a word. The investigators who stayed nearby looked at each other in confusion. "Captain Yan...should we tell Boss Ye that post-it notes are a bit outdated?"
Yan Mingyue held her forehead with her hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. It looks pretty good. As long as Boss Ye likes it, that's all."
Crayfish, which is very popular in summer, is on the menu, and Xile Restaurant’s takeout orders have seen a small peak again.
If there are no crayfish, there are clams, and if there are no clams, there are snails... There are so many summer ingredients, and Xile Hotel is enough to satisfy diners' expectations for "delicious food".
The newly installed message wall also caught the diners' attention, quickly filling up half the wall. Half were from hospital orders, almost all praising the delicious food, and the other half... were from dine-in customers, almost all wishing for recipes.
The order contract for "hospital group meals" was signed successfully, and a week passed in a flash.
A white-haired figure walked into the door familiarly. As soon as he opened the bag, Ye Ping'an, who was leaning against the door, opened his eyes and said, "...Peaches?"
The summer sun was so scorching that Ye Ping'an had to move inside the glass door to take a nap in the sun. After lunchtime, when there were fewer people around, he could still feel warm in the sun.
The owner of the neighboring bookstore comes on time every day and brings different things every day. The only consistent thing is that the ingredients/fruits must be very fresh.
The pink peaches almost filled Tu Shansui's entire hand, and Ye Ping'an felt that he had seen a similar color somewhere.
The peaches have been washed, and there seems to be a bag of juice flowing under the thin skin, and the sweet peach fragrance has overflowed.
Sure enough, one bite and you can get a mouthful of peach juice, just need to insert a straw.
Ye Ping'an sat up lazily and noticed that there was only one peach in the bag.
Tu Shansui explained, "This peach smells the best today."
A peach wasn't a good gift, but he couldn't find a more suitable ingredient.
"There's only one peach, so I can't cook anything with it. Then... come, let's try it together." Ye Ping'an handed him the unbitten half of the peach.
Tu Shansui was stunned for a moment, "No, no need. I'm going back."
Ye Ping'an's eyes swept across the tip of his ear.
The ears turned red in embarrassment among the white hair, looking like pink peaches.
Tu Shansui's figure was so stiff as if he was fleeing in panic, and he even forgot to take the draft paper he brought with him.
"Oh, you're not lucky." Ye Ping'an shrugged, stood up slowly, and went to get the draft paper he forgot to take.
Tu Shansui is not in a hurry to open a store, but he comes to Xile Hotel every afternoon these days.
Ye Ping'an was basking in the sun. After tasting the food, he wrote and drew something nearby, probably busy with police consulting work.
Ye Ping'an glanced at the draft paper.
...Wait, that doesn’t seem to be a consulting business.
Tu Shansui came back and saw Ye Ping'an's subtle expression as he stared at the draft paper. The redness on his ears suddenly showed signs of spreading to his face.
He still isn't used to typing on his phone. However, the new technology allows him to write on paper and then take a photo to convert it, which is very convenient, without having to slowly tap the screen.
The only downside is that if you forget to take the manuscript paper, you can easily be seen writing a story.
After uploading a few stories from the past in his spare time, Tu Shansui discovered that entertainment stories are more popular than historical research, and it is not a matter of different popularity of the websites.
But...the best-selling story itself is popular.
The story had been uploaded for a few days, but only received a few dozen hits. The only comment was, "Is the author a classical literature major? It seems like he's writing a classic. He seems very cultured, but I can't quite understand him. It's probably suitable for hypnosis..."
Tu Shansui: ...
Ye Pingan looked at him with a smile, "Consultant Tushan is writing a novel?"
Tu Shansui hurriedly covered the manuscript in her hand and said, "I don't write well, don't, don't read it..."
Ye Ping'an shook his head. "What's wrong with it? When I'm bored, I just keep watching the food videos and novels I've read before, and it's boring. If I had this artistic talent and could write my own, I wouldn't be short of things to read!"
Ye Ping'an was very excited. "Tushan, have you posted it online? Where is it serialized? Do you have a link? I heard from Xiao Cheng a long time ago that you also read novels. So you read novels for the sake of writing. There are many Shan Hai Jing fan fictions, but your imitation of ancient style is the first time I've seen it. When will the next update be?"
Tu Shansui opened his mouth, feeling lost and embarrassed. "...I uploaded it, but no one reads it. It's useless."
"You can't say that."
Ye Ping'an shook his finger. "If you can write, write more. Even if you can't become a best-selling author, at least people will read it. Think about it, the number of hits indicates how many people have read it. If one person reads it, one person knows it. If there are dozens of hits, then an entire lobby will know your story."
Ye Pingan opened his hands and placed them in front of him. "So, where is the link, where is the follow-up, and where is the author's daily update?"
Tu Shansui looked at her steadily, and his embarrassment and helplessness seemed to have disappeared.
Yes, at least someone had read the story he left behind. He was no longer the only one who knew about the Tushan clan and His Majesty Xuanyuan.
Tu Shansui held the manuscript paper in his hand and said, "Thank you. I'll send it to you when I get back."
"It's okay if it's not written, just look at the photo of my beloved concubine!"
The voice drifted away with the opened door. On his way back to the bookstore, Tu Shansui almost sprained his ankle on the flat road.
"Hey, it looks like there's no more novels to read for the time being. Actually, aside from the poor grammar, which makes it a bit difficult to read, the story is quite interesting."
Ye Ping'an finished taking the last few bites of his peach and turned to look at Cheng Yi. "By the way, when will the client for the engagement party arrive? He's been saying he wanted to meet me to review the menu since the day before yesterday, but he's been putting it off day by day and hasn't confirmed it yet. Will he still come today? Could it be that they haven't decided on a wedding date yet? How long are they going to keep dragging it out?"
"Puchi!" Thinking of the ambush team of the True Spirit Society that was caught on the spot by investigators these days, Cheng Yi couldn't help laughing out loud.
Ye Pingan:?
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