Chapter 24
Liu Xia did not respond. She knew in her heart that this was just a drop in the bucket. Judging from the physical condition of the mother and son or mother and daughter, they probably would not live long. But it was better than not having a full meal until they starved to death.
He Tianlin took the skewers and trotted to the vicinity of the restaurant. He handed the steaming skewers to the woman and the child beside her who was so thin that it was impossible to tell whether he was a boy or a girl.
The woman pulled the child and wanted to kowtow, but was stopped by He Tianlin. Then she thanked him profusely with tears in her eyes and let the child eat the skewers first.
The child hadn't eaten fresh meat for a long time. He didn't care whether the skewers were freshly grilled and would burn his tongue. He swallowed the meat in big mouthfuls. A tumor the size of an egg bulged on the back of his neck, squirming under the rag collar as he swallowed. His eyes regained a bit of spirit.
The little face was bulging with meat. The child hummed and handed the skewers to his mother beside him. The woman who had been watching the child tenderly took it and ate it together. She chewed it carefully before swallowing it and took another bite.
He Tianlin didn't leave until they finished eating the skewers in their hands, in order to prevent the people around who were eyeing them from snatching them away.
Although this fresh mutant beast meat contains a small amount of radiation, it is already the best food source for those who are unable to hunt.
The three of them lifted the anti-radiation curtain and entered the restaurant. The blue fluorescent light filled the room, making the originally dim environment dyed with an enchanting blue.
Unlike the outdoors, the indoors is actually more like a large vegetable market. The open space in the middle is made up of more than 20 horizontal tables made of car hoods. There are stalls selling meat, homemade canned drinks, medicines and other items. There is also a circle of gasoline barrels converted into dining tables around it.
"The first floor is rented out to small vendors selling cheap goods. They need to pay monthly supplies to the restaurant owner, but compared to the vendors outside, it's much better. The second floor is the main body of the Lao Tao restaurant, specializing in selling high-end goods with trace amounts of radiation or no radiation at all." He Tianlin continued softly, "Bao Tao's slaughterhouse is one of the main suppliers of this restaurant."
Liu Xia nodded and exchanged a knowing look with the two of them. He Tianlin and Ding Ruotong immediately understood what he meant and dispersed inside the Laotao Restaurant, each trying to find out the whereabouts of the restaurant owner.
He Tianlin squatted in front of the barbecue stall, fiddling with the mutant lizard skewers on the skewers with his fingertips.
The stall owner was a one-eyed old woman, her gray hair swaying beneath the smoke. She swung an iron hook to stir the charcoal in the stove. The dark, bottomless socket of her missing eye said, "Buy if you want. If not, get out."
Ding Ruotong slammed the iron box containing several mutant ant shells on the counter and said, "Give me a cup of homemade glucose."
Liu Xia saw that both of them had found their own breakthroughs and was wondering where to go when he saw the man with mechanical legs who had just kicked the woman outside walking upstairs. He pretended to walk around and followed him.
The layout of the second floor of the restaurant is different from that of the first floor. It is divided into small compartments one after another. It looks much more upscale than the first floor, just like the semi-partitioned private rooms in modern society. More than a dozen waiters shuttle between the private rooms and aisles, serving the guests inside. It seems to be no different from an ordinary restaurant, except that there are two waiters guarding the junction of the second and third floors.
Almost all the private rooms were occupied, some were eating shabu-shabu, some were grilling, and there were even alcoholic drinks on some tables. The sizzling aroma of the grilled and shabu-shabu meat filled the entire second floor with a refreshing flavor. Even Liu Xia, who hadn't had a proper meal for a long time, couldn't help but feel a little greedy.
The wooden floor made a "dong dong dong" sound as the man with the mechanical legs stepped on it, and it didn't stop until it reached the kitchen on the right.
The curtain in front of the door suddenly lifted, and a man with a round head and sparse, unkempt hair emerged from the kitchen, seemingly waiting at the door. He was wearing a chef's uniform with some black and red stains on the hem, but it was still clean. His voice was a bit hoarse and raspy, and he complained, "Old Tang, why did you take so long to come? If there's a problem with the goods ordered by the customer, I'll be in trouble!"
Lao Tang threw the cloth bag on his shoulder to the floor and cursed, "I met a bitch blocking the way at the door, so I'm late. Lao Gao, are you still not confident in my character?"
As he spoke, Lao Tang kicked the cloth bag and said with a smile, "I've brought you a good dog today. It's absolutely additive-free and pollution-free. As for the price..."
Chef Gao leaned forward with a hunched back and said softly, "Price isn't the problem. Our boss's supplier has been having some issues lately. As long as the supply is good, everything will be fine."
Lao Tang helped Chef Gao drag the cloth bag into the kitchen. Soon, the sound of chopping meat came from the back kitchen, mixed with intermittent quarrels and discussions.
"Bao Tao was blown to smithereens!" a hoarse male voice slammed the kitchen knife on the chopping board. "Where can we find so much non-radioactive pork tenderloin now?"
"I heard there's a new group of scavengers at the west garbage dump..."
Although the voice was soft, Liu Xia, who was not far away, still heard a few words.
Liu Xia pretended to be looking for a seat and walked slowly. Just as she was about to get closer, a waiter-like man with his collar turned up stopped her. His service attitude was obviously much better than that of the vendor downstairs. He looked at her with a smile and said, "Are you here to eat?"
Liu Xia didn't want to alert the enemy, so he nodded.
The waiter took Liu Xia to an empty seat, handed her a handwritten menu, and continued with a smile, "What would you like to eat? Today's special is a mutant hyena set meal. It's made with newborn cubs and has very low radiation levels."
Liu Xia took the menu and took a look. In addition to various mutant animal products such as mutant deer, mutant pigs, and insect egg soup, there were also some artificial steaks, canned products, etc., but the prices were ridiculously expensive. No one knew what these synthetic steaks were made of, but judging from the price, they were obviously much safer than mutant animal meat.
As for canned products, I had seen them in the hive. They were actually worth ten anti-radiation potions. No wonder Xiao He was so excited when he saw the cans.
The mutant hyena set meal that the waiter just mentioned is more expensive than canned products. I wonder if it is related to the goods that Lao Tang just brought.
Liu Xia thought for a moment and said, "Give me a mutant hyena meal and a glass of clean water."
The waiter tilted his head and smiled even more brightly, as if he was happy to meet a big customer. "The special meal is limited to two per day. You're lucky there's one left today. It comes with a Level 2 Exotic Beast Core. You need to verify your funds in advance."
Taking a light green crystal from their backpack and placing it on the table, this was their trophy along the way. Liu Xia looked at the waiter quietly, observing his reaction: "I want to see the production process live."
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