Peaceful Resolution in a Peaceful Era

Chapter 49: Peaceful Era, Peaceful Resolution

As soon as Hao Nianwen and the others stepped into the room, they let out soft gasps, just like Yu Dian and Heroine Yin did yesterday.

"Wow!"

"It's so beautiful! It's really just like the pictures!"

"Insta-worthy, definitely Insta-worthy!"

"I like this hanging chair."

"Be careful, Old He, don't break the hanging chair. Look, it says it can only hold three hundred kilograms!" Hao Nianwen kindly reminded her.

"You little brat!" He Qing slapped back.

"Hmm, it seems like all the beds in the room are taken." Like most youth hostels, Anju Hotel provides clean sheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases, but guests have to make their own beds. Currently, besides three upper bunks and two lower bunks, all other beds were already made.

Wu Wenshan keenly noticed this.

"But there's no one here! Did everyone go out?" Hao Nianwen stood by a wall, standing on tiptoe to get a closer look at the photos hanging on it.

"There should be one in the bathroom," Wu Wenshan lowered her voice, worried that if others heard, it might be impolite.

"Hey, do you guys think this person in the picture looks like the handsome boss?" Hao Nianwen said, pointing at a photo, as if she hadn't heard a word Wu Wenshan said.

The others quickly gathered around, looking at the profile in the photo and saying, "He really does look a bit like him."

"Could it be that the boss took all these photos?"

"No way!"

"I think it looks like him."

"What about this one? This one from the back."

Wu Wenshan shook her head, turned, and chose a lower bunk. She threw the book she brought onto the bed and then began to examine the room's decorations.

The walls were covered with exquisite wallpaper, adorned with beautiful and artistic landscape photos, and some modern paintings, all of which suited her taste. Several shelves held neatly arranged books and small vases with a few sprigs of flowers, along with creative ornaments and a clock in a similar style. A simple table was placed in the center of the room, perfect for quiet reading. When tired, one could relax on the balcony in the hanging chair, swaying gently in the sun.

Wu Wenshan walked to the shelf, her fingertips brushing over the brand-new books. Most were famous, yet common, classic novels, or introductory works from other fields.

The Kite Runner, The Shadow Thief, Sophie's World, One Hundred Years of Solitude...

Before long, the bathroom door opened, and a cute, short girl dressed in a two-dimensional lolita outfit emerged. The first thing she saw was Wu Wenshan, and she smiled, nodding obediently, "Hello."

Wu Wenshan also gave a faint nod, "Hello."

The cute girl glanced at the other girls still discussing the photos and said with a smile, "The shop manager took these. When I arrived, there were two other girls in the room, and I asked them."

"Wow!"

Given Heroine Yin's lack of knowledge about Chinese cuisine, Cheng Yun didn't choose any famous restaurants but opted for a decent seafood buffet.

At over two hundred yuan per person, the ingredients were abundant, featuring delicacies from mountains and seas, poultry, and game. It offered grilling and hot pot options, and Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan had been there several times before.

There were many more people in the evening than in the afternoon. By the time they arrived, there were few tables left, and they had to wait a few minutes for a four-person table.

Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan sat together, while Yu Dian and Heroine Yin sat opposite them, both feeling somewhat restrained.

"This is a buffet restaurant, meaning you get your own food, cook it yourself, and eat it yourself. I've already paid for the meal, so you can take anything from the entire restaurant. You can eat the cooked food right away, and you need to cook the raw food, but be careful not to eat too quickly, or you'll get full easily," Cheng Yun whispered to Heroine Yin.

"Take anything I want?" Heroine Yin was a bit stunned. On the way in, she had seen rows upon rows of food on extremely long tables and had been swallowing her saliva, but she had held back, worried it would be too expensive.

"Yes."

"That's great!" Heroine Yin clapped her hands excitedly.

"..." Cheng Yun rolled his eyes. "You can eat as much as you want here until closing time, so don't act so greedy, or people will think you've never eaten before."

"I haven't eaten before!" Heroine Yin retorted.

"...What I mean is, if you eat too quickly, you won't be able to eat much, and it'll be hard to digest," Cheng Yun explained patiently. "Besides, I spent a lot of money on this meal. You should eat slowly, balancing meat and vegetables, so you can eat more. Eating more is equivalent to saving me money!"

"I understand!" Heroine Yin patted her chest, causing it to jiggle. "I promise to eat my money's worth! By the way, how much did you spend?"

"Two hundred and forty-eight yuan per person."

"What!?" Heroine Yin's mouth fell open. "Two hundred and forty-eight yuan, that's how many bowls..."

She lowered her head and quickly began counting on her fingers, muttering numbers and blinking her eyes. After a while, she calculated the exact amount: "I could eat here every day for a month!"

"Alright, let's go get some food!" Cheng Yun said. "Usually, there are bowls or plates under the dishes."

"I'll go get some appetizers and hairy crabs," Cheng Yan said, getting up and walking in one direction.

A moment later, Yu Dian was wandering alone through the abundant food section, dazzled by the variety of dishes. She tiptoed around, completely unsure of what to take. Heroine Yin, while not as introverted or timid as Yu Dian, was even more naive and ignorant. Cheng Yun, having no other choice, ended up guiding her as if he were taking his clueless daughter along.

"This is cold-braised rabbit. If you want to try it, take a little," Cheng Yun said, taking a plate from under the table. He handed it to Heroine Yin. "Just take a small portion. There are many kinds of food here, so if you take a little of each, you can try many different things."

"Oh." Heroine Yin nodded obediently, taking a large portion of the plate before symbolically tossing a tiny bit back.

"There's also beef, which you like," Cheng Yun said, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness. "Braised beef brisket with carrots, braised beef brisket with potatoes, curry beef brisket, seasoned beef, stewed beef, and all sorts of steaks. Let's see how you eat!"

"Then I'm not going anymore..." Heroine Yin mumbled.

Cheng Yun led her back to their seats, put the food down, then took out his mobile phone to check if anyone had contacted him. After taking a couple of photos, he took Heroine Yin to get more food.

Desserts, drinks, refreshing vegetable dishes, fruits, and various seafood and meat dishes quickly piled up on the table.

Heroine Yin stood by the table, looking at the spread with a worried expression, wondering how she could possibly eat it all. At the same time, she reluctantly glanced back at the food stations, feeling there were still many dishes she wanted to try but hadn't gotten.

Cheng Yun chuckled beside her. "Haha, see? You don't listen to elders, and now you're facing the consequences!"

"I only took one plate of many things," Heroine Yin pouted, insisting, "This isn't my fault."

"..." Cheng Yun shook his head. "I'm going to get some more grilled lamb chops."

"I'll go with you!" Heroine Yin volunteered.

"I'm only getting one plate."

"I still want to go!" Heroine Yin was filled with curiosity about this new dining experience of a buffet.

"Okay, okay," Cheng Yun said helplessly.

Around this time, it was almost 6:30 PM. Young women in traditional Chinese dresses began performing traditional instruments on stage, usually the guzheng and flute.

Ethereal music soon filled the entire restaurant.

There was only one window for grilled lamb chops, manned by a plump chef. However, many people were present, likely because everyone loved them, resulting in a long queue at the lamb chop station.

With no other choice, Cheng Yun pulled Heroine Yin to join the line.

Suddenly, his mobile phone chimed. Cheng Yun quickly took it out and saw a message from the official WeChat account.

It was from Hao Nianwen--

"Boss, I heard you ran off with your receptionist?"

Cheng Yun breathed a sigh of relief, the scare passing. He replied, "I'm out for a big meal with my sister and staff. We might be back a bit late."

"Wow, a good Chinese boss!"

Cheng Yun looked up. There were still a few people ahead of them, so he continued typing, "Yeah, everyone's been busy since we just opened. The receptionist has worked hard. Plus, my sister doesn't take a cent and helps me with everything, worrying about me all day. I have to treat them to a meal to boost their morale."

Heroine Yin, standing beside him, tiptoed and craned her neck to peek at his phone. She suddenly frowned, displeased. "The cleaning staff works hard too."

"Okay, okay, you've worked hard too."

"Then why aren't you telling her!"

"You, you..." Cheng Yun twitched the corner of his mouth and typed again, "Mm, and the cleaning lady too."

Just as it was almost their turn, with a long line behind them, several women who looked to be in their late forties or early fifties suddenly walked sideways towards them, like crabs, and cut into the line! Then, these women stood comfortably in front of Cheng Yun and Heroine Yin, looking slightly upwards as if to say, 'I don't see anything, I don't hear anything, I was here from the start.'

Heroine Yin's mouth hung slightly open, stunned by this maneuver.

She pointed forward with a trembling finger, looking at Cheng Yun. "Station Master, didn't you say that when there are many people in your world, they queue in order? What... what's going on?"

Cheng Yun didn't answer. Instead, he spoke to the women in front. "Ladies, you should go to the back of the line!"

The expected responses like 'Who are you calling grandma?' or 'We were already in line here' didn't come. The women stood there rigidly, as if deaf.

Cheng Yun raised his voice, his tone becoming impatient. "Ladies, go to the back of the line!"

People behind them heard him. Some frowned, others quietly criticized, but the women completely feigned deafness.

Cheng Yun felt like he was punching cotton, almost spitting out a mouthful of old blood!

It seemed these women were very experienced!

What could he do...

Cheng Yun finally turned to Heroine Yin and replied, "This is called a lack of manners, cutting in line. You must never learn from them. If you do, people won't just look down on you; they'll curse you behind your back. And if you have grandchildren in the future, they'll be born without... **."

Even after hearing this, only one of the women turned to glare fiercely at Cheng Yun. The others remained unfazed, as steady as mountains.

"Oh! I get it! These old hags cut in line!" Heroine Yin finally understood, her eyes narrowing, a hint of ferocity appearing. "One of them even dared to glare at me. She's really tired of living!"

"Where's my knife!" Heroine Yin instinctively reached for her waist but found nothing. "It's okay if I don't have a knife. Station Master, you stay here and don't move. I'll deal with these old hags!"

"Whoa!!" Cheng Yun quickly stopped her.

"What?" Heroine Yin frowned, looking at him with righteous indignation. "I want to uphold justice and act heroically!"

"These old hags are not to be trifled with!" Cheng Yun whispered in her ear. "They're shameless, and you and I have dignity. If things escalate, they won't care about losing face, but we will! And you can't reason with them. If you lay a hand on them, they'll immediately fall down and cry in pain, and then you'll have to pay them!"

"This troublesome?" Hearing the word "pay," Heroine Yin quickly calmed down.

"Yeah," Cheng Yun nodded. "So sometimes you avoid certain people, not because you're afraid of them or because it's troublesome, but simply because you feel they're dirty. You'd have to wash your hands after slapping them."

"Oh, that makes sense." Heroine Yin nodded, but her expression was still uncertain.

The women quickly got their food, each plate piled high with grilled lamb chops. As they left, they cast disgusted glances at Cheng Yun and Heroine Yin behind them.

Heroine Yin's eyes turned cold. The sudden burst of killing intent, combined with the scar on her face, easily intimidated the women.

Cheng Yun and Heroine Yin then stepped forward.

The chef inside said, "Sorry, the grilled ones just now were taken by those ladies. The customers waiting will have to wait a bit longer, but not too long, about ten minutes."

Cheng Yun froze, a nameless anger rising within him.

Heroine Yin's expression became even more uncertain, her hands clenched into fists, and the faint sound of cracking could be heard.

If she hadn't been thinking about having to pay, she would have lost control long ago!

"Damn it!"

Suddenly, she glanced at the spot where the older women had left, her anger subsiding significantly. She tugged on Cheng Yun's sleeve. "The Station Master is gone, we don't have to queue anymore."

"I don't want to queue anymore either... huh?" Cheng Yun followed her gaze and saw the older women sitting at the table next to theirs. The table was piled high with food, and they had just put down their lamb chops before going out to get more dishes.

"How are you so clever!" Cheng Yun patted Heroine Yin's head.

"Of course!" Heroine Yin proudly lifted her head.

"Do you want to do it, or should I?"

"Leave this kind of work to me. I'm fast. You just keep watch!" Heroine Yin patted her chest righteously.