"Looks quite good," I said politely, turning my gaze away from the bag of dried mushrooms.
Next, I said goodbye to Huang Beibei and Huang Jiajia and found a barbecue stall I often ate at.
It was a good time; it wasn't yet the peak activity period for nocturnal creatures. Many of the small tables along the street were empty, so I easily grabbed one and shouted to the owner:
"Let's order!"
The owner remained focused on grilling skewers, unmoved, while his wife, carrying a small notebook and a ballpoint pen, quickly approached.
Without any pleasantries or further conversation, I went straight to the point:
"Ten skewers of pork belly, ten skewers of spare ribs, five skewers of chicken skin, a serving of chives, and one eggplant."
The beef and lamb skewers at this barbecue stall weren't very good, so I didn't order them.
Of course, the amount ordered now exceeds my the Original expectations, but it doesn't matter. Today, I not only saved tens of thousands of yuan on exorcism, but I also made more than ten thousand yuan from Eldest Miss Huang.
I need to treat myself!
As a normal person, after ordering so much meat, I still need something vegetarian to balance things out. As for eggplant, in my eyes it's not a vegetarian dish; it transcends the concept of vegetarian and meat dishes and is unique in the world of barbecue.
Wow, Eldest Miss Huang is really generous. If I wasn't worried that President Huang would overreact, I would really like to add her on WeChat and ask her to do me a lot of favors. She can just hand over any tasks I need, but of course, I can't take on anything illegal, criminal, or anything below the neck... I watched the proprietress return to the grill and regretfully reviewed what had just happened.
Looking around, I noticed that everyone else was in twos or threes, and there were others like me eating barbecue alone, but they all chose to take it home to eat.
"Hmm, it's good to have more people, there are more kinds of food to eat, and we can even have three or five bottles..." I thought about it for a moment and decided that I should invite someone to eat with us.
Then, I instantly thought of a suitable person.
Peng Deng!
My childhood Peng Deng lives nearby!
Without hesitation, I took out my phone and sent this guy a WeChat message:
Let's go out for barbecue!
Knowing this guy as I do, he definitely won't let the opportunity to rip me off pass by.
However, Peng Deng didn't reply to me.
In ranked matches? I made up a random reason and started thinking about who else I could team up with.
In this city, I don't only have Peng Deng as a friend, but the others all live quite far away. It doesn't seem right to ask them to take a taxi over at 11 pm just for barbecue, since I don't have anything to discuss with them and we didn't make any prior arrangements.
I decided to eat by myself... I stood up, intending to go to the nearby FamilyMart, Rosen, or a local convenience store to buy a drink.
How can you have barbecue without cold drinks?
A few years ago, when street vendors weren't strictly regulated, these barbecue stalls would come with a portable freezer, and they'd connect some electricity from somewhere to sell ice-cold beer and various cold drinks. This was convenient for customers and allowed them to earn some extra money.
Unfortunately, I really want to encounter this situation now, unless it's a barbecue restaurant that owns its own storefront.
After looking around, I decided to go to the nearest local supermarket.
"Boss, please watch the seats for me while I go buy some drinks," I told the proprietress, worried that there wouldn't be a place to sit when I came back.
"Okay." The proprietress wasn't worried about me running away, because my skewers had just been grilled, and even if I didn't want them, there would be plenty of other people who would.
As I approached the entrance of the small supermarket, my phone vibrated.
I took it out and saw that Peng Deng had finally replied to my message:
"You don't have a nightlife?"
"Do you have one?" I reflexively asked.
"Of course, my girlfriend is staying here tonight," Peng Deng replied quickly.
Then he posted:
"Eating late-night snacks is bad for your health, take it easy!"
"Invite your girlfriend along." I emphasized, "It's on me!"
"Okay, we're coming right away." Peng Deng never needed to find transition words.
"Hurry up, and what would you like to drink?" I asked again.
Peng Deng didn't reply to me immediately; he only sent a message after I entered the small supermarket:
"I'm not coming, I'm not coming. My girlfriend says she wants to lose weight and won't eat late-night snacks."
"She looks so thin, why would she need to lose weight?" I thought for a moment and said, "Then you can do it yourself."
Peng Deng posted an ellipsis:
She said it was showing off and a serious provocation against her.
Pshaw! I scoffed at that scumbag couple for two seconds, then deliberately said:
Show your manly spirit!
"... Okay, I'll show you my manly spirit." Peng Deng replied quickly.
Wow, the weather's changed today? I was a little stunned.
Then, Peng Deng sent a message:
"A real man doesn't say he won't come, and he won't come!"
I was speechless.
After putting my phone down, I walked to the freezer and refrigerator section to think about what to drink.
To be honest, I don't have a particular fondness for alcohol, not that I can't drink it, but I just don't like it and think it tastes bad.
Therefore, I won't buy wine unless a friend asks me to.
Over the years, only two wines have matched my taste:
The first is rice wine, and the second is ice wine.
They share the following characteristics:
sweet!
As my gaze shifted, I spotted a strange man.
In the middle of the night, he was wearing a shirt, vest, suit, and trousers, as if he had just attended a business dinner.
This doesn't fit at all with scenes like small supermarkets or barbecue stalls.
Wow, red eyes, and quite handsome... I clicked my tongue twice and looked away.
What other people wear is none of my business!
Just then, the young man walked over.
He hesitated for a moment and asked:
Hello, how do I get to the nearest hospital?
"You didn't know?" I was quite surprised.
The man hesitated before answering:
I just moved here.
"Oh." I pointed to the door, "Go out and turn right, walk straight to the intersection, then turn right again, and you'll see the hospital."
"Thank you." The man nodded politely.
I didn't go to see him off; I continued to look down and choose a drink.
After careful consideration, I bought a can of pineapple beer.
This beverage comes in two types: one is pineapple-flavored beer, and the other is a pineapple-flavored carbonated drink, which is non-alcoholic and just has some hops added for flavor and to cool you down.
Without a doubt, I chose the latter.
After leaving the small supermarket and returning to my stall, I waited for a while before finally seeing my barbecue.
Just as I was about to enjoy my meal, a figure appeared in front of me.
The red-eyed man in the three-piece suit walked over and politely asked:
Hello, how do I get to the nearest hospital?
"... You just asked me that." I pointed that out.
The man seemed to finally recognize me; his expression changed abruptly, and he blurted out:
"I'm lost again..."
Why did I say "again"? I wondered to myself.