Xiao Zhang noticed that there were empty seats at other tables, and that the person insisted on sitting there, which made him a little unhappy. He kept his head down and ate his rice noodles without saying a word. Just as Shi Dazhuang was about to speak, Yu Meiren interrupted, "There's no one here, Yeye, you can sit here."
The bespectacled man smiled at Yu Meiren, sat down, and said, "You have such a kind heart, little one."
The proprietress came over and asked him what he wanted to eat.
The bespectacled man shrugged and said, "What's the most unique thing about this place?"
Xiao Zhang said, "Of course it's Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles! No need to ask!"
The bespectacled man said, "If it's spicy, then it's Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles."
Shi Dazhuang glanced at the bespectacled man with some wariness. His white Armani suit was rather conspicuous in this small border town, so he casually asked, "Are you here for tourism?"
"Yes, yes, I heard this place is a treasure trove of pristine natural resources that never bloom!" said the bespectacled man.
"Judging from your accent, you seem to be from the Yangcheng area?"
"Brother, you have sharp ears! I'm a Zhongxian!"
"Oh, I know Zhongshan well. Which district in Zhongshan are you in?" Shi Dazhuang suddenly asked in Cantonese.
The bespectacled man paused for a moment, then immediately laughed and replied, "Brother, you're joking! Zhongshan only has six streets and eighteen towns, there are no districts, okay!"
Shi Dazhuang felt relieved. It's easy for someone to pretend to speak some Cantonese-accented Mandarin, but it's not easy to speak fluent Cantonese. And people who have never been to Zhongshan wouldn't know that Zhongshan is one of the few cities in the country that doesn't have districts.
Just then, the proprietress brought over the rice noodles.
The bespectacled man looked at the rice noodles and asked, "Why do they look different from the ones in Spring City?"
"Of course they're different," Xiao Zhang said. " Spring City is hundreds of miles away from here!"
The bespectacled man said, "Shouldn't the rice noodles, condiments, and soup be served separately? Why is there only one bowl here?"
The proprietress said, "Our little shop isn't as particular as those in Spring City. We've already put them all in; just take them out and eat them."
"What kind of dish is this called Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles!" the bespectacled man complained, then lowered his head to drink the soup.
Yu Meiren had been watching him out of curiosity, warned, " Yeye, be careful, the soup is very hot!"
The bespectacled man was taken aback. He stirred the soup with his chopsticks and discovered that it was covered with a thick layer of chili oil. As he stirred it, steam rose from the soup and fogged up his glasses.
He took off his glasses, wiped them clean with a handkerchief, and then said to Yu Meiren, "Thank you, little friend, I'll tie them up properly!"
"You're welcome," said Yu Meiren. " Yeye, you can use a small bowl to scoop out the rice noodles so they won't be too hot."
Following Yu Meiren's instructions, the bespectacled man scooped the rice noodles into a small bowl, blew on them, and took a bite. While they were no longer too hot, the spiciness made him cough violently. He stuck out his tongue and exclaimed, "Why is it so spicy?"
Yu Meiren chuckled and whispered to Shi Dazhuang, "I don't think it's spicy at all."
Shi Dazhuang laughed and said, " My Beauty, eat more. Once you go to Wuzhong, you won't be able to eat such authentic rice noodles or such authentic spiciness anymore."
The man with glasses said, "Are you going to Wuzhong? That's a great place!"
Shi Dazhuang asked, "Brother, have you been to Wuzhong?"
The bespectacled man said, "I've been there on my trip. It's a very beautiful place; the mountains are beautiful, the water is beautiful, and the Beauty are beautiful too." He then looked at the Yu Meiren and gave her a thumbs up, "The little girl is already very pretty. If she goes to Wuzhong, she'll definitely become even more beautiful when she grows up!"
Yu Meiren felt embarrassed upon hearing this, her face flushed, and she lowered her head to drink her soup.
When they finished eating, the bespectacled man took out his phone to pay. However, the shop owner insisted on accepting cash, saying that people from the mountains didn't understand the tricks of city folks and only accepted cash.
Xiao Zhang said, "You're not going to travel without cash, are you? Mangdian isn't a big city; you'll cross the border a few mountains to the south from here."
The bespectacled man said with a mournful face, "Oh dear, I didn't mean to! How was I supposed to know there were so many thieves around here! My wallet was stolen, all that cash?"
When he got anxious, his already non-standard Mandarin was mixed with Cantonese, which sounded particularly funny.
Shi Dazhuang asked, "Where was it stolen?"
The bespectacled man said, " The Mangdian Grand Hotel burned down, and I was just looking at the bank for a while when my wallet disappeared."
Why didn't you call the police?
"I've been here, but the police station doesn't have any money. They said everyone's gone to put out the fire, and told me to come back later with the Tushu."
Shi Dazhuang looked at Xiao Zhang. Meng Yan had indeed called all the police officers from the station to help put out the fire during the day, but the injured Xiao Zhang should still be there.
Xiao Zhang said, "Oh, I probably went to the clinic to change my dressing at that time." Then he said to the man with glasses, "We're from the police station. You can come back with us later to register the situation. I'll pay for your meal first."
The man with glasses said, "I can transfer the money to you via my phone."
We'll see.
Xiao Zhang got up to pay the bill, and after the Beauty finished eating, the four of them returned to the police station.
Xiao Zhang is a household registration police officer, and he's not usually in charge of handling calls. It was almost time to go home, so Shi Dazhuang said, " Xiao Zhang, you're injured, you should go home first. I'll take care of things here."
Xiao Zhang said, "That won't do. This is the institute's work. If Director Chief Meng comes back soon, he'll tear me apart."
Shi Dazhuang didn't insist any further and said, "Then you can go back after you've finished taking his statement. I'll wait here for Chief Meng. Anyway, I'm staying at his place tonight."
Xiao Zhang said, "Okay!"
They took the statement from the man with glasses together in the police reception room.
The bespectacled man said his name was Bai Xiaosan and that he was a tourist from Zhongshan. He had originally planned to stay at the Mangdian Grand Hotel, but due to the explosion and fire, he couldn't stay at the hotel and lost his wallet. Because he didn't have his ID card, other hotels wouldn't accept him, especially since he didn't want to pay in cash.
When talking about his name, Bai Xiaosan adjusted his glasses and smiled shyly, "My parents gave me this name. I didn't even know back then that 'Xiaosan' was a bad word."
Yu Meiren asked, "Why is 'mistress' a bad word? There are several people in Kuaziba who are called 'mistresses'!"
The three adults burst into laughter.
Bai Xiaosan asked, "What's the child's name?"
The Beauty said, "My name is Yu Meiren)."
Bai Xiaosan exclaimed in surprise, "What a wonderful name!" Then he began reciting a poem, "When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end? How much of the past do we know? Last night, the east wind blew again in my little tower..."
When he recited poetry, it was completely different from when he spoke. Not only was his pronunciation clear and accurate, but it also combined strength and gentleness, exuding power within its elegance. His glasses swayed on the bridge of his nose, and his thin face radiated a unique charm.
Yu Meiren was stunned, tears welling up in her eyes. Unconsciously, she recited along, "... How much sorrow can one have? It's like a river of spring water flowing eastward." When she finished the last line, her face was streaked with tears, and she choked out to Shi Dazhuang, "Uncle, I miss Dad."
Just then, a screeching sound of brakes rang out outside.
Xiao Zhang said, " Chief Meng and the others must be back. I'll go out and see." With that, he went out.
Not long after, a gunshot rang out. After the gunshot echoed, the small town fell silent again at dusk.