Chapter 59: Today, It’s Our Turn for the Stakeout
Eleven o’clock. Quitting time.
Thanks to his prime location, Qiao Xingguo was once again the first person at the construction site to get his box lunch. He turned, planning to buy a second one from Xu Heping’s food stall, but came up empty.
The young man who sold the lunches had mentioned he’d rented a shop across the street and was having his grand opening today. Qiao Xingguo had been so busy all morning he’d forgotten.
He smacked the back of his head and looked across the street. Where Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant used to be, the sign had been changed to "Xu’s Fast Food" in gold characters on a red background.
Qiao Xingguo stared at the Xu’s Fast Food storefront, hesitant. ’Renting a shop must have increased their costs,’ he thought. ’I wonder if the price of the box lunches went up.’
’If—if the price went up, I’m not buying from them!’
With this thought in mind, Qiao Xingguo crossed the road.
Except for the new sign, everything else was familiar. The only slight difference was a new counter set up across from the register.
Curious, he sidled over and saw three dishes laid out on the counter. The moment he saw what they were, he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Thick, square-cut pieces of Dongpo pork with a glistening, reddish-brown sugar glaze and scored with a crosshatch pattern were stacked neatly in layers in a large metal basin.
Plump, round tofu balls, fried to a golden crisp, were piled so high they nearly spilled over. It was as if each one was shouting at him to eat it.
Pork belly with green beans. The skins of the beans were fried until a translucent white film formed, slick with rendered fat from the pork. The pork belly itself was stir-fried to a golden, fragrant crisp. Just looking at it, he could imagine the SIZZLE it would make with every bite.
Next to the hot food counter stood two tall, metal cylinders. One had a sign that read "Rice," the other "Soup."
Qiao Xingguo even lifted the lid to see what kind of soup they had today. Oh! It was wakame and bone broth soup.
’The dishes are the same as usual, but I still don’t know if the price went up.’
His gaze swept across the store, finally landing on a large sheet of red paper behind the register. It read: "Boxed lunch: 8 yuan. All-you-can-eat soup and rice."
The price hadn’t changed, and the soup and rice were all-you-can-eat? Qiao Xingguo’s eyes lit up.
’I have to get my wife and bring her over!’ Qiao Xingguo turned and walked out of the restaurant, heading straight back toward the construction site entrance without a second glance.
Granny Xu had watched Qiao Xingguo’s every move. She had been happy, thinking they had their first customer so soon. But then the man looked at the food, glanced at the price, and turned to leave.
Granny Xu looked back at the price on the wall. ’Eight yuan a meal, that’s really not expensive. Could it be that the food isn’t to his liking?’
’No, that’s impossible,’ she thought. ’Even I’m getting hungry just sitting at the register smelling these dishes. How could they not be to someone’s liking?’
’Maybe he was just curious. I saw he was already carrying a box lunch. He probably just came to take a look.’
Granny Xu could only console herself with that thought.
A few of Qiao Xingguo’s coworkers, who recognized him, saw him returning from across the street and quickly pulled him aside. "Xingguo, did the price at that food stall go up? What’s on the menu today?"
Hearing their questions, Qiao Xingguo’s spirits soared. He forgot all about his rush to find his wife.
"The price hasn’t changed, still eight yuan. And the food today... it’s amazing!" Thinking about the dishes he had just seen, Qiao Xingguo couldn’t help but swallow. "Palm-sized Dongpo pork, golden and crispy tofu balls, glistening pork belly with green beans, and wakame bone broth soup. Tsk, tsk. And the soup and rice are all-you-can-eat!"
Just then, Qiao Xingguo spotted his wife in the queue. He abandoned the two men who were questioning him and walked up to her. "I’m going across the street to get our food. Grab your box lunch from the line and then come straight over. We’re eating in their restaurant today."
Qiao Xingguo’s wife glanced at Xu’s Fast Food across the street and asked worriedly, "Did the price go up?"
When she heard the price hadn’t changed, the menu was the same, and the soup and rice were all-you-can-eat, she quickly urged Qiao Xingguo to go, lest it get crowded and they couldn’t find a seat.
Qiao Xingguo nodded and left. The two men who had just been asking him questions exchanged a look and followed him over to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.
"Boss, how do I buy this box lunch—no, I mean, how do I buy a meal?" Qiao Xingguo walked straight to the register and asked Granny Xu.
"Eight yuan a plate. Pay first, then get your food," Granny Xu said, having stood up with the help of her cane as they entered.
"One plate, please."
Qiao Xingguo pulled out a ten-yuan bill and handed it to Granny Xu. She gave him two yuan in change and a long, rectangular brown tray, gesturing for him to get his food from the counter opposite.
He turned to the hot food counter and saw that a tall girl had appeared beside it at some point. She wore an apron, a clear anti-spatter mask, and held a large ladle.
This was none other than Xu Lili, here to help out for free!
Seeing Qiao Xingguo approach, she took two small plates from under the counter, placed them on top, and lifted the clear plastic lids covering the dishes. With a few quick CLANGS of the ladle, she had his food plated.
One palm-sized piece of Dongpo pork, six tofu balls, and a level scoop full of pork belly and green beans. The portion size was about the same as it had been in the box lunches.
"Soup and rice are over there. Bowls and chopsticks are next to them. Take as much as you want—no limit—but you have to finish what you take."
Qiao Xingguo nodded. He carried his tray over to the soup and rice urns, grabbed two rooster bowls, and filled each to the brim. Then, he carefully made his way into the dining area and found a seat where a fan was blowing.
The two workers who followed Qiao Xingguo did the same. They quickly got their food and found seats to eat.
Across the street, at the entrance to the construction site, some people noticed that Qiao Xingguo and the others had gone into the restaurant and not come back out. It seemed they had sat down inside.
A few curious people walked over. After taking a look, some of them decided to split one meal between two people and eat inside.
In just over ten minutes, the first floor was completely full.
Xu Lili had to shout to the people looking for seats while she continued to serve food, "There are empty seats on the second floor! Go upstairs!"
The box lunches for delivery today had also been packed. Xu An and Liang Dani carried them out to load the vehicle. Zhou Qi then came out to take over serving from Xu Lili, who started clearing tables. Everything ran in an orderly fashion.
「Aisha Clothing Company.」
The receptionist had been ordering box lunches from Xu An for several days in a row. Every day at noon, she would get ready to eat at the front desk.
The first day, passing colleagues were a little curious.
The second day, some stopped to see what she was eating, and a few would ask how the food tasted.
On the third day, someone finally couldn’t take it anymore and came up to ask the receptionist where she got her box lunch.
The receptionist very skillfully pulled a flyer from her drawer and handed it to them. "Here, it’s from this fast-food place. Eight yuan each, and they deliver for orders of two or more."
In her drawer, she had a small stack of flyers for Xu’s Fast Food.
「Food Supervision Department.」
Lin Xu Yang had been in a daze for several days.
He remembered bringing beer to Xu An’s house and then, apparently, getting drunk.
Before he passed out, he seemed to recall someone saying something to him. He thought it mentioned Anxin Food Processing Company and Qiansheng Group. He only remembered those two names; the rest was a complete blank.
’What’s the connection between Anxin Food Processing Company and Qiansheng Group?’
’Why would Xu An, or maybe Xu Heping, tell me the names of these two companies?’
’And how would they even know about Anxin Food Processing Company?’
’And that strange dream... why did I dream that Qiansheng Group was trying to kill me?’
’It’s all too strange.’
Just then, a colleague walked up to his desk and knocked on it. "It’s our turn for stakeout duty today."