The melodious orchestral music flowed thickly in the room, and every note was stagnant and roundabout in Wu Hui's ears. The light is just right, the temperature is just right, and the air is filled with the scent of exotic spices, just enough to arouse the curiosity of oriental taste buds.
When choosing drinks, she didn't understand the name Adler gave to the waiter. It was a difficult pronunciation. At that moment, Qiwen looked at him with a strange look, and Wuhui realized that it must be expensive. Except for the wine, everything here was very different from the last place they dined together. It was not on the same level at all. For a moment, Wu Hui couldn't find a comparable restaurant in Xicheng District in her mind, or it might be too high-end and she hadn't been to many places.
"How can I let you spend so much money every time..."
"This is a members-only restaurant," Qiwen said faster than Adler, "We can't enter a private room like this without a reservation."
Having said that, when Wu Hui came in, she noticed that it was not full outside, it could even be said to be very empty. Is Mr. Adler so proud? Wu Hui felt guilty. But when she came with Qiwen in the morning, the two of them didn't put anything in their stomachs. In addition to the limited time, we also took into consideration the turbulence of the boat or the nausea that may be caused by seeing the corpse - although I didn't see it. Wuhui was glad that the music here could cover up the sound of her swallowing saliva repeatedly.
"Like many restaurants, there is a minimum consumption limit here. But if you deposit a fee in advance, there is no such requirement." Adler skillfully spread butter on the pre-dinner bread and said matter-of-factly, "One meal for one person A simple meal is roughly equivalent to a month's expenditure for an average family in Yaozhou. If it is a more remote place, it will be measured in years."
Price is only one aspect. Wu Hui is more concerned about whether the food can fill his stomach, especially when he is hungry. But the meal clearly did not disappoint her, and even far exceeded her expectations. The fat-rich meat steak has a beautiful texture and burnt edges, and the greasy seasonal vegetables she can't name, but she just feels very refreshing; the sweet egg custard is covered with an interesting caramel crispy shell; the isinglass soup is rich and delicious; the golden champagne The bubbles are dense and layered. There is no need for ladylike etiquette. Not wasting is the greatest respect for food. This is Wu Hui's eating philosophy.
“For a meal like this, the ingredients themselves are certainly expensive, but the part you pay for is their added value.”
After all, he is a businessman, and Adler always has a "professional" temperament in his words. Even with a full stomach, the unfamiliar feeling before the meal still didn't completely dissipate - but it was somewhat alleviated. Maybe it was because the weight of the food was in her body, pulling her consciousness tightly to the ground to prevent her from drifting away along with her thoughts, which would be blown by any wind.
Qiwen smiled bitterly: "We just work for the boss, how can we know this?"
"Oh, that's right. I mean, their own value may not cover the price at which it is presented. Everything has different values in the hands of different people. Take this bottle of champagne...Farmer What is being sold is just the price that white grapes deserve, but when merchants refine it into wine, the price increases several times. Do you understand what I mean?"
Wu Hui is not stupid. From the moment she stepped into the store, she vaguely guessed that Adler had another purpose. The last time the other party treated her to a treat, she took over the volunteer job, and now it's even harder to say. But she also knew that under normal circumstances, she would never accept the other party's kindness so hastily. It was precisely because of friends like Ouyang Qiwen who were there to check things that she could control her situation appropriately.
The meaning of Adler's words couldn't be more obvious. Wuhui could easily recall one thing Qiwen once introduced: Mr. Adler has a lot of research on jewelry. Qiwen knew that she owned such a clam, but he might not understand its true value. Will Tianquan Qing Shi Wuqi tell him? Hard to say. Perhaps not, because doing so would not do another "profit-seeking" businessman any good. Real businessmen do not hesitate to express their evaluation and pursuit of value.
Wu Hui said bluntly: "You must have something else you want to entrust me with, right?"
Adler straightened up, folded his hands and straightened his joints forward, showing a very forced smile.
"To tell you the truth, I want to buy something from you."
"What kind of thing is it?"
But this question was not asked by Wu Hui, but by Qi Wen. He carefully dipped the last piece of bread into the black pepper sauce on the plate and asked without looking up. Wu Hui thought of the last time the three of them had a dinner like this, this reliable friend sat next to him like this. There was just a slight difference, and Wu Hui finally noticed it: this time, Adler was sitting opposite him from the beginning.
Because she was previously enveloped by that erratic strangeness and couldn't care about anything more. After realizing this, the sense of dissonance becomes particularly strong. Uneasy feelings coursed through her food-filled body, but she managed to remain calm.
"As a journalist and a woman with a lot of knowledge in aesthetics, you must be very familiar with the local jewelry-related business. You know, I am very interested in this information, not only because of my It meets my professional needs and my personal collecting hobbies. Therefore, if you have friends who want to sell jewelry, or you simply have the idea of selling second-hand jewelry, please be sure to tell me. This is very important to me. "
Wu Hui looked directly into his eyes, which were still as blue as before. But under the dim light, these eyes seemed to reflect some sharp light that shouldn't be there, like a wolf or an eagle examining its prey. It has nothing to do with greed, but a belief in victory.
"You should ask Qiwen. He is much better informed about this information than me." Wu Hui said, "It can't be that he asked you to ask me, right? The person is right in front of you, so don't be too intrusive. "
"Indeed. However, I haven't had any news recently. If there was any news, I would have told him a long time ago." Qiwen turned to Adler and said, "Maybe you saw that there has been no news recently and thought I was hiding it from you, so you hit me My colleague, right?"
"That's a huge misunderstanding. I have great trust in you and Ms. Wu. It's just that I'm going to extend the conversation to this point, so don't be surprised."
Hearing what Qiwen said, Wu Hui gave up his last doubt. He really didn't seem to know anything about it. What's more, if he was really involved in planning something, how should he explain the death? There is no such coincidence. The most important thing is that if Qiwen intends to do this favor and let her sell clams to her foreign friends, it is better to just say so. When she didn't know the true value of the Tridacna, she was probably quite willing to sell it like this - if the price was really that impressive.
Qiwen picked up the wine glass and drank the champagne in one gulp like water. That posture had nothing to do with wine tasting, it was just about quenching thirst.
"Why do you think she knows these things? When did you see her wearing those jewelry? She has nothing to do with women who have research and hobbies in this area - the salary offered by our newspaper does not allow it. Woolen cloth."
This joke is really not pleasant to listen to. But, it is also true.
"Hahaha, it seems I was abrupt." Adler laughed along with him and filled the glasses for the two of them. "It's just that I heard from some friends that if you ask the newspaper for such news, you may get something unexpected." . Because I heard that an antique dealer died unfortunately years ago. But now, there is nothing left to pick up. And the house where he lived temporarily has been rented out again? There is probably nothing valuable left. .I think you work in Xicheng District, maybe you are familiar with it."
Not only are they familiar with each other, they might as well just live there - they might as well get to know the new tenants. It seems that Qiwen has concealed a lot for himself. He was probably respecting his choice not to sell the clams.
Soon, Qiwen confirmed Wu Hui's guess by asking.
"If you really had something valuable, would you want to sell it for money? I'm serious," Qiwen raised his glass and gestured to her, "If one day you have any idea of selling some jewelry, you can contact Ah Mr. Dele. He will definitely give you a good price, at least more generous than the pawn shop."
Wu Hui didn't know if he meant anything, but she decided to answer the question itself.
"Hmm... maybe I will. If the time comes to be that difficult."
"No, with a good brother like me here, you can't be hungry."
Qiwen smiled and clinked glasses with her, as if he knew nothing about everything. Although it was just a scene, Wu Hui was really moved at all.
There was a rhythmic knocking on the door outside the private room. A waiter came up and respectfully said something in Adler's ear. He looked at the door, and there seemed to be someone standing there. Qiwen and Wu Hui looked over at the same time. The former didn't seem to feel anything, but Wu Hui was stunned for a moment. She quickly judged that in the eyes of others, the current people and things were extremely normal.
She didn't even know whether to tell her friends what she had seen.
Adler nodded, politely apologized to the two of them, saying that a business partner was looking for him, and left first. The dinner was over long ago, and there was no point in leaving the two of them here staring at each other. Besides, this is not their territory. I'm afraid the walls may have ears, so it's better to leave as soon as possible.
On the way back, Wu Hui didn't ask any unnecessary questions. She only mentioned one sentence.
"Just now, there was a woman looking for Mr. Adler, right?"
"Yes. Hey, there are so many women looking for him - just kidding. Anyone who can enter a place like this must be someone with status, right? But most of the people who are active in this area are foreigners, and that black guy The woman with the hair seems to have a local face. Forget it, it has nothing to do with us, it’s just a meal.”
Wu Hui nodded. The person who came did indeed look like a woman dressed in Oriental clothing. The half-open door only revealed half of her figure. But what she didn't say was that in her eyes, that woman had long, dull lead-gray hair.
Her eyes also had a strange glow.
