Zhu Yuanyu didn't know what to say.
"This dish...can't be eaten."
Unable to bear to look at the miserable situation around him, Zhu Yuanyu stood up and tiptoed out of the inn, followed closely by Mao Tou.
The masters all left, and of course the subordinates had to follow. Qi Ao and the three of them looked at the dishes on the table and chased Zhu Yuanyu out of the inn.
Qi Ao took the first step to support Zhu Yuanyu, who glanced at him and did not refuse.
The waiter looked at the table of untouched delicacies, looked at the door suspiciously, and then happily took down the food.
In the kitchen backyard of the inn, a few lazy waiters were rushing to stuff food into their mouths. Their greasy mouths and rude eating looks made them look like hungry ghosts who had not eaten in ten lifetimes.
One of them stuffed food into his mouth desperately, wolfed it down, and after licking the plate until it was shiny, he touched his belly and let out a sigh of contentment.
If Zhu Yuanyu knew that the waiter at Yuelai Inn ate a table full of maggots and looked satisfied after eating, he would definitely be sick to death.
However, he would not have thought that the waiter would take the dishes that the customers did not eat and eat them himself.
The waiter at the Yuelai Inn is used to doing this kind of thing. Generally, if the leftover dishes from the guests are ordinary cheap dishes, there won’t be much left, so the beginnings and ends of the dishes will be poured into a bucket to wait for the special meal. The person who collects it will transport it away to feed livestock and so on; for more expensive dishes, no matter how much, the waiter will take the dishes to the kitchen backyard while clearing the table, and then share them with several other waiters who have this hobby.
Zhu Yuanyu went out for fun, so of course he would not treat himself badly. When ordering, he ordered all the famous dishes of Yuelai Inn and local specialties. When the waiter saw a table of good dishes, how could he waste them?
It’s not like the waiter and the others didn’t have enough to eat, and the store owner of Yuelai Inn has never treated them badly, and they can often get some good food from the kitchen, but they just want to stuff their mouths for some reason, just to fill their stomachs. I was so full that I didn't feel at ease until my belly swelled.
This situation only started a month ago. All the men in Youxi City lost weight quickly, their faces turned sallow, and they looked listless and weak all day long. Those who didn't know thought they were hungry people who came from somewhere!
If the same situation applies to women, then it can be explained by "disease", but all the women in Youxi City are normal, their bodies are not thin, and their faces are not sallow. This proves that the men in Youxi City have question.
In the scorching sun, Zhu Yuanyu walked out of Yuelai Inn, walked along the shady ground to another street, found a restaurant and walked in.
It was during meal time that there was not a single customer in the restaurant, and not only were there no customers, there was not even a sign of the waiter.
"anyone there?"
Zhu Yuanyu shouted, and Qi Ao helped him sit down randomly by the window. He saw a fly hovering in the window, making a buzzing sound.
fly?
Strange! There are so many people eating at the Yuelai Inn, why is there not a single fly?
Zhu Yuanyu recalled the time when he was at Yuelai Inn, and suddenly felt a sense of violation.
"Master, I'm going to the kitchen to see if anyone is there."
Seeing that no one came out to greet him after waiting for a long time, Li Zhuangzhuang was almost starving to death, so he decided to go in and arrest the person himself.
Zhu Yuanyu came back to his senses, nodded and said: "Well, let's go."
But before Li Zhuangzhuang took two steps, a man weakly came out from behind the kitchen door curtain.
Li Zhuangzhuang's eyes lit up, he stepped forward quickly, grabbed the man's shoulder with his big hand, and suddenly felt that his shoulder was hurting hard. He took a serious look at the person in front of him and frowned, "You..."
The man had become so thin that he was skin and bones, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, his big eyes stared blankly at Li Zhuangzhuang, and then he slowly opened his mouth, revealing yellow teeth, "This guest officer …what would you like to order…dishes…”
Li Zhuangzhuang let go of his hand and took a few steps back, almost wanting to cover his mouth and nose with his hand.
As soon as the man opened his mouth, a putrid and sour smell wafted out, and even Zhu Yuanyu could faintly smell it.
Under such circumstances, no matter how delicious the food in this restaurant is, Zhu Yuanyu has lost his appetite.
He stood up helplessly and said to the three of them: "Let's go and check out other restaurants." Then he stretched out his hand, glanced at Qi Ao, and signaled the other party to hurry up.
Qi Ao smiled slightly and grasped Zhu Yuanyu's hand.
Four people and one dog walked around for a few streets with empty stomachs, and finally filled their bellies at a small noodle stall.
The stall was run by an old couple, and the pasta they made was very delicious. Zhu Yuanyu liked the taste as soon as he took it into his mouth. He finished the pasta in the bowl with a few sips, and added a second bowl without wanting to finish it.
The old woman looked at Zhu Yuanyu with a smile and asked kindly: "Young man, is it delicious?"
Zhu Yuanyu swallowed the last mouthful of noodles and said with a sincere smile: "Old man, don't you already know the answer? This is my second bowl..."
The old woman nodded and said happily: "Young people should eat more so that they can grow up quickly..."
Although her eyes were looking at Zhu Yuanyu, Zhu Yuanyu felt that she seemed to be looking at someone through him. Although he was full of doubts, this was his business, so he smiled and said nothing.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" The old man next to the old woman glared at her, but there was no blame in his eyes. Then he said helplessly to Zhu Yuanyu: "Don't pay attention to what she said, she is just... alas..."
The old man did not continue speaking, but his expression suddenly became sad, and his originally thin body seemed vulnerable.
The old woman on the side continued to laugh and talk to herself. She was completely different from her previous state. She seemed to be mentally abnormal.
Seeing a strand of silver hair falling down on the old woman's forehead, the person involved didn't know it. The old man stretched out his hand to gently lift it up for her, and arranged it carefully, with his eyes full of warmth.
Cui'er stared without blinking, with an envious expression on her face, and muttered: "The two old people have such a good relationship... Is this the so-called 'growing old together'? Can I meet them in the future?"
Qi Ao glanced at her and said, "Are you feeling springy?"
Cui'er blushed and glared at him, "No! Don't talk nonsense!"
Zhu Yuanyu turned around and said half-jokingly: "What? Cui'er, do you have a sweetheart?"
"Master! Why are you bullying this slave? I'm ignoring you!" He stood up and ran away.
"Hey!" Zhu Yuanyu looked at Cui'er's back in a funny way and said to Li Zhuangzhuang: "Zhuangzhuang, follow me. Cui'er belongs to a girl, so it's not safe."
"Oh!" After hearing this, Li Zhuangzhuang quickly drank the soup in the bowl, put down the bowl and chased after him.
Zhu Yuanyu asked Qi Ao to give the money and was about to go back to Yuelai Inn to take a nap. Unexpectedly, when he stood up, he saw three thin men with unkind expressions walking over.
With a "bump", the old man dropped the noodles in his hand, and the heavy noodles hit the board hard. The old woman next to him was startled, and she looked at the old man blankly, feeling at a loss.
The old man pointed at the three men and yelled: "What are you doing here! Get out! I don't want to see you!"
The three men all looked very vulgar, and the one standing in the middle was even more sinister. It was obvious at a glance that he was not an honest man.
The leader took two steps forward with a smile on his face, as if he didn't mind the old man's driving him away. He rolled his eyes and said: "Oh, my uncle! The eldest nephew has come to see you two elders, why are you still so sullen! No! Those who knew it thought I was here to collect debts! Isn’t that right?”
The men on the left and right said in unison: "That's it! That's it! How can an uncle drive his nephew away! It's not easy to travel all the way, and the sun is shining, so your nephew is really serious!"
The old man's chest heaved violently, as if he was very angry, "I don't have a nephew like you! I can't bear it! Why do you have the nerve to come! Get out of here!" After saying that, he picked up the rolling pin at hand and threw it away.
The man who said he was the old man's nephew subconsciously hid to the left when he saw it, but he didn't expect the rolling pin to come towards the left. He was immediately hit and the pain caused others to bend down.
The old man didn't expect that it would actually hit him, and the expression on his face was a little complicated for a moment.
Seeing that their companion was injured, the other two people refused to let the old man go. They didn't even bother to help the injured person. They just walked towards the old man's noodle stall with a fierce expression.
"What do you want to do! Don't blame me for being rude if you come over again!" The old man immediately blocked the old woman behind him and shouted to the two people in a stern voice. He glanced down and picked up a knife.
When the two men saw the old man picking up the knife, they hesitated a little. They looked at each other as if they couldn't make up their minds.
"Damn old man! Shameless! You bastards who don't know how to behave!" The man with a sinister eyebrow raised his head, his face was gloomy, he stared at the old man viciously, and shouted to the two people: "Why are you standing there! I didn't see that I was injured. Yeah! Smash this noodle stall for me!"
Seeing that the two of them seemed to have scruples, he glanced at the knife in the old man's hand with contempt, and said fiercely: "What's the matter? Are you still afraid of a dead old man? Just go over and grab the knife! You will be rewarded afterwards!"
When the two heard the word "reward", they immediately rushed over regardless.
Although they met by chance, Zhu Yuanyu had a good feeling for the old couple. Seeing that they were being bullied, how could he ignore them.
"Qi Ao!"
Qi Ao understood instantly that he could not help but take action long ago without Zhu Yuanyu's instructions.
