Although it was the same season, the night in Xia City was not as chilly as the autumn in Shanghai.
Night snack stalls and barbecue shops could be seen everywhere on the roadside. Skewers were being roasted back and forth with oil smeared on the charcoal fires, and customers sitting at tables chatting, laughing, drinking, and chatting made this coastal city in the southern part of Min Province a little more lively than the Demonic Capital.
Lin Feng sat alone in front of a small square table.
The lively and noisy environment around him seemed to have become a different world.
He just sat there quietly.
After accepting the kind invitation from the owner of the night food stall, he casually ordered some barbecue and two cans of beer. He waited patiently by himself.
There was no need to rush.
Because he had been waiting for something like this since this morning.
While waiting for the barbecue, Lin Feng looked around and observed the surroundings and layout of the night snack stall.
It was indeed a little simple and shabby.
Even the folding table in front of him, looking at the uneven and peeling wooden surface, could be guessed to have been there for a long time. The paint on the wood seemed to have been seeped in by a layer of oil, making it look even more ancient and glossy.
The owner walked over with a metal plate and placed a large number of beef and mutton skewers and some roasted vegetables in front of Lin Feng.
"It's done."
"Here, try it."
Lin Feng subconsciously looked down at the plate and was slightly startled. He turned his head to look at the owner again.
"I don't think... I ordered this much."
Because it was only a temporary decision, although he had accepted the owner's invitation, he had only ordered five mutton skewers and five beef skewers. As for the rest of the roasted chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, garlic vermicelli scallops, and roasted eggplant... they were not on his list of choices.
Naturally, he could not eat so much by himself.
The owner laughed when he heard this.
"It's fine.
The rest are all my signature dishes. It would be a pity to miss them. I'll give them to you for free. No extra charge. "
Lin Feng was stunned when he heard this. He looked a little hesitant.
"That's not good, is it?"
As the saying goes, one should not accept a reward without doing something. Moreover, night food stalls were originally small businesses with small profits. Lin Feng himself had experience with barbecue. He knew that just the free portion of food the owner was giving him was enough to make this business a waste of money. He might even have to pay a lot of money.
Who would take the initiative to lose money when doing business?
The owner waved his hand nonchalantly.
"There's nothing wrong with it."
"It's just a small amount of money. Don't worry too much about it."
The owner paused for a moment and looked at Lin Feng's face.
"Besides —"
"He's Little Qiu's friend. If I don't take care of him, it wouldn't be right."
…
After a short conversation with the store owner, Lin Feng finally understood the situation.
Once again, he looked around and sized up the night snack stall. Lin Feng's face revealed a look of enlightenment as he subconsciously muttered:
"So —"
"So it's here."
Actually, he should have thought of this when he first came yesterday.
Qiu had mentioned the barbecue stall countless times to them, bragging about the barbecue skewers, and cordially inviting them to try this place when they came to Xia City.
So it was really opened next to the internet cafe.
It was a lucky hit.
Now, he was really sitting at the table of the stall.
The only pity was that he didn't have any other companions by his side. Even though his old friend, who had warmly invited him back in the day, was only a few dozen steps away from him in the internet cafe, it was as if they were strangers separated by a natural chasm.
There were no other new customers at the stall. The owner placed a few cans of beer on the table. He gave one to Lin Feng and opened one himself. He smiled and clinked glasses with Lin Feng.
"Come, let's drink."
"You look unfamiliar. You're probably not a local."
Lin Feng took a sip of beer and nodded.
"My first time here yesterday."
At this point, he paused for a moment, shook his head, and said softly, "Don't worry.
He said softly, "You should have come a long time ago."
The owner didn't ask much about the second half of Lin Feng's sentence. He kindly reminded Lin Feng to eat the skewers while they were hot. He watched Lin Feng take a bite of a lamb skewer and asked with a smile.
"How's the taste?"
Lin Feng ate until his mouth was covered in grease.
"Delicious."
A customer's praise was the best reward for the owner. Naturally, the owner couldn't stop smiling. He continued to enthusiastically recommend Lin Feng to try a few other types of skewers. Then he smiled and continued.
"Back then, when Little Qiu first came to my place, she ordered about the same."
"That guy …"
"When I ate it, I almost swallowed his tongue."
"I don't know how many skewers he had in one night. I was afraid he'd eat too much."
Lin Feng picked up another skewer of beef and agreed wholeheartedly, "You're right.
"Not at all."
"Boss, your skewers are really authentic."
The owner laughed heartily.
"Of course."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have let Little Qiu come every day after eating here once. But later on, I think he went to play in some professional competition. It's been more than half a year since then, and it's been quite hard to see him."
Lin Feng froze when he heard this. He lowered his head and continued eating. He only mumbled an indistinct "Mm."
The owner himself sighed with emotion.
"And then …"
"About half a year later, when he came back, his spirit clearly wasn't as good as before."
"He started helping his relatives in the internet cafe as a manager or something."
"Every night, he would still come here and order two skewers and drink a little with beer. But I could tell he wasn't happy."
"It seems that only when one of his former teammates comes over to play with him that you can see a little more of a smile on his face. That teammate of his is also a good fellow. He should also be someone from around Xia City. He has a good personality, is steady, and makes people like him just by looking at him. What was his name again... I think I heard Little Qiu call him Ah Mo."
Lin Feng suddenly raised his head and looked at the owner anxiously.
"Boss, you've seen Ah Mo?"
The owner smiled and nodded.
"Of course."
"He and Little Qiu have been eating supper at my place for a week."
"Every night, they could drink a large case of beer while eating skewers."
"But that was a long time ago. I haven't seen him in the past two years. He probably had his own things to do."
As he spoke, there was a hint of regret in the owner's voice.
Lin Feng was stunned, then slowly nodded.
"Is that so …"
The owner looked at Lin Feng and suddenly said.
"So …"
"You were Little Qiu's teammate back then, right?"
Lin Feng hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
Then, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"I used to be."
"Now … I don't know if that counts."
*****
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
