Chapter 6: Several Bowls of Noodles
Liu Sheng stepped out of the Weaving Institute's main gate. In the inky night sky, the god's face shone, and the few lanterns swayed gently in the breeze.
The street was silent. She familiar ly found the noodle stall that was still open in a narrow alley near the Weaving Institute.
By this time, the Weaving Institute's cafeteria had long since closed, so Liu Sheng and her other colleagues from the Weaving Institute often came here for a hot bowl of noodles when they worked overtime and needed to eat.
The stall was not large, but it was clean and tidy, with three tables.
Under an oil lamp, the stall owner, who was over fifty and had graying hair, was skillfully kneading dough. In a large pot nearby, pork bone broth was simmering, steaming and emitting a mouth-watering aroma.
Liu Sheng sat down and ordered a bowl of noodles.
Not long after, a steaming hot bowl of noodles was placed in front of her. The noodles were smooth and springy, clearly kneaded with care. The broth was thick and rich, having been simmered for an unknown amount of time, and its fresh aroma wafted everywhere.
On top of the noodles were a few green vegetables and some finely shredded meat, with a layer of bright red chili oil floating on top. Liu Sheng picked up her chopsticks and stirred gently, and the chili oil blended with the broth, instantly releasing a spicy aroma that greatly increased her appetite.
She took a small sip of the broth. It was fresh and savory with a hint of spiciness, just right. Then she took a mouthful of noodles, mixed with the green vegetables and shredded meat. The chewiness of the noodles, the freshness of the vegetables, the savory taste of the shredded meat, and the spicy aroma of the chili oil combined perfectly, satisfying both the texture and stimulating the taste buds, making her want to eat bowl after bowl.
In fact, Liu Sheng did eat bowl after bowl, stopping only after she had consumed six large bowls of noodles and wiped her mouth.
After a satisfied burp, the emptiness in Liu Sheng's mind seemed to lessen considerably. The previous fatigue and irritation seemed to have been swept away by the stimulation of the chili.
“Sheng Sheng! How can you eat so much!” A clear and pleasant voice came from behind her, very familiar.
Liu Sheng turned around to see her good friend and colleague from the Weaving Institute, Wang Dongdong, wearing the standard dark blue robe of the Exploration Division, with two thick braids, standing prettily at the edge of the lamplight, her eyes wide with surprise.
Beside her stood another colleague who also belonged to the Exploration Division. Liu Sheng was somewhat face-blind to these burly men. She vaguely remembered him being named Liao something Peng, but he definitely wasn't the same person who had delivered the new weird objects to her tonight.
Liu Sheng usually didn't like to socialize, burying herself in the Imperial Storage for an entire day. Her meetings with colleagues from the Exploration Division were limited to the handover of weird objects. Her good relationship with Wang Dongdong was because they were the only two who entered the Li County Weaving Institute in the same batch that year. They were both around eighteen years old, endured the new recruit training together, and were later assigned to live in the same Courtyard. It was just that their work types and shift times differed, so they often didn't meet, but their relationship was still good.
At this moment, they had clearly just gotten off work and came here for a late-night snack.
Wang Dongdong sat down very naturally opposite Liu Sheng and ordered a bowl of extra-spicy egg noodles from the stall owner. Her hometown was in the southwest, and she loved spicy food.
Liao Chengpeng, on the other hand, politely nodded to Liu Sheng and consciously chose a table nearby.
Liu Sheng coughed lightly and stiffly moved the six conspicuous large bowls on the table slightly away, trying to pretend she hadn't eaten them.
“Sheng Sheng, don't hide it, we all saw you eat six bowls!”
Liu Sheng's face flushed. Wang Dongdong seemed not to notice, pouting her small mouth and sighing, “But don't mention you, even I have increased appetite after this busy period. Only good food can comfort this tired body.” She patted her slightly overworked and chubby belly, “Zhang Yuanzheng is also a bit crazy. As soon as the evaluation period comes, he starts pushing hard. To meet the exploration quota, he makes us run every case. We walk tens of thousands of steps in a day.”
Cough, cough, cough. Liao Chengpeng was slurping a mouthful of noodles that the stall owner had just served. Hearing Wang Dongdong's bold statement, he was startled and almost choked.
“What, can't I say it!” Wang Dongdong became indignant. “Look at what we did today. We spent three hours running to East Village because Aunt Guo said her son might be possessed by a weird object. His clothes always had a lot of hair stuck to them, and sometimes he would have bruises and scratches from being beaten. It turned out that her son was secretly going around and sniffing other people's cats like crazy. How is sniffing other people's cats different from pinching other people's children's faces? If the cat owners were harsher and caught him in the act, wouldn't they beat him out the door? Sheng Sheng, don't you think he brought it on himself?”
This was the first time Liu Sheng had heard of such a deranged act. She was also so surprised her mouth hung open. Aunt Guo's son would probably be called a “cat slave” in the dream world. She recalled many short videos in “Liu Sheng's” memory of people laughing wildly while pressing soft, boneless kittens down and sniffing them like crazy. That perverted laughter was like demonic sound entering her ears, making her shiver involuntarily.
“As a result, we came back too late to eat… and were then sent to investigate some strange noise case in the west of the city. They said that every night, a roaring sound would come from Butcher Wang's house deep in the alley, like a pig squealing, and also like a ghost howling. The surrounding residents were all disturbed, but Master Wang couldn't hear it. Everyone said it was the pigs he had killed turning into weird objects seeking revenge.”
Wang Dongdong slurped her extra-spicy egg noodles, mumbling, “We stayed until late at night to investigate the case, wanting to hear what kind of sound it was. And what do you know? It turned out to be Master Wang's snoring! His nose gets blocked when he sleeps, and he snores so loudly it shakes the heavens.”
“We haven't eaten all day, we're really going to starve to death! Boss, another bowl!”
Liao Chengpeng beside her also wore a bitter smile, but unlike Wang Dongdong, who came from the prestigious Xichuan Wang family and would only undergo two years of grassroots training at the Li County Weaving Institute before being arranged for other prospects, he was naturally uninhibited in his speech. He still had to work honestly to support his family, so any frustrations could only be kept to himself.
Liu Sheng was quite speechless: “Don't the county yamen manage these kinds of things?”
“Why not? We met Old Qin and his apprentice twice today! Old Qin even cursed us, saying we were meddling.” Wang Dongdong was also very helpless. Old Qin was an old constable in Li County. He was seventy-eight years old and still working on the front lines. From a perspective of respecting the elderly, she dared not retort. From the perspective of facts and results, she had even less ground to retort. For the first time, she, who was usually outspoken, was left speechless.
According to Tang Country's custom, usually the local yamen would first send constables to investigate cases. Only cases that truly could not be solved by normal means would be reported to the Weaving Institute's Exploration Division. Of course, if something clearly caused by weird objects was encountered, the Exploration Division would directly deploy, with the county yamen assisting.
As a result, Zhang Yuanzheng took on all kinds of work to boost the numbers, not following the regulations, which naturally made his subordinates run themselves ragged and also earned them dirty looks.
“Speaking of which, Sheng Sheng, weren't you accompanying Yuan Zheng Zhang today to receive the Imperial Inspector? Did the Imperial Inspector say anything about Yuan Zheng Zhang messing around and wasting resources?”
Liu Sheng also knew that Wang Dongdong was just gossipy but had no ill intentions. She shook her head and frankly said, “No, the Imperial Inspector only came for half a day. He left for another county after noon, so what he saw and heard was limited.”
“There's nothing we can do. The five Imperial Inspectors sent down from above have to visit hundreds of local Weaving Institutes in these three months. Time is very tight. A quick look, plus the documents submitted daily, is pretty much it,” Liao Chengpeng couldn't help but interject.
Wang Dongdong pouted, “Yuan Zheng Zhang knows this, which is why he makes Sheng Sheng write documents every day. I bet among our more than three hundred Weaving Institutes, we are definitely the ones who submit the most documents to claim credit and brag.”
“If it weren't for this, given how blessed we are by the Supreme God, with only a few weird object incidents a year, Sheng Sheng's job as a warehouse manager would be a perfect leisurely position for retirement. Why would she need to work overtime every day?”
Liu Sheng said impatiently, “Dongdong, you should say less. Look at Liao…”
“…Liao Chengpeng,” Liao Chengpeng saw that Liu Sheng clearly hadn't remembered his name again and quietly added.
“Oh, look at Liao Chengpeng, he can't even eat properly and is restless.”
Liao Chengpeng looked at Liu Sheng gratefully. He really didn't want to hear so much; he just wanted to be a quiet worker.
“Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. However,” Wang Dongdong changed the subject, “I heard from my family that this inspection by the Imperial Inspector isn't just for evaluation. It seems there's also a task to scout for talents for the imperial court. They say there will be some kind of national plan coming up. Perhaps it's good for you, Sheng Sheng, to listen to Yuan Zheng Zhang. If he's willing to put in a good word…”
Even Liao Chengpeng couldn't help but prick up his ears and listen carefully. Wang Dongdong's family background was unusual; countless officials above the fifth rank had emerged from the Xichuan Wang family throughout history. Simply put, she had connections in the imperial court, so the news from her family was basically reliable.
But then he quickly gave up the idea. Although he was a Cultivator, he was still stuck at Initial Realm Stage Two at thirty-five, with no progress in ten years, which basically cut off any possibility of further advancement. Moreover, his usual work performance wasn't particularly outstanding; he was somewhat transparent in Zhang Yuanzheng's eyes, so it was no wonder Liu Sheng always forgot him. He wasn't like Wang Dongdong, who was only eighteen but had already entered Initial Realm Stage Five. Such talent, even if not noticed by the Imperial Inspector, might allow her to participate in the imperial examinations and enter the National Academy next year; nor was he like Liu Sheng, who was highly valued by her superiors, with most of the internal documents coming from her hand.
Liao Chengpeng didn't know that Liu Sheng's article had been adopted by “cultivation theory.” If he had known, he would have felt even more bitter.
Of course, Liao Chengpeng wasn't the only one whose thoughts went from lively to desolate after hearing this news. Liu Sheng couldn't help but sigh, no wonder the Imperial Inspector had taken an extra moment to care about a small person like her.
Liu Sheng couldn't help but look up at the Supreme God's pure and compassionate god's face in the sky, thinking to herself, “God, oh God, why do you care for all things but not for me?”
Happy Year of the Dragon (*^▽^*)
One chapter updated on the first day of the Lunar New Year