Retired for A Hundred Years: Re-Employment for the Apocalypse Bigshot!-Chapter 228: Eating

Liu Yan’s office was still simple and spacious.

He had Ji Ning sit in the chair outside the desk and poured her a cup of tea.

"Have a taste, authentic Qishan Tea."

Ji Ning glanced at the tea in the glass without drinking it, with a faint, ambiguous smile on her face.

Liu Yan took a few sips of his own tea, set it down, and asked, "Do you still have spiritual abilities?"

"Just a small trick," Ji Ning said calmly.

"Your loud return with Pan Min to the Security Bureau might alert those in the shadows. It was a bit rash," Liu Yan said with a casual demeanor.

Ji Ning picked up her tea, blew the leaves on top, and said coolly, "Without making it public, how can we fish? You wouldn’t want me to silently visit all the noble families in Beijing by myself, would you? That would make the Beijing Security Bureau detectives seem pretty incompetent."

Liu Yan didn’t get angry, just refilled his cup a bit, "For the first day, it was too conspicuous."

"If you don’t muddy the waters, how can the fish move?" Ji Ning drank a cup of tea, placing the cup down with a soft clink.

Liu Yan glanced at her, his expression still calm, "Alright, I won’t interfere with how you act, but try to use those tricks sparingly, lest you become a target."

"Okay."

Ji Ning only stayed in Liu Yan’s office for the time it took to drink two cups of tea before she left.

She passed the detectives’ office again, where there were fewer people, probably because it was after work.

It was already late, and Ji Ning felt a bit hungry, deciding to go out for dinner with Lin Yuanyang.

Hu Bo was very curious about Ji Ning, and seeing this, he invited them to eat at a restaurant near the Security Bureau.

Ji Ning agreed.

Hu Bo changed into some casual clothes in the office and took them out through the back door of the Security Bureau.

Walking along the way, it somewhat overturned Lin Yuanyang’s perception of superpower users.

Originally, he thought Security Bureau superpower users had to live with masks on when out and about, and only his Sister Ning was an exception among superpower users. To his surprise, he saw quite a few detectives at the back door, leaving directly in plain clothes.

They weren’t wearing masks, their suppression rings were hidden by sleeves.

Some carried laptop bags, some had purses, and some were pushing electric or regular bicycles as they walked out.

They were just like ordinary office workers.

Do superpower users not need to live with masks on?

Lin Yuanyang walked out from the back door and glanced at the plaque on the wall at the entrance.

[Beijing Environmental Development Center]

Hu Bo touched his nose and explained, "We’ve broken through a wall with the Environmental Development Center."

Lin Yuanyang: ...

***

The street at the back of the Security Bureau was much livelier than the front.

Both sides were lined with small restaurants and shops, bustling with people and lots of traffic.

It was mealtime, and every small restaurant was packed, with lines out the door for some places.

For example, the Heji Shuanrou.

Hu Bo was quite nostalgic, "Heji Shuanrou is very popular in winter; you need to book in advance to eat there. Their lamb is very authentic; you should try it if you get the chance."

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

Hu Bo had probably eaten at every place on this street, introducing the features of each restaurant to Ji Ning as they ate, pinpointing which ones were tasty, which ones were overpriced and bad — a typical hidden foodie.

Does Liu Yan know about this side of him?

Hu Bo led the two to a Beijing specialty snack house, which had two floors; the first floor was full, but there were fewer people on the second floor.

The waiter led the three to a four-person window seat on the second floor and handed the menu to Hu Bo.

"Do you have any dietary restrictions?" Hu Bo asked.

"No."

"Then let’s start with two of your specialty dishes, Spiced Duck and Colorful Silky Whitefish."

Hu Bo ordered for them and handed the menu to Ji Ning and Lin Yuanyang.

"Their dishes are on the salty and spicy side; if you can’t eat spicy, you can request less spice."

"No need, everything’s fine," Ji Ning said, turning the pages of the menu, and ordered two more dishes.

Lin Yuanyang glanced at the dishes they had ordered, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Are the portions big?"

The waiter hadn’t spoken yet when Hu Bo looked at Ji Ning and said, "The portions are decent, but we should order two more substantial dishes."

It’s common knowledge that superpower users have bigger appetites than ordinary people. Hu Bo thought six dishes would suffice for the three of them, but didn’t expect that Ji Ning could eat as much as three of his meals, so they ordered four more dishes just to barely be full.

Hu Bo twitched the corner of his mouth, ready to pay the bill.

Just then, a commotion arose downstairs, followed by the sharp scolding of an old lady.

"You pair of scoundrels, want to leave after hitting my grandson? No way, you take my grandson to the hospital and pay up!"

"Why are you so unreasonable, old lady? It was your grandson who ran over and bumped into that young lady."

"You’re all grown-ups, why didn’t you dodge? My grandson is young and doesn’t know better, but don’t you adults know better? Look at how he hit his head on the ground..."

The unreasonable argument was truly grating, and Hu Bo frowned slightly, heading straight downstairs, wanting to settle the bill and leave as quickly as possible.

Unexpectedly, the old lady suddenly said, "I’ll have you know, my son works as a detective at the Security Bureau. If you dare bully my grandson, I’ll have my son arrest you all as soon as I get back."

Hu Bo paused in his steps, looking quite displeased at the old lady making a scene on the ground.

In the eyes of regular people, the Security Bureau is a place to be avoided at all costs, even more frightening than the police station.

Once she said that, those who had been trying to mediate fell silent.

The old lady looked proud, staring at the young couple not far away.

The young girl’s coat was covered in soup, and she cried with her head down; the boy held her for comfort, with both anger and forbearance on his face.

In front of the girl was a dish spilled on the floor, and the old lady’s grandson sat on the ground crying.

"Which department does your son work in at the Security Bureau? What’s his name?" Hu Bo suddenly spoke, walking over slowly.

He was thin, wore rimless glasses on his nose, looked cultured, but had a certain imposing presence from years of working with Liu Yan.

The old lady was momentarily stunned by him and hadn’t spoken when the man from the young couple, full of anger, said, "Her grandson kept running around the hall and she didn’t look after him. When we finished eating and were leaving, her grandson ran into us with a dish, look at how her grandson’s ruined my girlfriend’s clothes, and she’s still being unreasonable? I’m calling the police now to see what they’ll say."

The old lady scrambled up from the ground, pointing at the man and cursing, "You uncultured little brat, you two deliberately blocked my grandson’s way, making him run into you, and then you’re still trying to be blameless? Go ahead, call the police! I’m calling my son right now..."

With that, the old lady actually pulled out her phone and dialed, crying and wailing into it as if she’d suffered some huge grievance out here.

The surrounding crowd looked on in disbelief, shocked by the old lady’s performance.

Hu Bo was truly angry, standing still as if waiting for the old lady’s son to arrive.

Soon, a middle-aged man walked in with a black leather bag.

Hu Bo’s pupils widened slightly.

It really was someone from the Security Bureau!

"Ha... this is getting interesting."