Chapter 35
The former mayor of Deke Town died in office, which is the fourth mayor to die in office. The small town cannot be without a master for a day, and the new mayor has just taken office a few days ago, arranging to meet with the old director today. In order not to have a fifth mayor who dies before leaving office, five foreign mercenaries were brought along as bodyguards when he took office.
What a big tone! A town mayor actually has five hired bodyguards! Shao Hui suddenly felt that this new town mayor was full of mystery.
The sunshine was sprinkled vigorously among the mountains, where people were sparse, and most of the snow surface still maintained its quiet and tidy appearance. The sunshine sprinkled on it brought out a warm glow, and two cars sped through the middle, like a dynamic painting.
The car turned a few corners and slowly drove into the town government building after passing through the gate guard's inspection. The new mayor was standing at the door waiting for the guests to arrive, Shao Hui habitually swept his eyes around the situation, finding that in every direction there was a soldier wearing special clothes, wearing sunglasses with an expressionless face but exuding an aura that made people dare not get close, without saying it was clear that this was the legendary mercenary bodyguard. Shao Hui had dealt with such people before and knew how terrifying their nature was. They came from all over the world, mostly retired soldiers, fugitives or thrill-seekers, among whom Nepalese mercenaries were the most welcomed by employers because firstly they were cheap; secondly they had a long history of mercenary work, which in China could be traced back to the time of Zheng Chenggong's recovery of Taiwan. But no matter where they came from, they would not be loyal to anyone, only to whoever paid them, giving them the money they wanted was equivalent to temporarily buying their lives, but it was uncertain which day the former master would die at their hands, purely a job, with only money and no pursuit.
Shao Hui and the other two nodded politely to several mercenaries as a greeting, and they strolled around the courtyard, carefully checking for any suspicious places. The government soldiers knew that they were the ones who had severely damaged the Snow Mountain Tiger organization that night, so they greeted them very friendly, and the three also responded in a friendly manner, but in their hearts, they were extremely disgusted with them.
The courtyard of the town government was very large, as the population was sparse and the land was not valuable. The three men walked to a small artificial hill, where thick snow had accumulated, resembling jade carvings. Shao Hui looked at it with interest. Suddenly, he felt a faint light in the distance, thanks to his sunglasses, which made him notice reflective objects easily. He walked up to one of the bodyguards and said: "Hello, my name is Shao Hui, from China." The other man smiled slightly and replied in perfect English: "Hello, I'm Brmn, what can I do for you?" Brmn was pronounced as "Baman", which meant bartender. Many mercenaries, due to their harsh living environment and spiritual emptiness, would often believe in some religion, and in their religious beliefs, they would hide their real names and come up with fake ones. They believed that if one day they sacrificed themselves, they would only lose the fake self, and their true self would still exist in this world. Shao Hui knew this and judged that this guy must have spent a lot of time in bars. He smiled and nodded: "Nice to meet you, there may be snipers on the south mountain, did you see?" he asked, pointing to the hillside.
No problem, that's what our sniper is here for. Baman didn't turn around and replied bluntly.
Mercenaries may be motivated by money, but their professionalism is unquestionable. Shao Hui had a very apt evaluation of them: "You can doubt their character, but you can't doubt their professionalism." With that, Shao Hui nodded and signaled for Zuo Ming and Liu Junhao to continue surveying the surroundings. They arrived at the spacious backyard, where the three of them simultaneously swallowed their saliva. In the middle of the open space, a large tent had been set up, with several long barbecue grills placed outside, and a row of tables laden with skewers of meat, pancakes, and various drinks. Many people were bustling about in between, which meant that they would finally be able to eat something other than the mutton-fat-based banquet dishes they had been forcing themselves to endure.
Liu Junhao took a deep breath: Ah, today I can finally have a big meal! If there's a bit more pork skewers it would be even better! Shao Hui looked at him and said: What's the hurry? Liu Junhao shook his head: No rush, no rush, we can eat after the director finishes the meeting. As soon as he finished speaking, Zuo Ming immediately gave him a disdainful look: How scary it is to be uncultured, you don't even know Li Bai's poem! Shao Hui suddenly shivered and looked at Zuo Ming: I'm playing the zither to two cows!
The town mayor arranged a meeting time that was relatively short, only half an hour. By the time Shao Hui and his group had finished their conversation and returned to the entrance, the old director had just walked out and followed the host to where Shao Hui had played the cow's zither earlier. The group entered the tent and took their seats. Inside, several large braziers were burning, and a row of banquet tables was placed in the middle. The tables were filled with all sorts of food that made one's appetite open wide. Shao Hui and the town mayor's hired guard went in to take a look around and were about to leave when the town mayor beckoned them to come back: "Everyone, please sit down! Today is very safe here, you don't need to go outside." Shao Hui declined, saying: "Town Mayor, for your safety, it's better if we stay outside." The town mayor was a straightforward person and laughed loudly: "Now it's daytime, I've arranged for many people to be around, and you're my guests. Today can be an exception, what do you say?" He asked the director, who also replied very readily: "Shao Hui, the town mayor is being too kind, please come sit down! There won't be any problems today!" Shao Hui had a faint feeling that something was not right, but if he declined again, it would be very embarrassing. After weighing his options, he finally sat down at the end of the table with his full gear on. The town mayor gestured to the guard to go invite the other hired soldiers from the courtyard to come in and take their seats. The guard nodded and lifted the door curtain to leave. The town mayor began introducing: "This person is called Bomb, a name that's as fierce as he is. He once set a record for killing eight enemies with just one knife and is the leader of my guard." The old director heard this and gave a thumbs-up: "Only someone with your courage can have such a guard!" The town mayor laughed loudly again: "Haha, you're overpraising me! Bomb's name means 'bomb', and he's nearly two meters tall, with dark skin and muscles all over his body. His face is tense with horizontal muscles and has two scars, making him look like a god of war descended to earth." But this person was actually called "Baobao" by Liu Junhao based on the pronunciation.
Shao Hui sighed again: People without culture are unbearable!
The town head and the old director were sipping tea and chatting, the nationals of Basela loved to drink tea, every morning after getting up, they would first boil a pot of water, then grab a few handfuls of tea leaves and put them in a thermos to infuse, drinking all day without touching plain water. However, the tea leaves were unadulterated coarse tea, with stems and impurities mixed in, and one mouthful was just slightly tea-flavored. But today, the town head used typical Chinese-style tea sets, the green tea flowed from the spout into the ceramic bowl, emitting a refreshing aroma that tantalized the heart. Shao Hui picked up the bowl and took a sip, it was Chinese green tea, and he listened to him discussing China's customs and human feelings with the old director, apparently this town head was a Sinophile.
During the conversation, a freshly baked meat skewer was brought in. The lamb on the plate was sizzling and crackling with oil, topped with various tempting seasonings, and there were even a few slices of onion in between. A single lamb skewer weighed half a catty. The iron skewers used to hold the meat could be collected after finishing eating and used as a club. The waiter elegantly placed a skewer on each person's plate, and the aroma directly covered up Shao Hui's lofty and detached mind for appreciating tea. The town mayor smiled and unfolded his napkin, preparing to start the meal: "I know you Chinese people are not used to eating lamb oil-based dishes, so today I specially arranged this barbecue. The only apology is that drinking is not allowed here, and I hope everyone will forgive us."
The Baslera country's no-drinking system is enshrined in national law, and the old director also smiled and thanked everyone after finishing his speech. Then, everyone began to enjoy this barbecue feast. Shao Hui and two others imitated the mayor unfolding their napkins, took a sip of an appetizer, picked up the corner of their napkin to wipe their lips, and used their forks and knives to send the lamb skewers into their mouths. The three of them ate the lamb skewers in this awkward way, using Western dining etiquette, feeling like they were wearing tailcoats, holding civilized canes, and escorting noble ladies to a concert. Moreover, there was a lot of oil on the meat skewers, and if you applied a little force with your knife, it would slip off and hit the plate, making a noise, which is very impolite. Shao Hui lowered his head, holding his knife and struggling with the meat skewer in the dish, when he heard Liu Junhao whispering beside him: "Eating lamb skewers is harder than killing a sheep!" Shao Hui felt that this sentence was very apt, turned his head to smile at him, and took it as encouragement.
