Chapter 8: Old Dai of China (Part 2)

  After dinner, Lime dropped Daisy off at a post-war ruin in the northern part of the city and stopped. Daisy pointed to a small courtyard with three or four floors not far away and said, "That's my home." Jumping out of the car, she waved her hand at him, "I'll come find you tomorrow, thank you for saving my life."

  Lai Mei was surprised and went to her doorstep, without even the courtesy of inviting him in, asked: "Not even asking me in for a glass of water?"

  "Sorry," said Mei, apologetically, "you can bring anyone you like, just not an American to our home. My dad now hates Americans because of the war, all business is gone. Don't mind him, okay?"

  It turned out to be like this. Lime laughed: "Do you think I'm weird?"

  "You're really a bit weird, apart from your looks being like a foreigner, you're a genuine Chinese through and through."

  "That's right." Rhyme chuckled to himself, thinking that he was a bit like teasing a little girl. He stepped on the accelerator and waved goodbye to Demei, driving back to the embassy apartment. Just as the Hummer started moving forward, Demei suddenly caught up with him again, looking at him steadily: "You... if you're not afraid of my dad scolding you, would you like to come to my house for a cup of coffee? My mom makes great coffee."

  Lyme thought for a moment, beckoned and said: "Get on the car." Daimi'er climbed back onto the car, the Hummer let out a loud roar, the wheels rolled over the ruins, crushing the broken walls, and stopped in front of a small courtyard. The two got off the car, Daimi'er pressed the doorbell beside the gate, after a while, heard the fierce barking of dogs inside "Wang Wang Wang", followed by footsteps, the door opened, a teenager holding a large wolf dog stood at the door. "This is my brother Nezha, just like the Nezha in 'Nezha Troubles the Sea'." Daimi'er said, Lyme couldn't help but smile, Daimi'er's father was interesting, actually using the name of a character from Chinese mythology to name his son.

  "Sister, why are you just coming back now? Dad is worried to death." Little Nezha said, raising his eyes to see Laim and changing to a vigilant expression, closing his mouth tightly, pulling the wolf dog and running towards the house.

  This is a four-story building, obviously the home of a wealthy family. Like most buildings in Baghdad, the exterior walls are adorned with Islamic-style mosaics. Daimler led Lyme inside, and the living room was spacious, with a long sofa surrounding the center. Daimler's father sat on one end of the sofa, stroking the wolf dog, seemingly unaware that they had entered. Xiao Nezha sat beside his father, his eyes wide open, constantly scanning the faces of several people.

  "Dad, this is General Lyme," Daisy introduced.

  "It's just a star, isn't it? Little General." Old Dai said in his Cantonese accent, without even looking at Laim, "You're getting bolder and bolder, no gods or ghosts at home, yet you still manage to entice an American devil into our house."

  "Dad, others can understand Chinese too. General Rhyme's Mandarin has a Beijing accent and flavor, better than your Cantonese."

  Lao Dai was startled and looked embarrassed, then pointed to the sofa and greeted Laim: "Hello, sit down."

  Laim smiled slightly: "No need, Mr. Dai, hello." Sat down on the sofa to one side. Old Dai was called Dai Alang, in his forties, sturdy and dark-skinned, a typical Cantonese man. He looked at his daughter with suspicion: "Mei'er, how do you know this American... general?"

  "We encountered roadside bombs, luckily General Lem saved us." Daisy recounted what had happened.

  Lao Dai didn't mean to thank Laim, but scolded instead: "This Zhao Hengyang, he's got nothing better to do, helping the Americans with their business. And you, Mei, your family's restaurant is gone, but you don't have to work for Zhao Hengyang to make a living. If you hadn't driven to that Bayaji place, would you have encountered roadside bombs?"

  Laim took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it and said slowly: "Currently, the security situation in Baghdad is unstable, with bomb attacks happening every three to five days. Restaurants are public places, so there is indeed some risk involved. However, that doesn't mean you can't make money now. In fact, although war causes destruction, the post-war period is also a great opportunity to get rich. I have an idea. The Green Zone, do you know what it is? It's possible to open restaurants in the Green Zone too, but I don't know if Mr. Dai has such intentions."

  Lao Dai's heart skipped a beat. Although he was Chinese, he had lived in Iraq for many years and could be considered half Iraqi, so he was quite familiar with the situation in Iraq. The so-called Green Zone was a four-square-mile "green area" designated by the US military after occupying Baghdad, surrounded by concrete walls and barbed wire, heavily guarded by US troops, where the US military headquarters, the US Embassy in Iraq, and other important departments were located, with tens of thousands of people living there. If he could open his restaurant in the Green Zone, that would be great, as it was not only safe but also a place where Americans spent money lavishly.

  "Wow, opening a restaurant in the Green Zone is great! They use US dollars there, not those worthless Iraqi dinars."

  "Ahong," Old Dai shouted to his wife, "brew a pot of coffee for the guest." He got up again and took out a pack of cigarettes from the cabinet, opened it, took out a box, and placed it in front of Laimu with both hands, "General Laimu, this is Chinese cigarette brought by Zhao Hengyang from Beijing, please taste our China's best cigarette."

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