The Thirty-Fourth Chapter: The Mysterious Restaurant

  Liu Mingjiu and Zhao Bilin sat silently in the room for a short while, until Liu Mingjiu finally broke the silence: "I heard that Beijing has had many fresh events recently. The newspapers I can see are all brought by Sun Shu, but they have been out of date for at least four or five days when they reach my hands, and by the time they are delivered to me, they have become old news from a week ago."

  "Haha, old news." Zhao Bili was hearing someone call outdated news "old news" for the first time. Such a postmodern term shouldn't have appeared until many years later. No wonder she burst out laughing. After laughing for a while, she finally managed to stop herself: "No matter how old the news is, it's still news. I really don't know what you're thinking with that brain of yours, actually coming up with a term like 'old news'."

  Then Zhao Bilin told Liu Mingjiu about the major events in Beijing and even across the country that he knew before and after his return. Mr. Sun personally directed the bombardment of the Military Governor's Office, and Qian Chunxuan established another government. The Southwest Provincial Union was formed, and President Feng Guozhang issued a decree to send troops to conquer the Southwest. Xu Shuzheng, the commander of the Anhui army, led the Fengtian army into the pass, and a large batch of Beiyang military supplies were looted. The Sino-Japanese joint venture, the Chinese River Bank, was established. Feng Guozhang, as acting president, publicly announced the "National Assembly Organization Law", "Senator Election Law" and "Representative Election Law". Tang Jiyao completely controlled Sichuan, and the Anhui politicians initiated the establishment of the Anfu Club. Zhang Jingyao slaughtered Pingjiang, and Yueyang fell. The Beiyang army occupied Changsha, and Duan Qirui became prime minister for the second time. Zhao Hengti led the Hunan army to capture Liling and Zhuzhou, defeating the Beiyang army. Someone in the southern government forced Mr. Sun out, and the north and south sides sat down together and declared a ceasefire. The election results of the two houses were announced, and the Anfu faction won 80% of the votes. The new National Assembly was established in the House of Representatives, and Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui jointly resigned. Xu Shichang was pushed to the presidential throne by the Anfu faction, and he issued a ceasefire order. In response to the ceasefire between the north and south, a series of new cultural movements emerged and spread across the country, and influenza invaded the country... Zhao Bilin talked until lunchtime. Although Liu Mingjiu roughly knew from newspapers and his own understanding what had happened in this country that year, hearing it from a beautiful, elegant, and charming girl made him feel different.

  "Master, it's time for lunch. Also, please bring the bowl and chopsticks to Miss Zhao later." Just as Liu Mingjiu was listening to the sounds of the world outside, butler Deng Junyan quietly pushed open the door and stood beside Liu Mingjiu, saying something in a low voice.

  Liu Mingjiu was brought back from Zhao Bilin's narrative by Deng Junyan's low voice, only to find that it was already noon. He stood up and looked at Zhao Bilin with a smile, saying: "Alright, Miss Zhao, you haven't wasted your university years, you've opened my eyes wide! After graduation, you can be a great lecturer. Haha, even someone as uncouth as me has been deeply attracted to your narrative, let alone those students who live on ink and paper."

  "Ah..." Zhao Bihui's face flushed again after hearing Liu Mingjiu's words. Being praised by someone she liked, any girl in this era would feel both shy and happy. But it wasn't like the era where Liu Mingjiu used to live, those girls no matter how happy you made them, what they truly liked was cars, houses, money, appearance, and status. Without these five things, even if you made her very happy, she still wouldn't necessarily become your bride.

  Seeing Zhao Bihua lower her head in embarrassment, Liu Mingjiu couldn't bear to make her more embarrassed, so he opened his mouth and said: "Let's go, we'll go eat. The new chef I hired can cook four cuisines: Beijing, Lu, Sichuan, and Tan family dishes. If you don't eat, it's your loss."

  Zhao Biling walked behind Liu Mingjiu with her head down, saying as she walked: "You're almost as good as the famous chefs in the big restaurants in town, I don't know how you managed to invite him, it must have cost a lot of money?"

  "Hehe, it's not a lot of money, just my monthly salary. Liu Mingjiu said as he continued walking forward, occasionally turning his head to glance at Zhao Bilin, who was staring at him with a surprised expression, and smiled as he gently scratched her nose: "What are you spacing out for? This is the company's account paying, not me personally. You think I'm a spendthrift, haha, I wouldn't dare waste my meager salary on showing off."

  Zhao Bili listened to Liu Mingjiu finish speaking, then lowered her head again, touched the nose that had just been scratched by Liu Mingjiu, and blushed again. She said in a low voice: "As the big boss, it's not like being an ordinary military officer. Unfortunately, those people back then didn't have your skills, they could lead soldiers and also do business on their own."

  Liu Mingjiu listened and burst out laughing: "Don't be so sentimental, let's open our stomachs and eat. I've already given instructions to my chef a long time ago, as long as there are guests coming, at least make four dishes and one soup. You don't have to worry about eating on me, the food in this house is supplied by the team department every month, not a single cent of my own money."

  "This makes you beautiful, if you don't eat your own, then it's all the same, how can eating be any different with the same dishes and rice?" Zhao Bili said with her head down, but her voice was a little louder.

  Soon, the two of them walked into Liu Mingjiu's dining room. As soon as Zhao Bilin entered the dining room, she was shocked again, looking at the decoration in the dining room and then staring at Liu Mingjiu: "Who did you find to decorate this for you?"

  "Haha, no one is serving me. " Liu Mingjiu laughed loudly and walked straight to the dinner table, picked up a cup of French cognac that Huang Zuoshan had brought back from Tianjin as a gift for him, raised it towards Zhao Bilin and continued: "Come on, my Miss Zhao, let's sit down and have dinner."

  Why was Zhao Bilin surprised? Because Liu Mingjiu had already set up the restaurant in the same way as the Western restaurants he had seen in his later life. The simple setup was filled with a noble atmosphere. Glass dining table, crystal wine glasses, Western candelabra, Western oil paintings, light red carpet, Western sculptures and many other things that Zhao Bilin had only seen in Beijing's Western restaurants were all here, how could she not be surprised?

  "No way, you have to tell me, who helped you with this? Where did you find the interior designer?" Zhao Biling relentlessly questioned Liu Mingjiu.

  At this time, the door of the restaurant was pushed open and a figure slipped in to answer Zhao Bihui on behalf of Liu Mingjiu: "What designer? These were all designed by your heartthrob himself. He said that after saying what he wanted to say, he could come back and enjoy Western food again. I don't know how his brain works, usually eating Chinese food, but decorating the restaurant in a foreign style."

  "Since you're so talkative, sit down and eat with us, Old Deng. Also, give the Japanese prisoner and Lieutenant Zhang a bowl and chopsticks." Liu Mingjiu had already seen Wu Tongjin and Third Company's Quartermaster Lieutenant Zhang Qiuming rush in and grab the conversation.

  Zhao Bili sat down on a completely Western-style chair made of red wood, staring at Liu Mingjiu with suspicious eyes: "You seem to have never been to Tianjin personally? Only went to Chengde once? And when you bought this house, you didn't go to Chengde either. Where did you learn all this?"

  Liu Mingjiu smiled and looked at the girl in front of him, who had a surprised expression on her face. He replied with words he had already thought out: "These are some photos and books that our company brought back from Tianjin. I saw them there. How about it? Not bad, right?"

  "It's not just good, it's almost as if it were a Western restaurant in Beijing. You're really amazing, to be able to set this up exactly the same after just looking at a few books and photos." Zhao Biling stroked the glass table, gazing at the crystal wine glasses and the bottle of red wine, speaking as if to herself.

  Although she has been in Beijing for two years, except for the time when Chu Meng took her to a Western restaurant half a year ago after their divorce, at other times she could only glance through the window while passing by. Now, in this small county town where she lives, in a private house, seeing such an identical restaurant, how can she not be surprised?

  "He's not that amazing, is he? You wouldn't be so fascinated with him if he wasn't." Wu Tongjin saw Zhao Bilin's surprised and distracted expression, then continued to say: "Alright, the table is for eating, the wine cup is for drinking. Stop staring, okay? Why are you acting like a country kid who just entered the city?"

  Zhao Bili suddenly raised her head, staring at Wu Tongjin with a pair of fierce eyes: "Who do you think is the mountain village kid who can't even get in? Do you know how much money it takes to get into a Western restaurant like this in Beijing? And often Chinese people go there, they don't even give reservations, do you know that?"

  "Huh? Why? Isn't it just a place to eat? Why didn't the Chinese people get a fixed location? Is Chinese money not money? They're opening some broken restaurant on our Chinese land!" Wu Tongjin wasn't afraid of Zhao Bilin at all, after all they had grown up together since childhood and were already familiar with each other. But he couldn't understand what Zhao Bilin was saying, so he opened his eyes wide and asked the question in his heart.

  Liu Mingjiu gently put down the wine glass in his hand, and without waiting for Zhao Bilin's response, he continued: "What about Chinese people's place? From the end of the Qing dynasty when that old lady and her husband were in power, have you ever seen us Chinese people truly show our strength in front of foreigners? Beijing at least has some rules to follow, but in Shanghai and Tianjin, I've heard that many foreign places don't even allow Chinese people to enter. China may be big, but its strength was already weakened by that old lady a long time ago. A weak country has no diplomacy, and those foreigners bullying our citizens on our land is nothing new."

  Wu Tongjin didn't wait for Liu Mingjiu to finish speaking, and suddenly stood up, loudly shouting: "What the hell is this? Bullying us on our own land? Can those high-ranking officials in Beijing really tolerate this?"

  "Haha, can't they bear to do it? Either they rely on the British and Americans, or they cling to the legs of those islanders in the east. Those high-ranking officials in Beijing, they're not afraid to fight a civil war, each one more heroic than the last when they start fighting, but as soon as they encounter those foreign devils, they become even more cowardly. If foreigners don't sell them guns or lend them money, what will they use to fight for their rights against their opponents?" Liu Mingjiu said, shaking his head and downing the cup of wine in front of him in one gulp.

  "What the...! They're always shouting about this and that for the country, for the people, but is this what they mean by 'for the law'? Watching their own people being ridden roughshod over by foreigners, are they going to lick their arses too?!" At this point, Zhang Qiuming, the quartermaster of the Third Battalion, couldn't help but slap the table and stand up, causing the red wine in his cup to splash out.

  Liu Mingjiu looked at his indignant expression, both angry and amused: "What are you angry about? Even if we're angry, we're still low-ranking military officers. You don't have to take it out on my wine cup, do you? Alright, we're soldiers, not politicians. No matter how angry you get, you can't change the reality that's been this way for a long time. It won't be many years before China undergoes great changes and those foreigners will no longer dare to bully our people. But all of this has nothing to do with us military men now. Those high-ranking officials in Beijing also can't achieve it."

  Zhao Bili seemed to have heard something from Liu Mingjiu's words, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Seeing that her own few words had actually caused a lieutenant officer to slam the table and scold her, she hastily took over the conversation: "Alright, alright, let's not talk about these irrelevant things anymore. We still need to eat, and future matters will be handled by future people."

  "Alright, alright, just sit down and eat, don't bother with those things that have nothing to do with us. You two remember, you're soldiers, just follow orders, political matters are none of our business." Liu Mingjiu couldn't help but feel a few more points of affection for this girl after hearing Zhao Bilin's words. This girl was really not simple, able to easily pull back the two big rough men from their anger.