Chapter Twenty-Two: The Cafeteria

  Zhuo Si Mian drove the car through the traffic, and soon turned into a quiet alley. At the entrance of the alley, two soldiers stood guard with guns. As he approached, a sign that read "Military Forbidden Zone" was erected on one side of the alley. When he reached the door, Zhuo Si Mian took out a small notebook and handed it to the soldier on duty. The soldier scanned the car plate with the notebook and returned it to Zhuo Si Mian before opening the gate.

  "Hey boss, where are we going?" Xiao Yu looked at Zhuo Si with a curious expression and asked.

  "Heh heh, today I'll take you to eat something good. This place is somewhere even I don't come often, my dad is a lieutenant general and can only come five times a month. This time, I begged for half a day before my dad would give up one of his chances to eat here."

  Xiao Yu was surprised when he heard Zhuo Si Mian say that, although he had known that the old family was extraordinary, he didn't expect his father to be a lieutenant general. If it were in the past, Xiao Yu would have probably distanced himself from Zhuo Si Mian due to their differences in status. However, after accepting Zhong Wei's legacy, under Zhong Wei's influence, wealth and power became insignificant to him, like floating clouds. He could obtain these things whenever he wanted, so when he heard that the old man said his father was a lieutenant general, he only felt surprised for a moment before calmly dealing with it.

  Seeing Xiao Yu hear himself say his father's level, he just smiled lightly and put down the heart that had been hanging. He still cares about Xiao Yu as a brother, and if these external things affect the relationship between them, it is also something he does not want to see.

  Xiao Xiao was slightly surprised, and Xiao Ye's heart was even more curious, what kind of place would have such a regular shape.

  After Zhuo Si Miao got on the car and drove through an iron gate, he came to a red brick house. In front of the house, there were several cars with military plates parked in the empty space, and various passes were posted on each window, showing the owner's extraordinary identity.

  The two of them stopped the car and came to the northeast corner of the tile-roofed house, where there was a small door that one person could enter and exit. On the small door, an A4 paper was posted with two large black characters written in brush: "Canteen".

  As he entered the dining hall, Xiao Yu looked around and saw a row of long tables on the south side, with about a dozen people scattered about. The north side was partitioned off into private rooms by reed mats, with doors hung with curtains made from sugar paper and discarded packaging materials. Through the curtains, it seemed like there were five or six tables of guests inside.

  Zhuo Si Mian brought Xiao Yu to an empty private room and sat down. As soon as they sat down, someone lifted the curtain and came in. At the moment this person entered, the muscles on Xiao Yu's back tensed up involuntarily. Xiao Yu looked up and saw that the person who came in was over 1.8 meters tall, looking very strong and powerful, with a thick bloody aura emanating from his body as he walked. His head was shaved bald, with a short stubble tightly attached to his scalp, giving off a faint blue glow, clearly showing that he had been shaving his head for years.

  Bald head wearing a camouflage uniform, with a towel on his shoulder, his right hand hanging vertically beside him, and his left hand holding a small notebook and pen.

  "Xiao Zhuo, what's up for a bite?" The bald man said with a silly smile.

  "Brother Hai, I'll have two servings of big pot dish, 4 chestnut flour buns and a catty of Er Guo Tou." Seeing the man come in, Zhuo Siyun stood up with a bright smile and said.

  "Alright, it's all good." The bald man put the notebook on the table, wrote with his left hand, and walked out.

  "Boss, what is this place?" As he watched the bald man walk out, Xiao Yu's tense muscles slowly relaxed.

  Zhuo Siyan leaned his head forward to Xiao Yu and said in a low voice, "This is the logistics base of a special forces unit. I heard my great-grandfather mention that this unit has been around since the war years and had achieved great military exploits."

  And the owner of this canteen? It was the cook of this special unit at that time, who had participated in the war against Japan and crossed the Yalu River. In 1955, when he was awarded the rank of Major General, the old man only said one sentence: "Now we have won the victory, all the people are living a good life, but I am good at cooking, not leading troops." He applied for retirement and opened this canteen here.

  Listening to Zhuo Siyan's narration, Xiao Yu had a deep respect for this old man he had never met before. How many people in the world could give up their general position to become a partner?

  He paused for a moment, as if to give Xiao Yu time to digest, and then continued: "The owner of this cafeteria's braised meat pot dish is absolutely unique. During the War of Resistance, Taizu, Taizong, and ten other marshals often went there to eat for free, praising his braised meat pot dish to no end. After the old man retired and opened this cafeteria here, many founding generals loved to come and eat pot dishes, even Taizu, Taizong, and some great men would come every week to eat a pot of pot dishes.

  The big pot dish here adds various Chinese medicinal materials, making the big pot dish not only delicious but also nourishing for the body. Even the steamed buns are made with a secret recipe. As for the wine, it is brewed with some precious Chinese herbal medicine, not only sweet and mellow in taste, but also beneficial for invigorating Qi and nourishing blood.

  Watching Zhuo Siyan speaking while occasionally swallowing saliva, Xiao Ye also had a hint of expectation for the food here.

  Xiao Yu's home is just over 200 kilometers away from the capital city. Northerners all love to eat big pot dishes, and Xiao Yu is no exception. In the north, whether it's a wedding or a funeral, several large pots are always set up to cook big pot dishes to entertain relatives and friends. So Xiao Yu has had a special fondness for big pot dishes since childhood, especially those made by his maternal grandfather. The flavor of his cooking is something that no other family can replicate, especially when it comes to his own family members - his maternal grandfather always adds a lot of medicinal herbs to the dish.

  Thinking of his grandfather, Xiao Yu's expectation for the big pot dish here decreased a lot, and he felt a little sad. His grandfather had forced him to recite Tang poetry and study Huangdi Neijing since childhood. Every time he didn't want to learn and ran away, the scene of his grandfather whipping him with a rattan stick appeared before his eyes.

  "Food is here!" The bald man shouted, holding a tray with his left hand and slightly lifting the curtain with his right hand, which was trembling. He placed the tray on the table and put down each dish one by one.

  Seeing the bald man put down his things, Zhuo Si Mian took out his wallet: "Hai Ge, 2500 yuan, you take it."

  Watching Zhuo Si Mian take out 2,500 yuan for dinner, Xiao Yu's heart skipped a beat, thinking: "So dark!"

  After the bald man walked out of the private room, Zhuo Siwei called out: "Old Second, come and try it quickly, how's the taste?"

  Xiao Yu thought, it's not bad, two bowls of big pot dishes are 2000 yuan.