Chapter 960 - 28: The Hole-in-the-Wall Eatery

The place where Professor Cao invited Sun Hang for a meal was neither one of those high-end hotels in Chunming City where a table easily cost tens of thousands, nor the reputed centuries-old famous restaurants, but a no-name dive in an alley in the old town of Chunming City.

Sun Hang spent quite some time just trying to find this place, and it was only when two minutes were left to the scheduled time that he found the grimy iron door wedged between a barbershop and a wreath shop, blackened by cooking fumes.

"No. 57 Liuming Lane… this should be it." Sun Hang glanced at the barbershop with the number 56 plaque next to it and the wreath shop with number 58, then took another glance at the nameless little workshop across the street. Only then did he confirm that the rusted and greasy iron door in front of him was indeed the Number 57 that Professor Cao had mentioned.

As soon as Sun Hang pushed open the door, a whiff of smoke and fire came through the crevice—the door led to a small courtyard with a few greasy folding tables similar to the door. Shirtless cooks were in the semi-open kitchen, tossing large iron pans. The crackling sound of oil splattering could be heard incessantly as spatulas flipped the ingredients over.

Professor Cao sat next to a table along the wall root, squinting his eyes as he smacked his lips. He held a small glass cup in his hand, and on the table were two plates of freshly stir-fried dishes and a bottle of cheap white liquor, a third of which had already been consumed.

"This place has a nice vibe." Sun Hang sat down across from him, "Much better than those restaurants where a pre-made bun costs twenty-one bucks."

"Tell me about it," Professor Cao glanced at Sun Hang, picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and said while chewing, "Back when I was an intern at Dubhe Tower, Mr. Pei often brought me here to improve our lives… At that time, the cafeteria at Dubhe Tower didn't have so many options. Eating the same so-called healthy meal sets every day was as bland as hell. We knew heavy oil and salt weren't healthy, but it sure was satisfying."

"Mr. Pei… Pei Zongjun used to eat here with you?"

"Yeah, that must be nearly sixty years ago now," said Professor Cao wistfully, "It's a pity, though. Not long after I became official, Mr. Pei's health began to decline day by day, and after that, he rarely appeared in public."

Before he finished speaking, the owner brought two more freshly stir-fried dishes to the table.

The slices of meat, with alternating fats and lean, gleamed with a tantalizing shine of oil, and the garlic scapes nestled between them exuded a spicy aroma. Just looking at them was enough to make one's mouth water uncontrollably.

"How's the Nuer I brought back?"

"Besides being curious about everything he sees, he cooperates well with the research work of the special project group." Professor Cao took another sip of his drink, "Those madmen even plan to find some women for him to test whether there's reproductive isolation between the Desert Sea survivors and regular humans, and to observe the manifestation of his recessive memes in the offspring..."

"If human rights organizations knew about this, it would probably cause another uproar, wouldn't it?" Sun Hang asked half-jokingly.

"What's the big deal, none of the research topics at Dubhe Tower would escape their scolding... But that's how reality is. When anomalies crawl out from among people, you can't expect those keyboard warriors to grab their keyboards and whack anomalies dead, can you?" Professor Cao shrugged, looking indifferent.

"Haha." Sun Hang laughed dryly twice.

"Aren't you going to have a drink?" Professor Cao shook the bottle, "Or is this liquor too low-grade for your taste?"

"I don't like drinking white liquor," Sun Hang shook his head.

"Then what would you like to drink? These appetizers are a bit too greasy and salty to eat dry."

"Coke, I guess."

"Alright." Professor Cao waved to the restaurant owner, and soon two bottles of Coke were brought over.

The Coke sold in this restaurant was bottled in glass bottles. As soon as the bottle opener pried open the cap, the surface inside the bottle, mixed with foam, quickly rose to the mouth of the bottle.

"I thought soda in this kind of packaging had long been discontinued." Sun Hang picked up the bottle and took a swig.

"Old-timers like me who are nostalgic enjoy these things as old as we are." Professor Cao took another sip of his drink, "The space for old things is getting smaller and smaller in big cities. You never know when they'll just quietly disappear, as if they never existed."

Professor Cao glanced at the bustling kitchen and continued, "This restaurant has already been passed down for three generations. When Mr. Pei brought me here, the owner was playing with mud in diapers. Now he's about to become a great-grandfather."

"I'm a little curious. Why did you call me here? It can't just be for a meal and nostalgia, right?" Sun Hang asked.

"You're too impatient... But for young people, being impatient isn't necessarily a bad thing." Professor Cao lifted his eyes and glanced at Sun Hang, before continuing to eat and drink on his own.

Just as Sun Hang was contemplating whether to use his mind-reading ability on this old guy, the other party casually asked, "Old Pei, he's not around anymore, is he?"

"Hmm?" Sun Hang was slightly startled. The message from the casual words of the other party was explosive enough to shake the entire upper echelons of the Federation, yet his tone made it seem as if he was just asking if the twice-cooked pork at this restaurant was well-cooked.

"Don't play dumb with me here. I know Old Pei too well," Professor Cao took another sip of his drink, "Now that mainframe projection is just a soulless, dead object. It's not him at all."

"When did you find out?"

"Don't worry, I haven't told anyone. I know the stakes," Professor Cao poured himself another drink, "So, it seems you're the successor Old Pei chose?"

"Sort of," Sun Hang nodded.

"Since Old Pei chose you, I have no opinion on that." Professor Cao placed an empty glass in front of Sun Hang and poured him half a cup of the cheap white liquor, "I believe he wouldn't choose the wrong person… let alone with the mainframe helping him in advisory."

Just as Sun Hang was wondering whether, after all the emotions at play, he should have a drink with the other side, Professor Cao suddenly glanced at Sun Hang, lowered his voice and said, "This isn't for you to drink… Old Pei used to really like this drink, but the medical team strictly prohibited him from consuming alcohol. So he could only sneak a little drink when he brought me here, only ever drinking half a cup, just this half a cup."

Professor Cao picked up the glass and then slowly poured it onto the ground, whispering, "Old man, a toast to you… Damn it, even in death, you have to hide secrets. It couldn't have been easy for you."

Sun Hang said nothing, but followed Professor Cao's example, picked up that half cup of liquor, and poured it on the ground.

"Alright, the old guys will all die eventually, and the future belongs to you young folks. You shouldn't spend too much time dwelling on the dead… Now, personal matters are over, time to talk about business."