Hi everyone! I’m sorry for the irregular postings. I’ve been training out of town since last month so I can’t be consistent with the updates on the website. I’ll post when I have the time tho (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) thank you for reading and supporting 𖹭
At Yi Ji, Fang Zhenyue chose a seat by the entrance, making it easy for him to see the pedestrians coming and going outside.
After sitting down, Liu Jiaming looked up and saw Yi Jiayi being interviewed on TV, appearing stubborn yet sincere. Turning his gaze back to the Yi Jiayi sitting opposite him, he couldn’t help complaining to Yi Jiadong, who had come over to greet them:
“Brother Jiadong, I see your sister every day at the consulate. Even when I eat, I see your sister. Now, when I look up to watch TV, it’s still your sister. At this rate, I’m going to fall in love with your sister very easily.”
“My sister is so wonderful, it’s normal to fall in love with her. What’s wrong with looking at her more? She’s very pretty!” Yi Jiadong laughed heartily, then turned to You Zhaohua and the others, “Who are these new faces?”
“This is Sergeant You from the Major Crime Unit Team A, this is Tony, a Team A agent, and this is…” Yi Jiayi quickly helped her brother with the introductions, then stood up to help her brother take orders and serve the guests.
“Here, you guys eat, I’ll go cook for you.” Yi Jiadong said with a smile, turning and walking into the kitchen.
“Eleven, your brother looks radiant and healthy,” Sanfu said enviously, resting his chin on his hands. “I knew it, my mom should have had a sister for me too.”
Everyone laughed and chatted for a while, and after Yi Jiayi finished ordering, she reported the dishes to her brother and returned to the table.
Gary pointed to a young boy who was diligently wiping tables at another table, “Isn’t that the younger brother of the male victim from the King’s Park case?”
“Yes, that’s Ding Baoshu.” Yi Jiayi nodded, pulled out a chair to sit down, and naturally poured tea for Fang Zhenyue on her left and Brother Sanfu on her right.
“Wasn’t he previously pretending to be a customer queuing up here to earn some quick money? Why is he wiping tables now? You’re not employing child labor, are you?” Gary asked softly.
“Our Yi’s Iced Delight is really popular now; there’s no need to pretend to be busy to attract customers. Those people you saw queuing were all real customers,” Yi Jiayi said proudly, then continued:
“Since the King’s Park case was solved, Ding Baoshu has been coming over after school to help my brother wipe tables, take out the trash, and serve customers. My brother tried to send him home several times, telling him to focus on his studies instead of helping out.”
“The boy didn’t say anything, just kept coming every day, who knows what he was thinking.”
“After a few days, my brother had a man-to-man talk with him. Then they reached an agreement: he could help out every day, but he had to go home at eight o’clock to do his homework.”
“He’s not helping for free; my brother pays him weekly and takes care of his and his grandma’s dinner every day. The food left over in the restaurant, he takes home every day.”
“How come solving a case ended up adding another mouth for your brother to feed?” Liu Jiaming joked, his eyes sweeping into the kitchen and seeing the busy Yi Jiadong, his expression unconsciously filled with respect.
“It’s two mouths actually, since Ding Baoshu’s grandma also needs to eat,” Gary clicked his tongue and added, “Deserving of being the big brother who raised such a good girl like Eleven, really top-notch character.”
Yi Jiadong always earned the respect of those around him, and now, Jiayi also basked in that respect, feeling a different kind of happiness.
Her brother’s character is certainly top-notch~
“Originally, it was only her brother, Ding Baolin, who made money for the family. Now that Ding Baolin has passed away, if Ding Baoshu can’t make money, it will be tough for the whole family,” Fang Zhenyue said as he poured a cup of tea for Yi Jiayi.
“Jiayi, give me Yi Ji’s phone number. Our Team A will need to frequently order Yi’s Iced Delight to satisfy our cravings,” You Zhaohua had just queued up to buy a milk tea made by Yi Jiaru, slurping it loudly.
“Sure, thank you Sir You for supporting the business,” Yi Jiayi immediately called Ding Baoshu to get a small menu printed with the phone number for You Zhaohua.
Sir You carefully folded it and put it in his pocket, then smilingly patted Ding Baoshu on the shoulder, “Young lad, work hard and think about joining the police academy in the future, become a policeman.”
Suddenly approached by an ‘elder’, Ding Baoshu looked helplessly towards Yi Jiayi for help.
“Hahaha, Sir You, you scared the kid.”
“Haha, Sir You, you’re a detective, but why do you look like a gang boss?”
Everyone began teasing You Zhaohua, and Yi Jiayi quickly took the opportunity to raise her eyebrows at Ding Baoshu. The young boy, not sure if he understood her meaning, took the chance to run away while everyone was laughing.
“…” Yi Jiayi watched Ding Baoshu’s retreating figure, scratching her chin. She meant to signal Ding Baoshu to thank You Zhaohua, but it seemed her facial expression management still needed work; she would have to practice in front of a mirror later.
Tonight’s dinner theme was ‘nourishing the blood’.
Yi Jiadong was truly considerate towards Sir Fang, serving dishes like pig’s blood, duck blood, pig liver, and lean meat soup, all prepared with care.
Fang Zhenyue was so invigorated by the meal that he almost had a nosebleed.
You Zhaohua, unaware it was a blood-nourishing meal, enjoyed it immensely, praising the deliciousness and declaring that Yi Ji’s would now be his canteen. If he didn’t come to eat, he’d have to order delivery.
Upon hearing she had gained another regular delivery customer, Yi Jiaru couldn’t help but sigh with annoyance:
No orders mean poverty, which is tough. But having orders means she has to face the wind and sun to deliver at night, which is also tough.
Being an adult, it turned out, was full of dilemmas.
…
The small streets of Sham Shui Po were always bustling at night. Though the atmosphere was chilly this evening, there were still many people around.
A few people quietly burning paper money around a brazier were mourning family members who had passed away years ago; those burning paper money while crying had recently experienced a death. Those burning paper money along with paper houses, cars, and servants were the wealthy; those with only stacks of paper money were the poorer families.
Everywhere you looked, information was being conveyed. By observing, you could always discern something.
“That drunk person walking towards us, it may not be that he doesn’t believe in superstitions, nor does he care that you shouldn’t get drunk during the Ghost Festival on the 15th of July. It’s just that he loves drinking like his life depends on it, unable to stop even for a day,” You Zhaohua said, showing off his ability to judge.
Liu Jiaming was not to be outdone, pointing to a man and a woman dining at a small night market table: “That man in the black shirt is speaking animatedly, and the woman is just smiling and listening, clearly they are not officially together yet, just a couple in the making. At this point, the man hasn’t succeeded yet, he’s trying hard to display his knowledge, humor, and enthusiasm, like a peacock spreading its feathers.
“That couple eating their own meals, heads down, are most likely old married folks. They don’t talk, but it’s not awkward, and even if they do talk, there’s no energy or emotion;
“Look, that woman keeps talking while the man just gives a perfunctory smile. No need to say, they’ve been dating for a while. The woman wants to marry, but the man isn’t ready to settle down yet, what a scoundrel.”
“Wow, Brother Jiaming is amazing,” Yi Jiayi immediately leaned in to praise.
“What? Wasn’t my analysis just as spectacular?” You Zhaohua saw Yi Jiayi praising Liu Jiaming but not him, and immediately protested.
“Haha, You Zhaohua is amazing too!” Yi Jiayi quickly gave You Zhaohua a thumbs up.
After giving the thumbs up, Yi Jiayi raised an eyebrow and sighed.
When men get together and have fun, they all act like children, requiring her to coddle them, so childish.
As the group walked in a wide alley, they formed a horizontal line, their presence as menacing as ghosts parading through the streets. People who were about to turn into the streets saw such a group, not knowing they were detectives, and thought they were gangsters, immediately turning around to take another route.
Fang Zhenyue saw this and immediately divided everyone into four teams.
When splitting up the teams, he originally wanted to assign Yi Jiayi to be led by Sanfu and Gary, but after sizing up these two, although they were both his capable subordinates, he somehow felt uneasy.
In the end, he kept Yi Jiayi by his side.
Thus, Fang Zhenyue bought four maps, assigned search tasks to the four teams for different streets, and made it clear to call him on his BB-call every half an hour to check in. He would also check in with You Zhaohua every half hour, so that if anyone encountered an issue, one of the teams could double back to support them on their assigned street.
After receiving their orders, everyone went their separate ways. Fang Zhenyue turned around and saw, oh, such a combination again: the God of Wealth with his Fortune-Bringing Child and the Treasure-Fetching Fairy.
With arms outstretched, he was about to grab Liu Jiaming’s shoulder with his left hand and pat Yi Jiayi on the shoulder with his right, but his two disciples, neither of them submissive, saw his move and immediately dodged away.
They even turned around and shouted back at him:
“Brother Yue, what’s up?”
“Today the gates of hell are open, you can’t touch shoulders.”