Chapter 35 Chapter 9 The tricks in the restaurant

When I woke up, I was already lying on the hospital bed, and a ray of sunlight shone warmly in the ward through the window lattice.The station master and director stood by the bed, looked at me and smiled comfortably.I suddenly remembered the scene last night, I was bitten by a poisonous snake. After the drip was finished, I was able to get up from the hospital bed.Snake venom comes and goes quickly.Now, I still have teeth marks left by poisonous snake bites on my ankles, which can only be seen if you look closely.Since then, I have changed my face when I talked about snakes, and I have truly realized the connotation of "Once bitten by a snake, I will be afraid of well ropes for ten years".

After I got out of the hospital, I continued to track the poachers.It would be a pity to give up after the manuscript interview has reached this level. The station master said that he had a few comrades who drove in the agency after retiring from the army, and often ate those wild game with the bureau chiefs, maybe they could help me. The driver introduced to me by the station master was surnamed Li, and he drove a small car in the bureau. Everyone called him Xiao Lizi. Many years later, I can still remember the appearance of Xiao Lizi. He was dry and thin, like a starving ghost.I don't understand, why doesn't he gain weight when he follows the director all day long and eats delicacies from mountains and seas?In people's minds, the bureau chief who "manages a lot of things every day" actually lives a life of sensuality. After the Spring Festival in 2010, the diary of a tobacco director was exposed on the Internet, and the official's real life came into people's sight for the first time.It turns out that officials at this level, their lives include: eating and drinking, giving and accepting bribes, and playing with female subordinates.An official like this, living such a decadent life every day, actually earns more than 200,000 yuan a year.

In a unit, the person closest to the leader is the driver.The driver holds all the secrets of the leader, and the driver is also the leader's confidant.The driver often accepts gifts on behalf of the leader, and the leader will always bring the driver with him when he entertains and eats. Xiao Lizi's eyes and thinking are very flexible, like a flea, people can't keep up with his rhythm.He talks about people when he sees people, and talks nonsense when he sees ghosts.He has a smile on his face, but the smile is as unreal as a paper tie; he looks very enthusiastic, but you can tell from his expression that he is thousands of miles away; he is very humble and polite, but you can I can see the arrogance in his eyes... I have seen many people like this before. They are very fake, but their expressions are very sincere; they are despicable, but their words are full of sublime.When I was working in an agency, I saw too many duplicitous drivers holding chicken feathers as arrows.Xiao Lizi thought that I was a little reporter who hadn't seen much in the world, and he was full of respect for civil servants like him, so he tried his best to show off in front of me.In fact, from his eyes and words, I have already noticed his true nature.I have worked in the civil service for many years, and I have seen too many people like him.

That day, I had dinner with the station manager and Xiao Lizi, and the director went out of the province for an interview.After the station master introduced me, Xiao Lizi rushed over, held my hand tightly, and shook it vigorously, with enthusiasm like a burning torch.He said: "Oh, I've seen your name in the newspapers a long time ago, and I followed every manuscript of yours. I finally met the big reporter today. I'm so honored!" I am secretly amused.For the sake of safety, my real name has never appeared in the newspaper, and no one has ever matched the manuscript I wrote with my name. How could he see my "name" "in the newspaper" ?

In order to avoid his embarrassment, I didn't point it out, just nodded vaguely. Just as Xiao Lizi sat down, he began to "blow" me again: "Oh, the reporter is amazing, the uncrowned king, who is rampant in this society, and the governor will give up three points when he sees it. In the future, if I have anything to ask you, I can't Resignation." I vaguely responded to Xiao Lizi, filled with disgust for this false person from the bottom of my heart. Xiao Lizi was still talking: "I admire reporters the most. This profession is the most noble and the greatest. Without the supervision of reporters, there will be many unhealthy tendencies in this society."

I hated this man even more, so I got up to go to the bathroom. A few minutes later, I came to the door of the room and heard Xiao Lizi say to the station master: "I welcome you, but what are you doing with that idiot? problem..." The station master said: "He is a good brother, I just want you to be introduced to those restaurants that eat wild animals." Xiao Lizi said sternly: "Brother, if you say such things, I will criticize you. How can I know those restaurants? I never go, and neither does our chief." I walked into the door, pulled the station master, and prepared to leave.Xiao Lizi stood up and said, "Oh, the big reporter is back, let's have a good drink, it's my honor to have a drink with the big reporter...don't go."

He didn't stop us, but there was a look of reluctance on his face. After walking out of that restaurant, the station master told me that among the former comrades-in-arms, Xiao Lizi was the youngest and also the most shy one. Like a girl, he blushed when he spoke. So smooth. I thought of the organization I used to work in, because there was a false atmosphere from top to bottom, so no matter how sincere people were, they became hypocrites. The station master said that many of his comrades drive in agencies, and some agency leaders are major consumers of wild animals. A few days later, the station master found another driver.This time, the webmaster didn't say that I was a reporter, only that I also wanted to open a wild animal restaurant.

The driver's name was Heizi, but he was not dark at all, his skin looked as tender and delicate as a woman's.He was a year older than the stationmaster, but the stationmaster seemed to be ten years older than him.He doesn't talk much, not like Xiao Lizi who is always chattering, but he looks calm and sophisticated, unsmiling and unfathomable. The station master also hasn't seen these former comrades-in-arms for many years, and he feels that each of them has changed a lot.The station master later told me that, as the name suggests, Heizi used to have skin as black as coal, but now he is not worthy of the name; on the contrary, the station master used to have fair skin, but now he has become as black as coal.Heizi used to be a great joker, but now he cherishes words like gold.

The webmaster said with emotion that time changes people, and diet changes people even more. Heizi, who cherishes words like gold, has a quiet sense of superiority.I can see it from his words, from his expression.He doesn't deliberately talk about the unit, but he seems to reveal the importance and great power of the unit unintentionally.This is a sullen type of man. The station master asked Heizi to take care of my business in the future. I quickly took out a pack of Yunyan worth 10 yuan and asked Heizi to smoke it.Heizi took out Zhonghua cigarettes, and then handed them to the station master and me. He said, "I only smoke Zhonghua."

I said: "I will open the restaurant next month, please come to me, brother." Heizi said, "Okay." I said, "Does your unit often eat those delicacies from mountains and seas?" Heizi said, "Yes." I asked, "What do you like to eat?" Heizi said, "I'm tired of eating pangolins, civet cats, and monitor lizards. If you want to do it, you have to do something else." I can't think of any other wild animals that can enter their recipes, so I just nodded as if I understood. I said, "Take me to the restaurants you often go to, and let me see what they do. I guarantee that our chefs are better than them and can make new tricks."

Heizi said, "Okay." After a pause, he asked again, "How about commission?" I was stunned, I didn't expect that he would bring people from their unit to dinner and even ask for a commission.I don't know how much the commission should be to comply with their rules. Seeing my embarrassment, the station master quickly said, "We are all my brothers, and I won't treat you badly." I asked: "Does your unit use public funds to eat and drink?" I remembered that when I was working in a small county, many units gave IOUs for meals. As a result, several restaurants in the county were overwhelmed. Heizi said: "There are public funds for eating and drinking, but most of them are treated by the boss. If you have something to ask us." After a pause, Heizi continued, "They dare not refuse." The next day, I called Heizi and he asked me to come to him.He answered very readily. Half an hour later, Heizi drove me to a five-star hotel in his Audi.On the door of that small car, there are two words written, which are the name of this unit.This is a law enforcement vehicle. When Heizi went to the basement to park the car, I walked into the lobby alone and sat on a chair.There are a few tables of people eating in the hall, they are very quiet, completely different from the yelling scene in the north.A woman in a red waiter uniform came over, with a professional smile on her face, showing a third of her teeth, and she asked, "Excuse me, sir?" I deliberately didn't look at her, pretended to be stylish, and said slowly: "What delicious food do you have here?" The woman asked, "What would you like to eat, sir?" I said, "I want to eat an owl." The woman apologized sincerely and said: "I'm sorry, sir, the owl is a national wild animal protection, we don't have it here." I deliberately said: "How can there be no? Last time I brought people to eat five-step snakes at your place." The woman hesitated for a moment, said: "Sir, wait a moment, I will find the minister." Then she left. I put on a look of seeing the world, with my thighs pressed against my legs, and I tapped the table with my fingers lightly. On TV, when those rich people eat in restaurants, they all behave like this. A minute later, the minister in a black suit came, followed by the woman.The minister said to me respectfully: "Sir, I'm really sorry, we don't have any wild animals here. Can you order something else?" I said, "What's the point of eating anything else? I'm here for wild animals." The minister's face was as cold as ice. She looked at the ceiling and said, "Sorry, we operate legally and there are no wild animals." Strange, did Heizi say something wrong?Did Heizi lie to me?Heizi said that they often eat wild animals in this hotel. I was wondering when Heizi came over, with his stomach full, his legs spread wide, his hands in his trouser pockets, walking like a corrupt official.When the minister saw Heizi, he rushed to meet him, like a lamb seeing its mother sheep, like a nail meeting a magnet, like a bustard seeing an old whore.Her face turned from cloudy to sunny, with a flattering expression on her face, she said: "Oh, brother, you are here, little sister misses you so much." She reached out and wrapped her arms around Heizi's arms. Heizi smiled lightly, and walked straight into the private room next to him.The minister rolled his eyes, and the waiter in red rushed to pour tea. We sat on the stools in the private room, and the minister and the waiter stood beside us, slightly bent over, with two smiles on their faces.The minister asked: "Brother, what do you want today?" Heizi spread his legs apart, looked at the wall, and asked casually, "What have you been doing lately?" The minister said: "There are earth dragons, yellow cats, big birds, big snakes, and long worms. Recently, big snakes are in short supply, but our store has ample supply, and they are definitely high-quality goods." I was in the fog, what is an earth dragon, I have never heard of this kind of animal; is the yellow cat a house cat?What kind of bird is the big bird?Orochi is a snake?Are long worms insects like centipedes? Heizi asked, "When will there be a seat?" The minister said: "Recently, the investigation has been very strict. You can only eat until the evening, and the schedule is long. It will take a week to get a seat." Heizi said: "The earth dragon is going to take five or six catties, and the big bird is going to take two. Next week, 10 people will come." I thought, it turned out that Heizi really wanted to order food today, no wonder he just said when I called just now Promise to bring me. It was only later that I learned that all hotels that deal with wild animals are only for regular customers, and strangers who come in to order wild game will be rejected straight away.Moreover, there are code words between the hotel and regular customers, "dilong" refers to pangolins, "yellow cat" refers to clouded leopards, "big bird" refers to owls, "big snake" refers to monitor lizards, "long worm" refers to snakes... each Wildlife has an alias in the hotel. The minister gave the waiter another wink. The waiter went out, and when he came in again, he took out two pieces of paper from his clothes and spread them out in front of Heizi.I leaned over and took a look, and the names of the dishes were all written on it. It turned out that these two pieces of paper were wild animal recipes.There are many names of these dishes, but I only remember the goat’s frog legs—the goat’s pangolin, and the frog’s frog; Braised civet cat; Nine-made King Snake; Braised bear’s paw; Stewed crocodile paw; Gastrodia elata stewed owl; —The dragon is a snake, the tiger is a cat... In those years, when they came to the restaurant, as long as they were regular customers, the manager of the restaurant would come up with recipes and ask the diners to order; but in recent years, because of the increased crackdown, they all use code names for ordering.Diners and restaurant ministers know what each code name stands for.For example, if a diner orders No. 3, the restaurant will serve braised bear paws; if a diner orders No. 30, the restaurant will know that it needs gold and silver venison. Now, these wild animal restaurants are more secretive. There are so many tricks in the wild animal restaurant, which I never thought of before. How much is the meal that Heizi ordered?At that time, the purchase price of pangolins was 100 yuan per catty, and it was as high as 400 yuan when they came to this city, and 2,000 yuan for five catties; That is 2000 yuan.This is only the price of raw materials, which is already as high as 4,000 yuan. If it is cooked food, it will cost 5,000 yuan at least.It is impossible to eat only this for a meal, and it must be accompanied by other dishes and a bar. Therefore, there is no 7,000 yuan for this meal.Who will eat 7,000 yuan for a meal?Are you willing to pay for it yourself? I asked from the side: "Can I see you earth dragons and big birds?" "No problem," said the minister, and she gave the waiter another wink.She should be an expert in winking, each wink has a different meaning and content, which is obviously tempered by dealing with various people in the hotel. The waiter led me along the narrow corridor and walked into the operating room.In the operating room, a few chefs in dirty white coats were busily stirring and frying vegetables, and their big greasy faces were reddened by the flames.On the ground, two crocodiles with their mouths wrapped in tape were crawling, slowly shaking their heads and tails, looking very painful.It crawled to a chef's feet, the chef raised his foot to kick it, and it crawled obediently to the other side.Unexpectedly, the famous king of the swamp has now fallen into such a field. Next to the kitchen is the warehouse, which is full of iron cages, and there are various animals in the iron cages. I deliberately asked: "Are these all domesticated?" The waiter said: "How is it possible? Nowadays, customers are very picky. They must eat live food, and it must be wild. Their eyes are poisonous, and their mouths are also very tricky. You can tell if it is wild or not." , can also be eaten. We can't afford to offend these people." I remembered the scene I saw at the wild animal trading market.After a long journey, the wild animals transported to the city from the forest beach, from the Gobi mountains, because they could not bear the bumps along the way, and because the vendors overdose during the anesthesia injections—those vendors did not receive professional training, finally, These poor animals died on the outskirts of this strange city in the airtight vehicle that was transported long distances.The stall owners only wanted live animals, and the carcasses of these animals were thrown everywhere.There was blood on the ground, flies swarmed in, and at dawn, the stalls were closed one after another, and the cleaners washed the market clean. No one knew the killing and bloodshed in the darkness of this market last night.Every link in the wild animal trading chain is very secretive. At this moment, I saw a monkey, looking at me with sad eyes, weeping like a helpless child.I will never forget that look.At this moment, when I typed these lines of text on the computer, those eyes appeared before my eyes again, those eyes with teardrops rolling down, full of sadness and helplessness.However, these eyes did not impress anyone, from poachers, to vendors, to stall owners, to hotel chefs; and those diners with big bellies, when they saw these eyes, they just thought of its steaming brains , I didn’t think that it has life, breathing, and emotions just like us humans. It is a distant relative of humans. After I came out of the warehouse, I walked in the aisle. Through the window, I saw the lights outside. It turned out that the night had come. Heizi also came out of the private room, and I followed behind him.We walked along the aisle in the middle of the lobby together, and suddenly, I saw someone greet Heizi.While picking his teeth, he said: "The big white chicken tastes good here, but the Dilong is not as good as the one last time." He is Xiao Lizi, and in front of him are a group of imposing middle-aged men, wearing dark designer casual clothes with small bags under their armpits.It was the signature attire of the high-ranking and wealthy men of that era.I was worried that Xiao Lizi would tell Heizi my real identity if he found me, so that I would not be able to continue unannounced visits.I hurriedly hid in the bathroom, and sent a text message to Heizi: "You go back first, I met a friend, and I can't escape for the time being."