Chapter 17 Chapter Four

Murray told his son in detail the whole process of asking about the source of this meat.Mu Dongcheng frowned deeply after hearing this, and said, "The attitude of the owner of this restaurant is very similar to that of grandpa back then." This sentence reminded Murray, and he nodded slightly: "Yes... your grandfather was like this back then, he kept secret about this meat." "But the more this happens, the more it proves two points." Mu Dongcheng analyzed, "First, grandpa and the owner of this restaurant must know the origin of this meat; second, there must be something wrong with this meat, or something is hidden Shameful secret. Otherwise, is there any need to hide it like this?"

Murray looked at his son, "I think so too, there must be a lot of articles in it. Now that your grandfather is dead, the owner of this restaurant may be the only one in the world who knows this secret. But the problem is, look at his It looks like, no matter what, I won’t tell the secret of this meat.” Mu Dongcheng said: "Dad, I think you must seize this opportunity. This may be the only opportunity to find out the origin of this meat." "Isn't it? That's why I asked you to discuss it! You young people are very quick-witted, help me think about whether there is any idea that can get the words out of the old man's mouth."

Mu Dongcheng pondered for a long time, and said: "You ask and ask respectfully and humbly, but he refuses to say anything. It can be seen that it is not good to be soft... If that is the case, then let's be tough." Murray was taken aback. "What do you mean? Can I still kidnap him and torture him for interrogation?" "Of course not, I mean, maybe you can think of some way to force him to tell the truth." "what way?" Mu Dongcheng said: "The middle-aged man who recommended this private restaurant to you before, do you still have his business card?"

Murray didn't know why his son suddenly mentioned this person, and said, "Yes, what's the matter?" "Okay, you can call him now and ask him a question - when he went to eat last time, has he ever eaten this kind of 'clay pot stewed meat'?" "Why do you ask this? Even if he has eaten it, he certainly doesn't know the origin of this meat." "It doesn't matter, you can ask. Just make sure he has not eaten this kind of meat." Murray didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in his son's gourd, but he believed that there must be a reason for his son to tell him to do so.So he took out his cell phone and Liang Heng's business card, and made a call.

Connected.Murray greeted Liang Heng a few words, thanking him for recommending such a good private restaurant to him, and said that the dishes of that restaurant were really extraordinary.After some chatter, he asked the main question.Mu Dongcheng went to the water dispenser to pour a glass of water, and saw his father nodding, knowing that he had already answered the question. After Murray hung up the phone, Mu Dongcheng immediately asked, "How is it? Has he eaten?" Murray nodded and said, "I really ate it, and it was also the last dish." "Same as I guessed!" Mu Dongcheng said happily, "The dishes in front of that restaurant may be randomly arranged according to different guests. But the finale dish is fixed, that is the crock pot Stew meat!"

Murray felt that his son's analysis made sense, but he didn't understand the significance of knowing this. He asked, "What does this have to do with us asking about the source of the meat?" Mu Dongcheng stared at his father and said: "This private restaurant is only open on Monday and Wednesday two days a week. So during the two days he is going to open, will he always prepare the ingredients in advance? If the last dish—that is, The meat for this crock pot is ready and easy. You can surprise them and catch him off guard!" "What kind of surprise attack?" Murray asked blankly. "Choose a Monday or Wednesday afternoon, and make a sudden visit. Ask them about the meat, and they will certainly not want to tell, right? At this time, you throw out your trump card, saying that the meat you ate that day is unclear, Suspect something wrong and tell them that you have contacted someone from the Food Inspection Agency to investigate that meat. At that point, you will see their reaction. If they are really guilty, they will definitely not want to mess with the Food Inspection Agency If the people come to your door, they will naturally agree to your request; if they are really not afraid, that’s okay, you should really notify the people from the Food Inspection Bureau to check, find this kind of meat in their kitchen, and take it back for research. You and the food The people in the testing bureau are all old friends, so I don’t need to teach you how to communicate with them next?”

Murray had to admit that his son's move was really ruthless. "It turns out that this is what you said 'to be tough'... How about it, do you think it is feasible?" Murray thought for a while, and felt that this was the only way to go. He nodded and said, "Let me try." "Isn't it? That's why I asked you to discuss it! You young people are very quick-witted, help me think about whether there is any idea that can get the words out of the old man's mouth." Mu Dongcheng pondered for a long time, and said: "You ask and ask respectfully and humbly, but he refuses to say, you can't be soft... If that's the case, then let's be tough."

Murray was startled, "What do you mean? Can I still kidnap him and torture him for interrogation?" "Of course not, I mean, maybe you can think of some way to force him to tell the truth." "what way?" Mu Dongcheng said: "The middle-aged man who recommended this private restaurant to you before, do you still have his business card?" Murray didn't know why his son suddenly mentioned this person, and said, "Yes, what's the matter?" "Okay, you can call him now and ask him a question - did he eat this kind of crock pot stew when he went to eat last time?"

"Why do you ask this? Even if he has eaten it, he certainly doesn't know the origin of this meat." "It doesn't matter, you can just ask. Just make sure that she has not eaten this kind of meat." A minute later, the door opened, and Qinghui was stunned for a moment when she saw the person in front of her. The chattering guest looked a little unhappy, and said, "Mr. Mu, didn't you make the reservation for today?" "No," Murray didn't expect that she remembered his last name, and said with a smile, "I'm not here for dinner today,"

"Then what are you doing here?" "It will only take you a while, can I go in and talk?" Qinghui thought about it, although she was obviously unwilling, but it seemed that she was not capable enough to invite the guest who opened the door to be rejected, so she had to let him in.Murray came to this quaint and quiet courtyard again, deliberately walked slowly to the wing room on the east side, asked Qinghui on the surface, but actually said to "the head of the house", "Is the old man there?" Qinghui said coldly: "Mr. Mu, just tell me what you have. If it's because of the matter you asked that day, then you don't have to bother the boss, he won't see you."

"To be honest, it was indeed for what I asked that day," Murray said. Qing Hui's face pulled down, "Didn't what we said that day not be clear enough? All the dishes in my family cannot disclose the source of the ingredients and the cooking method. Please don't waste any more time." Murray had already expected that she would say this, and he had also thought about the countermeasure of "be polite first and then fight".I know the rules here.But, I don't know if you know - as a consumer, I have a reason to ask the store to tell the source of the food.So your rules here are only unilateral rules, which are contrary to the general regulations of the catering industry.To put it bluntly, it does not comply with the "Food Sanitation Law". "Don't bring these big principles to me." Qinghui did not show any weakness, "We have private dishes with secret recipes here, not ordinary restaurants on the main road. Every customer who makes an appointment in advance, we have consulted here in advance. If you think it’s unreasonable, don’t come here, now that we’ve finished eating, and force us to tell you the secret recipe, it doesn’t make sense wherever we go.” In fact, Murray also knew that what he said was not very tenable, but in order to achieve his goal, he had to use his trump card, "It's not up to you or me to decide whether it's worth it. I'll call now The Food Inspectorate, let them judge." "Why are you here against them?" Qing Hui looked a little angry, "Do you want to forcibly search our ingredients?" Murray thought that was actually the case, but at least he said, "That depends on how they work, I can't control it..." Having said that, the curtain of the east wing was lifted, and the old man came out of the house.Murray once again brought out the old boss. Holding a ceramic teacup in his hand, the white-bearded old man walked up to Murray calmly and said, "Don't bother." Murray couldn't understand the meaning of the old man's words, and stood there blankly. The old man said, "If you call the people from the Food Inspection Bureau, they can't find any ingredients, especially the kind of meat you want to inquire about. If you don't believe me, you can go to our kitchen to see it now. If you can If you find that kind of meat, you just take it away." Murray was stunned. Hearing the old man's confident tone, he guessed that they had already prepared to hide the meat.And after all, he is also a person of dignity, how could he really go to other people's kitchen to rummage through things?Besides, even if someone from the Video Surveillance Bureau came, it would be impossible for them to search around other people's houses like a policeman with a search warrant—so it seemed that the idea of ​​his son would not work. At this moment, Murray was very embarrassed, and he was at a loss for what to do. When he was about to leave sadly, the old man suddenly asked, "Tell me the truth, why are you so interested in this kind of meat?" Murray was taken aback. He didn't expect the old man to ask this question, because he didn't know how to answer it. The old man narrowed his eyes and stared at Murray for a while, and said, "Among the dishes you ate that day, I believe there were at least three or four kinds of meat dishes. It is impossible for you to know what kind of meat it is. But why are you only concerned about the last dish?" The meat used in the dishes is so sensitive, we have to figure it out." The old man opened his mouth slightly, stroked his beard, and didn't reveal much expression on his face, but Qing Hui, who was standing beside him, widened his eyes , Murray saw with a startled expression that they were obviously very surprised, but the calm old man controlled the emotional changes. Murray didn't speak for the time being, waiting for their response. After a while, the old man asked, it's all right if you have eaten it before, why do you have to trace the origin of this meat now? Murray said: "It is precisely because I ate ignorantly when I was young that I spent my whole life looking for this meat. In addition to thinking about how to eat it, I also want to find out what kind of meat it is— —Otherwise, it will be a lifetime of regret.” "So, now that you eat this kind of meat from me again, you don't know, and you won't give up?" asked the old man. Murray bit his lip and thought for a moment, then said firmly: "Old man, I didn't mean to embarrass you, or to be right with you, but...you are right, I really didn't achieve my goal this time, and I vowed not to give up !" The old man stared at Murray, exchanged glances with him, sighed, and said, "Well, since you're so persistent, I'll satisfy your curiosity." When Murray heard this, he was overjoyed, and hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you, old man, for your fulfillment. I assure you, I will not let this matter out!" The old man stared at Murray, and suddenly said something that shocked him: "Forget it, you don't need to do this kind of packaging. If you can really keep your promise, you won't forget what your father told you back then." These words hit Murray like an electric current, and he was immediately stunned, and then trembled all over: "Old man, you... know my father? You know that he..." The old man waved his hand, unwilling to say any more, "Come here at eleven o'clock tonight, and I'll tell you what you want to know." eleven o'clock?why so lateMurray was suspicious, but he didn't dare to speak out.The old gentleman promised to tell himself about the meat, which was already very good.He thanked the old man again and left Shanpinju. Looking at the back of Murray leaving, the old man was thoughtful.He said to Qing Hui: "Go and close the door." Qing Hui said: "It's already past four o'clock, and the guests who have made dinner reservations should arrive later." The old man applied and said seriously: "You immediately call the guests who made the reservation before, and tell me that I am suddenly seriously ill and cannot host the dinner tonight." Qinghui said differently: "Master, you are..." The old man sighed: "This business can't be done tonight... No, it won't work in the future. We must move immediately and leave this place." "Just think of this person?" The old man nodded slightly: "Yes, I didn't expect that after so many years, there are people in the world who have eaten this kind of meat and remembered the taste. It seems that we made a mistake in setting up the financial management here." "Then we move to another place to drive?" "I'm afraid we won't be able to open anywhere for the time being." The old man said, "I can see that this person will not stop until he achieves his goal. Even if we open the restaurant to other places, he will still find it." "Then we just hide temporarily because of him?" "What else can I do?" The old man said deeply, "The secret of that kind of meat must never be known to ordinary people. Otherwise..." He didn't go on.Qinghui looked at the old man worriedly, and asked, "Then why did you ask him to come here at eleven o'clock?" "I have to give him an explanation, otherwise he won't give up." The old man sighed and walked into the room slowly. Qing Hui walked to the gate and closed the two wooden doors together.She remained silent, as if she was thinking about something, after a while, she looked at the wing where the old man was.After Murray walked out of Shanpinju, he felt extremely guilty.On the one hand, I am excited to learn about the secret that has been explored for decades, and on the other hand, I feel extremely surprised-is there such a coincidence?The old man actually knew his father!And obviously, he knew about his father and this kind of meat back then. Murray made further associations—maybe, this old man knows more, he knows where my father got this kind of meat, and he also knows that my father told us to keep it secret.Even... This kind of meat was given to his father back then? Yes, totally possible.Murray thought.Look at the age of this old man—if my father is still alive, he should be about the same age as him.They are people of the same era, have experienced the same era, and they have learned and guarded the same secret. However, a secret that has been guarded for decades—this old man would reveal it easily because he has been entangled twice?Murray suddenly felt that it didn't make sense logically.Besides, if you want to say it, why can't the time be earlier, or wait until tomorrow?Does it have to be eleven o'clock tonight?Will there be any other purpose?Thinking of this, Murray was suddenly a little scared.At eleven o'clock in the evening, I went to this mysterious private restaurant alone.When the door is closed, the devil knows what unexpected things will happen.Even though the old man and the woman named Qinghui didn't look like bad guys, they must be on guard... After careful consideration, Murray felt that going alone would be a bit risky.After much deliberation, he decided to make his son Twilight City older to give himself courage. Murray called his son and briefly told her what happened in the afternoon.Mu Dongcheng was also surprised: "Dad, why did he invite you so late? Is there any problem here?" "It's because I'm so worried that I ask you to come and accompany me." "But what they said was to tell you, but they didn't tell me. Besides, didn't you promise not to let others know? If I go with you, can he agree?" "You are my son, not an outsider..." (Obviously the rhythm of the son's cheating...) "According to what you said, if you have a few children or wives, you can listen to it and take it with you? You might as well ask the old gentleman to hold a press conference at our house." Murray felt that what his son said made sense. If the father and son went together, maybe the old man thought he was dishonest and was unwilling to speak out. Mu Dongcheng was obviously thinking about it too.After a while, he said on the phone: "But having said that, Dad, it's quite risky for you to go alone. I always feel that this matter is a bit weird, and there may be some conspiracy in it." "Then I have to go, right? You know how important this is to me," Murray said. Mu Dongcheng pondered for a while again, and came up with an idea: "Well, Dad, I'll come over right now, and I'll accompany you when it's eleven o'clock. If they say that you can only go in by yourself, I'll wait outside. In this way, they must have scruples and dare not act rashly against you." "Okay, you still have a bright mind!" Murray said happily, "Just do it like this!" Then, Murray made an appointment with his son to meet him.More than an hour later, Mu Dongcheng drove to the teahouse where his father was.It was past six o'clock at this time, and the father and son found a restaurant in the ancient town, ordered a few dishes, and tasted them slowly.Anyway, there is plenty of time. After eating, it was almost eight o'clock.It is difficult to pass the time in this original ecological ancient town that is not commercialized at all.At night, almost all the shops are closed, and the residents here are almost all at home.The ancient town is dark, gloomy, and lifeless.Fortunately, Murray Xinxiang called his son old, otherwise, he would be a little frightened wandering around this ancient town alone. Since there are no street lights on the street, the mother and son can only rely on the faint lights leaking from the windows of individual houses to walk on the bluestone road in the ancient town.Fortunately, the place is not big, so you won’t get lost. After walking for more than an hour, I finally saw a mahjong parlor that was still open, and it seemed that there was still a barbecue at the door.Like travelers in the desert discovering an oasis, the father and son entered the store without thinking, ordered some barbecue and beer, and ate slowly to kill time. The barbecue sold by this amateur night snack shop is really not flattering to Brother Liang's gourmets.These roasts are basically frozen fresh meat, without the fiber of fresh ingredients, only salty, chilli and a lot of MSG.Murray frowned, unbelievable how ordinary people could eat it.But when someone baked it and served it, it was not good to stay still, so I had to eat a little symbolically.In comparison, Mu Dongcheng is not as picky as his father. He whispered to his father while eating - in this kind of small street shop, the requirements are not so high, it would be nice to have a place to sit and spend time. Murray was sitting on a chair, watching the owner of the barbecue shop grilling fish, and suddenly remembered something, and said to Mu Dongcheng: "Barbecuing is relatively primitive, the basic cooking method is not too particular, but the boss grilling a fish , it must be close to an hour." "That's right, it has to be cooked, and it needs to be oiled and seasoned—what's the matter?" Murray looked at his son and said in a low voice: "We were eating at Shanpinju that day, and we didn't pay attention when we were eating. I felt a little strange after eating." "What's strange?" "Every dish in that place is meticulously crafted. Based on my experience of eating for so many years, the knife skills, heat, and presentation of those dishes are all time-consuming. The cooking methods and processes must be timely. It is complicated and elegant, and some dishes are even reminiscent of the imperial meals eaten by the emperors in ancient times. The chef, the one serving the dishes, didn’t see any other chefs or guys—how could the old gentleman prepare such an exquisite dish and serve it every ten or twenty minutes?” "This shows that this old gentleman has a high moral character."