RYEY -Chapter 437 News of Hu Lata

Cheng Qiao did not move into the school dormitory. Instead, she continued living with Li Huan in the military district’s suite. As the weather grew warmer, Li Huan’s condition continued to improve.

Although there was still no progress in that particular aspect, Cheng Qiao had plenty of patience. On top of that, Cheng Ligou regularly brought Cheng Li to visit them every month, which made the days pass rather pleasantly.

In the blink of an eye, it was May. After finishing his meditation for the day, Li Huan reflected that his progress lately had been slow. He had finally managed to properly complete the third meditation posture, yet he always felt that something was still off.

He wanted to seek advice from Hu Lata, but Hu Lata had been out of contact for a long time. This also weighed heavily on Cheng Qiao’s mind. On the day Hu Lata left, it was obvious that something had gone wrong with his body.

But Cheng Qiao was, after all, only a doctor. She did not understand the advancement of supernatural abilities. Aside from giving him some health-preserving pills, there was little else she could do.

Moreover, with Hu Lata gone, Li Huan refused to let Cheng Qiao travel far alone unless he went with her. As a result, she did not even dare go to the Qilian Mountains, which she had been longing to visit. Now that she understood just how formidable ability users could be, she would not foolishly put herself in danger.

It was only when Qin Daqiang arrived at her door with a beautiful woman that Cheng Qiao finally received news of Hu Lata. The moment the woman saw Cheng Qiao, she flashed her credentials.

The golden ID passed quickly before Cheng Qiao’s eyes, but despite the speed, she caught the name on it: Mu Hantong. What a domineering name.

“My surname is Mu, given name Hantong. You can call me Xiao Mu or Hantong. I’m Hu Lata’s subordinate, specially transferred here to protect you.”

“Miss Mu, where has Uncle Lata gone? Is he safe?” Cheng Qiao asked anxiously.

“Brother Hu is doing very well. He’s currently in seclusion, so he sent me here in his place. I was delayed for a while in Minqin, so please forgive me.”

“Minqin?”

“Yes. My daughter transferred schools to Minqin this year. She’s in the same class as your son, Cheng Li, and they get along very well. Only then did I feel at ease enough to come here. Of course, before I arrived, there were already people secretly protecting this place.”

“Oh, thank you. Where will you be staying?”

“Brother Hu gave me his room. I’ll stay here temporarily. Once he comes out of seclusion, I’ll return to Minqin—there are people there who also need my protection.”

Cheng Qiao quickly stopped asking questions. Many things were not for her to know. As long as Uncle Lata was safe, she was satisfied. Everything else was none of her concern.

“Let me treat you to a meal,” Cheng Qiao said. “You’ve just arrived, so I should play the part of a good host.”

Mu Hantong didn’t hesitate. She first tossed her luggage into her room, then followed Cheng Qiao to the only privately run restaurant in the area.

With the reform and opening-up, everyone was allowed to do business. Those with good foresight and connections had already begun walking the road to prosperity, and opening restaurants was one such path.

The restaurant was small. Several small tables were placed near the doors and windows, while two large round tables sat near the walls. The kitchen was in the back. Even though it wasn’t mealtime yet, the place was already quite full.

“You two are students from the medical college, right?” the owner called out warmly. “Come, come, there’s an empty table here. Do you have student IDs? With a student ID, you get 20% off.”

“I do,” Cheng Qiao said, taking out her student ID.

The owner nodded repeatedly upon seeing it and hurriedly handed her a handwritten menu.

Cheng Qiao flipped it open, and her eyes began to ache. She had to concentrate hard to read the writing. This should be crucian carp, right? Why is the ‘fish’ radical missing?

And this must be sweet-and-sour spare ribs… but the character for ‘vinegar’ looks wrong. She realized that the component missing the three water dots had turned the character for “wine” into “west,” which explained why it looked so awkward.

The owner stood by with a notebook and a ballpoint pen, waiting for them to order. Seeing Cheng Qiao struggle to decipher the characters, his face turned red like a monkey’s backside.

“Miss, if you could help me write ten copies of the menu, I’ll treat you both to this meal. What do you think…?”

Mu Hantong shot the owner a sideways glance. Isn’t he afraid we’ll order the most expensive dishes and eat him into bankruptcy?

The owner clearly hadn’t considered such a serious consequence. The two young women were slim and tall—how much could they possibly eat? One bowl of noodles would probably satisfy them.

Cheng Qiao looked at him teasingly. “A gentleman’s word is his bond.”

“Of course,” the owner said firmly. “When a man gives his word, it’s solid. Whoever regrets it is this.”

He made a turtle gesture. Seeing Cheng Qiao nod, he quickly brought out a stack of blank paper—pages he had prepared for rewriting the menu himself, though he had long since lost hope of doing it well.

Cheng Qiao spread out the paper and began copying according to the original menu’s order. The five characters ‘Deng’s Small Restaurant’ were written with such bold, majestic flair that the owner’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

One dish after another followed—dish names on the left, prices on the right. Even the Arabic numerals were beautifully written, round and plump, exuding a sense of prosperity.

Cheng Qiao wrote very quickly. In no time, she finished one menu and moved on to the second. What shocked the owner most was that the second copy was identical to the first—she didn’t even need to refer back, writing it out directly from memory.

The owner worried she might make mistakes, but as he checked dish by dish, he couldn’t find a single error. And while he was checking, Cheng Qiao completed three more menus.

Meanwhile, Mu Hantong had already snatched the owner’s notebook and casually written down everything she wanted to eat. The restaurant had sixteen hot dishes, twelve cold dishes, plus rice and noodles—and she ordered more than half of them.

Mu Hantong’s handwriting was actually quite decent, but looking at the densely packed order, the owner felt his scalp go numb.

Is it still possible to regret this now? He glanced at Cheng Qiao just as she finished the very last word on the final page. Once the ink dried, she closed the menus and handed everything back.

“Ten menus copied. Boss, you can take them to be bound.”

Watching the owner’s face instantly turn bitter, Cheng Qiao couldn’t help but feel amused. Mu Hantong said nothing, calmly pouring herself a cup of tea—and one for Cheng Qiao as well.

The two chatted and laughed until the dishes were served, one by one. After tasting each dish, both women’s impression of the owner improved greatly.

They had initially assumed that free food would mean overly salty dishes, little oil, or cut corners. But when each plate was brought out, not only were the portions generous, the taste was excellent—no different from what other customers were getting.

Cheng Qiao had an average appetite. After a bowl of rice and a bit of dessert and side dishes, she was already full. Mu Hantong, however, was clearly a big eater. Cheng Qiao watched as she ate bowl after bowl. Though fast, her manners were not at all crude.

By the time the very last dish had been completely cleaned out, not only the customers and the owner, but even Cheng Qiao herself was astonished. Mu Hantong’s appetite was practically equal to that of Cheng Qiao’s entire family combined.