Chapter 407: Special Dishes
"Sixty for a night’s stay. That’s definitely not expensive."
Jiang Xinghai sized up the woman in sharkskin pants and asked pointedly, "And what exactly is this ’ordering service’?"
"The ’ordering service’..." The woman in the sharkskin pants, a slight smile on her face, seemed to have read his mind. "I’m sure a young man like you knows what that means. And I guarantee it’s absolutely delicious."
Jiang Xinghai sent a message to Shen Lingyin, telling her he had arrived at Phoenix Mountain. Then, he took another look at the middle-aged woman.
She wore a pair of black sharkskin pants with a yellow belt and slippers on her feet. She still had a certain charm, and the face under her light makeup was well-maintained.
"A young man like you probably isn’t interested in a thirty-eight-year-old ’dish’ like me, right?"
"Hehehe," she giggled. "I’d recommend you try the eighteen-year-old vintage instead. They’re all fresh arrivals, just came in today. Guaranteed to hit the spot." The woman dropped the pretense and began her sales pitch to Jiang Xinghai.
"You have eighteen-year-olds? What’s the price?" Jiang Xinghai asked casually as he got out of the car.
"The eighteen-year-old vintage is, naturally, a bit pricier." The woman held up one finger.
"A thousand?"
"Ten thousand!" The woman raised an eyebrow. "They’re the freshest catch, so tender they’re practically dripping. All college students from the city, you know. It’s not easy for them to earn a little tuition money."
"College students?"
Jiang Xinghai hadn’t expected college students to be out here doing this kind of business. He shook his head. "Never mind. I just want to try your local specialties. None of that other ’romantic’ stuff."
"Of course, no problem. Let’s get you some food and a few drinks first. Maybe you’ll change your mind later." The woman didn’t press the issue about the ’special menu’ and led him toward a restaurant next to the tourist area.
At the foot of Phoenix Mountain lay a canyon surrounded on all sides by peaks. This was likely how the mountain got its name.
A stream murmured through the canyon.
A few bamboo rafts drifted on the water’s surface, adding a lively touch to the scenery.
As they spoke, the two of them arrived in front of a restaurant called "Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms."
"After you, handsome," the woman said with a seductive smile.
Jiang Xinghai glanced at the time. "Doesn’t Phoenix Mountain have a cable car?" he asked.
"It’s still under construction," the woman replied.
"How long does it take to get down from the summit?" Jiang Xinghai asked, eyeing the height of Phoenix Mountain.
"Going up is easy, coming down is hard. It’ll take an hour and a half, at least."
The woman lifted the door curtain, ushering Jiang Xinghai into the restaurant.
The restaurant wasn’t large, with only six tables.
It was just after four in the afternoon, not yet the dinner rush, so the restaurant was empty.
"Are you sure you want to eat out here in the main dining area, handsome? Not a private room?" The woman was clearly trying to tempt Jiang Xinghai into spending more.
"A private room..."
Jiang Xinghai glanced at the time. ’If I order now,’ he thought, ’we can eat with Lingyin and her classmates when she gets down the mountain. We’ll still have plenty of time to leave after.’ "Alright, let’s get a private room then."
"Let’s go with Room 666, then. It’s nice and spacious." The woman led Jiang Xinghai to the room.
The room wasn’t actually that large, only a little over a hundred square feet.
However, besides a round dining table, there was, surprisingly, a double bed in the room.
"So, handsome, are you sure you don’t want to order some ’special dishes’?" The woman suddenly placed a hand on Jiang Xinghai’s shoulder, striking a seductive pose.
"No, thanks."
Jiang Xinghai shook his head. "Just give me the regular menu. I want to order now. My friends should be down the mountain in about an hour."
The woman had been a little annoyed to hear Jiang Xinghai wasn’t ordering any ’special dishes’, but her face lit up with a smile when she heard he had friends coming. "I take it you have quite a few friends on the way?"
"At least four or five," Jiang Xinghai estimated.
"Excellent!"
Hearing this, the woman perked up and immediately turned to get the menu.
’She refused to believe it. With her most persuasive recommendations, surely one out of four or five men would want to order a ’special dish’, right?’
’And if one of them took the bait, would the others really be able to resist?’
Soon, the woman returned with the menu.
Jiang Xinghai ordered ten main courses straight away. "There. You can start bringing the food out in an hour."
He remembered clearly that Shen Lingyin had said she would be heading down the mountain around 4 PM.
He’d also left her a message telling her to come straight to this little restaurant when she got down.
"By the way," the woman said, giving Jiang Xinghai a pointed look, "there’s a regular in the room next door who’s ordered the ’eighteen-year-old vintage.’ He comes every Sunday for some fun. They’ll be ’serving his dish’ any minute now. You’ll be able to hear it from your room. If you get interested, handsome, you just let your big sister know, alright?"
"Is the soundproofing that bad?" Jiang Xinghai asked, his expression grim.
’He had no desire to listen to the sounds of someone else’s romp.’
"It’s not so bad, not so bad." The woman left with a wide grin.
A few minutes later, sure enough, rustling sounds started coming from the next room.
It sounded like a woman begging and a man flying into a rage.
This didn’t sound like a ’romp’ at all. It sounded like an argument!
The more Jiang Xinghai listened, the more he felt something was wrong.
’The woman’s voice coming from the next room... why did it sound so much like Shen Lingyin?!’