Chapter 9 Businessman

The patrol house is also in the south of the city, close to the city center, not far from the academy, only three blocks away.

While Zhang Buyi was walking, because he was not in a hurry one afternoon, he walked as if he were going shopping.

It can be said that in the entire Jingle City, the southern part of the city is the place where you can best see the changes of this era. Ancient and modern elements are mixed and alternated. You can see people everywhere wearing western clothes but with long hair.

It felt like I had walked into the legendary city of Beiping in the Republic of China, but the era and culture were a little earlier. Zhang Buyi enjoyed it all with great interest.

On the way, he actually received an ancestor-level flyer, and he took it in his hand in surprise.

You know, even if the papermaking technology is now very good, even if it is poor paper, it is still relatively valuable. The cost of using this to advertise is not small.

When Zhang Buyi took a look, he realized that it was not a bad advertisement from later generations, but a propaganda about the "New Law Reform", or something created by some people behind the scenes.

Well, it can't be considered black, it can only be considered something with a gray edge.

The people handing out leaflets were not students, but seemed to be people working hard at the dock.

Radicals among the reformists, or other groups?

Zhang Buyi took the flyer with great interest and browsed the propaganda above. Was this how the Westernization Movement was done in the previous life, in an attempt to extend the concept downwards to the common people?

Zhang Buyi shook his head and did not comment on this. He was about to throw away the flyer, but the slightly pungent smell of ink coming from the tip of his nose made him pause slightly.

He put the flyer on the tip of his nose, smelled it carefully, and then frowned a little more tightly.

Throwing it away without leaving a trace, he turned around two more streets and came to the block where the patrol house is located. This is a main block, quite spacious, and has a bit of a later-generation feel.

The patrol house headquarters looks like a rather grand courtyard. The gate is different from the traditional yamen in that it is made of masonry and cement, giving it a bit of a courtyard feel of the Republic of China.

Compared with the surroundings, it looks a bit grand and foreign, as if it stands out from the crowd, and there are guards on duty at the door.

Zhang Buyi wandered around it for a long time and thought a lot, but in the end he couldn't find a reason to go in.

He hesitated and looked at the report voucher in his hand. This is what he will use to report tomorrow. But although he can use this voucher to report on the internship tomorrow, he can't visit it today, right?

It’s not the previous life!

This kind of place, in this era, is an important place for the government. How can ordinary people wander around casually?

After wandering around for a long time, Zhang Buyi couldn't think of a good way.

The predecessor's circle was too small, and what could be done was limited. Even if he was a small department under the patrol office, an agent in a police department that traveled around the streets, in this era, he could not investigate as much as he wanted.

Especially with his status and circle, he and the other party are completely different classes of people.

So Zhang Buyi thought about it for a long time, but couldn't think of any good solution.

He looked up at the sun in the sky and saw that it was just noon. Zhang Buyi hesitated for a moment and wandered for a while among the shops on the opposite side of the patrol room.

It took a while to determine the target, find the most friendly store, and walk in.

"Guest sir, who are you?" the waiter asked immediately.

Zhang Buyi replied calmly: "One person."

"Then please come this way." The waiter wanted to guide Zhang Buyi to sit down.

Zhang Buyi walked to a position in front of the window and asked, "Is there anyone here?"

"Hey, there's no one here, please help yourself, sir." As the waiter spoke, he wiped the stool for Zhang Buyi skillfully and motioned for Zhang Buyi to sit down.

Seeing Zhang Buyi sit down with an expressionless expression, the waiter asked: "Sir, what would you like to order? The signs of our store are..."

Zhang Buyi raised his hand to stop the other party from announcing the name of the dish, and said: "Sheep bone soup costs a penny a portion, right?"

The waiter was stunned and nodded in astonishment. Zhang Buyi continued: "Give me one, and don't ask for anything else."

"Um... just one mutton bone soup?" the waiter asked blankly.

"Why, no?" Zhang Buyi asked calmly.

"Well, that's not the case, it's just..." The waiter held his breath for a long time before he said, "Then do you need to serve food?"

Zhang Buyi waved his hand and said: "No need, just a portion of mutton bone soup."

The waiter went down in confusion, and Zhang Buyi sat down expressionlessly.

He couldn't help it. The street management was better than in his previous life. There wasn't a single vendor setting up a stall on the entire street. Could he be standing at the door of someone's patrol room to keep an eye on them?

The teahouses and restaurants here are also quite high-end. He walked around and looked at several of them, all of which were high-end, starting with at least ten cents.

Although there are still more than fifty coins in his pocket, not to mention that if they have a meal here, the two brothers may have to drink the northwest wind later in the year.

Just asking him to spend Zhang Bucheng's hard-earned money is a bit impossible for him.

It's just the necessities of life, and a meal like this... He himself can't even get through this.

So he wandered around for a long time and finally saw on the menu of this restaurant, there was a menu that added soup for a penny. It may have been thoughtfully prepared for those frugal bosses.

So he came in and added a soup too, well, only one soup!!!

It's better to be embarrassed than to use Zhang Bucheng's hard-earned money to enjoy the peace of mind.

······

"Shopkeeper, there is a guest over there who ordered a soup, how can I serve it?" The waiter left his seat for a moment, then recovered from his confusion, and then walked to the manager for help.

"What kind of soup?" The supervisor, who was busy settling accounts, was stunned and looked up at the other person in confusion.

The waiter vaguely gestured to the seat and said, "The gentleman at the window, Wenwenjingjing, ordered a mutton bone soup."

"Just one soup?" the shopkeeper asked in surprise, "Are there no other dishes?"

The waiter nodded and said, "It's just a soup. Isn't this just to entertain us?"

The shopkeeper looked up and saw a young man in a green shirt sitting calmly next to the window table. His clothes were washed a little white and looked a bit gray, obviously very old, but fortunately there were no patches.

But the other party's handsome face elevated the clothes to several levels, making them look quite neat.

The other party clearly ordered such a dish, but he didn't feel the slightest bit uneasy or ashamed.

Although he seemed to be sitting there casually, there was an indifferent temperament permeating the air, a somewhat bookish atmosphere, calm and calm, and he looked like a scholar at first glance.

Seeing this scene, the shopkeeper pondered for a moment and said: "In this case, you serve him a vegetarian dish and add a portion of rice."

"But I asked, and he wanted a soup." The waiter said, not knowing what the shopkeeper was thinking.

"Go ahead and don't charge him," the shopkeeper ordered.

When the waiter heard this, he replied: "Okay, I'll go give instructions to the chef."

"Wait, come back!" The waiter had only taken two steps when the shopkeeper suddenly remembered something and shouted.

"Do you have any other instructions?" The waiter turned around and asked doubtfully.

"Well, you'd better charge the money, just charge the penny. If he asks about this dish, well... you just say it's my birthday today, sir, to reward the customers." The shopkeeper looked at Zhang Buyi at the window and said.

.

"Uh... Shopkeeper, isn't it just half a month since your birthday? What kind of birthday is this?" the waiter asked in confusion.

"Just go when I ask you to. Why are there so many?" the shopkeeper said with a straight face.

Hearing this, the waiter turned around and went into the kitchen. After ordering the dishes, he seemed to understand. He came back to the counter and whispered: "Shopkeeper, you saw that this person is in a state of decline. Do you want to invite that person?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the waiter but didn't reply.

"On weekdays, I have never seen you so generous and giving opportunities to those begging for food!" The waiter in the shop continued to ask in confusion: "Why are you so kind today?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the waiter again and said: "Your old man came to me several times and asked you to be an apprentice with me, but I didn't respond. Do you know why?"

"Why?" the waiter asked in confusion.

"What you see is called charity, and what I do is called good deeds. When you understand this, you can become my apprentice." The shopkeeper looked at the confused waiter, shook his head, and did not continue.

Words, continue to settle accounts.

Hearing these sharp words, the waiter looked uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do about it.

······

"Your Majesty, your dishes." After a moment, the waiter brought a dish and a soup and placed them in front of Zhang Buyi.

Zhang Buyi looked at what was served, frowned slightly, and said, "I remember I only ordered one soup."

"There is no charge for these. Today is the shopkeeper's birthday and we will reward the guests." The waiter said with a smile.

Zhang Buyi was obviously stunned when he heard this. He looked towards the counter in the distance, and the other party seemed to be looking here too. Seeing Zhang Buyi looking up, he nodded in response with a smile.

To be honest, he was a little surprised. He was already prepared to be ridiculed, but he didn't expect this to be the case.

This ‘birthday banquet’ was actually so interesting for the first time.

"So, then I wish your shopkeeper may be as blessed as the East Sea and live as long as the Southern Mountains." Zhang Buyi replied.

"I'd like to lend you your kind words, please use them as you please!" The waiter smiled and turned around to leave.

Zhang Buyi looked at the other person and then at the dishes in front of him. In the end, he didn't say anything or refuted the other person's kindness. He sat silently in front of the window and ate slowly, without taking out the noodles in his pocket.

Already.

In this way, even after Zhang Buyi finished eating, he did not leave. Instead, he sat there and looked across the street quietly.

After waiting for a long time, Zhang Buyi didn't see anyone he wanted to see come out until lunch time passed.

In this day and age, do the police and police chiefs patrol or not?

Or is that woman A not a police officer?

At some point, there was no one in the hall. The shopkeeper finished what he was doing and walked towards Zhang Buyi at the window.
Chapter completed!