Chapter 49: Nan Tian p2
As soon as they entered, someone led them forward. There were corridors everywhere, intersecting with each other. After a few turns, Mi Hongdou felt that she wouldn’t be able to find the entrance even if she tried. The waiter led them quite a distance away from the entrance before stopping and asking if they had a reservation. Jiang Lingling had explained some things about Nan Tian while they were on the connecting bridge. Apparently, the place where the waiter stopped after bringing them in was also carefully chosen. It had to be far from the entrance and absolutely free from other guests passing by. Mi Hongdou looked around. They had walked for a while and hadn’t even seen a single private room door yet. So, she no longer worried about running into Qiao Rubai and Ji Junxin.
Jiang Lingling gave a name, speaking a bit quickly, and Mi Hongdou didn’t catch it. But the waiter understood and led them through more winding corridors, even taking an elevator, before finally arriving. Mi Hongdou looked up at the door frame. There was no room number… A room without a name or any markings, it was fortunate that someone led them there, otherwise, who could find it?
Opening the door, the room was simple, just a round table, a hot pot in the center, surrounded by stools, a few plants in the corner, a standard layout. After they entered, the waiter closed the door from outside.
Jiang Lingling typed on her phone, seemingly sending messages. But she soon stopped and pulled out several thick menus from under the table. “Are you hungry? Let’s order something to eat.”
Lu Gaoshi and Jiang Dingyi’s appointment was in the evening, and it was only a little past three, almost four o’clock now. They had plenty of time for hot pot. Perhaps because she knew Qiao Rubai would take action, Mi Hongdou was no longer as nervous as before and was now more interested in watching the show, like Jiang Lingling.
Hot pot wasn’t exactly a dish with many variations. It was just about modifying the broth, mixing and matching ingredients, creating new kinds of meatballs, dumplings, noodles, and sauces. It was afternoon, and they hadn’t eaten anything on the way, so they were all a bit hungry. They ordered some dishes, and soon, the aroma of hot pot filled the room.
To Mi Hongdou’s surprise, the hot pot at Nan Tian was really good. Although not amazing, it was definitely among the best she had ever had. Especially the crab meat slider, the fresh crab roe and tender crab meat were delicious without any fishy smell. Mi Hongdou had one and thought that Ji Junxin would definitely like it. She wondered if Ji Junxin would order it today. They had eaten at so many restaurants in her previous life, they must have missed quite a few good places. She wondered if she would have the chance to try them all in this life. Mi Hongdou poked another meatball in her bowl, feeling a little sentimental.
Spacing out while eating, she must be thinking about Ji Junxin again… She couldn’t stand these people who acted like a minute apart was an eternity! Jiang Lingling snorted and, seeing Mi Hongdou looking at the table full of food with a seemingly regretful expression, scooped a piece of tofu skin into her bowl.
The deep-fried tofu skin, after a quick swirl in the hot pot, was taken out, soft and slightly crispy, the rich flavor of the broth complementing the fried aroma. A quick dip in peanut sauce, and it was delicious.
Hmm, Ji Junxin would probably like this too.
She couldn’t stand that foolish expression anymore… Jiang Lingling facepalmed, scooped a bunch of bok choy into her bowl of spicy beef sauce with brown sugar, and focused on eating, ignoring Mi Hongdou.
When they were almost full, a bell suddenly rang in the room, startling Mi Hongdou and almost making her drop the meatball from her chopsticks. She looked around and saw a small brass bell hanging by the door, still swaying.
A doorbell? Someone was coming? Mi Hongdou put the meatball back in her bowl. Although she could guess that it was probably someone Jiang Lingling had hired, she was still a little nervous. If Ji Junxin found out she had followed, it would be difficult to explain.
“Come in.” Jiang Lingling put her phone back in her pocket, clearly knowing who it was.
After more than ten seconds, the door opened, and the same waiter who had led them there earlier appeared, this time bringing in a burly man with a full beard, holding a large bag.
The man entered with a friendly smile but didn’t speak until the waiter left and the door was closed again. Then he said cheerfully, “Miss Jiang, I’ve brought you something.”
He cleared the tea set from the coffee table in the corner, took out a black, metal box from the bag, and placed it on the table.
Jiang Lingling put down her chopsticks, walked over to the box, circled it twice, and patted it. The box made a thudding sound, seeming very heavy.
“What the… you spent all this time and only got me this?” Jiang Lingling couldn’t believe it, her disdain for the box evident. “What can I even do with this? It’s too heavy even for cracking walnuts.”
The burly man had a good temper. Even after being mocked by Jiang Lingling, he maintained a cheerful smile. “Miss Jiang, didn’t you want to hear what those two would say? We just need to turn this on, and we can receive the conversations in their room. Don’t let its size fool you, the sound quality is excellent.”
“What’s the point of just listening? I want to watch, I want to see.” Jiang Lingling frowned. “You could film them before, why can we only listen now that we want to watch live?”
“Well… Miss Jiang, it’s like this. Nan Tian isn’t an ordinary place, you know, it prides itself on privacy and security. It’s not easy for our agency to plant someone inside, let alone arrange for them to enter a room with our listening devices. And our agency has rules, it’s too difficult to plant people in Nan Tian, we don’t want to lose them easily. So…” The man smiled apologetically and patted the black metal box on the coffee table. “We can only listen, not record. Watching live is too risky. If something goes wrong and the agency suffers a big loss, I won’t be able to explain it.”
They couldn’t even record… no wonder Qiao Rubai had summoned Ji Junxin in such a hurry. With such a high level of secrecy, the things Lu Gaoshi said would probably be interesting.
Jiang Lingling also understood Nan Tian’s unique nature. The people behind Nan Tian were definitely not ordinary businessmen. It wasn’t worth offending them just to watch a show. But it was really unsatisfying. It was a five-hour drive each way! Just listening to a conversation without even seeing them? …
“You can stay here and watch, we won’t record. My godfather has a long-standing cooperation with you, I won’t break your rules. We just want to watch, just watch.” Jiang Lingling tried to test the man’s bottom line.
“This…” The man hesitated, looking troubled.
Jiang Lingling recognized this familiar expression.
“Double the price?” If it could be solved with money, then it wasn’t a problem… Jiang Lingling felt confident.
“Planting someone in Nan Tian is really difficult, extremely difficult. Losing one is a big loss…” The man put on a pained expression.
“Triple.” Jiang Lingling sat back down and picked up a piece of potato.
“Well… this…” The man slowly moved towards the table.
“Five times, with video, high definition.” Jiang Lingling didn’t even look at him and picked up a piece of tofu.
“Deal! Right away! I’ll change it for you right now!” The man said excitedly and quickly walked towards the door, even forgetting to take the metal box. He had been about to agree at triple the price! Who knew that after just a two-second delay, she increased the offer herself, to five times the price! It seemed that he should speak more slowly in the future. Slow… ly…
“Wait, come back.” Jiang Lingling suddenly said.
The man froze mid-stride.
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