The night fell.
The hotel was of a high standard, but surprisingly, it had no television, so he couldn't watch the evening news.
Jiang Ye hadn't eaten lunch and his stomach was rumbling with hunger. He decided to go out to find some food.
The weather was a bit cold, so he changed into a thick hoodie. He went downstairs and out.
He headed towards East Street, remembering that there were many eateries on this street.
After a few steps, he saw a place called "Shan Jin Dumpling House."
It was quite large, with a glass facade, brightly lit, four floors in total, and a long queue of diners.
It had been a long time since he had dumplings. So many people meant it must be good, so Jiang Ye decided on this place.
It wasn't until he reached the entrance that he clearly saw the notice board next to the shop. This place was actually a buffet dumpling restaurant. Upon entering, one would pay 2000 yuan by facial recognition, then sit wherever they pleased and eat as much as they wanted. It closed at one in the morning.
This was Jiang Ye's first time encountering such a business model. It was quite good; one could enter feeling hungry and leave stuffed, and those with a large appetite could definitely get their money's worth.
And he happened to have an exceptionally large appetite!
He had to get his money's worth!
There were still dozens of people queuing, so he obediently waited behind them.
As one person left, another could enter.
Every time a customer entered and paid by facial recognition, a prompt sound would ring out:
"Payment successful, please enjoy!"
"Payment successful, please enjoy!"
"Payment successful, please enjoy!"
Finally, it was Jiang Ye's turn.
He had smelled the dumplings for a long time and was already starving.
He walked to the entrance and scanned his face. The prompt sound rang out:
"Distinguished guest, one!"
Jiang Ye was startled. Why was his prompt sound different from others?
The few diners who had just entered all turned to look at him.
The diners behind him also craned their necks to look at him, as if observing a giant panda.
Before Jiang Ye could react, a server greeted him:
"Sir, hello! Please follow me to the VIP room on the top floor!"
Jiang Ye, somewhat dazed, followed the server into the elevator.
From the outside, the dumpling house only appeared to have four floors. Above that was the main building.
But the elevator went straight up to the fifth floor and was still ascending.
Jiang Ye, in the elevator, asked the server with confusion, "Why am I considered a distinguished guest?"
"Anyone with over 100 million in their account balance is a distinguished guest. Most establishments on Jiedian Star follow this rule. Distinguished guests can dine on the top floor, where the environment is the best, and the dumplings are personally prepared by the head chef." The server replied respectfully. "Our boss will personally come to deliver a small bottle of wine brewed by our winery later."
"Good heavens!" Jiang Ye was surprised. So, having money automatically meant preferential treatment!
He had already been treated differently once on the rocket.
Now, he was being treated differently again while eating dumplings.
Jiang Ye found this prevailing trend of prioritizing money and fawning over the wealthy to be quite enjoyable.
The elevator ascended all the way to the eighth floor.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened.
The decoration on the top floor was clearly more luxurious than below, with several degrees brighter lighting. It was exceptionally quiet, with no one around.
Jiang Ye entered the private room. The table was large enough for a round table conference, and the sofa's leather was very soft, indicating its considerable value the moment he sat down.
The server handed him the menu. The menu was simple, with over twenty varieties of dumplings.
Jiang Ye had a large appetite. After clarifying that each dumpling was slightly larger than a coin, he directly requested two of each flavor.
Two minutes later, twenty small bone china saucers were presented one after another, each holding two small, tender, and steaming dumplings.
The chopsticks were made of rosewood inlaid with jade, truly high-class.
Jiang Ye began to eat. Just after he had eaten two, the door to the private room was knocked.
"Sir, here to deliver wine," a female voice called out.
The voice sounded a bit familiar, and Jiang Ye's heart immediately quickened. He thought, "Could it be?"
"Please come in!"
The door opened, and the proprietress, wearing white gloves, held a bottle of wine wrapped in gold foil.
Their eyes met, and both were somewhat surprised.
"How is it you?" they both said in unison.
The proprietress was none other than Cen Yemeng, the bookstore owner from earlier.
She had changed into a tailcoat, and the white shirt at her chest had lace, still quite sexy.
"This is my shop, Shan Jin Dumpling House. Shan Jin combined is my surname," Cen Yemeng said with a smile.
"I was hungry, saw dumplings here, and came in to eat. This is too much of a coincidence," Jiang Ye explained, happily inviting her. "Sit, sit, don't stand. Do you want to order some dumplings to eat together? It's your own shop anyway."
"Alright, the distinguished guest has spoken, I must accompany you," Cen Yemeng placed the wine bottle on the table and turned to the server outside, ordering, "Cabbage and pork, twenty-six."
"Wow, your appetite is quite something," Jiang Ye praised upon hearing the number. "You run two shops, which one is your main focus?"
"What do you think?" Cen Yemeng seemed to be in a very good mood tonight, resting her chin on her hand and looking at him with a smile.
"The dumpling house," Jiang Ye thought for a moment. "No one goes to the bookstore."
"Wrong. I started with the bookstore, and it's what I love the most because I love reading novels. Being a bookstore owner is my main profession," Cen Yemeng smiled happily, revealing her white teeth. "But the bookstore doesn't make money, so I had to open a dumpling house as a side business to earn some."
"Business is very good. I queued for a long time at the entrance," Jiang Ye asked curiously. "May I ask presumptuously, how much do you earn per month?"
"Distinguished guests don't have to queue. On Jiedian Star, as long as your assets exceed 100 million, you can enter most establishments directly without queuing," Cen Yemeng said. "The dumpling house's monthly profit is about sixty million, with little fluctuation."
"Impressive, a rich lady."
"Aren't you also very wealthy? I'm very curious. You're from ancient times. Logically, it should be difficult to adapt to modern society. Where did you get so much money?"
"Indeed, I don't adapt well to the current society. See, I still queue," Jiang Ye smiled. "I was a lord in a colony, mining and fishing, and I even have a newly built town. This trip to Jiedian Star is for official business, and I'll be going back to be a farmer in a few days."
Cen Yemeng's eyes visibly lit up.
Her eyes were very beautiful, crystal clear and luminous.
"You're making me more and more curious," she blinked. "Can I learn more about you? I don't know anything about ancient people or colonies; I've never encountered them before."
"Sure, with such a beautiful proprietress accompanying me for a meal, I'll tell you everything," Jiang Ye said readily.
"Let's open the wine first and chat while we drink," Cen Yemeng patted her head as if just remembering, took out a corkscrew, and skillfully opened the gold-foiled wine bottle.
There were two crystal glasses on the table. The wine poured into them was a deep rose red, like rubies under the light.
"This wine was brewed by a small winery I bought in the countryside. The grapes were carefully selected, with only one grape per bunch usable. So, only 80 bottles are produced each year. Each bottle drunk is one less. This is the 78th bottle. Try it and tell me what you think," Cen Yemeng introduced with a proud expression.
Jiang Ye took a small sip, his expression changing.
"This is my first time drinking wine," he confessed. "I can't tell how good it is, but it feels quite good."
Cen Yemeng chuckled, "You're really interesting."
"You're really beautiful," Jiang Ye thought as he looked at her, but didn't say it aloud.
Cen Yemeng's dumplings soon arrived, and the two ate and drank.
She kept asking questions. Jiang Ye answered whatever she asked at first, but soon learned to think for himself and proactively shared things he found interesting. Cen Yemeng almost choked with laughter, listening with great delight. Jiang Ye also enjoyed his bragging. The atmosphere in the private room was as joyful as old friends reuniting after many years, yet they had only met less than a day ago.
The dumplings were unconsciously finished, and the wine bottle was also empty.
Jiang Ye suddenly felt a little dizzy. He reached up to touch his face; it was warm. Looking at the smiling Cen Yemeng, she was leaning on the table, poking the last dumpling with her chopsticks, her face also flushed from drinking.
"Are you finished?" she glanced at Jiang Ye's plate, asking a question she already knew the answer to.
"Do you want me to be finished?" Jiang Ye stared at her profile.
Cen Yemeng blinked, turned to look at him, and playfully hit his shoulder, "What strange things are you saying?"
Jiang Ye remained silent, just staring at her.
After a moment, she softly said, "Not really."
Jiang Ye, emboldened by some unknown courage, leaned in to face her, their breaths mingling. But Cen Yemeng didn't pull back; instead, she opened her eyes wide and stared at him.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No."
Jiang Ye gently kissed her lips.
Cen Yemeng immediately bit back.
The two embraced tightly.
The door to the private room suddenly opened, and a server rushed in. "Excuse us, our shop is about to..."
The server didn't finish saying "close," their mouth agape in shock, their eyes bulging.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng quickly released each other and turned their heads away, pretending nothing had happened.
The server stammered, "Today's closing is postponed. Please enjoy your time, the two of you."
With a "clang," the server closed the door and left.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng simultaneously turned to look at each other.
Jiang Ye felt a bit apprehensive. It was the atmosphere that had gotten to them, a moment of impulse. Now that the mood was broken, would she still...
"Take me home," Cen Yemeng spoke first.
"Okay," Jiang Ye was dazed by her words. He thought, "This is truly a crazy city and a crazy era."