Jiang Ye was at a loss, not understanding why the cashier's expression was so astonished.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Ye asked tentatively, "Did it not scan?"
The cashier shook his head frantically, bowed respectfully, and gestured, "Please follow me!"
Jiang Ye was bewildered, but the cashier was already leading the way.
They went directly to the innermost part of the restaurant, to a private room.
The seats outside were simple wooden chairs and tables, with narrow spacing, many diners eating almost back-to-back.
The private room, however, had brown leather sofas and off-white stone tables, so spacious one could play indoor golf. Crystal chandeliers shone brightly, and in the center of the table was a bouquet of pink flowers with dew drops, emitting a fragrance similar to peach blossoms. The ambiance had upgraded from a roadside noodle shop to a high-end restaurant.
"You can dine here," the cashier said, "The noodles will be brought to you soon. Call me anytime if you need anything. My surname is Jiang, you can call me Xiao Jiang." The cashier bowed and scraped, with a fawning smile.
"Oh, my surname is also Jiang. We're kin then," Jiang Ye said with a smile as he sat down.
Xiao Jiang's face lit up with surprise, as if he were greatly honored. "It's too much of an honor!"
"You can go about your business. Many people are waiting to order," Jiang Ye said.
"Okay, call me anytime if you need anything!" Xiao Jiang bowed again and went out, closing the door.
Jiang Ye shrugged. He had guessed it. The cashier was so indifferent to others but so respectful to him, it must be that the information displayed at the checkout could reveal some personal details.
The beef noodles were served a few minutes later.
The person bringing the food was a kind-faced old man, surprisingly wearing a tailcoat, with Xiao Jiang following him nervously.
The old man in the tailcoat introduced himself as the manager, welcomed Jiang Ye's arrival, and even gave him four complimentary side dishes.
One of the dishes was stir-fried Angolan aliens.
After the manager and Xiao Jiang left, closing the door, Jiang Ye picked up his chopsticks and poked at the dish.
There were a total of six Angolan aliens.
They looked very much like the Minions from the movies.
Their arms and legs were thin, their heads were large, with one big eye, and they were stir-fried until shriveled.
Jiang Ye trembled as he picked one up, sniffed it, and detected a chili aroma.
He tentatively took a bite.
Surprisingly, it tasted a bit like lamb, sweet and quite delicious!
Jiang Ye couldn't help himself and ate all the stir-fried Angolan aliens on the plate.
He never imagined in his childhood that he would one day eat aliens. Life is truly disillusioning; one never knows what bizarre things will happen in the future.
The beef noodles were just normal beef noodles, and the other side dishes were unremarkable.
After finishing his meal, Jiang Ye left the noodle shop.
The diners who were still eating looked up at him, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Jiang Ye wandered around all day, every shop he visited felt novel. When he got tired, he would go to a restaurant to order something to eat.
Every time he made a purchase, the cashier would stare at him with wide eyes, both respectful and fearful, as if looking at a monster.
So, this was the magic of being rich? Even the cashier's gaze would change?
He got tired from walking in the evening and returned to his room.
He turned on the television and lay on the bed to watch.
Changing channels didn't require a remote control, but rather swiping his hand left and right in the air. There were only three channels in total.
The first channel was showing a documentary about the rules of card games, like Dou Dizhu, Texas Hold'em, and Tractor. It was extremely boring.
The second channel was constantly showing commercials. Jiang Ye watched with great interest for half an hour. The TV commercials of this era were indeed different, selling quite a chaotic array of products:
[Taishan Gravity Cannon, a thousand-year-old enterprise! Under standard gravity, it can exert a pressure of up to ten thousand tons on a target, the best choice for destroying ships and smashing cars!]
[Custom Sex Dolls, with AI matching your favorite facial features and body shape, five-year warranty, unlocking 88 positions, to make your nights passionate!]
[Guanghui Brand Nutritional Cereal, for breakfast, just two bowls, and you'll be full of energy all morning!]
[Ma Shuai Longevity Water, drinking it truly grants longevity!]
There were only a few dozen commercials, playing on repeat. Jiang Ye switched to the next channel.
A solemn-faced male and female announcer appeared, with "Evening News" written below them.
Jiang Ye perked up, sat up in bed, and stared intently at the screen. If he wanted to understand this era, watching the news was undoubtedly an excellent way.
"That concludes today's evening news. See you tomorrow, dear viewers!"
After the announcers finished, the cereal commercials came on again.
Jiang Ye collapsed onto the bed speechlessly, just in time for the news to end, having watched for nothing.
He'll be on the rocket tomorrow night, he reminded himself, be sure to watch.
He pulled up the covers and was about to sleep when there was a knock on the door.
He pulled a pistol from under his pillow, rolled out of bed, and got down on the floor, aiming the muzzle at the door.
He lay on the floor because he was worried about shooting through the door from the outside. The room door was thin, not something that could block bullets.
After a moment of waiting, the door was knocked on again, three polite knocks.
Jiang Ye held his breath and remained silent. It was already eleven o'clock at night; there couldn't be any service. He hadn't ordered any food either. What did the visitor want?
The door was knocked on twice more, but he still didn't respond.
Suddenly, the bottom of the door gap darkened, and two cards flew in.
It was another "Sexy Kitten" card!
Jiang Ye jumped up, holding his pistol, and opened the door to go out.
The corridor was empty, except for one woman. She wore a blue knitted dress, her curves graceful, with thin stockings on her fair legs.
Hearing the door open, she turned around abruptly.
Jiang Ye was stunned. It was indeed a young beauty, a Caucasian with blonde hair and blue eyes, resembling Isabella by about thirty percent, but more alluring, and she wore purple eyeshadow.
"Hello," the woman said, walking over with a seductive smile, "Fifty thousand for two hours, need it?"
"No, don't slip cards anymore," Jiang Ye pointed his gun at her, "Go on, or I'll call the train police."
"Forty thousand, I'll make you..."
"Do you want to eat bullets?" Jiang Ye aimed at her head and clicked the safety off his pistol.
The white girl's expression changed. She flinched back two steps, glared at him angrily, and cursed, "You damn brute! One day your own damn gun will misfire and blow you away!"
She cursed and turned away, entering the elevator.
Jiang Ye returned to his room, closed the door tightly, and locked it.
He then suddenly remembered that he was no longer in the lawless alien colony and couldn't point a gun at people.
Spending a long time on that desolate planet had cultivated a bad habit of drawing his gun at strangers.
He put down the gun, took a shower, and went to sleep.
The next day, Jiang Ye stayed in his room honestly, not venturing out carelessly.
The television was kept on, but there were no news broadcasts during the day.
Just as the evening news was about to start, a prompt popped up on the screen:
[This flight is about to arrive at its destination. For the next six hours, deceleration will be gradual.]
[You need to lie down in the groove in the center of the bed and wait for six hours. Any movement may cause you to fall and get injured due to turbulence and acceleration.]
[Thank you for your cooperation.]
Well, he still couldn't watch the news.
Jiang Ye obediently lay back on the bed and soon fell asleep.
When the turbulence woke him up, the rocket had already passed through the atmosphere of the nodal star and was descending towards the city!