1985, the year of the great writer, began with Infernal Affairs!

If Mr. Xie is going to treat them, then they can order something inexpensive when they get to the restaurant. If Mr. Xie doesn't have money for food this month, they can just chip in and pay for it themselves.

Zhao Wanwan remained silent the entire time.

She knew Xie Lu had royalties and that he could afford to treat her to this meal, so she didn't try to dissuade him. However, she made up her mind that if they ordered too much food, she would secretly pay extra so that Xie Lu wouldn't have to spend all the money.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Xie Lu took the initiative to lead the way: "Let's go, I know a restaurant that's affordable and the food is pretty good."

Xie Lu led everyone out of the school gate and through a maze of turns into a small street next to it.

The street is narrow, with old houses on both sides.

Some have been converted into shops, while others remain residences.

The restaurant is in the middle of the street, with a small storefront and just two rooms.

A wooden sign hangs at the entrance, with the words "Old Liu's Restaurant" written in red paint, though some of the paint has peeled off.

Xie Lu pushed open the door and went in.

The room was very clean, with six square tables and four long benches next to each table.

Several paintings were pasted on the wall, including landscape paintings, New Year pictures, and a hand-drawn map of Wuhan University.

There was a glass cabinet against the wall, containing several bottles of liquor and soda.

A middle-aged woman was sitting behind the counter; she was the restaurant owner, and she was doing the accounts.

She looked up when she heard the door open.

"How many?"

Five.

"Sit down, make yourself at home." The proprietress stood up and brought over the menu.

Xie Lu, as if he were a regular customer, led everyone to a table by the window.

The window was open, and you could see pedestrians coming and going on the street.

Xie Lu took the menu from the proprietress and then handed it to Chen Xiangdong: "Boss, you guys order."

Chen Xiangdong took the menu.

The menu was handwritten, a red sheet of paper with the names and prices of the dishes written on it.

He glanced at it a few times, then frowned.

"This isn't cheap," he said.

Hot dry noodles, three-delicacy bean curd sheets, lotus root and pork rib soup, Wuchang fish, braised pork, stir-fried vegetables, Mapo tofu...

Even the cheapest of these dishes is one or two times more expensive than in the cafeteria.

Zhou Wenbin glanced at the prices on the menu, then whispered, "How about we just order hot dry noodles? One bowl each, plus some vegetables, that should be enough."

Seeing that Zhou Wenbin and the other two were trying to save him money, Xie Lu simply grabbed the menu himself and ordered food without paying attention to their opinions.

Xie Lu remembered this shop; he used to come here often in his past life.

The owner's surname is Liu. He is from the older generation in Wuhan and used to be a chef in a state-run restaurant before starting his own business.

Excellent craftsmanship and high-quality ingredients.

The proprietress is in charge of the front desk; she's very friendly.

This shop has been open for many years, and it was still there in the 21st century, but it was later moved to a different location and became much larger.

Back then, he was poor and could only afford to order a bowl of hot dry noodles each time he came, occasionally adding a bean curd sheet. But the owner never complained and always gave him a lot, filling the soup bowl to the brim.

Later, when he became wealthy, he would come here every time he returned to Wuhan University, order a table full of dishes, and chat with the owner.

Right now, the boss is still young, and the shop is still small.

But the taste is still as good as ever.

"Boss, a large portion of lotus root and pork rib soup, please."

A Wuchang fish, braised.

A plate of braised pork, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and a plate of Mapo tofu.

Five bowls of hot dry noodles, five bowls of rice.

The proprietress wrote them all down: "Okay."

Seeing that Xie Lu ordered so many dishes at once, and that the first few meat dishes were not cheap at all.

You're not going to live like this anymore, are you?

Chen Xiangdong immediately panicked: "Fourth brother! You ordered so much! How much will that cost?!"

Lawyer Xie calculated: "A large portion of lotus root and pork rib soup costs one dollar, Wuchang fish costs eight cents, braised pork costs seven cents, green vegetables cost two cents, tofu costs two cents, hot dry noodles cost three cents, and rice is free. The total is three dollars and twenty cents."

"Three yuan and two jiao? My monthly food expenses are only six yuan, that's almost half of that."

Zhou Wenbin exclaimed in surprise.

"It's okay, I'll treat you if you tell me."

Chu Yunfei looked at Xie Lu with a somewhat complicated expression.

His family is wealthy, so three yuan and twenty cents is nothing to him.

But he knew that this was a huge sum of money for students from ordinary families.

Xie Lu doesn't look like a rich man, so why is he so generous?

As they were talking, a man in his forties, not very tall, slightly overweight, wearing a white apron and holding a spatula, walked out of the kitchen.

He was the boss, and when he heard Xie Lu and the others talking outside, he came out to see what was going on.

"Are you all freshmen at Wuhan University?" the boss asked with a smile.

"Yes." Xie Lu nodded.

"Welcome, welcome! Come again anytime. I'll cook for you properly, I guarantee it will be delicious. Since you're all freshmen at Wuhan University, I'll give you a discount and round it down to three yuan."

"Thank you, boss."

Soon, the sounds of chopping vegetables, stir-frying, and the aroma of oil wafted out from inside.

The five people sat at the table and waited.

Chu Yunfei looked around the shop. It wasn't big, but it was clean.

The hand-drawn map of Wuhan University on the wall is very detailed, even marking each teaching building and dormitory building.

The soda in the glass cabinet is Erchang soda, a local Wuhan brand, and it costs 15 cents a bottle.

Soon, the dishes were served one after another.

First served was hot dry noodles, in five large, coarse porcelain bowls. The noodles were alkaline and topped with sesame paste, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil, and sprinkled with chopped scallions and dried radish. The aroma was irresistible.

Next up was lotus root and pork rib soup, served in a large soup bowl. The soup was milky white, the lotus root was soft and powdery, and the pork ribs were stewed until tender. It was steaming hot and looked delicious.

The Wuchang fish is braised whole, placed on a plate, drizzled with a thick sauce, and sprinkled with shredded scallions and ginger.

......

The proprietress brought over another pot of tea: "It's a gift for you, enjoy your tea."

The five people picked up their chopsticks.

Chen Xiangdong first picked up a piece of braised pork, put it in his mouth, and found that the pork was very tender and melted in his mouth, with a perfect balance of salty and sweet.

"It's delicious!"

"This tastes even better than my mom's cooking!"

This is the highest praise one can give to restaurant food.

The five people ate and chatted.

Halfway through the meal, Chu Yunfei suddenly looked up at Xie Lu and asked, "Fourth brother, are you from a rural area in northern Liaoning?"

"Yes." Xie Lu nodded.

"Well," Chu Yunfei hesitated for a moment, but still decided to ask, "was the money you used to treat us from a legitimate source?"

That's a very direct question.

Chen Xiangdong and Zhou Wenbin both stopped eating and looked at Xie Lu.

Xie Lu chuckled at Chu Yunfei's question. It turned out that Chu Yunfei had been silent all this time because he was wondering if Chu Yunfei's money came from illegitimate sources.

"Don't worry, it's authentic, absolutely authentic."

"How did you earn it?" Chu Yunfei pressed.

"Didn't Xie tell you he made money from writing his book?"

After swallowing the braised pork in her mouth, Zhao Wanwan answered for Xie Lu.

Did you make money writing books?

Chu Yunfei and the other two were stunned for a moment.

"Writing books? Fourth brother, you can even write books?"

"Yes, Xie Lu is amazing! You wouldn't believe it, his book is currently... *sobs*..."

Just as Zhao Wanwan was about to continue speaking, Xie Lu quickly covered her mouth.