Area A, 99th floor.
Shui Ninghua stood in the middle of the endlessly long team, frowning, "Was Guard Du's amnesia cured here?"
Du Chen was in front of her. He turned around and nodded slightly, "Yes."
Shui Ninghua looked suspicious, "If I'm not mistaken, this is a snack bar."
"Well, it's just a snack bar." Du Chen said.
Similar conversations had occurred several times, and every time Shui Ninghua asked a question, the other party calmly blocked it.
She already regretted giving up her research work at the sanatorium and coming out with Du Chen and his group. She thought that they could find a breakthrough in treating amnesia today, and she even specially called two key staff members from the hospital to accompany her. Unexpectedly, Du Chen actually brought them to a snack bar.
Shui Ninghua looked back at Liu Mei and Hong Chun, and said with a little regret: "If I had known it was a snack bar, I shouldn't have asked you to come as well. It's a waste of time."
Simulated snack bars were once popular in Dreamland for a while, and they were very popular when first opened.
Even if people know that certain foods are inedible, they still can't help but buy them when they see food that looks particularly realistic or is from their memory.
Food is always connected to life. Sometimes, just seeing a certain food is enough to remind people of a special memory, and then experience the emotions at that time and feel nostalgic.
For the residents of Dreamland, that experience was a small thrill that made them feel fresh.
In order to keep experiencing that emotion, people buy the same thing over and over again.
But the food created by magic only had a shape, no smell, no taste, and it all felt exactly the same soft. People soon got tired of it, and after getting tired of it, they became even more empty and depressed than before.
In Shui Ninghua's opinion, the existence of a snack bar not only cannot cure amnesia, but may even aggravate the patient's symptoms.
Liu Mei was the nurse who reported to Shui Ninghua the number of people who died during lunch break yesterday. Her eyes were as calm as an ancient well, and her tone was even, "Then go back."
Liu Mei was a nurse before her death. She had a natural sense of mission to cure diseases and save lives, and has been working in a nursing home for many years.
But as the years went by, she witnessed countless patients losing their minds, and to be honest, she had become numb to it.
The most terrifying thing is that after years of exploration, she has seen clearly that amnesia is an incurable disease.
Because they are originally nothingness, they are a remnant soul after death with obsession, and they come here for unknown reasons.
This is neither the place of afterlife nor paradise, but a cage where time is used to wear away the remaining obsessions in their souls.
Once the obsession is gone, the person is gone.
Liu Mei knew that it was impossible to find a cure for amnesia in this world, but if she stopped, she couldn't think of anything else to do, so she stayed in the sanatorium.
The dean came back yesterday and excitedly told her that he had met a patient with amnesia who had recovered in Area D, and that he would have a detailed talk with the patient tomorrow. She actually didn't believe it in her heart, but today was just another confirmation of her thoughts, so there was nothing to be disappointed about.
Shui Ninghua understood Liu Mei's personality. She had approached her to open a sanatorium together because she liked her responsible, pragmatic and talkative personality.
At this time, Liu Mei only gave the simplest and most effective solution.
But strangely, Shui Ninghua had a hint of hesitation.
Hong Chun popped his head out from behind Liu Mei, his round face full of excitement, "Dean, can we really go to that restaurant for dinner?"
"You want to go?" Shui Ninghua quickly seized the topic.
"Hmm! So many people are queuing up, it makes people curious." Hong Chun paused and continued: "I see that Mr. Du is in very good condition. He believes that this place cured his illness. Maybe it is really special. Anyway, we have been queuing for so long, and it will be past noon when we go back, so we might as well go in and take a look."
When saying these words, Hong Chun was thinking of yesterday afternoon, when she routinely took her patients to the cinema for rehabilitation treatment and saw a live food show in the cinema.
The food in the live broadcast looked particularly real, and the expressions of the people eating it were vivid, as if the coffee was really bitter and the snacks were sweet and soft.
Not to mention the patients, just looking at her makes people feel relaxed and yearning.
Someone in the barrage said that the store really exists and is in Area A.
Hong Chun thought, could this be the one? So many people lined up, maybe they came here after watching the live broadcast.
However, the simulated snack bar is a scam. She admitted that she was tempted by the live broadcast and wanted to take some time to learn her lesson.
Anyway, you're just killing time in a sanatorium, and killing time in a snack bar is just a different way of killing time, so it's almost the same.
Satisfy your curiosity at the same time so you don’t have to worry about it all the time.
When it was Shui Ninghua's turn, it was already past noon, and they were told that the ingredients were sold out and the store would be closed for lunch.
Shui Ninghua heard this and her temper, which she had been suppressing for hours, exploded: "Sold out? We waited in line for three or four hours to get here, how could it be sold out? Can't you prepare more?"
Xingzi: "I'm so sorry. We prepared twice as much food as usual today, but it was still sold out in advance."
In fact, the twenty or thirty people in front of Shui Ninghua and her friends didn’t buy anything. Yesterday’s live broadcast opened three more areas, and more people came to buy things after hearing the news.
Shui Ninghua couldn't understand this situation at all. She felt that giving up a day's work to come here was the funniest decision she had made in the past hundred years.
She was full of expectations last night when she told Liu Mei and Hong Chun that she had found a way to cure amnesia, but she was completely fooled.
Shui Ninghua turned around and glared at Du Chen, then looked back at Xingzi: "How long will it take now? We can wait, is half an hour enough?"
Xingzi was about to explain when Lu Yao came over with a small green vegetable, breaking off leaves, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shui Ninghua saw that Lu Yao was the boss, and her anger level reached the red line, and she was about to explode.
Du Chen stepped forward to interrupt the two of them, and looked at Lu Yao with a smile, "Hello, shop owner, my name is Du Chen, do you remember me?"
Lu Yao faces many customers every day, and to be honest, he really doesn't have any impression of them. But when he saw Duan behind him, he remembered something, "Hey, it's you."
Duan was flattered and walked forward, "Sister owner, do you still remember me?"
"Well, has your brother's condition improved?" Lu Yao remembered the young man who was almost forced to cry because of buying food for his brother.
Duan pointed at Du Chen and said, "This is my brother. He has recovered from his illness. I have always wanted to say thank you to my sister."
Now it was Lu Yao's turn to be surprised: "Is it okay after eating?"
Duan nodded vigorously: "Yes."
Lu Yao nodded and smiled: "That's good, congratulations."
After listening to the conversation between the two, Shui Ninghua's emotions slowly calmed down. She took a step forward and said to Lu Yao, "Hello, my name is Shui Ninghua, and I'm the director of the E District Sanatorium. I came here today to..."
Shui Ninghua introduced herself in a cold and stiff tone with a stern face. Bai Ming thrust a frying pan into Lu Yao's hand and urged, "Manager, the dishes have been washed. Sorry for the trouble. Leave the things here to me."
After saying that, he pushed her towards the kitchen.
Lu Yao: "Wait, this place is not yet..."
Xiao Qie ran out of the kitchen and pulled Lu Yao in with tears in her eyes, "Manager, food, I'm hungry."
"..." Lu Yao was reluctantly pulled away by Xiao Qie. He looked back several times but was distracted by Xiao Qie again.
After Xingzi and Bai Ming were completely blocked from Lu Yao's sight, their faces turned cold. Their icy gazes fell on Shui Ninghua's face, and then slowly moved to Du Chen.
Bai Ming asked: "What's the matter?"
Shui Ninghua's teeth were about to break and her face looked very ugly.
Du Chen didn't show any emotion and briefly explained the situation, mainly about the sanatorium and the amnesia patients.
After listening to this, Bai Ming said directly: "You are late. They are all sold out. Come earlier tomorrow."
Xingzi thought about it a little more and said, "Let's ask the store manager first."
After that, he ran back to the kitchen and told Lu Yao the purpose of Shui Ninghua and his group's visit. Lu Yao was cooking and nodded after listening, "Then let them have a meal?"
Before Xingzi came in, she had guessed Lu Yao's decision, but she thought she would at least hesitate for a moment, but she didn't expect her to agree so immediately.
She went out and told Shui Ninghua and the others what Lu Yao meant, then led them to sit down and poured them some water.
However, the three ladies from the sanatorium still looked unhappy, while the two Du brothers sat aside quite comfortably.
Du Chen looked at Shui Ninghua and the others sitting there sulking but unwilling to leave, and said calmly: "She is very different. You will understand why they are so vigilant later."
Lu Yao decided on the menu for the staff meal early in the morning, and added a few dishes considering the guests.
Fortunately, with Qi Chen's help, a table of dishes was prepared in just 40 minutes.
There were not enough small dining tables in the restaurant, so they put two together, and ten people could barely squeeze into one table.
Dishes were brought out from the kitchen one after another: beef in sour soup, boiled pork slices, squirrel fish, stir-fried meat, eggplant with fish flavor, stir-fried vegetables with garlic, and finally a large pot of three-fresh vermicelli soup.
Lu Yao was afraid that it was not enough, so he took out a bag of semi-finished pancakes from the freezer, wrapped them with some leek and egg filling left over from the morning, and baked a plate of pancakes.
When the food was served, sour, spicy, sweet, fragrant... all kinds of smells floated in the air, not only Shui Ninghua, but even Liu Mei, who usually had a blank expression, changed her expression.
The food looked different, with bright colors and enticing smells. It didn't look like something sold in a mock snack bar at all, but more like... real meals.
Du Chen looked at the huge table of delicious food and squinted his eyes with joy. Was he getting a sneak peek into the restaurant’s hidden menu
He became more determined to work on the 99th floor.
Duan sat next to him and didn't know where to put his hands. His saliva was secreted uncontrollably, making him swallow continuously, feeling embarrassed and excited.
Bai Ming, Xingzi and Xiaoqie had never eaten such a luxurious meal in the restaurant before, especially the squirrel fish in the middle, which was beautiful in shape and color. The sour and sweet taste was particularly appetizing.
The people at the table had their eyes glued to their plates, their hands holding the chopsticks trembling, but no one took the initiative to pick up the chopsticks.
Lu Yao took off her apron, washed her hands, came over and sat down, raised her chopsticks and said, "Don't be polite, let's eat."
No one was too polite. For the residents of Dreamland, this huge table of delicious food was so tempting, just like a sudden downpour of rain in a drought-stricken area.
As angry as Shui Ninghua was before the meal, she was just as surprised at this moment.
The food in this restaurant was completely different from what she had imagined, and was made with real ingredients.
She first picked up a piece of fish-flavored eggplant in front of her with chopsticks. The eggplant, cut into fish scales, was soft and tasty. The sour and salty taste melted on the tip of her tongue. It was so delicious when mixed with rice that she wanted to swallow her tongue together.
In addition to the fish-flavored eggplant, there is also a salty and spicy stir-fried pork next to the rice. The pork belly is sliced thinly, the fat is removed, and it is stir-fried with chili peppers and other small ingredients. The meat slices are stir-fried until they are slightly curled and browned. When you chew them, they are full of oil and fragrance. Eat two pieces of chili peppers, and the spiciness stimulates the tip of the tongue like a spark, but it also stimulates the appetite.
Shui Ninghua understood the true value of this store and secretly looked at Lu Yao. Among the people at the table, she was the only one who had a soft and whitish glow on her body, and her lips were red and her teeth were white.
She is human.
Different from them.
No wonder these paradise monsters are so protective of her.
The most important thing is that she can provide food that is unique in this world, so Du Chen recovered after eating the food here.
After taking just two bites of the meal, Shui Ninghua felt as if she had lived her life again. All the fatigue in her body and mind was gone, and she was completely immersed in this worldly happiness.
Liu Mei's bowl was piled high, with a layer of rice at the bottom, in which were fried pork and fish-flavored eggplant, and on top were boiled pork slices, squirrel fish, fatty beef slices, enoki mushrooms and vermicelli.
She ate slowly and couldn't compete with these monsters, so she had to store all the food in her bowl. Hong Chun, who was a step slower, could only pour a little of the remaining juice of the fish-flavored eggplant into the rice.
Bai Ming, Xingzi, Xiaoqie and the Du brothers were completely let go, gradually revealing the form of monsters. Qi Chen huddled beside Lu Yao, eating his meal with his head down.
Lu Yao seemed not to notice and continued eating as usual.
There was a table full of food and the plates were almost lost in the end. Xiaoqie and Duan were so engrossed in licking the plates that they almost broke them.
-
Lu Yao and Qi Chen agreed to start selling coffee and snacks at three in the afternoon and close at five.
Lu Yao didn’t dare to promise the dessert shop’s snacks, so he upgraded the kitchen overnight, purchasing an oven, kitchen utensils and some ingredients.
Qi Chen wanted to sell snacks so she baked them herself, but her wallet couldn't take it anymore.
There was still some time before the store opened in the afternoon, so Shui Ninghua found Lu Yao and wanted to talk to her about the nursing home.
Qi Chen made coffee and took out some homemade cookies to entertain the guests.
Lu Yao and the three ladies sat by the window.
Shui Ninghua's anger that had accumulated in the morning had completely disappeared, and she felt very embarrassed. "I apologize for offending Miss Lu before."
Lu Yao shook his head to indicate that he didn't mind and went straight to the point.
Shui Ninghua hopes to send a team of patients here tomorrow for a trial to see if the food in the store can improve their condition.
A team of patients is five.
Lu Yao thought about it and agreed.
On the way back, Shui Ninghua recalled the meal she had at the snack bar at noon with a little regret. She heard that it was a staff meal and she was afraid that she would not be able to eat it easily in the future.
Liu Mei's stern face brightened up a bit, and she suggested seriously, "Rearrange the shifts when you get back, and try to get the nurses to take turns to come over for meals."
Shui Ninghua's eyes lit up immediately. Yes, they could also come to the restaurant to eat. Du Chen recommended the restaurant's wontons and fermented rice balls. She would definitely try them next time.
Hong Chun immediately raised his hands in agreement, "Great! I used to not be used to drinking coffee, but it turns out that bitter iced coffee tastes so good with cream cookies. I really regret not having tried it before I died."
Food is an invincible weapon in this world. Even the most powerful people have to succumb to its power.
Only Lu Yao was mourning her dead wallet.