Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 359 - 81: Joyous Red and White Occasion, Lover in the Walls (Seeking Monthly Votes) _2

Chapter 359: Chapter 81: Joyous Red and White Occasion, Lover in the Walls (Seeking Monthly Votes) _2

Xu Shu was not good at doing business, nor did he bother to worry about whether the boss would lose money.

Anyway, having hot meals was always better than eating those dry compressed biscuits and canned preserved meat.

Most of the dishes, of course, still focused on vegetarian food, as well as some easily bred livestock.

Among the meat dishes, there were plenty of turtles, eels, and various kinds of fish, stewed, braised, and barbecued everywhere.

"Wow, those are some nice seafood."

Before the disaster, aquaculture was common; after the disaster, it became a rare delicacy because underwater crises were hidden, making it easier to be attacked by inexplicable creatures. Thus, fishermen in the Wasteland could hardly guarantee safety unless they managed their own fish ponds, which presented big maintenance issues, and the fishy smell could easily attract monsters.

Therefore, fish was more expensive than beef and mutton nowadays.

These dishes looked appealing in color, aroma, and taste, making Xu Shu very eager to eat. He extravagantly chose a braised turtle, a braised eel, a whole stewed crucian carp, and some green vegetables. He spent over two hundred, which was quite extravagant at that time, but Xu Shu could still afford it.

When paying, he curiously asked, "Does the boss have his own fish pond here?"

The person responsible for the checkout was a young girl with an oval face, round, and quite cute, bearing a resemblance to the innkeeper, likely his daughter.

Hearing him, she smiled sweetly, "No, guest. These past few days, there’s been flooding in the northern river, and all these came from the backflow of the river."

"I see," Xu Shu realized.

The cashier girl sneaked a glance at Xu Shu’s profile, bit her lip, and said, "If you think the taste is okay, my dad also made some dry-fried shrimp, which I recommend you try."

"Alright, I’ll check it out later."

Xu Shu did not directly refuse her enthusiasm.

Because there were still people lining up behind, it wasn’t good to talk too much, so he quickly paid and found a quiet spot by the window to sit down and savor his meal.

It had to be said, the inn’s chef was really skilled.

The turtle meat was very tender, primarily fresh and salty.

And the eel was incredibly tender, melting in the mouth, appealing with its sweetness.

Xu Shu, who hadn’t tasted seafood for a long time, enjoyed a real treat.

The only thing was the stewed crucian carp didn’t have any particularly distinct flavor, bland and a pity to discard, so he quietly finished it off clean.

Not much later, there were shouts from the kitchen, and two women brought a steaming large iron basin to the front.

The aroma was rich and enticing, attracting many people by its smell, who went to get their hot dishes.

"Dry-fried shrimp..."

Xu Shu had almost finished eating, but the aroma was indeed strong. Although not an expert in critiquing gourmet food, he could tell from the aroma that the chef hadn’t skimped on the spices—star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel, cumin, and at least five kinds of spices were used.

As is well-known, a meal using a lot of spices might not be healthy, but it certainly wouldn’t taste bad.

"Spent a lifetime in the military, fighting everywhere, I should let myself enjoy a bit."

Xu Shu’s appetite was aroused, so he also stood up, ready to serve himself some food.

Seeing him also coming to line up, the cashier girl, who had already been relieved by her mother to start eating earlier, came over with a twinkle in her eye and whispered, "Are you getting the dry-fried shrimp too? Xiao Li can help you serve it first~"

Hmm?

Seeing the girl’s hopeful eyes, Xu Shu raised his eyebrows, thinking that being handsome had its perks too, not bad.

Free privileges shouldn’t be wasted, and Xu Shu wasn’t the reserved type; he was just about to nod in thanks when he caught a glimpse of someone ahead in the line scooping a large spoonful of "dry-fried shrimp."

The shrimp were quite large, over ten centimeters, elongated in shape, with each little leg coated with the characteristic grease of dry-fried shrimp, looking very appetizing.

However, upon seeing this, Xu Shu’s face suddenly turned pale.

Damn, deep-sea mantis shrimp?

These creatures not only resembled those parasitic species he had encountered during his adventure with Deep Sea Octopus Brother by appearance, but even details like the size of their claws and the missing tail fins looked identical.

Back then, these creatures had directly parasitized some victims’ brains, connecting to the esophagus and neck. Although they didn’t cause much physical damage to Xu Shu, the mental impact was significant.

And it lasted a very long time.

Like now, Xu Shu’s mind flashed through many images of brains—white, green, red, a whole lot.

Normally, it didn’t feel like much, but thinking of eating them, the disgust was magnified infinitely.

Yuck~

"No...no need," he lost his appetite on the spot, politely declined the girl’s offer, and quietly went upstairs amidst her puzzled look.

Speaking of which, where did these mantis shrimp come from? Could it be that they were brought along during Deep Sea Octopus Brother’s last visit?

Those mantis shrimp, reaching the ’deformation threshold’, certainly didn’t garner any compliments for their texture.

Xu Shu paused, looked back at the hall, and observed some diners who were already enjoying the dry-fried mantis shrimp, each with their mouths greasy.

"It seems that this batch of shrimp hasn’t mutated yet, and could be edible, but..."

Xu Shu hesitated, then decided to pass; his appetite had already been ruined by their appearance.

At this moment, he noticed the innkeeper—plump and smiling—pushing out a small cart full of glass bottles, all containing alcohol, red and white, evidently aged, at least eighteen years old, possibly even twenty-one—after all, before the disaster, the alcohol industry was quite advanced, especially in the former Xia Country.