Operation Red Book

"Mr. Chef asked Miss Ivy if she agreed?"

After an unknown amount of time, the young man poked his head out of the kitchen and asked suddenly.

Ivy nodded, and the young man suddenly grinned and happily brushed down the curtain.

There was a clanging sound from inside, and a loud shout: "Dinner is ready!"

The chef, with a greasy face, strode out carrying a large bowl of freshly-baked steamed buns.

The young man followed closely behind, carrying four plates of home-cooked dishes with both meat and vegetables in his two hands.

Mingcan wiped the tears from his cheeks, took Ivy and Joshua's hands and ran to the dining table.

For a moment, the dishes were fragrant and colorful. In order to celebrate the good news, the chef even opened two jars of good wine from the wine cellar.

"This is..."

Joshua picked up a fist-sized steamed bun and curiously tore off the soft and flaky outer layer of dough.

"Eat quickly, eat quickly, hahaha! There's still plenty of food at the Chinatown Wharf!"

The chef patted his round belly, took a bite of the steamed bun, put a spoonful of fried pork with pepper in it, and started to eat it.

Ivy was stunned. This posture didn't seem to fit the current tragic situation.

As if he saw Ivy's confusion, Mingcan took half a steamed bun for Ivy and explained it gently.

"Ms. Ivy, it's strange that those traitors didn't eat our food. Fortunately, there is a lot of food in Muyunzhai, enough for us to last for a while."

"We really don't understand those thieves. When they are hungry, they jump into the water to catch fish. Each of them can eat ten river fish weighing three kilograms."

"Even for their daily tea, they insist on drinking river water with five spoons of salt added. Sea water is better, they say."

Mingcan chewed two bites of the steamed bun and put down her chopsticks. Her eating habits had not changed even during this special period.

Ivy was not in the mood to eat. She bit the chopsticks in her mouth and listened carefully to Mingcan's complaints about the group of thieves.

"They stink, like dead herrings..."

"It's so hot, but they still wear fur coats that are soaked with water and refuse to take them off."

"It's August now. Not to mention the daytime, even the temperature at night is not to be underestimated..."

"They often shed their skin, often with white and red patches here and there, and they scratch and claw at it all the time, as if they have fleas on their bodies..."

Hearing this, Ivy suddenly smacked her lips twice.

As if she remembered something, she frowned and gulped down several cups of tea.

"Ahem! Miss Mingcan..."

Ivy put down the teacup in her hand and looked at Mingcan, with seriousness and solemnity in her eyes.

"Ms. Ivy...you want to go back on your word..."

"No no no!"

Ivy waved her hands quickly. If she had been a second later, the tears in Mingcan's eyes would have burst out immediately.

"I just want to know, how am I supposed to get out of here and deliver the things you gave me?"

The moment the words fell, the air was still, and the food seemed to no longer smell good...

The chef puffed up his cheeks, the young man slowly withdrew his hand holding the steamed bun, and Joshua was busy tearing the skin of the steamed bun. The surrounding atmosphere seemed to have no effect on him.

"A few ideas..."

Ivy's eyes slid from left to right, and her tone was slightly helpless.

"You thought about preserving the evidence, but you didn't think about how to send it out safely?"

"Cough cough cough..."

Mingcan wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief in embarrassment.

"Ms. Ivy, you also revealed a lot of secret doors to them..."