Hearing He Xin address him like that, Xiao Yuan De felt quite uncomfortable. He said with a serious expression, "Hello everyone! I am Officer Xiao from the provincial department, but my current identity is a retired soldier!"
"Did Director Zhang arrange this for you too?" I asked.
"That's right. Let's not speak too loudly, be careful of eavesdroppers!" Xiao Yuan De said in a low voice, and we all lowered our voices.
When asked if Director Zhang had any special instructions, Xiao Yuan De said that we should be careful this time and make sure to capture all the people from Long Teng Company.
In fact, they had investigated this company before but hadn't found any evidence.
"Alright! We still have time today. If everyone isn't tired, let's walk around the tourist area and get a general understanding of it first!" I suggested.
Liu Yuning said, "Sure, let's go find that boss, Du Qitai. I wonder if he's still here!"
We had already gone downstairs to the hotel's second floor. To our surprise, Du Qitai was already there preparing food. Seeing the table full of delicious dishes made our stomachs churn, especially considering we hadn't had a proper meal on the ship.
Gao Mingqiang, the foodie, was the first to sit down and said excitedly, "Boss Du, you're too kind. So many dishes, it must have cost a lot of money, right?"
"No, all the services here are free, don't worry!" Du Qitai replied.
"Really? Then I won't be polite!" Gao Mingqiang said, reaching for his chopsticks, but I stopped him. I sat next to him and held his hand, saying, "Wait!"
"What is it?" He... Gu, a writer." He almost said "Consultant He" but quickly corrected himself.
While Du Qitai wasn't paying attention, I directly took out a silver needle and inserted it into the food, but he eventually discovered it.
"What are you doing, Mr. He?"
"Testing for poison!" I answered casually.
"Testing for poison? Hahaha! What era is this? You're still testing for poison this way? Besides, our place is absolutely safe, you can rest assured!"
"How can we know if we don't test? We are out and about, and we must be cautious about everything, especially since food safety is so important these days!" I gave a casual excuse, and Du Qitai seemed to believe it.
Seeing that the silver needle was fine, the others immediately sat down. He Xin said, "If there's nothing wrong, let's eat!"
I nodded, "Yes, Boss Du, I'm just doing this for everyone's safety. Thank you!"
"You're welcome. The information said you are a writer, but why do you use silver needles? Are you also a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner?"
I lied and said my grandfather was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, and then we started eating together.
The food here was indeed extremely rich, all the delicacies that we police officers never had the chance to taste.
Foie gras, Australian lobster, abalone...
Gao Mingqiang, with his mouth full of soup, exclaimed, "I swear, I don't want to leave this place anymore!"
"You're selling yourself out for just one meal?" He Xin taunted.
"You're right, I don't even know if Du Qitai used to be a chef!"
"Haha, you guys are saying quite interesting things. Actually, I didn't cook these dishes, Xiao Hong did!"
"Really? It seems whoever marries Xiao Hong will be very happy in the future!"
Hearing Gao Mingqiang say this, Du Qitai smiled and joked, "Mr. Gao, if you like her, I can introduce her to you!"
"Yes! Yes!" Gao Mingqiang said excitedly, but I nudged him hard. He quickly coughed and said, "Boss Du, thank you for your kind offer!"
"Hehe, don't be so nervous. We are all here to relax, so let's try to unwind within this week!"
After saying that, Du Qitai turned to leave. The waitress named Xiao Hong stood beside us. After we finished eating, she started to clear the dishes. Du Qitai returned and told us, "It's still early. Here's a map of the tourist area. You can walk around nearby!"
"Okay!" He Xin said with feigned interest. Xie Chuchu also chimed in, "Really, I haven't been out to have some fun in a long time!"
Liu Yuning also said, "Let's go shopping, husband!"
I knew she was acting, but the way she called me husband sent a surge of warmth through my heart. I had to play along, saying, "Alright then! Wife, a little walk after a full meal can be considered exercise!"
I felt my dialogue was a bit awkward, but it was fine. No one was paying attention, and they all left the villa.
We didn't realize until we came out of the villa that the tourist area was surrounded by numerous waterways, with docks everywhere. To go to other places, we had to use small boats. Du Qitai explained, "You can directly take a small boat to the places indicated by the signs. You can also use the map to find corresponding docks to go to other places."
"Alright! Du Qitai, you can go about your business. We know what to do!" Xie Chuchu said.
Du Qitai nodded and boarded a small boat. I saw him heading towards the central office of the tourist area, which was probably his office.
Looking at the map and the signs, we finally decided to visit the nearby commercial street first, as it seemed to have many souvenir shops.
Souvenirs are usually items sold in tourist areas to attract customers. These places sell things that are both expensive and useless, yet tourists flock to buy them simply because they feel they must buy something as a memento of their trip.
Many businesses exploit this consumer psychology to make a lot of money.
As we took the small boats, we realized that each boat could only accommodate one person, so we had to set off separately.
Liu Yuning and I were together. Since there weren't many people in the tourist area now, we didn't act overly affectionate but weren't cold either.
Liu Yuning said, "These waterways really feel like Venice."
"Exactly. Look over there! There's a cinema, a hunting ground, an amusement park, an aquarium, and so on. If it weren't for our mission, I'd really want to relax!"
"Don't mention that. We need to speak carefully!"
"I know, am I not speaking quietly? Who else could hear besides you?"
"Hehe, sometimes I feel quite comfortable being with you, you bookworm!"
I felt a bit awkward. Was it because of what happened last night? I didn't want to dwell on it and silently looked at the waterway in the distance. As we reached the commercial street, the small boat automatically docked at a pier, and everyone disembarked. As we stepped into the commercial street, we realized that it was unmanned!