Chapter 88 – A Hearty Stew of Dog Meat

Di Ping was overjoyed, momentarily forgetting the people waiting for him outside. It took a while for him to calm his excitement before he remembered that he was not alone in the room. He quickly opened his eyes, noticing the group of officials puffing away at their cigarettes. He cleared his throat lightly and, with a hint of apology, spoke.

"Sorry, everyone. I was so tired just now that I almost fell asleep as soon as I sat down!"

"No problem, no problem! Comrade Di must be exhausted!" several officials responded with forced smiles, quickly extinguishing their cigarettes at the sound of Di Ping's voice.

"How long was I asleep? Why didn't anyone wake me?" Di Ping feigned a bit of complaint.

"It wasn't long, not long at all!" Ge Zhongping laughed, seemingly unconcerned, though in his heart, he was cursing Di Ping's entire lineage. He didn't dare show it, however.

"Comrade Ge, the mutated beast meat is ready! What should we do next?"

At that moment, Lu Hai entered, followed by Yue Lie and Liu Han. Upon seeing Di Ping sitting in the main seat, Lu Hai froze for a second but quickly regained his composure and, with some hesitation, turned to Ge Zhongping and asked, "Brother Di, what do you think?"

Ge Zhongping, initially about to stand and give instructions to Lu Hai, remembered Di Ping's presence and immediately felt a chill in his heart. He dared not make any sudden moves. Turning to Di Ping, he smiled and asked, "How much meat do we have?"

A cold gleam flickered in Di Ping's eyes as he swept a glance over Lu Hai, then turned to Yue Lie and Liu Han.

Lu Hai felt his heart skip a beat under Di Ping's penetrating gaze, which seemed to see through his thoughts. He realized that his earlier report to Ge Zhongping had likely displeased this young man. He no longer dared to speak out of turn, standing quietly, too intimidated to speak further.

"Brother Di, we have over 7,000 jin of meat!" Yue Lie, eager to please, took a step forward, his face bright with excitement.

"7,000 jin of meat! That's a lot! It'll last us two days!" someone exclaimed with joy.

"It's been so long since we had meat. If we use a big pot and stew it with some radishes until tender... oh, I shouldn't have said that—just thinking about it is making my mouth water!"

One official licked his lips as he spoke, and no one laughed. On the contrary, hearing the description made everyone's mouths water in anticipation.

It wasn't surprising. While these officials were stronger than the average person and could secure food supplies, it had been a long time since they'd had a proper meal, let alone meat. The small amounts of frozen meat available in the supermarket were hardly enough to fill their appetites.

"Ha ha! Great! Let's make a big stew of mutated dog meat today! They say that after three rounds of boiling, even immortals can't stand up! Let's see if this mutated dog meat tastes even better!"

Di Ping stood up, laughing heartily and clapping his hands. He then turned to Han Zhongguo and the others, saying, "I think we should get a few large pots, stew the meat, and make sure everyone gets some dog meat and soup. What do you all think?"

"I think it's a great idea. When I was a child in the countryside, every time someone slaughtered a pig, we'd use a big pot to stew the meat, and the whole village would go to enjoy it. It was so delicious!" Han Zhongguo also stood up, laughing, his face filled with nostalgia.

"This is a good thing. Many people who are weak might regain some strength from a proper meal!" Lu Guoliang added, also smiling as he stood.

"What does Comrade Ge think?"

Seeing the positive response from everyone, Di Ping turned and smiled at Ge Zhongping, who was sitting on the sofa, asking for his opinion.

"Heh heh! Sounds good, sounds good! Brother Di, you have a good idea!" Ge Zhongping replied absently, not fully engaged. Hearing Di Ping's question, he only forced a smile, his face slightly stiff.

"Captain Lu, please get a few big pots for the meat. Any problems with that?" After hearing Ge Zhongping's response, Di Ping turned to Lu Hai, speaking in a neutral tone.

"No… no problem!"

Lu Hai quickly glanced at Ge Zhongping, who was sitting silently without lifting his head or showing any reaction. He quickly darkened his expression, then forced a smile and hurriedly replied, before turning to leave.

"By the way, make sure each person gets at least one bowl of soup and two liang of meat. Those who participated in the battle can get an extra liang of meat!" Di Ping suddenly called out to Lu Hai just as he was about to leave.

"Understood, I'll take care of it!" Lu Hai turned back quickly, responding with haste. He then turned and quickly left, though his footsteps were heavy.

Outside, several combat participants immediately broke into smiles upon hearing Di Ping's words. A few of them ran off quickly to spread the news.

"You two, go help out!"

As Lu Hai left, Di Ping smiled meaningfully, then turned to Yue Lie and Liu Han, who were standing at the door. He motioned for them to follow, giving a subtle nod.

"Got it, Brother Di!" Yue Lie, sharp and quick-witted, immediately nodded and, pulling Liu Han along, they hurried after Lu Hai.

As the three of them left, three young, beautiful women entered, each carrying a tray of tea. After placing a cup of tea in front of each official, they quickly exited the room.

Di Ping took his cup of tea, glancing briefly at the women. He noticed that they were all young and quite beautiful. When he saw the officials casually accepting the tea without any sign of appreciation, a wave of irritation swept over him. These officials seemed to be living too comfortably.

Though it seemed a bit petty to get angry over such a thing, Di Ping knew he would find the right moment to deal with these men.