By 6 p.m. local time, it had already started to get dark. Tan Rou had eaten barbecue rice just in the afternoon and wasnât hungry now, so she planned to wait for Shang Jin and others to return before going out to eat dinner together.
Moreover, she had already notified everyone in the group that she would treat them to dinner tonight, she just hadnât arranged the location yet. Fortunately, nobody had come back yet, so she still had time to prepare.
Tan Rou was very good to her employees. They were willing to follow her to such a distant place and had not complained at all, which touched her. Thus, she tried her best to arrange good living conditions for everyone.
Taking advantage of the fact the hotel receptionist hadnât finished his shift yet, Tan Rou hurried downstairs to ask him if there was any good restaurant nearby.
The hotel receptionist recognized Tan Rou and said, âAre you looking to treat someone to a meal?â
Tan Rou replied, âYes, I plan to treat people to dinner tonight, around 20 people. Iâm looking for a large restaurant with a private room, or if thereâs no large one, two smaller ones next to each other would be fine.â
âYou plan to treat people to dinner tonight?â The hotel receptionist seemed puzzled, âBut itâs already past 6 pm now. If you invite people out for dinner now, you wonât be able to make it back in time.â
Tan Rou was even more puzzled, âArenât there any restaurants around here? Hmm, itâs okay if there are no private rooms, as long as thereâs enough space for 20 people.â
The hotel receptionist didnât mean that. He explained, âWhat Iâm trying to say is that if you go out for dinner, you must come back before 8:30 p.m., otherwise, you wonât be able to return.â
Tan Rou thought he was joking with her and asked with a smile, âAre you saying there are monsters around here? That come out to eat people at 8:30 p.m.?â
The hotel receptionist whispered, âLet me tell you, those people are scarier than monsters. Monsters donât eat people every day, but those people come out to catch people every night, and no one knows where those who are caught are taken.â
âWhat?â Tan Rou turned serious, âAre you not joking with me?â
The hotel receptionist replied, âIâm not joking. Lately, after 8:30 p.m. there are many patrol guards in the sky. If the guards find you wandering the streets, you will be captured by them. No one knows where those captured are taken, perhaps to prison, or maybe to the mines.â
Once again, the system in J country broadened Tan Rouâs horizons. She only knew of curfews from ancient times, never imagining that such policies could still exist in the 21st century. It was simply ludicrous.
At 8:30 p.m., many night markets are just getting started. It was absurd to not use that prime time to generate revenue and instead have guards take away people who are outside. It seemed to her that the King really had some serious problems with his thinking.
âWhy has this situation emerged?â Tan Rou asked with interest, âYou say guards have only appeared recently; what about before?â@@novelbin@@
The hotel receptionist replied, âPreviously, there were no time restrictions; people could stay out as long as they wanted. Now that there are guards on the streets, people dare not go out. Furthermore, after the designated time, all the major junctions are closed, and those outside canât come in. They have to either spend the night outside or go somewhere else.â
When Tan Rou and her group arrived yesterday, they were only aware that the palace gates would close after a certain time; they didnât know that there would be guards outside as well. Thankfully, they hadnât gone out last night, or they might indeed have been at risk of being captured by the guards.
âThank you for the warning,â Tan Rou said. âIâll have to think about this again. If we donât have enough time, we can always have dinner tomorrow night.â
The hotel receptionist said, âBecause you speak the language of our country, I thought you had been living here for a long time, so I didnât inform you about our rules. Iâm really sorry about that!â
Tan Rou didnât mind and replied, âItâs okay, I should thank you for informing me about the situation here. Otherwise, we probably wouldnât be able to return after dinner tonight.â
The hotel receptionist said helplessly, âAlas, the King used to be very good, but in recent years, I donât know what happened to him, heâs like a completely different person, constantly introducing some very strange policies. I even suspect that the person in the palace isnât the King at all, but an alien.â