Grocery Store No. 514Chapter 9

Translator: Eyljee


October 27, 3020. Outside Bolang bar, a black car arrived slowly and parked at the designated area. Jiang Chengyan and Su Ke got off the car one after another. b6 1gE

Su Ke surveyed the bar sign looking pleased. “It’s different from an ordinary bar so you have to be mentally prepared.”

“How is it different? Aren’t they all here to get drunk?” Jiang Chengyan disagreed.

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“You’ll find out later. Come on, let’s go in.” Su Ke took the lead and tread the door.

Jiang Chengyan quickly tagged along but was stopped by the security at the entrance. 0l4OA2

“Gentlemen, hold on. Please show me your membership card.”

Su Ke pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed his e-version membership card. He whispered, “He’s my friend. A first timer.”

The guard let them pass. “Please come in, you two.”

When they entered the bar, Jiang Chengyan bumped Su Ke’s arm and whispered, “Su Ke, you’re really not allowed in if you’re not a member?”

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Su Ke nodded. “Gays aren’t well received in other places. Under the pressure of parents and society, many people have to choose to hide their sexuality or even marry women. Only such a privacy-oriented bar can make them get drunk at ease. ”

Jiang Chengyan asked curiously, “What about your membership card?”

“A friend brought me here. If a new face wants to enter the bar, they must be brought by a member. ”

“So it’s like that.” wZg3tQ

They walked through a long corridor, went in and was greeted with a soft, soothing music. Under the dim golden light, rows of seats were available. In addition, the back of the sofa was tall. If not huddled together, you won’t be able to hear what others would say. It’s very private.

There is a bar in the middle of the hall, only a few people sitting on it; each person had glasses in their hands. They sat far apart from each other, but their eyes were looking around.

Su Ke and Jiang Chengyan went straight to the bar. The bartender spotted them and sent a warm greeting. “Mr. Su, long time no see.”

Su Ke was a little surprised. “I’ve only been here once. I didn’t expect you to remember me.” ZA7UQx

The bartender’s eyes flashed to Jiang Chengyan. He was amazed and said, “To be in our business, we need not only good craftsmanship, but also  memory. Moreover, Mr. Su is such a handsome guy that it’s hard to forget.”

Although the bartender was talking to him, he would glance at Jiang Chengyan from time to time. Su Ke laughed and said, “Two glasses of orange juice, please.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Orange juice?” The bartender paused then hastily responded. “Okay, wait a minute.”

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The bartender took the photo and checked it. “I don’t know.”

“I remember you saying you have good memory. He’s a frequent visitor, how can you not know him? Take a closer look.” X0SIBq

The bartender replied sheepishly. “Sir, we have a rule here that we’re not allowed to disclose personal information of guests to anyone. Otherwise I will lose my job.”

While they were talking, a man wearing a western suit came over and sat down next to Jiang Chengyan. He flashed an inviting smile, “Can I buy this handsome man a drink?”

Jiang Chengyan was aware of the man’s unscrupulous eyes and grimaced. He waited for him to speak, but then he heard Su Ke laugh. “Sorry, this gentleman is mine.”

The man saw that Jiang Chengyan didn’t refute it, and mumbled with regret: “That’s troubling.” XWcw6f

Jiang Chengyan didn’t deny because he was left speechless by Su Ke’s words. When the man left, Jiang Chengyan asked softly, “Su Ke, what do you mean?”

Su Ke’s rolled his eyes then explained. “Those with company will go to card seats, and only single gays will sit here at the bar. That guy was obviously hitting on you. I only helped you out.”

Jiang Chengyan glanced at the man again. Sure enough, he sat back in his original position, but he would sneak a glance to his side. Although Jiang Chengyan felt strange, he didn’t care. He took out his credentials and looked at the bartender. “I’m a policeman. I’m investigating a case. I hope you can cooperate.”

The bartender froze for a moment, quickly condected himself and said, “Then I’ll ask the boss, wait a moment.” KQvxHz

The bartender walked to a corner, fished out his phone and called someone. The voice was distinct. He couldn’t clearly hear what he’s saying, but Jiang Chengyan doesn’t care. The bartender hung up and said, “I’ve met this man. His surname is Jiang. He used to come here a year ago, but he stopped afterwards. Maybe he found a partner.”

Jiang Chengyan’s eyes glistened and asked, “Do you remember who he used to talk or came here with?”

“We have lots of guests everyday. I only remember him because he used to be a regular. As for who he’s with, I really don’t know.”

Jiang Chengyan frowned slightly and then asked, “Do you remember the last time he came here?” bdkcE9

“Last time…” The bartender thought about it and said, “About two months ago. I can’t remember the exact date but he seemed to be in a bad mood that day. He sat at the bar and drank all day. He didn’t leave until closing.”

“Two months ago? How long do you usually keep surveillance videos here?”

The bartender said apologetically, “I don’t know. I have to ask the boss. Actually, I wasn’t on duty that day. The reason why I knew that he came was because my one of my colleagues mentioned that Mr. Jiang had a fight with others that day, which was handled by the boss himself.”

“Is your colleague working today?” XtQCTp

“He quit a month ago.”

“What’s his name? Do you have his contact information?”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“His name is Zhang Hua, and his mobile phone number is….” The bartender picked up his cell phone and searched, “188****5619. We haven’t contacted him since he left, so we don’t know if he changed his number.”

Jiang Chengyan saved the number and then asked, “Is your boss there?” vnsbaF

“The boss isn’t usually in the store. If you want, I can contact you if he’s here.”

“Then you call him. I have something to ask for him.”

“Just a moment.” The bartender picked up his phone to make a call, said a few words after connecting, then handed the  phone to Jiang Chengyan.

“Hello, I’m Jiang Chengyan, captain of Huacheng criminal investigation team. Is this the boss of Bolang bar?” eB7PSd

“Hello, Jiang dui. This is Mr. Zhang. What can I do for you?” The voice was quite charming and gentle.

“How long do you usually keep your bar’s surveillance videos?”

“Half a year. It will be automatically deleted after.”

“Then I want to check the surveillance video.” H9SF l

“Sorry, Jiang dui, I’m not in Huacheng right now. I won’t be back until the day after tomorrow. If you want to see it, come back the day after tomorrow during business hours.”

“So.” After a pause, Jiang Chengyan asked, “do you remember Jiang Changping?”

“Jiang Changping?” The other side was silent for a while and said, “Sorry, we have a lot of guests in our bar. I don’t remember everyone.”

“Two months ago, he had a conflict with a guest in a bar. Did you deal with it?” 7rLMkt

“Two months ago…” The other side was silent again for a while, and said, “when Jiang dui said this, I really want to leave an impression, but I only remember his surname is Jiang. Has something happened to him? ”

“It’s about the case. It’s not convenient to disclose. We’ll trouble the boss the day after tomorrow.”

“My pleasure. You should.”

Jiang Chengyan hung up, handed his cell phone to the bartender and said, “Thank you. Check, please.” E5Qzr7

The bartender smiled. “You’re welcome, Jiang dui. If it’s convenient, leave a contact information. If I think of anything, I can contact Jiang dui at any time. ”

As soon as Jiang Chengyan wanted to speak, he was interrupted by Su Ke. “****7031. Please call this number when you remember something.”

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The bartender who entered the number asked awkwardly, “What’s this?”

“This is the phone number of the team. He is a criminal investigator policeman. He’s often out of the field and sometimes is inconvenient to answer the phone.” Su Ke cackled. “Check.” 4egTAv

They settled the bill and left the bar.

Su Ke scoffed. “Jiang dui, aiya. You were only sitting there for a bit and you managed to attract two people.”

“Two?” For a moment, Jiang Chengyan was at a loss, and then said: “You mean the bartender was also…”
Su Ke snorted. “What do you think? Will normal straight men come here to work? ”

Remembering the picture of two men kissing in the card seat just now, Jiang Chengyan nodded deeply and said, “Now I finally understand what you mean by the difference.” emsBx3

Su Ke helplessly looks at him. He didn’t want to say anything more about Jiang Chengyan’s dullness.

“Come on, I’ll take you home.” Jiang Chengyan was unaware of Su Ke’s sentiments.

Looking at Jiang Chengyan’s back, Su Ke shook his head with a bitter smile, and then follows up.

Half an hour later, the car arrived at the gate of Su Ke’s community. Su Ke turned to look at Jiang Chengyan and said, “Won’t you go up and sit down?” tS4ob

“No, I have to go back to the team.”

“Well, don’t work late.” It’s not easy to determine the identity of the dead. With Jiang Chengyan’s workaholic nature, it’s impossible for him to get home from work on time. Su Ke was clear about this, so he doesn’t get tangled.

Jiang Chengyan promised. After waiting for Su Ke to get off, he drove back to the police station. Parking the car, Jiang Chengyan looked at the time, and then looked at the opposite grocery store, whispered: “There are still half an hour left. Will it not be so good now?”

After a few rounds of circling back and forth at the gate of the police station, Jiang Chengyan still strides to the opposite side. SF45By

Because Wang Lei was sent by Ling Huaan to keep an eye on Li Qiuran, the blind Ling Huaan had to take a part-timer. He was a junior at Longcheng University. His name was Sun Ming.

“Boss, there seems to be a man peeping outside the door.” Sun Ming whispered in Ling Huaan’s ear.

Ling Huaan did not speak, left the counter, opened the door, said: “Jiang dui, come in.”

Jiang Chengyan was stunned and said, “I just arrived…” PhH4ld


I’ve been having a lot of trouble breathing these past few days. Must be because I had covid but I thought I’m getting better since my sense of taste and smell is back ://

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Leave a Comment

17 comments

  1. Su Ke is on his way to being heartbroken,,, JC seems really taken with LH.

    Thank you for the chapter! Take care and get well soon, translator-nim ! (‘-⌒)v ♡

  2. Are you ok translator-san? You should go to the hospital if you can 。・°°・(>_<)・°°・。

    Take care!!

    ・゜゚・:.。..。.:・'(゚▽゚)’・:.。. .。.:・゜゚・

  3. COVID sucks :(( I hope you feel better soon!

    Su Ke, I’m sorry but you are falling on your own :// Jiang dui doesn’t even see you as more than a colleague/friend…