Chapter Twenty-Two: The Outbreak of Conflict

Clearly, Wu De's strategy had failed to yield results. Many people had eaten at Chen Hua Jiang’s eatery before without any issues whatsoever. Now, a few individuals suddenly claimed they had gotten sick after dining there—how could anyone possibly believe them?

When the group met Wu De, he greeted them cheerfully, “So, are a lot of people avoiding his place now?” Wu De, it must be said, had absolutely no experience with real life. How could he think that a handful of troublemakers would shut down business at the snack bar? He was far too naive, spending his days playing, gambling, and drinking with Gou Wei Dong, oblivious to the ways of the world.

“That hasn’t happened, but we followed your instructions. Most of the customers don’t believe us,” the leader replied helplessly. Frankly, he’d doubted the plan from the start, but he went along for the money and simply did as Wu De asked.

“What? Are these people idiots? Such a foolproof method, yet not a single effect?” Gou Wei Dong was incredulous—after all, the idea was his.

“The owner said there were too many people eating there yesterday. Why is it only us who got sick, and others didn’t? He’s got a point,” the leader explained.

Wu De and Gou Wei Dong finally realized the flaw. Indeed, if everyone had gotten sick, it would clearly be the owner’s fault. But with only a few affected, it was obvious they were just there to stir trouble.

“Brother, how about settling up?” the leader asked.

“Settle what? You didn’t get the job done—I’m not paying you,” Wu De said, blatantly taking advantage.

The leader was instantly displeased and retorted loudly, “We did exactly as you asked. If it didn’t work, that’s not our fault. If you don’t pay up, you’ll regret it.”

Wu De, hearing this, grew even more arrogant. “I won’t pay today. Let’s see exactly how I’ll regret it.”

The leader was furious, but he knew better than to provoke Wu De further, so he led his group away. This leader, Zhang Qiang, was a petty hoodlum, barely scraping by with odd jobs like the one Wu De had given him.

Every day, he took on such gigs, with nothing else to do. Wu De and his crew’s refusal to pay naturally left Zhang Qiang disgruntled. That afternoon, Zhang Qiang made his way alone to Chen Hua Jiang’s snack bar.

He quietly approached Chen Hua Jiang and whispered, “Boss, sorry about earlier—we were hired for it. Want to know who was behind it?”

Chen Hua Jiang could more or less guess, but lacked concrete evidence. He understood Zhang Qiang’s intention, so he took two yuan from the drawer and handed it to him.

Zhang Qiang grinned and whispered again, “It was Wu De and Gou Wei Dong who put us up to it. I think they’ll try to cause you more trouble. Boss, you’d better be careful.”

Sure enough, it was Wu De and Gou Wei Dong. Chen Hua Jiang nodded and asked, “Would you like to earn a bit more?”

“Of course! Boss, you got a good job for me?” Zhang Qiang’s eyes sparkled with greed.

“I want you to find out what their next move is. If your information is accurate, I’ll pay you five yuan. But let’s be clear—if it’s not, you get nothing,” Chen Hua Jiang said seriously.

Though Zhang Qiang had just fallen out with Wu De, it wouldn’t be hard to get information, since Wu De would never do anything himself—he’d always pay someone else.

“Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll find out for you,” Zhang Qiang replied, glanced around cautiously, and left the snack bar. He was afraid of being seen by Wu De or Gou Wei Dong—if they took revenge, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Recently, Chen Hua Jiang had been coming home late every night. Whenever Lin Jia Yin picked up Huan Huan and took her home, she always passed by Ma Hong Feng’s door. Ma Hong Feng continually hurled veiled insults, but Lin Jia Yin kept it from Chen Hua Jiang. Since he had already slapped Ma Hong Feng once, she feared he’d escalate things if he found out. She figured, let Ma Hong Feng say whatever—she simply ignored her.

That day, as usual, Lin Jia Yin was walking home with Huan Huan when Ma Hong Feng intercepted her, full of arrogance.

“You filthy wench! Where’s your man? Wasn’t he bold enough to hit me last time? Well, my son is back today—he’ll teach him a lesson!”

Ma Hong Feng’s son had been working away from home, and upon his return, heard that his mother had been struck. How could he tolerate his mother being beaten? He immediately vowed to gather a gang and smash up Chen Hua Jiang’s house. At that moment, Ma Hong Feng’s son, Cui Zhi Liang, had already gone out to recruit people.

“We’re all neighbors. You’ve cursed me for days and I haven’t reacted. Now your son’s back, but you can’t just go around bullying people,” Lin Jia Yin finally lost her patience.

“I was thinking of wrecking your house, but since your husband has a snack bar at the Red Flag Factory gate, I’ll have my son take his men and smash up the snack bar instead,” Ma Hong Feng said, smug as if victory were already hers.

Lin Jia Yin frowned; she needed to warn Chen Hua Jiang. If Ma Hong Feng’s son really showed up, things could get out of hand.

“Not worth my time arguing with you,” Lin Jia Yin said, scooped up Huan Huan, and headed for the Red Flag Factory.

Once there, she pulled Chen Hua Jiang aside and whispered, “Ma Hong Feng’s son just came back. I heard him say he’s going to smash up our snack bar. You’d better think of something.”

Chen Hua Jiang hadn’t expected Ma Hong Feng’s son to go that far. Yet he wasn’t overly worried—the snack bar now had Black Tiger’s stake in it. If Black Tiger found out, Ma Hong Feng’s son wouldn’t have an easy time.

“Don’t worry. Stay right here and don’t go anywhere. I want to see just how much trouble Ma Hong Feng’s son can cause,” Chen Hua Jiang said confidently. He wasn’t afraid; he’d only heard rumors that Ma Hong Feng’s son was tough, but had never met him. Now he’d have the chance.

Sure enough, after about half an hour, Cui Zhi Liang arrived at the snack bar with two or three dozen men. Ma Hong Feng was right behind him.

“That’s him, son! He’s the one who hit me. And look at his wife—doesn’t she look like a filthy harlot?”