"Listen, kid, I have a good temper, but I can't let you do this. I have a good temper, Charlie doesn't. Don't let him take his anger out on me. Now, let this Miss Angie come with me to see Charlie and settle things at the Whistle Restaurant. Otherwise, I'll show you what kind of scoundrels Britain produces besides gentlemen." The man tugged at Song Tianyao's tie a few times, grinning and laughing loudly, "Got it?"
"I understand perfectly. I said I was prepared. Are you really not going to let go of my tie?" Song Tianyao asked again.
"Are you an idiot?" the man said dismissively.
Song Tianyao took a handkerchief from his suit pocket, tossed it upwards, and said to the man in a very soft voice:
"Okay, I'll show you a magic trick."
An expensive silk handkerchief floated upwards. Not far behind Song Tianyao, three white men wearing baseball caps and gray trench coats suddenly rushed over and took out two claw hammers from their oversized trench coats.
Without a single word, without any eye contact, without any hesitation, the young white man at the front smashed a hammer straight into the man's eye socket!
The other person screamed and released his grip. Song Tianyao took the opportunity to pull his tie back, put his left arm around Angie Perlis, and protected Angie Perlis's brother Blair with his right.
"Let's go, Glasgow doesn't seem very safe."
A group of people quickly left, leaving only the three white men and four members of the Flower Street Gang fighting at the train station exit.
"My God, what happened! Ben, let's get out of here right now!" Angie Perlis's mother, Para, said, still shaken.
Then, looking apologetically at Song Tianyao, he said, "I'm sorry, young man, I hope we didn't frighten you. We don't know what happened either. Let's get in the car first; the police will be here soon to arrest them."
"How could that be, madam? Britain is wonderful." Song Tianyao opened the taxi door for Angie Perlis, turning to look at the three white men still wielding claw hammers and beating the other man in the distance, and the dusty handkerchief lying on the ground beside them. "Nice claw hammer."
Chapter 453 Charlie
Angie Perlis's father was much more serious than Angie Perlis's sister Sarah and brother Joe. He let Angie Perlis, her mother, brother, and sisters go first, leaving Sarah's husband Carl and himself behind. They took a second taxi, and Angie Perlis sat in the back seat with Song Tianyao, glancing at Song Tianyao from the side.
"How's the weather in London, kid?"
"It's worse than Glasgow." Song Tianyao straightened his tie, extended his hand to Ban, and smiled. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Song Tianyao, Angie's boyfriend. I think she should have mentioned me to you."
Ban shook Song Tianyao's hand. "What's the deal with the Whistle Restaurant and the Flower Street Gang? Aren't you from Hong Kong? When those Flower Street Gang members were beaten, you and Angie weren't worried at all. You knew they would come after you because you had provoked them before."
Upon hearing Ban mention the Flower Street Gang, the taxi driver beside him, gripping the steering wheel, spoke up:
"Buddy, I don't want any trouble. If you mess with the Flower Street Gang, you'd better get out of my car."
Song Tianyao tossed a fifty-pence coin into the glove compartment next to the driver with a click.
The gray-haired driver glanced at the coin and said nothing more.
Song Tianyao turned to look at Ban: "I don't know what the Flower Street Gang is, but the Whistle Restaurant is a gift I gave you as a token of our friendship. I bought it in Angie's name."
"You bought that restaurant?" Ben's eyes widened. "Are you planning to settle down in Glasgow?"
"That way you can have your elite neighbors working for you. I heard from Angie that you admire that chef." Song Tianyao sighed, "But I didn't expect this restaurant to offend the local gangs."
Ban breathed a sigh of relief, "You just bought a restaurant, you didn't do anything bad or provoke the Flower Street Gang, right?"
Song Tianyao nodded sincerely. "Of course, I'm from Hong Kong, and my business is also in Hong Kong. There's no chance of offending anyone in Britain."
"That's easy to solve. Even if the Whistle Restaurant gets a new owner, they can still pay protection money according to the old rules. But those three guys with hammers..." Sitting in the passenger seat, Angie Perlis's brother-in-law Carl, turned to Song Tianyao: "Are you sure you don't recognize them?"
Song Tianyao shook his head. "I don't know him at all."
"So, the fact that the Flower Street Gang got beaten up is none of our business. Once Ban takes over the restaurant, he'll meet with those Flower Street Gang members, pay their protection money, and that'll be it. Let's talk about something happier. I'm Carl, nice to meet you." Carl extended his hand from the front row and shook hands with Song Tianyao, saying, "Welcome to Glasgow."
After hearing Song Tianyao's words, Ban's expression softened a bit. This Asian future son-in-law had bought him a restaurant on their first meeting. Thinking about how he would be the one to pay the salary of his chef neighbor who had cooked for the royal family, Ban actually felt quite pleased.
"Para knew you were coming and prepared a lot of things. She prepared smoked salmon, roast goose, and even asked a friend to find sage to stuff inside the roast goose to enhance the flavor. Oh, and there's also Germany mulled wine. You'll like it." Ban smiled.
Looking out at the chaotic street scene, Song Tianyao said, "Thank you very much!"
In a bar Ronnie's Slut on Gascoigne Road, Charlie from the Flower Street Gang sat on a barrel in the cellar, smoking a pipe. In front of him hung upside down a naked, blood-soaked white man, his chest covered in cuts and wounds, with dried blood, bright red or dark brown, dripping onto the floor from time to time.
"What have you done on my turf, Big Bill?" Charlie, dressed in a suit and with his hair meticulously combed with hair wax, asked the white man in a nonchalant tone after lighting his pipe.