[Advance spoiler: this section sets up Mercenary Tao's entrance. This was the author's first attempt at writing, so the setup is a little slow. If you want to get straight to the fights, you can skip to Chapter 34, but a lot of care went into this storyline too, so give it a read if you like.]
Tomorrow was the weekend, and the office workers getting off work today finally had a chance to catch their breath. Most customers who usually settled for a simple bowl of noodles at Boss Li's shop ordered a few side dishes today, and cheerful laughter rang through the noodle shop from time to time.
Li Xiaomei had no classes tomorrow and was helping clear away bowls and chopsticks. Her mother had been feeling unwell lately and was resting at home, so Li Xiaomei had come straight to the shop after school to help.
"You're a lucky man, Boss Li. Your daughter's so thoughtful! My boy tells me Xiaomei gets great grades at school, too!"
"She takes after her mother. Such a pretty girl! Boss Li, hasn't your wife come back from taking your son to visit her family yet?"
Hearing the customers praise his daughter filled Boss Li with delight. Even kneading the dough seemed to take less effort.
By nine that evening, all the customers had left. Li Xiaomei wiped down the tables and chairs with a cloth while Boss Li sat behind the counter with a box in his arms, counting the money and adding up the day's takings.
The customers had spent more than usual today, so Boss Li's earnings were considerably higher, too.
Just then, a young man with dyed blond hair and ripped jeans walked in. With him was a skinny young man whose arms were covered in tattoos and who wore three studs in one ear.
"Made a fortune today, Boss Li? Huh? Your daughter's gotten so tall!" the blond said with a grin.
Boss Li quickly closed the cash box and shoved it into a drawer. Forcing a smile, he said, "A-Hao, what brings you here today? Want something to eat? Xiaomei, take your schoolbag into the kitchen!"
Li Xiaomei put down her cloth, went to the counter, picked up her schoolbag, and retreated into the kitchen.
"Eat? What's worth eating in this dump? Brother Fei already treated us tonight. A seafood feast! At a fancy restaurant!" the blond called A-Hao said with a grin.
"Then what brings you here?" Boss Li asked nervously.
A-Hao leaned against the counter and craned his neck to peer behind it. "You made a fair bit today, huh? Brother Fei sent us to collect next week's sanitation fee."
Boss Li gave him an ingratiating smile. "Isn't that due the day after tomorrow? Why today?"
A-Hao waved a hand. "A day earlier or later makes no difference. We've got time today! Come on, hurry up."
Reluctantly, Boss Li counted out five hundred and handed it over. A-Hao glanced at the money in his hand and curled his lip. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Brother Fei thinks your shop's in a good spot, with plenty of foot traffic. Five hundred isn't enough for the sanitation fee anymore. You know how hard the boys work!"
Boss Li's heart sank. Sure enough, they were raising the price again. They had only raised it from four hundred a week to five hundred a month ago. Were they already unsatisfied?
"Then... how much do you want?" Boss Li asked.
A-Hao held up one finger. "One thousand!"
"One thousand?" Boss Li's voice rose. "One thousand? I might as well hand the shop over and let you run it! How much do you think I make in a month? If I give you four thousand, I'll be living on air!"
"What are you yelling for? If we tell you to pay, just pay! Enough bullshit!" the tattooed man snarled, pointing at Boss Li's nose.
A-Hao held the tattooed man back and played the good cop. "Hey, hey, hey! Why are young people always so hotheaded? Boss Li hasn't said he won't pay! Boss Li, my friend here has a bad temper. Don't take it personally."
"I won't pay! No matter what you say, I'm not giving you a thousand!" Boss Li said, stiffening his neck. Even the meekest man had his limits. If he paid a thousand this time, who knew when they would raise it again?
A-Hao put on a troubled expression. "Boss Li, if you act like this, how am I supposed to explain it to Brother Fei? If Brother Fei gets upset, I'm afraid things could get difficult for you."
Boss Li steeled himself and decided to stand his ground. He slapped the counter. "Then I'll close the shop if I have to! You dress it up as some bullshit sanitation fee, but after taking all that money, you've never cleaned a thing for me! Even if I shut this place down, I won't pay you. I refuse to believe there's no law left!"
"What did you say?" The tattooed man surged forward, ready to lash out, but Boss Li wasn't afraid of him at all. He was as scrawny as a monkey. Who did he think he was frightening?
A-Hao grabbed the tattooed man and made a show of calming him down. "Hey, hey, don't get worked up. Boss Li's right. We live under the rule of law! Since he's made himself so clear, let's stop disturbing his business. Come on, let's go!"
A-Hao dragged the tattooed man toward the door, while the latter kept swearing and shouting, "Just you wait! If this shop stays open, I'll take your surname!"
After they left, Boss Li slumped into a chair like a deflated balloon. Now that he had calmed down, fear began to creep in. These petty thugs who called themselves gangsters were like mangy dogs. Once they latched onto you, how could you shake them off so easily?
"Dad." Li Xiaomei came out of the kitchen and took his hand. "Didn't Brother Nan say to call him if the Flying Dragon Gang came to the shop again?"
Boss Li stroked his daughter's head and sighed. "Brother Nan isn't from around here. He can't beat these local thugs. Besides, young men are hotheaded. If they got into a fight and he was hurt, wouldn't we be the ones who brought him trouble?"
"What if they come back tomorrow?" Li Xiaomei asked worriedly.
Boss Li reassured her, "It's all right. If they dare come back, I'll call the police and have the Federal Police arrest them! Oh, and your mother hasn't been feeling well these past few days. Stay home with her tomorrow. Let the adults handle adult problems, all right?"
"But!"
Li Xiaomei wanted to say more, but Boss Li patted her head to tell her not to worry, then got up and went back to work in the kitchen.
The next day, Boss Li came to the shop alone. As usual, he took out the dough he had prepared the day before and kneaded it again. That gave the noodles a firmer, springier texture once cooked.
After kneading the dough, Boss Li took the portioned beef bones out of the freezer and put them in the stockpot to simmer. Good noodles needed good broth, and the bones had to simmer for a full two hours to release their rich aroma.
Next, Boss Li took out a piece of braised beef and sliced it. With over a decade of knife work behind him, he made every slice just the right thickness, flavorful without getting stuck between the teeth.
Just then, a large group walked into the shop. Thinking customers had arrived, Boss Li hurried out of the kitchen to greet them.
Instead, it was A-Hao and yesterday's tattooed man, accompanied by a crowd of swaggering thugs covered in dragon and tiger tattoos.
"W-what do you want?" Boss Li asked nervously.
A-Hao gave him a mocking half-smile. "What do we want? We're here to eat, of course. Aren't you open for business?"
"Yes, yes!" Boss Li replied.
The dozen or so men immediately spread out, each occupying a separate table. They simply sat there without ordering. Boss Li knew they had come to cause trouble, but he didn't dare urge them to order.
As noon approached, customers began arriving for lunch, only to freeze the moment they stepped inside. What was going on with this room full of thugs?
Most took one look and quietly backed out. Boss Li didn't try to keep them, either. With things like this, doing business today would probably be impossible.
A few bolder customers tried to find an empty seat, but the moment they sat down, the thug beside them started swearing.
"Are you fucking blind? Can't you see someone's sitting here?"
The customers wanted to argue, but seeing all the thugs in the room glaring viciously at them, they left in frustration.
Boss Li followed them outside to apologize. They offered him a few words of comfort before leaving. Unable to swallow his anger, he took out his phone and called the police. A-Hao and the others showed no fear and continued to lounge in the shop as if nothing had happened.
After a while, two potbellied Federal Police officers entered the shop. One look at the scene told them the Flying Dragon Gang was causing trouble again.
After learning what had happened, one officer walked over to A-Hao. "You're the leader, right? Take your people and leave. Stop interfering with his business!"
"Officer, he's open for business, and I'm here to give him business. That's not illegal, is it?" A-Hao replied without a trace of fear.
"Giving him business? You're clearly taking up seats without spending any money!" the other officer scolded.
A-Hao tilted his head and replied shamelessly, "Can't we wait for someone? We've got more people coming. You can't expect us to eat before they arrive!"
Seeing that persuasion was getting nowhere and that A-Hao and his men had an excuse for everything, the two Federal Police officers called Boss Li outside and began trying to talk him around.
"Li, you've seen it yourself. There isn't much we can do about them. If you ask me, you should pay a little to avoid trouble, so it doesn't affect your business going forward," the slightly older officer advised earnestly.
Boss Li grew agitated. "Officer Wang, you don't understand! These people keep demanding more and more. They originally agreed on a weekly fee, then it went from three hundred to four hundred, from four hundred to five hundred, and now it's a thousand! They might raise it again before long!"
Officer Wang patted Boss Li's shoulder. "How about this? You give a little ground this time. Keeping the peace is good for business. If they raise the price again, tell me! I'll go talk to them. All right?"
Boss Li thought it over and decided he had no other choice. He was an honest working man. He couldn't afford to waste his time fighting thugs who had nothing better to do all day.
"Oh, and speaking of this sanitation fee, you really do need to pay more attention to... well, sanitation. Make sure you take proper care of it!" Officer Wang said pointedly.
Boss Li took the hint. He pulled two packs of good cigarettes from his pocket and slipped them into the officers' pockets, assuring them that he certainly would.
In fact, Boss Li had prepared for both possibilities. In his other pocket, he had two separate sums of "tea money" ready. But seeing how little the Federal Police officers had accomplished, he wasn't willing to let himself be fleeced again.
The two officers knew when to leave it at that. They offered Boss Li a few more reassuring words and departed.
"Dad!"
Just after seeing the Federal Police officers off, Boss Li heard someone call from behind him. Li Xiaomei and her mother had come over from home.
Boss Li scolded them, "Didn't I tell you to stay home and rest? What did you come to the shop for?"
"Our daughter told me everything. I was worried, so I came to check on you. I saw the officers leaving just now. How did it go? Is it settled?" his wife asked with concern.
Boss Li sighed and repeated what Officer Wang had told him.
His wife took Boss Li's hand and said gently, "Let it go. What matters most is that our family stays safe. Just give them the money. If they dare raise the price next time, let Officer Wang handle it."
"I suppose that's all we can do."
The three of them entered the shop. Seeing the room full of swaggering thugs, Li Xiaomei grew frightened and hid nervously behind her parents.
With even the Federal Police unable to do anything to them, the thugs became more arrogant and smug. They slapped the tables, planted their feet on the benches, and brazenly told dirty jokes in front of the child.
Though furious, Boss Li didn't dare lose his temper. He counted out one thousand, approached A-Hao, and forced a placating smile. "A-Hao, we'll do as you said. Here's one thousand. Take it."
A-Hao didn't even look him in the eye. He merely curled his lip and picked his nose.
"There are this many of us, and that's all you're giving us? You think we're beggars?" the tattooed man snapped.
Boss Li forced himself to reply, "Didn't you say one thousand a week?"
A-Hao tilted his head again, dug his little finger into his ear, and flicked his fingernail. "If you'd just paid the sanitation fee when we asked, none of this would've happened. All these boys of mine can't have come here for nothing, can they? Let's make it one thousand."
Boss Li felt a wave of relief. At last, he could get rid of these parasites.
"One thousand each. Then the boys can go have some tea!" A-Hao added.
"You!" Boss Li reeled. A-Hao had brought more than a dozen men today. At one thousand each, two months of his work would have been for nothing!
Li Xiaomei and her mother trembled with anger, too. Boss Li's wife, already weak these past few days, nearly lost her balance and fell. Li Xiaomei hurried to support her.
Just as Boss Li was at his wits' end, a voice came from the shop entrance.
"Boss, the usual today!"
Before you continue