Chapter 86: Difficult to Send Off the Deity

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Difficult to Send Off the DeityCheng Su thought to herself that it was better to suffer a small loss for the sake of peace, letting a single meal go by without fuss. The loss was acceptable, but what mattered most was that her business ran smoothly and that she and her employees were safe.

But she hadn’t anticipated that drawing in the devil would be easy, but sending him away would be difficult. As soon as these people heard her suggestion, they burst into loud laughter.

"The chick sure knows her place, giving face to your Brother Niu, but what can we do? We came today, and we’ll come again tomorrow, and the day after too," the self-proclaimed Brother Niu said with a chuckle, stroking his chin.

Cheng Su’s face darkened. What did this mean, that they were sure of themselves?

"Yo, yo, yo, seems like our little chick is not looking too happy."

"Brother Niu, you give her a kiss, and her complexion will turn rosy," the crowd jeered and laughed cheekily.

Cheng Su’s face grew even darker as she listened to the various vulgarities and obscenities being thrown around.

She had thought about the difficulties of doing business before, the fierce competition, the challenges in getting started, the meager profits, and the constant harassment...

If she backed down today, they would only become more demanding. Look, wasn’t that exactly what they were planning?

Just like now, Brother Niu reached out to touch Cheng Su’s cheek, heh-heh-ing wickedly, "Look at you, you’ve got some looks. Why not just follow me? You wouldn’t have to work so hard in the kitchen and become an old hag, how about it?"

The other thugs chuckled, egging her on, "If you follow Brother Niu, you’ll dine on the best and drink the spiciest — what luck for you!"

Cheng Su swatted his hand away, her face cold, "Please show some respect. It’s not the Manchu Qing era any longer when you could act like a hooligan without consequence; it’s an era governed by the rule of law now."

Brother Niu paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Look at that, listen to that, she’s a cold beauty indeed. Aiyo, Brother Niu likes!"

"What rule-of-law era? I am the law for Brother Niu, and what are you going to do about it?" another thug sneered.

"Sister-in-law Qi." Someone called from outside the door, and Cheng Su looked over to see Commander Zhou’s wife, Sister-in-law Zhou.

Sister-in-law Zhou walked in, her brow furrowing as she took in the situation, "What’s going on?" She took a closer look at the few thugs.

"They ate without paying," perhaps reassured by Sister-in-law Zhou’s seniority, Qiulan hurriedly explained.

"Sister-in-law, what brings you here?" Cheng Su looked toward Sister-in-law Zhou.

"I was out buying some things, and our Old Zhou mentioned that your restaurant was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop by to have a look," Sister-in-law Zhou explained with a smile, scanning the restaurant, "You’ve set it up quite nicely. From now on, we don’t need to host guests at the military compound anymore; we can just come here. We’re all from military families with loud voices. It wouldn’t matter how noisy we get here!"

Cheng Su paused for a moment, then a slight smile appeared in her eyes.

Sister-in-law Zhou emphasized the military service especially to intimidate the thugs in front of her.

Indeed, the thugs’ countenances grew somber upon hearing her words, and even Brother Niu began to reassess Cheng Su.

"Aren’t you guys leaving?" Sister-in-law Zhou scowled at the men while saying to Qiulan, "Your brother-in-law, as well as Commander Qi and Commander Zhou, should be resting. Go back to the base and invite them over, just say that Sister-in-law Qi’s restaurant has some troublemakers with no respect for their actions."

Brother Niu’s smile faded slightly, but, unwilling to lose face in front of his men, he said fiercely, "Are you trying to scare me, you wench? You should go ask around who Brother Niu is. I wasn’t raised to be scared off!"

Sister-in-law Zhou snorted coldly, "Why would I scare you? I just wanted our military men to get some exercise, that’s all!"

Brother Niu’s face turned dark. A thug whispered a few words of persuasion, and after Brother Niu dropped a couple of harsh remarks, the gang of ruffians filed out, hollering as they went.