80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches

Chapter 384 - 382: A Match for Sun Erniang

"Okay, just a moment!" Zhao Xiaohui poured tea for the men, then walked into the back kitchen and said to Wu Shufen, "Mom, they didn’t order anything specific. They just told us to make whatever’s good. But they don’t look like they’re here for a proper meal. What should we make for them?"

Wu Shufen glanced at the young men outside, who had their feet propped up on the table, and frowned. "You already mentioned the porcini mushrooms, so make a stir-fried porcini dish. Then a pickled pepper chicken gizzards, and some quick-fried liver..."

The dishes were all spicy, numbing, and fragrant—just the kind of flavors those young punks loved.

Zhang Xiuqing nodded. "Okay, I’ll get started."

"Little Hui, go watch the front. It’s almost noon, the lunch rush will be starting." After saying this, Wu Shufen and Zhang Xiuqing got busy.

"Alright!" After Zhao Xiaohui went out, two more customers entered the shop. "Master Xu, off work already? What can I get for you two today? The fresh mushrooms are in. We have porcini, termite mushrooms, mixed wild mushrooms..." She rattled off several dishes in one breath.

Master Xu and his wife were regulars at the restaurant. Hearing there were fresh mushrooms, they ordered stir-fried porcini with cured pork, a soup, and a portion of braised pork intestines.

The man with curly hair and his friends exchanged a look, winking maliciously.

The braised pork intestines were kept warm in a clay pot near the entrance. Zhao Xiaohui ladled out a portion, added a spoonful of red chili oil, sprinkled on some cilantro and scallions, and brought it to their table with a smile. "Take your time, you two. The rest of your food will be out shortly."

Curly Hair slammed a hand on his table and pointed at Zhao Xiaohui. "You bitch! We got here first, but you served them before us?"

Another one pointed at Zhao Xiaohui. "What, you think we can’t pay?" He pulled out two large bills and slapped them on the table. "Now hurry up and bring us our damn food."

Zhao Xiaohui could see they were indeed looking for trouble, but she swallowed her anger and forced a smile. "Gentlemen, the braised pork intestines are pre-made. The dishes you ordered have to be stir-fried from scratch, so they take a little longer."

Curly Hair stood up, walked over to Master Xu’s table, and planted a foot on one of the wooden chairs. He pointed arrogantly at Zhao Xiaohui. "Not good enough! I was here first, so I eat first!"

He then reached out, plucked a piece of the pork intestine, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed for a few moments. "Tastes pretty good. Go on, get me an order of this too."

Several other customers who had just walked in saw the scene and quickly turned around and left.

Zhao Xiaohui was trembling with anger. She gave them a bitter smile. "Look, we’re just trying to make an honest living here. You’re all so young, you shouldn’t be acting like this!"

Curly Hair swiped the bowl of intestines off the table and looked at Zhao Xiaohui with contempt. "My buddies and I were here first, but you, you bitch, served them before us. You’re clearly looking down on me. Go on, bitch, ask around and see if we’re the kind of guys who take this shit."

Seeing that the men were bad news, Master Xu and his wife stood up and looked apologetically at Zhao Xiaohui. "Ma’am, we’ll... we’ll come back later."

Zhao Xiaohui gritted her teeth and forced another smile. "I’m so sorry. Take care."

Master Xu gave a slight nod and left with his wife.

After seeing them off, Zhao Xiaohui turned back into the restaurant. The thought of how Curly Hair and his gang had driven away several customers made her seethe. She shouted toward the back kitchen, "Mom! Sister-in-law! Don’t bother cooking. We can’t afford to serve these customers."

Curly Hair and his friends watched Zhao Xiaohui, clicking their tongues. "TSK TSK. Fine, you bitch. If you won’t cook for us, you can just pay us for the food we ordered. Pay up, and we’ll leave right now. Otherwise... hmph!"

Curly Hair glanced at his two cronies, who immediately flipped over a table and chairs. They pointed at Zhao Xiaohui belligerently. "Pay up! If you don’t, we’ll smash this place to pieces!"

Zhao Xiaohui stared at the overturned furniture and roared, "In your dreams! If I was scared of trouble, I wouldn’t have opened a restaurant here."

She pointed at Curly Hair and his friends, her voice full of menace. "My brother’s in the Armed Forces Department. My brother-in-law’s a butcher at the market, and one of his buddies is a captain on the criminal investigation squad. Both my sisters-in-law are at the police station. You think I’m afraid of you? If I was, I wouldn’t be running this place."

Curly Hair wasn’t sure if Zhao Xiaohui was telling the truth. He and his friends exchanged another glance, then said with false bravado, "Ooh, you’re scaring us to death."

Just then, Zhang Xiuqing and Wu Shufen ran out from the back kitchen. "What’s wrong? What are they doing?"

Wu Shufen saw the overturned table and chairs and the braised intestines spilled everywhere, her heart aching at the waste. "How could you waste perfectly good food like this? We didn’t do anything to you! What gives you the right to do this?"

"They’re here to cause trouble..." Zhao Xiaohui quickly explained what had happened. "Sister-in-law, go next door and tell Dad to bike to the police station and get Xiuyun."

"Okay." Zhang Xiuqing nodded and ran toward the back of the kitchen.

Seeing this, Curly Hair and his friends started to back down. Pointing at Zhao Xiaohui and Wu Shufen as they backed away toward the door, they threatened, "You old hags, we’ll remember you! Just you wait!"

Zhao Xiaohui glared. "I’m not afraid of you! Don’t you dare run off!"

Just then, Lin Guozhu, on his way home from work, walked in. Zhao Xiaohui pointed at Curly Hair’s group. "Guozhu! These punks are trying to extort us! Grab them!"

Wu Shufen added angrily, "They dumped a customer’s food and flipped our table and chairs!"

When Curly Hair and his friends saw Lin Guozhu’s military uniform, they realized Zhao Xiaohui hadn’t been bluffing. They turned and bolted down the street.

Lin Guozhu strode forward and grabbed the long-haired one closest to him, forcing him to the ground. He then pulled off the man’s own belt and used it to tie him up.

Curly Hair and the other two didn’t even look back at their friend, focused only on their own desperate escape.

Zhao Xiaohui ran to the doorway and pointed. "Guozhu, the others got away!"

Lin Guozhu glanced over his shoulder. "They can run, but they can’t hide."

Zhao Xiaohui walked up to the captured man and pointed at him, gloating, "You idiot. Your so-called ’buddies’ ditched you and ran."

The long-haired man stayed crumpled on the ground, looking utterly dejected, not even daring to meet Zhao Xiaohui’s gaze.

Lin Changyou and Zhang Xiuqing came over from next door. Seeing the mess in the restaurant, they were furious. "Guozhu, you should take a punk like this straight to the police station."

Lin Guozhu nodded. "Okay, I’ll take him to the station. Tell me what they damaged."

Wu Shufen said, "Nothing was really broken, but they dumped one order of the braised pork intestines, and we had a plate of stir-fried porcini with cured pork ready in the kitchen. And then there are the customers they scared away."

"Got it." Lin Guozhu led the long-haired man toward the nearby police station.

Zhang Xiuqing grinned and gave Zhao Xiaohui a thumbs-up. "Our hero! What a warrior!"

Zhao Xiaohui looked at them sheepishly. "I just plucked up my courage and went for it."

Wu Shufen, who hadn’t expected the normally boisterous Zhao Xiaohui to be so fearless, smiled at her. "Not bad. You could give Sun Erniang a run for her money."

Zhao Xiaohui pouted. "Mom, is that a compliment or an insult?"

Wu Shufen chuckled. "A compliment, a compliment!"

Lin Changyou nodded as well. "With punks like that, you have to be more intimidating than they are. But you also have to read the situation. If they’d had knives, it would have been better to lose the money and avoid getting hurt."

Wu Shufen said, a wave of fear washing over her in hindsight, "That’s right. If they’d stabbed you, it would have been a disaster."

"I know, I know." Zhao Xiaohui cheerfully started cleaning up with Zhang Xiuqing.