Chapter 200: The Bumpkin and the Beggar
Ye Qing and Zhao Chengshuang were sitting there while Black Bear went to order some dishes. How did he get into an argument with those seven or eight people?
"What's going on?" Zhao Chengshuang wheeled himself over and, joining Black Bear, gave those seven or eight people a stern look and said, "What's all this shouting about? Can't you have a meal without causing a scene? Have you no public manners? Do you even know what disturbing the peace is?"
Ye Qing did not get up; his gaze was fixed intently on a little girl in tattered clothes, not far behind Black Bear. The girl was only about six or seven years old, her face smeared with dirt, clutching a bag in her left hand filled with leftover food. Her right arm hung limp, clearly dislocated and completely immobile.
Tears streaked her cheeks, and her body trembled continuously as she fearfully watched the group of seven or eight with a look of panic and helplessness. Yet, she still clutched the bag tightly, refusing to let go.
What shocked Ye Qing the most was that the little girl was not a stranger; she was the same one he had seen on his first day looking for his brother Ye Jun. She was also one of the children he had rescued when he swept through Boss Lin's first stronghold. Ye Qing still remembered her frantic escape, desperately stuffing food into her mouth.
What he could not have anticipated, however, was encountering her here again, and still begging!
The group of seven or eight, seeing Black Bear's plain clothes and Zhao Chengshuang in a wheelchair, hadn't taken them seriously at all. The apparent leader, a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old man with a dragon tattooed on his shoulder, glanced at Zhao Chengshuang and said, "Son of a bitch, cripple, who said you could talk here?"
Zhao Chengshuang narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Cripple, who are you talking about?"
"Cripple's talking about you!" the tattooed man replied briskly.
"Oh, so you're talking about me," Zhao Chengshuang laughed heartily and said, "You do have some self-awareness, acknowledging you're a cripple. But, since you have both arms and legs and seem physically sound, the only 'cripple' attribute you could have is an intellectual disability."
It was only then that the tattooed man realized he had been played by Zhao Chengshuang and, flushed with humiliation and anger, slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "Bastard, you're quite arrogant, aren't you? Who the hell do you think you are?"
"I'm not from anywhere in particular," Zhao Chengshuang replied nonchalantly.
"Well then, it seems you have no backup!" the tattooed man kicked a stool aside and said, "You know who I am? Listen up, I'm the Northern City Prince. What are you? Daring to be so arrogant in front of me? Believe it or not, I'll beat you to death!"
"Prince Brother, don't get mad, don't get mad," the stall owner hurried over with an awkward, ingratiating smile. "We're all just out here to eat; let's keep things peaceful, huh? And you big guy, why meddle in other people's business? Just leave, I don't want your business anymore.
Damn it, three of you only ordered three plates of plain noodles; already so cheap and still causing trouble here, will you pay if you break my tables?"
"Huh?" Zhao Chengshuang was surprised and glanced at Black Bear, "Why did you order so little?"
"As long as it's enough to eat," Black Bear replied earnestly.
"Damn it, going out to eat isn't about just eating your fill; the key is to eat well!" Zhao Chengshuang waved his hand and glared at the owner, "Don't worry about how much I eat; three bowls of noodles don't count as business to you? This is the first time I've seen someone trying to drive customers away. Do you think this place is a five-star hotel or something?"
"While it's not a five-star hotel, we don't serve beggars here either!" the owner glared at Black Bear and said, "Just leave now, okay? Don't disrupt my business."
"Go to hell, I've lived this long and never been treated like a beggar!" Zhao Chengshuang was outraged, gesticulating wildly, "Go and prepare a serving of every dish; all the customers here today, it's all on me!"
"What?" The owner was stunned by Zhao Chengshuang's generosity contrasting with Black Bear's frugality, struggling to comprehend.
"What the hell, are you suggesting I can't afford it?" The Prince kicked another stool away and pointed at a woman beside him, "Do you know how much this piece of clothing on her costs? Just one of them is enough to book this whole place. Comparing riches with me, do you even qualify?"
"Go to your..." Zhao Chengshuang was about to curse back when Ye Qing walked up, patted his shoulder, and said, "Take it easy, it's unwise to spend your money just because of someone else's mocking words. If he doesn't want us to eat here, we'll go somewhere else, cost him some business. If you pay for everyone's meals now, won't that just make him earn more?
You'll be spending your money and pleasing those who ridicule you. Why bother?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Chengshuang clapped his hands and agreed, "Damn, you're absolutely right. Bastard, I won't eat here. Let's go, let's go, we'll eat somewhere else!"
"We can't leave!" Black Bear said earnestly.
"You think you're leaving?" the Prince shouted arrogantly, with the group of seven or eight already surrounding them.
"Prince Brother, could you please not... not fight at my stall..." the owner pleaded with a downcast face.
"Get lost!" the Prince shoved him aside, picked up a wine bottle from a table, and approached, pointing at Black Bear, "You can leave if you want, but this bumpkin stays. Damn it, he dared to push my girlfriend, I won't leave his hands unbroken today; otherwise, my name isn't Prince!"
"You pushed his girlfriend?" Zhao Chengshuang was taken aback, completely unaware of what had happened. But he trusted Black Bear, and that's why he had come to back him up.
"That wasn't a push; he was clearly trying to take liberties with me!" the woman beside the Prince shrieked.
The onlookers were becoming more numerous, and most were glaring at Black Bear with scorn. Attempted molestation was despised everywhere! Enjoyingthestory?DiscovermoreonM|V|LEM6PYR.
"I didn't do it," Black Bear shook his head and said, "I was just trying to protect that little girl!"
Zhao Chengshuang turned to look, and Ye Qing had already walked over and helped the girl up. The girl's right arm was indeed dislocated; Ye Qing gently maneuvered it back into place. She bit her teeth hard, tears streaming down with pain, but she did not let out a single cry of anguish. Her strength at such a young age was heart-wrenchingly brave!
Ye Qing let out a soft sigh, stood up, and turned to Black Bear, "Are you at fault?"
"No," Black Bear replied.
"Then that's good!" Ye Qing nodded, took a few steps towards Prince and the others, and asked, "What happened to her arm?"
"Damn it, who the hell do you think you are? Asking me questions here, I..."
Prince was in the middle of cursing someone out when Ye Qing suddenly slapped him across the face. Prince felt as though he had been crushed by a mountain, and he toppled to the ground, utterly unable to withstand Ye Qing's slap.
The Prince lay there, bleeding from his nose and mouth, struggling several times without being able to get up.
The crowd on the scene burst into uproar, and even the underlings behind the Prince were stunned.
Ye Qing looked on calmly and said, "Speak properly."
"I... I'll say 'your grandpa'—kill him for me," the Prince yelled out.
Only then did his six or seven underlings come back to their senses, immediately charging forward, mostly wielding wine bottles.
"Dare to fight!" Zhao Chengshuang immediately perked up, "Do you know who I am?"
Before he could finish speaking, Black Bear had already pushed his wheelchair away. Stepping forward, he shielded Ye Qing behind him. Facing two wine bottles smashing towards him, Black Bear didn't attempt to dodge but raised his arm to block the bottles.
The two wine bottles shattered instantly, and Black Bear, as if he felt nothing, stretched out his hand and grabbed the two men, lifting them as easily as if they were toys.
By this time, four more men had charged at them. Black Bear decisively slammed the two he held back into them, promptly toppling all four to the ground.
This act stunned everyone present, including the Prince and his entourage. They had seen tough guys before, but never anyone this tough. The shock was already great when they saw Ye Qing's move, but Black Bear's intervention was downright terrifying.
Meanwhile, Zhao Chengshuang finally finished speaking, "...a police officer!"
But by that time, finishing his sentence was pointless. In front of Ye Qing and Black Bear, the six or seven men were like children from a kindergarten, utterly powerless to fight back.
Ye Qing bent down to look at the Prince, "At your age, over twenty, isn't it shameful to bully a begging child?"
Grinding his teeth, the Prince retorted angrily, "She... She got my girlfriend's clothes dirty. Do you... Do you know how much that outfit cost... I just pushed her a little, what's... what's the big deal?
I was dining here, and she came begging; she clearly ruined my mood. I was already being nice not hitting her!"
"How much did your girlfriend's outfit cost?" Ye Qing asked.
"More than eight thousand!" the Prince arrogantly replied.
Ye Qing turned to Zhao Chengshuang. Without hesitation, Zhao Chengshuang took out a card from his pocket and tossed it on the Prince's face, "The password is six eights, there's still thirty thousand in the card. It's compensation for your girlfriend's clothes, including the medical expenses for you guys!"
The Prince was immediately dumbstruck, knowing from Zhao Chengshuang's clothes alone that he was certainly not bluffing. However, Black Bear's attire looked too shabby for him to understand what was really going on with these three people.
Ye Qing placed the card into the Prince's pocket, "The money is compensated. Now, as for the matter of you breaking her arm, we need to settle it, don't we?"
"What... what kind of settlement?" the Prince failed to grasp the situation.
"There's a saying 'an eye for an eye', if she were an adult, you'd just have to break one arm. But she's a child, and you broke her arm, that means you owe her two arms!" As Ye Qing spoke, he grabbed one of the Prince's arms and twisted it suddenly.
"Ah!" The Prince let out a scream of agony. He never imagined Ye Qing would do something so brutal.
"Let go of my husband!" the girl beside them shrieked, "Let him go right now, or else... or I'll have my uncle arrest all of you!"
Ye Qing released the Prince. However, just before letting go, he had also dislocated the Prince's other arm.