“Tell Chen Erhu and his men not to move, not to go anywhere,” Shan Yu said.
“Okay.” Hu Pan immediately turned and ran downstairs.
Shan Yu grabbed Chen Jian’s shoulders and jumped off the bed.
“I’ll help you with the wheelchair…” Zhao Fangfang prepared to push the wheelchair in the corner.
“No need, Sister Zhao,” Chen Jian spoke to stop Zhao Fangfang while pressing Shan Yu back onto the bed, “You go help block them first, I’ll be right down.”
“Hey?” Shan Yu looked at him.
“Okay, okay.” Zhao Fangfang nervously rushed off.
“I’ll go down and check the situation first,” Chen Jian looked at Shan Yu, “You stand by the window and watch the show.”
“They’ll start fighting in a bit,” Shan Yu also looked at him, “Can you stop Chen Erhu and them?”
Today, because there was a meeting and all security personnel who would be on duty at the B&B for the next two months were required to attend, there were four or five of Chen Erhu’s men currently at the B&B. This act of splashing blood on someone’s door was quite provoking, carrying a hint of curse along with the “haunted house” reputation. It was clearly meant to prevent Zhenxi from reopening. In this situation, Chen Erhu’s group would definitely be ready to explode at the slightest provocation; their chance to make a name for themselves had finally arrived.
“No,” Chen Jian answered honestly.
“Then you won’t let me go down?” Shan Yu said.
Who knows if you’re going down there with a baseball bat.
“Are you going to stop them?” Chen Jian confirmed just in case; if they started fighting now, it would be troublesome with the opening next week.
“Then I’ll take them and smash a few of the places inside,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian dragged the wheelchair to the bedside. Shan Yu got up and sat in it, even raising the footrests to the highest setting and resting his left leg on them: “You push me.”
“Isn’t it electric?” Chen Jian asked.
“It looks more pathetic if you push me,” Shan Yu said, placing his crutches horizontally across his lap. This stance indeed looked quite pathetic, solidifying his image as paralyzed.
When Chen Jian pushed Shan Yu out of Zhenxi’s main gate, Chen Erhu and his subordinates were standing on the small road outside, each with a ferocious expression, as if three large characters were written on their faces: Screw them!
At the intersection stood seven or eight people from nearby shops. Because Chen Erhu and his men were there, these people didn’t dare to come closer. People were also standing at the fork in the small road leading inwards, seemingly idlers from the other B&Bs inside.
“Record a video for evidence,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian took out his phone and started recording the outer wall. The courtyard gate, and both sides of the wall, were covered in blood, extending for about three or four meters, looking as if buckets had been poured, spilling onto the ground. The scene was indeed quite terrifying.
“We can’t just let this go, right?” Chen Erhu glared at the seemingly calm Shan Yu. “Can we endure this?”
“Can’t endure it!” Lao Si turned and yelled inwards, “We don’t pick fights, but we can’t stop others from looking for trouble! Not stirring up trouble doesn’t mean we’re afraid of it!”
“Don’t speak,” Shan Yu said, “It’s all being recorded.”
Chen Erhu looked at Shan Yu, his face almost breaking out in rage.
“Re-record it without sound,” Shan Yu said.
“Why?” Lao Wu asked.
Shan Yu didn’t say anything.
Chen Jian actually didn’t know why either, but he still held up his index finger to Lao Si and Lao Wu, hushing them, then re-recorded from one end to the other.
“Done?” Shan Yu asked.
“Done,” Chen Jian said.
“Boss Shan,” Chen Erhu had already switched to pigsty mode, and it seemed he wasn’t planning to switch back, his tone full of displeasure, “What’s the meaning of this?”
“First, let’s have a meeting.” Shan Yu tilted his head, and Chen Jian pushed the wheelchair into the courtyard.
“What?” Chen Erhu’s question exploded from the top of his head.
“Huang Lou—” a bald man inside yelled.
“Damn your grandma.” Chen Erhu swung his arm and was about to rush over.
“Boss Chen!” Chen Jian had been guarding against his sudden rush. He quickly reached back and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back with that title. But Chen Erhu wouldn’t be a hooligan if he calmed down so easily. He couldn’t be held back at all now, and with Lao Si and Lao Wu also rushing forward, the situation suddenly became dangerous. Fortunately, Sanbing chose to betray them at a critical moment, and together with Chen Jian, they embraced these few men and pushed them back. Zhao Fangfang even got involved: “Oh my goodness, don’t fight, don’t fight…”
Finally, Hu Pan lunged forward and forcefully pushed Chen Erhu, “Stand still!” Chen Erhu stumbled and stopped.
“What are you doing?!” Hu Pan’s face was right in front of his. “Only know how to fight? How old are you, and this is all you can do?”
“You believe I’ll…” Chen Erhu pointed at her.
“No, I don’t!” Hu Pan still held her face close to his.
Shan Yu reached out and nudged the wheelchair controller, backing out halfway through the gate. He turned his head to look at the few people over there, his voice a little cold: “Who just yelled?”
“Huang Lou!” The bald man shouted again, “I yelled!”
Shan Yu squinted, took his crutch, and pointed at the bald man, “You, come here.”
The bald man stood still.
“If you’re scared, shut up,” Shan Yu said.
“Who the hell is afraid of a cripple like you?” The bald man spat.
Shan Yu looked at him for two seconds, then smiled, controlling the wheelchair to move into the courtyard: “Then you can yell slowly.”
The bald man was provoked by this mockery and immediately strode over. “Looking for me?”
Shan Yu’s wheelchair backed out, then spun half a circle in place, facing away from the bald man’s approach. As the bald man was still stepping forward, the wheelchair suddenly rushed back two meters, pressing against him as he faced the bald man. Chen Jian had no idea this wheelchair could have such speed and flexibility; he didn’t even have time to stop Shan Yu.
What are you doing? Boss, we agreed not to lay hands on them!
The bald man slammed on the brakes, then raised his hand, presumably wanting to push the wheelchair away. The moment Chen Jian stepped forward to pull the wheelchair back, Shan Yu raised his left hand and hooked it around the bald man’s wrist. The bald man yanked his hand back, but the wheelchair was locked, and with the weight of the wheelchair plus Shan Yu’s strength, he didn’t succeed. Then Shan Yu, holding his wrist, pressed down and pulled, the force directed sideways. The bald man lost his balance and was directly flung against the courtyard wall, his head also hitting the wall from inertia with a dull thud.
Chen Jian now thought Shan Yu probably exercised just to beat people up. And currently, no one here could make Shan Yu use a more impressive move than this one. Of course, maybe this was his only move…
“Damn it!” The bald man hit hard, and he also hit the wet bloodstains on the wall, getting blood on his head and clothes. As he tried to rush forward, Chen Erhu and his men had already blocked him.
“Don’t start anything,” Shan Yu said in a calm voice.
Chen Erhu managed to restrain himself this time, but the few men surrounding the bald man still looked ready to strike at any moment.
“You did it, didn’t you?” Shan Yu slowly turned the wheelchair, looking at the bald man through the gaps between people. “You’re covered in blood. You got it on you when you were splashing it, didn’t you?”
The bald man hadn’t recovered from his fury yet. Hearing this, he exploded, “Bullshit! Don’t just make things up!”
“Where did the blood on you come from?” Shan Yu asked.
“It’s you, damn it…” The bald man pointed at him.
“What can he do to you?” Chen Jian said. “He’s a cripple.”
Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
“Playing dirty, are we?!” The bald man yelled, pointing back at his own people, “There’s a crowd of people watching this!”
“You’re all in it together!” Hu Pan’s voice was bright, “All telling lies, huh?”
“The surveillance cameras are on, we’ll definitely find out who it was,” Shan Yu said. “This is for everyone’s good. We’re all doing business in this area. If this person isn’t found, who knows whose turn it will be next to suffer?”
“When that happens, don’t blame us for showing up to applaud!” Sanbing yelled, pointing over there.
Although Chen Erhu’s group didn’t make a move, there were more people than usual today, and with Shan Yu’s presence, they looked especially menacing. The other side clearly didn’t want the conflict to escalate either, so a few people came over and pulled the bald man back. These were just shop assistants who earned a meager living each month; they didn’t want to offend their boss, and they’d done a few unscrupulous things, but facing these “pigsty thugs” who harassed businesses for a long time, earned nothing, and only fought for the pure pursuit of hooliganism, it wasn’t worth getting beaten up again for these matters, and it probably wouldn’t lead to a raise.
As soon as the other party retreated, Shan Yu turned and looked towards the intersection. The onlookers immediately began to disperse. Chen Erhu, with nowhere to vent his anger, chased after them with his men, cursing each one. When they returned to the restaurant for the meeting, his face was still ugly.
“I’m not saying this to be mean,” Chen Erhu looked at Shan Yu, “That move of yours wasn’t satisfying, really, not satisfying!”
“Then what do you want to do?” Shan Yu got up from the wheelchair and sat on a chair. “Let you all rush over and fight, then what? If someone gets hurt again, my B&B will have the name of a haunted house, and we’ll be fighting before we even open. From now on, I’ll lead you all to eat wind; I’ll fan, and you can open your mouths to catch it.”
“…So this is just going to pass?” Chen Erhu asked.
“Tonight, you…” Shan Yu began.
Upon hearing this, Chen Erhu perked up and immediately leaned closer: “Tell me.”
“Dress well,” Shan Yu said, “Splash it back. Tomorrow, bring two more people to watch the show and shout a bit.”
“Shout what?” Chen Erhu asked.
“Huang Lou,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Erhu was stunned, and after a while, he said, “How childish.”
“You know it’s childish?” Shan Yu said, “You still wanted to fight back.”
“Damn it.” Chen Erhu slumped into his chair.
“Really going to splash it?” Lao Wu asked.
“Splash,” Shan Yu said.
“Then won’t everyone know it was us?” Sanbing said.
“Where’s the evidence?” Shan Yu said.
“What if they also have surveillance cameras and recorded it?” Chen Erhu asked.
“Then let them show us,” Shan Yu said. “We’ll take one look and say, ‘Ah, yes, that’s the person, the one we recorded.'”
“But it’s clearly not. We don’t even know what they look like,” Sanbing said.
“Then how would they know? If they know it’s not the same person, it means they did it,” Chen Jian said.
“The manager’s sharp,” Shan Yu gave a thumbs up.
“What if they want to see our surveillance footage?” Zhao Fangfang asked.
“Hand it over to the police, ask the police for it,” Shan Yu said.
“Really turn it in? Should we call the police about this?” Chen Erhu asked.
“Call what? No one’s going to call the police about this,” Shan Yu said. “We don’t have surveillance either. Our surveillance expired last year; it’s just for show.”
Chen Erhu didn’t speak again, seemingly lost in thought.
“This isn’t a big deal, not worth getting physical over,” Shan Yu said. “You disgust me, I disgust you back. No loss, no escalation, and it’s over.”
Chen Erhu still didn’t speak.
“Violence rarely solves things,” Shan Yu said. “Boss Chen, when you brought your men here that day, did you ever consider that violence wouldn’t get things done?”
Chen Jian glanced at Shan Yu. Boss, they didn’t even get a chance to be violent that day. You were the one who used violence.
“Everyone here just wants to make some good money,” Shan Yu said. “Making money is the most important thing. They just don’t want us to make money. What’s the point of hitting them? It’s only useful if you make money.”
“Damn it, are we opening next week?” Chen Erhu asked.
“Mm,” Shan Yu nodded.
“We will definitely open next week! Let’s see what other shameless tricks they have!” Chen Erhu slapped the table.
“Are we having the meeting?” Chen Jian, fearing his emotions might flare up again, quickly asked.
“Everyone find a seat,” Shan Yu said. “Before the meeting, I’m going to hold someone accountable.”
“Accountable? What do you mean?” Chen Erhu looked at him.
“It means assigning responsibility,” Chen Jian said.
“I know!” Chen Erhu said, “I’m asking whose responsibility are we assigning?!”
“Where are my 24-hour patrolling security guards?” Shan Yu looked at him. “Where are the security guards who patrol the B&B perimeter, including the road in front, 24 hours a day?”
Chen Erhu fell silent.
“It was me,” Sanbing glanced at his boss, raising a hand, “I was responsible for the outside road last night…”
“It wasn’t him,” Chen Erhu interrupted Sanbing, “It was supposed to be him, but I wanted to go out for a smoke, so I swapped with him and went to smoke in the back… It probably happened then. I didn’t look at the wall later either…”
“The B&B isn’t open yet, and there are few tourists,” Shan Yu said. “It’s boring to just wander around all night without sleeping or playing cards. I can understand that, but now everyone knows that this trouble could have been avoided.”
Chen Erhu sighed.
“Be careful in the future,” Shan Yu added simply, saying nothing more.
“Are you done holding me accountable?” Chen Erhu looked at him.
“Done,” Shan Yu said.
“Just deduct my pay, it’s fine, I deserve it,” Chen Erhu said.
“No need,” Shan Yu said, “The courtyard, the outer wall, and the road outside all need repairs these next few days. The manager can’t handle it alone, you help out a bit.”
“Alright,” Chen Erhu looked at Chen Jian, “Just tell me what to do.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian replied.
“Official meeting,” Shan Yu leaned back in his chair and gestured to Chen Jian, “Manager.”
Manager what?
Manager do what?
Chen Jian quickly pulled out the piece of paper Shan Yu had given him yesterday. He had already filled in the content according to Shan Yu’s ideas, and he could just read from it, but he was still very nervous. In his entire life, the only other time he had faced a situation where everyone was looking at him, besides facing creditors who came to his door simultaneously a few years ago, was today.
“This is Zhenxi’s expansion… oh, no expansion…” Chen Jian looked at the words he had written on the paper. He had added “(Needs a name change, remember to ask Shan Yu for the name)” after Zhenxi. Why did I add that sentence? Is my brain that useless that I even think I’ll forget this?
“This is our B&B’s first meeting…” Chen Jian continued.
“What expansion?” Chen Erhu asked very seriously, “What Zhenxi expansion?”
“No expansion,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu very quietly cleared his throat beside him. Chen Jian glanced at him, initially thinking his boss was giving him a hint, but when he looked closer, he realized Shan Yu was struggling to hold back laughter.
“What does ‘no expansion’ mean?!” Chen Erhu was annoyed that he hadn’t understood the first sentence of the meeting.
“It means he mispronounced a word!” Hu Pan rolled her eyes at him.
“Yes,” Chen Jian took a breath, reread the words on the paper, and then, at the self-introduction part, “Everyone should already know each other, right?”
“We know each other.” Chen Erhu folded his arms, looking at Hu Pan.
“Whether we know each other or not, it’s all the same.” Hu Pan said.
“From now on, we’ll all be colleagues, so everyone please say your names again.” Chen Jian suspected these two would start arguing on the spot if he didn’t interrupt them. Although this request was a bit strange, everyone cooperated and stated their names.
“Shan Yu,” Shan Yu also added. Chen Jian looked at him, resisting the urge to sigh in public.
“Next, we’ll discuss specific positions and work arrangements. Everyone can raise any questions or suggestions later…” Chen Jian looked around at everyone sitting haphazardly. They really looked alike… When he saw Shan Yu, Shan Yu wasn’t sitting haphazardly, but the way he supported his forehead with his fingers, with a half-smile as if watching a show, made the already uncertain Chen Jian even more so. Watching a show, huh? Then you go first.
“Before that, there’s a relatively important matter, which is the renaming of Zhenxi,” Chen Jian said. “Please, Boss Shan, tell everyone about it.”
Shan Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise, then smiled and sat up straight.
“Are we really changing the name?” Zhao Fangfang asked. Everyone looked at Shan Yu together.
“Da Yin (大隐 – Great Hermit),” Shan Yu said, then leaned back again, tilting his chin towards Chen Jian, “Manager, continue.”
What?
That’s it?
However, Chen Jian, besides being surprised by the brevity of the answer, didn’t forget Shan Yu’s phrase, “You just need to applaud and approve it.” So, he raised his hand and clapped. Hu Pan was the first to follow, then Sanbing, and soon everyone was clapping.
“Da what?” Chen Erhu asked Sanbing next to him while clapping.
“Da Yi,” Sanbing said.
“Isn’t that a tea shop?” Chen Erhu said.
“Maybe we’ll sell tea later,” Sanbing said.
