Chapter 77: Paying Respects

  The flow of people in the night market, with the rising of the lower moon, gradually increased. As the crowd grew, in front of Dongxing Restaurant, where seats were always fully occupied, today was exactly the opposite.

  Only Jiang Di and Zhao Baozi were sitting inside, looking very conspicuous. The diners surrounded the Dongxing Restaurant, whispering to each other in low voices, discussing something, as more and more people gathered around. In no time at all, they had formed a circle three rows deep outside.

  By the pot of spicy hot pot, a large potted kumquat tree. Placed at the entrance of the dining area. With the gentle evening breeze blowing, the small golden kumquats hanging on the kumquat tree swayed slightly with the wind, so lovely and beautiful. And it makes people want to pick one off, to satisfy their longing.

  However, by the golden tangerine tree, there were seven or eight young people wearing black trousers and white undershirts under their black suits. They stood behind a leader who was noticeably taller than them by a head. He had a sturdy build, dark skin, and a dazzling scar on his face.

  The evil spirit of the crowd permeates all around, even the beautiful golden tangerine tree suddenly makes people feel as if a strange and eerie aura is faintly emanating from it.

  Only a burly man with scars like black iron towers stood alongside Li Xiaoteng, bowing and making a fist at Zhao Baozi who was sitting in his seat. In a loud and clear voice, he said: "I don't know if the one sitting opposite is Li Xiaoteng, Old Master Li? I am Xing Dadao, thanks to friends on the streets of Beijing for their appreciation. Everyone calls me Ba Ye."

  Zhao Pàngzi just felt a little more indignant than usual. When Jiang Di wasn't speaking, he turned his body sideways and looked back. Who knew that with this one glance, he almost lost his balance and slid under the table with a thud.

  Watching the overbearing master rush towards him and greet him with a bow. Zhao Duanzi only felt his two legs trembling violently, wanting to speak but his mouth seemed to be numb and trembling, unable to open his mouth at all. He couldn't say a complete sentence.

  Zhao Pàngzi looked at Li Xiaoteng, seemingly pleading and weak. He hoped that Li Xiaoteng would quickly take charge and stand up to preside over the situation...

  Li Xiaoteng was actually quite panicked in his heart, having lived for so many years. He had never really come into contact with these people before. In his past life, he only dealt with finance and stocks, recommending some funds and financial products to clients. Although he knew some of their mothers, those people were naturally there to manage their finances and wouldn't show off their domineering side.

  Li Xiaoteng thought to himself: How could China have a black society? The capital city isn't the worst, it's just got some big hooligans. Whatever, since they've come looking for him, he'd better respond.

  However, Zhao Baozi's eyes made Ba Ye interpret the information differently. Ba Ye looked at Zhao Baozi and felt that he was directly killed by his own arrogant aura. He was secretly pleased in his heart.

  Looking at Zhao's pleading eyes, I thought Zhao had already admitted defeat before even responding.

  Actually, Ba Ye had done his homework before coming and asked someone to inquire about it. He knew that Li Xiaoteng and Zhao Baozi were the two people who opened the spicy hot pot restaurant. Zhao Baozi was fatter, so he must be the person in front of him. As for Li Xiaoteng, according to the report from the people below, there was only one person who was a little taller and thinner.

  Ba Ye took a look at Jiang Di sitting next to Zhao Peng. Seeing his calm expression, Ba Ye still had some doubts in his heart. However, after taking a closer look at Jiang Di, he seemed different from Li Xiao Teng, who was reported by the brothers. He felt slightly more at ease.

  The Overlord was weighing the two people in front of him, when suddenly Li Xiaoteng, who was standing beside him, spoke out loudly with a full breath: "So it's the Overlord himself! I'm Li Xiaoteng. What brings you here today, sir?"

  Ba Ye was taken aback, and he turned his head to look at Li Xiao Teng's tender face. His heart suddenly calmed down a lot. On the evil-looking face, he forced out a faint smile. This smile gave people an indescribable sense of eerie horror.

  Ba Ye looked at Li Xiao Teng and said: "So it's Boss Li! I heard that Boss Li has recently settled in my territory and even opened a spicy hot pot restaurant. I came to congratulate you today."

  After finishing speaking, he pointed to the golden tangerine tree beside him and shouted loudly: "I wish Mr. Li a wide range of financial resources and a daily income of gold!" The younger brothers behind Boss Ba also shouted in unison: "Congratulations to Mr. Li on his wide range of financial resources and daily income of gold!"

  Li Xiaoteng took a look at this momentum and was slightly dizzy. But he immediately thought: These people are polite before they fight! What did you come for today?

  He wanted to return, but Li Xiaoteng's mouth was not ambiguous at all. He quickly said: "Thank you, Lord Ba, thank you, brothers! Come on, sit inside, sit inside!" As he spoke, he wanted to lead Lord Ba inside.

  Ba Ye nodded at Li Xiao Teng and walked forward. Li Xiao Teng hurried to catch up, walking two steps to reach Ba Ye's side. He found a good spot and led Ba Ye over.

  Li Xiaoteng stood by the table, facing Ba Ye and said: "Come on, Ba Ye, take a seat, you're the guest of honor!" Ba Ye didn't say anything, he just plopped himself down. The younger brothers behind him stood in two rows, like geese spreading their wings, quietly waiting.

  At this sight, Li Xiaoteng's heart sank again. Li Xiaoteng hastily sat down and shouted at Zhao Gangzi: "Dong Ge, go and call Kong Zhen over. Let him help with the reception. You go pick out some good things and bring them to Ba Ye."

  He glanced at Jiang Di, raised his eyes and swept a glance, then sighed in his heart. It seemed that Jiang Di didn't exist, and he quickly withdrew his line of sight. He said to Ba Ye: "Ba Ye, you're not just here to congratulate me on the grand opening today, are you?"

  The Big Brother scowled, looking at Li Xiaoteng and said: "Boss Li is a businessman, looks down on us, doesn't come to give us face. Today I, the Big Brother, have to personally come to pay respects to Boss Li!"

  Li Xiaoteng's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard it. He thought to himself, "This protection fee is not simple, there are clear rules for open and secret payments. Secretly paying means finding someone to casually mention it, and the stall owner who knows what's good for him will naturally send the money over."

  While Ming Bai, it's the boss himself bringing goods to your stall. In this situation, if there's no grudge or hatred, you can't help but give some extra benefits. If there is a grudge or hatred, then forget about doing business. Dealing with these local rascals all day is already exhausting... what's the point of even talking about business?

  Li Xiaoteng was suddenly speechless. To say that Li Xiaoteng is not afraid of power and dares to fight against dark forces, but when faced with "friends" who come to his doorstep, Li Xiaoteng actually has a deep-seated fear in his heart.

  Li Xiaoteng hastily pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and respectfully handed it to Ba Ye, who glanced at the Golden Leaf in Li's hand with disdain and said, "I don't smoke this!"

  Li Xiaoteng suddenly felt a bit irritated, looking at his 20-yuan pack of Golden Leaf cigarettes, and secretly thought to himself: You don't even smoke this brand, what's with your big mouth?

  Only to see the boss taking out a box of Huanghe Lou from his pocket! Exquisite red and black small packaging. Indeed, it attracted Li Xiaoteng's attention. The boss calmly took out one, lit it up in his mouth. A younger brother behind him hurriedly lit the cigarette for the boss.

  The boss took a deep breath and asked, then curled his lips and said: "That kind of cigarette is too strong, it's not good!"

  Li Xiaoteng hastily rushed to Ba Ye and said, "Ba Ye, please be patient with me, I'm still young. Isn't this just after graduating from university and starting my own business?" While speaking, he awkwardly placed the cigarette handed to Ba Ye on the table.

  Just as he was thinking about what to say next, Zhao Baozi and Kong Zhen brought over several small dishes and a spicy hot pot. Kong Zhen's tray also had a few bottles of beer on it.

  Zhao Pàngzi, after the earlier relaxation, felt a bit more calm. He said to Bà Yé: "Big brother, try some of our local dishes!" As he spoke, he arranged several small dishes on the table, including five-spice peanuts, cold mixed seaweed, and sliced ham sausage. Finally, he placed a large plate of spicy hot pot in front of Bà Yé.

  Zhao Pangzi saw Kong Zhen standing stupidly on the side, and quickly took over the tray of beer, deftly opening the bottle caps. He slowly poured a cup for Bada Ye, then filled Li Xiaoteng's glass to the brim.

  The boss looked at several people enthusiastically greeting himself. He was quite happy in his heart, and his tone softened a lot before saying: "I heard that Li Xiaoteng's family is a local resident?"

  Li Xiaoteng hastily nodded and said: "Yes, our family has been Beijing residents for three generations. I don't know where your family is from, Lord Ba..."

  Ba Ye nodded, not responding to Li Xiao Teng's words, and continued on his own: "You're a local, running a shop here, didn't your parents ever mention me?" Li Xiao Teng was suffocated by Ba Ye's aura, and couldn't bear the sharp gaze. He didn't know where to look with his own eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhao Pangzi and Kong Zhen standing on one side, not leaving.

  "In his heart slightly somewhat Di then said: "Overlord, my parents are relatively honest office workers. Neither of them do business. Really don't understand the rules around here."

  The tyrant asked discontentedly: "Don't your parents know the rules? Didn't little Dong from Dongxing Restaurant ever mention me to you? He's been paying tribute to me every month!"

  After finishing speaking, he proudly puffed out a smoke ring...

  Li Xiaoteng looked at Ba Ye's face, which made him want to punch it. Gnashing his teeth, he said in surprise: "Is this really true? Manager Dong never told me about this!"

  The boss's face suddenly sank, and he glanced at the younger brother beside him and said: "You call Little Dong and ask where he is?" The younger brother nodded, took out his mobile phone from his pocket, dialed a few numbers, and connected the call.

  "This little brother said in a low voice: "Little Dong? Where are you now? Boss is looking for you!" It seemed like the person on the other end of the phone said something. Suddenly, this little brother became very displeased and shouted loudly: "Boss is sitting right at your shop entrance, are you pretending to be dead?! Come out immediately! Boss is looking for you!"

  He immediately hung up the phone and looked at Ba Ye. Suddenly, a 180-degree change occurred, revealing an ugly and servile expression, as he whispered to Ba Ye: "Ba Ye~, Xiao Dong is right in the store! He'll be out soon!"

  The overlord nodded. Didn't say a word, looked at the snacks on the table. Randomly picked up chopsticks. Picked up a piece of blood tofu and started chewing with relish.

  After finishing the meal, he put down his chopsticks and said to Li Xiaoteng: "At the beginning of the month, I heard that a young man who makes great spicy hot pot had arrived. At that time, I didn't believe that your spicy hot pot was that good. But later, I heard that you actually made it into a dragon head! Only then did I start to believe it. Today, after eating, indeed not bad!"

  Li Xiaoteng was about to say a few humble words when Manager Dong came tumbling out of the East Prosperity Restaurant, shouting loudly as he ran: "Hey! The boss is here and didn't even call me, Dong! Poor hospitality! Poor hospitality!"

  The boss looked at Manager Dong with an expression as if he was looking at a wagging dog, completely disdainful. Seeing Manager Dong rush to his side, he asked faintly: "There's a young peddler doing business at your doorstep! Haven't you introduced me to him?"

  Manager Dong was taken aback, silent for a full five seconds before hesitantly replying: "Master Ba, I thought this kind of small business didn't need to be reported to you, after all, you usually don't bother with these kinds of petty merchants."

  The boss scowled, and with a flick of his wrist, he signaled to one of his burly underlings. The underling caught the hint and took two steps forward to stand in front of Manager Dong. He grabbed Manager Dong's collar and slapped him hard across the face! The sound was loud and sharp!

  Today is the last day of the month, thank you very much for everyone's support and love this month. It brought me a great deal of writing motivation. Please don't stop! Today I'm looking for something fresh! Follow my starting point **oh ~ mutual powder! Mutual powder!

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