1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 152 We brothers also know a little bit about martial arts (6.2k combined)
Li Hua and Liu Jiali, a married couple, have been selling tofu at the bridgehead for three years and have long considered this piece of land at the stone bridgehead as their own.

The three Li brothers set up three tofu stalls on this street, one in front, one behind, and one in the middle. They could sell thirty or forty catties of tofu a day and earn more in a month than the workers in the textile factory.

Apart from the Li family's tofu, all the other families were squeezed out by them.

There was an old man named Yang who sold tofu under the banyan tree in front of them. His son was a police officer at the local police station, so they didn't dare to say anything.

But this little mute guy who came a couple of days ago actually sold two slabs of tofu yesterday, which weighed at least twenty pounds.

There were only a few customers buying tofu. The little mute sold twenty jin, so they sold twenty jin less.

In their eyes, this was no different from the little mute boy taking money out of their pockets.

The three brothers and their parents discussed it all night, and this morning, the eldest brother, Li Hua, and his wife came early to take over the little mute boy's stall, preventing him from setting up a stall there.

He was a little mute, unable to hear or speak. His family consisted of an elderly woman with mobility issues, so bullying him would be pointless.

If they really let him build up his reputation, will they still need to make money?

But the little mute was a bit stubborn; he put the small table in the corner and insisted on leaving it there.

"Didn't you hear me telling you to leave?" Li Hua reached out to grab the boy's backpack.

The boy was quite nimble; he took a step back and dodged the large hand.

"You dare to hide!" Li Hua was a little annoyed. He grabbed the advertising paper that was on the small table, tore it into pieces, and threw it at the boy's face.

The boy reached out and caught a shard, staring blankly into space. His eyes immediately reddened, his left hand clenched into a fist, and his body trembled slightly.

"Oh dear, don't do it like that, it won't do, it won't do..." The auntie selling vegetables at the stall next to her waved her hands repeatedly.

The farmers setting up stalls nearby also frowned, their faces showing some anger.

"He's not your relative, so mind your own business," Liu Jiali rolled her eyes. "He can't get away with this today! Not even the Heavenly King himself could do it! I'm telling you!"

"Fuck your mother!"

Just then, accompanied by an angry curse, a figure suddenly rushed out from behind and kicked Li Hua in his fat belly.

"Ouch!"

Li Hua yelled, and his stout body was kicked away, crashing onto a vegetable stall next to him and crushing four or five cabbages.

Liu Jiali's eyes widened, and she subconsciously took two steps back. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground. She looked up at the tall young man carrying a wooden sign and two bunches of vegetables in his hand, her voice trembling slightly: "You... why are you hitting me?"

"Who are you?! How dare you hit me!" Li Hua spat out the vegetable leaves in his mouth and glared angrily at Zhou Yan.

"Who? I'm his brother!" Zhou Yan shielded Lai Fu behind him, coldly watching the two of them. "Overturning stalls, tearing down signs, and even trying to beat people up—what, just because someone is deaf and mute gives you the right to bully them to death? Don't you treat your brothers like human beings?"

With bloodshot eyes, Laifu looked up at the tall and familiar figure, lost in thought, before his eyes lit up again.

The onlookers and vegetable farmers all looked at Zhou Yan. This young man was tall and handsome, with an upright demeanor, unlike the Li brothers, whose faces were full of menacing features and did not look like good people.

The actions of Li Hua and his wife were disgusting, and when people saw someone standing up for the deaf-mute boy, they all applauded.

"Exactly! Those kids are already so pitiful! They have to be bullied even though they're just selling tofu at a stall!"

"You pick on the weak and do all sorts of despicable things, now you've kicked a hornet's nest!"

Someone in the crowd joined in with disgust and curses.

"Brother?" Li Hua's gaze swept over the wooden sign Zhou Yan was carrying. Seeing the familiar handwriting, he clenched his fists and got up with a cold face. "Then you'd better take your mute brother with you today, otherwise, every time he comes, I'll smash it!"

Behind the crowd, two burly young men, who looked about six or seven parts like Li Hua, rushed over.

Laifu tugged at Zhou Yan's clothes from behind, shook his head at him, pointed to the tofu and basket on the table, indicating that he was leaving.

"Don't be afraid, just set it up here." Zhou Yan smiled and patted his head, then turned to Li Hua and sneered, "I want to see what you're capable of, even selling tofu you can bully the market."

Li Hua and Wu Jiali exchanged a glance, never expecting to run into such a reckless and impulsive young man today.

On the other side, Zhou Miao was chatting with Zhang Laosan in front of the meat stall.

A thin man walked quickly towards them, and Zhou Miao said anxiously, "Fourth Brother! Your Zhou Yan is fighting with someone up ahead! You have to go and see!"

"Zhang Yan, who did Zhou Yan fight with? How many people?" Zhou Miao asked, his face turning cold as he walked forward.

“Li Hua, who sells tofu, and his two brothers all sell tofu at the bridgehead. I was worried that Zhou Yan would suffer losses, so I quickly came to call you,” Zhang Yan replied.

Zhou Miao nodded and said, "Could you please ride my bike to the dock and tell Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai to come over?"

"Okay!" Zhang Yan replied, turning to push the cart.

"Fourth brother, don't do anything reckless!" Zhang Laosan shouted at Zhou Miao's back. Seeing him walk forward with his head down, he sighed, grabbed a cleaver from the stall, and followed him.

The three Li brothers had surrounded Zhou Yan. They were half a head shorter than Zhou Yan, but they were strong and imposing.

However, no one dared to make the first move.

Zhou Yan saw through the trio's bluster and realized they were actually weak. Instead of backing down, he took a step forward and said with a smile, "You've got your fists clenched, go ahead and hit me? Bullying and tyranny, committing violence in the street, according to Article 8 of the Criminal Law, you'll probably be locked up for a few more years. If you escalate the situation, you'll be facing endless bullets."

The three Li brothers instinctively took a step back, exchanged glances, and were all somewhat flustered.

I'm not afraid of someone being fierce, I'm afraid of someone who is both fierce and educated, and who will talk to you about criminal law.

"You...you're talking nonsense! The three of us brothers didn't lay a hand on anyone, everyone can testify, we didn't lay a hand on anyone!" Li Hua said hurriedly, his hands instinctively going behind his back.

"Yes... I didn't do anything!"

Li Hao and Li Fan also quickly put their hands behind their backs.

The three men's momentum immediately diminished, and the way they stood in front of Zhou Yan with their hands behind their backs looked like a homeroom teacher lecturing a student who had done something wrong.

"If you didn't lay a hand on him, then what's going on with my brother's signboard?" Zhou Yan slammed the signboard in his hand on the ground. "You tore down the signboard I wrote for him yesterday. Come on, hurry up and smash this signboard too."

By the way, just a heads-up, I had this sign designed by a master advertiser and hand-painted by a famous calligrapher. It cost me a hundred yuan, just enough to get shot.

"What kind of sign is this? It costs a hundred yuan!"

Li Hua and the others took two more steps back, keeping a safe distance from the signboard next to Zhou Yan.

"Big brother, is he messing with us?"

"Why isn't this bastard afraid of us at all?"

Li Fan and Li Hao whispered to each other that in the past, when people came to sell tofu and steal their business, the three brothers only needed to stand there, say a few threatening words, and the other party would immediately pack up their things and leave without daring to utter a word.

This guy today, his sheer presence alone overwhelmed them all.

Li Hua's eyes gleamed, his fists clenching and unclenching. He wasn't afraid of running into trouble; a brawl wouldn't get him locked up for more than two days. The three brothers had been fighting since they were young and weren't afraid of trouble.

But this kid keeps talking about bullying and monopolizing the market, criminal law, and getting shot, and he's also talking about being an advertising master and a calligraphy master. It's really intimidating.

"Fourth brother, your son is quite something, both scholarly and martial, he didn't suffer any losses." Zhang Laosan slung the butcher knife behind his back and couldn't help but laugh.

Zhou Miao's expression softened slightly, and he pulled down his shirt to cover the handle of the boning knife at his waist.

"Don't make a move rashly, but don't lose in terms of momentum." Li Hua whispered to his two younger brothers, coughed, took a step forward and looked at Zhou Yan, preparing to say a few harsh words.

jingle! jingle!
A bicycle bell rang, and four bicycles stopped in front of the tofu stall.

Zhou Jie, Zhou Hai, Zhou Fei, and Zhou Hongwei got out of the car at the same time, pushed through the crowd, and walked in, angrily saying, "Let me see who it is! Who wants to hit our little brother?"

"Zhou Yan, are you alright?" Zhou Jie looked at Zhou Yan first and asked with concern.

Zhou Hai stepped forward, blocking Li Hua's path like a giant bear. Compared to him, the stout Li Hua looked two sizes smaller.

Zhou Hongwei was wearing a vest that revealed his muscular physique, and he was holding a stick in his hand, staring coldly at the three of them.

Zhou Fei stood to the side and behind, cutting off their escape route.

The three-on-one situation was instantly reversed.

Panic finally appeared in the eyes of the three Li brothers.

"Brother, they're from Zhou Village who killed cattle!" Li Hao whispered.

“That guy is Zhou Hai, he can kill a bull with one punch!” Li Fan’s voice trembled slightly.

Li Hua's face darkened, and his eyes darted around nervously: "Wasn't that little mute supposed to be from Shangshui Village? How did he get involved with Zhou Village?"

Zhoucun is known for its unity in cattle slaughtering in Suji Town. Cattle slaughtering used to be a very profitable business, but Zhoucun almost monopolized cattle slaughtering in the entire Suji area, and even in the Jiaozhou region.

They can kill, but they can't kill anywhere else.

The butcher had a fierce aura and always carried a boning knife at his waist.

Everyone in Suji knows that you should never mess with the people of Zhoucun.

Look at these guys, they're all big and strong, the kind who could take on several people at once.

"I'm fine. This is my aunt's grandson, Laifu. He sells tofu here. These three Li brothers are bullying him and trying to smash his stall and kick him out. We brothers have to stand up for him." Zhou Yan was a little surprised that Zhou Jie and the others arrived so quickly, but he still explained the situation briefly.

"Laifu? You've grown so much." Only then did Zhou Jie notice the thin boy huddled behind Zhou Yan. Seeing his reddened eyes and remembering his situation, Zhou Jie's anger flared up. He reached out and patted the boy's head, saying, "Laifu, don't be afraid. Your brothers are all here. Anyone who bullies you is just shitting on our heads."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hai and Zhou Fei glared angrily at the three Li brothers.

The chilling aura made Li Hua and the other two tremble.

How can you compare grinding tofu to slaughtering a cow?
The force that once held the power to manipulate soft tofu crumbled at the slightest touch.

Compared to this group of ruthless bandits, Zhou Yan appeared to be a refined and cultured man.

After understanding the situation, Zhou Jie turned his attention to the three Li brothers and said coldly, "The Li brothers, right? Our little brother Laifu is selling tofu here, and you have a big problem with that? He's only sixteen years old, he can't hear or speak, and you want to overturn his stall? You want to beat him up?"

"Well... we were here first. We were just trying to scare him, we didn't actually do anything. But your brother came over and kicked me flying." Li Hua's voice was a little weaker, lacking his previous arrogance.

“My brother kicked you for your own good. If you had retaliated, we wouldn’t be talking here anymore.” Zhou Jie said coldly. “Besides, this is such a big market. Everyone can sell whatever they want. Business is about skill. You came first and then you won’t let others come. What’s that? Is it about fists?”

Li Hua hesitated, wanting to offer a few more words of explanation.

“I’m trying to reason with you now. If you don’t understand reasoning, then we brothers know a little bit about martial arts.” Zhou Jie continued, “If you think we can’t win, we have two brothers in the army and one brother practicing martial arts in Mount Emei. We can call them back to spar with you.”

The three Li brothers immediately fell silent, shrinking their heads back.

"I'm sorry, I was reckless just now." Li Hua immediately backed down and sincerely apologized to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. This kind of thing really needs Brother Jie to sort it out.

He ultimately lacked some of the chivalrous spirit of the martial arts world.

“You’re wrong. It’s Laifu who should apologize to you and your wife.” Zhou Yan reached out and pulled Laifu closer, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

Li Hua hesitated for a moment, then pulled Wu Jiali over and bowed her head to apologize to Lai Fu.

Lai Fu was a little at a loss, but with Zhou Yan standing behind him and a warm, strong hand on his shoulder, he stood up straight.

"My younger brother is honest and hardworking. He sets up a stall here to sell tofu. I hope you uncles and brothers won't make things difficult for him." Zhou Jie raised his voice a few decibels and glanced at the onlookers and the stall vendors: "He has nothing at home, but he has many brothers. He will never be a burden."

Wherever his gaze fell, everyone nodded in agreement.

I'm not afraid; on the contrary, I'm somewhat envious of this kind of brotherhood.

Everyone already felt sorry for the little mute boy and deeply hated the three Li brothers. Now that they were being punished, they felt great satisfaction.

jingle!

As they were speaking, another bell rang out.

Suddenly, seven or eight bicycles and a dozen or so burly men arrived.

"Brother Jie? What are you doing?" someone jumped out of the car and asked.

Others also parked their cars and swarmed around.

The three Li brothers huddled together, shivering.

Is it really necessary for so many people to come when the three of them are just making tofu?

"It's nothing, everything's settled. Go back now, I'll treat you to drinks in a couple of days." Zhou Jie waved his hand, "Don't obstruct traffic."

"Okay." The group greeted Zhou Yan and the others, glanced at the three Li brothers, got on their bikes, and rode away.

They're all young people from Zhoucun; they'll come right away if you call them.

Zhou Yan watched this scene with a sense of disbelief, experiencing for the first time the unity of the people of Zhoucun so vividly.

The three Li brothers breathed a sigh of relief, dared not linger any longer, and slunk away, carrying their tofu and small table on their backs.

The crowd dispersed.

Zhou Miao and Zhang Laosan walked toward the meat stall.

With a touch of emotion, Zhang Laosan said, "When we were young, your Zhou Village was just as united. That's why no one dared to mess with you outside. Unlike those cowards in our village, who only know how to fight amongst themselves and are cowards when they leave the village."

"Thanks, Third Brother." Zhou Miao glanced at the pig-slaughtering knife he was carrying.

"Oh dear, I was in such a hurry that I forgot to put the knife away," Zhang Laosan said with a laugh, scratching his head.

Zhou Hai and the others pushed their bicycles aside.

Zhou Yan helped Lai Fu set up the tofu stall in the same spot as yesterday and put up a new sign next to the tofu stall.

Lai Fu's face broke into a smile again, and he bowed to Zhou Yan and Zhou Jie.

“This little brother is really well-behaved and sensible. He’s the same age as Huihui. The last time I saw him, he was only eight years old. He’s grown up so much in the blink of an eye,” Zhou Fei said, his eyes filled with pity and heartache.

"Take the new sign I made for you back with you when you leave. Tomorrow, tie it to your backpack with rope and carry it back with you." Zhou Yan wrote a sentence on a piece of paper and showed it to Laifu.

Laifu nodded after reading it, took the paper and pen, wrote two words, and looked up at him with a smile.

Thank you.

Zhou Yan reached out and patted his head, smiling as he said, "You're welcome."

"Xiba tofu? Is that from the tofu beauty shop from before?"

"Haven't I seen that auntie selling tofu for two years? Her tofu tastes amazing."

As soon as the sign was put up, customers came to buy tofu, many of whom were vendors and farmers who had set up stalls nearby.

Xiba tofu is famous, and Grandma Sun has been selling tofu for decades and has accumulated a good reputation. This brand has attracted many customers.

Laifu immediately got busy, cutting and weighing the tofu, and collecting money and giving change.

Zhou Yan bought all four crushed cabbages from the vendor next door, along with the remaining two, and tossed them into the backpack on the back of Zhou Jie's seat, saying, "Take them back to feed the pigs for Grandma."

"Come on, let's not block his business." Zhou Yan said with a smile, and Zhou Jie and the others pushed their carts and followed.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back to the dock to get my loads. I'll get yelled at by the foreman if I'm late," Zhou Hongwei said, then got on his bike and rode off.

Zhou Jie said to Zhou Hai, "Zhou Hai, you should go back and check on the fire first. I'm afraid your sister-in-law won't be able to take good care of herself."

"Okay, Zhou Yan, I'll be going now." Zhou Hai nodded, got on his bike, and rode away.

"Brother Jie, how did you guys get here so fast?" Zhou Yan finally had a chance to ask.

"Fourth Uncle called someone to notify us, and Zhou Hai and I rode over on our bikes. We also called Hongwei when we passed the dock. The other brothers just shouted and they notified each other to come over, so we were a few minutes late." Zhou Jie said with a smile, "When brothers are in trouble, they definitely need to come quickly to be of any use."

"My old man?" Zhou Yan had just spotted Comrade Zhou in the crowd, with Zhang Laosan carrying a pig-slaughtering knife by his side.

“The older generation usually doesn’t get involved in matters concerning the younger generation,” Zhou Jie explained to him, adding, “I was originally planning to come and see you today as well.”

"What's up? How's the beef offal sales lately?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at him.

"Selling very well, we can sell more than eighty bowls a day now. When the weather gets colder, I estimate we can easily sell over a hundred bowls." Zhou Jie grinned and said, "Now Zhou Hai and I earn more than before, and we're not as tired."

"That's good." Zhou Yan smiled upon hearing this.

"I originally came to ask you if you need me to help you sell braised meat," Zhou Jie said. "Now that your two sisters-in-law come to help during lunch and dinner, I'm actually quite free."

I can come over every day and pick up a few pounds of braised meat to sell for you. The foot traffic at the dock is pretty good, and our customers are willing to spend money on it.

"Of course, don't get me wrong, I'm just helping you sell them. If you sell a lot, I'll pay you for everything."

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately said, "That's a great idea! If you can manage, I'll give you some pig's head meat to sell every day. Selling pig's head meat is easy to cut and easy to calculate. It sells for 2.5 yuan per jin, and I'll give you 2 yuan. If it sells well, you can earn some extra income."

"No need! Just give me two yuan and fifty cents." Zhou Jie shook his head firmly. "You've made money by helping us sell braised beef, so it's only right that we help you sell some braised meat. Do you think I'd make money off you?"

"Then I won't sell it to you," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Why?" Zhou Jie asked, his eyes wide.

Zhou Yan's smile faded, and he said seriously, "If you earn 50 cents per pound, I can also earn 50 cents. You'll be more motivated to sell, and you'll be more energetic when you shout out your wares. The more you sell, the more you earn."

If you don't earn a penny and waste a person's labor selling braised pig's head meat for me, my two sisters-in-law will be somewhat unhappy. I definitely won't do that.

Brother Jie, I think your idea is excellent. The pier is far enough away from my restaurant that customers there won't usually come to my restaurant to buy braised meat. If you sell well, it'll be like advertising for my restaurant.

In business, mutual benefit is essential for longevity. Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts. If you're okay with it, come pick up the braised meat at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

Zhou Jie stopped and, seeing Zhou Yan's serious expression, thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, then I'll listen to you. I'll come tomorrow and get five catties of braised pig's head meat first."

“Okay, it’s settled then.” Zhou Yan nodded, and the two parted ways.

"Old man, let's go." Zhou Yan walked up to Zhang Laosan's meat stall, greeted Old Zhou, and rode his bike to the restaurant.

This little incident in the morning caused him some delay; he still has to get back to cooking the toppings.

However, the result was not bad.

With Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai backing up Lai Fu, no one dared to bully him when he sold tofu at the stone bridge, and he had fewer worries.

Such unsavory things happen quite often among street vendors.

That's why they say competitors are enemies.

If you show weakness and take a step back, the other party will dare to take advantage of you.

Zhao Minghui was almost forced out of his job back then, but he managed to regain his footing thanks to his sweet-skinned duck.

Zhou Yan's kick today was aimed at escalating the situation.

If a mute boy doesn't want to be bullied, he has to let everyone know that he's not someone to mess with and that he has someone protecting him.

The great man was right: a single punch can prevent a hundred more.

"Old man, you just arrived too?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Old Zhou walking side by side.

"I figured I didn't need to do anything, so I went back." Comrade Zhou nodded.

Zhou Yan smiled, "Old Zhou does have the air of a master."

Back at the hotel, Zhou Yan first rinsed the soaking kelp, then added more water to soak it.

Besides soaking, salted kelp also needs to be constantly soaked in water to remove the saltiness; otherwise, it will be too salty to eat after braising.

Then soak the dried bean curd sticks in cold water. I soaked three pounds at a time, and after soaking, they should weigh about eight pounds.

He also bought 20 jin of lotus root. The uncle selling the lotus root said that it was the end of the lotus root season and he could only sell it for another ten days or so at most.

This is terrible; it seems that lotus roots don't exist for overwintering in this era.

He also bought twenty jin of potatoes. These things keep well, and if his basket wasn't too full, he would have bought a hundred jin to store.

After finishing the morning rush hour, Zhou Yan was braising meat when a message suddenly popped up in his eyes:
[Side Quest: The Battle to Protect the Heritage of Xiba Tofu! Progress: 30%]

　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　There will be an extra update tonight!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)