Martial artists can never be ultimately insulted

Chunli herself wasn't sure if Yuan Chen was sparring with her now, and whether she still needed to use her full strength.

We need to work harder; we can't let ourselves fall too far behind...

Chunli thought to herself.

"That would be perfect!"

Upon hearing Chun-Li's offer to be his sparring partner, Yuan Chen chuckled and suggested, "Let's start with bed techniques and group techniques!"

"Stop being so talkative." Chunli tapped Yuan Chen's forehead in disdain.

After a brief chat, and confirming that Yuan Chen had only suffered some minor injuries, Chun Li, after marveling at the amazing effects of the life-saving therapy, let Yuan Chen go.

It happened to be a holiday, and although she didn't know what had happened, seeing that her family was celebrating, Hibiki Sakura enthusiastically came over to celebrate as well. However, it seemed that she was just looking for an excuse to eat and drink to her heart's content.

In a good mood, Yuan Chen opened a bottle of beer and enjoyed his meal. Then, as if remembering something, he said to Sakura Ibuki, "By the way, are there any reliable real estate agencies around here?"

"A real estate agent?" Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Sakura Ibuki was slightly taken aback and asked curiously, "Are you planning to rent a place?"

Although they are called homestay families, such homestay status is often just a reason to make it easier to find them. A considerable number of wealthy second-generation people will find an excuse, such as snoring, religious beliefs, or lifestyle habits, to go out and rent a house on their own.

Upon hearing Sakura Ibuki's question, Yuan Chen shook his head and then said while eating, "No, it's mainly a matter of lifestyle habits."

Yuan Chen explained, "When I was in Hong Kong, I was the head chef of Yuan Hanting. I worked there for more than three years. Apart from martial arts training, sometimes when I felt like doing something familiar, I would like to relieve my boredom."

"I see." Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Sakura Ibuki nodded thoughtfully.

“I do know a few real estate agencies… but if it’s for opening a shop, I happen to have an old, vacant shop that’s closed down, though the street where it’s located is a bit complicated.”

Volume 1: 85. I'm cooking the wicked croissant.

"An old shop?"

Upon hearing Sakura Ibuki's words, Yuan Chen raised an eyebrow.

In response, Sakura Ibuki nodded and said:

"Although I'm not entirely sure why, Japan has changed quite a bit in recent years. While the economy has indeed improved, some old urban areas have unknowingly seen an increase in thugs, biker gangs, and homeless fighters."

Hearing Sakura Ibuki's words, Yuan Chen and Chun Li nodded in understanding. Yuan Chen was no longer the clueless Hina who knew nothing about the fighting world.

In the days leading up to his arrival in the Doujie, Yuan Chen also crammed on his knowledge of the Doujie with Chun Li.

While the fighting world is irrelevant to superpowers with clearly defined sovereignty, it's a windfall for a considerable number of smaller nations.

Although they will face factors such as a surge in violence caused by the large gathering of martial artists in the area, and increased social risks.

However, with the rampant growth of the Fighting World and the economic investment of various countries in the Fighting World regions, the regions selected as Fighting World often experience astonishing wealth growth.

After all, even in modern times, many countries are merely wearing the skin of civilization, while the United States can genuinely acquire vast wealth through various forms of international aid and barbaric development.

In contrast, countries like the Tang Dynasty had sufficient national territory and historical depth, and even without external interference, their cultural heritage contained corresponding ecology.

The United States, needless to say, has a massive influx of immigrants, which is the best ecological foundation and resource for the world.

For such a superpower, the fighting world is dispensable, and it's easier to handle its own internal conflicts. For other smaller countries, economic boom is naturally a good thing... but some growing pains are inevitable.

And now, it is clear that the abandoned old store of Sakura Ibuki is one of the 'growing pains'.

Just as Yuan Chen and Chun Li had guessed, Sakura Ibuki, standing to the side, then said somewhat helplessly:

"Although I don't know why, it feels like that old town area has been completely abandoned. Apart from basic water and electricity being maintained, the Metropolitan Police Department and other government departments seem to ignore what's happening there."

"There are many old houses in Tokyo, so it's not easy to just move there. After all, you have to consider things like the city's appearance..."

But when we moved out, we encountered almost no resistance; we even received a large resettlement allowance. With the increasing number of biker gangs and thugs, some of our old customers were leaving, and naturally, we gave up on that old shop.

"Back then, because these two shops were already up and running, we didn't sell the old shop to keep it as a memento... and it ended up being completely stuck with us and we couldn't sell it. But now it seems that it still has some use."

Looking at Yuan Chen, Sakura Ibuki smiled and said, "I wouldn't feel at ease if it were anyone else, after all, the situation there is so complicated. But after seeing your battle today, I think you are more suitable to open a shop there."

"Sounds good."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Yuan Chen had already decided to get started, Sakura Ibuki thought for a moment and said:

"That place has been abandoned for a while, and I haven't been back for some time either. It might take some time to clean and renovate it..."

"Hey, a friend of mine does research in this area. I'll give you his contact information after we finish eating, so you can ask him for advice when you get to the restaurant. Call me again after we're done, and if everything's okay, I'll have someone bring you a batch of spare restaurant supplies."

"Oh, thank you." Yuan Chen nodded.

“These things are insignificant compared to the help you’ve given me,” Sakura Ibuki shook her head, not taking it to heart.

After finishing their meal, at 3 PM, Yuan Chen followed Chun Li to the address given by Sakura Ibuki.

Because it's a Japanese right-hand drive vehicle, the car drives on the left, so Chun-Li, who has received special training, is driving. After arriving at the location, Yuan Chen takes out his phone and calls the classmate account provided by Sakura Ibuki, initiating a video call.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me? Can you hear me?"

"Hey, I can hear you, I can hear you."

On the live streaming platform, in the "Brother Nuo Talks About Food" live stream, while responding to Brother Nuo, he nodded and asked, "What problem did you encounter?"

“Well, I’m planning to open a shop in the old town area…” Yuan Chen told Sakura Ibuki about the shop information she had given him.

"I see." Upon hearing this and realizing it was the old city area, Brother Nuo frowned and said, "Come on, raise your phone higher and spin it around."

A little tune that goes around in circles~

After assessing the surroundings, the coward scratched his head and exclaimed, "My goodness, it looks like all the shops around here are local old establishments?"

“Yes, basically all of them.” Yuan Chen glanced at the surrounding streets.

Although it was described by Sakura Ibuki as an "abandoned district," it actually maintained a normal appearance as I walked along. I could see some ordinary pedestrians on the street, as well as some shops that looked like they were run by local elderly people, which was not as desolate as Sakura Ibuki described.

However, considering that the Sakura family has never returned since they moved, it is possible that something happened in the past ten years or so.

Seeing Yuan Chen's nonchalant expression, Brother Nuo, maintaining his professional demeanor, inquired, "So what are you planning to do? Do you have any franchise options? If so, how much is the franchise fee? How much is the rent? What about the utilities? How are they paid? Are there any transfer fees?"

"The main focus is on dine-in and casual dining. There are no franchises, no rent, free utilities, and no transfer fees," Yuan Chen said succinctly.

"Damn, not even rent?" Upon hearing this, Brother Nuo was also shocked, but after carefully considering the business environment of the old city of Doujie, he frowned and said:

"How much is the salary? How many people are there? Is the boss still at the store? Have you done this before? What did you do at your previous store?"

"I'm the only employee currently, but the number may increase in the future. The boss is still here; his previous job was as a restaurant chef in Hong Kong for three years."

"Oh, you do have skills. That's alright then."

Nodding, Brother Nuo bluntly said, "If it were any other situation, I might suggest you set up a stall first, after all, those who know about abandoned old city areas understand. But if there are no issues with rent or utilities, you can tidy it up a bit and give it a try... Oh dear, why is someone saying 'old city area, old city area, old city area' again? The old city area is no longer a district."

Halfway through his speech, seemingly noticing the negative comments in the live stream chat, Brother Nuo sighed helplessly.

Then, seemingly noticing Yuan Chen's confused expression, Brother Nuo said, "Since you look like you're from out of town, I'll take this opportunity to explain the situation in the old city area."

"This place was in chaos for quite some time because a large number of illegal immigrants and martial arts criminals had inexplicably flooded in. In addition, there were some historical issues that were inconvenient to deal with, so the government arranged for the relocation of local residents."

"However, a few years ago, new management measures were introduced to comply with relevant laws and regulations. Now the old city area has been restored to a fairly peaceful state, which is completely different from the time more than ten years ago when it was occupied by gangs, thugs, biker gangs, and illegal immigrants."

In fact, due to the low rent, a considerable number of migrant workers and students from other places have settled down in the old city area.

"So if the guy really has a clean background and is skilled, then he can rest assured to open a shop here—after all, there's no pressure from rent and utilities, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen nodded thoughtfully.

Seeing this, Brother Nuo added:

"However, it's best to lower expectations regarding average order value and revenue. After all, even if these old urban areas are revitalized, the majority of consumers will still be residents of the old urban areas, migrant workers, students, and some other people who have mixed in."

“There’s no need to worry about that.” Hearing this, Yuan Chen also said, “I’m not short of money, I just want to find something to do.”

Yuan Chen is indeed not short of money. After all, even if the rental rights for the Kengan match are split 30/70, Yuan Chen's income would be at least 30 million.

The reason I wanted to open a shop was simply to have a place to chat with my friends... Baki and Wu Lei'an, their identities destined them to walk with death, so they were not really suitable for gathering at the Sakura family for a long time.

"You don't lack money, so there's even less of a problem!"

Hearing that Yuan Chen seemed to be financially independent and looking for something to do, Nuo Ge's last worry disappeared: "Then the main problem left is to be careful not to invest too much when cleaning up the shop. After all, this kind of place still has some historical factors, and there are still some thugs running around occasionally. If any losses occur, it will be easier to control the risk."

"OK."

After briefly understanding the relevant matters, Yuan Chen hung up the phone with Nuo Ge about the catering arrangements.

After hanging up the phone, Yuan Chen did not put down his phone immediately. Instead, he searched for information about the "Violent Countermeasure Law" and the "Violent Martial Law"—according to Brother Nuo, the reason why the old city district was no longer a district was largely due to the promulgation of these two laws and regulations.

After reading for a while, Yuan Chen nodded thoughtfully, and roughly understood why the changes in the old town were so different from what Sakura Ibuki remembered.

The so-called "Anti-Violence Law" is officially called the "Law Concerning the Prevention of Inappropriate Conduct by Members of Violent Groups," and can also be abbreviated as the "Anti-Violent Groups Law."

Its core content is to strictly restrict members of yakuza groups, namely the Japanese yakuza and yakuza guilds. For example, once a member of a yakuza group is identified, they cannot rent a house, open a bank account, or receive any form of financial assistance, and so on.

These measures dealt a severe blow to the Japanese yakuza, cutting off almost all of their legitimate income.

However, this violent confrontation law has very limited effect on the old city area... because of the large number of martial arts criminals, foreign martial artists, and illegal immigrants, the violent confrontation law, which targets ordinary thugs, can have a negligible effect.

Thus, the Law of Violence was subsequently developed.

Simply put, since laws and regulations have no effect on violence, they simply break with tradition and directly deploy armed forces to combat violence, and allow organizations like Interpol to provide assistance.

Although this has to some extent weakened the government's control over the old city—after all, it brought in an international organization like Interpol.

However, considering that the old city area is inherently difficult to manage, the introduction of an internationally neutral violent organization can at least maintain peace, so the outcome is still good.

At least, through this method of fighting violence with violence, the situation in the old city has indeed improved somewhat.

If an ordinary person suddenly saw that this place was actually implementing a law of violence to control violence, they would be more or less bothered by it.

But Yuan Chen clearly didn't think so.

Seeing the expectant smile on Yuan Chen's lips, Chun Li's face also showed a hint of helplessness.

"In every sense, these are shop locations that would suit your taste..."

"Haha." Yuan Chen chuckled.

Seeing Yuan Chen's undisguised manner, Chun Li sighed helplessly, but then a slightly helpless and doting smile appeared on her face.

After all, this was indeed Yuan Chen's personality... Moreover, after glancing at the relevant laws and regulations concerning violent crimes, and then at her Interpol ID, Chun Li had to admit that, in addition to meeting Yuan Chen's needs, the various rules would also make things much easier for her as an Interpol officer.

After confirming that there were no problems, Yuan Chen, who never liked to dawdle, immediately started cleaning up the old house of the Sakura family with Chun Li.

The house is small, with three floors. The first floor is an open-plan restaurant and bar, with clearly defined areas for fried food, grilled food, baked rice, stir-fried dishes, stews, and braised dishes. The second and third floors are living areas. Perhaps to prevent guests on the first floor from disturbing their rest, the house is very well soundproofed.

Although it is an old house, apart from some pipes that are somewhat fragile due to lack of maintenance, the house is not damaged in many other aspects. It is just covered with a thick layer of dust because no one has lived there for a long time.

He went to a shopping mall in a nearby city and bought a high-powered vacuum cleaner. After cleaning up, Yuan Chen called Sakura Ibuki to confirm the store opening.

Before long, two carts arrived at the restaurant carrying a batch of brand-new materials and equipment, and several workers got off to help with the renovation and replacement.

Upon seeing what appeared to be a new store opening, many residents and students coming and going inquired about related matters.

Simply tell them it's a family restaurant, and the trial operation will start tomorrow. Yuan Chen and Chun Li then plunged into a new round of busy work.

It was foreseeable that Sakura Ibuki had given them a considerable amount of extra money, so the workers worked very hard. They arrived at four o'clock and by eight o'clock in the evening, they had already cleaned up the entire old house.

That night, a light rain began to fall. With nothing else to do, Yuan Chen placed an order for a batch of ingredients through the express delivery service to familiarize himself with the new work environment.

Just then, a man wearing an old, bulky T-shirt walked in.

"...Are you open for business? Do you have food?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen looked up, intending to refuse, but then—

I'm cooking, you evil croissant?

Volume 1: Chapter 86 - The Miserable Han Zhuli

When Yuan Chen saw the person, although the appearance was slightly more youthful than he remembered and the clothes were a bit strange, he recognized the person's identity almost immediately through the unique croissant hairstyle.

Evil Croissant, Street Fighter Bad Woman, Han Zhuli.

Noticing Yuan Chen's change in expression, Han Zhuli narrowed her eyes dangerously, then asked in a cold voice, "Hey, I'm asking you a question, do you have anything to eat?"

"……Have."

Upon hearing Han Zhuli's question, Yuan Chen nodded after a brief silence and said, "Wait a moment. We're tasting the dishes today and will be having a trial run tomorrow. Since you're here, you can give us your feedback."