America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

With the two major gangs in South Los Angeles falling out of power, Rongding Pavilion's business is booming.

Especially after the Typhoon Shelter Fried Chicken Legs and Grilled Squid were added to the menu, customers flocked to the window outside the store to buy snacks every noon and evening, often resulting in ridiculously long queues.

Some customers with extra money who don't want to wait in line often choose to dine in. This has led to a rapid rebound in the restaurant's main meal revenue, even surpassing the peak period when the owner was in charge.

Hu Dan, Su Nian, and Emily worked almost non-stop, without a break from the start of their shift to the end of the shift.

Considering that Hu Dan and Su Nian would soon be returning to campus, Chen Yuan decisively hired another Chinese waitress in her twenties, which finally relieved some of the pressure on the front of house.

Fortunately, despite the busy schedule, the waiters receive a very substantial amount of tips each day. Even the newest waiters can easily earn at least $50 in daily tips.

Of course, as the boss, Chen Yuan earns far more profit every day than the tips the waiters receive.

This wasn't because Chen Yuan was skimping on his employees' accounts, but rather because he benefited from the "legitimate tax avoidance and asset cleansing" method personally taught by lawyer Martin Goode.

Although Chen Yuan extorted a total of $200,000 from Attorney Walker and Black Snake, the money would quickly attract the attention of the IRS if it were deposited directly into a bank or used.

How could Chen Yuan, who is well-versed in the American way of survival, make such a basic mistake?

Fortunately, the most popular food stalls usually accept small amounts of cash without a name.

Chen Yuan only needed to record the actual turnover of $3000 as $5000 when doing the accounting, and then openly mix in $2000 of illicit money.

The Rongding Pavilion restaurant was indeed very popular, with long queues every day as proof. Even when IRS auditors came to audit the accounts, they couldn't find any flaws.

Using this method of small-scale, incremental spending, the $200,000 can be completely laundered very quickly.

"But this means I have to pay a high amount of corporate income tax to the IRS for the extra book profits."

In response to Chen Yuan's question, Martin, sitting on the office sofa, chuckled:

"That's right, you might lose more than 20% of your taxes. But the remaining tens of thousands become sacred and inviolable legal income! You can use it for whatever you want. The IRS won't investigate you; they'll treat you like a model taxpayer!"

"In the future, if you encounter any routine minor troubles, you won't need to do it yourself. The LAPD will take care of it for you because you've paid so much tax."

Chen Yuan nodded in deep agreement. As a proper villain, threatening petty thugs every day would indeed lower his status.

Moreover, with this lucrative restaurant as a cover, he no longer needs to worry about tuition fees for prestigious universities.

Just as Chen Yuan was feeling relieved that he had finally escaped the clutches of death, the new waitress Yang Qiu hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed into the office.

Yang Qiu is a descendant of immigrants. Although she can speak some Mandarin, she is not fluent, so when she is anxious, she naturally bursts into American English.

"Boss! A group of young people with banners have come in. They say they're from an environmental organization and are blocking our windows and causing trouble!"

Environmental organizations?

Chen Yuan frowned slightly upon hearing this. Not long ago, that fake environmental organization had caused a huge uproar, and in the end, it even attracted the ICE to clear the area.

Now that Rongding Pavilion's business has just gotten back on track, he has no desire to have any further involvement with any extreme politically correct organizations.

So Chen Yuan immediately took his lawyer Martin and hurriedly went through the lobby to the outside of the store.

Sure enough, three or five young people were gathered outside the food stall, shamelessly filming videos with their phones.

Su Nian, who was preparing grilled squid, had already put on a mask. After all, she was an international student working illegally, and if a clear video were uploaded online and seen by the school or immigration authorities, she would most likely be in big trouble.

Moreover, the presence of these environmentalists has caused serious inconvenience to the diners in line. After all, most low-income diners don't want to be filmed in the face while buying cheap snacks.

The environmental organization was led by a young woman who looked quite young, yet she wore a well-made khaki women's suit. Her long, light brown to flaxen hair was neatly tied back, making her look more like an elite lecturer on a university campus than a street protester.

The young people surrounding her also appeared to be well-educated college students. Some were taking photos with their phones, while others were holding up hand-drawn signs.

These people appeared to be very restrained and polite; they merely watched and took photos without pushing, shoving, or verbally abusing anyone, and there was no excessive behavior such as damaging property.

But the more this happened, the more Chen Yuan felt overwhelmed.

It seems that unlike the pseudo-environmental thugs who were made up of undocumented immigrants last time, this time a group of real "white left elites" have appeared!

They are well aware of the bottom line of American law and specialize in gaining political capital by using grand and seemingly noble topics.

Why would such a group of people target an ordinary Chinese restaurant?

The girl in the lead was talking to Su Nian through the window. Her voice wasn't loud, but it had a powerful presence that could reach Chen Yuan's ears from afar.

Did you know that cephalopods possess highly developed neural sensory systems?

"You cut off their tentacles and pressed them onto a hot plate, just to create a cheap and stimulating appetite, but you caused them great pain."

"This dietary practice is not only cruel, but it also brings disaster to marine life."

Su Nian was a little confused by this nagging, but still responded politely:

"Madam, we source our ingredients from a legitimate fresh food market, and squid is a legal food in California."

“Legal doesn’t necessarily mean reasonable,” the girl continued aggressively. “Moreover, your high-temperature fumes and open-air barbecues not only damage the environment but also exacerbate the respiratory burden on children in low-income communities.”

Then, she pointed to the small blackboard next to her:

"You are using $1 fried chicken as a gimmick to lure poor people into buying high-salt, high-fat foods. This is a classic example of food exploitation."

Su Nian never expected that selling squid could be labeled as exploiting the poor, and couldn't help but defend herself:

"Our snacks are all purchased voluntarily by customers; we do not force anyone."

However, the girl smiled and shook her head: "The voluntariness of vulnerable groups when they lack healthy choices is not true freedom."

The girl started speaking in long, complex sentences made up of proper nouns. They sounded illogical, but were actually flawless.

Su Nian had never seen this kind of fighting style before. For a moment, she didn't know how to refute it.

The environmentalist girl's statement resonated with some diners around her, and within just a few minutes, many young people who were originally queuing left the line.

At this moment, Emily finally forced her way through the crowd. With one hand on her hip, she displayed the fiery spirit of a girl from the lower class, and quickly retorted:

"This isn't a university cafeteria! If you're not going to buy anything, then get out of here and stop blocking our business!"

However, when Emily tried to drive her away, the other woman showed no anger, but instead responded gently:

"You're just a white working-class girl, domesticated by the exploitative system. Instead of being bullied by capital, why not try a more noble job and pursue your dreams?"

A single, seemingly casual remark caused Emily's brain to completely shut down.

She stood there, pale-faced and vacant, as if she were truly lost in despair over her insignificant life.

Because the girl's PUA rhetoric perfectly occupied the moral high ground, the diners queuing around her couldn't help but waver.

Suddenly, the originally delicious and tempting grilled squid seemed to have become some kind of forbidden poison in everyone's eyes, making people want to stay away from it.

Just then, a noisy and familiar voice suddenly rang out from the periphery of the crowd:

"Guys! I'm standing in front of a Chinese restaurant in South Los Angeles! These high-minded environmentalists are saying that the grilled squid sold at this restaurant is suspected of abusing marine life and seriously polluting the environment!"

This man was stout and had a ruddy complexion; he was none other than Ding Wei, the fake lecturer who had been arrested by ICE a few days ago!