Ice is not averse to deception

"No, no, this won't do. It's not that I'm disrespecting you, Brother Yong, but this is a restaurant chain. The waiters, regardless of anything else, have to be presentable. These guys are too ugly. How are the customers supposed to eat? No, no, absolutely not."

Seeing his job slip away, Wu Dayong's expression quickly turned to disappointment before he could even brighten up.

Seeing Wu Dayong's expression, Zhao Peng looked quite satisfied. He took his phone, glanced at the photo, and deliberately said, "Let's think of another way. We still have to give Brother Yong face."

Qiangzi shook his head vigorously, feigning difficulty: "Brother Peng, I really can't help with this. The shop is short of waiters. If I bring this to the shop, how am I supposed to do business?"

Seeing that Wu Dayong's face was already very embarrassed, he naturally knew that Qiangzi's ugliness was not just about Aunt Zhang's son; Wu Dayong's appearance was also quite remarkable.

"How about this..."

Zhao Peng, taking a deep breath, turned to Wu Dayong and said, "Brother Yong, my store isn't short-staffed right now, but since you've asked, I'll give you a security guard position. Don't worry, you'll be a full-time employee with three insurances after two months. A regular security guard's salary is 3,500, but for your sake, I'll offer him 3,750. What do you think, Brother Yong?"

With a job secured, Wu Dayong was quite excited. However, he felt that Zhao Peng's salary was a bit unreasonable. Was his reputation only worth 250?

"Okay, it's settled then, thanks bro."

Wu Dayong stood up again to offer a toast, but Zhao Peng's expression changed instantly.

"Brother Yong, don't worry. I have a job, but it's not like just anyone can come here. Otherwise, it would turn into a vegetable market, right?"

It was obvious that Zhao Peng was deliberately making things difficult for Wu Dayong, but he was powerless to do anything about it. Knowing the saying that a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs, Wu Dayong could only suppress his anger: "Tell me what to do, I'll do whatever you say."

"Beg me."

Zhao Peng's words were sudden and direct, instantly putting Wu Dayong in an awkward position.

Standing before him was his former underling, who had called him "Big Brother" for years and was always incredibly attentive. Although Wu Dayong wasn't exactly a model brother, he had indeed taken good care of Zhao Peng back then. Now…

"It's our traditional etiquette," Qiangzi chimed in with a smile, "as the ancients said, you kneel to heaven, earth, and your parents, and you kneel to your benefactors and teachers. Brother Peng has helped so much, so he's a benefactor. It's not too much for him to kowtow."

Wu Dayong froze on the spot, his expression instantly stiffening. He never expected that his former underling would humiliate him in such a way.

Two days had already passed, and the job situation was still unresolved. Wu Dayong couldn't explain it to Aunt Zhang.

After hesitating for a long time, Wu Dayong lowered his body little by little, and was about to kneel down.

Fortunately, at the last moment, Zhao Peng still managed to stop Wu Dayong and said with a smile, "Hey, Brother Yong, we were just joking. Why did you take it seriously? You're our big brother, how could we possibly make you kneel down? Don't worry about the job, I'll definitely take care of it. Have him come to the store to report for duty tomorrow, and I'll personally handle his onboarding. I'll definitely give Brother Yong face."

After saying that, Zhao Peng and Qiangzi seemed to have achieved their goal. They stopped eating, got up, and left the private room.

It was this sudden laughter that made Wu Dayong's embarrassment even more pronounced.

embarrassment?

Perhaps I should say it's a feeling of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion or reflection)?

Ten minutes later, Wu Dayong regained his composure, finished the food on the table by himself, and then called the waiter to settle the bill.

The total bill was 320, but Wu Dayong asked the waiter to give him a receipt for 800.

Wu Dayong would never do anything that would put him at a disadvantage.

Although he had experienced a humiliation that was not obvious but unforgettable, Wu Dayong still told Aunt Zhang about finding a job after leaving the house.

For convenience, Wu Dayong turned on the video call directly.

Aunt Zhang was so excited that she almost kowtowed to Wu Dayong.

"Aunt Zhang, please don't. I can't accept this. I, Wu Dayong, will definitely give you face. It's nothing, it's nothing."

Zhao Peng relayed Zhao Peng's words verbatim to Aunt Zhang, and Wu Dayong finally felt relieved.

What Wu Dayong and Aunt Zhang didn't know was that Zhao Peng's so-called favor was actually devoid of any human kindness.

The store's business is indeed good, but because there is a group of thugs nearby who harass them year-round, and the wages are low, the store simply cannot recruit security guards.

When Zhao Peng first received Wu Dayong's call, he never thought of helping him. But when he heard that Wu Dayong was an eccentric and not very bright person, he immediately had an idea.

Why would anyone refuse such a sucker who's practically handed to them?

As luck would have it, just as Aunt Zhang was wondering how to thank Wu Dayong, Wu Dayong stood up, and by sheer coincidence, the receipt fell out of his pocket, and by just as coincidence, the phone camera captured the amount on the invoice.

"This is..." Aunt Zhang asked Wu Dayong with a puzzled look, "Dayong, did you invite someone to dinner?"

Wu Dayong said calmly, "Isn't it normal to have a meal with someone? They're doing me a favor by helping me, so I should at least treat them to a meal. If you only think about asking for help but don't even offer to treat them to a meal, how can we maintain a friendship like that in the future, right?"

Aunt Zhang was indeed somewhat moved. Spending eight hundred yuan on a meal, Wu Dayong had really made something of himself.

After hesitating for a moment, Aunt Zhang took her phone home, chatted with someone, and then handed over a thousand yuan to Wu Dayong's mother.

"Aunt Zhang, what do you mean by this? Aren't you slapping me in the face? I'm helping my brother find a job, and you're going to give me money?"

Before Aunt Zhang could speak, Wu Dayong spoke first.

The more Wu Dayong said this, the more Aunt Zhang felt that she had done the right thing. How could she only think about taking advantage of a big shot like Wu Dayong?

Yes, you have to be loyal.

"One thing at a time. Auntie knows you're a good kid, but it's unreasonable for you to pay for meals when you're helping your brother find a job. Auntie is definitely going to pay for the meals. You can't embarrass Auntie, or Auntie will get angry."

He managed to make 500 yuan for free after just one meal. That's Wu Dayong's ability.

On his way back to the market, Wu Dayong saw a supermarket next door and, for some reason, bought a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor) and started drinking it in large gulps as he walked.

Disappointed?

It's not just about being disappointed.

This feeling kept bothering Wu Dayong, even though he had helped Aunt Zhang and ensured that his sick mother had someone to take care of her.

Even though he gained face and even made money from Aunt Zhang, Wu Dayong would feel a great emptiness at times like these.

He seemed to have gained something, yet also lost something. It seemed that only drinking could help him escape from this painful entanglement. Once sober, Wu Dayong would still be a hero, and he could completely forget what had happened today.

It's not that I'm carefree, but rather that I've gradually developed a kind of ability through a lot of experience.

Sun Bing was surprised to see Wu Dayong return drunk. He only knew that Wu Dayong had gone out to eat with his friends, but he didn't expect him to be so drunk.

Guessing that it might be caused by Zhang Defa's death, I couldn't help but feel even more admiration for Wu Dayong.

But now they face a thorny problem: they have nowhere to stay.

They definitely can't stay in a hotel. Tiger and his group have already arrived in Yanji, and they'll be paying extra attention to places like hotels. With Tiger's influence, he might have already made arrangements with every hotel in Yanji. As soon as Sun Bing and his group check in, Tiger will be right behind them.

But the problem is, Sun Bing doesn't have many friends in Yanji, and Wu Dayong is so drunk, where are they going to stay?

Sun Bing thought of Chen Li, but she felt it was wrong to drag her into this conflict for no reason.

Just when Sun Bing felt he had nowhere to turn, he turned around and saw an empty house next to the seafood market.

The red brick house was empty, with broken windows, but fortunately there was a window inside. There was also a pile of plastic and firewood next to it. Knowing that no one lived in this kind of house, Sun Bing led Wu Dayong into the room and then went out.

They bought blankets, a hammer, and nails. Sun Bing worked for a long time and finally managed to seal the windows, making it barely habitable.

Looking at the appalling environment, thinking of the heartless Liu Ruo, and of course, her nine-year-old daughter Sun Xiaoni, who was gifted but came from a poor family, Sun Bing was deeply affected.

Having been married to Liu Ruo for so long, Sun Bing has never questioned their relationship. Even when Liu Ruo went back to her parents' home, Sun Bing only felt that Liu Ruo needed to calm down and that she would definitely return to her family once she calmed down.

But now, Sun Bing has suddenly lost that confidence.

The thought of marrying off her daughter filled Sun Bing with even more guilt.

Since the birth of her daughter Sun Xiaoni, Sun Bing seems to have never provided her with particularly good conditions.

He loved dancing so much that he even had to borrow money for his tuition.

Sun Bing couldn't even afford to buy a dance costume she loved.

It seems that Sun Bing owes a great debt to everyone in this world.