Mastering the Sword Manual, sweeping across the globe

The young man who had just gone in came out again.

His left hand steadily held a large silver aluminum basin with oil stains on the edge.

The aluminum basin was more than half full of braised pork ribs, which were rich in color and slightly steaming. Or rather, it was a mixture of "ribs" and something else.

To the left of the aluminum basin were some relatively intact pieces of meat, while on the other side, closer to the kitchen entrance, the two men who had involuntarily stood up could clearly see a large number of bare spines and broken bones, with some sauce and a few bits of tendon stuck to them, obviously the scraps left by other diners.

The young man's right hand, as if lifting a disobedient poultry, dug its five fingers into the hair of a short, stout man wearing a chef's uniform and an oil-stained apron, and half-lifted, half-dragged him out.

The man kicked his feet in vain, desperately trying to pry open the hand gripping his scalp. His face turned red, and he made painful groans, but he couldn't budge the iron-like hand at all.

The young man walked to the nearest empty round table, and placed the heavy aluminum bowl on the greasy surface with a thud, causing the soup to splash slightly.

Then, he casually flicked his right hand—

"what!"

The short, stout chef screamed and stumbled several meters away like a tattered sack being thrown out. His back slammed heavily against the edge of another table before he finally stopped, collapsing to the ground and groaning while clutching his head.

The young man didn't even look at him, turned around, lifted the curtain again, and went back into the kitchen.

Crash! Bang! Bang!

This time it only took a dozen seconds.

The curtain was lifted again.

Next to the short, stout chef who was sprawled on the ground, stood a middle-aged woman, also wearing an apron, with disheveled hair and a pale face. She shrank back, seemingly wanting to help the chef up but not daring to move.

At the same time, a stainless steel basin appeared on the round table that already had a large aluminum basin.

The bowl contained braised fish pieces of various shapes, mixed with broth.

Upon closer inspection, many fish pieces had broken edges and were extremely uneven in size. Some of the scattered fish meat was clearly "scraps" removed from the large fish bones. On several larger pieces of fish fillet, one could clearly see holes left by chopsticks and unnatural peeling marks after the fish meat was picked up.

The shop was deathly silent, with only the faint echoes of the stoves in the kitchen and the heavy, terrified breathing of the two people on the floor.

“Tell me,” Zhang Qiliang pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the two of them. “What’s going on here?”

Sigh, we're all just people in society.

It's obvious that when faced with such a dirty secret being exposed on the spot, how could they easily confess honestly?

Therefore, Zhang Qiliang's father couldn't help but show some affection and care for his two wayward children.

Considering that the two men made a living through their craft—although their craft wasn't exactly authentic—Zhang Qiliang didn't injure their fingers.

Five minutes later.

Or rather, after two exhilarating tooth extractions performed by hand, the chef and owner, who was missing two molars, and his wife, who was also missing a molar, became much more subdued.

The owner, his mouth stained with blood, sweating profusely, and looking as if he'd been pulled from the water, collapsed on the ground, slurring, "Noon... there was an elderly person having a birthday banquet here, four tables... the braised fish and ribs that were served last, but... hardly anyone touched them..."

Beside her, the proprietress, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, half her face swollen, and her eyes unfocused, stammered, her voice trembling with tears, "I...we give generous portions...the customers just couldn't finish...it's such a waste to throw away perfectly good food...this...this is considered saving money..."

"Fuck you!" A man who had been sweating profusely just moments before slammed his fist on the table, his face ashen. "No wonder I said this crap tasted weird today!"

A little further away, the young couple had already put down their chopsticks. The girl covered her mouth, her face filled with barely suppressed nausea, while the boy frowned, holding his girlfriend's shoulders tightly, his eyes filled with contempt as he looked at the couple on the ground.

"Hmm," Zhang Qiliang said, seemingly oblivious to the commotion around him, his gaze still fixed on the two people in front of him. "Tell me, what do we do now?"

"Give us our money back! We'll give you our money back!" the boss shouted urgently, his voice muffled but urging, despite the sharp pain in his mouth.

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll refund you, we'll compensate you! We'll waive all your orders for today!" The proprietress hurriedly chimed in, afraid that if she spoke too slowly, she might cause trouble.

“Okay,” Zhang Qiliang nodded, “then you can cancel.”

The boss felt like he had been granted a pardon. He struggled to his feet, not even bothering to wipe the blood off his face. He staggered toward the group of men at the table, bowing and scraping, mumbling apologies and offering to waive the cost of the meal and give them two extra dishes to take away.

Although the men were still angry and cursing, they ultimately refrained from further outbursts when they saw their boss's miserable state and the two pots of irrefutable evidence on the table.

Then, the shopkeeper turned to the young couple. As soon as he moved, the girl waved her hand vigorously from a distance, her face full of resistance. The boy also said coldly, "No need to deliver it, we dare not eat it."

The boss could only stand there awkwardly, bowing repeatedly.

After dealing with those two tables, the boss, clutching his swollen cheek, moved back to Zhang Qiliang, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace. He didn't care about the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth: "Big...Big Brother...I'm so sorry to have caused you...trouble. We were out of our minds. We accept the punishment, we accept the punishment."

As he spoke, the boss turned around, winked at his wife who was still sprawled on the floor, and said in a trembling voice, "Go, go behind the counter... get two packs of good cigarettes and two bottles of good wine! Hurry up!"

The proprietress scrambled to the counter and soon returned trembling, carrying two unopened packs of cigarettes and two bottles of what looked like high-end liquor. She carefully placed them on the table next to Zhang Qiliang.

"A little... a little something to apologize to you and calm your nerves..." The boss bowed, his voice filled with humble pleading, "It's all our fault, please... please have mercy."

"I'm fine." Zhang Qiliang said calmly. After all, it was his own child, and as a father, he couldn't be too petty if the child admitted his mistake.

However, Zhang Qiliang has too many children.

He walked back to the small square table where he had been sitting and picked up the plastic bag containing leftover food and garbage that he had brought from the apartment building.

"This is my friend's order." Zhang Qiliang put the bag on the table. "What do you think we should do with this order?"

takeout!

A flash of lightning struck the boss's swollen and aching brain, and he finally realized—the root of the problem was right here!

Clearly, now is not the time to dwell on the details.

"Refund! Of course refund! We absolutely have to refund!" The boss nodded hurriedly, his voice even more muffled by missing teeth and swelling: "We'll compensate you tenfold... no, whatever you say you'll get!"

"Okay." Zhang Qiliang nodded again. "Then you can cancel your payment."

"Okay, okay! I'll take care of it right away, right away!" The boss endured the excruciating pain and hurriedly pulled his phone out of his apron pocket, the screen stained with bloody fingerprints.

With trembling hands, he opened the merchant backend application of the food delivery platform, logged in, and entered the order management interface.

The few seconds of loading felt exceptionally long.

Finally, the interface refreshed, displaying a list of orders for the day.

The shop owner looked up, trying to force a sincere, humble smile, but it only aggravated the injury on his face, causing him to grimace in pain, his expression contorted: "B-Brother, I don't know which order number your friend placed? I...I'll refund him right away and give him extra compensation..."

"How would I know?" Zhang Qiliang asked, bewildered. "You're asking me for the tracking number of the items you sold?"

The shop owner was momentarily speechless, a sense of foreboding creeping up his spine: "Yes, yes, yes... I... I was confused, it's my fault, my fault... Then... then I'll cancel all the takeout orders for today? Is that alright?"

“That won’t do,” Zhang Qiliang laughed, this time a more genuine laugh, revealing his white teeth. “What if my friend doesn’t receive it if you just randomly return it like this?”

46. ​​You deserve to be poor.

"Then..." The boss's ominous premonition deepened: "You mean..."

"Let's get a refund first." Zhang Qiliang raised his chin. "My friend will notify me when he receives the refund."

What else can we do?

Just cancel it.

The boss's fingers trembled as he operated the phone screen, opening the merchant backend and the most glaring "refund" page.

He gritted his teeth and selected "All takeout orders today" to process all refunds in bulk.

The amount was considerable, and when the completion notification sounded, the boss felt like his heart was bleeding.

After completing the operation, the boss looked up and gazed at Zhang Qiliang.

"It could also be dine-in or takeout; I forgot to ask."

The boss's gaze involuntarily drifted to the plastic bag—the receipt with the order information printed on it was blatantly stuffed on the outside of the plastic bag!

"Yes...yes, you're right, I didn't think it through." The boss operated his phone again.

This is the payment record for dine-in.

Each transaction was meticulously checked, verified, and refunded; with each transaction, the boss's facial muscles twitched.

After all the refunds were processed, the boss looked up for the third time, his face ashen and his eyes almost pleading.

Zhang Qiliang didn't say anything, but simply raised his chin again.

The boss understood.

He resignedly lowered his head and began processing refunds for yesterday's takeout orders, then yesterday's dine-in records... the time frame was gradually extended.

When the last refund was completed "the day before yesterday," the boss looked at the total refund amount on the screen, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold the phone.

He raised his head for the fourth time, and this time, tears mingled with the blood on his face, streaming down his cheeks, his voice hoarse and broken:

"Big...Big Brother...I really can't refund it...This...this has already been refunded more than eight thousand...My small business, I work from dawn till dusk, and I can't even make much money in a day...Rent, utilities, materials, labor...everything costs money...I...I have elderly people and children to support at home...Please...please have mercy...It's been too hard for me..."

It's not easy, is it?

Zhang Qiliang's manual tooth extraction surgery is very easy.

A minute later, another tooth appeared on the ground, and the shopkeeper continued to refund the money honestly.

Three days, four days, five days...

The accumulated refund amount jumped to eight thousand, ten thousand, thirteen thousand...

One week, one and a half weeks, half a month...

The number climbed to 15,000, then 20,000, and finally broke through 30,000.

When the refund process finally covered an order from twenty days ago, the boss—or rather, the man who was slumped on the ground, unrecognizable, and somewhat delirious—raised his head for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

His phone screen remained on the payment platform interface, clearly displaying the balance: 0.00.

The linked bank card balance has been reduced to zero.

"Big...brother...I really...have no money left..."

Zhang Qiliang's eyes were sharp enough to see that, besides fear and pain, the boss's face was filled with a blankness that came from being emptied out.

He was telling the truth.

The store's cash flow, along with the money available in his personal account, has been wiped out by this refund process that has lasted for more than half a month.

but……

Isn't it simple to be broke?

Zhang Qiliang readily accepted a business order, "Isn't there also online lending?"

The boss shuddered. He looked at Zhang Qiliang, his eyes devoid of mockery or threat, simply calmly stating a solution.

The boss didn't want to lose his fourth tooth, so he shakily exited the payment page, clicked on a familiar blue icon, and entered the "Jiebei" interface.

Credit limit assessment, loan process...

"Lend me 20,000."

For the boss at this moment, this is nothing short of heavenly music—it signifies a clear and visible end point.

He used almost his last bit of strength to quickly enter the amount, confirm, undergo facial recognition... and complete the entire process.

A slight vibration alert sounded.

Loan successful, 20,000 yuan received.

The store was deathly silent.

The young couple quietly left without anyone noticing.

The men at the table had long since stopped whispering. Even those who had initially dared to glance at them silently averted their gaze, staring intently at the cups and plates in front of them, as if they held some secret worth exploring. —There was no other way; Zhang Qiliang was standing right next to their table, making it difficult to escape.

The boss returned the 20,000 yuan in no time.

It's around 50,000 to 60,000 yuan, that's roughly the amount from the Market Supervision Bureau's fine.

"That's fine, my friend should have received it."

Zhang Qiliang shifted his gaze from the boss couple, who were slumped on the ground like mud, to the figure in the corner that was almost shrinking into the crack in the wall, and beckoned: "You, come here."

From the moment Zhang Qiliang lifted the curtain and entered the kitchen, the waiters were so frightened that they hid behind the food preparation cabinet.

When the boss and his wife were dragged out like dead dogs, he dared not utter a sound and secretly took a few steps back.

When the swift and terrifying "tooth extraction surgery" finally took place, he was dumbfounded and trembling uncontrollably.

Upon hearing that ominous voice, the waiter shuddered violently, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat.

How could he dare to disobey in the slightest? Trembling, he shuffled over, his head almost bowed to his chest, not daring to meet Zhang Qiliang's gaze.

“Your boss has already lost all his money… Tell me,” Zhang Qiliang looked at him, “what are you going to do now?”

"I...I...I have no money! Sir, I really have no money!" The waiter was so frightened that he couldn't speak coherently, his voice trembling with tears. "I...I'm just a worker, I only earn so little each month..."

"Hehe." Zhang Qiliang chuckled softly.