Chapter Fifteen: Extortion

Chapter Fifteen: The Shakedown

Having barely slept a wink through the night, Xu Yun felt drowsy as he rose early the next morning, letting out a yawn as soon as he arrived at the medicinal cuisine restaurant.

Ruan Qingshuang, seeing his weary state, asked with concern, “Did you overexert yourself yesterday?”

Xu Yun stretched lazily. “No, I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Daddy, you didn’t sneak out for a massage last night, did you?” Guoguo asked suspiciously, nibbling on her rosy finger.

Xu Yun was speechless. Kids these days really know everything. “A massage, my foot!”

Ruan Qingshuang glanced at the time and hurriedly changed the subject. “The early bus to the vegetable wholesale market is about to leave. Let’s get going. Guoguo, if you still want that plush bunny toy, you’d better behave!”

“I promise I won’t mention Daddy getting massages again,” Guoguo declared, clapping both hands over her mouth.

Ruan Qingshuang shook her head helplessly.

Xu Yun’s face darkened. Come on, I really didn’t do anything!

Hedong Vegetable Wholesale Market was a massive, well-established marketplace, teeming with every kind of produce, seafood, and dried goods imaginable. Xu Yun carried Guoguo while he and Ruan Qingshuang spent over two hours weaving through the stalls.

In the end, they struck deals with two reputable wholesalers—one for fresh vegetables, the other for meat—securing the lowest possible prices for long-term cooperation. Thanks to Guoguo’s clever tongue, both suppliers even agreed to free home delivery. After all, few could resist her teary-eyed, earnest pleas. With the restaurant understaffed, her extra negotiation was a true stroke of genius.

Having procured all the necessities, the three took the bus back to the shop. By now, it was already after nine in the morning—their busy day had only just begun.

Though Yihe Plaza was bustling in the evenings with people out for a stroll, it seemed off to see so many idle hoodlums loitering around in broad daylight. Xu Yun watched the scene outside through the kitchen’s serving window, a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart.

Two shifty-eyed punks passed by the restaurant entrance, peering inside, but quickly moved on without causing trouble.

As the saying goes, it’s easy to deal with the king of hell, but his little demons are a real nuisance.

Xu Yun couldn’t help but raise his guard. The medicinal cuisine shop’s business had just started to pick up; letting a few petty thugs ruin things would be far too costly.

“Sister Shuang, Guoguo, we need to be extra cautious these days. Keep the drawer with the money locked. Guard against fire, theft, and troublemakers,” Xu Yun reminded the mother and daughter. He wasn’t worried about anyone seeking revenge against him; his concern was that trouble might befall Ruan Qingshuang’s little shop.

“I’ll be careful,” Ruan Qingshuang nodded, also sensing that something was amiss today.

Guoguo patted the new pouch at her waist with pride. “Don’t worry! I keep all the important things on me! And Mama has one too!”

Xu Yun glanced at Guoguo’s pouch, then at Ruan Qingshuang’s, and, as his gaze unconsciously drifted upward a few inches, he wasn’t sure what exactly he was praising. “Not bad.”

“Daddy, you’re hopeless—drooling at the sight of Mama’s chest,” Guoguo huffed, once more leaving Xu Yun and Ruan Qingshuang frozen in embarrassment.

Before they knew it, lunchtime arrived. Customers began to stream into the medicinal cuisine restaurant—some who had missed out the day before and came early, some returning for another taste after being impressed yesterday. With the crowd growing, Xu Yun had no time left to dwell on the suspicious figures he’d noticed that morning.

Silver ear and snow pear dessert soup, wolfberry and chrysanthemum pork rib soup, braised quail eggs with pork, tiger skin braised pig’s feet… Ruan Qingshuang presented dish after dish of delicious fare to the guests.

The chef’s skills were excellent, the proprietress was lovely, and there was even an irresistibly adorable little cashier! Most importantly, the prices were fair and the ingredients generous, with complimentary Smilax and mung bean soup to boot. It seemed almost impossible for the restaurant not to flourish. Those who had ordered ate with relish; those still waiting eyed the kitchen with mounting impatience.

Ruan Qingshuang took in the scene with secret delight, fully aware of how much credit Xu Yun deserved.

Suddenly, a loud curse startled all the diners.

At a table in the southern row sat several swaggering youths—clearly of school age, but dressed nothing like students. One young man, hair long and hanging over his eyes, slammed the table and shouted, “What the hell is this?! No wonder I felt so nauseous! There’s a dead fly in this! Everyone, look! Isn’t this disgusting?!”

The crew-cut youth beside him jumped up as well. “Disgusting! How the hell are we supposed to eat this? You’ll poison people to death!”

Ruan Qingshuang’s brows knit as she strode over. Seeing a dead fly floating in the bowl of Smilax-mung bean soup before the youth, she could scarcely believe her eyes. “This… this is impossible. Our kitchen is spotless. We’d never make such a mistake.”

“Spotless?!” the long-haired youth glared at her fiercely. “What are you implying, lady? That we brought a dead fly just to blackmail you?!”

The crew-cut youth shouted in agreement, “A crooked shop! You try to pin it on the customer after serving them flies! You can’t say we fried that fly ourselves and brought it in, can you?”

With just a few of them making a scene, many would-be patrons left, and even those still eating frowned in dismay.

This was the worst nightmare for any restaurant. In a society plagued by gutter oil scandals, the absence of flies and cockroaches was the bare minimum diners expected.

“Look, the fly is burnt to a crisp! How could we have just dropped it in?” The long-haired youth stood on a chair, making a convincing show of it—most of the remaining customers lost their appetite entirely.

In no time at all, the restaurant fell silent, everyone watching to see how the proprietress would handle the situation.

The long-haired youth slammed his palm on the table. “So, how do you plan to solve this? We’re not about to let this go just because you’re good-looking!”

“I’m sorry—we’ll be more careful in the future.” Ruan Qingshuang was certain Xu Yun wasn’t to blame, but had no proof the fly had been planted by these louts, so she could only bow her head and apologize. “I’ll have the chef prepare a fresh dish for you right away.”

The crew-cut youth sneered, “A fresh dish? What’ll it be—braised fly?”

“Ow, my stomach hurts! I’m dying here!” The long-haired youth seized the moment, clutching his belly and collapsing onto the table. “It’s over—I’ve been poisoned! I’m going to court! I’ll sue you!”

“Bro, we’d better get you to the hospital!” the crew-cut youth exclaimed in feigned alarm, echoed by the other three. “But we’re broke! Hospitals cost money!”

“Saving a life comes first—even if we’re broke, we can’t just leave our bro like this!”

“Boss, this happened in your shop—you’ll have to pay!”

By this point, it was obvious to anyone with sense that these punks were here to cause trouble. But what could Ruan Qingshuang do? Gritting her teeth, she decided to pay them off and avoid disaster. “How much do you want?”

The crew-cut youth didn’t hesitate, holding up five fingers. “Five thousand!”

“Five thousand?!” Ruan Qingshuang exclaimed. “Why don’t you just rob a bank?!”

“You clearly don’t know how expensive hospitals are these days!” the crew-cut youth retorted. “A cold alone costs two or three grand! This is food poisoning—five thousand might not even cover it!”

At that moment, Guoguo came running over, emboldened by her godfather’s backing, utterly unafraid of these hooligans. “I saw it! He put the fly in himself! He’s still got more in that little bottle in his pocket!”

Her words caused an uproar. The punks were taken aback—this little brat had sharp eyes!

“Next time you try a shakedown, at least use your brain. Smilax-mung bean soup is boiled in clear water. Even if there was a fly, it’d be scalded, not fried!” Guoguo shook her head in exasperation. “Are you here to put your intelligence on display?”

The diners all paused, murmuring among themselves. “That’s right—the soup is boiled in water. Any flies would be scalded. These punks have no shame!”

“They’re heartless—always scheming to scam money!”

Guoguo looked at the troublemakers triumphantly. The crew-cut youth, seeing his easy score ruined by a little girl, flew into a rage and swung his hand at Guoguo, ready to slap her.

“Daddy!” In the nick of time, Guoguo cried out.

But just as the blow was about to land, it stopped dead in the air. A pair of vise-like hands had seized the crew-cut youth’s wrist, making his heart race with fear.

Guoguo patted her chest in relief. “That was close!”

Xu Yun appeared before them like a phantom, clutching the crew-cut’s wrist tightly. He smiled faintly. “Five thousand seems a bit low, doesn’t it? How about ten thousand?”

Ruan Qingshuang instantly knew Xu Yun was about to act.

Guoguo, however, gaped in astonishment. “Dad, have you lost your mind?”

The long-haired youth, hearing this, forgot all about his stomach ache and stared at Xu Yun in disbelief. He hadn’t expected this sucker to offer double! If they’d known, they’d have asked for even more!

“Fine! We want ten thousand!” The crew-cut youth could hardly contain his glee, forgetting even the pain in his wrist.

Without warning, Xu Yun grabbed the bowl of mung bean soup and dashed it over the crew-cut’s head, then launched a swift kick, sending him flying.

The youth collapsed, clutching his stomach in pain. The entire restaurant fell silent.

“Is one bowl—one ‘ten thousand’—enough?” Xu Yun’s smile vanished. He looked coldly at the remaining four. “Anyone else want some?”

The punk troublemakers were stunned. No one had expected the chef to strike so hard.

Except for the long-haired ringleader, the others were just high school students, used to throwing their weight around at school but with no real experience in serious matters. They were terrified.

But the long-haired youth was not so easily cowed. In a fit of rage, he made to overturn the table—