txolops Chapter 5: Stall Set Up Fails, First Gets Driven Away
Chapter 5: Stall Set Up Fails, First Gets Driven Away
5:30 p.m.
The tricycle came to a steady stop at the edge of Yintai Plaza.
This is the most prosperous economic center in the entire city.
The more than 200-story glass curtain wall building pierces the sky, reflecting a dazzling golden light under the setting sun.
Both sides of the square are lined with luxuriously decorated, romantic French restaurants and high-end Italian cafes.
Those who come and go here are all high-level white-collar and gold-collar workers dressed in suits and leather shoes.
"Screech—" Wang Hai squeezed the brakes, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at the gleaming luxury cars and crowds around him. Suddenly, he felt a little uneasy.
"Brother Chen, are you really going to put it here?"
Wang Hai lowered his voice and pointed around, "Why do I feel like everyone passing by is giving us the cold shoulder?"
"What are you afraid of? Let's move the stuff."
Lin Chen spoke calmly, ignoring the strange looks around him.
He took Tangtang down from his arms and placed her on a small stool that had been specially prepared next to him. Then he turned around and began to dismantle the iron pot and gas stove.
"Okay!"
Wang Hai gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, and picked up the whole tray of perfectly intact farm eggs.
The two had just set up the folding table.
"What are you doing! What are you doing!"
A voice came from afar.
A security captain from the property management company, dressed in a crisp uniform and holding a walkie-talkie, strode over with a frown, brandishing a black rubber baton and pointing it directly at Lin Chen's nose.
"Who gave you permission to park this junk car here?"
Are you blind? Do you even know where you are?!
The security captain looked at the oil-stained tricycle with disgust and said, "Get out of here, get out of here!"
"Don't get in my way!"
Seeing this, Wang Hai quickly stepped forward, blocking the tricycle, and with a big smile, took out a pack of unopened cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.
"Brother, calm down, calm down."
Wang Hai smiled ingratiatingly, "I used to be in charge of delivering food in this area, so we're practically acquaintances."
My brother's family ran into a little emergency today, so I'll just leave here for a short while. I promise I won't litter and won't cause you any trouble!
The security captain glanced down at the cigarette Wang Hai offered, but instead of taking it, he pushed Wang Hai's hand away.
"Who the hell knows you?"
Don't try to get close to me!
The security captain pointed to the floor tiles, "This is a high-end commercial area!"
If the property manager sees your beat-up tricycle parked here, he'll dock my pay!
Will you pay the fine for me then?
"Get your broken pot and those rotten eggs out of here right now!"
Just then, three white-collar workers wearing high-level name tags walked out of the building.
The female office worker walking ahead was holding a cup of high-end espresso. Her gaze swept over the iron pot and the plate of eggs on the ground, and she immediately took two exaggerated steps back, fanning her nose vigorously with her hand as if she had smelled some kind of stench.
"My God, how come there are Chinese food stalls downstairs in front of our building?"
How do security guards do their jobs?
The female office worker, looking disgusted, loudly complained to her male colleague, "That kind of heavy oil and salt in Chinese food is all carcinogens."
Just looking at that black, broken pot makes me feel nauseous!
If my tall, professionally tailored suit gets covered in the smell of cooking oil, how am I supposed to go eat at a Michelin-starred French restaurant in the Land of Romance later?
The male colleague also frowned in disgust and kicked a small pebble on the ground with his leather shoe: "Yeah, it's really disgusting."
This kind of low-end stuff should stay in the night markets of slums; coming to the CBD is just polluting the air.
Sitting on the small stool, Tangtang couldn't understand what "carcinogens" meant, but she could clearly sense the malice emanating from these uncles and aunts.
The little girl pouted sadly, stood up, ran to Lin Chen's side, and hugged Lin Chen's leg tightly with both of her little hands.
"Daddy...why are they yelling at us...?"
Tangtang's eyes were red. "Daddy's cooking isn't garbage, it's the best food in the world..."
Hearing the group's mockery and seeing Tangtang's aggrieved expression, Wang Hai's smiling face instantly turned bright red, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
"Grass!"
Wang Hai suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide like copper bells, flung the plastic bag out of his hand, clenched his fists, and was about to rush forward.
"What the hell are you saying?!"
A bunch of fake foreigners who fawn over foreigners, have forgotten their place after eating Western food for a few days, huh?
Who are you calling trash!
Upon seeing this, the security captain immediately pulled out a rubber baton, pointed it at Wang Hai, and warned, "What are you doing?"
You, a food delivery guy, want to hit someone here?
Believe it or not, I'll call the police and have you arrested right now!
"Even if I go to jail today, I'll tear your mouths off first!"
Wang Hai was completely enraged and charged forward like a bull protecting its calf.
"Fatty, come back."
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on Wang Hai's shoulder, forcefully pulling his body back from the forward momentum.
Lin Chen stepped forward and pulled Wang Hai back behind him.
He bent down, gently picked up Tangtang, and lightly wiped away the tears from the corners of the little girl's eyes with the back of his hand, coaxing her softly, "Don't cry, Tangtang. They are sick. Their noses and tongues are damaged."
"Dad's cooking later, they'll be so hungry they'll cry, okay?"
"Um!"
Tangtang nodded vigorously and buried her face in Lin Chen's neck.
After calming his daughter down, Lin Chen stood up straight, not even glancing at the disdainful white-collar workers.
He turned his head and looked calmly at the security captain.
"You mean, our car is parked on your property's premises, right?"
Lin Chen asked calmly. The security captain snorted and pointed his baton at the marble floor tiles: "Nonsense!"
Do you see this white line?
The area inside the white line is entirely under the private jurisdiction of our Yintai Building!
"If you don't get out of here, I'm calling my brothers to clear the area!"
"it is good."
Lin Chen neither argued nor got angry.
He walked back to the tricycle and gripped the handlebars with both hands.
"Brother Chen!"
Wang Hai panicked, thinking Lin Chen was about to back down, "Are we just going to leave like this?"
"These bastards are going too far!"
Lin Chen ignored him and instead used both hands to slowly and steadily reverse the heavy tricycle carrying kitchen utensils by half a meter.
The wheel ran over the white line.
With a "click," Lin Chen stepped on the brakes and brought the car to a steady stop on the gray cement tiles outside the white lines.
Then, Lin Chen straightened up and looked at the security captain again.
"The area inside the white line is under your property management's jurisdiction."
However, the meter outside the white line is a public pedestrian walkway designated by the municipal plan.
Lin Chen pointed to the cement tiles under his feet, his eyes fixed on the security captain.
"As long as the urban management officers don't come, you have no right to drive us away."
The security captain was startled and looked down at the lines drawn on the ground.
Indeed, the tricycle was now standing in a spot where the wheels had just slipped out of the property boundary by the last inch, perfectly wedged into the municipal public area.
"you……"
The security captain was taken aback by this sudden action, his face turning pale and then red.
He gritted his teeth, gave a cold laugh, and said, "Fine!"
You know a bit about legal loopholes, huh?
"I'll let you set up here!"
The security captain turned to the group of white-collar workers watching the spectacle and shouted, "I'd like to see which blind, high-class white-collar worker in our upscale CBD would actually eat this kind of cheap roadside fried rice!"
The female office worker scoffed and glanced at Lin Chen with disdain as she walked away in her high heels.
"You're really desperate for money. If the cooking fumes get on me when you start cooking, I'll definitely complain until you're bankrupt!"
"Let's go get some coffee and ignore these lowlifes."
The white-collar workers strode away with haughty steps, while the security captain stood inside the white line with his arms crossed, looking like he was waiting to see Lin Chen make a fool of himself.
"Brother Chen, well done!"
Seeing the security captain's discomfiture, Wang Hai finally felt a little relieved, but glancing at the empty street, he became worried again. "But Brother Chen, even though they can't control us anymore, these people really don't seem to eat Chinese food..."
Whether they eat it or not is not up to them.
Lin Chen turned around and deftly tied the faded apron around his waist.
He extended his long, strong right hand and firmly grasped the handle of the iron pot.
"Fatty, light the fire."
Lin Chen stared at the iron wok, and the aura of the former head chef of state banquets burst forth without reservation at this moment.
"Snapped!"
Wang Hai pressed the gas stove switch heavily and stepped aside.
A dark blue flame erupted instantly, fiercely licking the bottom of the pot.