Chapter 76 Don't Be Soft-Hearted

"Who are you trying to scare!" The blond-haired man pulled out a switchblade with his other hand, flicking out the blade. "Let go!"

The surrounding neighbors gasped and backed away.

Fang Che didn't loosen his grip; instead, he tightened it even more.

The blond-haired man, in pain, swung his knife and stabbed!

Just then, a figure rushed over from the side and kicked the blond-haired man in the wrist!

The knife flew and fell to the ground.

It is He Shirong.

He was followed by two men in black suits.

"Causing trouble on the street my grandfather invested in?" He Shirong sneered. "Are you tired of living?"

The thugs' expressions changed when they saw He Shirong.

Yellow Hair gritted his teeth: "Young Master He, this has nothing to do with you..."

“How can it be unrelated?” He Shirong pointed at Fang Che. “He’s my brother. If you mess with him, you’re messing with me.”

Two men stepped forward and quickly subdued the thugs.

Fang Che let go of Chen Bo's hand and looked at him.

Xi Rong had already called an ambulance, and Grandma Lin also rushed over and bandaged up Uncle Chen's wound.

"Fortunately, it's just a superficial injury; she's passed out," Grandma Lin said.

Fang Che felt a sense of relief, but his anger intensified.

He walked up to the blond-haired man: "Who ordered this?"

The blond-haired man turned his head away and remained silent.

He Shirong kicked him in the leg: "Speak!"

"No, no one instructed me to..." the blond-haired man stubbornly insisted.

Fang Che suddenly smiled.

He squatted down, looking into the blond-haired man's eyes: "Even if you don't say it, I know. Go back and tell your master that Portland Street is not a place where he can run wild. This matter is not over."

He stood up and said to Ho Sai-wing, "Sai-wing, please take them to the police station. Intentional assault and possession of a weapon will get them locked up for a while."

"OK."

The thugs were taken away, and the ambulance arrived to take Uncle Chen to the hospital.

The back alley was quiet, but the atmosphere of the neighborhood festival had mostly dissipated.

The neighbors whispered among themselves, their smiles gone.

Fang Che knew that this was Jiang Tianqi's first step.

Ruining the neighborhood festival made the neighbors feel unsafe.

He took a breath, walked into the street, and clapped his hands.

"Dear neighbors!"

To everyone's eyes.

“Everyone saw what happened just now,” Fang Che said loudly. “Some people don’t want us to live a good life, and they don’t want Portland Street to be lively. They’re using these methods to scare us.”

The neighbors listened quietly.

“But,” Fang Che raised his voice, “when have the residents of Portland Street ever been afraid of trouble? We weren’t afraid when the walled city was demolished! We weren’t afraid when protection money was collected a few years ago! Now a few thugs think they can scare us back?”

"No!" someone shouted.

"Yes! No!" More people echoed.

Fang Che continued, "Today, we're not just going to have a neighborhood festival, we're going to make it even more lively! All purchases are 50% off! The school will be open until 10 p.m.! Neighbors, eat, drink, and have fun! Let those who want to see us fail see just how tough Portland Street really is!"

"good!"

Applause erupted.

The neighbors' enthusiasm has returned.

Fang Che turned to Xi Rong and said, "Go, turn the stereo up and play the most exciting songs."

"good!"

The music started again, and the atmosphere warmed up.

Fang Che stood in the crowd, looking at the smiling faces of his neighbors, but his heart sank.

This is just the beginning.

Jiang Tianqi's killer move has not yet been made.

He returned to the store, where Lu Che was already sitting at the counter.

"Mr. Lu."

“Fang Che, those were Jiang Tianqi’s men just now,” Lu Che said directly. “I recognize that blond guy; he’s from the outer circle of the Dong Sheng Society, and he does dirty work.”

Fang Che nodded: "I guessed it."

"Do you need help?" Lu Che asked. "The police can send more officers..."

"No need." Fang Che shook his head. "The neighbors have just calmed down. Too many police officers will only make them more nervous. I have arrangements."

Lu Che looked at him: "Fang Che, Jiang Tianqi's goal today is not just to ruin the neighborhood festival. I received information that he may tamper with the food."

Fang Che felt a tightness in his chest.

food.

Food at a barbecue restaurant.

If a neighbor gets sick after eating it, that would be a real problem.

"Who's in the kitchen?" he asked Xi Rong.

"Brother Tie Niu, there are three helpers, all of them are neighborhood kids, they're reliable."

Fang Che was still worried: "I'll go check."

In the kitchen, Cheng Tieniu was flipping lamb skewers, his forehead covered in sweat.

The three helpers chopped vegetables, skewered them, and washed dishes in an orderly manner.

The ingredients were delivered fresh this morning, the freezer temperature was normal, and the seasonings were fine.

Fang Che checked the area but found nothing unusual.

Could Lu Che's information be incorrect?

Was Jiang Tianqi's goal not food?

Just then, a commotion arose from the front hall.

Fang Che strode out and saw Li Ruoxue standing in front of the counter, holding a glass of juice, looking pale.

In front of her was a six or seven-year-old boy, his clothes splattered with juice, who was crying loudly.

"What's wrong?" Fang Che stepped forward.

Xi Rong whispered, "The child ran too fast and bumped into Miss Ruoxue, spilling the juice..."

Li Ruoxue took a breath and forced a smile: "It's okay, it's just a child. I'll go change my clothes."

She turned and went upstairs. There was a small lounge in the shop with clean clothes provided.

Fang Che watched her retreating figure, and a thought suddenly struck him.

“Xi Rong,” he lowered his voice, “follow her and see which room she goes to and what she does.”

Xi Rong nodded and quietly followed.

Five minutes later, Xi Rong returned, her face pale.

"Brother Che, she didn't go to the lounge, she went to the storage room! I saw through the crack in the door that she was rummaging through the spice box!"

Fang Che's heart sank.

Condiment box.

If she tampered with the seasoning...

"Brother Tie Niu!" He rushed into the kitchen. "Replace all the seasonings we're using today with new ones! Quickly!"

Although Cheng Tieniu didn't understand, seeing Fang Che's expression, he immediately did as instructed.

The old seasonings are removed, and the new seasonings are opened.

Xi Rong asked softly, "Brother Che, should we arrest him now?"

“No.” Fang Che shook his head. “If we arrest her now, she can deny it. We can discover it ‘accidentally’ after she’s done what she did.”

Ten minutes later, Li Ruoxue came out of the storage room, changed her clothes, and looked as usual.

She walked up to Fang Che, smiled, and said, "Mr. Fang, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"It's alright," Fang Che smiled. "Miss Ruoxue, won't you sit for a while longer? There are fireworks tonight."

"No, I have something to do, I'll be going now."

After Li Ruoxue left, Fang Che immediately asked Xi Rong to check the storage room.

Sure enough, a layer of white powder was found in the chili powder jar.

Xi Rong dipped her chopsticks in the liquid, smelled it, and her expression changed: "Brother Che, this smells...like laxatives!"

Fang Che felt a chill in his heart.

Li Ruoxue, you're really something.

Laxatives were added to the chili powder, and the neighbors who ate the barbecue suffered from diarrhea at best, and were even hospitalized at worst.

In that case, the barbecue restaurant will be disgraced, the neighborhood festival will turn into a "poisoning incident," and the district councilor will also be implicated.

That was a vicious move.

"Brother Che, what should we do?" Xi Rong asked. "Call the police?"

“No.” Fang Che shook his head. “Calling the police would be too lenient on her. Besides, she’s Brother Li’s sister…”

He paused, his eyes turning cold: "Xi Rong, go and call He Shi Rong here."

He Shirong arrived quickly, and Fang Che briefly explained the situation.

"Damn it!" He Shirong cursed. "This woman is ruthless. Brother Fang, what do you say we do?"

Fang Che whispered a few words in his ear.

He Shirong's eyes lit up: "Brilliant! Brother Fang, that's a brilliant move!"

At 5 p.m., there was still a queue in front of the barbecue stall.

Cheng Tieniu's arms ached from grilling, but he had a smile on his face.

The neighbors enjoyed the food, the children had a great time, and the atmosphere of the neighborhood festival reached its peak.

Just then, the sound of police sirens came from the street corner.

Two police cars stopped, and several policemen walked over, with Zhou Wenxuan leading the way.

The neighbors were stunned and stopped.

Zhou Wenxuan walked up to Fang Che with a serious expression: "Boss Fang, we received a report that your store is using illegal additives, and we need to conduct an inspection."

Fang Che looked puzzled: "Zhou sir, how is this possible? Our ingredients and seasonings are all from legitimate sources, and we have receipts."

"Whether it exists or not, we'll only know after we investigate." Zhou Wenxuan waved his hand, and his men began the search.

The neighbors started talking about it.

"What happened?"

"Is there a problem with Fang Che's shop?"

"No way, I've been eating this for years..."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the police found the jar of chili powder in the kitchen.

“Zhou sir, there’s something wrong with this can of chili powder!” a policeman said.

Zhou Wenxuan took it, smelled it, and his expression changed: "Send it for testing!"

He looked at Fang Che: "Boss Fang, please come with us."

Before Fang Che could speak, He Shirong stepped forward: "Wait! Zhou sir, this chili powder isn't from Brother Fang's shop!"

"What's the meaning?"

"This is what I brought today!" Ho Sai-wing said loudly. "I am Ho Hung-sang's grandson. I came to participate in the neighborhood festival today and brought some seasonings that I use at home. I would like to invite the neighbors to try them. This jar of chili powder is a specialty that I brought from Thailand. It contains special spices, which may be different from the Hong Kong standard."

He pulled a shopping receipt out of his bag: "Look, it was bought in Bangkok, it has a date and price."

Zhou Wenxuan took the receipt, looked at it, then at the chili powder, and frowned: "But this jar..."

“I borrowed the jar from Brother Fang!” He Shirong said frankly. “My own jar broke, so I borrowed an empty jar from Brother Fang to fill it. Xi Rong can testify to this!”

Xi Rong quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, it was the empty can I got for Young Master He!"

Zhou Wenxuan looked at them, then at the can of chili powder, and remained silent for a moment: "Even so, it still needs to be tested. If it's contraband, Young Master He, you'll have to come with us too."

"No problem!" He Shirong patted his chest. "I have nothing to fear!"

The police left with the chili powder. Zhou Wenxuan gave Fang Che a deep look and then left as well.

The neighbors breathed a sigh of relief.

"It was all a misunderstanding..."

"Young Master He meant well; he just wanted us to try something good."

"The police were just doing their job, I understand."

The turmoil has temporarily subsided.

But Fang Che knew it wasn't over yet.

The fireworks started at 8 p.m.

Fireworks burst in the night sky, neighbors looked up, and children cheered.

Fang Che stood at the store entrance, looking at the scene, thinking of Li Ruoxue.

Just then, my mobile phone rang.

It's Ah Gui.

"Fang Che, Brother Li asked me to pass on a message." A Gui's voice was tired. "Things are settled in Thailand. I'll be back in three days. How's things at home?"

"Everything is fine," Fang Che said. "Don't worry, Brother Li."

He paused, then asked, "Brother Gui, does Brother Li know about Li Ruoxue's matter?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

“I know,” Ah Gui said. “Brother Li said to wait for her to come back and handle it. He told you… not to go easy on her.”

Fang Che felt a pang of pain in his heart.

How painful it must have been for Brother Li to say those three words.

"I understand," he said softly.