Chapter 286 Chapter 286 Hot
The early morning sun was not gentle at all. It shone fiercely on people's faces, burning them until their skin seemed to melt.
"Is this considered free photorejuvenation? I'm making a profit."
"I'd rather stay home and lie down."
"Damn capitalists, they're still working at a time like this, aren't they?"
"Hey, let's go! We finally made it to the end of the month. We can't lose our perfect attendance award."
The two girls walked forward quickly with their heads down, and they didn't dare to stop even though they were panting from the heat.
Zhang Le looked at their backs and couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder you said someone must be open for business today. Delivering food is more comfortable. I can rest when I want to, and work when I want to."
He Junxia: "Without money, you can't do anything. Even if the sky falls, there will still be people who can open shops."
What's more, the sky has not fallen, and the government has held a press conference to explain the situation. Although it sounds like the experts are talking nonsense and deceiving people, at least an explanation was given.
In addition, the government has vigorously controlled online public opinion and strictly prohibited any harmful influences. Nowadays, the Internet is prosperous and most of the hot searches are related to certain celebrities.
Of course, it is better to loosen than to block.
It's impossible for the government to suppress all the negative news overnight, so the top trending search is still related to the Black Sun, but its influence is not as great as yesterday.
“There are so many people.”
Zhang Le blinked and almost thought he was hallucinating.
The streets in the city center are still crowded with people and cars. Perhaps the only way to get a glimpse of the danger of last night is from the surge in security guards.
He Junxia was not too surprised.
As he said before, even if the sky falls, ordinary people still have to work hard to make ends meet.
Under such circumstances, a complete collapse of social order is almost impossible - unless things become so big that the government is no longer able to control them and the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak begins to take hold.
"There's a place selling hand-pulled pancakes over there. I'm going to buy one. Do you want one?"
"Need not."
Although they had been walking for almost twenty minutes and their stomachs were a little empty, He Junxia still minded the snack stalls parked on the main road directly facing the exhaust fumes of cars, if conditions permitted.
In short, I have mysophobia.
After all, when he was selling barbecue, he knew to find a spot that was sheltered from the wind and facing away from the road.
"One hand-pulled pancake and one chicken fillet."
The stall owner was very quick. In less than two minutes, a hand-pulled pancake filled with chicken fillets was freshly baked.
Zhang Le scanned the code on the price list posted outside the dining car and paid 9 yuan, and a voice announcement immediately sounded in the dining car.
He lowered his head and took a bite of the hot pancake. He turned around and was about to leave when the elder sister suddenly said, "Hey, young man, you paid too little."
Zhang Le:?
Zhang Le turned around and looked at the price list again: "It's nine yuan, I didn't pay the wrong amount."
The eldest sister said: "It increased by four yuan today."
Zhang Le was speechless.
Generally speaking, businesses open during the Chinese New Year will raise prices by a few yuan, and return to normal prices after the fifth day of the New Year. This has been a customary practice for many years.
They raise prices randomly during festivals and holidays, and they don’t tell you in advance. They force people to eat before they open their mouths. Aren’t they deliberately taking advantage of those who are thin-skinned?
He won't suffer this loss.
Zhang Le rolled his eyes and said, "You're kidding! It's going up four yuan today. It's not Chinese New Year."
The elder sister was unhappy: "It was very dangerous last night. Many people killed each other. I have to raise the price of setting up a stall today."
Zhang Le's face darkened and he put down his pancake: "Do I look like a murderer?"
The young man's expression was impatient, with a hint of hostility still lingering in his eyes.
The elder sister flinched but still felt a little unwilling. Seeing the patrol passing by, she became more confident: "What do you want to do? The police are right there."
Zhang Le sneered, "Let's see who's faster, the police or me. I'm giving you face, but you're trying to extort money from me."
Although he is no longer a gangster, his past experiences have already left deep marks on him.
He Junxia stopped him: "Don't be impulsive, let's go."
Zhang Le didn't really want to fight, he was just a little angry, rolled his eyes and turned away.
The vendor selling hand-pulled pancakes refused to give in and blocked their way: "You want to leave without paying for your food?"
Zhang Le's face darkened instantly.
He doesn't care whether the person he beats is a man or a woman. If it were in the past, he would have started beating them up long ago. At most, he would have been sent to jail for a few days.
He Junxia shouted directly to the patrol police officer opposite: "Comrade police, please come over here for a moment. Someone is trying to extort money here."
Zhang Le and the boss were both stunned.
He Junxia pulled Zhang Le away to prevent a physical altercation between the two, and said with a forced smile, "Go tell the police."
He has also set up stalls before and knows the hard work of doing so, but this kind of behavior is really shameful.
If they had told Zhang Le that the price of the hand-pulled pancake would have increased by four yuan when he bought it, he might not have refused. But after the man had eaten the food, the matter was already settled. Suddenly saying that the price would increase by four yuan was nothing but extortion.
Anyway, there was plenty of time today, so He Junxia wasn't going to let Zhang Le pay up to settle the matter. Otherwise, the negative emotions he felt would accumulate in his heart, and sooner or later, it would cause problems.
The two patrol officers arrived quickly, their eyes somewhat darkened, and their tone was relatively calm: "What's going on?"
The shouzhubing (hand-pulled pancake) owner complained first: "He ate without paying, and he accused me of extorting money."
Zhang Le had calmed down, his anger replaced by silence, and he rolled his eyes almost to the sky: "If you have no shame, you are invincible in the world."
He Junxia stepped forward to explain, "My friend bought a hand-pulled pancake. It said adding chicken fillet was nine yuan, and he paid nine yuan. But the boss insisted on raising the price by four yuan today and wouldn't let us leave."
Zhang Le immediately retrieved the payment records for the police to see. No matter how you look at this matter, they were in the right. If you want to take advantage of them, it's impossible.
The police officer looked at the payment interface, then at the clearly stated price list on the food truck, and simply waved his hand: "Go ahead, do whatever you want."
The boss didn't dare to say anything after hearing this.
Zhang Le snorted and didn't argue anymore. However, before leaving, He Juanxia reminded him, "Officer, you need to explain clearly to her that if you're going to raise the price, you should tell the customer in advance. Raising the price at the last minute like this will only create a conflict when the next person comes to buy a shouzhupan."
The two policemen seemed to be thinking about something, and there was a bit more oppression in their eyes when they looked at the hand-pulled pancake owner.
They worked all night without sleeping yesterday, and they still have to patrol until noon today before they can take over and rest. Their mood and spirits are not very good.
If there were another fully automatic trouble-making machine, it would be too busy to even split a person in half, so how could we survive?
"Boss, we're not targeting you. We don't allow stalls here anyway."
"But we know you sell shouzhubing (hand-pulled pancakes) to support your family, so they don't enforce strict regulations. The urban management officers usually just ask you to leave during patrols, right?"
"We understand you, so please be considerate of us. It's not that we won't let you raise the price. As long as it's clearly marked, we won't care even if you raise it to 20 yuan."
"But if you don't change the price list and suddenly increase prices so that customers have to pay more, then that's your fault, isn't it? And you're turning the tables and accusing them of eating and dine-in without paying."
The hand-pulled pancake stall owner was left speechless.
She knew very well that she didn't change the price list or inform customers in advance about the price increase of hand-pulled pancakes because if she did, the customers would leave.
Who would spend more than ten yuan on a hand-pulled pancake? It’s not like I have too much money to burn. A bowl of shredded pork noodles in a noodle shop only costs ten yuan.
"Comrade police officer, I understand. I will definitely tell you in advance next time. Please let me go this time."
"Have you had breakfast? I'll make you one."
The two policemen waved their hands repeatedly, and left after seeing that the stall owner really listened to their words. If the stall owner continued to cause trouble and cheat people, they would ask the urban management to come and drive him away.
Otherwise, if a murder occurs because of a few dollars or a small conflict, it will be an unbearable disaster for both parties.
Even those who were in charge of this block had to be criticized and made to write reports and explanations, so all their awards and honors this year were ruined.
…
"It's so satisfying."
Human beings do not share the same joys and sorrows. Zhang Le ate the hand-pulled pancake, feeling very happy and contented.
He tossed the packaging bag into the trash can. "At first I thought the police would side with her and try to smooth things over."
He Junxia smiled: "Maybe in the past, but definitely not now."
In one quarter, tens of thousands of vicious incidents occurred across the country. Even though the news was blocked in a timely manner in many places, it was impossible for internal personnel in the police system not to notice the problem.
Nowadays, the probability of people killing for trivial matters is increasing exponentially, and even patrol police officers carry pistols.
Zhang Le swallowed the last bite of his hand-pulled pancake and said, "The food is quite delicious, but the person is not very good. Luckily you stopped me just now, otherwise I would have been furious..."
He Junxia: "Think before you act. If you go in, the house your grandparents left you might be ruined by thieves, and all the furniture might be sold."
"And your former brother, knowing that the house was empty, broke in and did whatever he wanted..."
Zhang Le: "They dare!"
He Junxia hit Zhang Le's weak spot. What he cared about most right now was the house his grandparents had left him.
He Juanxia said coldly: "Let's see if they dare. Do you think you can fly out of the prison and beat them up one by one?"
Zhang Le's arrogance immediately disappeared, and he said gloomily, "I understand."
The two walked forward and finally arrived at the city's largest home appliance wholesale market. Most of the shops were open for business, and only a few were closed.
"Geng Qi, why are you here!"
A middle-aged male's voice sounded from the left, and an expression of disgust instantly appeared on the boy's face.
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