Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Scar
"Hmm?" Tan Du pushed up his glasses with his index finger. "I need a poster designed."
"What?" Qiao Zhuo frowned.
"I mean, go talk to the owner of the printing shop. But if Boss Qiao wants to talk—" Tan Du pushed Xiao Lu aside and opened the door, indicating, "You can come in and sit down."
“…No, sit down.”
Qiao Zhuo hurried downstairs. If he continued to talk to the Smiling Tiger, he would be considered a dog!
“Woof woof——”
The blanket kept circling around Qiao Zhuoyi's legs, showing great excitement about its owner coming back early.
"Do you think this guy named Tan is taking revenge on me?" Qiao Zhuo held the puppy's head. "That kid Xiao Luo only knows how to stuff things into the blanket."
"Woo——" Blanket tilted his head.
"I'm not talking about you," Qiao Zhuo pinched his face, "I'm talking about a real blanket. It's still early today, why don't you take me out for a walk?"
Blanket jumped up, rushed to the door and grabbed the leash.
Behind the villa was a large field and next to it was a small hill. After sliding over it twice, the pudding calories in Qiao Zhuoyi's body were completely consumed.
Qiao Zhuoyi grabbed the rope and leaned back, his heels leaving two marks in the dirt. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Enough! Blanket! Brother Blanket! Let's go eat!"
The word "eat" brought Blanket Brother back to his senses. He stopped sprinting upwards, turned his head, and walked towards the bridge head with an elegant posture and steady steps, more majestic than the Pixiu on his forearm.
"Wow, this dog is so handsome!"
A customer coming out of the restaurant praised the owner, but when he saw the man with tattoos on his arms and a crew cut, he silently withdrew his outstretched hand.
Tanzi felt quite regretful and turned to bark at Qiao Zhuo.
Qiao Zhuo pointed to the ground and saw Tan Zi sitting at the door acting as a door god.
"Thirty-five, stacked on the wall, get your own drinks," the shop owner shouted to the kitchen, "a bowl of pork liver noodles—"
Qiao Zhuoyi took a disposable bowl to put the chicken legs in, placed it in front of the blanket, and went back to get himself a bottle of Sprite.
Halfway through the meal, a few young people came in and took ten minutes to take their order. They made a lot of noise and sat down at the table behind him. Somehow, as they were chatting, the topic suddenly turned to TD.
"I passed by it a few times, but it was too grand and I didn't dare to go in."
"My girlfriend likes it and goes there often."
"Do you like coffee or the boss? Brother, you better watch."
"Fuck you!"
"Haven't you seen that boss? He dresses so conspicuously every day. There are only old men and women on the street. Who cares about him except the customers?"
Qiao Zhuoyi nodded silently, took the vinegar and poured it into the bowl.
"I've seen it a few times. He wears different clothes every day, all designer brands! He even drives an SUV. How can a coffee shop make that much money? Or maybe..."
Everyone said a meaningful "Oh——"
Qiao Zhuo frowned, took a bite of ginger and made a "Pooh" sound.
"They made a lot of dirty money!"
"The food in that coffee shop is not clean. My brother got diarrhea after drinking a latte last time."
"Really? Yeah! I've heard that too, but I've never seen the boss drink it himself. If it's good stuff, why wouldn't he drink it himself?"
After wiping his mouth, Qiao Zhuo crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can, then stood up suddenly.
"Oh shit, bro, watch out!" The boy at the back table knocked on the back of the chair, "Bump..."
After seeing Qiao Zhuoyi's appearance clearly, the other party fell silent.
Qiao Zhuo walked over to their table, resting his tattooed forearm on the edge. He scanned the group and then, staring at the guy who had just spoken, asked, "Does your latte-drinking buddy usually drink milk?"
"Who are you? Do you know him?"
"Answer." Qiao Zhuoyi.
"What? Brother, are you selling milk?"
After a burst of laughter, Qiao Zhuo's face darkened and he stared at the person who had spoken. The other person said awkwardly, "No. He gets diarrhea the moment he drinks that stuff!"
The boy leaning against the wall yelled, "What does it have to do with you, brother? Besides, people are drinking coffee, why are you asking about milk?"
Qiao Zhuoyi took out his phone and asked, "What's in latte?" A robotic female voice played, "Latte is made of coffee and milk..."
He looked at them and said, "I don't like your posturing, but you are quite uncultured when you gossip."
"Who do you think you are?"
Bang--
The strongest man on the outside slammed the table and stood up. Qiao Zhuo pressed his palm on his shoulder, not knowing where on his acupoint he pinched. The man immediately fell back into his chair with a grin on his face.
It looks good but is useless.
Qiao Zhuo pinched his finger joints, making a crackling sound.
"Don't do it! Bro, are you a friend of the coffee shop owner?"
"No." Qiao Zhuo beckoned, and the man handed him a tissue. He took a few and wiped them slowly.
"Then what are you doing..."
"You're disturbing me." Qiao Zhuo rubbed his ears, "It's annoying."
"So, should we shut up? How about you…"
Boring.
Qiao Zhuo threw over a box of mints: "Cure your bad breath."
After saying that, he walked out, "Blanket, let's go."
"Fuck! This guy is sick!" Several people in the store looked at each other.
"Boss, who was that guy just now?"
"From a tattoo parlor." The shop owner said angrily.
"The one upstairs from the coffee shop? No wonder..."
"Have you heard of it?"
"Don't mess with me - if you see me next time, stay away."
"Neighbor? No wonder they're speaking for the coffee shop."
The shop owner brought the noodles and put them down heavily: "These two families are incompatible!"
"Then how can he speak for others?"
"Hey, boss, why is there so much meat today?"
"This is your last meal, eat more." The shop owner looked down at them.
"What's the meaning?"
"Foul-mouthed people are not welcome here!"
"A box of mints."
Qiao Zhuoyi felt his pocket out of habit, remembering that he had done a good deed two days ago and the pancakes had not been restocked yet. He turned around and went into the old street store to look for food. Next to the store was a pancake shop with a stove at the door. Few people could resist the smell. The dogs passing by were waiting for a piece to slip out of their human hands and come down to have a snack.
"An all-lean one, extra spicy."
The proprietress of the pancake shop glanced at him and curled her lips: "Wait."
She wrapped the filling skillfully, and the rolling pin was like her third hand. In a short while, she rolled out a thin piece of dough, bent down and put it into the stove. After standing up, she cut a few holes in the other person's forearm, wiped her hands and clicked her tongue.
This sound was drowned out by the ringing of a cell phone in the drawer. The proprietress took a look at the message, stamped her feet and exclaimed, "This kid!"
Qiao Zhuo glanced at her.
"632...632..." The boss lady's rough hands seemed clumsy as she kept switching interfaces. She had difficulty entering several numbers and helplessly called out, "Um...Boss Qiao."
Qiao Zhuo looked over as soon as he responded. The proprietress pointed at her phone and said, "This card number is too long. I can't remember it. I'll tell you. You write it down on your phone and tell me back."
"Who are you transferring the money to?" Qiao Zhuo asked.
The boss lady stamped her feet and said, "My daughter! She lost her phone and is using a classmate's phone to send me messages. How can she survive without a phone when she's out? I need to transfer money to her to buy a new one."
"Are you sure it's your daughter?" Qiao Zhuo frowned.
"What are you talking about! If she's not my daughter, how can she call me mom? How do you even know my number?" The proprietress spun around in circles. "Hey, can you help me? I can't do it myself..."
Qiao Zhuoyi stretched out his hand: "Give me your phone, the cake is about to burn."
"Here you go."
The boss lady handed over the phone, and was busy folding the pancake when she was asked for another bottle of drink. The refrigerator was inside the store, so she hurried in to get it, and when she came out she finally got the phone back.
Qiao Zhuo took a bite of the pancake and squinted his eyes contentedly through the packaging bag.
"Alright? I didn't enter the password... No, where's the message just now?"
Qiao Zhuoyi: "Delete it, it's a lie..."
"Are you sick? My daughter is waiting for you! What are you going to do to her? You bastard! If you don't want to help, then don't help! I shouldn't have counted on you! I..."
The proprietress picked up the broom next to her and swung it over. Qiao Zhuoyi retreated swiftly, protecting the pancake with his elbow. He missed the step and became unstable. A white hand came in and firmly grasped the broom handle, while supporting him from behind the waist.
"Boss Qiao, are you okay?" Tan Du's voice sounded in his ears, accompanied by the familiar aroma of coffee.
Qiao Zhuo took a step sideways, turned his waist inconspicuously, and caught a glimpse of a long scar on the other person's elbow.
Tan Du turned his wrist, placed the broom neatly in the corner, and asked with a smile, "Sister Sun, what happened?"
"Oh! Xiao Tan, you're here! If you had come earlier, I wouldn't have to look for this damn guy!" Sister Sun's back teeth were about to break.
"I'll handle it, Sister Sun, tell me what's going on?"
Sister Sun turned around angrily and fiddled with her phone: "Ask him! This bastard did it on purpose!"
Qiao Zhuo turned and walked away. Tan Du quickly stepped in front of him and blocked his way: "Boss Qiao?"
"A good dog doesn't block the road." Qiao Zhuo said.
"Who are you scolding?" Sister Sun rushed over. "Do you think Xiao Tan is like you? You stab everyone you see. Look at how many people on this street are willing to pay attention to you?"
"I don't care." Qiao Zhuo said.
"You! Then don't come here!" Sister Sun pointed at him.
No, that won’t work. The sesame cake is delicious.
Qiao Zhuo pursed his lips and didn't respond.
"Calm down, everyone," Tan Du said calmly, "Sister Sun, I'll do it. Boss Qiao, you..."
Before he could finish his words, Qiao Zhuo's phone in his pocket vibrated again. He hurriedly left a message "Let her check WeChat" and rushed to the tattoo shop.
"Qiao, I'm not done with you!" Sister Sun yelled, and people from the surrounding shops leaned out to watch the fun. "Xiao Tan, what happened?"
"It's okay," Tan Du gestured for Sister Sun to come in, "You guys get busy."
The customer came at the last minute and would affect Qiao Zhuoyi's nap plan. Xiao Luo originally refused, but the other party said that he came from another place specially and it was just a simple letter tattoo, which would not take much time.
Xiao Luo called Qiao Zhuoyi. When Qiao Zhuoyi came back and saw that the man was still carrying a child, he blinked his big round eyes and pleaded on her mother's behalf: "Brother, please."
Qiao Zhuoyi: "...Time is tight, let's try drawing the picture first."
"I'm not picky, just two letters, whatever Boss Joe designs."
Since he had said that, Qiao Zhuoyi did it.
Just as he sent one person away, the next one arrived. After doing two in a row, Qiao Zhuoyi felt sleepy and tired. While the next person was resting, he mechanically stuffed handfuls of pistachios into his mouth.
"What a nice smell!" Xiao Luo sniffed. Ever since the desserts started being made downstairs, the corridor was filled with the aroma of bread every afternoon.
"You have a good nose!" Sister Song opened the door and came in.
"Sister, why are you here?"
"I just went to pick some peaches and brought some to you." Sister Song was startled when she saw the man with a black aura next to her. "What's wrong with Lao Qiao?"
"No nap." Xiao Luo said softly.
Sister Song leaned over and snapped her fingers. Qiao Zhuoyi raised his eyelids faintly and asked, "Why are you here?"
"Awake or asleep?" Sister Song asked with a smile.
Qiao Zhuoyi rubbed his face a few times.
"I'll bring you some food." Sister Song took the bag beside her.
Qiao Zhuo twitched his nose and looked over, and it was indeed a sesame cake.
"What's the meaning?"
"Boss Tan asked me to bring it up to you. He said the matter has been resolved, but they were too embarrassed to come to you, so he apologized on their behalf."
Qiao Zhuo nibbled on a sesame cake and asked, "Where are they?"
"I was afraid of making you angry, so I didn't dare come!" Sister Song glanced at him. "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. I was too busy at the store, so I just went to buy some bread and came by. Here, there's also a thousand-layer cake. He said it was his personal thank-you gift."
"What is he thanking for?"
He should be the one to thank.
Qiao Zhuoyi pressed his lower back and looked at his elbow.
How could a person like that have such a long scar?
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