Chen Feng suppressed his nausea, shook his head and smiled dismissively.
"Gentlemen, please don't be angry. I can solemnly assure you that, with the reputation of our Ruyilou restaurant, there is absolutely no dirty stuff in our food. What you just saw was definitely a peppercorn."
The waiter, recovering from his shock, nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Yes, yes, that was definitely a peppercorn, there's no mistake."
Chen Qingqing was initially worried that her older brother would compromise and swallow his anger.
She never dreamed that Chen Feng would mistake a fly for a peppercorn and eat it, but she did admire his resourcefulness.
With such courage and decisiveness in handling matters, she made the right investment in this restaurant.
Now that the evidence has been destroyed, as long as they stubbornly refuse to admit it, no one can do anything to Ruyilou.
The bald man never expected things to turn out this way. He thought he could make a big scene, then start extorting money and vandalizing the shop.
But now that we have no excuse, how can we make a move?
They all promised Butcher Li that they would get things done, so are they just going to let it go like this?
No, if we don't succeed this time, it will be even harder to succeed in the future.
Thinking of this, he put on a rogue's face.
"Don't think you can get away with eating the flies. Let me tell you, if you don't give us an explanation today, we're not leaving."
Seeing this, the surrounding diners began to discuss it.
"There couldn't possibly be flies in the food; they must be seeing things."
“That’s right. If it were a fly, why would the shopkeeper eat it, and even eat it with such relish?”
"These people are making a fuss over nothing. They call a peppercorn a fly. Isn't that just damaging Ruyilou's reputation?"
"Exactly! They're just showing off after they've figured it out. I really don't know whose eyesight is bad!"
"In my opinion, they're just drunk and trying to cause trouble."
"Yes, that's right. They're causing trouble for no reason. If they report it to the authorities, they'll be punished and imprisoned."
......
Hearing everyone say this, the scoundrels immediately panicked.
The bald man was still somewhat unwilling to give up, but he tried to remain calm.
"This is none of your business, get out of here."
As he spoke, he glanced at Chen Feng.
"Brother, what do you think we should do about this today?"
Seeing that the other party was still pressing the issue, Chen Feng smiled faintly, "Sir, what do you want to do?"
"What should we do? I feel nauseous right now. Pay up quickly, or we brothers will smash up your Ruyi Building."
"In that case, we have no choice but to report this to the authorities and let them investigate the truth. If they really find you guilty of causing trouble without cause, you will be punished with tattooing and three years of hard labor."
Upon hearing that the matter would be reported to the authorities, the men panicked instantly. They certainly didn't want to face legal trouble and end up in jail.
"No, no, no, there's no need to report it to the authorities. It's no big deal!" The sharp-nosed monkey thief's eyes darted around. He knew that making a scene without evidence would be suicidal. The best course of action was to retreat as quickly as possible.
He glanced at the bald man and winked, "Baldy, we've really messed up today, let's just let it go!"
The bald man wasn't stupid, but he was extremely frustrated. He glared fiercely at Chen Feng and gritted his teeth, saying, "You're really something today, kid. We'll see!"
Even if we lose face, we can't back down. Although we're in a sorry state right now, we can't back down verbally. "Brothers, let's go!"
"Wait a minute!" Chen Feng stepped forward and blocked their way, smiling, "Sirs, shouldn't you settle your bills before you leave?"
"What did you say? You still want money for your meal?"
The bald man was so angry his eyes were practically spitting fire; he opened his mouth and started cursing.
"Don't push your luck! I found a fly in my food and haven't even asked you for money yet, and you're already taking advantage of me. Believe me or not, I'll smash up your shady shop."
"That's right, don't be ungrateful. If you offend us, you'll suffer the consequences," Scarface gritted his teeth and warned sharply.
The monkey with the pointed snout also had a dark face, and glared at Chen Feng. "Kid, you've got some skills. Don't be so stubborn. If you know what's good for you, get out of here. My patience is limited."
Chen Feng completely ignored their excuses and said coldly, "Flies? Who can prove there are flies in my food? It's clearly peppercorns. We're in business, and paying for your meal is a matter of course. If you don't want to pay, do you want to dine and dash?"
As he spoke, he instructed the waiter beside him, "Quickly calculate how much the food and wine on this table cost."
"Reporting to the shopkeeper, it was already calculated. The wine, dishes, and the broken porcelain bowl totaled five taels of silver," the waiter replied truthfully.
Chen Feng nodded. "Gentlemen, if you don't pay, let's go to the government office and let the magistrate judge this. Is there such a thing as eating and drinking for free?"
Upon hearing this, the bald man flew into a rage, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. "What did you say? Say it again if you dare!"
Chen Feng knew the principle that petty people fear power but not virtue. Petty people are like dogs, relying on their masters' power to bully the weak and fearing the strong.
If he backs down and continues to give in to these scoundrels, they will become even more unscrupulous and take advantage of him.
Chen Feng remained fearless, staring intently at the bald man. "Sir, you know better than anyone who is right or wrong. Whether you did it intentionally or were instructed by someone, I don't want to delve into it. But if you remain obstinate, don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll have to report this to the authorities and ask the officers to investigate the truth."
Upon hearing this, the bald man's face flushed red and then turned pale. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
I really want to overturn the table, smash the chairs, and destroy the Ruyi Building.
But he knew he was in the wrong. If he reported it to the authorities, he would at least be flogged, and at worst, go to jail.
Never mind, a real man can bend and stretch.
But he was reluctant to part with the money, since Butcher Li had only given them five taels of silver as payment. He had thought he could take the opportunity to extort another hundred or eighty taels of silver, but things didn't go as planned.
This is a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead; not getting any meat and getting nothing in return, all that work for nothing!
Seeing that he stood there speechless for a long time, Scarface became a little anxious and whispered, "Baldy, this kid is not easy to deal with. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. Let's give them the money."
"Yeah, Baldy, it's better to avoid trouble. If we report it to the authorities, we won't be in the right." Sharp-nosed Monkey was also panicked, terrified.
The bald man gritted his teeth, took out the five taels of silver that Butcher Li had given him from his pocket, and slammed it on the table with a 'bang'.
To save face, he pointed at Chen Feng and said, word by word,
"You just wait, kid. Sooner or later, I'll make sure you close down. Let's go, brothers!"
After saying that, he led Scarface and Pointy-Mouthed Monkey out of the restaurant with their heads down.
Wu Shih-ren was so angry that he wanted to curse when he realized he had messed things up.
These people are more trouble than they're worth; they ruined a perfectly good plan. They're utterly useless.
Now I can only pin my hopes on Duoduo, thinking of slinking away in disgrace.
The diners, realizing it was a false alarm, all smiled and stepped into Ruyi Restaurant...
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