Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Fighting for Territory with Someone The two of them fooled around for quite a while in the rest room behind the office at Jianghai Dicai. Perhaps it was because the place was quiet, spacious, and completely free from any interruptions. Both Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai were exceptionally invested—starting with anger, moving to tenderness in the middle, and ending with desperate, passionate entanglement. Lin Meiyan felt like her throat was about to go hoarse. Yu Jianghai, bare-chested with his sturdy upper body covered in red scratch marks, laughed in a low voice, "Yanyan, looks like you were holding back before." "Yu Jianghai!" Lin Meiyan was so embarrassed by his teasing that she angrily swiped another claw at him. Now, whether it was his front or his back, neither was much fit to be seen. When she saw what she'd done, Lin Meiyan's face flushed bright red in an instant. She reached out and instinctively touched the marks, "Does it hurt?" Yu Jianghai looked down at the battle damage on his body and suddenly smiled. "It doesn't hurt." "Because this is a reward of love." Lin Meiyan couldn't help but spit at him in mock disgust. Yu Jianghai threw on a shirt and turned to pour her a glass of water. The warm water went down her throat, bringing a hint of sweetness. Only then did she feel somewhat moisturized, but she drank too quickly, and water spilled from the corner of her mouth. Yu Jianghai's gaze instantly deepened. "Yanyan?" Even his voice had gone hoarse. Lin Meiyan looked up, still a bit dazed, but when Yu Jianghai came over to wipe the corner of her mouth, she immediately understood what he meant. "Yu Jianghai, don't you even think about it!" Yu Jianghai felt a bit regretful—he still wanted more. "Then shall we try it next time?" His answer was another claw mark from Lin Meiyan. Yu Jianghai laughed as he helped Lin Meiyan get dressed, starting from the undergarments to the coat on the outside. He dressed her extremely slowly, with a hint of teasing in his movements. By the time he finished, he hadn't done anything at all, but Lin Meiyan felt parched and restless from his actions. She couldn't help but kick him with her foot. "Let's go back." "If we don't go back soon, Qiaoqiao won't be able to wait." Yu Jianghai hummed in acknowledgment. Once everything was tidied up, he glanced back at the rest room inside the office. He had rested in this room countless times before. But never had he been as satisfied with it as he was today. Satisfied with its purpose—quiet, secluded, cut off from the world. Yu Jianghai suddenly spoke, "Yanyan." "Hmm?" Lin Meiyan stepped out of the office, her legs a bit weak, leaning on Yu Jianghai to barely stand steady. "Let's come here again next time." This was a perfect place for a secret rendezvous. Lin Meiyan instantly understood his meaning. A faint blush colored her face. "Yu Jianghai, think of something better, why don't you!" Even her scolding carried a hint of coquettishness. Yu Jianghai's gaze deepened. He held her hand and didn't let go, not even after they got into the car. By the time they got home, it was almost ten o'clock. Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju, who should have left by now, were still waiting in the shop. Qiaoqiao was waiting with them too. Gu Kaihua paced back and forth with a worried expression, pacing so much that Ye Qiuju's head was starting to ache. "Stop pacing. Whether Meiyan and Jianghai are fighting or not, I don't know, but you and I are definitely going to end up fighting." That one sentence made Gu Kaihua plop down onto a seat immediately. "I'm just worried, aren't I?" "What if they fight to the point of the sky falling—" He stopped mid-sentence when he suddenly noticed Qiaoqiao staring at him. He immediately shut his mouth. "Never mind, never mind. Married couples fight—they quarrel in bed at night and make up by morning." Before he even finished speaking, they saw a black sedan pull up at the entrance of Linji. A moment later, the car door opened, and Yu Jianghai got out first, followed by Lin Meiyan. When Gu Kaihua saw Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai walking back hand in hand, his heart finally settled. "Meiyan, Jianghai, you're not fighting anymore?" Who talks like that? Ye Qiuju sometimes wished she could crack open his skull to see if one side was filled with water and the other with paste—so that with the slightest shake, it all turned into batter! Lin Meiyan was still a bit embarrassed and didn't know how to answer. Yu Jianghai, however, was perfectly composed. His tone was calm as he said, "We weren't fighting. We just had a difference of opinion, and now we've reached an agreement." No— They'd reached an agreement in bed. Both Yu Jianghai and Lin Meiyan had to admit that their compatibility in bed was their greatest mutual understanding. And that understanding was something they'd already experienced years ago. Gu Kaihua accepted the explanation readily enough. But the sharp-eyed Ye Qiuju let her gaze linger on Lin Meiyan's neck for a moment. Unfortunately for her, Lin Meiyan was wearing a white turtleneck sweater, so nothing could be seen. Ye Qiuju then looked at Yu Jianghai. He was wearing a low-collar shirt. Well then. The truth was out. Ye Qiuju barely suppressed her smile as she dragged Gu Kaihua away. "Alright, since you're both back, I'll hand Qiaoqiao over to you." She yawned. "I'll come by earlier tomorrow morning." Lin Meiyan nodded and watched Ye Qiuju and Gu Kaihua leave. Qiaoqiao came over and took both their hands. "Daddy, Mommy, did you two have a fight?" The little one looked back and forth between them. Lin Meiyan crouched down to her eye level. "It wasn't really a fight. We just disagreed on something." "Oh." After a moment, Qiaoqiao suddenly asked, "Then... will you two not want me anymore?" The moment those words fell, the thin cold air fell silent. Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in the other's eyes. "Qiaoqiao, why would you ask that?" Qiaoqiao thought for a moment. "Zhou Keke's daddy and mommy had a fight, and then they got divorced, and nobody wanted Zhou Keke anymore." "She was sent back to her hometown." Lin Meiyan had never imagined that her argument with Yu Jianghai would have such a negative impact on Qiaoqiao. She instinctively hugged her. "No." "Daddy and Mommy won't get divorced." "And Daddy and Mommy will never, ever not want Qiaoqiao." Qiaoqiao tilted her head and looked at them, not saying anything. "Really?" She asked softly. It was Yu Jianghai who answered her. "Really." His tone was firm. Qiaoqiao let out a soft "mm." She rested her head on Lin Meiyan's shoulder and yawned. "Mommy, I'm sleepy." The child had been up since early morning, and ever since she learned that her parents had fought, she had been in an insecure state. Her mind had started wandering to dark places, until Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai came back and told her in firm words that they would never abandon her. Only then did Qiaoqiao regain a sense of security. After Qiaoqiao fell asleep, Lin Meiyan looked over at Yu Jianghai. Their eyes met, and she said quietly, "From now on, we can't argue in front of the child." Saying they'd never argue at all was almost unrealistic. Because there was no married couple that never fought. The next morning when Lin Meiyan got up, the world outside was a vast expanse of white snow. It turned out Jiangcheng had been snowing all night, so by the time Linji opened its doors, the snow outside was nearly knee-deep. The entire Simenkou was blanketed in white. When Lin Meiyan came down, it was already seven o'clock. The usually bustling Linji breakfast shop was now nearly deserted. Gu Kaihua was reading the newspaper at the door, while Ye Qiuju stared worriedly at the thirty jin of alkaline noodles. Seeing Lin Meiyan come down, she said, "I didn't expect it to snow so heavily today. A lot of people were late for work and didn't have time to come eat." Of course, seeing how heavy the snow was, everyone was also trying to manage on their own. Rather than trudging through the deep snow to come eat breakfast. Lin Meiyan went into the back kitchen to check the breakfast supplies. There were more than twenty jin of alkaline noodles alone, not to mention the wheat noodles, doupi, and soy milk. She thought for a moment. "The alkaline noodles can be made into chow mein, and the wheat noodles into braised noodles." "But we don't have any green beans." Steamed noodles with green beans were famous. Lin Meiyan thought again. "Use radish instead. Braised noodles with radish and pork belly." Radish was a seasonal winter vegetable, and they had pork belly in stock as well. "Should we still steam rice for lunch?" Lin Meiyan looked out the window. The snow was falling harder and harder, so that the usually lively Simenkou now only had hurried passersby rushing to get where they needed to go. Lin Meiyan said, "No rice for lunch." "Send the braised noodles and dishes over to the Jianghai Dicai construction site." "Also—" She paused, noticing that many people rushing to work had no time to buy food, because the heavy snow had made them late already. Lin Meiyan suddenly had a better idea. "Uncle, Auntie." "Move all of Linji's stoves over to the intersection." "Huh?" This time, both Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju were a step behind Lin Meiyan's thinking. "Move them over. Also, first set up a shelter at the intersection." "A shelter that keeps the snow out." "We have one of those!" Gu Kaihua immediately went to the back storage room and brought out a temporary shelter. Following Lin Meiyan's instructions, he set it up at the crossroads of Simenkou Hengjie. This spot was essentially the center of the entire Simenkou Hengjie—everyone passing through had to come this way. By the time Gu Kaihua had the shelter up, Lin Meiyan had already had Ye Qiuju and Hu Guifen bring out the stoves. Linji had four coal stoves in total. Now they were all here. On one stove sat a large wok, simmering over a low flame, filled with a big batch of freshly made doupi. The golden-brown rice-flour pancakes were fried to perfection, steam rising off them in fragrant waves. No sooner had the shelter been set up than passersby caught the scent and walked over. "Give me a serving of doupi to go." "Quick, please—I'm in a hurry for work." Ye Qiuju froze for a moment, but Lin Meiyan had already reacted, quickly wrapping up two pieces of doupi for him. Where there was one customer, a second followed. Lin Meiyan handed the doupi stove over to Hu Guifen. She and Ye Qiuju got the coal stoves ready and started cooking Reganmian. The moment she dropped the noodles in, Ye Qiuju called out, "Reganmian! Tofu noodles! No waiting—grab and go, grab and go!" Her shout was remarkably effective, almost instantly drawing the attention of pedestrians hurrying along the road. "I want a serving of Reganmian." "Help yourself, it's right here." Bowl after bowl of Reganmian was prepared and placed directly on the table, where customers paid and took them without delay. The same went for the tofu noodles. Lin Meiyan and Ye Qiuju worked quickly, blanching seven or eight servings of tofu noodles in one go and setting them on the table, steam rising in thick white plumes. This stood in stark contrast to the snowy expanse outside, where breath froze in the air. "I'll have a serving of tofu noodles." "Me too." "Perfect weather for something hot." More and more people came. Without needing to detour, they could grab breakfast right at the intersection and leave in under a minute. Before long, Lin Meiyan, Ye Qiuju, and Hu Guifen were all too busy to keep up. Gu Kaihua handled the money, and Wu Xiaoyan packed the orders. The five of them worked nearly the entire morning. The thirty jin of alkaline noodles, twenty jin of white noodles, two pans of tofu skin, and over a hundred cups of soy milk that Linji had prepared in advance— Almost everything was sold out. By the end, every ingredient on the table was completely gone. Gu Kaihua murmured, "So it turns out people don't skip meals when it snows—they just don't have time." It was that the workers and students couldn't spare the time to eat. With snow making travel inconvenient, taking a detour for breakfast meant being late, and being late meant docked wages. But Lin Meiyan had moved the breakfast stall to the intersection, which meant she'd solved the root problem in one stroke. "Meiyan, you're a business genius." "A real genius." They weren't the only breakfast stall on Simenkou Hengjie, but in weather like this, everyone else had no business—yet Lin Meiyan's approach had directly solved the core issue. Lin Meiyan rubbed her sore arms. She really had gotten out of shape; after just two hours of work, her arms were already aching. "I'm not a genius—it's about adapting to the circumstances." With that, she glanced at the competitors peeking over curiously, and her vigilance sharpened instantly. "Uncle, your task today is to hold this spot." "Don't take down the canopy. Don't remove the tables." "Stake this position out completely." Jiangcheng's winters were bound to last a long time. Whenever heavy snow or rain hit, everyone's business suffered, and this intersection represented prime real estate. Lin Meiyan had discovered this spot, but she knew these competitors were wolves—they'd stop at nothing to increase their income. The moment they left, someone would snatch this position. Gu Kaihua looked around and said instinctively, "That can't be, right?" "It can." Lin Meiyan said it with absolute certainty. "Keep the canopy up, keep the tables out, and stay here." "If you get cold, warm yourself by the coal stove." Gu Kaihua gave an acknowledging "Ah" and said, "Don't worry, I'll hold it down." Lin Meiyan hummed in approval and began packing up. Gu Kaihua, being a man with more strength, took the lead in helping with the cleanup. They watched as the group cleared away the bowls, chopsticks, and coal stove, leaving only the canopy behind. The owner of Chenji Snacks looked disappointed. When he saw that Gu Kaihua wasn't leaving and was staying put, the Chenji owner grew even more disheartened. Still, most made no move. Back at Linji, Ye Qiuju was still marveling. "Meiyan, your idea was brilliant. Look—everything we stocked sold out." Lin Meiyan nodded as Ye Qiuju counted the money. The more she counted, the more shocked she became. "Meiyan!" "Hm?" Lin Meiyan was feeling a bit cold and was soaking her hands in hot water, which quickly warmed them up. "Just from this morning alone, we made one hundred and ninety-three!" That was more than any previous breakfast service. Because the location was simply too good, too good. Linji's original spot was inside Simenkou, a fair distance from the intersection. As a result, many people buying breakfast would, for convenience, grab something from the other side along the way, or simply skip buying and leave. But now that Linji's breakfast stall had moved to the Simenkou street intersection, it meant the location was connected in all directions. They weren't just capturing the crowd coming out of Linji—they were also capturing everyone around Simenkou. Lin Meiyan was a bit surprised too. "That much?" She took the money and counted it. "It really is." "Actually, under normal circumstances, the income should be even higher than this." Seeing Ye Qiuju look over, Lin Meiyan said in a calm voice, "We only got there at seven-ten, and it was a hastily set-up canopy. By the end, many people couldn't get anything and just left." "That means there's still a large portion of customers we missed." At that thought, Lin Meiyan's heart began to race. "Auntie, moving the breakfast stall to a new location means income at least doubles." If they were better stocked, it could even triple! Hearing this, Ye Qiuju couldn't help but say, "That spot is really valuable—we can't let anyone take it." Lin Meiyan nodded. "That's why I had Uncle stay there." Gu Kaihua had kept watch all day, and fortunately nothing happened. By evening, he returned and said to Lin Meiyan, "I could tell those people wanted the spot, but since I was guarding it, they held back a bit and didn't dare come snatch it." "Besides, after I held it for a whole day, everyone knows by now that it's our Linji spot." But Gu Kaihua spoke too soon. The next morning, when he and Ye Qiuju arrived, they saw the shed they'd set up the day before had been pushed over into the slush. One bamboo pole was bent, the tarp smeared with mud, and the two tables beside it had been moved to the edge of the alley, their legs sunk into the melted snow. And on the spot that belonged to Linji, Chenji Snacks had already set up their stove, with a big pot on top steaming away, and a wooden sign hanging beside it. Chenji Reganmian. Chenji Tofu Noodles. Boss Chen was bent over adding coal to the stove, while Sister-in-law Chen set out bowls nearby. When she spotted Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju approaching, she wasn't the least bit guilty—she even deliberately slammed a stack of bowls onto the table. Clatter. "Oh, Boss Gu's here?" Gu Kaihua's face changed instantly. He'd guarded that spot all day yesterday, his toes nearly going numb from the cold. Before leaving, he'd even tied down the shed and arranged the tables, planning to come back first thing this morning and start selling right away. And what did he find? The shed knocked over. The tables moved. The spot taken. Gu Kaihua was so furious he was about to explode. He bellowed, "Chen! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Boss Chen looked up at him and smiled. "What do you mean, what am I doing? It's a public street—first come, first served. Do I even need to explain that?" Ye Qiuju frowned. "Chen Daquan, we set up that shed yesterday." Boss Chen patted the coal dust off his hands. "Sure, you set up the shed. But this spot isn't your property, is it?" "We held it all day yesterday." "Hold it one day and it's yours?" Sister-in-law Chen curled her lip. "Then if I hold it today, does that make it mine tomorrow?" Gu Kaihua was never one to hold his temper. Hearing this, he strode forward and grabbed the table. "Don't give me that crap. You moved our tables, knocked over our shed, and you think you're in the right?" Boss Chen slammed a hand on the table. "Try moving it and see what happens." "Fine, I'll move it!" Gu Kaihua yanked hard, dragging the table forward. The bowls and chopsticks on top clattered to the ground with a sharp crash. Sister-in-law Chen shrieked, "Gu Kaihua, don't you get too cocky!" Boss Chen panicked too and shoved Gu Kaihua. "Let go!" The husband and wife came at him together. Gu Kaihua was pushed back half a step, his foot slipping in the slush, nearly falling. That was the last straw. Once he steadied himself, he grabbed Boss Chen by the collar of his padded jacket. "You dare push me?" Boss Chen wasn't about to back down either. He raised his arm to pry Gu Kaihua's hands off, and in an instant, the two were tangled together—one gripping a collar, the other yanking a sleeve. Ye Qiuju's face went pale. "Gu Kaihua!" She rushed in to pull them apart, but Gu Kaihua wasn't listening to anyone at that moment. He was usually a chatterbox, scared of his wife, and lazy—but when it came to Linji's business, he cared more than anyone. Yesterday, Meiyan had finally come up with a plan. Linji had finally carved out a way to survive. And in one night, someone had snatched it away. This wasn't just about a spot. This was about taking Linji's livelihood! The more Gu Kaihua thought about it, the angrier he got, and the harder he gripped. Boss Chen's face turned red, his neck bulging, and he kicked out at Gu Kaihua. The two rolled in the snow, nearly knocking over the stove. By now, people on the street had gathered around, chattering, "Oh dear, what's going on?" "Why are they fighting this early in the morning?" "What else could it be? Fighting over the spot. Linji sold like crazy here yesterday, and today Chenji came to take it over." "Chenji's really not playing fair, is it? Their shed's still standing right there." Hearing this, Sister-in-law Chen immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, "What do you mean we're not playing fair? This is a public street, not the Lin family's property. Who says only Linji can set up here? Why can't Chenji?" When Wu Xiaoyan came carrying a paper bag of takeout, this was the scene she walked into. Gu Kaihua and Boss Chen were tangled up on the ground, Ye Qiuju was trying to pull them apart, Sister-in-law Chen was cursing while shielding the stove with a bowl, and the crowd of onlookers was growing bigger by the second. Wu Xiaoyan's face went white with fright. She stood frozen for two seconds, then tears spilled out. "Uncle Gu!" she called out, but no one heard her. Boss Chen landed a punch on Gu Kaihua's shoulder. Gu Kaihua wasn't one to take it lying down—he shoved the man back down into the snow. Wu Xiaoyan was so scared the paper bag slipped from her hands. She turned and ran straight back to Linji. "Sister Lin!" She ran and cried at the same time, her shoes splashing through the slush, her pant legs soaked through, but she didn't care. Lin Meiyan was in the back kitchen checking the last batch of doupi when she heard the commotion and looked up. "What's wrong?" Wu Xiaoyan gripped the doorframe, gasping for breath. "Sister Lin, Uncle Gu is in a fight!" The ladle in Lin Meiyan's hand froze mid-air. "With who?" "Chenji." Wu Xiaoyan couldn't stop her tears. "The boss of Chenji knocked down our stall and took our spot. Uncle Gu got into a fight with them." Lin Meiyan's face darkened. She untied her apron and headed out. Hu Guifen, flustered, added, "I'm coming too." "No need." Lin Meiyan turned back. "Keep an eye on the pot, don't let the shop get into chaos." Her voice still carried a hint of calm as she tried to soothe Hu Guifen and Wu Xiaoyan alike. But Wu Xiaoyan followed behind her and noticed her fingers clenched tightly. She murmured, "Sister Lin, they were fighting so fiercely." By the time Lin Meiyan reached the intersection, Gu Kaihua had already been pulled apart. There was a streak of mud on his face, and the sleeve of his padded jacket had been torn open along a seam. Boss Chen was in worse shape—a bit of blood hung beneath his nose, and Sister-in-law Chen was supporting him. The moment Sister-in-law Chen saw Lin Meiyan, she immediately shouted, "Lin Meiyan, you came just in time! Look at what your uncle did to my husband!" Gu Kaihua spat, "You stole my spot and knocked over my stall, and you still have the nerve to yell?" "What do you mean, your spot?" Boss Chen clutched his nose. "If you've got the guts, show me the deed!" "You—" Lin Meiyan walked over and looked at Gu Kaihua first. "Uncle, where are you hurt?" Gu Kaihua had been about to keep cursing, but hearing this, his anger subsided a little. "I'm fine, just the sleeve is ruined." Ye Qiuju rolled her eyes from the side. "So you have to be black and blue before it counts as hurt, is that it?" Gu Kaihua touched his face. "It's not like I came out on the losing end." Seeing that he could still joke, Lin Meiyan felt slightly relieved. She looked up at Boss Chen. "Boss Chen, yesterday we set up our stall here first. If you wanted to use this spot today, you could have talked to us about it. But knocking over our stall and moving our tables aside—that's not right." Sister-in-law Chen sneered. "Not right? Who are you going to complain to about what's not right?" "Lin Meiyan, don't think just because you've opened your Linji now, you can lord it over the main road." Lin Meiyan didn't take the bait. She said calmly, "If you want to set up a stall, you can set up next to us." "Not by tearing down our spot." "Why not?" Boss Chen waved his hand dismissively. "This place isn't something you bought." Lin Meiyan said, "But in business, it's first come, first served. Yesterday we set up our stall here, and all the neighbors saw it. If you think this spot is good today, you could have come to talk to us. Even taking turns wouldn't have been out of the question." She said this without haste or anger. The onlookers nodded along. "That's fair enough." "Exactly, you can't just knock down someone's stall in the middle of the night." "Chenji's behavior here is a bit ugly." Hearing everyone taking Linji's side, Sister-in-law Chen's face turned even uglier. She planted her hands on her hips and raised her voice. "You're all taking her side because you don't know what kind of person she really is!" Ye Qiuju's expression shifted. "Ma Changmei, watch your mouth." Sister-in-law Chen snorted. "My mouth is dirty? I'd say her deeds are the dirty ones!" Lin Meiyan's gaze turned colder. "Sister-in-law Chen, I came here today to settle the matter of the spot, not to listen to you curse at me." "Oh, so you know you deserve to be cursed at?" Sister-in-law Chen stepped forward and pointed at Lin Meiyan. "What's so great about you, Lin Meiyan? You just have a face that can charm people, don't you? You really think that just because you married the boss of Jianghai Dicai, you've hit the jackpot and everyone around you gets to ride on your coattails?" The crowd gasped. Gu Kaihua's face darkened. "Say that again and see what happens!" Emboldened by the crowd, Sister-in-law Chen grew more brazen. "Did I say anything wrong? Everyone at Simenkou knows—you came back with a child, and nobody can even say who the father is. Now you've latched onto the Jianghai Dicai boss, your backbone's gotten stiff, and you want to take over the whole main road?" Lin Meiyan's fingers curled slightly. Ye Qiuju charged straight over. "Ma Changmei, if you spew any more filth from that mouth of yours, I'll tear it apart!" Sister-in-law Chen ducked behind Boss Chen, then poked her head out again. "Go ahead and tear it! You Gu family always sticks up for your own. If you ask me, that Jianghai Dicai boss is muddle-headed too—raising another man's child, and so eagerly at that." Gu Kaihua's eyes turned red. "You goddamn—" Lin Meiyan grabbed him, her gaze cold and trembling. "You're cursing my child?" "What did my Qiaoqiao ever do to you?" Sister-in-law Chen froze for a moment, then sneered. "What? Hit a nerve?" "Who knows whether that child is Yu Jianghai's or not? If you don't have a guilty conscience, what are you afraid of?" Lin Meiyan looked at her with no expression on her face. The more expressionless she was, the more Ye Qiuju's heart sank. "Meiyan." Ye Qiuju called her name in a low voice. Lin Meiyan didn't respond. Sister-in-law Chen kept cursing. "A little bastard is a little bastard. Even if you get the Jianghai Dicai boss to play daddy, that doesn't make her a real young miss. How are you so capable, Lin Meiyan—dragging along your own burden and still getting a big boss to accept it? Who wouldn't admire that skill of yours?" Slap. A crisp sound rang out. Sister-in-law Chen's face was knocked to the side. Everyone froze, even Gu Kaihua didn't react in time. Lin Meiyan stood in the snow, her hand still hanging in midair. Her eyes were red with intensity, and her voice was colder than the ice and snow around her. "I said, don't curse the child." Sister-in-law Chen covered her face, stunned for a long moment before shrieking, "Lin Meiyan! You dare hit me?" She lunged at Lin Meiyan. Lin Meiyan dodged sharply to the side. Sister-in-law Chen missed grabbing her clothes but caught the ends of her hair. Lin Meiyan winced in pain, reached up, and grabbed hold of the other woman's padded jacket collar. The two women immediately tumbled into a brawl. Ye Qiuju had initially wanted to mediate, but when Boss Chen charged forward to help Sister-in-law Chen, Gu Kaihua saw him about to lay hands on Lin Meiyan and lunged at him directly. "Chen, touch my niece and see what happens!" By now it was complete chaos. Someone knocked against the stove, sloshing hot water from the pot, and the onlookers scrambled backward in fright. "Stop fighting!" "Ow! Someone break them up!" "Go call the police station, hurry!" Sister-in-law Chen grabbed at Lin Meiyan's clothes, still cursing, "You bitch, you hit me? Who do you think you are?" Wu Xiaoyan seized her chance and pounced, planting herself right on Sister-in-law Chen's face, pressing down hard while shouting at Lin Meiyan, "Sis, hit her!" "Beat her to death!" Lin Meiyan had turned ruthless too. She grabbed Sister-in-law Chen's hair in a death grip and yanked hard. "Say it again!" Her scalp felt like it was being torn off. Sister-in-law Chen howled in pain. Lin Meiyan gritted her teeth and shoved her away. "Say one more word about my daughter and I'll beat you to death!" In that moment, she didn't care about dignity. She didn't care about gentleness. She only wanted to beat to death the woman who had cursed her daughter! Beat her to death! Sister-in-law Chen slammed into the edge of the table, her eyes red with fury. "I'll say it! Bastard! She's a bas—" Before the last word could leave her mouth, Lin Meiyan struck again, harder than before. A sharp slap. Lin Meiyan had put her full strength into it. Sister-in-law Chen screamed and raised her hand to claw at Lin Meiyan's face. Ye Qiuju was quick-eyed and quick-handed. She grabbed Sister-in-law Chen's wrist. "Try scratching her face and see what happens!" Sister-in-law Chen twisted around to grab at Ye Qiuju. But Ye Qiuju was no pushover either—just because she usually yelled at Gu Kaihua didn't mean she lacked strength. The two sides grappled, and no one could get between them. Wu Xiaoyan was shoved aside. She tried to rush back in to help, but one of Chenji's workers kicked her, sending her tumbling into the snow. That lit a fire in her. She turned and went looking for a knife. "Damn it all, I'll chop you bastards up!" "Don't grab a knife, are you crazy?" The older woman grabbed her urgently. "The police have already been called. Don't worry, don't worry." Before long, the police arrived. Officer Qian pushed through the crowd with two young officers. Taking one look at the scene, his face darkened. "Everyone stop!" No one let go. Officer Qian pulled Gu Kaihua apart. "Gu Kaihua!" Gu Kaihua paused at the familiar voice. Boss Chen tried to lunge again, but a young officer twisted his arm behind his back. "Stay still!" Boss Chen yelped in pain. "Officers, look! They started it!" Sister-in-law Chen wailed too. "My face! That bitch Lin Meiyan hit me!" Officer Qian looked at Lin Meiyan. Her hair was disheveled, one hairpin missing, a red scratch across her cheek, two buttons torn from her padded jacket. She looked thoroughly battered. Officer Qian's brow furrowed deeper. "Boss Lin, you threw punches too?" Lin Meiyan pressed her lips together. "I did." "Why?" Lin Meiyan looked at Sister-in-law Chen. "She cursed my daughter." Sister-in-law Chen immediately shouted, "Did I curse her? I was telling the truth!" Lin Meiyan's head snapped up, her eyes fierce. Officer Qian slapped the table beside him. "Haven't you caused enough chaos?" Sister-in-law Chen flinched and finally shut her mouth. Officer Qian looked around. "Everyone's coming back to the station." Gu Kaihua protested. "Officer Qian, they stole our spot and knocked over our stall!" "Save it for the station." Officer Qian glanced at him. "Your hands are covered in mud and your face is banged up. You want to keep fighting?" Gu Kaihua's face flushed red with frustration. Ye Qiuju tugged at him. "Fine, let's go. What are we afraid of?" "Everyone knows who did the wrong thing!" When Sister-in-law Chen heard they were going to the police station, she stopped crying and started shouting again. "Fine, let's go! I'd like to see if the police will let Linji bully people!" As the group was led away, the crowd still hadn't dispersed. Wu Xiaoyan went to prop up the stall that had fallen in the slush, and Uncle Wang helped carry the table back to the side. After righting the table, Wu Xiaoyan ran after them, crying. "Sister Lin, what about the shop?" Lin Meiyan stopped and turned back to her. "Go find Sister Hu and have her watch the shop for now." "What about you?" "I'm going to the police station." Wu Xiaoyan's tears fell again. The knife was still in her hand, but all her earlier ferocity was gone. "Sister Lin..." Lin Meiyan reached up and wiped her tears. "Don't cry. It's fine." Her voice was still calm, but that only made Wu Xiaoyan feel worse. Sister Lin's face was like this, and she was still comforting her. At the police station, Sister-in-law Chen couldn't sit still. She pointed at her face for the officer to see. "Look at what she did to me! Half my face is swollen!" The young officer glanced at her, then looked at Lin Meiyan. "Your face is hurt too." Sister-in-law Chen immediately said, "She deserved that! She threw the first punch!" Gu Kaihua slammed the table in anger. "You're the one who cursed at the kid first!" Officer Qian looked up. "Gu Kaihua, try slamming the table again and see what happens." Gu Kaihua's hand froze mid-air, then he sheepishly withdrew it. Ye Qiuju glared at him. "Sit properly." Gu Kaihua had no choice but to sit down, though he still muttered under his breath, "What a piece of work, stealing someone's spot and acting like they're in the right." Boss Chen held his nose. "Gu Kaihua, this matter of you hitting me isn't over." "Fine, it's not over. Who's afraid of who?" "Enough!" Officer Qian set his pen down on the table. "You're all in your forties or fifties, and you're brawling in the street like this? Aren't you embarrassed?" Sister-in-law Chen quickly said, "Officer, I didn't want to fight. It's Linji who's bullying people. They're different now—they've latched onto Jianghai Dicai and have backing. They look down on us small-time vendors." Lin Meiyan hadn't said a word. She sat on the wooden chair, her fingers pressing on the popped button of her cotton-padded jacket. She hadn't noticed it during the fight, but now that she was sitting down, her scalp throbbed and her face stung. She looked down and saw that the skin on the back of her hand was scraped, with a bit of blood seeping through. Officer Qian glanced at her. "Boss Lin, tell me what happened." Lin Meiyan looked up, took a deep breath, and then explained the whole situation. "Yesterday it snowed heavily. Our Linji set up a stall at the Simenkou intersection to sell breakfast. After we closed yesterday, we didn't take down the stall. We left the tables and had my uncle watch over it all day." "When we went over this morning, the stall had been torn down, the tables moved, and the spot had been taken over by Chenji." "We originally wanted to discuss it." She paused here. Sister-in-law Chen sneered. "Discuss? You came up and slapped me. That's what you call discussing?" Lin Meiyan looked at her. "You hit me first. I tried to reason with you, but you wouldn't listen. Not only did you hit me, you cursed at my child." At that, she said to Officer Qian, "Every word I've said is the truth, and I can find witnesses to prove it. From start to finish, Chenji started this." Sister-in-law Chen was stubborn. "I didn't say anything wrong." "What exactly did you say?" Officer Qian frowned. "I didn't say anything." Sister-in-law Chen's eyes darted around, refusing to tell the truth. Gu Kaihua almost laughed in anger. "Now you don't dare say it? When you were on the street calling Qiaoqiao a bastard, you weren't scared then?" Officer Qian's pen stopped. The young officer also looked up. Sister-in-law Chen immediately shouted, "I said that in anger!" "Just because you were angry, you can insult a child? Ma Changmei, you're a mother yourself. Aren't you afraid of karma for saying something like that?" Sister-in-law Chen's mouth moved, then she let out a weak snort. "If she hadn't hit me, would I have said it?" "You stole our spot and you think you're in the right?" The two sides looked like they were about to start arguing again. Officer Qian tapped the table. "Everyone shut up." The room quieted down. Officer Qian looked at these people, his head aching. He knew most of the neighbors around Simenkou. When Linji first opened, he'd gone there a couple of times. Lin Meiyan was someone who spoke softly and wasn't the type to get into fights with people casually. Gu Kaihua was a bit loose-tongued, but he wouldn't hit someone without reason. As for the Chen couple, they were shrewd in business and sharp-tongued. Officer Qian had a rough idea of who started this today. But a fight was a fight. They'd made a scene in the street like this; it couldn't just be brushed off as a few angry words. Officer Qian closed his notebook. "First, have your family members come over." Gu Kaihua immediately said, "My family member is right here." Ye Qiuju shot him a look. "I'm in here too. Am I bailing you out, or are you bailing me out?" Gu Kaihua: "..." That was hard to say at the moment. Officer Qian looked at Lin Meiyan. "Boss Lin, what about your husband?" Lin Meiyan paused, then said instinctively, "No need to call him." Gu Kaihua immediately grew anxious. "What do you mean no need? Call him! You have to call him! Let Jiang Hai come see how these people are bullying you!" Lin Meiyan pressed her lips together. "This is Linji's business." Gu Kaihua was furious. "This is you being cursed at and beaten!" "You still want to hide it and bear it alone?" At those words, Lin Meiyan lowered her head and said nothing. Ye Qiuju felt terrible seeing her like this. "Meiyan." Ye Qiuju's voice softened a little. "You're not alone anymore." Sister-in-law Chen chimed in sarcastically from the side. "That's right, not alone anymore. With the Jianghai Dicai boss backing you up, who would dare mess with you?" Officer Qian's face darkened. "Say one more word, and you can go sit over there." Sister-in-law Chen shut her mouth resentfully. Officer Qian didn't wait for Lin Meiyan to refuse again. He directly asked Gu Kaihua, "What's the number for Jianghai Dicai?" Gu Kaihua immediately recited a string of numbers. Lin Meiyan looked up as if to stop him, but Ye Qiuju pressed her hand down. "Let him come." Lin Meiyan's fingers trembled slightly. She didn't know why she suddenly didn't dare let Yu Jianghai come—probably because she looked too disheveled. She didn't want him to see her hair in disarray, her face scratched, and the buttons on her padded jacket missing. More than that, she didn't want him to hear those words—they were too filthy. So filthy that just hearing them once made her want to tear Sister-in-law Chen's mouth apart. When the call reached Jianghai Dicai, Yu Jianghai was in a meeting in the conference room. Secretary Shen answered the phone at the door. After listening for a moment, her expression changed. "What did you say?" "Something happened to Youth Lin?!"