Chapter 85 — Take Him Out and You'll Be Number Two
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Tang Zhi's mother naturally knew of Zou Ruoming, knew that he was one of the school's bullies. But he had never once patronized her stall before, and she had no idea what had gotten into him today, bringing so many of his followers here to eat.
Tang Zhi's mother still felt a measure of fear toward Zou Ruoming. Once, a seafood stir-fry vendor on the snack street had upset Zou Ruoming's stomach with his cooking, and the very next day Zou Ruoming had shown up with a gang of thugs and smashed the man's stall to pieces. That was not all -- the vendor himself had been beaten black and blue and had not come out to set up his stall for days afterward.
The other vendors on the snack street were, naturally, as silent as winter cicadas in the face of Zou Ruoming's tyranny. They scrambled to find out who this person was, and only then did they learn that he was one of the school's Four Great Villains. From that day on, whenever Zou Ruoming graced anyone's stall, that vendor would be as careful as could possibly be, terrified that the slightest thing might go wrong. When settling the bill, they always gave him the deepest discounts, afraid that Zou Ruoming might take offense.
There was more than one barbecue stall on the snack street. Zou Ruoming and his crew had always eaten at a barbecue stall near the front of the street, and Tang Zhi's mother had privately counted herself lucky for it. After all, a small business like hers did not earn much to begin with -- if trouble came knocking, she would not have enough to compensate them.
"Gentlemen, please enjoy your meal... oh!" Tang Zhi's mother carefully set a plate of freshly grilled chicken wings down on Zou Ruoming's table. But the more careful she tried to be, the more things went wrong. As she set the wings down, her hand trembled slightly, and a streak of seasoning flew off the chicken and landed on the leg of a broad-faced fat kid sitting beside Zou Ruoming, leaving an immediate oil stain.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Tang Zhi's mother was thrown into a panic. She was genuinely terrified of these young masters, afraid that the slightest displeasure would have them up on their feet smashing her stall. "Perhaps... I could wipe that off for you... or I could wash them for you, if you prefer..."
Since being laid off, Tang Zhi's mother had kept the family alive solely on this barbecue stall. Her husband's leg had been injured and he had been bedridden ever since, yet the factory's work-injury compensation had never materialized. She had gone to claim it several times, only to be driven away by the factory management with brutal indifference.
Tang Zhi's mother was the archetypal housewife from the very bottom rung of society -- humble and meek, yet forced to hold up an entire household with her own two hands, earning money to put her daughter through school and pay for her husband's medical treatment.
"Ha, no worries at all!" The broad-faced fat kid showed not a trace of anger. He casually brushed the seasoning off his pants and said with breezy nonchalance, "How could I possibly trouble you, Auntie, to wash my pants? Brother Ming would kill me! Besides, you're going to be an elder soon!"
"You brat." Zou Ruoming flicked the fat kid on the forehead. "Starting to kiss up already?"
"Hehehe..." The fat kid chuckled. The other students who had come with Zou Ruoming burst into unrestrained, brazen laughter.
Tang Zhi's mother stared at the fat kid in helpless confusion, not understanding what he had meant, nor why everyone was laughing. The one thing she did manage to grasp was that it seemed this broad-faced fat kid had no intention of holding her responsible.
Tang Zhi's mother immediately breathed a sigh of relief and ventured carefully, "Then... let me treat you to this meal?"