Courtyard House: From Bloodsucking Jia Zhangshi to Industrial Giant

Chapter 55 Ochazuke !

Upon seeing the Japanese ochazuke the man had made, Zhang Chengfei narrowed his eyes, looked up, and began to scrutinize the man before him.

Liu Haizhong's words echoed in his ears: "Slender build, medium height, sallow complexion, clean-shaven, thin lips, triangular eyes..."

Okay, it all matches up now.

The noodles he had ordered earlier were served. Zhang Chengfei stirred the noodles with his chopsticks while pondering what to do next.

Once the dough was mixed, I had an idea.

He placed his chopsticks on the noodle bowl, called the waiter over, and ordered another dish of Qianlong cabbage in front of the man and the waiter.

"Qianlong cabbage, 21 cents, no ticket required." The waiter's attitude was not good.

Zhang Chengfei didn't care. In front of the waiter and the man opposite him, he took out a blue and white striped handkerchief containing money, opened it, and inside were two large black ten-yuan bills rolled up.

He slowly counted out two cents and handed it over, then rolled up the handkerchief and put it in his pocket in front of the two of them.

When the Qianlong cabbage was served, Zhang Chengfei ate a mouthful of noodles and a mouthful of cabbage with great relish.

Having finished eating and drinking, he put down his chopsticks and was about to leave when he reached into his pocket and exclaimed, "Where's my money? How did my money disappear? No, who stole my money?"

Thief?

The diners and waiters in the restaurant quickly gathered around, leaving only a short-haired girl who remained calmly sitting in her place eating noodles.

However, no one cared about her; everyone's attention was on Zhang Chengfei.

Zhang Chengfei turned all his pockets inside out to show everyone, then suddenly pointed at the man eating tea-soaked rice: "When I ordered the Qianlong cabbage, my money was still with me. After that, besides you, there was no one else around. You must have stolen my money!"

The man said expressionlessly, "I didn't steal your money."

"You're saying I didn't steal anything?" Zhang Chengfei pulled the waiter over to testify. "When I was ordering, didn't you see the handkerchief I used to wrap the money in and the money inside? After that, besides the two of us, did anyone else come to our table?"

The waiter nodded: "No one else has been to your area. However, that doesn't prove that this man stole your money."

"There were only the two of us, so who else could it be but him?" Zhang Chengfei said anxiously. "Everyone saw it, my handkerchief is indeed missing."

Seeing Zhang Chengfei pestering him, the man looked a little anxious and turned to leave, but Zhang Chengfei grabbed him.

"You stole my money and you think you can just leave?" he demanded sharply.

"I didn't steal your money."

"Then let me search you!"

As soon as Zhang Chengfei spoke, the man's expression changed drastically, and the crowd around him began to murmur amongst themselves.

The man took a deep breath and spoke again, his attitude completely different: "Twenty-five yuan, is that right? I'll pay you back."

Zhang Chengfei crossed his arms and sneered, "Didn't you just say you didn't steal my money? Why are you willing to compensate me now?"

The man gritted his teeth: "I was momentarily blinded by greed. If you're willing to chat privately, I can compensate you double for your losses..."

Zhang Chengfei sneered: "Double won't do, it has to be at least a hundred yuan."

The onlookers were immediately in an uproar. At first, everyone was on Zhang Chengfei's side, but now that they heard him making such an outrageous demand, they felt that he was trying to extort money.

While it's wrong for the other party to steal money, demanding 100 yuan in compensation for stealing 25 yuan seems a bit outrageous.

An old man stepped forward, trying to say something fair: "Young man, that's enough..."

Before he could finish speaking, the girl who had been eating noodles suddenly looked up: "One hundred isn't enough, it has to be at least three hundred!"

What? Three hundred? Everyone else present looked over.

"Hey young lady, what does this have to do with you?" an older woman couldn't help but step forward.

The girl wiped her mouth with a self-righteous air, stood up, and walked over: "I'm a righteous person; I'll help those in need when I see injustice."

"So you're loyal? I think you and this young man are in cahoots!"

"Such pretty young men and women, how could they let honest guys swindle them..."

"I mean, could they be in cahoots?"

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, the man, gritting his teeth, actually began to try and bargain: "I only have one hundred and fifty on me. If it's okay, I'll give it to you, and we'll be even."

Zhang Chengfei and the girl exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Three hundred yuan, not a penny less!"

The elderly man who had spoken up earlier stepped forward: "Comrade, these two are teaming up to scam you. To be honest, we're not even sure if he lost any money! Don't give them a single penny; I'll call the police for you!"

As he spoke, he started to walk out.

The man hurriedly shouted to stop and even reached out to pull him away.

The old man turned his head to avoid his hand, and his gaze suddenly changed: "You've been scammed and you won't even let me go to the police station? You...you don't have some kind of case on your hands, do you?"

These days, people are extremely vigilant. After the old man finished speaking, he immediately retreated behind the crowd.

Upon hearing the old man's words, and recalling the man's drastically different attitude when facing Zhang Chengfei's extortion, the others immediately swarmed forward and surrounded the man.

Seeing that they couldn't escape, the man suddenly pulled a gleaming dagger from his waist. Everyone immediately retreated behind Zhang Chengfei…

Are you kidding me? Why risk your life for doing something heroic? I'm done playing, I'm leaving.

Seeing that he couldn't escape, the man grabbed the girl who had helped Zhang Chengfei extort money from him: "Let me go, or I'll make her..."

Before he could finish speaking, the girl grabbed his wrist and twisted it hard, causing the knife in his hand to fall to the ground with a clang.

Before the man could react, the woman first elbowed him in the stomach, then turned around and lashed out with her right leg like a whip, kicking him hard in the groin with all her strength and anger!

This kick was delivered with all its might! Suddenly, all the men present felt a chill in their groin.

The man immediately broke out in a cold sweat, clutching his crotch and collapsing to the ground. The girl pulled out a piece of hemp rope from her lower back and tightly tied it around the man's hands.

After tidying up the man, she walked towards Zhang Chengfei: "Comrade, I'm a recent graduate of the Sijiu City Public School. Aren't you going to call the police? I'll go with you."

Zhang Chengfei looked at her warily: "Where are your documents?"

The girl was a little confused: "What identification?"

"You say you graduated from a public school, what proof do you have?" Zhang Chengfei changed his approach.

The girl then realized that this person suspected her of being a bad guy, or rather, that she was in cahoots with the person who stole the wallet.

She took out her work assignment certificate from her pocket and handed it over. Zhang Chengfei checked it and, after confirming that the girl was not an accomplice of the Poison Scorpion, handed it back.

The girl smiled helplessly: "I could tell he was acting strange, and I even played along with your act, yet you still doubt me..."

Zhang Chengfei explained, "I'm just being extra cautious, aren't I? Comrade, you graduated from the Civil Service University, you should understand me."

"I understand, how could I not understand? But what exactly did this person do wrong?"

Zhang Chengfei asked in surprise, "Don't you read the newspaper?"

"Newspaper?" The girl tilted her head and looked at Zhang Chengfei, her eyes filled with confusion.

Just as Zhang Chengfei was about to speak, he heard someone shout, "The police are here!"

"Fine, let's just talk about it all at once," he shrugged.