Drowned Rats, and Chicken
Ten minutes later.
Chen Ling, holding a sticky note filled with characters, walked down the stairs unhurriedly.
At this time, Kong Baosheng was sitting at the table with a pale face, his hands tightly clenched on his knees, seeming somewhat restless.
Seeing Chen Ling come down, he immediately stood up and said earnestly:
"Mr. Lin, I don't think this will work... Let me go to the dance hall and explain it clearly to Boss Li, okay? Boss Li's influence on this street is too great. If he really targets us, I'm afraid we truly won't have a single customer. Then how can we do business?"
Chen Ling put the sticky note back into his pocket, smiled slightly, and said, "You don't need to worry about this."
Kong Baosheng still wanted to say something, but Chen Ling spoke again:
"By the way, do something for me."
Chen Ling leaned over to his side and whispered something. The latter nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, I'll go right away."
As Kong Baosheng hurried away, Chen Ling glanced at the sky, dragged a rocking chair from the backyard to the Theater House entrance, and sat down leisurely, squinting at the sun like an old man.
About a few minutes later, two ferocious-looking young men walked out of the Great World Cabaret carrying baseball bats and rust-covered iron pipes, heading straight for the Jinghong Theater.
Seeing Chen Ling sunbathing at the door, they asked viciously:
"So you're the boss of this Theater House?!"
Chen Ling didn't even lift his eyelids. His body swayed slightly with the rocking chair, bathed entirely in the sunlight, unspeakably comfortable.
Seeing Chen Ling completely ignore them, one of the hot-tempered young men immediately lifted his iron pipe to smash Chen Ling, but was stopped by his companion, who lowered his voice and said:
"Did you forget the boss said to keep a low profile recently, especially not to draw the Police Officers over... Let's just do as the boss meant, guard here the whole time, and make sure no one goes in."
The young man carrying the iron pipe glared at Chen Ling, who was ignoring them. Only after a long while did he coldly snort, put down his weapon, and sat directly on the roadside at the Theater House entrance.
Whether it was their clothes, appearance, or the weapons in their hands, these two young men looked extremely terrifying. Sitting at the entrance of this Theater House, they looked like two living Yama Kings. They glared at everyone who passed by, scaring almost all pedestrians into taking a detour around this section.
Chen Ling squinted his eyes, taking this scene in, but showed no intention of managing it at all, as if the two of them were thin air.
This kind of disregard made the two young men extremely unhappy. After following Li Ruohong for so many years, who on this street didn't treat them like Plague Gods when they saw them? Don't look at this Theater House boss putting on an act now, looking like he wasn't afraid of them. In a couple of days, when he still couldn't open his doors to welcome customers, they didn't believe this boss wouldn't take the initiative to beg for mercy... Wouldn't he be at their mercy then?
When Kong Baosheng came back carrying bags of ingredients, he was visibly frightened by the two, his face deathly pale. In the end, Chen Ling took the initiative to step forward and lead him, and only under the threats of the two did they return to the Theater House without mishap.
Seeing Kong Baosheng's reaction, the two of them immediately felt much more delighted in their hearts.
That's right, this reaction was normal!
"Mr. Lin, they..." After entering the room, Kong Baosheng pointed at the two, seemingly still wanting to say something.
Chen Ling shook his head, signaling him not to care, "Go cook. We'll eat something delicious today."
"...Okay."
As Kong Baosheng went into the Kitchen to get busy, Chen Ling also slowly walked to the entrance of the Theater House.
He looked up at the sunny sky and said unhurriedly, "The weather isn't very good... It looks like there's going to be a heavy rainstorm."
As he spoke, he moved the rocking chair from the door back into the building. Seeing this scene, the two "Door Gods" sneered.
"Rain? There isn't even a single cloud today, where would the rain come from?"
Chen Ling acted as if he hadn't heard their laughter. Just as he moved the rocking chair back inside, the bright sunlight gradually dimmed. A dark cloud floated over from who knows where, gloomily pressing down from above.
The smiles on the two young men's faces suddenly stiffened.
[Time: Afternoon, 13:00]
[A heavy rainstorm is coming]
The fierce wind blew the wind chimes on the eaves of the Theater House, making them jingle. Chen Ling unhurriedly returned to the rocking chair inside the building, sat down, and a look of ridicule surfaced in his eyes as he looked at the two outside the door.
The rain clouds in the sky grew heavier and heavier. The sky seemed to turn completely pitch-black. People on both sides of the street hurriedly took in their clothes and closed their windows. When the first drop of rain fell on the face of the young man holding the iron pipe, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in his heart.
Boom—
Following a low thunderclap flashing through the clouds, a dense downpour suddenly descended. Large raindrops crackled against the street and windows, and a misty vapor submerged the mortal realm.
In just a few short seconds, the two young men became drowned rats. They immediately retreated under the eaves of the Theater House, but the howling gale continued to smash raindrops onto them, leaving them absolutely no place to hide!
The expressions of the two were extremely ugly. Seeing this, one of them was about to step into the Theater House to take shelter from the rain, but the other immediately grabbed him.
"The boss already laid down the harsh words. If you go in, wouldn't the boss have to change his surname?"
"Then... then what do we do??"
"What else can we do?! Just hide here!" He looked up at the sky and said with certainty, "This rain came quickly, so it must leave quickly as well... I reckon it won't be long before it clears up."
"Makes sense."
The two looked back at the Theater House and saw Chen Ling still leisurely sitting on the rocking chair, as if admiring the rain, and also as if admiring the two fools in the rain. The corners of his mouth hooked up slightly; no matter how you looked at it, it carried a provocative meaning.
Seeing this, the flames of anger burned fiercely in their hearts, further strengthening the thoughts in their minds... Even if they got drenched in the rain and froze to death outside, they would absolutely not step half a foot into this Theater House!
...
Two hours later.
The rain poured harder and harder. The torrential downpour was like a water basin tipping over, madly dousing the two of them, instantly soaking them from head to toe, making them shiver with cold.
Just as their bodies were almost numb, an alluring aroma wafted from behind. They turned their heads with difficulty and saw Kong Baosheng carrying a basin of steaming hot chicken soup inside the Theater House. He placed it on the table in front of Chen Ling, his fingers burned as he continuously blew air beside his mouth to cool them down.
"Mr. Lin, this is Huadiao chicken I specifically cooked using Huadiao wine. It's very fragrant and tender."
"Oh? Let me try it..."
Chen Ling picked up a piece with his chopsticks. After carefully tasting it, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It's indeed not bad."
"Mr. Lin, have a sip of this soup too. The flavor is very rich, and it can also dispel the cold."
"Mm... It's still a bit hot, let it cool a bit."
Gulp—
The sound of swallowing saliva came from the doorway. The two freezing figures were now seemingly enchanted by that bowl of chicken soup. Reason told them to look away, but their bodies simply wouldn't obey.
The conversation inside the Theater House rang out again:
"Mr. Lin, it seems like I made too much of this Huadiao chicken. What should we do if we can't finish it?"
"Can't finish it, huh..."
Under the two longing gazes, Chen Ling thought carefully,
"If we can't finish it, just pour it in the toilet."
The faces of the two instantly looked as if they had died.