Chapter 649 Your End
Qi Tongwei was not willing to be outdone. He lifted the table with both hands as if lifting a tripod and rushed towards another group of enemies. The table top was like a shield to knock away the attacking sticks. He took advantage of the momentum and turned around, poking the corner of the table accurately into one person's waist. The man bent over in pain and the weapon in his hand fell off.
The melee instantly became intense, and tables, chairs, and benches became weapons of attack and defense. Hou Liangping moved around, dancing the bench in his hands tightly, sometimes blocking the iron rod's sweep, sometimes counterattacking and smashing the enemy's vital points. He poured all his strength into each swing, his clothes soaked with sweat, but his eyes were as hot as flames, staring at the opponent's flaws and hitting him hard whenever he saw a gap; Qi Tongwei used the table as a base, both offensive and defensive, knocking away or tripping the attacking thugs, and when he encountered stubborn resistance, he abandoned the table and fought with the enemy in close combat with his bare hands, his fists whistling, elbowing and kneeing quickly and accurately, not even noticing the injuries on his body, his only thought in his boiling blood was to repel the invading enemy.
The tables and chairs in the store were in a mess. Porcelain fragments cut the soles of shoes, and the soup made the floor slippery. However, everyone was bloodthirsty in this dangerous situation. Hou Liangping saw Qi Tongwei being besieged by three people and in a critical situation. He roared, jumped high, raised a stool with both hands and smashed it on the back of one of them. The gangster fell to the ground. The other two were shocked and distracted. Qi Tongwei took the opportunity to punch out with both fists to solve the dilemma. In the midst of the fierce battle, the sirens outside the store sounded like a bell from the sky, piercing the noise - it turned out that a guy took advantage of the chaos to call the police again. The gangsters panicked, and the scarred strong man turned pale and shouted: "Retreat!" But Hou Liangping grabbed him by the collar in one step.
"Want to run? Not that easy!" Hou Liangping roared, Qi Tongwei also rushed over quickly, the two of them worked together to restrain the strong man, and the rest of the gangsters collapsed and begged for mercy under the siege of the police. After the police took the criminals away, Hou Liangping and Qi Tongwei sat slumped in the ruined store, gasping for breath, bruises and pain on their bodies, but their faces were filled with smiles of surviving a disaster and winning a great victory. Qi Tongwei wiped his face covered with blood and sweat, and laughed: "Liangping, our restaurant is really a 'feng shui treasure land', all kinds of demons and monsters are eyeing it!" Hou Liangping was also happy: "It's useless to be eyeing it, as long as we are here, the fireworks here will not be extinguished. How many times they come, we will beat them up!"
After this incident, the restaurant became famous again, and the community admired it even more. They spontaneously organized to help clean up and repair, and sent food to comfort the restaurant. Diners flocked to the restaurant not only for the delicious Sichuan cuisine, but also for the fearless spirit of perseverance. Hou Liangping and Qi Tongwei knew that the road ahead was not smooth, and undercurrents might still come quietly, but this piece of Jianghu where they poured their hearts and minds has been forged into a fortress of courage and justice, and the past twists and turns have become a strong shield. No matter how many storms there are in the future, they will firmly guard it, and when the dawn breaks through the haze, they will write a glorious and fearless new chapter. Every inch of land is branded with their hot mark of never retreating, until the end of the long river of time, the story will only be left with legendary echoes.
The restaurant was reborn after the disaster, and the fireworks rose again, just like a phoenix rising from the ashes, its wings shining brightly. Hou Liangping and Qi Tongwei were busy in the store, welcoming and seeing off customers, with bruises on their faces but no less enthusiastic. The praise from every table of diners and every word of concern from the neighbors were like a warm current flowing into their hearts, strengthening their determination to protect this place.
Time flies by, and a year goes by like a flash. The restaurant is booming, and its reputation spreads to neighboring cities. New Sichuan dishes emerge in an endless stream. Hou Liangping incorporates the cooking ingenuity he gained from his travels into classics, while Qi Tongwei studies the combination of ingredients, from mountain mushrooms to fresh produce from the seaside, all of which can create wonderful sparks in the pot, attracting gourmets and often bookings are full for more than a month.
Under the calm appearance, the gears of fate were quietly misaligned. One afternoon, the store door opened slightly, and a man in a suit and leather shoes with a stern look walked in. His eyes swept across the store furnishings like a falcon, and finally fixed on Hou Liangping and Qi Tongwei. The man called himself Tongxing. His tone was steady but contained a hidden meaning: "Boss, I have heard of your great names for a long time. I am here to discuss a big business that concerns the future survival of the restaurant." Hou Liangping was alert, put down the rag in his hand, and frowned slightly: "Life and death? You might as well say it directly. We have always been doing our job in this small business." Tongxing sneered, paced beside the table, and tapped the table with his fingers: "Duty? Nowadays, the competition in the catering market is fierce, and there are endless tricks behind the scenes. I know that you have been harassed by evil forces many times. You don't want to experience it again, right? I can guarantee that you will be able to rest assured and have a constant source of customers in the future. You just need to..." He deliberately dragged out his tone, his eyes flashing with greed, "You just need to hand over 60% of the restaurant's shares, and then cooperate with me to make some 'account arrangements'."
Qi Tongwei's eyes widened in anger and his fists clenched. "You are taking advantage of the situation! We have worked hard, why should we give you the results? Are we the same as those hooligans?" Tongxing remained calm and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't get excited. This is a win-win situation. I have a huge force and countless resources behind me. I can hold up this restaurant, but I can also easily crush it. Think about those diners. If they suddenly heard that the restaurant has "problems" with the ingredients or "unclear" taxes, would they still come?" Hou Liangping's eyes were cold and he gritted his teeth. "You are threatening us. In broad daylight, we will not tolerate your wrongdoings."
The negotiations broke down, and Tongxing walked away, leaving behind a heavy haze. After that, strange things happened frequently in the restaurant. First, the supplier ran out of stock for unknown reasons, claiming to have received an anonymous warning; then, a group of online commenters appeared, slandering the hygiene of the dishes. The flow of diners dropped sharply, reservations were cancelled one after another, the waiters were panicked, and the turnover dropped off a cliff. Hou Liangping ran around looking for new sources of goods, while Qi Tongwei stayed in front of the computer day and night to deal with the online commenters and complained to the platform, but he seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, sinking deeper with every step he took.
One night, the door of the store was splashed with red paint, and the hideous bloody words "Be Smart" were glaring in the moonlight. Hou Liangping looked at the paint with tears streaming down his face, and he was furious: "Old Qi, you can't just sit there and wait for death, you have to take the initiative to attack, find out the details of this Tongxing, and find his flaws." Qi Tongwei nodded, with a cold light flashing in his eyes: "That's right, if he dares to attack, we will take it, and we have to be more ruthless. I have experienced all the tricks in the officialdom in the past, I don't believe that I can't deal with this rat."
The two secretly investigated Tongxing with the help of their past connections. They found that this person was involved in both the black and white worlds, using the name of catering investment to launder money and monopolize the company. Many of his businesses were involved in illegal activities. This time, he targeted the restaurant because of its reputation and wanted to use it as a new shell for money laundering. Hou Liangping collected evidence and contacted his former colleagues in the judicial community, while Qi Tongwei instigated disgruntled employees within Tongxing to obtain key account details.
On the eve of the decisive battle, the restaurant was dead silent, with few employees, and seemed to be on the verge of death. Tong Xing, however, came leisurely, thinking that he had won: "You two, have you thought about it? It's not too late to bow your heads now." Hou Liangping stood up suddenly and slammed the evidence bag on the table: "Look clearly, who should bow their heads! We have all your dirty deeds in our grasp, and today is your end."