Chapter 188 — Bullying

Wei Zhao mainly didn't want Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu to see him going to find Tang Zhi; otherwise the eldest Miss Chu would surely throw another fit. In the spirit of avoiding trouble wherever possible, Wei Zhao had deliberately waited until both of them had left.

Once out of the school gate, Wei Zhao glanced at the street not far off. Only after confirming that Uncle Qing's Bentley was nowhere in sight did he relax and head toward the snack street with Kang Xiaofeng.

"Huh? Boss, it can't be this popular, can it? Why are there so many people?" Kang Xiaofeng pointed into the snack street in surprise. "Even the vendors from the other stalls have gone to buy Tang Zhi's family's barbecue?" Wei Zhao frowned. Many of the stall owners on the snack street had gathered around Tang Zhi's family's barbecue stall. As for the idea that they had gone to buy Tang Zhi's barbecue, Wei Zhao certainly didn't believe that.

"Tang Zhi might be in trouble over there. Let's go take a look..." Wei Zhao quickened his pace.

Sure enough, as they drew closer, they heard a man's loud voice bellowing: "Look here, boss lady, what you're doing isn't fair. We're all on the same street. If you poach business like this, are you even going to let the rest of us make a living?"

The speaker was, naturally, Zhang Biaogan. At noon he had already been unable to swallow his anger that Tang's Barbecue was doing better business than his own. Unwilling to let his business be taken just like that, he had taken the lead in rallying several other vendors who also sold barbecue or barbecue-related goods, planning to confront Tang's mother when she set up her stall that evening.

In Zhang Biaogan's eyes, Tang's mother was no different from a widow with a child. Her husband lay bedridden, useless as a man could be. The family was easy to push around, and once he made a show of threats and intimidation, she would surely give in.

"Brother, let's talk this over nicely. We haven't poached anyone's business," Tang's mother said. Seeing that several people were backing Zhang Biaogan up, she felt a little afraid. Though none of the onlooking vendors openly supported Zhang Biaogan, not a single one spoke up for her either; they all just stood there enjoying the spectacle.

"Haven't poached business? The moment you set up your stall at noon, all the students went to buy from you. Who are we supposed to sell to then..." Another woman from a barbecue stall spoke up. "And you call that not poaching? Are we supposed to starve to death before you'd call it poaching?"

"Exactly! You alone sell more than all of us combined. Are you even going to let us live?" Another man, tall and thin, chimed in.

"This..." Tang's mother hadn't expected that her business doing well would offend so many people. She was at a loss for what to do.

"My mother is running an honest business. How is that poaching your business?" Tang Zhi was furious and stepped forward for her mother. "Our food tastes good, and customers are willing to buy from us. Is that our fault? If you want better business, you can improve your recipes too..."

"Little girl, well said!" Zhang Biaogan chuckled. "Improve our recipes—we'd like nothing better. Since you've brought it up, I won't be polite. Your family hands over the recipe, we all study it, and we'll let today's matter drop..."

"The recipe belongs to our family. Why should we give it to you..." Tang Zhi hadn't expected Zhang Biaogan to be so unreasonable as to demand the recipe outright. If they gave it away, what advantage would her family have left?

"Why? Because your family stole our business, that's why. Us demanding the recipe is the will of the people. Isn't that right, brothers and sisters..." Zhang Biaogan said to the several people backing him up.

"That's right! Either give us the recipe—let's all make money together. Hogging it all isn't nice..." the barbecue woman agreed.

"Or if you won't give us the recipe, then change it back tomorrow, same as before, and we'll all be on equal footing!" the tall, thin man said sinisterly.

"And what if we don't give the recipe and don't change it either..." Tang Zhi was so angry she was on the verge of tears. Who bullied people like this? A whole crowd ganging up on a mother and daughter? Was there no law anymore?

"You won't give it? Won't change it?" Zhang Biaogan sneered. "Then it's out of your hands. I'd say you'd better not bother setting up your stall on this snack street tomorrow!" "You—" Tang Zhi's eyes were rimmed red, tears about to spill. Was this how people bullied others? Just because business was good, they couldn't set up their stall anymore?

"Yun'er..." Fearing Tang Zhi might do something rash, Tang's mother pulled her into her arms and pointed a trembling finger at Zhang Biaogan. "You—you people are bullying us because our family has no man? Picking on a mother and daughter—what kind of ability is that..."

If her beloved husband weren't bedridden, they probably wouldn't dare be so brazen, would they?

"Don't make it sound so ugly. This is the will of the people..." Zhang Biaogan had come today specifically to bully Tang Zhi's family because they had no man. He had long since figured out the ins and outs of Tang Zhi's household; otherwise he wouldn't have dared be so reckless today.

Tang's mother held Tang Zhi, trembling with rage. Why did even trying to do a little business have to be so hard? The moment they saw her family making money, they came to bully them. Wasn't that going too far?

Tang Zhi was vexed that she wasn't a boy. If she were a boy, they wouldn't dare be so utterly unscrupulous, would they? Looking at the crowd of vendors standing around watching without the slightest intention of intervening, Tang Zhi felt a flicker of despair...

Her family had only just begun to recover, only just found new hope, and now they were about to be dragged back into the mud? "To your mother..." Wei Zhao pushed through the crowd and charged straight in. This Zhang Biaogan had gone a bit too far, hadn't he? Bullying Tang Zhi and her mother? What was he thinking? Didn't he know the two of them were under his protection?

The vendor Wei Zhao had shoved was about to curse him out, but one look at his face and he snapped his mouth shut fast. This was the new terror of No. 1 Middle School—even a big shot like Zou Ruoming had been slapped silent by him. Who would dare stick their neck out?

Wei Zhao grabbed Zhang Biaogan by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him clean off the ground. "So you're the ringleader..."

"Who the hell—" Zhang Biaogan, yanked by the collar, opened his mouth to curse, but then he got a clear look at Wei Zhao and felt a jolt go through him.

He remembered Wei Zhao all too well—one slap and Zou Ruoming hadn't dared make a peep. A man like that was genuinely ruthless.

Zhang Biaogan had once run a seafood stir-fry stall, but Han Ruoming ate there, got a bad stomach, and the very next day came and smashed his stall to pieces, beating him so badly he couldn't get out of bed for days. Once he healed, he didn't dare sell seafood stir-fry anymore and switched to barbecue—but he was still terrified of Zou Ruoming.

It was no secret that Zou Ruoming had an older brother who was a gang boss up in the north of the city. Once Zhang Biaogan learned that, he didn't dare even think about crossing them—to them, putting him in his place was just a game.

And now Wei Zhao, the man who had taken Zou Ruoming down, had actually come looking for trouble with him. Zhang Biaogan was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. If this man dared beat Zou Ruoming without a second thought, then dealing with him would be a breeze.