Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

The three Li brothers instinctively took a step back, exchanging panicked glances.

Facing a thug wasn’t scary. What was scary was facing a thug who was also educated and started spouting off about criminal law.

"Y-You... stop spouting nonsense! The three of us didn’t touch him, huh? Everyone here can prove it. We didn’t lay a finger on him!" Li Hua said hurriedly, his hands instinctively moving behind his back.

"R-Right... We didn’t lay a hand on him!"

Li Hao and Li Fan also quickly put their hands behind their backs.

The trio’s bravado instantly deflated. Standing before Zhou Yan with their hands clasped behind their backs, they looked just like misbehaving students being scolded by the principal.

"Didn’t lay a hand on him? Then what happened to my little cousin’s sign?" Zhou Yan propped the sign he was holding on the ground. "You tore up the one I wrote for him yesterday. Come on, be my guest. Smash this one, too.

Oh, and by the way, I should remind you. This sign was designed by an advertising Grandmaster and hand-painted by a famous calligrapher. It cost a hundred yuan—just enough to be worth a bullet."

"What kind of sign costs a hundred yuan?!"

Li Hua and his brothers retreated another two steps, keeping a wide berth from the sign beside Zhou Yan.

"’Big Bro, you think he’s bluffing?’ Li Fan and Li Hao whispered. ’How come this son of a bitch isn’t scared of us at all?’ Usually, whenever someone came to sell tofu and cut into their business, the three brothers just had to stand there and make a few threats. The person would immediately pack up and leave, not daring to so much as fart.

But this guy... his presence alone overwhelmed the three of them.

Li Hua’s eyes darted about, his fists clenching and unclenching. ’He wasn’t afraid of fighting a brute. A brawl would, at worst, land them in jail for a couple of days. The three brothers had been getting into fights since they were kids; they weren’t afraid of a little trouble.’

’But this kid... every time he opened his mouth, it was "market racketeering," "criminal law," and "getting a bullet." Then he started spouting nonsense about some advertising Grandmaster and famous calligrapher. It was genuinely unnerving.’

"Old Fourth, that son of yours is really something," Zhang the Third chuckled, slinging his butcher knife behind his back. "He’s got brains and brawn. Didn’t give them an inch."

Zhou Miao’s expression relaxed slightly. He, too, pulled down the hem of his shirt, covering the handle of the Bone Knife at his waist.

"Don’t start anything, but we can’t look weak," Li Hua muttered to his two brothers. He cleared his throat, took a step toward Zhou Yan, and prepared to spit out a few threats.

DING-A-LING! DING-A-LING!

The sound of bicycle bells rang out as four bikes pulled to a stop in front of the tofu stand.

Zhou Jie, Zhou Hai, Zhou Fei, and Zhou Hongwei dismounted simultaneously. They pushed through the crowd and strode in, their voices booming, "Let’s see who it is! Who wants to lay a hand on one of our boys?"

"Zhou Yan, you alright?" Zhou Jie asked, his concerned gaze falling on Zhou Yan first.

Zhou Hai stepped forward, planting himself in front of Li Hua like a giant bear. The burly Li Hua looked two whole sizes smaller in comparison.

Zhou Hongwei, dressed in a tank top that showed off his powerful muscles, gripped a club in his hand as he stared coldly at the three brothers.

Meanwhile, Zhou Fei positioned himself to their rear flank, cutting off any path of retreat.

The three-on-one confrontation had been instantly reversed.

Panic finally flickered in the eyes of the three Li brothers.

"’Bro, they’re from Slaughter Ox Zhou Village!’" Li Hao whispered.

"’That one’s Zhou Hai! They say he can kill an ox with a single punch!’" Li Fan’s voice trembled.

Li Hua’s face darkened, his eyes frantic. "Didn’t they say that little mute was from Shangshui Village? How did he get tangled up with Zhou Village?"

Slaughter Ox Zhou Village was famous in Suji Town for its solidarity. Back in the day, the cattle slaughtering trade was incredibly profitable, and throughout Suji, and even the greater Jiazhou region, it was almost completely monopolized by Zhou Village.

They were allowed to slaughter; others were not.

A Cow Slaughterer radiated a menacing air and always had a Bone Knife tucked at their waist.

Everyone in Suji knew: you could provoke just about anyone, but you did not provoke someone from Zhou Village.

Just look at these guys. Every one of them was burly and powerfully built—the kind of man who could take on several opponents at once.

"I’m fine," Zhou Yan said, surprised that Zhou Jie and the others had arrived so quickly, but still giving them a quick summary. "This is our grandaunt’s grandson, Lai Fu. He’s selling tofu here, and these three from the Li Family are throwing their weight around, trying to smash his stall and run him off. As his family, we have to back him up, right?"

"’Lai Fu? He’s gotten so big.’ Only then did Zhou Jie notice the skinny boy cowering behind Zhou Yan. Seeing the boy’s red-rimmed eyes and remembering his circumstances, Zhou Jie’s anger flared. He reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. ’Lai Fu, don’t be scared. Your big brothers are here. Anyone who messes with you is taking a shit on our heads.’"

At these words, Zhou Hai and Zhou Fei’s eyes also widened in fury as they glared at the Li Family brothers.

The sheer murderous chill sent shivers down the spines of Li Hua and his brothers, making their legs tremble.

’How could tofu grinders possibly compare to cow slaughterers?’

The kind of bravado used to handle soft tofu crumbled to pieces at the first touch.

Compared to this gang of brutes, Zhou Yan seemed downright refined.

Once he understood the situation, Zhou Jie turned his cold gaze on the three Li brothers. "So, you’re the Li brothers, is that right?" he said, his voice like ice. "Our boy, Lai Fu, is selling tofu here, and you’ve got a problem with that? A sixteen-year-old kid who can’t hear or speak, and you want to wreck his stall? You were going to beat him up, too?"

"’Well... we were here first,’ Li Hua said, his voice much weaker now, all his previous arrogance gone. ’We were just trying to scare him a little. We didn’t touch him. In fact, your boy was the one who came over and sent me flying with a kick.’"

"’My boy kicking you was for your own good. If you’d actually laid a hand on him, you wouldn’t be standing here talking right now,’ Zhou Jie said, his tone icy. ’Besides, this is a huge market. People sell what they want to sell. Business is about skill. You think just because you got here first, no one else is allowed? What’s that supposed to mean? We’re settling things with our fists now, is that it?’"

Li Hua stammered, wanting to offer another excuse.

"’I’m trying to reason with you now. But if you don’t understand reason, then my brothers and I know a thing or two about fighting as well,’ Zhou Jie continued.