Chapter 59 Backing Down

"Go to hell!"

Chen Dabao was in no mood to coddle this old bastard. With a backhand motion, he slapped Brother Zhao right across the face, sending the man shrieking and crashing onto his backside on the ground, instantly sobering him up by half.

"You little bastard, how dare you hit people?"

The two men from the Administration for Industry and Commerce nearby were both shocked and furious.

Along this street in Qingshan Town, few dared to disrespect their office. They basically ate noodles, smoked, and drank for free every morning.

Everyone on this street knew about the pair of sisters at the Bai Family Noodle Shop, each prettier than the other, and the officials had occasionally seen them when coming in for morning noodles.

Today, emboldened by a couple of ounces of cheap liquor, they had wanted to come over and flirt a little.

A couple of country bumpkins—what could they possibly do even if they were bullied?

Never had they expected to actually get beaten today.

"So what if I hit you?"

Chen Dabao glared, a fierce and intimidating aura erupting from his entire body, scaring the two bullies into taking a few steps back.

"Brother Dabao, stop hitting him, please leave it be!"

Bai Yu hurriedly grabbed Chen Dabao's arm, her face a mask of anxiety.

These men were from the Administration for Industry and Commerce, and she and her sister still needed to make a living on the streets of Qingshan Town. They simply couldn't afford to offend such people; once provoked, endless troubles would undoubtedly come knocking at their door.

"You little punk, how dare you hit me! Just wait, I'll make sure this dump of a shop of yours goes out of business!" Brother Zhao clutched his face, glaring at Chen Dabao with a mixture of shock and rage.

This reckless hothead clearly hadn't tasted the hardships of society yet, daring to lay hands on him. He must have grown tired of living.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I apologize to you!" Panicked, Bai Yu quickly bowed and apologized to the three men. If the noodle shop couldn't stay open, her younger sister's university tuition would become even more hopeless.

"Apologizing is too late now. Unless you come into town with us tonight for a drink, and if you manage to put me in a good mood, I might just consider applying for a little subsidy for your noodle shop!"

Seeing that Bai Yu was on the verge of tears, Brother Zhao puffed himself up again, staring at her with lustful eyes.

"Drink your grandpa's!"

A surge of anger flared in Chen Dabao's chest. He lunged forward and delivered a swift, clean kick directly to Brother Zhao's face, sending him flying backward as two streams of bright red nose blood spurted out.

What he despised most were bastards who preyed on ordinary people.

"You bastard, just you wait! I'll make sure you rot in prison!"

Brother Zhao let out a miserable shriek, his face covered in blood, and whipped out his phone to make a call. "Hello, Director Liu? Qingshan Town has completely turned upside down! I got beaten by some punk at the Bai Family Noodle Shop, get over here right now!"

Qingshan Town was tiny, and everyone working in these local departments knew each other.

If this matter was treated lightly, it was merely a mutual brawl that could be resolved through mediation. But if it was blown out of proportion, it constituted deliberate assault.

With a single word from him, even if he couldn't necessarily guarantee Chen Dabao went to prison, locking him up for fifteen days would be effortless.

"Kid, just you wait!" Brother Zhao barked viciously at Chen Dabao after hanging up.

"Brother Dabao, you should leave first!"

Panicking, Bai Yu urged Chen Dabao.

"Xiao Bai, don't be afraid, it'll be fine!" Chen Dabao sneered, taking out his phone to call Zhang Wei, one of the wealthiest and most influential bosses in Qingshan Town.

In this day and age, money talks. No one's influence trumped cold, hard cash.

This fellow was merely a small-time nobody in the Administration for Industry and Commerce; there was no way he carried more weight than Zhang Wei.

"Country bumpkin, still making phone calls? I'd love to see who you can possibly find to back you up today!" Brother Zhao sneered, shouting with utter disdain.

In less than ten minutes, a battered Santana police car came screeching over, halting with a sharp screech right in front of the noodle shop. The moment Brother Zhao spotted the vehicle, he hurriedly pulled out a cigarette and rushed forward with a servile smile.

"Director Liu, it's this punk!"

Brother Zhao offered a cigarette, which Director Liu hypocritically waved away.

"On duty, no smoking!" Director Liu straightened his uniform, adopting an upright and righteous expression. "What on earth is going on here?"

"Director Liu, it's like this. We came by today to inspect their business license, but this punk suddenly accused us of harassing his girlfriend and violently attacked me. Look at what he did to my face! This matter must be pursued to the very end!"

Playing the victim, Brother Zhao wailed with a grievance-stricken expression.

"No, that's not true, Officer! It was him—he was the one being handsy, and Brother Dabao only hit him because he couldn't stand it anymore!" Bai Yu never imagined these people could be so shameless, and she anxiously tried to explain.

"Alright, that's enough. No matter what, casually hitting people is unacceptable. Cuff them and take them to the station to sort this out!" Director Liu waved his hand impatiently, giving the order with an air of absolute authority.

"You can't do this!"

Anxious, Bai Yu tried to block them, only to be shoved aside unceremoniously by a nearby auxiliary officer.

"Stop getting handsy!"

Chen Dabao caught Bai Yu, fixing an icy glare on the auxiliary officer. Intimidated by the fierce and formidable aura radiating from Chen Dabao, the auxiliary officer involuntarily took two steps back.

Stung by embarrassment and turning anger into rage, the officer drew his handcuffs and barked aggressively, "Punk, you trying to resist arrest? Squat down, hands out right now!"

"Stop right there!"

At that exact moment, a Mercedes-Benz sedan suddenly pulled up. A middle-aged man in his forties hurried out of the car, and upon seeing him, Director Liu immediately broke into a beaming smile.

"Well, well, Old Zhang, what brings you here?"

Clearly familiar with the man, Director Liu took the initiative to greet him.

"Oh, Brother Zhang, such a minor matter, how could it possibly warrant your personal trouble? Have a smoke, have a smoke!" Brother Zhao wiped the blood from his nose and hurriedly pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, attempting to offer the middle-aged man a whole carton.

"No need!"

Zhang Qiang's face remained stern as he stared directly at Brother Zhao. "Mr. Chen is President Zhang's life-saving benefactor. Anyone trying to deal with Mr. Chen is making an enemy of President Zhang. President Zhang is currently in the city, but he'll be arriving here immediately!"

"What?"

Brother Zhao's eyes bulged, and cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body.

This Zhang Qiang was one of Zhang Wei's trusted subordinates, managing Zhang's winery. Zhang Wei was one of the two top bosses in Qingshan Town; while his influence might not extend far into the city, within Qingshan Town, he was a figure who could reach the heavens with his bare hands.

Forget about Brother Zhao, an ordinary employee at the Administration for Industry and Commerce, even Deputy Director Liu couldn't afford to provoke him.

Moreover, it was completely pointless for Director Liu to offend Zhang Wei just to cover for Brother Zhao.

"Weren't you going to arrest me? Let's go, then. To the police station so we can get this cleared up!"

Chen Dabao sneered, proactively extending both wrists. He had nothing but contempt for bullies who preyed on the weak and cowered before the strong.

The auxiliary officer wore an expression of sheer awkwardness. He was just a small-time local hustler in Qingshan Town who had sunk so low as to become a town auxiliary officer—how could he ever dare to cross a heavyweight boss like Zhang Wei?

"A misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"

Director Liu shot Brother Zhao a fierce glare. Brother Zhao hurriedly started bowing and scraping toward Chen Dabao. When living under someone else's roof, one had to bow their head; in this era, whoever had the money was king.

If Zhang Wei set his sights on him, the best-case scenario would be an early forced retirement, and the worst-case scenario meant ending up behind bars. Among these veteran slippery foxes in the rural townships, not a single one had completely clean hands.