The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 446 Everything Goes Smoothly (Two Chapters Combined)

About twenty minutes later, in the 'Xijiangyue' private room, where cups and plates were scattered everywhere.

Addressing a group of men and women, all of whom were flushed and had drunk quite a bit, Annie spoke to them in an unusually polite but uncompromising tone:

"Good morning, everyone! Your total bill today is 50682 yuan. I'll just give you a discount and leave you 50400 yuan."

Because in this way, each of you 18 people will pay exactly 2800 yuan.

The gentleman just paid his share of 2800 yuan, so there's still 47600 yuan left. I'm wondering if someone will pay for it together, or if we'll each pay our own?

Upon hearing this, the men and women who had been all smiles immediately changed their expressions and each had a different one.

The matchmaker and the girl he was meeting both pulled out their phones with dark expressions.

They either called Chaozi directly or sent him a message via WeChat. Both of them had the same thought in mind: You scumbag! Get back here and pay the bill.

The other girlfriends and their friends, as well as friends of friends, got up, grabbed their bags and phones, and prepared to make a run for it.

Throughout this process, they kept muttering things like, "It's not like I'm treating them to dinner, why should I pay?" or "Don't bother me, I didn't eat anything," and other such excuses.

What was the result? The matchmaker's phone call was met with the heartless message, "The number you dialed cannot be reached."

The girl on the blind date typed a strongly worded message quickly and sent it out, only to find that the two of them were no longer friends.

As for those who plan to run away with their best friends, best friends' friends, and friends' friends.

As soon as the light at the doorway dimmed, Old Ma stepped forward and stood behind Annie, striking a fierce and imposing pose; meanwhile, a large number of dark figures were blocking the doorway.

Because tomorrow is Sunday, Lao Ma actually asked for leave from both school and his wife in order to gossip and have some fun.

I departed from Shuangqing and flew for three hours before arriving here half an hour ago; I arrived just in time for the most exciting part of this gossip.

The key reason he stepped forward was that this guy was originally a big, bearded man, but now he was wearing a temporary leather mask over his left eye.

With the added touch of murderous aura cultivated on the battlefield, they looked exactly like bandit leaders.

These men and women, who grew up in peacetime, had never seen anything like this before. They immediately cowered and sat back down meekly.

Under these circumstances, Anne spoke up again, but this time she didn't even bother with politeness:

"Just a heads up, everyone, don't even think about asking that guy from earlier to pay for it."

Reporting today's events to the officers won't do any good; everyone's not stupid, they can tell you're just ripping off a fool. As long as he gets his share, he can justify it anywhere.

So stop dawdling, card, QR code, cash are all fine, otherwise we'll have to call and report it to Ah Sie.

Faced with Anne's ultimatum-like words, the men and women silently looked at the matchmaker and the woman they were meeting, their eyes filled with urging and reproach.

Under these circumstances, the expressions on their faces became particularly interesting.

After a final, deathly silence, the woman on the blind date spoke first. However, instead of offering to pay, she snatched the bill, glanced at it quickly, and began nitpicking furiously:
"Who said we're not going to pay? The point is, where in your store can you sell things for such high prices?"

With a meal budget of 1680 yuan per person, who can eat this little bit of rubbish? What kind of lousy rice wine is this? It tastes as bad as horse piss, and it's priced at 668 yuan per kilogram.
Other items like Maotai, Huazi cigarettes, and beer are all more expensive than elsewhere.

You're all unscrupulous merchants! I'm going to call and file a complaint against you. This area is under the jurisdiction of the Chaoyang District Administration for Industry and Commerce, right? I'm calling right now.

Even if I have to report you to the director of the Chaoyang Industrial and Commercial Bureau, I'll make sure you unscrupulous businessmen can't stay in business and have to close down.

After finishing his rant, he picked up his phone and dialed 114, ready to find the phone number for the Chaoyang District Administration for Industry and Commerce and then immediately file a complaint.

At that very moment, something happened that nearly made her want to vomit blood.

An elderly man squeezed through the door, pulled out an ID card, and solemnly said to the woman he was meeting on a blind date:
"Comrade, I originally just planned to watch the excitement from the outside and not say anything, but since you mentioned me, I think it's necessary to step forward and explain."

Because I am the person you are looking for, the director of the Chaoyang Industrial and Commercial Bureau. My surname is Wang, and this is my identification.

I have two points to make. First, although I am here for dinner today, it is only after get off work and is a family and relatives' gathering.

I did not drink alcohol during that time, so I did not violate any rules and am not afraid of any complaints.

Secondly, based on what I have personally witnessed, Deyuelou has not violated any regulations; therefore, I do not intend to make it cease to operate.

Alright! If you still have any objections to my explanation and judgment, you can apply for a review at my office located at No. 1 Xiaoyun Lane, Xiaoyun Road tomorrow.

As he finished speaking, a man who looked like a big boss squeezed in.

He said dismissively, "Reconsideration? What's there to reconsiderate?"

In order to avoid queuing and enjoy the private dishes of Deyuelou, there are now many people in the capital who are willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan more.

668 yuan per jin for rice wine is expensive? If Boss Hu didn't limit the sales per table, my wife could sell it all by herself, believe it or not.

Maotai, Huazi cigarettes, and beer aren't more expensive than elsewhere.

It should be noted that neither of the two individuals mentioned above were pre-arranged by Hu Biao and his group; rather, it was a coincidence that they happened to be there.

Faced with the sudden appearance of these two statements, and the obviously genuine document, the woman on the blind date and the matchmaker looked at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, they started shouting, "Everyone ate, so let's each pay for our own portion!"

Upon hearing this, Annie's other girlfriends and friends were about to start arguing, and Annie picked up the phone, ready to call the police; seeing this, they managed to stop arguing.

Then, we took turns scanning the QR code at Annie's shop to pay.

During this process, some people made normal payments, some scanned Alipay's Huabei service, some scanned JD.com's BaiTiao service, and some couldn't just scan one and had to scan both.

There were also calls made on the spot to borrow money, and it took quite a while before I finally got through.

There were even videos of people blinking, opening their mouths, and turning their heads in front of their phones.

Hu Biao was very familiar with these developments; because that's exactly what he did, and he ended up with a mountain of debt to online platforms, forcing him to give up.

Anyway, that chaotic scene was incredibly entertaining, and it gave AT, Xiao Cui, and a whole bunch of others a good dose of gossip.

After everyone scanned the code and paid for their share, Hu Biao and the others let them leave.

Otherwise? After all, it's just some internal conflict. Letting them suffer such a loss is more than enough to teach them a lesson, and it won't go any further...

*****
That night, Deyuelou remained open until late at night before closing.

The main reason was that after eating the melon, Hu Biao and Annie, as the hosts, had to treat their rarely-visited friends well. Of course they did.

After all, Hu Biao had claimed countless times that he would make proper arrangements for everyone who came to the capital.

So naturally, the proprietress and her sister-in-law went to help greet people, while Mr. Hu roused himself in the kitchen and prepared a large table of delicious dishes.

Instead of going to a private room, they simply pushed together several square tables on one side of the hall, where there weren't many guests left, and everyone sat down for a big meal.

Once they started eating, everyone chatted and laughed, creating a lively atmosphere.

During the process, I could see that Chaozi looked depressed and kept shoveling rice wine into his mouth.

Whether out of concern for his team members or for his own rice wine, Hu Biao patted Chaozi on the shoulder and whispered words of comfort:
"Chaozi! Don't be too discouraged. There are all kinds of people in the world.

Although there are many bad women in this society, there are even more good women; it's just that you're too much of a homebody and don't have the chance to meet them.

With your current circumstances, after a few more trips, you'll be able to buy a school district house in the city center outright.

Actually, my conditions are pretty good; there's no reason I can't find a girlfriend.

Hearing such comforting words, Chaozi's mood improved somewhat, but he was still quite troubled and began to complain to Hu Biao:
"You jerk, I know all that you're saying. I'm not completely disillusioned with women. The problem is that I'm too introverted, and I just can't seem to change that. I have no way of going out and meeting more girls."

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao was both amused and exasperated. He gestured with his eyes to the large group of waitresses who were cleaning the store and waiting to get off work.

Then he said, "Forget it! You really don't have any talent in this area. You're just begging for food while holding a golden rice bowl."

Let me give you a tip: Deyuelou has dozens of young women who are all hardworking and dedicated; at least half of them are said to be single. Isn't that a great resource?

Take a look first, then tell me which one you like.

As long as she doesn't have a boyfriend, I'll introduce you two later; I can't guarantee you'll win her over, but at least she won't use tricks or string you along.

Hu Biao paused for a moment, took a sip of water, and then prepared to continue comforting Chaozi.

Unexpectedly, a second later, Chaozi glanced quickly in that direction, and as he lowered his head, he muttered something under his breath:
"I like the cashier, especially the one wiping the table at the cashier."

Wow! It turns out Chaozi is a secretly lecherous guy; he'd been eyeing one of the waitresses in his shop for a while, and she was the prettiest one of them.

Pan Wanting was one of the new recruits who was noticed by the lobby manager, Ling Lanfang, a week ago.

Having vaguely heard that Pan Wanting didn't have a boyfriend yet, Hu Biao, who was already a little tipsy after drinking a few ounces of Maotai tonight, waved and shouted:
"Xiao Pan, come here for a second."

After the other party approached, Hu Biao got straight to the point:

"Xiao Pan, let me introduce you to a friend. My name is Tiezi Chaozi, my real name is Zhang Yunfei, and I'm a native of Daxing in the capital city."

Don't let her ordinary clothes and car fool you; she's well-off and will be able to buy a school district house in the city center in a couple of months.
I won't go into detail about his personality and character; I'm sure you've all been discussing it amongst yourselves after seeing what happened today.

After Hu Biao finished speaking, Pan Wanting generously extended a fair hand to Chaozi and said, "Brother Chaozi! It's nice to meet you. How about we exchange contact information?"

Chaozi, that usually reserved guy, actually seemed a little embarrassed at this moment.

However, he did know to shake hands with the person and even took out his phone to add their contact information.

After witnessing this scene, Black Star, Lao Yu, Lao Ma, Mina and other friends started to cheer, making the atmosphere even more lively.

Perhaps because they had both drunk quite a bit, they put their arms around each other's shoulders, patted their chests, and said many heartfelt things about being true friends...

The feast that everyone shared lasted until midnight.

At this point, Hu Biao's Wuling minivan proved its worth once again.

Iron Rooster helped drive, loading all the members of the time-traveling team who came to Beijing, except for AT's family of three, into the car. Most of these guys were drunk.

They took him directly to a nearby hotel, where he was given a standard room and settled in.

They would decide whether to stay a few more days or go back to work after they woke up.

As for AT and his family, why didn't they go to a hotel? Don't ask! The answer is that their son is particularly noisy if he stays out overnight.

So the couple figured that if that kid kept them up all night, they might as well drive back overnight.

Anyway, there's no traffic now, and AT's wife can drive even without drinking, so it won't take more than two hours to get home.

The only problem was that after getting in the car, AT, sitting in the passenger seat with his son fast asleep in his arms, was thinking to himself:

The back of the truck was loaded with rice wine and braised food, so at least the trip didn't come at a loss.

Suddenly, his wife's voice came from beside him, asking a question he'd probably been holding back for a while: "Honey, how did you meet all these friends of yours today?"

After drinking too much, they all started talking about death, life, and war.

AT's heart skipped a beat. He realized that even though he had told these guys beforehand not to talk nonsense in front of his wife, he still hadn't done anything right.

As a result, after they drank too much, they still couldn't control their eating habits.

What to do? Actually, it's not too difficult.

Soon after, AT came up with a suitable excuse, which came out without hesitation: "Oh! We met while playing a cyber warfare game."

We're members of the same team, so naturally our conversations revolve around warfare.

Perhaps the old saying "pregnancy makes you stupid for three years" is quite true; after hearing it, AT's wife had no more questions and thought it was very reasonable.

Afterwards, I fastened my seatbelt, set the navigation, started the car, and drove back to Tianjin.

The moment the car started moving, AT instinctively hugged his son tightly with one arm and gripped a handle next to him with the other, becoming quite nervous.

There's no way around it! This is simply an instinctive reaction for most men when their wives are driving...

"Everyone has worked hard today, so go home and rest early. You can come in two hours later tomorrow." Standing at the store entrance, Hu Biao said this to the few waitresses who stayed on duty.

After he finished speaking, he got into a ride-hailing car with Annie and Mina. He was planning to take them home directly, otherwise he would have been a little worried.

What he didn't expect was that the group of girls behind him were preparing to close the door and go back to their dorm together.

One of them glanced at his phone after it vibrated, then said to the others, "Oh dear! My stomach hurts and I need to go to the restroom. Could you please wait a few minutes for me?"

She had a good relationship with the other girls, so they naturally agreed.

But after she went to the bathroom and locked the door, she didn't show any sign of going to the toilet.

Instead, she dialed the number and, in a cold, emotionless voice, asked in English, "What's going on? Don't tell me it's not an emergency, and please don't contact me!"

On the other end of the phone, the same businesslike tone was used, speaking in English:

"The boss asked me to inform you that, according to reliable intelligence, that terrifying Dr. Zhou Kun has recently come up with some brilliant ideas regarding the problem of 'energy gain' in 'controlled nuclear fusion'."

He is currently leading his team to verify the feasibility of this approach.

Given his previous remarkable achievements, by the end of next month, China's research progress in 'controlled nuclear fusion' will take another significant leap forward.

Therefore, you must speed up the task and add ten doses of the special drug to Zhou Kun's takeout.

Upon hearing this, she said somewhat impatiently, "Alright! I understand. Tell the boss that my progress here is going even better than expected."

You won't even have to wait until the end of next month to receive news that Zhou Kun was poisoned to death.

"Get me my new ID and that promised bonus."

After saying that, she hung up the phone, but didn't go out immediately; instead, she waited a minute or two, wet her hands at the sink, and dampened some of her hair before finally leaving.

After closing the main gate, he left chatting and laughing with the other waiters.

That night, after turning off the lights, Chaozi took out his phone and opened WeChat, fiddling with it for a long time.

The difference is that today, after he sent a message, the girl on the other end didn't wait several hours or even an entire night to reply.

Almost every message received a reply within half a minute of being sent, from the other party, Pan Wanting.

Not only did it prevent the innocent, single young man's face from being cast a ghastly green by the screen's bright light, making him look like a grassland, but it also prevented him from being affected by the screen's harsh lighting.

More importantly, it finally allowed him to experience just how bittersweet and wonderful a normal relationship truly is...

,

(End of this chapter)