The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 345 A Sacrifice for the People's Canteen

As the sun rises, its golden-red rays spill over the bustling market, casting a gentle, warm glow on the busy crowds outside the Taixiang Farmers Market.

However, the atmosphere at the entrance of Tai Xiang Hotel was anything but gentle.

On the contrary, a new storm is brewing.

Qian Jin led the young farmers to seek justice.

Just as he had guessed, the chubby chef only gave the dozen or so people some broken buns, crumbs of steamed bread, and fried dough sticks, and then kicked them out under the pretext that there was "no more junk."

The young farmers were unaware that Qian Jin had given them money; they thought the restaurant was doing a good deed.

So since they said there were no more obsolete items, they didn't press the matter and tactfully left.

On the way, Qian Jin led them to seek justice, and they even tried to persuade them:

There's no need to force people to feed them when they do good deeds.

"It's good enough to fill my stomach."

"Chen Xingwang, the young man from Xiaochenzhuang who was leading the group, laughed."

Qian Jin told them the truth: he had given them 20 yuan to treat them to a meal, and he would need to treat at least fifty people to break even!

The young people were both shocked and furious upon hearing this:
"Huh? Twenty, twenty yuan? My older brother didn't even need twenty yuan to get married..."

"Forget it—wait, we paid them? If we paid them, why are they still insulting us? Why are they saying we're just country bumpkins begging in the city?"

"That won't do. We have to get the money that Qian directed back..."

The young farmers came to the city together from several production brigades to do small business. They called on their friends and quickly formed a group of twenty or thirty people.

Then, upon hearing that Commander Qian had taken a liking to the farmers and invited them to breakfast, only to be swindled out of their money, they called upon their acquaintances and eventually gathered about fifty people to surround the Taixiang Restaurant.

Qian Jin stood at the very front of the crowd, his posture as upright as a pine tree.

The young farmers stood behind him, their emotions running high.

Their faces turned ashen red, a stark reminder of the deception and humiliation they had suffered—blatant discrimination against farmers!

"Comrade, my brothers aren't here to cause trouble!" Chen Xingwang felt guilty when he saw a dozen or so restaurant employees in white coats, white hats and white arm sleeves running out of the restaurant across the street.

With his neck stiff and his voice loud but trembling, he shouted at the waiters at the restaurant entrance who looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, "My brothers and I are here to demand an explanation, to get back the money that Commander Qian paid for our meals!"

The crowd behind him immediately erupted in agreement:

"Yes, I'm here to demand an explanation!"

“Commander Qian was of one mind with us peasants. He couldn’t bear to see us come to the city hungry, so he took out twenty yuan to treat us to a meal—that was twenty yuan!”

“You can’t laugh at my brothers for being beggars. We’re not beggars! It was money that led the way. They saw we were hungry and gave us some money to tide us over!”

"Yes, that fat guy in your group, the one who fries dough sticks, he only gave us some crumbs and pieces of steamed buns, and he even called us country bumpkins begging in the city! Why should we do that!"

The farmers chattered amongst themselves, their voices coalescing into a powerful wave that crashed against the greasy glass doors and windows of the Taixiang Restaurant.

Their argument was incoherent and illogical, but the anger and grievance in their voices were clear.

The main reason is that they are reluctant to spend twenty yuan.

For city workers, this is only half a month's wages. But it's so hard to make money in the countryside. A strong laborer might work hard in the production team for a year and be lucky to get a few dozen yuan in cash as a year-end bonus.

So in their view, Commander Qian had kindly given such a huge sum of money, only to be given some scraps and a barrage of insults in return. They couldn't swallow that insult!
Qian Jin didn't speak, but calmly glanced at the few waiters who were trying to remain composed at the entrance of Taixiang Restaurant.

For these people, his silence was more oppressive than the shouts of farmers.

They are not afraid even if ten or twenty times more farmers come to hawk their wares.

They're afraid of money coming in.

Taixiang Restaurant is located at the end of Taishan Road. Apart from the fat chef from out of town, everyone else knows Qian Jin and is aware of his fierceness.

When they realized that the fat chef had indeed swindled Qian Jin out of his money, they were furious.

But the current situation is one of shared prosperity and shared loss. They are not residents of Taishan Road, so they are unwilling to provoke Qian Jin, but they believe they are not afraid of him either.

Therefore, they were able to barely maintain their composure when Qian Jin brought people to cause trouble.

The market intersection was quickly surrounded by a crowd of people who had come to see what was happening.

This is really lively now.

Citizens who got up early to buy groceries, workers delivering goods on tricycles, workers riding bicycles to work on weekends, and of course, many residents of Taishan Road Subdistrict, all blocked the entire intersection.

Many of these people have connections with Qian Jin.

Upon seeing Qian Jin surrounded in the middle and hearing keywords such as "twenty yuan," "humiliation," and "joke," the crowd immediately erupted in chaos.

"Oh my, isn't this Chief Qian from Taishan Road?"

"Commander Qian, what's going on? Why are you with a bunch of farmers?"

"It seems like Taixiang Restaurant ripped him off? And they even insulted him? That's outrageous!"

"Damn it! You've got the guts of a bear and the audacity of a leopard, daring to swindle money from Chief Qian? Daring to insult our Boss Qian? I'll see who the hell is courting death!"

The residents of Taishan Road were particularly excited.

Although most of the people who come to buy groceries in the morning are elderly women and men, many of their children and relatives work for Qian Jin. It's not an exaggeration to say that they all rely on Qian Jin for their livelihood.

All the elderly men and women put their shopping baskets on the ground, rolled up their sleeves, and spontaneously stood around Qian Jin and the young farmers, forming an even larger and more angry human wall:

"Everyone from Taixiang Restaurant, get out here and give us an explanation!"

"Give back the money that Chief Qian has!"

"What the hell! Just because it's a state-owned restaurant doesn't mean it can bully people like that! If you're going to bully someone, at least do it beforehand, don't you? You're bullying us on Taishan Road!"

The crowd was outraged, and the outcry grew louder and louder.

The head waiter at Taixiang Hotel was named Meng Ru'en, a plump, fair-skinned man in his forties with a parted hairstyle.

Many people at the scene recognized him. After all, the restaurant was just a short distance from the market, so people would often buy breakfast from his stall to take home. Over time, they all became acquainted.

But in those days, state-run restaurants had a high status, and Meng Ru'en earned a government salary, not money from customers.

He's quite pretentious on a daily basis, and he has the common problem among current state-owned restaurant leaders: he doesn't treat customers like human beings.

At this time, many people knew him, and even more had conflicts with him.

Without even asking about the cause and effect, everyone immediately regarded him as the villain and Qian Jin as the hero.

Dozens of mouths started cursing at him, making his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and bowed repeatedly to Qian Jin: "Chief Qian, it's a misunderstanding, it must be a misunderstanding! Calm down, calm down, let's talk this out..."

At the same time, he felt that simply showing weakness wouldn't work; he needed to use a combination of soft and hard tactics. So, seeing that Qian Jin was unmoved by his words, he narrowed his eyes and said:
"Hey, Chief Qian, I have some connections in the South City District. If you do me a favor today, I, Old Meng, will definitely repay you handsomely later..."

Qian Jin laughed and replied with two words: "Idiot!"

Meng Ru'en got impatient: "Hey, why are you swearing at me?"

"I didn't curse people, I cursed dogs." Qian Jin saw that there were quite a few people who had opinions about Taixiang Restaurant, and since he had an absolute advantage, he decided to make a big scene.

Anyway, his canteen is right next to this restaurant, and trouble is bound to happen sooner or later.

Why not just finish the job today and crush the other side outright, so we don't have to keep fighting each other in the future?

Meng Ru'en considered himself a man of influence, but he couldn't compare to Qian Jin's high position as a leader in the supply and marketing cooperative—at this time, he didn't know that Qian Jin had already left the supply and marketing cooperative to become the head of a more important unit.

Even knowing this, he felt that Qian Jin had been demoted.

Both are directors, but the director of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives has a much higher social status than the director of an unknown unit.

Seeing that Qian Jin was not giving him face, Meng Ru'en slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Comrade Qian Jin! What's wrong with you? Are you trying to cause trouble on the grounds of our state-run restaurant today?!"

Qian Jin pointed at him and said, "If you keep babbling at me, I'll slap you across the face."

Meng Ru'en subconsciously shrank back.

He had heard about Qian Jin's deeds and knew that he was truly capable of such things.

Then he backed down again: "No, let's use words, not violence. Money, money, let's talk this out, it's just a misunderstanding..."

“There’s nothing to misunderstand,” Qian Jin said loudly. “I gave this fatso from your restaurant twenty yuan so he could use the scraps of dough, broken buns, and tattered steamed buns from the oil pan to feed these hungry farmers who came to the city to sell their produce.”

"The results of it?"

He pointed to Chen Xingwang, Chen Tiezhu and others behind him: "Each of them only got such a small amount of food. Before they could even finish eating, they were scolded by your Master Ma as 'country bumpkins begging in the city' and chased away."

"You fatso, that's the truth!"

That last sentence was said to the chubby chef.

The chubby chef is someone who doesn't discriminate between meat and vegetables.

He believed he had powerful backers and acted arrogantly and domineeringly. Eventually, he made a mistake and offended someone in Haiwei City, so he had to use his connections to transfer to Haibin City to work.

Now that he saw Qian Jin bullying him, he became reckless and suddenly turned around and ran into the restaurant and into the kitchen.

Qian Jin clearly explained his logic for giving money.

The people working at the restaurant are a bunch of rats who have embezzled a lot of things from the restaurant for their own use.

This time, he wasn't thinking of taking advantage of the country; he paid for these odds and ends.

As a result, the fat chef took the money but didn't do the job!
His words were clear and forceful, explaining the whole story in detail.

The onlookers became even angrier upon hearing this.

"Did you hear that? Commander Qian said it himself!"

"You only bought this much for twenty yuan? And you're even swearing at me? That's outrageous!"

"Where's that fat cook? Trying to hide? Dream on! Make him come out here..."

Just then, the door of Taixiang Hotel, which had just been closed, was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang.

Chef Ma rushed out.

He went to the kitchen to prepare himself.

A gleaming meat cleaver was tucked outside his greasy, twisted apron.

He stood in front of his restaurant employees, who were carrying rolling pins, stove hooks, and large soup ladles, and thought he had made a decisive move.

He stood there with a fierce expression, his brows furrowed and his eyes wide.

"Who the hell dares to cause trouble in front of the state-run restaurant? They're asking for it!"

Master Ma, one hand on his hip and the other on the knife handle behind his back, glared with wide eyes: "Get out of my way, all of you! Or I'll get rough!"

His bluffing posture, coupled with that gleaming knife, would definitely intimidate people under normal circumstances.

however……

Qian Jin is now surrounded by more than a hundred people.

One hundred against ten, the advantage is mine!

The guy on the other end is wielding a kitchen knife, not a submachine gun. Who's afraid of him!

Just as tensions were about to rise, a sharp whistle rang out!
"Make way! Make way, everyone! It's the police station!"

Several security guards, dressed in dark blue Type 72 police uniforms and wearing peaked caps, arrived and pushed their way through the crowd.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his thirties with a serious face. He was not Pang Laifu, the director of the Taishan Road Police Station whom Qian Jin was familiar with. This place was located at the junction of Taishan Road and Wutaishan Road and was under the jurisdiction of Wutaishan Road.

This middle-aged man is Lü Yousheng, the director of the Wutaishan Road Police Station.

"What's going on? Gathering a crowd to cause trouble? Trying to rebel!" Director Lü's stern gaze swept across the entire scene, finally landing on Qian Jin, at which point his expression softened considerably.

"Director Qian? Hey, what's this all about so early in the morning?"

When Master Ma saw that his savior had arrived, and that the person leading the team was none other than Lü Yousheng, whom his relative had treated him to a meal when he was brought here to work, he immediately straightened his back as if he had grasped a lifeline.

He pointed at Qian Jin and the group of farmers, and then, like a villain accusing someone first, said, "Director Lü, you've finally come. You have to stand up for me!"

“You’re right, someone is trying to rebel. Let me tell you, these country bumpkins, and this guy surnamed Qian, have been causing trouble in front of our restaurant since early this morning.”

"He took advantage of his position as a cadre to falsely accuse me of taking money from him and then denying it, and he even tried to assault me. Look at this, our restaurant can't even operate anymore, we can't serve the people anymore, all because of them, the national interest has been harmed..."

"Alright, shut up!" Lü Yousheng quickly shouted at him.

This is for the good of the chubby chef.

Because someone on the spot had already started yelling angrily, it looked like another conflict was about to break out.

Master Ma got really into it.

He's not a coward!
He shouted, his neck stiff, "Officer Lü, look at these troublemakers, especially this Qian Jin. Hey, he's the captain of the labor commando team on Taishan Road, isn't he?"

"I'm fucking baffled. When did these vagrants from the labor shock brigade become officials?"

Qian Jin laughed when he heard this.

This time, it wasn't out of extreme anger that he laughed; it was purely out of amusement.

This idiot has offended someone!
Sure enough, the onlookers spat and were about to beat him up.

Without him.

Many of the residents on Taishan Road here have children who were labor shock troops. When Master Ma called the shock troops "vagrants," it was tantamount to insulting them.

Lu Yousheng had no choice but to go up and punch Master Ma, as a way of giving the residents an explanation:
"Didn't you hear me tell you to shut up? Are you deaf?!"

Master Ma was unhappy after being punched, but he couldn't vent his anger on Lü Yousheng, so he could only glare fiercely at Qian Jin.

The waiter next to him quickly tugged at him and whispered, "You don't even dare to mess with Inspector Lü, yet you dare to mess with Chief Qian?"

"Pah, just a vagrant from a labor shock brigade," Master Ma still retorted stubbornly.

The waiter was taken aback and asked, "You think he's just some vagrant from a labor shock brigade? You...you didn't know he's also the director of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives? And even the deputy commander of the current drought relief command?"

Master Ma was taken aback by these words: "Huh? The deputy commander Qian Jin you always talk about, is that him? No way! He's so young, he's only in his twenties, right?"

The waiter then realized what was happening.

Qian Jin is right.

That's an idiot!
He had no idea what kind of power Qian Jin possessed, yet he dared to offend people!
This greatly alarmed the waiter: "Damn it, you're going to kill me!"

Lu Yousheng frowned and looked at Qian Jin: "Director Qian, you are a leading cadre, this..."

Qian Jin, neither humble nor arrogant, recounted the events in their entirety and concisely, concluding by emphasizing:
"Director Lü, I'm a leading cadre, and now I'm being framed?"

"Fine, even if that's the case, I'm a leading cadre, I won't stoop to his level, but what about these farmers?"

Lu Yousheng was also angry after hearing this. If it was Qian Jin who was abusing his power, he would at least have a way to deal with it.

The result was that someone bullied Qian Jin!

This really proves the old saying: "When a dung beetle burrows into a dung ball, it's time to poop!"

Master Ma was still yelling, jumping up and down and shouting: "Damn it, this is slander, pure slander against our state-run restaurant!"

"He said I took twenty yuan from him? Where's the proof? Huh? Where is it?!"

"Damn it, folks, be the judge! Who would spend twenty yuan on some lousy steamed buns, crumbs, and fried dough scraps? Right? Who the hell would spend twenty yuan to hire these peasants..."

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound cut him off.

Qian Jin seized the opportunity and swung his arm to deliver a powerful blow to his groin: "Come on, try spewing filth at me again!"

Master Ma was caught off guard by the sudden beating. After a moment of stunned silence, he reacted and lunged forward, shouting, "You dare hit me?! You dare hit me! Brothers, get him!"

As a result, he took two steps forward, while the other people in the restaurant took two steps back.

They are now filled with regret.

If they had known earlier that this bastard had offended Qian Jin, they wouldn't have dared to show their faces. Now look what's happened.

Now, our side is caught between a rolling pin and a large soup ladle, unable to advance or retreat!

At this point, Master Ma was caught in a dilemma.

Retreating is shameful, moving forward will get you beaten up.

Qian Jin was surrounded by a group of young men who rolled up their sleeves. They were all tough guys who had done hard labor all year round, and the calluses on their hands were thicker than his skin. It was no joke if they hit him.

Finally, he could only stomp his foot and shout at Lü Yousheng, "Director Lü, you have to stand up for me..."

The onlookers noticed his embarrassment and burst into laughter.

Lu Yousheng glared at the crowd, then whispered to Qian Jin, "Director Qian, I don't favor the bad guys, but... but do you have any evidence? Did anyone see anything?"

"For example, the farmers around you, or the staff at the Taixiang Restaurant?"

Master Ma immediately burst into laughter upon seeing this.

Qian Jin was very discreet when he gave the money, because it was essentially a bribe, and it would be unacceptable if people found out. So the two of them gave and received the money quickly, and no one saw them in the act.

It was because of this that he dared to stand up to Qian Jingang to the very end.

Qian Jin laughed at his smug look: "What's wrong? Do you think I don't have any proof that I gave you twenty yuan?"

“If you have evidence, then produce it,” Master Ma said instinctively.

Then several people pointed at him and said, "He must have taken money, otherwise he wouldn't have said that..."

"Yes, the proper answer should be: you didn't give me any money at all, and you have no proof whatsoever..."

Master Ma reacted quickly, shouting, "Of course I know there's no evidence at all, that's why I asked him to produce it."

"He can't produce it!"

Qian Jin called to the night shift team members at the People's Canteen: "Go and get my briefcase."

The black briefcase was delivered.

He opened the package, took out a small stack of ten-yuan bills, and sneered at Master Ma: "Do you remember what you said when I gave you the money?"

"You said this money is brand new, right? Absolutely right, it's really new. I just withdrew this money from the bank yesterday; it's a batch of consecutive new bills!"

As long as it's not a large withdrawal, you can get consecutive banknotes from the bank.

Especially when banks issue new banknotes, many of them are consecutively numbered.

When Qian Jin received the money, he glanced at it and noticed that it was a series of consecutive numbers. Now, by sheer coincidence, it had helped him out.

He handed the banknotes in his hand to Lü Yousheng and said, "Chief Lü, the facts are very clear. I gave him two consecutive ten-yuan notes so he could treat the farmers to something to eat."

"As a result, he not only withheld the goods but also insulted the farmers. Now, he vehemently denies taking money. My request is simple: make him take the money out of his pocket and check the numbers."

"If the number doesn't match, I'll apologize to him publicly and compensate him for the restaurant's losses! If it matches..."

Qian Jin's eyes flashed like lightning, and he smiled: "Then please, Director Lü, handle this according to the law. Refund the money that should be refunded, and apologize where necessary!"

"Furthermore, I will hold him accountable for insulting the masses and damaging relations between workers and peasants!"

At the same time, he looked at the group from Taixiang Hotel, his smile widening: "You've been aiding and abetting evil, bullying your neighbors, very good, you're all very good—you'd better wait and see!"

These people were terrified.

In particular, several young people had attended the New Year's Eve party organized by Qian Jin, and they were well aware of Qian Jin's appeal among young people!
The young waiter who had been closest to Master Ma earlier started scratching his head frantically.

Having arrived here, Lü Yousheng had confirmed the truth.

He and his colleagues checked the numbers on the banknotes one by one, and then he saluted Master Ma and said, "Comrade Ma Dafu, please take out the money in your pocket and let us see it?"

Master Ma's fat face twitched suddenly, his eyes darted around, and he stuck out his tongue to lick his lips, clearly a little flustered.

But he quickly regained his composure, sticking his neck out and shouting, "Bullshit! What money? I didn't take any money from him! Who knows if he made up a number? Trying to scam me? No way!"

"Whether it's made up or not, we'll know once we see it!" Lü Yousheng pressed on, "Take the money out of your pocket and let me see!"

The others joined in, shouting at him, "Take it out! Take it out!"

"Yes! Make him pay!"

"Check if the number is correct!"

"Director Lü, you must handle this matter impartially!"

"I'll take it, I'm not afraid of you!" Master Ma said defiantly, but his hand instinctively tightened around his pocket.

Lu Yousheng went up to make a move, but Lu Yousheng reluctantly took out all the money in his pocket: "Director Lu, you can see for yourself, I don't have any 100-yuan notes on me!"

Qian Jin knew the money was definitely in his hands.

Given his despicable character, it's impossible for him to hand over the money to the authorities. So he either hid the money somewhere else or kept it in another pocket on his person.

There is a way to solve this.

He believed that every passing goose leaves a trace, and someone in the restaurant must know the truth.

He then sneered at the group, "I see now. You're planning to collude with this out-of-towner to harm your own people. Very well, you've done a good job!"

Hearing these threatening words, a young waiter decided to switch sides.

He immediately pointed at Master Ma and shouted, "I want to report that Ma Dafu's apron has a hidden pocket on the back!"

Ma Dafu's face turned very ugly.

He glared at the young man in shock and rage and roared, "Fuck your mother, Yuan Jinfeng! You've become a traitor, a collaborator, and a scab!"

“You’re the traitor! You embezzled public funds, you bullied farmers, you’re the traitor to the people!” Yuan Jinfeng quickly retorted.

The crowd started shouting again.

Ma Dafu's chubby face trembled with fright, and he instinctively covered his apron.

Lu Yousheng, suppressing his anger, dragged him into the restaurant and asked, "Old Ma, what exactly happened? You fucking tell me the truth! Let me tell you, this Director Qian is no ordinary person!"
Ma Dafu panicked at this moment, especially when he heard the deafening shouts of "Pay up your money!" all around him. He knew he was on the verge of a dead end.

He quickly pulled out some money from the back of his apron and said, "Director Lü, I... I have a chance now, I'll hide it..."

"Are you hiding it from me?!" Lü Yousheng snatched it away.

Ma Dafu was startled, and beads of sweat dripped down his forehead: "Director Lü, what are you doing?"

Ignoring him, Lü Yousheng walked out with a gloomy face, raised his hand and said, "I found the ten-yuan bills on Ma Dafu's body. We can tell whether they are consecutive or not just by looking at them!"

Ma Dafu staggered out and chased after him, shouting, "Director Lü, you betrayed me!"

Lu Yousheng thought to himself, "How can there be such an idiot? What kind of close relationship do we have?"

She wanted to have a close relationship with Qian Jin!
But he couldn't make things too ugly in front of everyone, so he said seriously to Ma Dafu, "I'm a security officer, I only handle cases and don't care about personal relationships. What's this about selling or not selling? Are we spies or accomplices? How could there be any betrayal relationship between us?"

"Remember this: if you're innocent, the organization will stand up for you! But if you really did something shameful, no one can protect you!"

Ma Dafu trembled all over at the shout, and his mental defenses completely collapsed.

All eyes were focused on the two banknotes.

Lu Yousheng glanced at it and said clearly, "The last two digits of the number on the top one are 4387, and the one on the bottom one is 4388."

“Absolutely right, the serial numbers are consecutive with the money in Director Qian’s possession…”

"Wow!"

The crowd erupted in a huge roar.

"It matches up, they really are consecutive numbers!"

"That fat bastard really took money from Chief Qian!"

"That's heartless! They only give people that little bit of food for twenty yuan!"

"He even swore! He must apologize, he must be fired, he must be punished!"

Ironclad evidence.

Ma Dafu's face turned ashen, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Lu Yousheng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He glared at Ma Dafu, then turned to Qian Jin and said, "Director Qian, the situation is clear."

“It was Ma Dafu’s insatiable greed that led him to embezzle your money and verbally abuse the public. His actions were egregious, and our police station will certainly deal with them seriously.”

"First, I must order him to immediately return your twenty yuan and publicly apologize to you and the farmers present! The restaurant will also severely punish him!"

Then he turned to Ma Dafu and yelled, "What are you all standing there for? Give the money back to Comrade Qian Jin! Come up here and apologize!"

Like a defeated rooster, Ma Dafu dejectedly handed the two banknotes, seemingly carrying a mark of shame, back to Qian Jin. Then, addressing the group, he murmured in a voice barely audible, "I...I'm sorry...I was wrong..."

"Speak louder! You work at a restaurant, haven't you eaten yet?!" Lu Yousheng shouted again.

"I'm sorry! I was wrong!" Ma Dafu raised his voice, but lowered his head even further.

Qian Jin took the money without even glancing at Ma Dafu.

Apologize?

If an apology is useful, what good are my strong connections?
He turned around and stuffed two banknotes into Chen Xingwang's hand: "Xiao Chen, take this money. Later, take everyone to the supply and marketing cooperative store next door to buy some biscuits and peach shortbread, and get some hot water. That should be enough to fill your stomach."

"Remember, don't work on an empty stomach. It's okay when you're young, but your stomach will suffer when you get older."

Holding the two flimsy banknotes, Chen Xingwang looked into Qian Jin's sincere eyes, and the simple rural youth's eyes immediately welled up with tears: "Commander Qian, no, this, this won't do..."

"Here you go!" Qian Jin squeezed his hand tightly. "I'll be going to eat at your Xiao Chenzhi restaurant later, so you'll have to treat me to a good meal. I've already paid for the meal!"

Chen Tiezhu immediately squeezed in and said, "Commander Qian, this is a done deal. You have to come to our brigade for dinner."

Other young people chimed in with their own opinions.

They were extremely grateful to Qian Jin at this moment. Commander Qian not only helped them get justice, but also upheld their dignity in his own way.

think about it.

Since birth, there has never been a single leader who not only invited them to dinner, but also, to avoid making them feel guilty, claimed not to have spent any money on them when they had actually spent money on them.

Just then, there was a commotion outside the crowd.

A group of energetic young men rushed forward, their shouts carrying through the crowd:
"Chief Qian, we're here to support you!"

"Which bastard dares to cheat you out of your money? I'll chop him up!"

"Damn it! Taixiang Restaurant, huh? They've dared to bully our assault team! No questions asked, let's take them down!"

It was a large-scale operation.

Qian Jin was speechless.

I fucking took care of everything, and then you guys showed up?
However, considering the long road to Mount Tai, it's already quite fast that these people were able to arrive by now after receiving the news.

After all, they came running in groups of three or five.

Especially Wang Dong, who was running in front, was shirtless and wearing only a pair of military green shorts. He was probably dragged out of bed, and there was even some boogers in the corner of his eye.

He was carrying a weapon belt and looked menacing, ready to attack.

This startled Lü Yousheng and the security guards from the local police station, who quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Don't be impulsive! Don't be impulsive! The matter has been resolved!"

Qian Jin quickly shouted, "Wang Dong! Put down the knife! What kind of behavior is this! The matter is settled!"

Wang Dong said regretfully, "How could it be solved so easily?"

Qian Jin got angry, and they reluctantly put away their weapons, but still glared at the people from Taixiang Restaurant, especially Ma Dafu, whose face was ashen.

Ma Dafu now realizes that he bullied the wrong person!

Meng Ru'en was even more on tenterhooks.

This situation is not going to end well!
He dawdled as he went to find Qian Jin, still trying to figure out how to settle things while preserving face.

But Qian Jin didn't give him a chance at all.

If this matter can be resolved peacefully, then all his fuss would have been for nothing.
He didn't look at Meng Ru'en; he looked at the signboard of Taixiang Restaurant.

Taking advantage of the quiet moment when the crowd was quiet, he said loudly, "Director Lü, fellow neighbors, comrades, and my fellow farmers, everyone has seen what happened today and knows exactly what happened."

"This Taixiang Restaurant is a long-established state-owned restaurant in our area. It should be a place that serves the people. But some people, relying on their little bit of power, cheat customers, insult the masses, and have completely forgotten the principle of serving the people!"

Meng Ru'en quickly waved his hand: "Hey, Chief Qian, it's not that serious, let's not make a mountain out of a molehill..."

Qian Jincai ignored him and shouted sternly:

"Does this kind of restaurant, with this kind of service, deserve the five words 'Serve the People' inscribed by our leader?!"

"I, Qian Jin, am telling you right now, you are not worthy!"

"In addition, I would like to announce that the People's Canteen, run by our Taishan Road Labor Commando Team, will be opening soon, right across from Taixiang Restaurant!"

He raised his hand and pointed to the newly renovated two-story building, the four large red characters "People's Canteen" on the roof shining brightly in the morning sun:
"Our People's Canteen must become a restaurant that truly serves the people!"

"We don't cheat or deceive! Prices are clearly marked, and we treat everyone fairly, young and old!"

"Our servers will greet you with a smile! They will treat customers like family!"

"And everyone, just watch! We're going to make all our breakfasts—fried dough sticks, soy milk, steamed buns, wontons, noodles, stewed flatbread…and we'll make them better and cheaper than theirs!"

"We want every customer who enters our store, whether they are city workers or rural farmers, to be able to eat their fill, eat well, eat comfortably, and eat with dignity!"

"We must show those restaurants that use the 'people' label but engage in activities that harm the people what true 'serving the people' really means!"

At this moment, Wang Dong, Xu Weidong, and their group understood Qian Jin's meaning.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense understands this.

Meng Ru'en was devastated, muttering, "The true colors have been revealed! The true colors have been revealed! Director Lü, I suspect this is a conspiracy..."

Lu Yousheng rolled his eyes: "Your mother's conspiracy!"

The crowd was all cheering:

"it is good!!!"

"Well said! Chief Qian, you're absolutely right!"

"Stop their business! We support the People's Canteen!"

"I'll definitely be there to support the opening!" This is what Lü Yousheng is shouting.

Upon witnessing this intense scene, the head waiter, chefs, and waiters of Taixiang Hotel turned deathly pale.

They knew that Qian Jin wasn't just saying that.

Given his prestige on Taishan Road, the reputation he built with the People's Mobile Canteen, and today's public exposure of their ugly faces...

Regardless of what will happen to the People's Canteen business, the business of their Taixiang Restaurant is probably doomed!

Looking at Ma Dafu, who was still acting all high and mighty and pouting, Meng Ru'en felt a surge of anger rising to her head.

He suddenly rushed forward and started punching and kicking Ma Dafu: "You bastard, you scoundrel! It's all your fault! It's all because you were greedy for those twenty yuan!"

"You've only been here for less than a week, less than a week, and you've ruined the whole restaurant! I'll beat you to death, you scourge!"

Ma Dafu is indeed a remarkable person.

After being beaten, he took advantage of his strong build to retaliate and beat Meng Ru'en, who had struck first, until she saw stars.

Meng Ru'en called to the waiters, "What are you all standing there for? Let's get him!"

The waiters were equally furious and were even ready to throw punches.

Lu Yousheng hurriedly stopped them: "Let's see who dares to move! All of you stop and get out of here, all of you come with me!"

"Especially you, Ma Dafu! You've embezzled collective assets by collecting money from the collective, and now you dare to participate in fights. I have to deal with you properly, otherwise you won't even know that this is our people's world!"

(End of this chapter)