Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 380 Feng Qianlin

The night is getting darker.

Although Tonggang was a concession for foreigners, due to the era and construction costs, there was no electricity. The whole city still used lanterns, candles, and even torches for lighting. However, combined with the near-modern buildings, it had a unique charm.

By evening, the smell of opium had dissipated considerably. After all, several snowfalls had occurred, causing a sharp drop in temperature. Heavy smokers couldn't distinguish between hot and cold weather, and the opium dens were afraid that several customers would die there overnight. So, except for a few that remained open on the outskirts of the city, most of them were closed for repairs and no longer served any customers.

Zhou You walked along the street, listening to the hawkers' cries, finally getting a rare moment of relaxation.

I still have some silver on hand, which I need to spend quickly—otherwise, once the curse of the Five Deficiencies and Three Shortages takes effect, it will probably be gone due to various unforeseen circumstances. First, I definitely need to treat myself to a good meal. Also, I've used up a lot of funeral supplies along the way, so I need to replenish them. Although I could embezzle some of these supplies by falsely reporting them when working for employers, unfortunately, I haven't encountered any wealthy families.
Zhou You was carefully calculating how to spend this windfall, unaware that he had unknowingly left the narrow streets and entered a wide road. The surrounding scenery was no longer a blend of Chinese and Western styles, but rather rows of Western-style buildings.

The number of blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners has increased dramatically, and the few Chinese people who are there are either dressed in Western-style clothing or wearing formal work clothes—in this environment, Zhou You's attire has long seemed out of place.

—It was only after a while that he discovered the problem.

And he didn't even discover it himself.

Instead, in front of a restaurant, a Chinese man dressed as a waiter stopped Zhou You, raised his neck, and asked in a very unfriendly voice.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm talking to you. Are you out of your mind? Why did you leave the outer city and come to the concession?"

"Concession?"

"Yes, that's right. Have you gone mad from taking narcotics? Do you think you can just walk into this place? And what are those constables doing? Yes, it is indeed excessively cold today, but they can't just neglect their duties like this."

Zhou You looked around at the scenery and then finally realized what was going on.

Of course, he wasn't the kind of protagonist in a wish-fulfillment novel who would start 'don't underestimate a young man' after being told a few things. He also knew that his clothes weren't exactly presentable, so after shaking his head with a smile, he decided to turn around and leave.

But at that moment, the waiter, watching his retreating figure, suddenly spat out a contemptuous spit and muttered a curse under his breath.

"You worthless bastard, a yellow-skinned monkey born inferior to others, don't you know your place? Do you think you're worthy of being here?"

I don't know where he learned that phrase from, or if he's said it so many times that it sounds exceptionally fluent.

Upon hearing this, Zhou You paused, then turned around with interest.

"Hey buddy, I'd like to ask you something."

"What are you waiting for if you're not going to leave? Fine, I'm in a good mood today, what's up?"

Zhou You looked at the man's body and then smiled.

"Doesn't your appearance resemble that of the yellow-skinned monkey you described?"

The waiter was taken aback, then launched into a tirade.

"What the hell are you talking about! I'll work a few more years and still get foreign citizenship. How could I possibly be like you guys?"

Zhou You ignored the string of profanities that followed, and simply turned to look around.

Before he knew it, the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners had gathered around him, looking at him—including the waiter—as if he were watching an amusing circus, or two utterly ridiculous clowns, their eyes filled with mockery.

Looking at the waiter again, he still seemed to have been touched on a sore spot, and the sound of him cursing incessantly filled the air.

Okay, I need to know that in this day and age, Chinese people are at the very bottom of the social hierarchy.

Moreover, we also understand that a weak country has no diplomacy. Although the Qing Dynasty did not suffer those severe blows, it was always looked down upon because of its self-degrading behavior and was kicked out of the ranks of the great powers decades ago.

But the problem is...
Why does he seem so unhappy?
—According to past practice, Zhou You only has one way of dealing with his dissatisfaction.

He took a few slow steps and stopped the waiter with a single sentence.

"Sorry to bother you."

"What the hell is wrong with your grandpa?"

Zhou You didn't answer, but instead smiled and raised his hand, then...
That was a hard slap across the face.

The waiter was completely stunned by the blow—the reason he had been so unrestrained in his insults was because he saw the guy's shabby clothes and assumed he was incompetent.

But who would have thought that this guy would actually take action!

"you--"

However, before he could finish speaking, he was slapped again.

Then, another one.

Soon, this person was whipped into a spinning top. The person in front of him was not tall, and could even be described as somewhat thin, but for some reason, his strength was both accurate and ruthless. Several times when he resisted, his mouth was easily slapped back.

Only after the waiter collapsed to the ground, completely disoriented, did Zhou You squat down, still wearing that smiling expression, and ask.

Do you know why I slapped you?

The waiter was already somewhat delirious and only gave a vague reply.

"Because I insulted you?"

"No."

"Because I've forgotten my roots?"

"You know that yourself? But no, not really."

"What on earth is that for?"

"It's nothing really, I just wanted to punch you."

The waiter couldn't catch his breath and fainted, while Zhou You stood up, glanced around, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The argument just now wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. It was enough to attract the attention of the local police—and these weren't the constables from the outer city; they were armed.

Although these are all low-grade muzzle-loading rifles, they're not his original body, and having too many would be a real hassle, not to mention the local garrison isn't far away. To avoid getting lost in the ocean, well...
It would be better to follow Chiang Kai-shek's example and take a step back.

Zhou You sighed inwardly. It was a pity that even with the little money he'd managed to get, he hadn't been able to afford a decent meal, and in this freezing weather, he'd have to sleep outdoors—he really didn't want to fight with bears for a cave again.
Just as he was about to pack up and leave, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Excuse me, please wait a moment."

The voice wasn't particularly authoritative, and it was spoken in Chinese, but for some reason, the moment it fell, the patrol officers who had already begun to crouch and aim actually stopped.

Zhou You turned his head in surprise.

Unexpected
No, it was expected.

I happened to see a familiar face.

—Feng Qianlin's face.

Unlike when they first met, this man was now standing in front of the restaurant, having shed his dirty merchant clothes and put on a sharp suit. He wore a top hat and his face was meticulously groomed, making him look like a true gentleman who had studied abroad.

Upon seeing this man, the leader of the patrol officers—a man who was probably from the area—quickly put down his gun, stepped forward, and bowed and greeted him.

"So Mr. Feng is also dining here. I'm so sorry to have disturbed your enjoyment. Please rest assured, we'll handle this matter quickly. By the way, would you like to inform our bureau chief? He's been talking about you ever since we last met and would very much like to host you again."

"No, I'm just having a casual meal this time," Feng Qianlin shook his head and declined with a smile. "Besides, I'm not really comfortable meeting anyone right now, so please thank Director Zhao for me—oh, by the way, there's one more thing, this person is my friend, could you please pretend you didn't see him this time?"

"Could Mr. Feng possibly know someone like this?"

The patrol leader looked at Feng Qianlin in astonishment, then at Zhou You, who was still smiling, seemingly in disbelief.

"Yes, we've only recently become friends. If it's inconvenient, I'll ask Director Zhao again."

Upon hearing this, the patrol leader immediately spoke in a panic.

"Convenient, of course convenient! When Mr. Feng speaks, there's never a time when it's inconvenient!"

After saying that, the police chief whistled and then left with his teammates, not forgetting to drag away the bruised and swollen waiter before they left.

Only then did Feng Qianlin turn to look at Zhou You.

Someone was also watching him with a smile.

After a while, Zhou You spoke first.

“Hey Feng, did you manage to sell that batch of goods? I heard that if you couldn’t sell them, every single one of you would have to jump into the river—to be honest, I’ve been really worried about that ever since we parted ways.”

Feng Qianlin answered without any concern, or even a hint of shame.

"Thanks to your good fortune, young man, everything has been sold out, and I even made a considerable profit. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to eat in a place like this, would I?"

The two looked at each other again, and then burst into laughter together.

After a while, the laughter subsided, and Zhou You spoke again, somewhat out of breath.

"I owe you a favor this time, Brother Feng—I never imagined you had so much influence in this city, able to get rid of a patrolman with just a word."

Feng Qianlin simply smiled and shook his head.

"Actually, it didn't come to that extent. It's just that the bureau chief also owed me a favor."

Feng Qianlin looked around and saw that the crowd of foreigners watching had not dispersed and had even grown larger. So he gestured to Zhou You to invite him to leave.

"It seems that the instinct to watch the excitement knows no borders. This isn't a place for idle chatter either. If you haven't eaten yet, young man, how about coming in for a bite? Of course, it's on me."

Looking at that kind face that seemed to have no malice, Zhou You also grinned and smiled.

"That would be disrespectful."
-
After a while.

Although it doesn't stand out from the outside, this restaurant seems to be quite upscale. While the interior decoration isn't exactly lavish, it exudes elegance and sophistication. Judging from the furnishings, it appears that a lot of money was spent on its design, and a master craftsman specializing in this area was hired to create it.

There weren't many guests inside, and apart from Zhou You and his companion, almost all of them were blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. As for Feng Qianlin, after bringing him in, he didn't sit down in the lobby but turned around and walked towards the stairs.

Soon we arrived at a place that looked like a private room.

Inside, there was only one table, which was still clean and seemed to indicate that no meal had been served. Three people were standing on either side of it. Two of them were dressed the same as the person outside and appeared to be waiters from the restaurant, while the third looked somewhat familiar to Zhou You.

After thinking for a long time, he finally remembered.

Isn't this the same merchant who followed Feng Qianlin back then?

This man was also wearing a suit, and without the thick cotton-padded coat to conceal his physique, he appeared exceptionally strong. Upon seeing Zhou You enter, for some reason, he glared at him fiercely—but Zhou You clearly knew he hadn't provoked him—the source of this hostility remained a mystery.

After Feng Qianlin sat down, before he could speak, the knocking on the door suddenly rang out again.

This time, he didn't need to lift a finger. The merchant went over, opened the door, said a few words to the people below, and then came back and whispered to Feng Qianlin.

"He's the restaurant owner. He wants to apologize for the misunderstanding and also wishes to meet you, Shang Jun, in person."

However, unlike his previous amicable demeanor, this time Feng Qianlin simply shook his head coldly.

“If I were to meet with everyone, I wouldn’t need to do anything else from today onwards, just meet people. You should refuse him first, and by the way tell him that I just wanted to treat a friend to a meal, and I won’t be too concerned about the details. I just hope that he will properly educate his employees in the future—after all, don’t forget that no matter how rich he is now, his ancestors were still Chinese.”

The attendant nodded, then walked over and said a few words to the person outside the door—the other person responded with trepidation, but just as he was about to say a few more words, the attendant ruthlessly closed the door again.

Then Feng Qianlin took the menu from the waiter and ordered a few dishes as if they were very familiar with each other.

"I'm really hungry today, so I'll skip the appetizers and just bring me a grilled cod, a creamy matsutake soup, and one more..."

After reciting the names of the dishes, he handed the menu to Zhou You.

"Young man, what would you like to eat this time? Don't worry about it, those rules of Western food are useless except for being annoying. Just order whatever you like."

However, Zhou You did not take it, but just smiled and said.

"That's not in a hurry. I say, Brother Feng, now that things have come to this, shouldn't you tell me your true identity?"

(End of this chapter)