“I’ll leave this to you. I need to go to the Administration for Industry and Commerce,” Zhang Liunian said. The business license was about to be issued. Uncle Zhao had told him yesterday that he could pick it up today.
After giving the instructions, Zhang Liunian left alone for the Administration for Industry and Commerce. This time, he was not given any trouble and smoothly obtained the business license.
However, just as he was about to head back, he ran into Brother Tang blocking his way.
“Here again to ask about the business license? With me, Brother Tang, around, you can forget about it! You’ll absolutely never get it.”
Brother Tang immediately mocked Zhang Liunian for overestimating himself.
Zhang Liunian couldn't be bothered to waste words with him and directly took out his business license, looking at him.
“How is this possible? How could you possibly get it?” Brother Tang was caught completely off guard by this.
“A clown.” Zhang Liunian walked straight past Brother Tang to leave.
“Who are you calling a clown!” Brother Tang rushed forward, attempting to block him, but he was no match for Zhang Liunian.
At the same time, at the entrance of the Zhang Family Braised Meat shop, ten enforcement officers arrived.
Du Ziteng looked at them, and then walked out with Master Huang and three other employees.
“Someone has reported you for operating and selling without a license, which is against regulations. I order you to immediately close your business for rectification and only reopen after obtaining your business license. Otherwise, don't blame us enforcement officers for being impolite.”
The captain leading the team was a middle-aged man, the same person who had advised Brother Tang. His name was Tang Shi.
“Nonsense. Out of the twenty individual businesses on this street, only one has a business license. If we are breaking the law, then everyone else is too. If you have the guts, arrest them all! Why are you specifically targeting us?” Du Ziteng, having been involved in the underworld, was not intimidated by their words. Furthermore, he knew about a similar incident that happened at a crayfish restaurant in Datang County and was well aware that they were not breaking any laws.
“Stubborn fool, smash it for me.” Tang Shi had no time to argue with Du Ziteng. His objective was to finish this quickly.
Following his order, the nine men behind him immediately rushed forward. They didn’t charge into the shop directly, nor could they. To get inside, they would first have to dismantle the outer enclosure.
Seeing this, Du Ziteng’s veins bulged with anger. “You aren’t from the enforcement team at all! You’re impersonating them. I’m calling the police to arrest you.”
“Go ahead!” Tang Shi wasn’t afraid at all because they were indeed from the enforcement team and had no fear of an investigation. However, they were not from the Administration for Industry and Commerce but from the security sector. But no one knew that!
“If Manager Du and the others charge in, all our goods in the shop will be ruined,” Master Huang said, reminding Du Ziteng as they were about to storm into the shop.
Upon hearing this, Du Ziteng also reacted. He turned around and, with Master Huang, blocked the entrance. “If you dare to come in, I won’t be polite either.”
As Du Ziteng spoke, he pulled out an iron pipe from behind him and stood in front of the ten men. Seeing this, the men charged at them without any fear, and a melee instantly broke out. However, due to Du Ziteng's insufficient manpower, they were soon at a disadvantage.
“Go in and smash, as long as you don't tear down this entire structure, destroy everything inside!” Tang Shi shouted as his men charged in.
Du Ziteng’s eyes widened in fury. He reached out and grabbed the leg of one of the men. “Don’t you dare go in, don’t you dare!”
The man whose leg was grabbed kicked him hard. The force was so great that Du Ziteng was sent flying backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
When Zhang Liunian returned, he saw this scene. He clenched his fists and roared, “How dare you!”
Before his voice even faded, Zhang Liunian rushed into the shop like a gust of wind and threw the man who had kicked Du Ziteng onto a utility pole opposite them. The impact almost snapped the utility pole in half, and the man finally fell straight to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Du Ziteng, seeing the man who had just kicked him receive such swift retribution, wore an expression of unprecedented satisfaction.
“You got what you deserved!” Du Ziteng spat out the blood from his mouth, gritted his teeth, and rushed forward to beat the man who couldn’t get up.
Meanwhile, the eight men who had charged into the shop were also thrown out one by one by Zhang Liunian, landing at Tang Shi’s feet.
“Brother Tang sent you, didn't he!” Having just escaped Brother Tang, only to encounter this, it was obvious to anyone that the Tang family was targeting him again. However, this plan was truly uninspired, as they had used it once before and were still using it. Brother Tang’s mind was indeed not very sharp.
“It’s useless to make wild accusations. Operating without a license is wrong. It's a favor for us to come and warn you. If the Red Guards were to come, you’d all be in trouble.” Tang Shi stared at Zhang Liunian with a serious expression. He had witnessed Zhang Liunian’s martial skills just now and was truly impressed. This direct experience left him more shocked than any hearsay. He wondered if Xiao Hong would succeed.
“Blind your dog eyes and look! What is this?” Zhang Liunian brandished the business license he had just obtained, instantly rendering Tang Shi speechless.
“But you didn’t have it a moment ago.” Tang Shi, unable to come up with a better explanation, resorted to sophistry.
“Heh! If what you say is true, that we should be in trouble without a business license, then everyone on this street and all the vendors across the way should be in trouble. How many people nationwide would that be? Don’t try to scare us with such talk. Go back where you came from. If you dare to cause trouble again, I’ll cripple you.” Zhang Liunian put away the business license and placed it in his bag.
Tang Shi’s face turned cold, and he intended to say a few more words. But seeing the people lying on the ground unable to get up, he decided it was best to leave for now. After all, the plan was already in motion, and he didn’t need to force anything.
However, just as he turned to leave, a stone suddenly flew towards his waist, hitting Tang Shi with a yelp and sending him stumbling forward.
“Attacking from behind, you scoundrel!” Tang Shi clutched his waist, glaring at Zhang Liunian through gritted teeth. This Zhang Liunian was truly malicious to injure him there.
“I didn’t! You’re talking nonsense! You’re the scoundrel.” Zhang Liunian put his hands behind his back, acting as if nothing had happened.
“…” Tang Shi hadn’t expected Zhang Liunian to attack him, let alone target his waist. Everyone knew how important the kidneys were to a man.
“Zhang Liunian, you…”
“Brother, we can’t win. Let’s just leave!” Before Tang Shi could finish speaking, the nine men who had gotten up from the ground lifted him and fled. Zhang Liunian was too terrifying. With a flick of his hand, they were sent flying. With such martial prowess, who would dare to provoke him? It would be foolish.
After they left, Zhang Liunian personally helped Du Ziteng, Master Huang, and the others into the shop. The interior was in a state of disarray, with a small portion of the pickled vegetables having been smashed. Fortunately, Zhang Liunian had arrived in time, otherwise, the thousands of bottles stored there would have been ruined.
“Brother Liunian, it’s my fault for being useless and causing you to lose these pickled vegetables.” Du Ziteng looked at the smashed pickled vegetables on the ground, his heart aching.