Chapter Eight: The nickname “The Flower of Screw Street”
Wu YaoQiang still couldn’t believe that Ji XiaoYu, who looked as delicate as an unmarried maiden, could have this kind of skill. It had to have been just an accident. He had to figure out a way to recover.
Wu YaoQiang checked his wrist. Fortunately, there was no problem with it. So he proposed, “Ji LaoDi, how about we arm wrestle?”
Ji LaoDi… Yes, he just inadvertently revealed his hand, but it had been effective. This was better than those previous messy nicknames. Ji XiaoYu gave a slight smile, “Oh, okay.”
Then the two men sat down at the bedside table, each putting their right arm on the table. On one side, it was dark and strong and muscular; on the other hand, it is white and delicate, like a tender lotus root. The pose showed the sharp contrast between the two sides.
Wu YaoQiang took a look and hesitated, what if I break this kid’s arm? At that time, not only will I be scolded to death by Old Li, there will also be the medical bills. If the medical expenses are too much and I get caught up with this kid forever, what should I do……?
“Qiang Zi Ge, please guide me.” Ji XiaoYu was too impatient to wait, simply holding Wu YaoQiang’s hand and, with a little push, forced his wrist down halfway.
Wu YaoQiang suddenly felt a strong force and he didn’t dare to take it lightly right now. He violently exerted the strength in his arm, so that the muscle bulged and veins popped out, slamming his wrist back.
With Ji XiaoYu’s strength, Wu YaoQiang’s arm would fold as easy as a crisp cucumber. However, he didn’t have a lot of enmity with Wu YaoQiang and, secondly, if his performance was too much, he might be considered a monster, so he held back his strength and pretended to be deadlocked with Wu YaoQing for over ten seconds. Then he pressed his wrist against the table.
Ji XiaoYu cupped his fist and said with modesty, “Qiang Zi Ge, you let me win.”
Wu YaoQiang felt this loss in his heart, but was forced to believe even if he didn’t want to, and, in his eyes, Ji XiaoYu suddenly took on a 180-degree change. “Ji LaoDi, how are you so strong? Are you specialized in some sort of QiGong martial arts or something?”
“Yeah, I’ve practiced my family’s ancestral GongFu since I was a child,” Ji XiaoYu nodded along and with an “hmph hmph ha hei” acted out the motions of punching and kicking. “Don’t look at my skinniness; in my hometown, I roamed freely without a worthy adversary.”
(t/n: gongfu = kung fu, just using pinyin here)
“No wonder, I’ll tell you what!” As this dawned upon Wu YaoQiang, his heart finally settled a bit. It wasn’t that his own strength that was inferior, it was that the kid’s origin was too much of an advantage.
Thinking about what he had done before, he couldn’t help but be ashamed and frightened. He said hesitantly, “Ji LaoDi, that is, I didn’t mean to embarrass you before, it was…….I was afraid that you’d squeeze me out of my position, that Uncle Li would fire me. After all, I didn’t come to work for two months, so Uncle Li probably has bad thoughts about me. You didn’t hear it from me, but my ma’s condition has been stabilized temporarily, but there’re still a lot of expenses for the follow-up treatment and nursing. I’m going to have to save more money, so I can’t lose this job. That’s why I deliberately messed with you. Don’t be offended……..”
“It’s fine. In the future, don’t embarrass your little brother anymore, Qiang Zi Ge.” Ji XiaoYu didn’t expect to hear such a thing; this big, savage man turned out to be a filial son. When he remembered the two fathers he never met, his heart ached a bit. His earlier anger faded away and he, in turn, comforted Wu YaoQiang, “Uncle Li wants to expand the size of the small restaurant right now so it’s time to bring people on. Earlier, he boasted about you being a great hero; he definitely won’t fire you. You can rest assured.”
“That’s good, then good.” Wu YaoQiang laughed sheepishly, touching his short, spiky hair. His tanned face carried a faint touch of red.
The misunderstanding was cleared up and Ji XiaoYu relaxed and yawned, a little sleepy. He turned around and looked at the 1.2-meter bed. He couldn’t find it anything other than troublesome. It would be impossible to fit two big men. Besides, he still had to incubate his egg, so it was even more impossible to sleep with Wu YaoQiang in one bed.
Wu YaoQiang thought along the same lines and immediately said, “Ji LaoDi, this bed is small and not strong. If I’m not careful, I might crush it. You should sleep here, I’ll go downstairs to sleep.”
Being polite, Ji XiaoYu said, “That’s not good. The restaurant is downstairs, there’s no place to sleep.”
Wu YaoQiang explained with a gesture, “It’s a lot more spacious by moving the tables downstairs than to be here in the attic, I won’t hit my head. There is also a folding cot in the storeroom, a sturdy one, so I can sleep without collapsing it.”
“Oh, alright, then I say thank you. Qiang Zi Ge, good night, see you tomorrow.”
“Ah, Ji LaoDi, see you tomorrow!”
In this way, a friendship grew between Qiang Zi Ge and Ji LaoDi out of their fight. From the next day onwards, the atmosphere of the Old Li’s Home-Cooked Dishes became very harmonious and friendly. The two guys who previously didn’t like each other had changed the situation; they cooperated properly and helped each other and there was a significant improvement in their work efficiency. The business of the shop reached a new level and Boss Old Li was so happy that he couldn’t stop smiling all day.
…….
In the morning a few days later, the sun spilled into a room through the gap of the half-opened blinds, forming a light beam on the carpet by the wall of windows.
Cheng YuTang put down the pen and rotated his wrists, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.
There was a knock at the door and, closing his eyes, he said, “Come in.”
Someone came in, approaching his desk and whispering, “Cheng Zong, the background of the little delivery guy has been investigated, I’ll put the information on the desk for you. Take a look when you’re free.”
Cheng YuTang opened his eyes, taking the thin sheet of A4 paper directly from Zhao BaiXin’s hands and sweep his gaze up and down over it.
——Ji XiaoYu, male, Chinese nationality, aged 20, native of Qing Shan Town, Xing Cheng City, A province. His parents died early, he finished senior high school with the support of the villagers. His political views follow popular opinion and his social relations are uncomplicated. On January 4th, 2017, he entered the Xing Cheng XinHao Hotel and became a housekeeping staff member. The monthly salary was 3,000 yuan. During the period, his behavior was quite satisfactory. He had a good relationship with his colleagues and there were no special incidents. On the morning of Christmas Day, December 25, 2017, he suddenly left his job and returned home. For six months after, he didn’t go out from Qing Shan Town and didn’t have any contact with any outsiders, until June 1st this year. He came to Ning City, to the Screw Street “Old Li’s Home-Cooked Dishes” restaurant to work. The monthly salary is 2,800 yuan and he is mainly responsible for order delivery. People have given him the nickname “The Flower of Screw Street.”
What the hell is the flower of Screw Street…….. Cheng YuTang’s eyes twitched as he stared at the paper for a long time without making a sound.
(t/n: the character used for flower is also slang for “lecherous” and “horny”, so it sounds like ‘the horny one of Screw Street’)
Except for the strange vulgar nickname that was listed last, the background listed on paper was very simple and lackluster.
His parents died early and he studied only up to senior high school; life must be very difficult. Suddenly leaving his position on the morning of Christmas on December 25th, he could conclude that it was related to what happened the night before. He feared that Ji XiaoYu had arranged with Han QingShi to reverse a dire money problem, climbing into his own bed and selling his body, and later, to hide from the shame, he left the XinHao Hotel and returned to Qing Shan Town.
But why did he come out again six months later to work publicly as a wage earner in some entirely unknown greasy spoon diner?
Did Han QingShi not pay enough or did this Ji XiaoYu squander the money from the deal during those six months and so he had to work again to earn money?
2800 yuan, not enough to buy a bottle of liquor.
This simple background introduction gave Cheng YuTang some information, but his previous doubts still remained and, at the same time, a whole new series of new questions had emerged.
Cheng YuTang turned the simple ring on the pinkie of his left hand, a habitual little action when he was stuck in thought.
Zhao BaiXin waited for a long time and didn’t receive any the instructions. However, he also knew that Cheng Zong was distracted by the little delivery guy, otherwise, he wouldn’t waste the time thinking about it. So he asked, unsolicited, in a flattering manner, “Cheng Zong, do you want me to arrange for him to come and see you tonight?”
Cheng YuTang, in slight disgust, furrowed his brow. This executive assistant was very clever, sometimes so smart he got into Cheng YuTang’s head, which uncomfortably made him feel like his privacy was being invaded.
He subconsciously wanted to refuse, but changed his mind as he opened his mouth, because he also wanted to figure this all out sooner, to save himself the discomfort of the mystery remaining in the air.
“At noon, order a delivery of Old Li’s Home-Cooked Dishes for me. Let him delivery it directly to my office.”
Tut tut, so impatient? Some indescribable images flashed through Zhao BaiXin’s mind, but he was very quick to respond, “Yes, I will call right now.”
A few minutes later, Ji XiaoYu at Old Li’s Home-Cooked Dishes received a delivery order call from a man, “Ji XiaoYu? My surname is Zhao. I want a GongBao Chicken meal. You yourself must come at 12 o’clock. Take the special elevator to Room 101 on the top floor of the HongSheng Building.”
GongBao chicken…….. Ji XiaoYu couldn’t help but shudder and then he answered, “Alright, I’ll deliver it to you at 12 o’clock on time!”
As a pheasant spirit with a good appetite and a healthy body, Ji XiaoYu ate everything, except for chicken and eggs. But he couldn’t stop others from eating them. Every time he heard someone else ordering chicken-related dishes, he can’t help but puff up his feathers.
After reporting the name of the dish to Li DeFa, Ji XiaoYu realized that the delivery order was a bit unusual today. The other party named him specifically to deliver it and had also asked that he take a special elevator to the top of the HongSheng Building.
He had heard that the higher the floor of HongSheng Building, the higher the job level too. To work on the top floor, even if it was just the floor sweeper, they would have to be a little more advanced that the lower-level staff in the same position.
Is my reputation so big now that even the high-level executives of HongSheng have heard about it? Ji XiaoYu couldn’t help but feel a little smug.
After waiting for Boss Li to cook the GongBao chicken, Ji XiaoYu packed his bag and went to HongSheng Building on swift feet.
Entering the elevator lobby, he passed by the employee elevator and arrived in front of the special elevator. There was a powerful-looking security guard specially guarding this location on the side.
The security guard looked him up and down and asked, “You are Ji XiaoYu?”
“Yes.”
“Go on in.” The security guard pressed the button to open the doors and also selected the floor for Ji XiaoYu.
“Thanks.”
Ji XiaoYu entered the special elevator which was more spacious and luxurious than the employee elevator. A hint of tension filled in his heart.
The author has something to say:Xiao Ji: I’m really nervous; nobody’s going to eat me, right?
Cheng Zong: Sorry for the inconvenience, but you guessed it right.
Xiao Ji: ……..
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Footnotes:
1. LaoDi: affectionate form of address to an slightly younger male, synonymously ‘my boy’ or ‘younger brother’ in some dialects
2. You let me win (承让): phrase said politely after winning a match
3. QiDong marital arts (气功武术): martial arts that focus on breathing and form, such as WuDang, ShaoLin, and BaGua Quan
4. 不打不相识: idiom, from an exchange of blows, friendship grows; literally don’t fight, won’t make friends
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aw, Qiang Zi is a softy inside who just wants to take care of his mommy T_T
is it finally time for our CP to talk??
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