novellhall Chapter 2 The Fierce Bandits of Fangbei Cave
Chapter 2 The Fierce Bandits of Fangbei Cave
Around 10 a.m., Li Zhixing left his house.
Emerging from the somewhat dimly lit basement, the sunlight outside seemed particularly dazzling.
He pulled down the brim of his baseball cap and habitually unwrapped a lollipop and put it in his mouth.
Then they walked out along the familiar street.
After walking for about ten minutes and turning through several alleys, a Chinese restaurant came into view.
The restaurant's storefront is small, and the words "Mingming Chinese Cuisine" on the signboard have faded somewhat.
Judging from the outdated decor, it must have been renovated at least several years ago.
A red "Dalin Citi100" delivery motorcycle was parked at the entrance, with some oil stains on the metal box at the rear.
At that moment, a man was sitting on the restaurant's threshold, looking down at something.
He was wearing an ordinary short-sleeved shirt, and even just sitting there, his extremely robust physique couldn't be hidden; his arms, exposed outside the cuffs, were frighteningly thick.
Li Zhixing, at 185 cm, was already considered tall, but compared to the person in front of him, the other person was a whole size larger, both in terms of frame and build.
Hearing footsteps, the man looked up.
A fierce and menacing aura emanated from him; his hair was slicked back with a buzz cut, and his features were rugged and menacing.
If this face were to walk down the street, passersby would definitely instinctively take a detour.
If a patrol officer saw him, he would probably be unable to resist going up and asking him a few questions; he looked exactly like a serious criminal who had just been released from prison.
Behind Li Zhixing, a young girl had been following him all the way, and he was hesitating whether to go up and strike up a conversation.
As soon as she looked up and saw the face on the threshold, she screamed briefly and ran away.
Li Zhixing, however, was not surprised and greeted him familiarly.
"Hey, Ming-ge, reading comics?"
The burly man on the threshold is Li Ming, the sole legal heir to "Mingming Chinese Cuisine".
Upon seeing that the visitor was Li Zhixing, Li Ming grinned widely.
"Knowledge and Action!"
That laugh completely dispelled that bandit-like aura.
Coupled with his somewhat dull eyes, it revealed a kind of simple honesty in a striking contrast.
Li Zhi walked forward, squeezed down next to Li Ming on the threshold, and peered into the comic book in Li Ming's hand.
"Where is the plot going? Is Payne dead or not?"
Li Ming turned his head to the side: "Pain... that guy from Konoha... Naruto..."
He only managed to utter a few words before he got stuck.
He scratched his head, his eyes glazed over, and after racking his brains for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a clue.
Giving up on explaining, Li Ming reached into his large trouser pocket and pulled out another single-volume book, handing it over.
Li Zhixing reluctantly accepted it.
"Fine, fine, I'll see for myself."
The two sat side by side on the narrow threshold, each flipping through the pages.
The scene was somewhat incongruous, yet it exuded an indescribable sense of tranquility.
A moment later, footsteps came from the kitchen, and a thin, short middle-aged man came out.
The man wore a chef's hat askew on his head and had a cigarette tucked behind his ear.
He glanced up and saw Li Zhixing on the threshold, and blurted out in a pure Northeastern accent.
"Holy crap, when did Zhixing get back? Did filming finish?"
Li Zhixing turned around, switched back to fluent Chinese, and greeted him with a smile: "I just got back the day before yesterday. How have you been lately, Uncle Li?"
Uncle Li sighed dramatically, "Well, what do you think? You haven't been around much lately, business is terrible, your Uncle Li is practically begging for food!"
Li Zhixing curled his lip: "Come on, Ming-ge said last time that they couldn't even keep up with the delivery orders!"
Upon hearing "Ming-ge," Uncle Li's gaze immediately shifted to his simple-minded son beside him, and he was instantly filled with rage.
"Li Ming! You're looking at your crappy sketchbook again!"
"Don't you see anything we're doing? We'll be serving customers around lunchtime soon. Have the vegetables been washed? Has the meat been cut?"
"Get inside right now! With your face standing there, what customer would dare to come in?"
Still not satisfied with his cursing, Uncle Li strode over and kicked Li Ming in the buttocks.
It's unclear whether Li Ming's chassis was too stable or the ground near the threshold was slippery.
With that kick, Li Ming didn't budge, but Uncle Li himself slipped and his waist twisted violently.
"Holy crap!"
Uncle Li clutched his lower back, wincing in pain.
Hearing the noise, Li Ming, who was sitting on the threshold, first turned around and looked.
He then lowered his head again, carefully smoothed out the creases of the comic book in his hand, and gently put it into his pocket before standing up and walking over.
The massive body, nearly two meters tall, stood upright like a thick wall of flesh, completely shrouding the thin and short Uncle Li in shadow.
He looked down at his father and asked in a deep, concerned voice, "Dad, are you alright?"
"I'm not as important as your damn sketchbook, are you?"
Uncle Li was furious and raised his hand to slap his unfortunate son on the back of the head.
Unfortunately, the height difference between the two was too great, and when he stepped on his tiptoe to exert force, he aggravated his recently twisted waist again.
"Holy crap!"
Uncle Li was even more furious!
"You little bastard, get down there!"
Li Ming said "Oh," and obediently hunched his shoulders and squatted on the ground.
"Snapped!"
Uncle Li finally got his wish and slapped Li Ming on the head, then pointed towards the kitchen.
"Get the hell out there and get to work!"
After receiving this mild slap, Li Ming blinked and obediently went into the kitchen.
Li Zhixing couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Uncle, is your back alright?"
As soon as Li Ming entered the kitchen, Uncle Li's angry expression vanished instantly.
He walked over and sat down next to Li Zhixing, casually took the cigarette from behind his ear, lit it, and took a puff.
Exhaling a smoke ring, Uncle Li glanced at Li Zhixing and said, "You're always chewing on that stupid lollipop, don't you want to take care of your teeth?"
"That's still better than you smoking this junk every day, isn't it?"
Uncle Li chuckled but didn't respond, then let out a heavy sigh.
"Zhixing, what am I going to do with my silly Mingming? He's not only fierce-looking, but he's also incredibly stupid. I've been teaching him to make zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste) for years and he still can't learn! He's such a big guy, all he does is stay at home all day looking at those lousy sketchbooks..."
"Nonsense, Ming isn't stupid at all, he's just bad at talking. Besides, Ming's talent isn't in cooking, so why force him to learn that? He's great at driving, isn't he?"
"So what if he's a good driver? He looks like a murderer, who would dare hire him!" Uncle Li flicked his cigarette ash with a worried expression.
Li Zhixing shook his head and smiled as he comforted him, "You should be content. It's fortunate that Ming-ge is simple-minded and willing to stay at home obediently."
"Otherwise, with his looks and physique, if he were ever tricked into joining the underworld, you'd be living in constant fear."
Following his words, Uncle Li imagined the scene and his hand holding the cigarette trembled violently.
He quickly stubbed out his cigarette and flicked it outside the door.
"Then...then I'll just stay home and deliver food! Anyway, all the money I earn will be for him!"
As he spoke, he prepared to return to the shop to get busy.
Before going inside, he patted Li Zhixing on the shoulder again, "Zhixing, I wasn't saying anything to you just now. You just sit here quietly and use your face to attract a few more female customers for me!"
Li Zhixing rolled his eyes and then got up.
"Never mind, I won't watch anymore. You go back to the kitchen and get busy. I'll clean up the front."
He skillfully put the chair that was upside down on the table down, and at the same time called out to Uncle Li, "By the way, Uncle Li, after you finish preparing for lunch, make a set meal for our Zhi'en, and also add a nine-person portion. I'll deliver it at noon."
Uncle Li had just lifted the curtain at the back of the kitchen when he heard this and poked half his body out, asking suspiciously, "Nine servings? Is that enough?"
Li Zhixing paused for a moment as he placed the chair down. "That's right, let's just make enough for fifteen people. They can eat that much!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud "clang" came from the kitchen.
Uncle Li's suppressed anger suddenly flared up again. He turned and roared inside, "Li Ming! I told you to wash some vegetables, and you fucking smashed the plate? Is your brain filled with soybean paste?"
Then, chaos erupted in the kitchen once again.
As noon approaches, Chinese restaurants enter their busiest time.
Because of its authentic taste, most of the customers are regulars from the neighborhood.
Even when they occasionally saw Li Ming, who looked like a gangster, carrying dishes out of the kitchen, everyone was used to it and would even greet him with a smile.
Li Zhixing moved skillfully through the front hall, taking orders, carrying plates, and clearing tables, keeping himself extremely busy.
It wasn't until after 1 p.m., after seeing off the last group of guests, that the three of them were finally able to catch their breath and sit around the table in the corner to have a meal.
Uncle Li held his rice bowl, looking at Li Zhixing in front of him, who was wolfing down his food at a speed no less than that of his own foolish son, and was completely puzzled.
"Zhixing, you don't look that strong, where did all your food go?"
Li Zhixing chuckled at him, giving a vague and perfunctory reply, but his chopsticks didn't stop.
After finishing his own portion, Uncle Li wiped his mouth and went into the kitchen to prepare delivery meals.
After Li Zhixing had eaten and drunk his fill, several heavy lunch boxes had been packed up.
He picked up the bag and was about to leave when Uncle Li behind him suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Holy crap! Zhixing, wait a minute!"
"I accidentally chopped a cucumber into one of the cold dishes earlier! I remember that cold-faced girl doesn't eat cucumbers, right? I'll go make a fresh one!"
"No need to bother." Li Zhixing casually tossed the bag in his hand.
"Just don't let her eat this dish later."
The journey from Bangbae-dong to Yeouido was incredibly fast, taking about twenty minutes.
I had just set up my motorcycle under the shade of a tree in Yeouido when my cell phone rang.
Li Zhixing took it out, glanced at it, and a smile appeared on his lips:
"Hey, Sun-kyu."
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