Chapter 27: Trouble at the Restaurant

  Li Guoting, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhuo took the fifty silver dollars they had extorted and set off towards the south overnight. They rode their horses non-stop until dawn when they arrived at a small town called Qing Shui. In this desolate and quiet little town, after much difficulty, they finally found a small restaurant and walked in.

  The boss was a woman in her forties, of medium build, with a wax-printed headscarf on her head and a blue-flowered jacket on top. She had a blue-flowered apron wrapped around her waist. In her right hand she held a rag, wiping the remnants left behind by the customers who had just eaten at the old wooden table. Raising her head, she saw three disheveled half-grown boys walking in and went forward to greet them: "What do you want to eat?"

  Zhao Erhu shook his head with a full tone and said, "What's good to eat here? Just bring it up for us. We have money." As he spoke, he walked towards the clean dining table by the window closest to the street.

  Ma Fei glared at Zhao Erhu with great dissatisfaction and pulled Li Guoting away, saying: "Brother, let's go, we'll sit over there."

  Li Guoting nodded and sat down with Ma Fei.

  The landlady still walked forward with concern, took another look at the three young men and asked: "Just cooked dog meat, want some? I sell dog meat soup to dip steamed buns here, want to eat?"

  "Dog meat soup with steamed buns, we want it, quickly give us each a big bowl. Also, the cooked dog meat we also want." Zhao Erhuo spoke loudly and turned his body, not waiting for Li Guoting and Ma Fei to respond, he took the lead in speaking, as if he was the leader of the three.

  Li Guoting and Ma Fei took a look at Zhao Erhu's spirited appearance, and the two of them didn't make a sound.

  The boss's wife smiled all over her face and said to Zhao Erhu: "Little boss, I'll get it ready for you."

  The boss's wife turned around and went into the kitchen behind the counter, busy with something.

  At this moment, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl wearing a red jacket with two long braids on her head walked out of the kitchen. The girl was not particularly beautiful, but she had a well-proportioned figure and was dressed neatly and cleanly. She held an iron kettle in her right hand and a tray in her left, with three tea bowls on it, which she placed in front of Li Guoting and the other two men, then picked up the kettle to pour them tea.

  The girl was pouring tea while smiling at them and curiously asked: "Are you guys from out of town?"

  Zhao Erhu, sitting on one side, saw a girl in a floral dress pouring tea for him. With a flirtatious smile, he looked at the girl and said: "Yes, we are indeed from out of town. What's wrong, don't you like us?" As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to grab the girl's hand.

  As soon as his hand touched the girl's back of her hand, it was pulled away and slapped open by the girl.

  "Ah, I'm still embarrassed. We're holding hands and I'm shy." Zhao Erhu put on a thick face and leaned his little head towards the girl's side.

  The girl who spilled tea water blushed and said unhappily: "What's wrong with you, be more polite."

  "What's wrong with that? I just want to touch your hand, don't be afraid. Let me touch it, and I'll give you a silver dollar. How about it?" Zhao Erhu said, stretching out his hand again.

  Li Guoting couldn't bear to look at it, he stretched out his hand and slapped the hand that Zhao Erhu was reaching towards the girl, angrily saying: "Third brother, what did we come here for? Have you forgotten? Don't be reckless."

  Zhao Erhu grinned and said: "I'm not messing around, just playing a joke on her, but it's not allowed."

  Ma Fei took a look at Zhao Erhu and also said: "Third brother, what kind of place is this? It's not a brothel or a pleasure house. If something happens, will the three of us be okay?"

  Zhao Erhu no longer made a sound, and his restless hand was placed on the dinner table, with two fingers tapping on the table.

  The girl poured out the tea and then glanced at the three of them before going into the kitchen.

  Without much ado, the landlady brought out a steaming hot bowl of dog meat congee for each of them, followed by a large plate of well-seasoned spicy and numbing dog meat.

  "Three little brothers, would you like some wine? I have some local Mantang Spring here. Would you like to try some?" The landlady asked, standing beside Li Guoting.

  "Alright, let's get started." Li Guoting said.

  Three people started eating and drinking voraciously, after finishing, Li Guoting took out a silver dollar from the cloth bag on his shoulder and handed it to the landlady.

  "How much? Is one silver dollar enough?" Li Guoting asked.

  The landlady took the money, looked at the silver dollar in her hand and said: "Enough. Enough. I still owe you ten cents. Wait a minute, I'll go get the change." She then walked into the kitchen.

  The boss's wife had just left, and Ma Fei immediately got up and followed her. He stood at the kitchen door, listening to the boss's wife talking inside.

  Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu didn't notice Ma Fei getting up to do something. The two of them were drinking tea, waiting for the landlady to find the money.

  Just then, Ma Fei turned around and hurried over to Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu, saying in a low voice: "Let's go quickly. The landlady is going to report us to the town government office. Let's run." As he spoke, he was the first to rush out the door.

  Li Guoting and Zhao Erhuo had not yet come to their senses, they didn't even understand Ma Fei's words, and saw Ma Fei coming out of the restaurant, so they followed him in a hurry and ran out.

  Behind them, the landlady rushed out of the restaurant and shouted loudly: "Hey, I'll get you the change. Don't go!"

  Ma Fei ran ahead, Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu followed closely behind, no one paid attention to the boss's wife's shouting. It wasn't until they left the town, leaving the small town far behind, that they took a breath and slowed down their pace.

  "Second brother, what's going on?" Li Guoting asked breathlessly.

  Ma Fei stopped and said to Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu who caught up: "Just now, I was at the kitchen door and heard the boss's wife tell that girl that these three kids are suspicious and must not be good people. They also brought so much money, they must have done something bad. She asked the girl to quickly leave from the back door and report to the town government office. That's why I told you to run fast."

  "Damn it! Why is this old lady so wicked? We didn't offend her, why did she go to the town government office to report us?"

  Zhao Erhu said indignantly: "Exactly, one look at the boss's wife and you can tell she's not a good person."

  Ma Fei said: "Forget it, Third Brother, after all, you're the one who caused the trouble."

  "What have I done now?" Zhao Erhu said with a scowl, unwilling to back down.

  "Don't show off in front of the boss's wife, it's not good to flaunt your wealth. Do you think the boss's wife will notice us? And another thing, do you still want to flirt with that girl? I'm telling you, Third Brother, don't forget what our current status is - we're kidnappers! If we get caught by the authorities, who knows where your head will end up? It might not even be attached to your neck anymore!" Ma Fei glared at Zhao Erhu and said.

  "Yes, Third Brother, this silver coin came from an improper source, but whatever you do, don't speak carelessly, or else the three of us brothers will all be finished." Li Guoting also said to Zhao Erhu.

  "Alright, alright, big brother, second brother, it's all my fault. I won't speak recklessly from now on." Zhao Erhu admitted his mistake.

  "Come on, Third Brother knows his mistake. Big Brother, let's go ahead and find a market to see if there are any clothes for sale, so the three of us can change our outfits. With the way we're dressed now, people will take us for bad eggs." Ma Fei said to Li Guoting.

  "Right, right, Second Brother is right. We should change our clothes. I've been wearing these clothes for so long, the lice on my body are almost eating me alive." Zhao Erhu was delighted.

  "Let's do it as Second Brother said." Li Guoting expressed his agreement.

  Ma Fei looked at the cloth bag on Li Guoting's back again and said, "So many silver coins, big brother carrying them alone, wouldn't that make people suspicious? Moreover, if they encounter police or militia checks on the road, won't they become their target?"

  Li Guoting said: "I also feel that this won't work. Then the second brother asked what to do?"

  "We three people will each put on a disguise and scatter around, then we won't attract attention," Ma Fei said.

  "Let's go, we'll each take a part." Li Guoting agreed.

  The three of them found a secluded spot by the side of the road, took some of the silver coins from Li Guoting's bag and put them on each person, then threw the bag into the bushes and continued walking forward.

  In a village called Wen Shui ahead, the three of them hitched a ride on a horse cart going to Guang'an, gave the driver a silver dollar, and the driver happily took them to Guang'an.

  In the late afternoon, the horse carriage arrived at Guang'an City.

  As soon as they entered Guang'an City, Li Guoting and Ma Fei, Zhao Erhu bid farewell to the carriage driver and walked forward along the main street of the city.

  The evening of Guang'an City. The lights are just on, and the shops along the street are still open for business. People come and go in a hurry. With oil lamps lit, carrying poles, standing on the side of the road selling snacks, setting up stalls to sell miscellaneous items. Selling leather shoes, clothes. The cries of hawkers rise and fall. All kinds of people move around on the streets, and there are always customers at each hawker's stall.

  As you walk further, two-story and three-story wooden buildings with different styles appear on both sides of the street. The gatehouses facing the street have golden plaques hanging from them, such as "Yi Zi Tang", "Hong Xiu Lou", "Ba Zhen Guan" and "Chen Xiang Yuan". Large red lanterns swing in the wind on either side of the signboards. People constantly enter and exit these buildings with suspended signboards, which can be seen to be bustling inside.

  Li Guoting and Ma Fei, Zhao Erhuo three people, saw a shop selling clothes by the roadside, so they walked in.

  This is a larger store specializing in all kinds of clothing, shoes and hats.

  Ma Fei chose a small white suit for himself in this store, bought a top hat and leather shoes, tied a floral tie, and with his originally slender and tall figure, he instantly became a young master of a wealthy family.

  Li Guoting saw Ma Fei dressing up in a foreign style and wanted to learn from him, so he put on a suit of foreign clothes. However, once he had it on, he felt particularly awkward and didn't look good either. He then changed into a set of Zhenhaiqing's blue robe and also wore a bowler hat.

  Zhao Erhu also chose a set of lined jacket and pants for himself, bought a pair of round-mouthed cloth shoes, and at a glance, he looked like a thug.

  They picked out some clothes and the three of them changed into new outfits. After paying, they looked like completely different people and walked out of the store with confidence, strolling around the streets for a while before finding an inn to stay in.

  The next morning, Li Guoting walked out of the inn to buy breakfast. As soon as he stepped onto the street, he saw someone posting something on the wall at the side of the street. Li Guoting curiously walked up to take a look. At this time, several people had already gathered beside the notice, and someone began to read it aloud. The moment they started reading, Li Guoting was startled. After listening, his face suddenly changed color, and he hastily rushed back to the inn with a gloomy expression.