After firming that the eacher at his son's school was her than Ou Jinhua's daughter, Ma Xiaowei made up his mind. He decided that he must attend the parent-teacher feren person—or better yet, find a eet her sooner. How she lived, ate, a with daily life in Jiahese were all opportunities for him.

  His househistration grandfather lived in a standalone vil within the same neighborhood. The elderly couple occupied a 600-square-meter vil with a nanny, and they hought it was too spacious. The point was to show off their status.

  Now, Ma Xiaowei picked up his son and drove to the vil. Ohere, he pulled out a bottle of Moutai liquor and a box of Panda cigarettes, saying, "Dad, I didn’t have much time to prepare, so I brought some of the plimentary cigarettes and liquor from work for you to use when hosting guests."

  The retired Secretary Feng gdly accepted the gifts from his son-in-w and took out two bottles of Luzhou Laojiao, saying, "Let’s drink this today. I remember your dad likes strong-fvored spirits."

  Ma Xiaowei smiled and pulled his son forward. "Xiao Xiao, what should you say?"

  Feng Xiaoxiao said, "Happy birthday, Grandpa! Wishing you health and a long life!"

  Secretary Feng was overjoyed.

  Ma Xiaowei then drove the elderly couple to the prestigious East Sea Hall at the VIP building, while his biological parents, who lived in the Shipyard New Vilge, walked there on foot.

  Feng Li came directly from the beauty salon. Today was her father’s birthday, but as a retired individual, he didn’t care much about pomp. A simple family dinner was all that was hey booked a private dining room, and aside from the Feng family, Ma Xiaowei’s parents were also invited.

  Iingly, none of Secretary Feng’s former mentees or subordinates showed up. Instead, Ma Xiaowei’s direct superior, the current Chief Engineer of the group, Gao Ming, attended uninvited.

  Gao Ming’s presence delighted Secretary Feng. It gave him a sense of dignity and pride, as if his status was reaffirmed. He chatted enthusiastically with Gao Ming, who had even thoughtfully arranged for a cake, which deeply moved the Feng family.

  Only Ma Xiaowei khe truth. Gao Ming was there purely to save face for him. It was a ce that Gao was attending another ba in the same location, and after running into Ma Xiaowei in the restroom and learning about the birthday, he decided to stop by. The cake? That was a st-minute arra.

  Still, Ma Xiaowei took the gesture in stride.

  In front of their parents, Ma Xiaowei and Feng Li maintained a peaceful and harmonious facade, exging polite words throughout dinner. Feng Xiaoxiao also wished his grandfather tinued success, and the family shared a warm, joyful evening celebrating the birthday.

  Family dinners, unlike social drinking gatherings, progressed quickly. Within an hour, the meal was over, leaving many dishes untouched. Ma Xiaowei’s mother pulled out a pstic bag and said, "It’s such a waste to leave all this food. I’ll take it home for Mao Mao."

  Ma Xiaowei’s father also pocketed the half-empty bottle of Luzhou Laojiao, saying he’d use it for cooking at home.

  Mao Mao was their family dog, but whether the leftovers would actually end up in the dog’s stomach was anyone’s guess. Everyone uood but pretended not to notice. Secretary Feng and his wife, long aced to their in-ws’ frugal habits, didn’t bother to ent.

  The family dinner cluded smoothly. Ma Xiaowei had other pns for the evening, so he let Feng Li drive the family home. Having had a few drinks, he didn’t drive himself but instead hailed a cab to Fengmanlou Restaurant on Meigang Road.

  While passing by Yumei Restaurant, he noticed the sign had been ged—it was now called Huangpi Tiger. The pce was still bustling, with people lining up to eat their famous Da Hong Pao (spicy sesame chi).

  Perhaps emboldened by the ala Xiaowei impulsively asked the driver to stop in front of Huangpi Tiger. He wao take a look at what was going on.

  To his astonishment, he spotted Ou Jinhua’s daughter w as a waitress in the restaurant!

  The only daughter of Singapore’s shipping ty, serving tables in a small private restaurant!

  For a moment, Ma Xiaowei thought he must have mistaken her for someone else—maybe a twin sister? But upon closer iion, he felt certain it was her. Looks could be simir, but her elegand demeanor were impossible to imitate.

  Ma Xiaowei immediately took out his phone and called Rou Mingrui, inviting him to meet at Huangpi Tiger for Da Hong Pao chi.

  Rou Mingrui, who was already drinking elsewhere, dropped everything to answer Ma Xiaowei’s call.

  Meanwhile, door at the dry ers, the staff worked quickly. Motivated by a stack of cash from Wu Yumei, they cleared out the shop to set up four additional tables, increasing the restaurant’s capacity and profits.

  Wu Yumei bustled between taking orders and handling payments, her face beaming with joy.

  Despite expanding into a sed storefront, Huangpi Tiger remained a small eatery. Wu Yumei and a helper named A Li ran the front, while Xiao Hong worked clumsily i, assisting Lao Huang, who hahe cooking. With just four people, the operation ran like a well-oiled mae.

  The sounds of sizzling, frying, and king dishes filled the air, blending into what Wu Yumei sidered the most delightful symphony in the world.

  When Ma Xiaowei ehe restaurant, a table had just been vacated. A Li approached with a trash to up.

  Being the daughter of a shipping ty, she clearly wasn’t used to this type of work and moved awkwardly. Wu Yumei quickly stepped in to take over, instrug A Li to greet the er.

  A Li, who was slightly face-blind, didn’t reize Ma Xiaowei. But that wasn’t surprising—among the many high-ranking executives at the shipyard, most dressed simirly in bck cashmere coats. The only real differeween them was the density of their hair—thinner hair typically meant a higher rank.

  As a mid-level manager stantly running errands, Ma Xiaowei hadn’t left much of an impression. Even though he had once chatted amicably with Ou Jinhua and her daughter, A Li didn’t reize him now.

  "Sir, we only have two main dishes: Da Hong Pao and a side dish for pairing with alcohol. Da Hong Pao is limited, but we still have some avaible. Shall I p order for you? What kind of drink would you like? How about starting with a case of beer?"

  This sales pitch was clearly taught by Wu Yumei, but ing from A Li, it sounded pletely different.

  Where Wu Yumei’s delivery was bold ay, A Li’s tone olite to a fault. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t replicate Wu Yumei’s style. Her demeanor cshed with the rugged, industrial vibe of the area.

  Logically, someone as refined as A Li shouldn’t thrive in a heavy industry district like the shipyard, where the men typically preferred bold, straightforersonalities like Wu Yumei’s or even carefree, less-attractive types like Xiao Hong.

  But reality often defied expectations.

  For example, someone like Li Yunlong—a rough-and-tumble man—might seem destio pair with a fiery, strong-willed woman like Xiuqin. But Li Yunlong loved the gentle and intellectual Tian Yu instead.

  Simirly, the shipyard workers, aced to seeing tough, no-nonsense women, were pletely captivated by the refined and elegant A Li.

  Today, the normally spicy Da Hong Pao chi seemed to lose its fvor as the workers found themselves distracted by her presence.

  Ma Xiaowei, however, wasn’t about to ogle like the others. Since Ou Jinhua’s daughter didn’t reize him, he pretended not to know her either. Casually gng at the simple menu—essentially just two fixed dishes—he decided to py along.

  This minimalist menu was a result of Huangpi Tiger’s insistence. Acc to him, most of their ers came to drink, not to eat. These two dishes were suffit for pairing with alcohol and casual versation.

  Beer held a special p the hearts of the shipyard workers. Ba the 198e state-owerprises like the shipyard had their own facilities for everything: kindergartens, schools, hospitals, post offices, and police stations.

  To preveroke during high-temperature work, the workshops even had their own soda produ lines, providing free salted soda water in the summer. Eventually, they upgraded to a brewery that produced "Shipyard Beer", affeately niamed "pi."

  Due to outdated brewing teiques, pi (Shipyard Beer) had high levels of fusel alcohols, making it notoriously strong and quick to intoxicate. Most people would feel dizzy after just otle, and anyone who could drink ten bottles was sidered a legend. It was in a pletely different league pared to the bnd, fshy beers like Yanjing, Snow, Tsingtao, or Harbin. Only beers like Da Wusu and Tangshan Beer could pete with its potency.

  Within the shipyard distrio matter how hard outside beer brands tried to break in, the workers remained loyal to their locally brewed pi. Even after pi was acquired by the Tsingtao Beer Group, its reputation remained untarnished.

  So even in winter, most workers still ordered beer, and they ordered it by the case.

  Each case came in a pstic crate holding twelve 600ml bottles of pi. And true to the workers’ sense of pride, the entire case had to be opened all at once. Only opening three or five bottles at a time? That didn’t t as being a real man.

  Two workers ordered a case of beer, and A Li walked over with a bottle opener, asking, "How many bottles should I open?"

  "All of them," one of the workers said, not even blinking.

  " you finish it all?" A Li asked. "Don’t waste it."

  The two workers burst into hearty ughter, and the other ers at nearby tables joined in. They found her naive curiosity amusing—it was clear she wasn’t used to this kind of se.

  Taking her job seriously, A Li began opening the bottles. She had barely opened a few bottles in her life, and her ck of strength made her movements clumsy. One of the workers couldn’t bear to waty longer and pulled out a lighter, preparing to show off his bottle-opening skills. Another wrabbed a pair of chopsticks, ready to demonstrate as well.

  Just then, Xiao Hong walked out of the kit carrying a dish. Seeing the otion, she grabbed the clipboard in her hand, swung it with precision, and used the edge of the hardwood board to strike upward at the bottle caps with force.

  With a series of "pop, pop, pop" sounds, bottle caps flew into the air like fireworks, and the entire case of beer ened in the blink of an eye.

  Xiao Hong turned around and walked back to the kit, leaving behind nothing but her silent triumph.

  Ma Xiaowei and Rou Mingrui sat at a table, waiting for their food. At a nearby table, two slightly drunk men were getting rowdy. Fueled by alcohol, one of them started teasing A Li, asking whiiversity she came from and whether she was w there to "experience life."

  "Did your family run into financial difficulties? Tell me, and I’ll arrange something for you," the man said arrogantly.

  His words made Ma Xiaowei frown in displeasure.

  A Li, however, replied early, "Thank you, but I’m here to work, not to experience life."

  Her at revealed that she wasn’t local. Pig up on this, the drunk man tinued, "How much does your boss pay you each month? Do they provide you with aodation? If not, you stay at my pce—I have a big bed~"

  This was crossing the line. Before Wu Yumei could intervene, Rou Mingrui smmed his hand oable and shouted, "Watouth!"

  The drunk man, embarrassed and angry, didn’t sh out immediately. Instead, he pulled out his phone and called for backup.

  A Li, startled by the esg tension, appeared flustered and unsure of what to do.

  Ma Xiaowei, unfazed, stood up and reassured her, "Don’t worry. We’re here."

  A Li thanked him softly areated to the kit.

  Meanwhile, the drunk man g Ma Xiaowei and his group, deliberately raising his voice to his panion, "Has Qiangzi beeenced yet?"

  His panion, not catg on at first, replied, "Oh, I think Qiangzi was awarded custody by his mom."

  The drunk man crified, "Not that Qiangzi."

  Finally uanding, the panion exaggeratedly said, "Oh, you mean Wang Qiang? He got sentehe other day—life without parole."

  Ma Xiaowei couldn’t hold back his ughter. "Sentenced? Brother, you’re hirious. Why don’t you perform at Liu Laogen’s edy theater?"

  Rou Mingrui ughed so hard he had tears streaming down his face. The other ers joined in, and the two drunk men, embarrassed, grabbed empty beer bottles and prepared to start a fight.

  From behind the ter, Wu Yumei didn’t even look up as she punched numbers into the calcutor. She said coolly, "The table is 600 yuan, the ptes and bowls are 21 pieces total. There’s surveiln the store—feel free to smash things. We’ve been meaning to repce them anyway."

  Meanwhile, Xiao Hong slipped into the kit, her face lit up with excitement. "It’s about to start—they’re gonna fight!"

  A Li peeked out from behind the curtain, her heart rag. She’d never witnessed anything like this before, but her curiosity outweighed her fear.

  In her mind, she thought with excitement, "So this is what it’s like to live in the underworld!"

  As for Huang Pi Hu, the cook, he remaieady as ever, flipping his wok with one hand while keeping the cigarette in his mouth perfectly intact.

  Fights weren’t as simple as they used to be. These days, a fight could cost you dearly. Minor injuries could rack up thousands in pensation, while serious injuries could lead to criminal charges and tens of thousands in fines. Winni jail, and losi the hospital.

  Ma Xiaowei stayed seated, calm and collected, while Rou Mingrui stood up and frohe drunk men, o nose, gring at them. "Go ahead. Touch me. See if I don’t sue you for everything you’ve got."

  The other ers paused their eating, watg the se with i. There was nothing more eaining to apany their drinks than a lively frontation.

  At that moment, Huang Pi Hu emerged from the kit, carrying a rge basin of Da Hong Pao chi. He walked through the tension-filled atmosphere without a care and pced the dish on Ma Xiaowei’s table. Tossing his cigarette butt aside, he said, "Seriously, how much did you drink to make such a fuss?"

  The frontational atmosphere immediately cooled. Huang Pi Hu exuded a calm yet anding presence, his demeanor embodying the effortless authority of a seasoned veteran of the underworld. His attitude plemented Wu Yumei’s unfppable style perfectly.

  From behind the curtain, A Li watched with wide eyes. She’d never noticed before, but Huang Pi Hu suddenly radiated the aura of a boss who could handle anything.

  The i seemed resolved—until four more meered the restaurant, reigniting the tension. Leading them was Yin Bingsong, fnked by three ckeys. They had rushed over from a barbecue stall just 200 meters away after receiving the drunk man’s call.

  "Who dares mess with my brother?!" Yin Bingsong shouted. Though he reized Ma Xiaowei, he pretended not to. After all, this was a moment to assert his dominand maintain his authority.

  "No oouched him," Rou Mingrui replied. "The beer bottle is in his hand, not mine. Open your eyes before you speak."

  Yin Bingsong’s ckey snapped, "Watch your tone! Do you even know who my boss is? Without him, this neighborhood would’ve burned down long ago!"

  Rou Mingrui smirked. "Oh, really? I don’t recall hearing about that."

  The ckey tinued, "Didn’t you see it on TV? Remember the i cafe fire? My boss saved everyone!"

  Rou Mingrui burst out ughing. "Oh, that? Let me tell you the truth. I have a video on my pho was Huang Pi Hu, me, and the local shopkeepers who helped. Your boss? o be seen."

  Yin Bingsong’s face darkehis wasn’t how he wahe versation to go, and now he was caught in an aosition. His attempts to shut down Yumei Restaurant had already backfired, and their business was thriving more than ever.

  Frustrated and humiliated, Yin Bingsong grabbed a beer bottle and swung it at Rou Mingrui.

  Rou, aced to brawls, instinctively dodged. The bottle shattered against the wall o Ma Xiaowei, leaving two shallow cuts on his face.

  A Li let out a scream but kept her eyes wide open, as though anticipating somethiing.

  A full-blown fight was now iable. Yin Bingsong’s group outnumbered Ma Xiaowei and Rou Mingrui six to two, giving them a clear advantage. With everyone drunk, there was no guarahe blows would be trolled.

  Though Wu Yumei had already called the police, it was uhey’d arrive in time to prevent injuries.

  Huang Pi Hu, who had initially po stay out of it, realized he had no choice. For ohis was happening in his restaurant, and he couldn’t escape responsibility. Moreover, the fight had started because someone harassed his employee. As the head chef, he couldn’t just stand by.

  Grabbing Yin Bingsong by the shoulder, Huang Pi Hu twisted and pulled, dislog the man’s arm with practiced ease.

  Behind the ter, Wu Yumei’s first move was to turn off the surveilnce cameras.

  [--------------------------------------------]

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