e-booksonline Chapter 117 has its reasons.
Chapter 117 has its reasons.
Liu Cheng held the old blue cloth bag tightly to his chest, so tightly that it almost dug the bag into his flesh.
He sat there hunched over, his head buried between his knees, looking like a clay sculpture about to collapse in a downpour, letting out suppressed cries.
Su Chen stood awkwardly to the side, clutching the thick wad of banknotes in his hand, unsure whether to go over or go back.
He turned his head and looked at Chen Feng, who was leaning against the door frame, with a pleading expression.
Chen Feng remained motionless; he simply stood there quietly.
He let Liu Cheng release all the grievances and fears that he had been holding in for a whole noon, or even a whole year, through his tears.
After an unknown amount of time, the "whooshing" sound of the broken electric fan gradually became clearer.
Liu Cheng's crying finally subsided.
He sobbed weakly a couple of times, then wiped the tears and snot off his face.
When he slowly raised his head, his old face was swollen and red, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with guilt.
He looked at Chen Feng, his lips trembling violently. He opened his mouth several times, but couldn't utter a single complete syllable.
"Uncle Liu, here's the money. Go to the hospital tomorrow morning and pay off the outstanding fees first," Chen Feng said calmly, pointing to the wad of banknotes in Su Chen's hand.
"Boss Chen... Young Master Su... I... I'm not human!!"
Liu Cheng seemed to be stung by those words. He suddenly stood up from the bench, and the old blue cloth bag in his arms fell to the ground with a "thud," scattering the account books and keys inside all over the floor.
He stared intently at Chen Feng, his face flushed crimson with shame, his hands gesturing wildly in front of him, and tears once again streamed down his face uncontrollably.
"I...I went to your store at noon...I didn't have good intentions!!"
Liu Cheng's shout was somewhat hoarse.
Su Chen was stunned for a moment, almost dropping the calculator in his hand: "Uncle Liu, what are you talking about? Didn't you come to our place for braised pork at noon? You even paid fifty-eight yuan."
Xingruo stood to the side holding Mengmeng, blinking her eyes in a somewhat bewildered manner.
"No...no! Before I went there, my mind was full of wicked thoughts!!" Liu Cheng ripped open his coat collar, panting heavily, his eyes tightly closed, as if he wanted to peel off his ugly skin completely.
"At the time, I felt that you had stolen my business, that you had drawn all the customers away from the old street, leaving me unable to sell a single bowl of noodles..."
My wife is in the hospital waiting for money to save her life, I'm frantic with worry, I'm absolutely frantic!
This morning I went to the old pharmacy and secretly bought a packet of croton powder...
I had it all planned out: once that bowl of braised pork was served, I'd secretly pour it all into my own bowl when Young Master Su wasn't looking!
Upon hearing the words "croton powder," Su Chen gasped.
Xingruo's face turned pale for a moment, and she subconsciously hugged Mengmeng in her arms back.
Liu Cheng had already squatted down on the ground, clutching his hair with both hands, his voice hoarse:
"I was thinking... as long as I finish eating here and start making a scene, rolling on the ground and yelling that your family uses dead pig meat, that it's filthy stuff..."
Your store's reputation will be ruined, and it will be shut down.
"As long as you close down, the diners on the old street will come back, and I'll be able to earn money to pay my hospital bills... That's really what I thought back then!!"
The shop fell into a deathly silence in an instant.
Only the somewhat worn blades of the electric fan remained, still tirelessly spinning "scratching, scraping, scraping".
Su Chen gripped the money tightly in his hand, looking at Liu Cheng squatting on the ground, and a feeling he couldn't quite describe welled up inside him.
He should have been angry, after all, the old man almost ruined their hard-earned shop at noon using the most despicable means.
But when he saw the bills for overdue payments all over the ground and Liu Cheng's blistered hands, he couldn't muster any anger.
"But...but I didn't dare in the end..."
Liu Cheng buried his head in his knees and sobbed.
"That little girl... Mr. Chen's daughter, she ran over, put a tissue with a little rabbit printed on it next to me, and said to me... Uncle, wipe your sweat, you won't have to worry after eating some hot meat."
I looked into the child's eyes, which were as clear as a pool of water... My hand was in my pocket, and I just couldn't get any strength into it.
I tasted that piece of meat, and it was so delicious that I didn't even feel jealous.
I'm wasting good things, I'm degrading honest people!
Liu Cheng suddenly raised his head, and with a "thump," he knelt directly in front of the workbench.
"Boss Chen! I'm not saying these things to ask for your forgiveness."
I feel... I'm a beast. I had those thoughts at noon, but in the afternoon you brought me meat, the secret recipe, and even lent me the name "Human Fireworks," helping me earn so much money to save my life... I feel ashamed, my heart... is aching like it's being stabbed with a knife!
I can't take this money, I'm too ashamed to accept it!
As Liu Cheng shouted, he desperately pushed the wad of banknotes out of Su Chen's hand, crying so hard he was almost breathless.
Su Chen was somewhat at a loss and could only anxiously call out, "Brother Chen, look at this..."
Throughout the entire process, Chen Feng did not have any violent reaction.
Upon hearing Liu Cheng's admission about the croton powder, Chen Feng didn't even blink.
He slowly straightened up and walked step by step to the workbench.
He bent down, grabbed Liu Cheng by the collar, and forcefully lifted the old man, who had spent half his life in the old street, little by little from the ground and pressed him back onto the bench.
"Have you put the croton powder in the pot yet?" Chen Feng looked down at Liu Cheng, his voice low.
Liu Cheng shook his head blankly: "No...no...I died in the end, I died in the mud in the back alley."
"Since there was no foul play, then there was no framing involved."
Chen Feng reached out and took the banknotes from Su Chen, then stuffed them directly into the lining of the old cloth bag in Liu Cheng's arms.
"There are plenty of people in the food and beverage industry who have had bad intentions."
There are so many high-end restaurants in the city, and countless others are secretly plotting against you.
"You're sitting in your own shop, looking at a room full of customers, and you still manage to kill yourself with the drug in your hand. That means your ramen-making hands aren't completely filthy yet."
Chen Feng patted the heavy cloth bag.
"This money comes from the sale of 'Human Fireworks - Braised Pork Noodles,' and the noodles inside were pulled out one by one by you, Liu Cheng, with sweat dripping down your face."
This is called a transaction, take it.
Liu Cheng clutched the cloth bag in his arms, staring at the large stack of bright red banknotes inside, seemingly bewitched, still somewhat unable to come to his senses. He wiped away a tear, his cloudy eyes filled with confusion.
"But...but even so, Boss Chen, we're not related."
Even if I didn't drug him, I'm just an ordinary neighbor.
Your recipe is a family heirloom, and your name is a signboard that brings in a fortune... What are you after?
Even if you pity me, lending me a few thousand yuan to pay for my hospital fees would be the end of it.
Your tremendous help this afternoon... I... I just don't feel right, I'm really uneasy!
Liu Cheng stared intently at Chen Feng. Having lived most of his life, he knew all too well the coldness and warmth of human relationships.
There are those who offer help in times of need, but you won't find another person like Chen Feng who would smash his own treasure bowl and share half with others.
He needed a reason; otherwise, taking the money would be like stealing someone's life.
Su Chen and Xing Ruo also turned their heads, looking at Chen Feng with some curiosity.
To be honest, they had been wondering about this as well. Chen Feng's decisive and forceful actions this afternoon were indeed quite different from his usual behavior.
Chen Feng stood under the light.
Listening to Liu Cheng's almost interrogative question, a rare and profound sadness welled up in her eyes.
The sadness came too quickly and too heavily, like a dark cloud suddenly crashing down in the dead of night, pressing down on everyone in this dilapidated noodle shop, making it hard for them to even breathe.
Chen Feng turned his head slightly and glanced at the bewildered Mengmeng. Then, he gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Uncle Liu, you're overthinking it."
Chen Feng put his hands back into his pockets, speaking very softly.
"Sometimes, things in this world don't need any grand principles. You might think there's no reason, but to me..."
Chen Feng paused slightly after speaking.
He looked at Liu Cheng's wrinkled face, etched with the marks of hard work, and at the medical bills scattered on the floor. In that instant, his gaze seemed to pierce through the small noodle shop, through the years of this old street, and land in a dark, unforgettable night that could never be revisited.
"I have my reasons."
Chen Feng's voice was heavy, a dull ache that the passage of time could not erase.