69novels Page 41
Page 41
After the proprietress placed the order, she sat outside and watched the customers talk.
She was a very fat woman; the flesh around her waist was almost bulging out. She had to stack two plastic stools together to sit on, which suggested that she had once collapsed from sitting on a single stool.
Gu Ran took a sip of soy milk, then took out his phone, opened his browser, looked at the news, and suddenly said with a surprised expression:
"Oh my, this news is so heartbreaking, 'A worker, unable to get his wages, stabbed and killed his boss's wife and 5-year-old daughter,' tsk tsk tsk, poor child!"
Since they had already become somewhat familiar with each other, the bald uncle continued the conversation after hearing Gu Ran's topic.
He asked, "That's so ruthless, is there a lot of unpaid wages?"
The others also looked at Gu Ran with curiosity.
Back in 09, the internet wasn't very developed, so these kinds of things still attracted a lot of attention.
Gu Ran said, "It's not much, just 200 yuan."
As he spoke, he showed his phone screen to the bald man.
The bald man glanced at the news and was quite surprised:
"I can't believe this happened in a coastal city near us! Sigh, this young man was too impulsive. It's only 200 yuan, why did he have to do that? And the employer is also at fault. Why doesn't he pay back the money he owes? It's not easy being a worker. It's only 200 yuan, he should have just paid it. Money is not as important as life!"
The bald man remained rational, while the other diners discussed the matter animatedly.
Everyone felt that the boss was in the wrong for withholding wages first, and that the young man who was owed wages was too impulsive.
As for that child, he's really too pitiful!
Chapter 44 A good show
The food stall owner sat to the side, listening to Gu Ran and the diners talk for a long time. Seeing that they were all condemning the employer, she was somewhat unconvinced.
You rich people have no idea how hard it is for us business people to make money.
Is it easy to earn money by working from dawn till dusk?
Of course, we should save money if we can!
Although the proprietress felt uncomfortable, she didn't say anything.
When you're running a business, you can't spoil your customers' fun.
The boss lady does have that much emotional intelligence.
Next, Gu Ran mentioned several recent real-life cases, all of which were news reports online. The most discussed case was last year in Stone City, where a migrant worker went to demand his unpaid wages but ended up having his hand chopped off instead.
This incident has aroused public outrage. The diners at both tables were ordinary people who were also very indignant after hearing about it.
"People who withhold wages are really wicked."
He should be shot!
"Use the dogs to kill these bastards who owe you wages!"
The restaurant owner, who was preparing the grilled fish for Gu Ran, saw the crowd in a frenzy and, whether out of guilt or something else, secretly glanced at his wife.
The proprietress sat motionless to the side.
It's not like they're talking about me, why should I feel guilty?
She yawned casually, her eyes half-closed, lost in thought.
At this moment, Lu Mingfei walked into the store.
"Welcome! What are you doing here? I'd like to ask you for something...?" The proprietress initially thought a customer had arrived and immediately greeted them with a smile.
But upon recognizing Lu Mingfei, his expression immediately darkened.
Lu Mingfei was still a little uneasy. He glanced at Gu Ran, but Gu Ran didn't look at him at all.
So Lu Mingfei had to muster up his courage and loudly say to the plump proprietress:
“I washed dishes for you for seven days, and you still owe me wages, a total of 294 yuan.”
His voice was very loud, almost shouting.
But he was afraid of shouting too loudly and disturbing others, so he shouted in a strained voice, sounding a bit weak.
However, it was enough for people to hear what he was saying clearly.
Sure enough, the diners at several tables fell silent instantly after hearing Lu Mingfei's words.
The proprietress then noticed that many eyes seemed to be focused on her.
She immediately felt extremely uncomfortable and said to Lu Mingfei, "Go away, I, I, I never invited you. Don't come here and cause trouble!"
So Lu Mingfei looked at the owner of the grilled fish shop and said, "You treated me, so you pay for it, 294 yuan."
The boss was a middle-aged man in his forties, a bit overweight, and with a weak appearance.
Upon hearing Lu Mingfei's words, he looked at his wife.
As a result, the proprietress glared at him.
"I... all my money is with my wife," the boss squeezed out, then continued with his work, pretending not to see Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei stood there blankly at first. After hearing the boss's words, he didn't say anything. He just sat down opposite the boss's wife with a vacant look in his eyes.
"What are you doing? I already told you I didn't invite you."
When the proprietress saw that Lu Mingfei seemed to want to stay, she immediately raised her voice a few decibels, as if trying to use her voice to boost her own momentum.
However, Lu Mingfei first glanced at her with his squinty eyes, then looked away.
He was staring at something, muttering to himself, repeating the same sentence over and over.
Everyone present saw Lu Mingfei's mouth moving, but they couldn't hear what he was saying.
So everyone pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what was going on.
For a moment, the food stalls fell silent, with only the whooshing of the large fans and the crackling of the charcoal fires.
After a moment of silence, everyone finally heard Lu Mingfei's words:
"I...have...nothing...to lose."
He said this with a blank expression, his eyes seemingly fixed on something.
I have nothing left to lose.
The owner and his wife heard it clearly, and so did the other diners around them.
The diners at several tables immediately looked at Gu Ran, who was not far away, as if they remembered the news he had just told them.
Several male diners watched the situation unfold, torn between whether or not to help Lu Mingfei.
In short, everyone's thoughts are different.
"Hey, what do you think he's staring at?" a girl at the dining table muttered quietly.
Everyone followed his gaze and began to speculate.
The proprietress was closest to Lu Mingfei and at the right angle, so she turned around following his gaze and immediately noticed what he was staring at.
It's a sharp knife used for gutting fish in the kitchen!
The knife still had fish blood on it and hadn't been wiped clean. The gleaming blade and the bright red bloodstains made the proprietress's pupils widen slightly.
For a moment, she felt a chill run down her spine!
“I have nothing left to lose.” Lu Mingfei’s eyes were empty, and he repeated the sentence in a low voice as if it were a machine.
He clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, as if he were about to make a decision.
At this moment, the proprietress felt her lips were dry and her heart was beating faster and faster.
She swallowed subconsciously.
Then I remembered the news Gu Ran had just read, things like "Employer and his family of three killed over 200 yuan in back wages" and "Employer had his throat slit in the street for 90 yuan in back wages"...
News articles flashed through her mind.
Finally, she thought of her eight-year-old child and the lives of her entire family.
She looked at Lu Mingfei and saw his eyes again, those eyes that looked both threatening and fierce, both dull and resolute. In short, they made her tremble with fear!
She shakily pulled 300 yuan from her pocket and handed it to Gu Ran, saying, "Here, take this, keep the change, consider it my apology."
Lu Mingfei accepted the three hundred yuan without expression, then took out a one-yuan note and a five-yuan note from his pocket and placed them on the table.
"I only take what I deserve."
After saying that, he turned around and strode out of the store, his steps light and graceful, as if he had accomplished something great.
Gu Ran's plan was indeed brilliant!
Gu Ran, standing to the side, watched Lu Mingfei's departing figure and smiled slightly.
It seems this proprietress is even more of a bully who preys on the weak than I imagined.
"Boss, is the grilled fish ready yet?" Gu Ran called out.
"Okay, all done." The owner took a crispy fish off the charcoal fire.
"Okay, pack it up for me. Eating in a place like this is really disgusting." Gu Ran paid, took the grilled fish, and left.
The remaining two tables of diners, after seeing the true colors of the shop owner, also lost much of their enthusiasm.
They paid the bill and left shortly afterward.
They secretly decided that they would never patronize this heartless shop again.
……
Gu Ran drove to a nearby intersection and picked up Lu Mingfei.
"Gu Ran, thank you so much! You're amazing, you really got the money back!" Lu Mingfei sat in the passenger seat, happily holding the three hundred yuan in his pocket.
“This is also the result of your own hard work,” Gu Ran said with a smile. “You see, many things are not as difficult as you imagine.”
"That's all thanks to Director Gu for helping me with the rehearsal; your groundwork was very important."
Lu Mingfei knew that Gu Ran deserved 80% of the credit for today's performance.
Without Gu Ran's groundwork, he would have had a hard time getting his wages back just by relying on his glares.