Dragon Blood Divine Son-in-law
Chapter 181: The Hot Potato

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: The Hot Potato

"Alright, dear customers, please wait a moment, your noodles will be ready in no time!"

Ding Lijuan called out and immediately went into the kitchen with Han Bowwen to get busy.

The two had only ever cooked at home before, clueless about how to make these health-preserving noodles; they could only follow the method for making ordinary homecooked noodles.

"Lijuan, what are these ingredients? They look like Chinese medicine, are we still going to put them in?"

Ding Lijuan waved her hand dismissively, "Our signboard says ’health-preserving noodle shop,’ of course we should add them."

"But how much should we put in?"

Ding Lijuan grew impatient, she was in a rush to make big money, who has the time to research this, "Just put in whatever, it’s not like it’ll kill anyone."

With no other option, Han Bowwen reluctantly did as she said.

The two worked strenuously for the better half of the day, sweating profusely and exhausted.

For the past few years, Chen Xuan had been the one cooking at home; they had never endured such hardship.

Fortunately, they managed to make the thirty servings of noodles.

Seeing the few hundred bucks extra on the screen, Ding Lijuan’s face bloomed with joy— at least the grand opening wasn’t for nothing.

But the customers had barely taken a bite before they began complaining vehemently.

"Damn, what the hell is this? It tastes like shit!"

"Exactly, give me a refund!"

Ding Lijuan was dumbfounded, "Hang on, you all ate your dishes, how can you ask for a refund now?"

"Is it really that bad?"

Unconvinced, Han Bowwen took a taste himself, and immediately spat it out.

It was as bitter as bile, this wasn’t noodles, it was clearly medicine!

After trying a bite herself, Ding Lijuan also felt it was unacceptable, and she could see that these heavily tattooed guys with thick gold chains were obviously not ones to mess with.

Having no choice, she begrudgingly gave the refunds.

After toiling away for most of the day, worn to the bone, not only had they gained nothing, but they had also lost a bunch of ingredients. Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen were utterly dejected.

However, they did not anticipate that their nightmare was just beginning.

Having made no money after a day’s work and with nightfall upon them, Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen locked up the shop and prepared to leave.

But no sooner had they stepped out of Yida Plaza than a van pulled up in front of them, its seven or eight burly men quickly surrounding them.

The pair were terrified, "What do you want?"

"Quit the yapping and come with us!"

Their heads shrouded with black cloth, Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen were abruptly ushered into the van.

Half an hour later, Ding Lijuan was brought into an underground room.

The room was damp, and the air carried a scent of blood.

In front of them stood brawny men holding machetes, looking ferocious and fierce, with grimaces so terrifying it was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

And from behind a plastic curtain not far away, there came cries for mercy.

"Boss, I swear I didn’t take those goods!"

"Bullshit, you can go tell that to King Yama!"

As soon as these words fell, there was a muffled thud.

A splash of fresh blood sprayed out, landing right on that plastic curtain!

"Oh my god!" Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen nearly died of fright right there and then.

They could guess what had just happened behind that curtain without even having to think.

They never dreamt they’d get involved with such a desperado gang!

Soon after, a tall figure emerged from behind the curtain.

His knife dripped with blood, and his face was smeared with splatters of it, making him look like a beast that had clawed its way out of hell.

"Big... Big brother, is there... is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

"Exactly... I mean, what exactly did we do to offend you? Please, we’re begging you, give us a clear explanation?"

Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen were so scared they stammered.

"Offended? Damn it, you’re the owners of the noodle shop under the bridge, aren’t you?"

Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen were taken aback and instinctively answered, "Yes, that’s right."

"Then there’s no mistake! Today, my men went to your restaurant to eat, and as a result, seven of them ended up in the ICU after eating your noodles! Are you running a black shop or what!"

"What..."

Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen were completely shocked; they hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

"I’ve always said those are medicinal herbs, you can’t just use them willy-nilly..." Han Bowwen said with a mournful face.

Ding Lijuan also regretted it immensely.

What on earth was happening day after day? If she had known it would be such a hassle, she would never have taken over the shop even if you killed her!

The burly man in front of them was already losing patience, "Alright, cut the bullshit, tell me, how do you want to settle this? Are we doing this privately or making it public?"

Han Bowwen gathered his courage and asked, "Big brother, what does making it public mean, and what about settling privately?"

The burly man snorted coldly, "Making it public means handing you over to the police. I’ve inquired about it, and what you’ve done is a major food safety crime; enough to put you away for ten to eight years!"

"Ah? Go to jail?"

Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen were terrified; they didn’t want to go to jail at all.

Han Bowwen continued to ask, "What about settling privately then?"

"Privately is much simpler. My seven brothers are in the hospital, and of course, you’ll have to compensate them. Not much, just one million per person, seven million in total!"

Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen both collapsed to the ground at the same time.

Seven million?

They couldn’t even come up with seven hundred yuan at the moment!

"Big... Big brother, we really don’t have that much money..." Han Bowwen said with a fearful face.

"No money? Easy to fix, I’ll send you to jail right now!"

The burly men were about to surround them and take them away.

Han Bowwen and Ding Lijuan were as anxious as ants on a hot pan: jail or pay money, both options were death traps!

Suddenly, Ding Lijuan thought of something and cried out in alarm, "This shop isn’t ours!"

The big brother paused and signaled his men to stop.

"Damn, didn’t you just say you were the owners?" the big brother said with annoyance.

"I... We misspoke earlier, the shop is run by my son-in-law and his mother!"

Han Bowwen quickly said, "Right, right, right, that shop has nothing to do with us! If you’re looking for someone, go find Chen Xuan!"

Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen didn’t care what happened to Chen Xuan, pushing all the responsibility onto him.

The big brother was decisive, "Alright, call that Chen Xuan now and tell him to roll over here!"

Twenty minutes later, Chen Xuan was brought to the basement.

"You’re Chen Xuan, huh? You’re the one running the noodle shop under the bridge?" the big brother asked with a fierce expression.

Chen Xuan looked at Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen kneeling on the ground and calmly said, "I’ve already stepped out; the noodle shop is theirs now."

Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen were immediately desperate.

"Chen Xuan, don’t spout slander! The noodle shop is obviously yours and your mother’s, what’s it got to do with us!"

"That’s right, we haven’t put in a single penny from the beginning to the end; we just helped you watch the shop for one day, how did it become ours!"

"Big brother, don’t listen to him, the noodle shop is his, and anything that’s happened should be his responsibility!"

"Right, if you’re going to deal with someone, deal with him! The noodle shop has nothing to do with us!"

Before, Ding Lijuan and Han Bowwen had treated the noodle shop as a hot property, hoping to get a piece of the action. Now, it had turned into a hot potato they desperately wanted to toss back to Chen Xuan.