Urban Martial Saint

Qin Jing, waiting in vain for the water to boil, saw Lin Mengjie’s concoction and couldn’t help but ask, ”Manager Lin, what did you mix there? It’s all murky but looks really tasty!”

”Want to know?” Lin Mengjie smiled faintly and said, ”This is a medicinal hotpot base. Eating it is great for your health and can prolong your lifespan!”

”Really?” Qin Jing immediately perked up, looked around, snatched the sesame paste and chili sauce from Chen Jun, and dumped them into his bowl, stirring it into a big mess.

”Come on, save some for me!” Chen Jun cried out in panic, but the others, seeing this, quickly divided up the rest of the sesame paste and chili sauce, leaving none for Chen Jun.

Chen Jun was dumbfounded and after thinking for a while, suddenly turned his head and said, ”Hey, waiter, bring me two more portions of that medicinal sauce!”

Lin Mengjie couldn’t help but laugh at this, while Ye Qing almost collapsed in his chair from hilarity, and Hou San couldn’t help but laugh, ”Come on, Jun, haven’t you ever had hotpot before?”

Chen Jun earnestly replied, ”I’ve had hotpot, but never a medicinal one!”

Hou San laughed and said, ”What medicinal hotpot? That’s sesame paste and chili sauce, you shouldn’t take Manager Lin’s teasing seriously!”

”Sesame paste? Chili sauce?” Chen Jun scratched his head in surprise and asked, ”You need these for eating hotpot?”

”Isn’t that obvious!” Hou San exclaimed, ”Jun, where on earth did you have hotpot before? They didn’t have sesame paste?”

Chen Jun said embarrassingly, ”Well... we just made it ourselves at home...”

”No wonder!” Hou San, laughing, passed his bowl to Chen Jun and said, ”Try dipping your food in this, it’s really tasty.”

Chen Jun accepted the bowl with gratitude and asked, ”What about you?”

”I’ll just order more.” Hou San called the waiter over and had them bring more sesame paste and chili sauce, causing another frenzy of grabbing among everyone.

People at the other tables were looking over, whispering about what these folks were up to, even wondering if this was some sort of performance art, a street sketch in full swing.

Seeing everyone’s gazes, Ye Qing felt unbearably embarrassed and swore to himself that he would never eat out with this group again. Damn it, especially with Qin Jing, dining out with him was like facing a throng of pointing fingers!

After the bout of grabbing, the water in the pot finally boiled and the meat was cooked. Another round of mad grabbing ensued, particularly by Qin Jing, who filled his plate to the brim with the ladle and then started wolfing down his food.

With Qin Jing taking such a hearty share, there was, of course, less for the others. Chen Jun, sitting beside Qin Jing, would not be outdone and started picking food straight out of Qin Jing’s plate.

Qin Jing hastily shielded his plate with his hands, exclaiming, ”Not much left, I don’t have much, really not much left...”

Damn, his expression and pose were actually quite reminiscent of Kong Yiji.

Of course, Chen Jun didn’t pay him any mind, and kept picking from his plate. In the end, helpless as the contents of his plate dwindled, Qin Jing suddenly lifted the plate and poured everything into his mouth, leaving no chance for Chen Jun.

”Damn, you’re ruthless,” Chen Jun said helplessly, turning to see the pot with its second batch of ingredients now ready. He snatched Qin Jing’s strainer and went on a spree of scooping.

The meal, which lasted nearly two hours, saw the group of fourteen or fifteen people polishing off seventeen plates of lamb, more than twenty plates of beef, and then some for meatballs, glass noodles, and crown daisy. In the end, those sitting at surrounding tables simply stopped eating and took out their phones to take pictures of them, probably never having seen anyone eat quite so much!

Finally satiated, Qin Jing leaned back in his chair, barely able to muster any energy for more competition, and hummed, ”That was really good, so delicious. City life is delightful...”

Seeing that everyone had more or less finished eating, Ye Qing went to settle the bill. He just came back to call everyone to leave when he saw Qin Jing with a bag, lifting the pot to pour the soup into it.

”What are you doing?!” Ye Qing exclaimed.

”Can’t we just take the leftovers to go? I see a lot of city people doing that!” Qin Jing said seriously, ”Such delicious food shouldn’t go to waste. Come on, Jun, give me a hand, hold this bag open. Third Brother Hou, help me lift that pot, please. It’s hard for me to do it alone.”

When Qin Jing first came to the city, he was quite timid and dared not do much. But after dining out with Ye Qing a couple of times, he even started asking for his leftovers to be packed. However, it’s one thing to ask for leftovers to be packed, but what on earth does he mean by wanting to take home the soup base of a hot pot?

Seeing the people around watching Qin Jing’s shocking and unconventional behavior, Ye Qing, with a head full of black lines, hurriedly went over to put the pot back in place, saying, ”Let’s go, let’s go, stop losing face.”

”Losing face? This is called being thrifty and virtuous!” Qin Jing looked at the pot of soup base and said, ”Don’t go, what a pity to waste such delicious stuff!”

Without further explanation, Ye Qing pulled him out of the hot pot restaurant, with many people whispering behind them. Lin Mengjie also left covering her face, thus, managing to embarrass themselves.

It wasn’t until they got home that Ye Qing loosened his grip on Qin Jing and said sternly, ”Jing, remember, anything with soup, you can’t take it to go, okay?”

”Why not?” Qin Jing asked, puzzled.

”I can’t explain it to you. Just remember this,” Ye Qing said, then turned to greet Chen Jun and the others who had just entered, ”And you guys too, never take him to eat spicy hot pot again, and especially don’t let him take it home!”

Hou San replied, ”Don’t worry, I won’t take him out to eat again!”

”Third Brother, that’s what I don’t like to hear. We all live together, what’s with this ’you taking me, and me taking you’? It’s about going out to eat together.” Qin Jing waved his hand dismissively and said, ”Forget it, I won’t argue with you. I have a TV in my room; I’m going back to watch ’The Legend of the Condor Heroes’. Hey, if Guo Jing fought Bai Mei, who do you think would win?”

Ye Qing felt a headache coming on and waved him off repeatedly, telling him to beat it.

After everyone had eaten their fill, they set up a table in the living room and started playing cards for leisure. Lin Mengjie went straight upstairs upon returning, and in the evening when Fang Tingyun and the other two ladies were back, Lin Mengjie would have some company, which would be better for her.

Ye Qing left them some money and was about to head out when there was a knock at the door.

Black Bear went to open the door, and there stood Liu Yuan, holding a bunch of fruit and other things. Seeing Ye Qing, Liu Yuan immediately smiled and waved, ”Ye brothers!”

When Ye Qing first arrived in Shenchuan City, he worked as a salesman at Mu Qingrong’s company but hardly landed any business. It was Liu Yuan who gave him a chance, and they became friends. Later, when several companies joined forces intending to bankrupt Mu Qingrong’s company, Liu Yuan, out of loyalty, stood by him all along, and Ye Qing never forgot that. So, the renovation of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena was directly entrusted to Liu Yuan.

In the days Ye Qing was home, Liu Yuan had been in touch with Li Lianshan and managed to take over that business deal from Li. The Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena had previously been well-managed by Tiger King, but it had suffered some damage during several fights, so it didn’t need major renovation. Nevertheless, it was still a business worth millions, a big contract for Liu Yuan.

What was more critical was that after Liu Yuan completed the renovation of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena to Li Lianshan’s satisfaction, Li assigned him the task of renovating another venue he owned. Now, Liu Yuan had taken on a major client, which had significantly elevated his position at the company. Moreover, Li Lianshan’s reputation in Shenchuan City was widely recognized, even Liu Yuan’s boss was aware of Li’s influence. The fact that Liu Yuan was able to secure a contract from Li and smoothly receive payment was enough to astound his boss, which led to a newfound respect for Liu Yuan. Part of it was indeed because Liu Yuan was very good at his business, but another part was the suspicion that Liu Yuan might have underworld connections, which was intimidating.

Liu Yuan was living it up these days, his face glowing with contentment. Entering the door, he immediately exclaimed, ”Aye, Boss Li’s directions were so off. I’ve knocked on several doors now. Luckily I saw you, or I would have gotten scolded again.”

Ye Qing smiled and said, ”If you were coming, you could’ve just called, and I would’ve come out to meet you.”

”I thought you’d be busy tidying up the house, so I didn’t want to disturb you. I also wanted to surprise you. Who knew, though, the surprise didn’t happen, and I almost wore my legs thin.” Liu Yuan walked to the table, placed the fruit down on it, and looked around, saying, ”Not bad, this house is quite nice, good location, good decor, the annual rent must be a decent sum.”

Ye Qing chuckled and replied, ”It’s alright, since there are many of us, the rent divided among everyone isn’t that much.”

Liu Yuan glanced at the group playing cards and Ye Qing gestured towards them, saying, ”Let me introduce you; this is Liu Yuan, Big Brother Liu, my good friend.”

The group immediately stood up to greet Liu Yuan, who hurriedly responded, exchanging pleasantries with everyone before settling down next to Ye Qing.

”Brother Ye, what you’ve done here is really impressive!” Liu Yuan said, ”Honestly, when you first arrived in Shenchuan City, I could see it. What’s that saying? ’A golden scale doesn’t belong in a small pond,’ you’re certainly no ordinary man. Look, in just a few days, you’ve become one of the wealthiest tycoons in Shenchuan City. How do they say it? How much one consumes and utilizes is all predetermined by fate. If heaven has decreed your success, even if you’ve suffered previously, things can change overnight!”

Ye Qing smiled faintly and said, ”Big Brother Liu, you don’t understand. To turn things around overnight, the price you have to pay is also very high. Without mentioning anything else, in Shenchuan City right now, there are numerous people who want me dead. Being suddenly rich will inevitably make many envious. In contrast, I think your life is quite good—no worries about food or drink, a happy family, a safe and sound existence. You don’t need to worry about so much or be wary of so many people. Life should be as simple as possible; it’s actually better that way!”