Chapter 11

This expression certainly shouldn't belong to a down-and-out street vendor, right? So there were not only female students whispering together with hearts racing, but also genuine onlookers holding their grilled meat and chilled beer, hoping he would lose his temper and put on a show.

Bak's indifference made the few young men lose face. Seeing Liu Changyuan, who was being held back and was indignant, and not wanting to bully the elderly couple, one of them overturned the table: "Boss! Say something!" One of them even threw the plate in his hand at Bak's back, causing a loud cheer from the onlookers. The confrontation escalated, and some even took out their phones to record it!

At a street stall, the distance was only a few meters, and Bak's back immediately showed a patch of dirty sauce. He shook his shoulders, turned around, and with a cigarette in his mouth, looked at the four tense young men. It was as if he saw a younger version of himself, full of energy, with excessive hormones, always looking for trouble or trying to attract the attention of the opposite sex, the more lively the scene, the more excited he became...

But clearly, he wasn't like that anymore, and he didn't even bother to fight back.

However, the current situation... was indeed a bit annoying, like a few flies buzzing around. You ignored them, but they thought they had found a pile of shit and happily swarmed over.

If he were really a pile of shit, Bak wouldn't mind being disturbed.

Bak's face was expressionless, and the young men stared at him, trying to build up their courage: "Running a stall, do you even know the basic rules? You actually hit a customer, the customer is God..."

Bak helplessly turned around and grabbed a kitchen knife over half a meter long from the grill. The crowd was in an uproar, and even the VIP customers sitting at the tables couldn't help but stand up. Was this going to be a bloodbath?

The young men instinctively shut up.

But Bak threw the long knife directly at them, wiggling his finger: "Want to talk? Pick it up and cut me? Or get lost, I won't charge for those pieces of meat..." The sound of the metal hitting the ground was crisp, and he lazily turned back to continue grilling!

To be honest, such a scene, such young men, really didn't stir up any enthusiasm in him.

The onlookers were silent for a moment, probably trying to hear what Bak said. Now that Bak turned around, holding another knife to tend to the grill, a wave of laughter spread. The posture of the young men facing him was like a lion facing a barking dog, casually flicking its tail to swat away flies.

The young men were immediately at a loss. Should they continue to charge forward with blood boiling? Or pick up the shiny kitchen knife and use it as a weapon?

In an era of strict control over knives, where even a kitchen knife requires registration, the consequences of using a weapon were not just a few punches and kicks. If they were unlucky, they could be immediately sentenced!

Shouting? He simply ignored them.

Fighting? Seeing the other person holding another knife, looking skilled and robust, if they really charged forward... it would be considered self-defense, right?

Their previously arrogant mood was like a chicken being grabbed by the neck!

They were stunned!

After a moment of mutual staring, the girl with oil stains on her skirt, feeling relieved, pushed her boyfriend away: "I told you not to fight, it's fine, fine... He said the meat is free, let's go, I need to wash my clothes..."

Taking the opportunity to back down, the young men didn't say anything to save face, just made some complex sounds and left, and from a distance, you could hear: "Just running a grill, what's so great about it!"

The crowd felt that the situation was unresolved but also thought this was the best way to handle it. Those who wanted to continue eating looked at this somewhat unusual grill vendor, while those who had finished eating wiped their mouths, ready to embellish the dispute they had seen and gossip about it.

Only Bak glanced at Liu Changyuan, the young man with ash and blood on his face, who was looking at the scene in surprise, staring at him. The scene where he had swung his fist in anger and ended up looking disheveled was easily defused by this neighbor, who was only a few years older.

Bak smiled, thinking he wasn't beyond redemption, and turned to Liu Changyuan: "What? Did you do something wrong and don't know to pick up the knife?"

Liu Changyuan stood there for ten seconds, and before his mother could push him, he went to pick up the greasy kitchen knife. He realized how heavy it was and used both hands to hand it to Bak.

Bak took it and nodded: "Getting beaten is your fault. You caused the trouble, but your parents have to clean up the mess... You can go back and continue playing your games and using your phone, but that broken phone was bought with your parents' money, right? If you want a good phone and respect, you need to do business and put away your whiny attitude. But before all that, apologize to your parents, or you'll just go back to being a coward, continuing to bully the only people you can talk to straight."

The parents had already gone to help the little beggar flip the overturned table and pick up the scattered plates and chopsticks. The disheveled mother even reached out to pick up the broken beer bottles.

No one cared what the simply dressed parents were doing. The noisy customers discussed the excitement while urging the grilled meat to be served. So Bak, after finishing his speech, turned back to his work, only leaving the young man with a pale, bruised face and blood on his lips, looking at his parents with a complex expression...

When Bak brought over a few more plates of grilled meat, he saw that Liu Changyuan had disappeared. He shook his head and smiled, continuing his business. But when the parents, who kept apologizing and wanted to help make up for their son's mistake, he didn't say anything more, nor did he stop them. If this made them feel better, it was fine.

Thinking back, Bak and his parents, Liu Shufen, had also cleaned up his mess many times. When he packed up, he went to the night market and bought some cheap clothes for his parents. He knew that buying expensive things wouldn't mean much and would make his parents uncomfortable.

Most importantly, Bak caught the little beggar who was about to run off with a plate of leftover meat, and handed him ten ten-yuan notes. This man was meticulous, and for a defenseless little beggar, ten yuan was safer than a hundred.

Unexpectedly, the little beggar hugged the plastic bag of leftover meat and shook his head, his hoarse voice almost the first time Bak heard him speak: "I... am not pitiful, I work for it..."

In that moment, Bak, who had begged for 5,000 kilometers to get home, felt a bit ashamed!

He was already an adult, with a strong body, and could explain that he was like a zombie, feeling depressed and just wanting to go home. But facing this child, who he had always looked down on, Bak truly blushed, a blush of shame in the face of innocence and stubbornness!

Those stubborn eyes above the mask were so clear, as if they could reflect the meanness in himself!

Bak, with his thick skin, remained unperturbed: "Fifty yuan a day, this is for today and tomorrow... The leftovers were going to be thrown away anyway. Don't you want to work and earn money... to eat well?" Clearly, this child had companions, and the meat from yesterday wasn't enough for him to be so weak.

The little beggar, still a child, his star-like clear eyes lit up: "Really? There's money? Can I come every day? Why give me tomorrow's money?" The child was so excited that his hoarse voice changed.

Bak was a master at fooling children, expressionless, he tapped the words on the grill with the long knife: "Do you recognize this? Caucasian Grilled Meat! That's the rule in foreign countries!"

The child, incredulous, rolled the ten notes several times before running off with the plastic bag.

Bak estimated the child's height and build from his back and bought two sets of children's clothes and shoes at the night market. He had ways to get the child to change, just like how Fang Lingying, who had recently found him dirty, bought clothes for him. Riding his noisy motorcycle in the night, Bak smiled warmly, his heart, cold in the hot summer, warmed up.

So, riding the three-wheeled motorcycle back, his parents, who had been pretending to watch TV but were actually listening for sounds outside, came out to help him unload the grill. Bak presented the things he had bought.

Just a couple of hundred yuan worth of things made the Baks smile widely.

Parents are the easiest to satisfy, and Bak wasn't surprised by this.

After taking a shower and sitting in the courtyard of the dormitory area, the peace of his childhood was gone, replaced by the noise of air conditioners adding more heat. Bak pushed his parents, who had finished unloading the miscellaneous items from the three-wheeled motorcycle, into the shower, and then changed into a pair of old sneakers to go jogging on the road below, as part of his nightly routine.

It was simple, long-term mental tension and physical exertion had made Bak accustomed to exercise. Moreover, the months of long-distance travel after the incident had put his body in a state that needed regulation.

On one hand, this overloading and begging life had left him severely lacking in balanced nutrition, but on the other hand, it had given him a very strong and lean body. Now that he was back home, he needed to gradually consume various nutrients to repair his body structure and maintain regular exercise to ensure that the efforts of those months were not in vain.

Actually, running at this time was also out of necessity. Looking up at the sky, there was a large thermal power plant nearby, so the air pollution was severe, and the sky was gray and hazy, with nothing visible. Sometimes it was even worse in the early morning, so getting a breath of fresh, clean air had become a luxury that required a lot of wealth.

Compared to the chaotic battlefields or the lazy, unproductive Eastern Europe where he had lived for a long time, nothing was perfect. Smiling wryly, he felt his heart calm down, as if the frustration and self-abandonment from fleeing Eastern Europe had gradually turned into weariness and indifference. But now, back home, the anger was fading. Today's incident was a small episode, but Bak could feel a change in his mindset. Before, he wouldn't just rashly act, but at least he would react to provocations or threats with a fierce and immediate response, because only that could ensure his safety and deter potential threats.

But now, his first reaction was to remain calm and seek peace, and he felt very confident that these young men wouldn't escalate the situation. He also sensed that the old police officer... didn't seem to have any ill will toward him, while the young police officer had a bit of inexplicable jealousy.

Ha, Bak laughed.

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