Strange Chef

UnChapter 10: Zhang Shasha works

Bai Lu followed beside her. Until they entered their own yard, Zhang Shasha stopped and slowly turned to face Bai Lu. "I can't pay it back."

Bai Lu said, "You don't have to pay it back. What you said just now is right. It's the money left by your dad." Compared to a coffin full of treasures, one hundred thousand yuan is really nothing.

"I don't like being lied to. Don't tell lies." Zhang Shasha looked back at the house. "I have nothing but a house. Is it okay to give it to you to pay off the debt?"

"No need."

"Why not? Just because you are my dad's friend? But how old are you?"

Bai Lu hesitated for a moment. "Your dad taught me many skills."

"Him? Humph! Skills? What else can he do except steal? Is your money stolen?" There was disdain in her words, disdain for her dad and also for Bai Lu.

Bai Lu shook his head. "My dad is a policeman. He won't allow me to do wrong things. You can rest assured about this. You don't have to pay back that money." While saying this, he took out eight thousand yuan from his body and handed it over. "Take it."

"I have lived all my life and never believed that someone would be kind to others for no reason. You don't want the house. Is it because you have a crush on me? Okay, I will accompany you for half a year to pay off your one hundred thousand yuan. Is it okay?" Her voice was calm as if she wasn't talking about herself.

Seeing that Zhang Shasha didn't take the money, Bai Lu shook his head. He put down the money and turned to leave.

After getting in the car, Gao Yuan asked, "Who is she?"

Bai Lu didn't reply. He took out the gold from his schoolbag. "Sell it. Also, thank you."

"Such a big piece of gold? How heavy is it? Is it more than twenty catties?"

"Drive." He put the gold under his feet.

Zhang Shasha suddenly ran over. "You said you run a restaurant in the city. Do you need waiters? I can work to pay back the money."

Bai Lu frowned and pushed open the car door and got out. "Aren't you going to school?"

Zhang Shasha bit her lip and stubbornly shook her head.

"Why not go to school?"

Zhang Shasha didn't speak.

"Doesn't your mom care about you?" Looking at the yard behind Zhang Shasha, he felt something was wrong. He walked around her and re-entered the yard and then the room. After a while, he came out. "Where's your mom?"

Zhang Shasha still bit her lip and didn't speak.

Bai Lu said to Gao Yuan, "Wait for me." Then he turned and went to Leopard's house.

Zhang Shasha ran over. "Where are you going?"

Bai Lu stopped. "I promised you. Pack your things. Bring your household register and ID card."

"Okay." Zhang Shasha was very decisive and ran back to the room.

During this time, Bai Lu came to Leopard's house.

Seeing him come back, Leopard's mom was a bit nervous. "Is there something?"

"Auntie, I want to ask about Zhang Shasha's situation. Is it convenient for you to tell me?"

"Why are you asking this?" Leopard's mom sighed. "She is also a poor child. Before she was born, her dad was arrested. Who in the whole village doesn't know? Not long after she was born, her mom ran away. She was raised by her grandma. It was not easy to raise her until she was six. Then her grandma got seriously ill and passed away first. She was left alone. The government took her to the welfare home. She didn't go. The village applied for subsistence allowances for her. One hundred and seventy yuan a month. She managed to live until today. After nine years of compulsory education, she couldn't afford to continue studying after graduating from junior high school. She has never worn new clothes in her life. She grew up eating food from many families..."

Leopard's mom talked a lot. Bai Lu bowed deeply and left his name and phone number. "I am a friend of her dad. You don't have to pay back that money. I will take her to live in the city. If you are not at ease, you can come to the city to see her."

"That money was borrowed from you?" Leopard's mom asked.

Bai Lu smiled and went out. When he returned to Zhang Shasha's house, Zhang Shasha was already waiting by the car. Seeing him come out, she asked, "Did you go to ask for the money back?"

Bai Lu smiled and shook his head. "If you just leave like this, people will think you are kidnapped. What if they report it to the police?"

"You are right." Zhang Shasha went to say goodbye to her neighbors and told them where she was going.

Gao Yuan asked, "Bring her back? Where will she live? In your small restaurant?"

"Sell the gold."

"Do I owe you?" Gao Yuan started glaring again.

"This time, I owe you." Bai Lu said seriously.

Ten minutes later, Zhang Shasha came back. "I left your address and phone number with them. Is it okay?"

Bai Lu smiled. "Get in the car."

Zhang Shasha had very few belongings. There were only underwear, socks, a towel. There was also a pen and a notebook. After getting in the car, she took out ten thousand yuan and gave it to Bai Lu. "Two thousand yesterday and eight thousand today. I return it to you."

"Take it to buy clothes."

"I don't want it." Zhang Shasha bit her lip and put the money on the seat.

When they returned to the restaurant, it was four o'clock in the afternoon. There were two sports cars parked at the entrance of the restaurant, and there were several people queuing up.

Bai Lu put the money and gold into his schoolbag. After getting out of the car, he was stunned. Was the glass door replaced? After entering the room, he saw He Shanqing in bright red clothes. He was showing off and talking to a bunch of girls. Sima Zhi was leaning against the wall and playing with his phone.

Seeing him come back, Le Miaomiao got up. "Brother Bai is back."

Bai Lu asked, "Did you replace the door?"

"I did." He Shanqing came over. "Was it troublesome? Do you want me to handle it?"

Gao Yuan entered the room with a gloomy face. "Are you playing chess? Do you want to move your horse? Or fly your elephant?"

Zhang Shasha timidly followed behind. Looking at a room full of people, she walked to the farthest corner and sat down.

"How much?" Bai Lu asked He Shanqing.

"It's just a few dollars. When I bring people to support your business, just don't kick me out."

Bai Lu nodded. "Okay. I owe you a meal."

"Oh my, Young Master Yuan is really Young Master Yuan. Borrowing ten thousand yuan and the interest is one hundred thousand yuan. Even loan sharks have to admit defeat." He Shanqing sighed.

"Get lost. Hurry up and sell the things."

"Sell it now?" Without taking it out, He Shanqing already knew what was inside.

"Nonsense."

"Well, I owe you." He Shanqing carried the schoolbag and went out. When he reached the door, he said, "By the way, you should persuade Young Master Zhi."

"What's the matter?" Gao Yuan asked Sima Zhi.

Sima Zhi was a bit depressed. "I received a text message saying that if I don't leave his wife, he will kill me."

"Just this? Just leave his wife then."

"Damn it. That guy didn't sign his name. How would I know who it is?"

"How many women do you have?"

"Not many. The biggest problem is that I don't know which woman is married at all!" Sima Zhi thought and thought but couldn't figure it out.

Gao Yuan was speechless. "I think highly of you. You really have the potential to be killed."

"I'm not afraid of being killed. It's embarrassing. It's so humiliating. If I get beaten up because of such a trivial matter, how unjust it would be."

As they were chatting casually, Bai Lu was walking around inside and outside the room, thinking about how to arrange Zhang Shasha.

Someone knocked on the door. Zhang Shasha was the first to go and open the door. "What can I do for you?"

The person who came was a bald man. "I am looking for your boss."

Bai Lu came out of the kitchen. Seeing this scene, he thought to himself that this little girl had really suffered a lot. She was very observant and knew to find work to do. He walked over and said to her, "I'll handle it." Then he said to the bald man, "Why are you here?"

The person who came was the gangster leader who wanted to collect protection fees a few days ago but failed. As a result, two vans were impounded. Finally, he had no choice but to call the police.

"I am here to redeem the cars. Twenty-five thousand yuan." The bald man took out a stack of money from a plastic bag.

"Cars?" Bai Lu looked at the road. "I was wondering why I always felt like I had forgotten something. So it was your cars. Let me inform you. That night, the cars were gone."

"What?" The bald man was a bit surprised.

"To put it simply, if your men didn't drive the cars away, then they are lost. By the way, how did you get out so quickly?"

"The cars are lost?" The bald man opened his mouth slightly.

"Call the police. Anyway, you are always calling the police. You are familiar with the business." Bai Lu closed the door and went back inside. After thinking for a while, he sighed. "Alas, I lost twenty-five thousand yuan in income."

Gao Yuan was angry. "Extortion is also considered income?"

Bai Lu thought seriously for a moment. "Yes." After a pause, he asked, "Do you know who is so boring to steal two broken vans?"

The bald man outside was very helpless. He didn't dare to get angry but was unwilling to give up. After thinking for a long time, he took out his mobile phone and called the police. At his level in the underworld, he was really great.

Ten minutes later, the police arrived. After asking questions inside and outside, they finally said angrily, "Go to the vehicle management office and pay the fine!" It turned out that the cars were towed away for illegal parking.

Inside the room, Gao Yuan was negotiating with Bai Lu. "In the Third Ring Road, you choose the location. I pay. We jointly invest in running a restaurant. Fifty-fifty split."

Sima Zhi joined in. "Count me in."

Bai Lu refused. "No."

"Two hundred square meters. No, a storefront of more than three hundred square meters. First-class decoration. We will beat all the restaurants in the city. Seventy-thirty split. You get seventy and I get thirty. There is only one requirement. Whenever I want to eat, you have to cook for me."

"No."

"Oh my, are you sick? A storefront of one hundred and fifty square meters. You choose the location. I pay. You are the owner. Seventy-thirty profit split..."

"No."

"Are you getting cocky? A storefront of one hundred and fifty square meters. Do you know how much it costs? I am basically giving you ten million yuan for free. And you still don't agree?"

"No."

"Oh my god. Don't give me a chance to beat you up." Gao Yuan got angry and stood up. He said to Le Miaomiao, "Let's go. Let's go singing."

"It's almost six o'clock." Le Miaomiao replied implicitly, meaning that she couldn't waste the whole afternoon for nothing.

"Right. I will eat you to death today. Kid, which table am I at today?" Gao Yuan asked Bai Lu.

Bai Lu replied, "The first table."

"Can I buy groceries and bring them back for you to cook?"

Bai Lu thought for a moment. "Yes." After all, he had helped a lot.

"That's more like it. Xiaozhi, let's go buy groceries."

Sima Zhi agreed. The two of them went out.