Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 88

“I’m completely obedient to you, you won’t forget about me in a few days, right?” Hou Longtao parked the car and walked with Yuqian towards the rows of low, simple bungalows. “Am I considered obedient to you?” The girl turned her head, feigning surprise. “Who was it that was trying to kick me out of the car just now?” “Hmph, that was a special situation.” “Hmph, if you ever dare to be so cold to me again, see if I even pay attention to you.”

“I’m afraid of you. Was that your real brother who picked you up yesterday?” “Yeah.” “You’re only twenty-one this year, right?” “Yeah.” “Then how do you have a real brother?” “Why can’t I have one?” “The one-child policy was implemented in the seventies and eighties [a population control policy in China].” “Tch, you’re really funny.” Yuqian smiled and rolled her eyes at the man, not directly answering the question.

The two arrived in front of a restaurant without a name. In fact, all the restaurants in this area were nameless. Inside, there were only six rectangular tables, four of which were joined together. Da Pang and his five buddies, along with a woman, were drinking beer and eating boiled edamame [Japanese for ‘stem beans’; steamed green soybeans]. The other two tables were empty. “Hey, hey, I haven’t even arrived yet, how come you guys started eating?” Hou Longtao pulled the girl into the restaurant. “This is my friend, Zhang Yuqian.”

“Hello.” “Hello.” “Welcome, welcome.” The men didn’t get up, just sat there casually greeting them. Only the woman stood up. “Come and sit down.” “Okay.” Yuqian was really generous, pulled up a round stool, found an empty spot and sat down. Her low-waisted jeans weren’t belted, and her T-shirt wasn’t long enough, plus she was leaning forward slightly, revealing all the beautiful scenery of her back to the men.

Hou Longtao looked into the gap at the back of the girl’s pants. He originally wanted to see what kind of underwear the beautiful girl was wearing, but he discovered an even sexier world. Yuqian was wearing a very small thong, the waist of the underwear was very low, and it was digging into her butt cheeks. He could see the top of the crevice where the two tender butt cheeks squeezed together. The words “too beautiful to behold” were not enough to describe it.

“Hey,” Yuqian turned around and nudged the man’s leg, “What’s wrong with you? You’re always spacing out.” “Ah,” Hou Longtao came back to his senses and patted Long, who was sitting next to the girl. “Move over, move over, why are you so clueless?” “I won’t, what’s wrong with me sitting next to a beautiful woman for a while?” “Get up, damn you.” Hou Longtao put his hands under Long’s armpits, lifted him up, and sat on his chair.

“Why do you have to sit next to me?” Yuqian stared at the man with her pair of lively black eyes. “Because I like you.” “Wishful thinking.” “Yeah, yeah, wishful thinking.” Long shouted along. “Shut up, you. Let me introduce you.” “No need,” the girl quickly stopped him. “Let me guess first, you told me so much about them, let’s see if I can match them up.” “Okay.”

“That’s Big Brother, that’s Second Brother, Third Brother, um… Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, right?” “Sixth and Seventh are reversed,” Hou Longtao was very happy, the girl was calling them as he did. He pointed to Long, “Didn’t you see that kid sticking close to me? That’s Long.” “Hehe,” Yuqian shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue. “I don’t know who this sister is.” “My Second Sister-in-law, Huang Hui.” “Hello, Second Sister-in-law.”

“Okay, hurry up and order,” Er Dezzi clamored, “I’m starving. Waiter, waiter.” “Coming.” A waiter ran out, and they started ordering dishes, all sorts of chicken necks, smoked meat pancakes, stewed dog meat, the kind of dishes that aren’t available in proper restaurants. Yuqian obviously hadn’t been to this kind of place much, and even wanted to order abalone [a type of sea snail]. Hou Longtao stopped her. “We’ve ordered almost all the good dishes.” He turned to the waiter. “Give me another pot of lamb treasure.”

“What is lamb treasure?” “Good stuff, very nourishing, you’ll know when it comes up.” “Is the stuff here clean?” “It might not have been clean before,” Long poured a glass of cola for Yuqian, “Now they have to honestly comply with hygiene standards, they wouldn’t dare give us dirty stuff to eat (Di’anmen is very close to Dewai) [areas in Beijing].” “What, are you guys very powerful?” “Not powerful,” Hou Longtao lit a cigarette, “Just know the boss here.”

Before long, except for the lamb treasure, the rest of the dishes were served one after another. Yuqian really hadn’t eaten these things before. Of course, she had eaten chicken necks, but not this kind of preparation. She tasted each one, and liked the chicken necks the most. “You like eating this so much?” Hou Longtao reached out and wiped off a bit of soy sauce from the corner of the girl’s mouth. “It’s delicious, later call their chef over and ask how it’s made, my chef has never made it like this.”

The group ate and chatted, very happy. The casserole lamb treasure also came up. “Try it.” “What is it exactly?” “Try it first and then I’ll tell you.” “I won’t,” Yuqian saw that the men all had mischievous smiles on their faces, and retracted her chopsticks. “Tell me what it is first.” “It’s not poison,” Hou Longtao helped her scoop a bowl of soup, “How could we harm you?” “You eat first, let me see.”

“Okay,” Hou Longtao picked up a meatball-like thing from the pot and put it in his mouth. “Very good.” “Hmph.” Yuqian scooped up a “meatball”, cautiously took a bite, smacked her lips, and then put the whole “meatball” in her mouth and chewed. “Is it delicious?” “It’s not bad, isn’t this just casserole meatballs, why make it so mysterious?” “Hahahaha…” The men all laughed, even Huang Hui couldn’t help but purse her lips.

“What is this exactly?” Yuqian put the second “meatball” she had just picked up back into the bowl. “Brother Tao, tell me.” “Hahaha…” Hou Longtao laughed so hard he almost couldn’t breathe. “You’re dead. Second Sister-in-law, tell me.” “Sigh,” Huang Hui didn’t want to watch this group of bastards “bully” a pretty girl like this. “That’s…” She hesitated for a moment, walked to the girl’s side, and whispered in her ear, “That’s sheep… sheep testicles.”

“Ah!?” Yuqian exclaimed, her face paling, covered her mouth with her right hand, and rushed out. “Aren’t you going to go check on her?” Huang Hui heavily patted Hou Longtao on the back.

“Ouch, chase, how could I not chase?” Hou Longtao followed the girl out, the rest of the people were still laughing “haha”.

At this time, it was already dark, and the street lights in this area weren’t very good. Yuqian didn’t know where to go to throw up. There were two large poplar trees next to this restaurant, so she held onto one of them, pressed her left hand on her chest, and began to bend over and retch. “If you can’t throw up, then don’t throw up,” Hou Longtao followed up, gently patting the girl’s back. “It’s very nutritious, nourishes yin and tonifies yang [traditional Chinese medicine concepts], no harm.”

Yuqian’s problem wasn’t in her stomach, but in her head. She didn’t stick her fingers down her throat, so she really couldn’t throw up. She suddenly turned around, and punched the man’s chest with her two pink fists. “Why are you so bad!? I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” “It hurts, it hurts.” Hou Longtao wasn’t joking. Xue Nuo and Ru Yan would also hit him when they were acting spoiled, but they didn’t use any force at all. This big sister was really putting in all her strength.

“Hurt you to death, you big bastard.” Yuqian’s offensive showed no signs of weakening, but instead became even stronger. “Good sister,” Hou Longtao grabbed the girl’s wrists, his voice very gentle, “Don’t hit me, good sister.” “Don’t grab me…” Yuqian raised her head, saw the man’s eyes full of affection, suddenly stopped shouting, her face flushed, pouted, shook off his hand, and walked away two steps.

Hou Longtao immediately followed, put his arm around the beauty’s shoulders from behind, and gently rubbed his face against her delicate face. “Don’t be angry.” “Hmph.” Yuqian didn’t struggle, just shook her body slightly. “Qian sister,” Hou Longtao turned his head and gently bit the girl’s sweet earlobe, “I miss you, I’m so happy you’re back.” “I don’t like people playing with me.” Yuqian still looked unhappy, but her body naturally leaned against the man’s chest.

“You’re even more beautiful when you’re angry.” Hou Longtao began to kiss forward along the girl’s smooth cheeks, gradually approaching her fragrant lips, while slowly retracting his right arm and slowly extending his left arm, wanting to turn her around with skill without letting her leave his embrace. But Yuqian was like an eel, taking advantage of the situation to slip out of the gap in the man’s arm. “Let’s go back, don’t let them wait too long.” After speaking, she twisted and walked towards the restaurant.

Hou Longtao had never been teased like this by a girl he liked before, and suddenly had a fresh feeling, and quickly chased after her, grabbing the beauty’s hand. A bright smile appeared on Yuqian’s face, but she still dodged the man’s hand. The two teased each other and returned to the restaurant. In addition to their own people, there were four more people inside, three young white men in their early twenties and a Chinese man, probably a translator or something.

Hou Longtao had seen these four people looking for a restaurant when he went out to chase Yuqian just now, but he didn’t expect them to choose his place. However, he didn’t care. Whether they were tourists or foreign students, it was very common to find a restaurant with local flavor in Beijing. He and Yuqian sat down, and the group began to eat and joke again, but the girl didn’t touch the casserole lamb treasure at all.

The translator didn’t seem to have been to this kind of “underworld” place before, and scratched his head while holding a notebook with extremely scribbled notes. The three foreigners were a little restless, and saw that the table next to them was eating with relish, so they asked the translator what they were eating. The translator only recognized a few of the most common dishes, and couldn’t name the others. He called the waiter, and went to the middle of Wu Da and Er Dezzi, pointing and asking about the dishes on the table.

The men at Da Pang’s table all stopped eating and drinking, turned their heads and glared at the translator, but he seemed oblivious, and continued to gesture while explaining to the three foreigners in English. “Eat, eat.” Hou Longtao was in a good mood, didn’t plan to cause trouble, and didn’t want to reveal his true colors to Yuqian so quickly, so he decided to tolerate the translator’s extremely rude behavior.

“Damn, fake foreign devil.” Er Dezzi muttered while turning his head. “What did you say?” The translator heard this sentence. “What did I say?” “I heard it.” “Hehehe, what’s so strange about you hearing it, I said it so loudly, just so you could hear it.” “Why are you cursing people?” “Why the hell can’t I curse you?” Er Dezzi stood up, holding a wine bottle in his hand, tilted his head, and stared at the translator with a gangster look.

“Rogue, I won’t argue with you.” The translator retreated to his table. Although the three foreigners didn’t understand what they were saying, they could see what was going on. They asked the translator a few questions. The translator said that they were a group of Beijing hooligans, not worth paying any attention to, so they turned their attention back to the food. “You Chinese are like barbarians, you even eat dogs.” “Yeah, we’re poor, not as developed as America, we have to eat whatever we can.”

Hou Longtao, Liu Nan, and Yuqian had all returned from the United States, and they knew what the people on the opposite side were talking about. Hou Longtao couldn’t stand it a bit, and his molars were grinding “squeak” straight. “Hoo,” Yuqian leaned over and blew fragrance on the man’s face, “Do you want to hit them?” “Yeah.” “Not now, right? If you fight with foreigners, the police will definitely come. I still want to go to other places to play today. Let’s fight next time if we have the chance.”

“Hoo…” Hou Longtao suppressed his anger. “Are you all done eating? If you’re done eating, let’s go, it smells like sheep here.” “Okay, let’s go.” The others also understood what he meant. They left the restaurant and came to the parking place. “Where do you want to go?” “Let’s go to Sanlitun [a popular area in Beijing] and sit for a while. I heard that a new ‘American Bar’ has opened there, completely in a country style.” Yuqian was the protagonist today, and her request would not be refused.

The group got into their cars and drove towards Sanlitun in Chaoyang [district in Beijing]. “I didn’t even know there was an ‘American Bar’, how is your news so well-informed?” “I knew about it two months ago. When I called Tian Donghua, he told me that it was one of the few atmospheric bars in Beijing.”

“Then you didn’t let him take you?” The first time Tian Donghua was mentioned, Hou Longtao didn’t pay much attention because he had a special purpose. Now he suddenly felt a little jealous.

“What do you mean? You don’t want to accompany me?” “No, of course not. By the way, did Tian Donghua mention me to you?” “No, he doesn’t know I know you.”

“You didn’t mention me to him either?” “No, we have our own things to do, why would we mention you?” “You have your own things to do? What things?” “None of your business.” “Your business is all my business.” This was the first time Hou Longtao was jealous since he put Chen Qian on the bed. “Tch, wishful thinking again.” Yuqian’s smile was always sweet…

The “American Bar” had a pretty big storefront. Besides a stage for the band to perform, it was completely designed according to American casual bars. There were two pool tables in the middle, and a huge American flag hung on the wall behind the large bar. Although it wasn’t full, the business was pretty good. Looking at the customers, there were a few foreigners, and the rest were white-collar workers and college students.

The nine people found a large table against the wall and sat down. Hou Longtao looked at the Stars and Stripes [the flag of the United States], and his anger flared up. He reached out, “Waiter.” “May I take your order, sir?” A male waiter came to the table. “Are you Japanese?” “No, I am Chinese.” “Then why are you speaking English to me?” Hou Longtao’s anger hadn’t subsided, and a second wave of anger rose.

“It’s…” “Okay, okay,” Hou Longtao also felt that there was no need to argue with a worker. “Go call your boss.” “Is something wrong?” “Go call your boss.” Hou Longtao tapped the table with his index finger. “Ok, please wait.” The waiter left with a blank expression.

“What’s wrong?” The others didn’t know what Hou Longtao was doing. “I’m going to tear this place down.” “Why?” “Because everything here makes him uncomfortable.” Yuqian smiled and helped him answer. “You…” Hou Longtao frowned and looked at the smiling beauty. “You deliberately brought me here?” “Of course, I never wanted to go anywhere else.” “You know what I mean.” “Hehe, I know what you can’t stand.”

“What are you guys talking about?” The rest of the people really didn’t understand. “Nothing.” Hou Longtao had long discovered that Yuqian was a clever girl, but he didn’t expect her to be a trickster, knowing how to please people. “Yuqian, what do you want?” “To play.” “Are you sure you can afford to play?” “What can’t I afford to play? I can afford to play anything. Besides, reason prevails everywhere, and reason is on our side. See if you know it or not.” “I really know.”

“Gentlemen,” a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair walked over. “What can I do for you?” “Are you the boss here?” “Yes.” “What’s your name?” “My surname is Liu.” He probably heard from the waiter that these people didn’t like listening to English, and seemed to be looking for trouble, so he had been using Chinese since he came over. “Please take down that Stars and Stripes.” Because the other party’s words were relatively polite, Hou Longtao didn’t attack him right away.

“Sir, we are an ‘American Bar’, hanging the American flag is our characteristic. If you don’t like our style, please leave quietly and don’t affect our normal business.” Boss Liu’s words were polite, but he was actually trying to drive people away. “Who allowed you to hang this flag?” “It is the freedom of us operators to hang any flag in our store, and it has nothing to do with anyone.” “I’m telling you nicely, please take it down.” “I’m also telling you nicely, people come here to relax and have a good atmosphere. The flag will not be taken down, please leave.” Boss Liu’s tone was still polite, but his face darkened. He had already determined that these people had bad intentions. “Damn it, fake foreign devil.” Ma Lian slammed the table. He didn’t know what Fourth Brother was up to, but no one dared to tell his brothers to get lost. “I told you to take it down, you damn take it down, don’t ask for trouble…”

“Ma Lian.” Hou Longtao pressed his hand, signaling him not to make trouble first. “Boss Liu, the ‘National Flag Law’ of the People’s Republic of China clearly stipulates that, except for wholly foreign-owned enterprises or Sino-foreign joint ventures, all other for-profit entities shall not hang foreign flags, do you know that?” “Hmph, I didn’t know, but I know now that you said it.” “Then please take it down.” “Won’t take it down.” “Hmm?” “I’m American, this is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise.”

These words transferred all of Hou Longtao’s dissatisfaction with the Stars and Stripes to Boss Liu. “American Chinese” was the most common term for Chinese people who had become American citizens, more or less expressing their respect and pride in their Chinese blood. Only one kind of Chinese person called themselves “American” after becoming an American citizen, and that was the kind of person he hated the most. “No matter what country you’re from, you have to abide by Chinese laws on Chinese soil.”

“I’m very law-abiding, but unfortunately Chinese law can’t control me on this.” “The ‘National Flag Law’ stipulates that foreign-funded enterprises can hang foreign flags, but they must also hang the Chinese flag at the same time, and the foreign flag must not exceed the Chinese flag in height and area. Since you are very law-abiding, either you hang a five-star flag now, or you take down the Stars and Stripes.” “Ah…” Boss Liu was speechless for a moment, he had spoken too confidently just now. “You made up a law and want to deceive me? Won’t take it down.”

The sound of their conversation was unknowingly getting louder and louder, and the nearby customers were looking over here. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” Boss Liu quickly comforted them, knowing that this would not be good for business. “You guys leave quickly, you are not welcome here.” “If you don’t take it down yourself, I’ll help you take it down.” “Dare you!? My business is legal and protected by law. If you dare to make trouble, I’ll call the police.” Hou Longtao glanced at Yuqian, only to see her still smiling sweetly, but her bright black eyes began to roll upwards, as if signaling that it was okay to start. “You really deserve to be an American, you only abide by the law when it’s in your favor.” Hou Longtao suddenly grabbed Boss Liu’s tie, and pulled it down hard, causing him to stumble and fall on the table, his face pressed against the tabletop. “What are you doing!? What are you doing!? Let me go.”

Hou Longtao reached out and took the folding knife handed over by Long, and patted Boss Liu’s cheek with the blade. “Move again and see what I do.” The remaining six brothers all stood up, blocking the other customers’ view. “Let’s talk nicely.” Boss Liu stopped struggling. He was not as strong as the other party in the first place, and he couldn’t get up without a knife, let alone with a knife. “Listen to me clearly, one phone call from me can make you close your doors for two months. After you resume business, I’ll have people come and greet you every day. Now you obediently tear down that shroud for me, and I’ll pretend nothing happened, okay?” Hou Longtao threatened slowly, “I’m telling you this, you might think I’m bluffing you, maybe I am bluffing you, you can call the police now, as long as you have the guts.” He shook his arm and pushed the man surnamed Liu away.

Boss Liu took two steps back, and then began to carefully look at the group of young people in front of him. Their clothes looked like they were rich, their behavior looked like hooligans, and their words had a bit of official flavor. They were likely a group of “princes” and “princesses” [referring to children of high-ranking officials or wealthy individuals] from families with power and money. He had gone out from China, and knew that it was best not to make enemies with anyone. “John, take down the flag.” “Yes, sir.” The bartender and a waiter behind the bar took down the Stars and Stripes…(Golden scales are not things in a pond) [idiom meaning someone with great potential should not be confined to a small place]