Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 89

“Damn, were those laws you mentioned earlier actually real?” After Boss Liu conceded, the group started chatting normally.
“Of course, they’re real.” Hou Longtao rolled his eyes at Horse Face. “How did you know?”
“Don’t you guys watch the news? There have been several disputes caused by hanging foreign flags.”
“Hey, hey, look.” Er Dezi nudged Hou Longtao twice.

Following Er Dezi’s gaze, they saw four men entering the bar. It was the tall foreigner, the two shorter ones, and their translator from dinner. They sat not far away. The tall one called a waiter over, pointed to the spot behind the bar where the American flag used to hang, and asked a few questions. The waiter pointed in their direction while answering. The foreigner slammed the table and actually walked over, with the translator following like a dog.

When the foreigner approached, Hou Longtao realized he was at least half a head taller than him, probably over 6’3″, about the same as Big Fatty, but definitely not as strong. “Who asked the bartender to take down the flag?” The foreigner roared without waiting for the translator.
“?” Hou Longtao retorted, “You idiot.”
“What did you say?”
“Go learn some Chinese,” Liu Nan added.

“Guys, guys, calm down.” Boss Liu quickly came over to mediate. He pulled the foreigner aside and explained the Chinese laws, carefully avoiding mentioning that he had been coerced. “Stupid Chinese law.” The foreigner waved his hand dismissively and walked back to his table, still casting hostile and contemptuous glances at Hou Longtao and his group, but he was a man after all, and he noticed Yu Qian’s beauty.

Soon, a waiter brought Yu Qian a “Margarita.” “Miss, this is from that gentleman over there.” He was wary of the group at this table and didn’t use any English. “Thank you.” Yu Qian didn’t give Hou Longtao a chance to speak, took the drink, turned to the foreigner, raised her glass in a toast, didn’t drink it, and put the glass back on the table, snatching the cigarette butt from Long’s mouth and throwing it into the glass.

Amidst laughter, the foreigner’s face turned sour. It’s normal to be rejected when offering a drink in a bar, and a man should have the grace to accept reality, but being mocked like this was too much for the average person to bear. If his two companions hadn’t held him back, he would have come over to say a few more words.

Hou Longtao saw all of this. He wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t fight with a foreigner today. “Want to escalate things?”
“Are you asking me?” Yu Qian raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah.”
“Whatever, I’ll back you no matter how big you want to play.”
“Hahaha, I’m really curious now, what does your family really do?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Hmph, I should have accepted it when you wanted to tell me before you left last year.”

“You missed your chance.”

Hou Longtao shook his head with a wry smile and walked towards the stage, where a newly arrived band was setting up their instruments. “Hey, can you guys help me out?” The musicians all had long hair and wore vests, looking like “rock youths.” One of them put down what he was doing. “What kind of help?”
“Accompany me on a song.”
“You want to sing?”
“Yes.”
“We have to wait for a request.”

“Make an exception.” Hou Longtao pulled out a stack of RMB [Renminbi, Chinese currency] from his suit pocket. “The bank seal is still on, a full ten thousand.” He had just withdrawn thirty thousand this afternoon because he was running out of cash. “Whoa, you really want to sing?”
“What do you say?”
“What song?”
“‘Colorful Rock’s’ ‘Volunteer Army Anthem.’”
“This is an ‘American Bar.’”
“So what? It’s an ‘American Bar,’ not America.”
“Alright, go ahead.”

“Damn, Fourth Brother is going to sing?” Horse Face looked at Er Dezi.
“What’s he going to do?” Long looked at Yu Qian.
“I don’t know, he probably wants to provoke those Americans into fighting. You guys okay with that?”
“Tch, what’s the big deal? We brothers have been fighting since we were kids, what could be the problem?”

“Valiantly and spiritedly, we cross the Yalu River. To protect peace, to defend our nation, is to protect our homeland. China’s good sons and daughters, united as one, resist America, aid Korea, and defeat the American imperialist wolves. My father went to the Korean battlefield, to defend our country, to defend our homeland, defeated the American imperialists, and protected peace. The resounding military song, majestic and powerful. Our ancestors went to Korea to fight, bravely fighting, they are the backbone of the nation. The Yalu River flows quietly, the resounding military song echoes in our ears…”

Hou Longtao howled along with the majestic music. Although he was naturally tone-deaf, he didn’t stray too far off-key with this song. Everyone in the bar was drawn to him. Boss Liu, in his soundproof office, couldn’t hear what was happening outside. If he had realized that the music being played was different from what he had booked, he would have come out to stop it.

“Stop! Stop!” The three Americans rushed over. They had understood the meaning of the lyrics through the translator and learned that during the Korean War, Chinese soldiers sang this song to defeat the self-proclaimed invincible American army, navy, and air force, forcing them to retreat to the 38th parallel. This was a song used to kill Americans, and they now had to rise up to defend American dignity.

“What’s up?” Hou Longtao jumped off the stage.
“What the hell were you singing?” The tall guy had drunk three or four glasses of “Tequila” and was already tipsy.
“Get lost, you loser.”
“Say it again.”
“You loser.”
“You want to get beat up?”
“Hell yeah.” The two got closer and closer, almost touching.

Hou Longtao’s brothers also came up. Huang Hui was relatively demure and didn’t join the fun, but Yu Qian was different. She went straight to Hou Longtao’s side, her mouth not idle either, “Americans suck.” The foreigner had already been angered by this girl and wouldn’t remain silent after being cursed again. He leaned forward, pretending to look at the girl’s butt, “What are you looking at? I will let you taste my huge American cock.”

“Smart asshole.” Hou Longtao couldn’t stand it anymore. He was about to make a move, but the American was even quicker, pushing him away. Yu Qian was the second to act, giving the tall guy a knee to the groin, then immediately retreating. “You little whore!” The foreigner gritted his teeth, the blow having hit him hard. He covered his crotch with his left hand and raised his right hand to hit Yu Qian, “Bitch!”

Hou Longtao was also hit hard, staggering back several steps before steadying himself, stopping between two pool tables. He grabbed a cue stick from the table. “You motherfucker!” He rushed forward, swinging the cue stick at the tall guy’s shoulder. With a “crack,” the cue stick broke in the middle, showing how much force he used. Unexpectedly, the American was quite strong. Although he screamed in pain, he still looked like he wanted to fight back.

“Fuckyourmama!” Even if his English wasn’t good, he knew how to curse. The seven brothers swarmed forward, fighting with the three foreigners. The Americans weren’t just taking hits, they also tried to retaliate, but they were clearly on the defensive. The translator was just a spineless intellectual and didn’t dare join the fight. As soon as he saw that things had really turned violent, he hid to the side and called the police.

Just as he had knocked the tall guy to the ground and kicked him a couple of times, Boss Liu rushed out of the office after hearing the commotion, trying to break up the fight. He grabbed Hou Longtao’s arm. “Stop fighting, don’t cause trouble here.” Hou Longtao was beating up foreigners for the first time, especially those arrogant Americans, and was in high spirits when someone came to interfere. How could he let that go? He turned around and punched Boss Liu in the face, causing his nose to bleed.

The 110’s [Chinese emergency number] response was quite quick. The sound of sirens grew closer and closer, stopping outside the bar. Five or six policemen rushed in. Hou Longtao and his group had often dealt with the police before and were incredibly “sensible.” Before the cops could even speak, they had stopped fighting and consciously retreated several steps. The three foreigners weren’t so well-behaved, continuing to curse “Fuck” and “Damn” as they got up.

“Boss Liu, what’s going on?” The leading policeman walked over. They were from the Sanlitun Police Station and were familiar with the bar owners. “I don’t know, they were already fighting when I came out.” Boss Liu covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, pointing at Hou Longtao and his group, really wanting to push all the responsibility onto them, but he was a pragmatic person and knew it was wise not to antagonize anyone for the time being.

“What happened to your nose?”
“I got bumped.”
“See if there’s any damage.” The policeman turned around and suddenly recognized Hou Longtao’s face. Hou Longtao also recognized him. Both were stunned. “Hahahaha, Hou, you really have a knack for running into me.”
“Hmph, what a coincidence, Section Chief Yang.”
“Don’t, thanks to you, I’m just a deputy chief now.” It was Yang Lixin, who had been demoted a few months ago for “exceeding his authority and using torture to extract confessions.”

“Chief Yang, you know him? He is…” Boss Liu approached Yang Lixin, not usually being so deferential to the police. “Just a hooligan.”
“A hooligan? Isn’t he a criminal?”
“What criminal, I’ve dealt with him before.”
“He, it was him, he’s the one who punched my nose, this group came to my bar to cause trouble today.”
“Alright, then come back to the station with me to make a statement.”
“Okay.”

“Boss Liu, you’ve changed quickly,” Hou Longtao smiled coldly. “Your bar probably won’t be able to stay open.”
“Are you threatening a witness?” Yang Lixin took another step closer.
“No, no, I didn’t mean that, but you can’t just listen to his side of the story, right?”
“Of course not, you taught me, I have to enforce the law impartially, come with me, we’ll talk at the station.”

A policeman walked behind the tall foreigner and gently pushed his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t touch me!” The translator had already explained the situation at the police station, but this guy wasn’t afraid, turning around and pushing the policeman, leading his two companions and a “dog,” swaggering towards the outside of the bar. “I can walk myself, you dumbass Chinese.”
“Why are you so soft?” Hou Longtao pointed at the policeman who had been pushed. “The American devil is shitting on your neck, you’re really embarrassing.”

“Those two girls are with them too.” Boss Liu didn’t want to let anyone go.
“You come too.” Yang Lixin beckoned to the two girls. “What are you laughing at?” He saw Yu Qian’s carefree smile. “What’s wrong, are you not allowed to laugh if you look strange?” Yu Qian cheerfully slung her bag over her shoulder, took out her phone, and walked while dialing. “Hmph, delinquent girl, you’ll be crying in a moment.”

Because there were too many “criminals” and not enough police cars, Hou Longtao’s car was also used. Yang Lixin specifically chose the SL500, wanting to talk to Hou Longtao alone (I, “Wu Da,” “Er Dezi,” and “Horse Face” were last taken to the police station for fighting under the supervision of a “joint defense,” driven by “Er Dezi”). “Hou Longtao, you’ve run into my hands again, I won’t let you off so easily this time.”

“Haven’t you learned your lesson?”
“Of course, I’ve learned my lesson, I’ll handle everything according to normal legal procedures.”
“Normal legal procedures? For a simple fight, what can you do to me?”
“You think you’re still a minor? You’re fighting in a busy area, and you’re beating up foreigners, I’m going to make sure you have a record, your American company will fire you, no lawyer can save you.”

“I’m acting in self-defense, I should get a good citizen award.”
“Eyewitnesses aren’t so easy to find, don’t worry, you can’t turn this around.” Yang Lixin was confident, truly grateful that God had given him a chance to vent his anger. “Yang Lixin, Yang Lixin, when will you finally get it? I tolerated you the first time you provoked me; I had you demoted and your salary cut the second time; don’t you know that things don’t happen more than three times?”
“What do you think you are? I don’t believe I can’t deal with you.”
“You can try, but you’ll never succeed.” Hou Longtao had great faith in Yu Qian.

At the police station, the group was taken to the hall on the second floor to make statements. This wasn’t a formal interrogation, just a regular fight, so there was no need for isolation. Boss Liu was the first to make a statement, followed by the foreigners and the translator. The rest sat in the hall. “Damn, we have to sit here all night again, how many police stations have we stayed at?” Long asked, passing out cigarettes.
“Who remembers?” Hou Longtao took a cigarette.

“Of course, someone remembers, many kids are proud of it now.”
“Are you a kid?”
“No.”
“Then that’s it, hmph.” Hou Longtao pulled Yu Qian, who was sitting next to him, closer. “Baby, are you okay?”
“Don’t call me that, of course, I have a problem, you guys want to sit here all night, but I don’t, I’m sleepy.”
“Then find a way to get us out of here.”

At this moment, a Chinese man accompanied a foreigner in his forties or fifties upstairs. The two didn’t greet anyone and went straight into the open office, slamming the door shut. “Who are they?” Hou Longtao couldn’t help but wonder, noticing that the two newcomers were not only well-dressed but also had an air of authority, unlike ordinary businessmen. “Who cares who they are, Bush wouldn’t be useful here.” Yu Qian still looked like the sky could fall and she wouldn’t care.

“Please, everyone, rest in the conference room first.” Yang Lixin smiled obsequiously, sending the four foreigners and two Chinese men out. The deputy chief usually didn’t take statements, but he wanted to take charge today. “Zheng, quickly bring tea to the conference room.”
“Okay.” A policeman, not knowing who the important people were, hurriedly and nervously ran to get hot water like a restaurant waiter.

“Hey, hey, hey, is this how you do things?” Hou Longtao jumped up. He knew that the more trouble he caused today, the more chance he had to learn about Yu Qian’s real identity. “Do four people make statements together? You let them sit on the sofa in the conference room? And give them tea, are you running a hotel? Where’s our tea? What’s going on, Yang Lixin, have you started being a lackey for the American dogs?”

Yang Lixin was about to explode when the American old man spoke first, “Are you the one who attacked him?” He pointed to the tall American youth’s swollen cheek. “I didn’t, who the hell are you?”
“I’m his father.”
“The old fool?”
“Who are you calling ‘fool’?” The tall guy said, rushing forward with a punch.

Hou Longtao had been watching the other party out of the corner of his eye and was prepared for the sudden attack. He ducked, then landed a heavy uppercut on the tall guy’s chin. This time, the blow landed solidly, and the tall guy fell backward. If the people behind him hadn’t caught him, he would have fallen to the ground.

With the two starting to fight again, the hall erupted. Hou Longtao’s brothers swarmed forward, pushing and shoving the “four foreigners and two straights.” “Are you rebelling!?” Yang Lixin roared, and a group of policemen who had heard the commotion came to suppress Hou Longtao and his group. Boss Liu, who had been sitting in the corner, was terrified, not knowing what kind of person he had made an enemy of. He was either crazy, or had extremely strong backing, or was a crazy person with extremely strong backing. In any case, he wouldn’t have a good life in Beijing.

Hou Longtao and his group didn’t really clash with the police, at most pushing away the arms that the police extended, but this behavior was still considered a challenge to the authority of the police, especially in the police station. In addition, Yang Lixin fanned the flames, and several policemen had already run back to the office to get batons.

Seeing this situation, Hou Longtao and his group wisely retreated several steps, creating some distance from the other party. “Everyone squat against the wall!” Yang Lixin grabbed a baton and came at Hou Longtao. “Wang An, you’re too bold!”
“What do you want to do!?” Yu Qian suddenly rushed over, standing in front of Hou Longtao.

Yang Lixin was stunned at first, but when he saw that the person in front of him was a beautiful girl with arched eyebrows, he not only didn’t feel any pity but became even more angry. Not only did the man dare to oppose him, but even a delicate girl dared to glare at him, which was unbearable. He raised his left hand, pretending to slap Yu Qian. “You squat down too! Did you hear me!?”

With a “smack,” Yang Lixin was slapped in the face by Yu Qian. “What are you, daring to talk to me like that!?” This action stunned everyone, including Hou Longtao. He realized that this girl was a spoiled brat. “You… you…”
“What?”
“You dare to hit me!?” Yang Lixin finally came to his senses, glared again, and swung his left hand down.

Hou Longtao pulled Yu Qian, protecting her behind him, and grabbed Yang Lixin’s wrist. “Yang, are you a mad dog biting people indiscriminately? If you dare to touch a hair on her head, unless I die, you, your son, will be haunted by me for the rest of your lives.”
“Brother Tao.” Yu Qian stepped forward, a bright smile on her face, and grabbed Hou Longtao’s empty right hand, gently shaking it. “Damn, you dog couple!” Yang Lixin raised the baton in his right hand high.

“Yang Lixin!” A roar came from the stairwell. “How can you talk like that!? Do you even look like a people’s policeman!?” Two middle-aged men walked over. The one who spoke was Director Zeng of the Chaoyang Branch in police uniform, and the other was in his forties, wearing plain clothes and carrying a briefcase. “Director Zeng?” Hou Longtao left Yang Lixin and walked to Old Zeng. “How did you know I was here?”

“Huh? Longtao? How are you here?” Old Zeng was also surprised. He pointed to Yu Qian. “I didn’t come for you, I came for her.”
“Uncle Yu,” Yu Qian called to the man in plain clothes. She didn’t notice Hou Longtao’s conversation with Old Zeng. “Did my grandpa send you?”
“Yes, what happened?”
“That Wang An molested me in public,” the girl pointed to the tall foreigner. “This policeman wanted to hit me without asking questions, he only knows how to help foreigners, he’s a traitor.” She became more and more “aggrieved,” pouting her lips, almost shedding tears.

“She… she’s lying!” Yang Lixin was nervous. The branch director had come in person, instead of calling to order the release of the people, which showed the importance of the matter. The words “grandpa” were even more frightening, sounding like a powerful “old revolutionary.”
“Stop making trouble,” Old Zeng roared again. “Secretary Yu, what do you think…”
“Yu Qian, Director Zeng, let’s find an office to talk,” Secretary Yu pointed to Yang Lixin. “Are you the director?”
“The deputy director on duty.”
“You come with us too, the rest of you wait here.”

“What’s the meaning of this!?” The middle-aged foreigner was unhappy again. The Chinese man who came with him quickly walked over. “I’m Pang Yan, the translator from the American Embassy. This is Mr. Williams, the Second Secretary of the American Embassy. The people who were beaten are his son and his son’s friends. If there is any unfairness in your handling of this matter, we will lodge a formal protest with your Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the embassy. If this affects the relationship between China and the United States, who will be responsible?”

“What are you yelling about?” Secretary Yu walked up to the man and whispered a few words in his ear. “Go tell that ‘Second Secretary’ to be quiet and wait here for a moment. His constant fussing is hindering the work of the Chinese judicial authorities and may really affect the relationship between China and the United States. Don’t worry, the ones who will be responsible will definitely be you.”
“You… what do you do?”
“How about this, you come with us too.”

“Okay, okay.” The translator went back and whispered a few words to the “Second Secretary,” then followed the other four into the office. “Damn, that’s too exaggerated, right?” Liu Nan nudged Hou Longtao. “What does that girl’s family do? They’re not even afraid of the American Embassy.”
“I don’t know, but what’s so scary about the American Embassy?”
“Hmph, you, the people below aren’t afraid, but the people above are.”
“Give it a rest.” Hou Longtao threw a cigarette into his mouth…(Golden Scale is not a thing in the pool)