Chapter Thirteen: The Curtain Rises on a Good Show

“You think you can change the rules of Old Street?”
“Young as you are, you certainly have some nerve!”
“I think he’s just arrogant beyond belief!”
“With that delicate look of yours, can you even handle a wok? Aren’t you afraid of spraining your arm?”
“In short, this isn’t the place for you to show off—either keep the old prices or pack your things and leave!”

A barrage of jeers exploded from the crowd.

“Everyone, I apologize, but this matter has nothing to do with Li Can. It’s my fault for not discussing it with you all in advance.” Seeing Li Can become the target of such hostility, Su Rui was flustered and hurried to explain.

“No need to defend him, Su Rui. I know your character well—you’d never make such a reckless decision.” With one sentence, Zhao Gang deftly shifted the blame back to Li Can, drawing a chorus of agreement.

“That’s right, Boss Su is always steady and reliable, she has everyone’s respect.”
“Exactly. I always tell my restaurant’s staff to learn from Xiao Su’s way of handling things.”
“If only my son weren’t still in high school—I’d have him marry Boss Su right away.”
“As if you’re the only one with a son!”
“Hahaha…”

Despite the chorus of praise, Su Rui felt only mounting embarrassment. She hurried over to Li Can and whispered in a voice meant for only the two of them, “Li Can, this is all my fault. I happened to mention the idea of raising prices earlier, and Zhao Gang blew it all out of proportion—claiming you wanted to break Old Street’s rules and bringing all these restaurant owners into it.”

“Su Rui, you’ve put up with him for a long time, haven’t you?” Li Can asked, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.

“Uh…” Su Rui hesitated, then lowered her voice even further, “If he didn’t have some influence here, I wouldn’t bother with him at all. Honestly, what a piece of work. Always flaunting that fake gold watch in front of me, as if I don’t know it’s a knockoff. And now everyone thinks there’s something between us—how am I supposed to look people in the eye? Have you seen that gaudy shirt he’s been wearing? At least two weeks, and it reeks—I almost gagged just now! And…”

Su Rui wanted to continue, but she saw Li Can looking at her with an enigmatic smile. She couldn’t say why she felt comfortable confiding in him; perhaps it was that his gaze lacked the usual calculation she saw in others. Sometimes, venting her venom like this… actually felt rather refreshing!

Li Can understood the difficulty Su Rui faced. For a young and attractive woman to start her own business in this chaotic place took immense courage, required enduring unimaginable pressure, and demanded more effort than most could give. What an interesting woman.

“Li Can, maybe you should lay low in the kitchen for a while. Let me handle things out here,” Su Rui suggested.

“Some things can’t be avoided forever,” Li Can shook his head. “If you want to set new rules, you have to break the old ones—and that’s a task only I can do.”

“Su Rui, do you trust me?”

She hesitated, then nodded subconsciously. To be frank, it’s hard to earn trust before you’ve accomplished anything. Yet she chose to believe in Li Can—not for any particular reason, but simply because of the confident smile he wore, imbued with a persuasive charm.

“Then leave the rest to me.”

With that, Li Can stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before resting on Zhao Gang. “You have a problem with the way I’m changing the prices?”

Caught off guard, Zhao Gang was momentarily at a loss, but quickly recovered. “It’s not just me—all of us do.”

“Kid, don’t waste your breath here. If you insist on breaking the rules with these ridiculous prices, we will unite and boycott you,” a portly middle-aged man added.

“Boycott me? The lot of you?” Li Can’s voice was calm but sharp.

His words sent a jolt through everyone present—even Su Rui hadn’t expected such defiant boldness. She had braced for conflict, but not for this kind of audacious challenge!

“What a brash little calf, unafraid of tigers! Who gave you the courage to speak to us like that?” the portly man said, laughing in anger.

“Faith… from Liang Jingru,” someone in the crowd murmured, setting off a ripple of laughter.

“Don’t waste your energy on an inexperienced upstart,” Zhao Gang waved dismissively. “So you’re really determined to break the rules?”

“And what if I am?” Li Can countered.

“Fine, fine, fine.” Zhao Gang repeated, then turned to the swelling crowd. “Everyone, this kid plans to raise the price of shredded pork with garlic sauce from sixteen to fifty-six yuan per serving. Do you think that’s reasonable?”

Li Can saw clearly that Zhao Gang was fanning the flames, preparing to paint him as a greedy, black-hearted businessman. But he chose not to defend himself, watching coldly instead.

“What? A forty-yuan jump? Is he out of his mind for money?”
“Does he think his customers are fools? Are we blind to prices when we eat?”
“Utterly delusional. Fifty-six yuan per serving? Whoever wants it can have it—I’m not eating here!”
“Me neither! In fact, I’ll tell everyone to boycott this place!”
“Boss Su is usually so nice—why did she hire such a shameless chef?”
“Fire him, Boss Su!”
“Yeah, get rid of him! We’ll keep supporting your business.”

As the crowd grew more agitated, Su Rui felt a pang in her heart but said nothing. She simply watched Li Can’s tall, unyielding figure, silently praying for a miracle.

“See? That’s the voice of the people,” Zhao Gang sighed, shaking his head. “Face reality—if you insist on this, you’ll only ruin Su Rui’s restaurant and destroy the reputation we all worked so hard to build.”

“That’s not quite right,” Li Can replied indifferently. “The only thing that can ruin a restaurant’s reputation is the restaurant itself. If you can’t perform, do you blame the restroom’s feng shui?”

“Sharp-tongued, aren’t you?” Zhao Gang lit a cigarette, looking smug. “Fine, then. Let’s see which fool is willing to be cheated today!”

He already had a plan: as soon as a customer arrived, he and the other owners would tell them the real cost of the dish. Surely, there would be a spectacle worth watching.

“Boss, I’ll have an order of shredded pork with garlic sauce.”

But before Zhao Gang could finish his sentence, a gentle voice called out from the edge of the crowd. For a moment, it was as if the sharp crack of a slap echoed through the air…

(To be continued…)