7: Chapter 7 The key point is, I don't even have the surname Shi!

After finishing the miscellaneous shopping, it was already afternoon.

The two had returned to the storefront on Hejia Avenue. The storefront happened to be right behind the side of their crayfish stall.

Since everything was finished products, many items had already been delivered. Yang Shiguang was standing at the entrance of the shop, watching the workmen install the water tanks and unload the tables and chairs.

An Miaomiao, meanwhile, was staring at the sun chrysanthemum beside the bicycle, giggling foolishly.

His phone rang. Yang Shiguang picked it up and looked at the caller ID: "Catfish King."

"Hello? Boss Nian, what are your instructions?"

"Little President Yang, I have another batch of oysters here. Do you want them?"

Oysters weren't widely eaten in the mainland at this time, mainly due to the high cost.

With multiple middlemen involved from the origin to the mainland market and then to the merchants, the unit price was quite high.

However, for someone like Yang Shiguang who sourced directly from the farms, it was pure profiteering.

"Sure, just send them along with the crayfish."

It just so happened that the storefront was ready, and there was a grill for roasting oysters. That stuff was simple; just add some garlic paste.

Making extra garlic paste could also be used for garlic crayfish.

Just as both parties finished their friendly negotiation, You Ge arrived at the entrance on his beat-up tricycle, panting heavily and cursing.

"You bastards!"

"You two went shopping and left all the work for me to do alone!"

You Ge stormed over toward Yang Shiguang and An Miaomiao.

"Do you know how tired I am?"

"I'm scrubbing the crayfish alone, making the marinade alone, riding the tricycle alone, lifting the tanks alone..."

Yang Shiguang looked at him with an expression of disdain. Too lazy to listen to his whining, he interrupted him directly.

"Yes, yes, yes. Your 'solo insomnia, solo space, solo longing, and the picture of two people.'"

You Ge was stunned by the retort and stood there staring at them.

It really was a "picture of two people," damn it.

Then his gaze shifted to the pot of sun chrysanthemums in An Miaomiao's hands.

"Miaomiao, where did this come from? It's actually quite pretty."

"Shiguang Brother gave it to me. Isn't it pretty? And it smells so good too!"

An Miaomiao held the flowerpot with both hands. She pressed her cheek against it to smell the fragrance, looking blissful and even a bit boastful.

You Ge turned his head and glared fiercely at Shiguang.

"Where's mine?"

"Where's what?"

"The flower!"

"You want one too?"

"Why did you give it to her and not me? So, love will disappear, right?"

Shiguang walked quickly to the tricycle, grabbed a bunch of cilantro, and shoved it into You Ge's hands.

"Here, yours."

"You gave her a flower and you give me cilantro?! And I was the one who bought this cilantro, damn it!"

"Stop whining, just take it and get to work. We're about to open the stall. I'm going to check if the water tanks are set up."

After saying that, Yang Shiguang took An Miaomiao's little hand and walked into the shop, humming a song.

"Whose tears... whose haggardness..."

"Scattered all over the ground, the heartbreak..."

A roar came from You Ge behind them.

"#@&*#@!"

At 9:00 PM, business was still booming.

"Boss, give me 2 jin!"

"I want 4 jin!"

"Little sister, help me add another 3 jin!"

"I want 10 jin! Pack it up! And bring me 4 bottles of Budweiser."

"It's you again, you little brat! You buy so much every time that I can't get any!"

"First come, first served. If you're slow, practice more. Don't blame me, you trash!"

"Damn you, I've been here five days, and I haven't bought any for five days! Five days! Do you know how I've spent these five days?!"

"Little handsome, what's your phone number? After you close up, big sister will take you to Qiyi Road to go clubbing, how about that?"

"Little sister, you have great potential to be a star..."

"Want to buy some discs?"

Just then, two fierce-looking men walked over and stood in front of the stall, facing the three of them.

"New here? Do you know the rules?"

The guy with the bowl cut said viciously, holding a steel pipe.

"Have you paid the stall fee? If you don't, you might have some small trouble. Be smart!"

The bald guy who said this pointed a beer bottle at Yang Shiguang.

An Miaomiao was frightened; she grabbed the corner of Yang Shiguang's shirt with both hands and hid behind him.

You Ge had always followed Yang Shiguang in fights with thugs, so he was fearless. He grabbed a large soup ladle, ready to crack someone's skull.

The anti-organized crime campaign in 2007 wasn't very thorough yet. If it were the Yang Shiguang of his past life, he would have definitely rushed up and fought these two guys.

But now he knew these were just small fry. Offending them didn't matter, but he feared the people behind them. If he offended them, there would be trouble every day, and he wouldn't even know if he could keep the stall open.

Yang Shiguang patted You Ge, who had entered combat mode, signaling him not to be nervous. He put on a smiling face and said to the two thugs:

"Two brothers, I really don't know the rules well, and I'm new here. How much should I pay? I'll pay the full amount."

Seeing Yang Shiguang acting like a pushover, the two thugs thought about whether they should raise the price.

"Hehe, how about this: give us 500 a month, and we'll ensure you have no trouble."

"You damn..."

Yang Shiguang stopped You Ge, who was about to blow up, and prepared to take out the money.

"How can you be like this? This is too much!"

An Miaomiao, who had been hiding behind Yang Shiguang, couldn't help it anymore. She stepped out from behind his shelter, her voice soft and sweet but trembling with fear.

The two thugs looked over when they heard her. They were stunned for a few seconds by An Miaomiao's sweet appearance. When they came to their senses, lewd smiles appeared on their faces.

"Hehe, too much? Now the price has gone up. 2000 a month, or..."

Hearing his accomplice's words, the bowl-cut guy tacitly reached out to grab An Miaomiao, saying:

"Little sister, come chat with us brothers, and we'll take you to see the elephants."

An Miaomiao's pretty face was filled with anger and fear. Her trembling body caused the mist on her peach-blossom eyelashes to condense into beads, as if they were about to fall.

Seeing the trembling An Miaomiao, Yang Shiguang instantly reached out one hand and grabbed the bowl-cut guy's hand that was reaching for An Miaomiao.

The muscle memory from his past life infused his body. His biceps exerted force, he pulled back, and pivoted simultaneously, hoisting that arm onto his shoulder.

Then, clutching the opponent's arm tightly with both hands, he used his waist strength, bent his knees, and completed the move in one fluid motion.

"Ahhhhh! My kidneys!"

No one had reacted in time. In less than 3 seconds, the bowl-cut guy had been thrown by a perfect shoulder throw and landed by the trash can, howling like a ghost.

Yang Shiguang had actually held back a lot of his strength. If he had used his techniques from his past life, the bowl-cut guy would already be thinking about whether to buy a flip-top or sliding-lid coffin.

"You're looking for death, aren't you!"

The bald guy, having reacted, grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it toward Shiguang.

Shiguang slightly dodged to the side, slipped behind him, hooked his neck with one arm, and stomped on the back of his knee.

The bald guy also howled and fell to his knees on the ground.

Yang Shiguang clapped his hands and glanced at the two men on the ground.

"I can endure things for the sake of making a living, but if you bully my little sister, it'll only happen over my dead body!"

Instantly taking down both men, the customers eating crayfish and the passersby were all stunned.

You Ge was even more dumbfounded. He knew Yang Shiguang was good at fighting, but that was usually brute force. How could it be so fluid and skillful now?

An Miaomiao ran over, wrapped her arms around Yang Shiguang, and buried her little head in his chest. She tilted her head up slightly to look at him; there was no more fear in her peach-blossom eyes, only scorching, melting tenderness.

"What the hell are you doing!"

Suddenly, a roar erupted. A man with a pompadour, sunglasses, and tattoos covering his arms walked over, bringing three people with him.

"Brother Long! This kid won't pay the stall fee!"

"Yeah, Brother Long, look, my butt is blooming with pain. Isn't this just slapping your face!"

Yang Shiguang hadn't used lethal force, so the two thugs were actually much better, but they pretended to be in a lot of pain.

"Are you not ashamed? Get lost!"

Brother Long glared at the two and cursed loudly.

"Okay, okay, okay, Brother Long, we're leaving, we're leaving right now."

The two were seen scrambling away.

Brother Long didn't look at them again; he turned and walked over to strike up a conversation with Yang Shiguang.

"Isn't this Brother Shiguang? Long time no see. My little brothers are ignorant; it's all a misunderstanding. Forgive us, forgive us."

"What's the matter? You stopped being your protector of flowers and turned into a boss?"

Brother Long was the leader of this group of thugs.

He and Yang Shiguang could be described as having become friends through fighting.

In high school, when Yang Shiguang was still a simp for Zhang Zishan, they got into a huge fight because Brother Long took an interest in Zhang Zishan and spouted some dirty words.

Brother Long lost. It wasn't that Brother Long's combat power was too weak, but that Yang Shiguang's combat power was too strong.

At the time, Brother Long was still a bit unconvinced, and later he gathered a group of people to block Yang Shiguang at the school gate.

Unexpectedly, Yang Shiguang was not only strong in combat but also fearless; he fought like a madman.

His eye corner was split, his nose was broken, and covered in wounds, he still actively attacked, making the group of thugs afraid to step forward.

It was so brutal; Yang Shiguang was covered in bruises from head to toe, his face covered in blood.

It was this time that made Brother Long truly respect him.

Brother Long actually had a bit of underworld chivalry. After this, he went to find Yang Shiguang again, but not to fight; he invited him to drink.

"Isn't this Brother Long? What wind blew a busy man like you here?"

After saying this, Yang Shiguang weighed 8 jin of crayfish and handed them to Brother Long.

"What kind of boss am I? I'm just trying to make a little money with my family. It can't compare to your great cause of maintaining order on the street, Brother Long."

"Without you and your brothers, who knows what a mess this night market street would be."

"You guys have worked hard. It's on me today. Let Brother Long and the brothers have a taste."

Hearing Yang Shiguang's flattery, Brother Long was very pleased and smiled like a morning glory. He took out a handful of change and stuffed it into Yang Shiguang's hand.

"Hey, how can we eat Brother Shiguang's food for free? Money must be paid, keep the change."

"Let's go, let's try Brother Shiguang's crayfish."

After finishing, he took the three people who came with him and sat down at a small table.

If you show me respect, I'll return it tenfold. Seeing Brother Long pay, Yang Shiguang picked up four bottles of Budweiser and walked over.

"Brother Long, this beer is on me for the brothers. Don't pay for it; if you do, you're not giving me face."

Brother Long looked at Yang Shiguang and thought to himself.

This young man knows how to handle people, is worth knowing, and will definitely have a bright future.

Brother Long took the beer, opened two bottles by knocking them on the table, and handed one to Yang Shiguang.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you, brother. Come, let's have a drink."

Yang Shiguang also didn't stand on ceremony; they clinked the two bottles and started chugging.

After taking a big gulp, Brother Long looked at the beer bottle.

"Brother Shiguang, not bad. Isn't this Budweiser?"

"Yes, Brother Long knows it?"

"Of course. Don't look at me like that, Brother Long hasn't read many books, but I still have some culture."

"This beer is what upper-class people drink. Drink Supreme Budweiser, enjoy an upper-class life!"

"Who said that? What Xun? Zhou Xun! Right, Zhou Xun said it."

Yang Shiguang's eye twitched. There was no choice; he had to play along.

"As expected of Brother Long! Yes, that's exactly what Zhou Xun said."

...

After three rounds of drinks.

"By the way, I still don't know Brother Long's honorable name."

After drinking, Brother Long's heroic spirit burst forth.

"Haha, speaking of which, we have the same surname. It's fate! I have the same surname as you, Shi. My name is Shi Tailong!"

After finishing, Brother Long took another gulp of wine and continued:

"I'm older than you, so I'll take the liberty of calling you Brother Shiguang. Since I'm your defeated opponent, I can't bear the title of 'Brother Long.' From now on, Brother Shiguang, just call me A-Long!"

Yang Shiguang also took a sip of wine and cupped his hands.

"Alright then, I'll shamelessly call you A-Long. Cheers, A-Long!"

However, Yang Shiguang always felt something wasn't quite right.

Shi Tailong? Stallone? Emmm, although it was a bit hard to comment on, there wasn't anything wrong with it.

It wasn't until they were almost finished drinking that Yang Shiguang realized.

Damn it, I don't even have the surname Shi!