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Chapter 1399: Chapter 1246: Joy in the Picture (Please Subscribe!)
Thinking of this,
Xia Yuxing hurriedly stood up.
They’re all compatriots.
In a foreign land, if their own people just stand by indifferently, then whom can they count on? The Africans here? Bullshit, these people would love nothing more than to watch their spectacle.
Seeing this,
Sha Li and the others also put down their chopsticks.
And followed him outside.
Once outside,
Xia Yuxing saw several people standing at the door, all dressed in Hot Pot Restaurant waiter uniforms, and inside the Box, a man dressed as a Chinese chef was apologetically smiling at the African man of substantial size.
After surveying the Box,
Xia Yuxing couldn’t make out the cause of the commotion.
"What’s going on?" he asked one of the waiters.
The waiter turned his head, a look of anger appearing on his face, "Not only did they refuse to pay just now, but they also demanded what they called ’compensation for emotional distress’ from our boss."
"..."
Xia Yuxing was puzzled.
This kind of thing.
These people were capable of it.
But how did it become a matter of compensation for emotional distress?
"These are Immigration officials. Our boss was aware, so he treated them to this meal. However, as they were leaving, they said the hot pot was too hot and spicy, which could damage the stomach, so..."
Xia Yuxing’s mouth hung open.
Is that even possible?
Potential damage to the stomach.
Could they really start by demanding medical expenses? As for compensation for emotional distress, the waiter explained, saying that eating the hot pot made them feel bad, suspecting that there might be something like... witchcraft.
In any case.
A bunch of wild accusations.
And it led to the demand for compensation for emotional distress.
"Isn’t this extortion?" Xia Yuxing clenched his teeth.
"Exactly! We just moved here from Malawi and aren’t too familiar with the local situation. We didn’t expect the first troublemakers would be from the Immigration Bureau," the waiter said helplessly.
Malawi.
Located to the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It doesn’t border Congo Gold, instead it’s next to Mozambique, a small landlocked country. Being small means a smaller market, which is why, after considering various factors, their boss decided to move to Congo Gold.
Why not go to Mozambique?
Because there were too many others going there.
Mozambique is relatively much safer than Congo Gold, meaning there would be competition with other businesses; it’s a place where danger and opportunity coexist. Eventually, they saw in the news that Tang Qing was investing heavily in this area.
Their boss decisively chose Congo Gold.
Moreover, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo was going through a change.
Full of boldness.
Unexpectedly.
Just upon arrival.
They ran into this issue.
Boss Ma Peng was feeling unlucky. Before opening the restaurant, he had visited all the various departments with the help of a local Chinese, so there shouldn’t have been any major problems.
However.
He had overlooked this one thing.
But.
What does running a business have to do with Immigration? When entering the country, all procedures were complete, and they had even slipped some money. Does the mighty Huaxia have people who would smuggle themselves over here to be illegal immigrants?
How shameless!
However.
Something expected to be a non-issue.
Became an issue.
This guy.
Demanded a lion’s share.
A full two thousand dollars was his asking price. It’s hard to imagine why the Immigration here would be so audacious; nowhere else had he ever heard of an Immigration Bureau being so overbearing.
Two thousand dollars.
It was way beyond his psychological threshold.
Probably knowing that Chinese people prefer to keep things peaceful on important occasions, they chose the opening day to strike. Ma Peng tried reasoning in every way possible, but they wouldn’t budge an inch, not even for an offer of eight hundred dollars.
At this moment.
A crowd has gathered around the entrance.
Ma Peng grits his teeth.
"Valen, a maximum of one thousand dollars, not a penny more." His funds were tight right now; he had sent all the money he had made back to his family domestically, keeping only operating capital on hand and not keeping much else.
"No way, two thousand dollars, not one cent less, rest assured, this is just for this time. To use your Huaxia expression, it’s for peace of mind, and I guarantee this will never happen again." Valen whispered into Ma Peng’s ear with a light laugh.
In fact.
This wasn’t even his own idea.
But rather his subordinates’.
While eating, they got the urge to have some fun, find some amusement, and see the panicked looks on these Chinese. Whether they actually get the money or not, it’s a win if they do, and just fun if they don’t.
Life.
It’s all about finding joy, right?
"I don’t have two thousand dollars!" Ma Peng said angrily.
"If you don’t have it, you can ask to borrow it, can’t you? Being smart means using your head. Aren’t you Chinese people supposed to be very clever? Problems are meant to be solved, not questioned."
Valen spoke earnestly, imparting ’profound truths’.
In the past.
These were the words his superiors would say to him, and he would often repeat them to his subordinates, feeling they were quite ’philosophical’.
"..."
Ma Peng was speechless.
Now he’s lecturing me on philosophy?
Looking at Xia Yuxing and the others by the door, Ma Peng took a deep breath, "Tomorrow, come and get it tomorrow." If he were domestic, he might be able to just walk away barefoot, but here, he really didn’t dare.
"That’s more like it, I’ll come again tomorrow."
Having said that.
Valen left with several of his men.
They left the box, laughing and talking; since they had spoken softly, Xia Yuxing and the others hadn’t heard the specific details, but seeing Ma Peng’s expression, Xia knew that Ma Peng had compromised.
Once Valen had left.
Looking at the messy table and chairs.
Ma Peng slumped down with a sense of defeat, waving at the waitress at the door, "You all go ahead and get busy; I’ll clean up here slowly." His good mood from the grand opening was gone.
The waitress went to attend other customers.
But Xia Yuxing stayed behind.
He stepped into the box.
"Boss, don’t lose heart. Things will get better. One day, we Chinese will not be bullied in any country in the world," Xia Yuxing offered comfort.
It’s only after leaving the country.
That one realizes the value of their nation.
That one understands how important it is to have a powerful country.
Hearing this.
Ma Peng looked up and said with a smile, "Thanks, I’m fine."
"If you’re fine, that’s good. But you don’t seem to be in high spirits. Why don’t you come to our table and have a drink? However, don’t even think about giving us a freebie, we’re spending company money," Xia Yuxing invited.
"No, let’s have a drink next time I’ll treat you, brother," Ma Peng said as he began to clean up the table.
Seeing that Ma Peng was alright, 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Xia Yuxing prepared to go back.
"Brother Ma, are you in there?"
A voice.
Suddenly rang out from outside the box.
Hearing the voice, Ma Peng quickly composed himself and came out, while Xia Yuxing, upon seeing the newcomer, was startled, seeing the badge on the person’s clothes, a name came to mind.
--- Wan Qing Mining.
No.
It wasn’t Wan Qing Mining’s work uniform.
But rather the badge of the security personnel there, not just on the clothes, but those Hummers and military off-road vehicles all had similar large shield-shaped badges, which he could draw from memory, having seen them every day.
And it turns out, he also recognized the person.
--- Chu Sheng.
Back then.
On the way to the Wan Qing Steel Factory, he almost got robbed and was then saved by a local African. Afterwards, Chu Sheng and his group showed up and specifically got out of their car to inquire about the incident.
Isn’t Chu Sheng the captain of a team in the Security Department over there?
What’s he doing here?
