Chapter 148 Fireworks

The firecrackers outside the restaurant hadn't finished popping before Lily ran back inside to haul out a new box of them. Hao Ren was taken aback by the sight. He'd thought the husky might go a little crazy when he tasked her with buying the firecrackers a couple days ago, but now it seemed he'd been far too optimistic. The girl had clearly gone for an all-out siege when she bought those things—just how many had she gotten?

Lily's face was smudged with soot, but she was still grinning. When she heard Hao Ren muttering, she said cheerfully, "It's not often we get to play like this! Just think of it as celebrating Uncle and Auntie's return to modern society. Elizabeth, you wanna try?"

And so, the little demon girl was dragged into the chaos by a husky.

But while Lily and the little demon were having the time of their lives, Nangong Wudi glanced at the street with concern. "How come… nobody's come yet?"

Nangong Wudi's reminder immediately made Hao Ren realize something was off. He stood on tiptoe to look down the street, but saw only an empty road. There wasn't a single person drawn by the noise, let alone the neighbors Lily had promised would show up. Nangong Sanba frowned along with his father as he tried to reassure him. "It shouldn't be like this… At least someone should be here to watch the fun. Could our first day really be this unlucky?"

"I'll go check it out," Hao Ren said, waving to the Nangong duo as he headed towards the street corner.

But he hadn't gone far when he saw several figures slowly approaching, with the neighborhood's old Mrs. Li in the lead. Hao Ren hurried over to greet her, but before he could say anything, the old woman spoke in a measured tone, "I knew you were behind this ruckus—but why did you send Daquan to block people at the intersection?"

Hao Ren scratched his head, bewildered. After the old woman passed, the supermarket's chubby owner approached, as amiable as ever. "Lily told me all about it yesterday. Brought my wife along to show our support—but why did you send Daquan to block people at the intersection?"

Hao Ren knew this was the result of Lily's efforts: the girl ran around this neighborhood all day long and was already acquainted with everyone. The people in the southern suburbs mostly kept dogs, so Lily had been able to talk to everyone under the guise of being a vet. Yesterday, she'd used her dog-vaccinating rounds to tell the neighbors about the Nangong couple's restaurant opening. He sighed in his heart, thinking that the husky actually had her reliable moments, and cheerfully greeted the neighbors as they headed towards the restaurant. At that moment, another person came from the street corner, a young man who ran a mobile phone shop on the commercial street. "Yo, Brother Hao, here to show some support—say, why did you guys send Uncle Daquan to block people at the intersection?"

Hao Ren couldn't take it anymore. He cupped his hands in greeting to the neighbors. "Go on ahead, everyone. The restaurant's over there, where all the smoke is. You can go in after Lily's done with the firecrackers—I'm going to the intersection to see what's going on!"

He ran towards the street corner, but froze when he got there. He saw a hulking, fearsome brute standing in the middle of the busy road, with a circle of timid passersby and neighbors in front of him. The bald brute was grinning, revealing a mouth full of blood-red teeth, as he greeted people. "Come on over, come on over—what's with standing so far away?! Since you're here, come with me, you won't find another chance like this…"

With such a fearsome figure blocking the way, who would dare to pass? Some detoured, some watched from the sidelines, and a few even took pictures and posted them on Weibo from a distance. Hao Ren felt a headache coming on. "Old Wang! What are you doing here?"

The one "coercing" the passersby was none other than Izzax. He turned his head when he heard Hao Ren and smiled. "Lily told me to come out and greet the guests. I figured I wouldn't be able to stop many people at the door, so I might as well block them at the intersection…"

Hao Ren almost jumped up in exasperation. "I knew I shouldn't have let that husky come up with ideas! How did she even think of having you do this?"

Izzax scratched the back of his head. "Maybe it's because I'm more conspicuous?"

Hao Ren broke out in a cold sweat and quickly tried to dissuade him. "Old Wang, you should go back and watch the kids. Your daughter's having a firecracker contest with Lily. Don't let her blow up the house."

Things immediately improved after Izzax retreated. Before, the passersby had been timid, unsure what the fearsome figure was doing there. Only familiar neighbors who recognized Izzax's face or knew the situation dared to approach. Now that the road was finally clear, there were more pedestrians. Hao Ren sighed in relief as he watched more and more people head towards the restaurant, occasionally hearing murmurs like, "Doesn't look like a scam…" "Don't be silly, you read too many novels. There's no such thing as a scam here." "Then why were you hesitating just now?" "Of course, I thought there was going to be a fight…"

Hao Ren sighed, thinking that Lily's idea to have Izzax greet guests was truly genius. Didn't she realize that the latter standing in the road was more of an obstacle than an advertisement…

And so, in this almost chaotic state, the Nangong couple's small restaurant finally opened.

Hao Ren shook his head as he returned to the restaurant, finding that Lily had finally finished setting off her two large boxes of firecrackers. Now, she was leading little Elizabeth down the street, picking up the duds to light. The gunpowder smoke in the street hadn't dissipated yet, and in the swirling haze, only the restaurant's door was vaguely visible. Nangong Sanba and his sister were guiding the neighbors into the restaurant. Hao Ren couldn't help but sigh at the sight. "…Looks like the South Gate of Heaven…"

Elizabeth ran over with a firecracker in her hand. "What, what?"

"Saying a certain husky went too crazy with the firecrackers!" Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "Why is there so much smoke?"

Elizabeth jumped up and down, waving her hands. "I used sulfur fire to light the last half-box of firecrackers all at once!"

Hao Ren immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Before he could marvel that the house hadn't been blown away, he heard the little demon girl continue excitedly, "These firecrackers are so fun! Uncle Ren, you said the New Year is even more lively than this? The crackling is so exciting!"

Hao Ren gritted his teeth. "Next time I'll take you to the Middle East, so you can hear your fill!"

At that moment, Vivian pushed open the restaurant door, emerging as if through clouds. "Had enough fun outside? Come in and help!"

On their first day of business, the Nangong couple, who had never done anything like this before, seemed a little flustered. And no one had expected that Lily's calls would bring so many supportive neighbors. While they were touched by the strong sense of community in the southern suburbs, they were also a bit overwhelmed by having a group of makeshift helpers. As soon as Hao Ren entered the restaurant, he saw Nangong Wuyue running between the tables with a tray, shouting, "Table three wants another cold dish, anything will do… Table four wants to pay! Is table two's noodles ready yet? Oh, oh, table one's dried bean curd with meat… Ah? Not that? Why don't you settle for that, dried bean curd with meat is pretty good too… Who ordered the Kung Pao chicken? Which table ordered the Kung Pao chicken? If nobody wants it, I'll eat it…"

Lily happened to walk in at that moment and immediately shouted, "Don't be busy, don't be busy, I'll help you eat it!"

Hao Ren stared in disbelief. "…Can this restaurant really stay open…"

A voice came from the side. "They are, after all, free and undisciplined creatures. Running a restaurant would probably be like this."

"Not necessarily, I think Vivian works quite steadily… Huh?" Hao Ren subconsciously replied, but suddenly realized something. He turned his head and saw a man and a woman sitting at a table next to him. The man was wearing a somewhat unfashionable suit, and his appearance was unremarkable, looking like an ordinary office worker. The woman had a blank expression on her face, and the most striking feature on her face was a scar. Although she was quite pretty, the scar, combined with her seemingly expressionless face, made her look a little strange.

Hao Ren was shocked. "You two…"

"Don't react so strongly," the man in the suit said with a smile, waving his hand. "We're just passing by and joining in the fun."

Hao Ren: "…What were your names again?"

The scarred woman, who had been sipping her drink coolly with a blank expression, suddenly choked and coughed. "Cough, cough…"

"Liu Sheng," the man in the suit said, pointing to himself with a wry smile, and then pointing to his female companion, "Zhao Xi. As expected of someone who does great things… So forgetful, you didn't even remember our names."