It was late at night, yet the rolling door of the noodle shop was wide open. From a distance, one could see sixty or seventy city inspectors, a dozen police officers, several uniformed officials, and a rumbling bulldozer parked in front of Emily’s family noodle shop, confronting Emily.
Emily, a literary young woman, had red-rimmed eyes and was trembling all over. She wore only her pajamas but stubbornly held her head high, a kitchen knife clutched in her hand. Before her stood nearly a hundred menacing men; behind her, Auntie Emily sat on the concrete floor in front of the door, wailing loudly. On her back was Emily’s younger brother, while across her lap lay a man with a blood-covered face—wait, wasn’t that Uncle Emily? How had he fainted?
Qiqi was startled and quickly moved closer. At that moment, she still held a thick wooden club in her hand, immediately drawing the attention of everyone present. Several men turned around and brandished their own weapons at Qiqi—oh, their clubs were even thicker than hers!
Seeing this, Qiqi hastily dropped her club and raised both hands, signaling that she was an innocent civilian.
Even so, a burly city inspector blocked her way. “Scram, scram. This is a joint enforcement operation by the city inspectors and health department. What’s a little girl like you doing here? Go stand aside.”
Qiqi was shoved to the side and, anxious, shouted over the human wall, “Emily! Emily! What happened to your dad?”
When Emily heard Qiqi’s voice, the fierce, resolute look in her bloodshot eyes shifted. Her family had suffered a sudden calamity. In the dead of night, while they were all sound asleep, a rumbling noise had erupted downstairs, followed by dozens of men barging in and smashing up their shop. Her father had rushed out to argue with them, only to be knocked to the ground with a club. She had initially thought they were thugs and grabbed a knife from the kitchen to defend herself, but when she got outside, she was told it was a joint operation by the city inspectors, health department, and commerce bureau. The reason: someone had reported her family’s noodle shop for using toxic flour.
Bah! The flour her father used for noodles had always been sourced through legitimate channels. The customers were all old neighbors, and her father always said they were like family—he would never use substandard ingredients. Even the flour they used for their own family meals came from the same bag. How could it be toxic flour?
Emily couldn’t understand it. But her mother had also been struck by the city inspectors and was crouched on the ground, sobbing as she held her father. Her little brother was crying beside their mother. Now, the only one who could protect her family was herself.
With that thought, Emily straightened her back, brandished the kitchen knife, and stood in front of her family’s noodle shop, like a bloodthirsty warrior guarding her loved ones. A young woman exuding such fierce determination startled the city inspectors, who dared not approach for a moment. Instead, they formed a human wall, glaring at her menacingly.
Qiqi’s arrival touched the fragile nerve in Emily’s heart. She was, after all, just a girl in her twenties, and her fear in front of a pack of wolf-like men was undeniable. Seeing Qiqi felt like an underground party member meeting their organization—her expression shifted, and tears as big as beans streamed down her face.
“Qiqi, quick, help me call the police! My dad was hurt by them…”
Qiqi quickly stepped back a few paces and pulled out her phone to make a call, but a fat man snatched it away. “Call the police? The police are right here! Gu Qiqi, what are you butting in for again?”