Chapter Ninety-One: The Skinner of Zhou

Juxiang Pavilion specialized in barbecue, and also served stir-fries and all sorts of snacks. Business was excellent.

People came and went in a constant stream.

The dining room was spacious as well; at a glance, there were at least a dozen large tables.

The owner of Juxiang Pavilion was a short, stout middle-aged man with a pair of tiny eyes nearly buried in folds of fat. His name was Zhou Haitao.

The moment he saw Shi Qingqing and her mother step inside, impatience crossed his face.

“Boss Zhou, business is booming!” Shi Yufen greeted him politely.

“Shi Yufen, what are you doing here? You’ve been sickly every few days, and I already told you there was no need for you to work here anymore. We’ve hired someone else,” Boss Zhou said with open disgust.

Shi Qingqing cut in, “We’re here to collect the wages Boss Zhou still owes us. Your business is doing so well, so there shouldn’t be any cash-flow problem. Pay my mother what she’s owed, and we’ll leave. I promise we won’t even spare another glance at Juxiang Pavilion…”

She looked around. At the moment, Juxiang Pavilion was packed with distinguished guests, and more diners were still lining up outside.

This Zhou Haitao was as black-hearted as they came, utterly lacking in decency, and yet he was making such good money. Truly, heaven had gone blind.

“What wages does she still have left? Miss work once, deduct a hundred; miss work twice, deduct five hundred; miss work three times, deduct a thousand. Your mother’s wages were already docked to nothing long ago…” Boss Zhou’s tiny eyes flashed with calculation, his tone smug and matter-of-fact.

Shi Yufen was furious. “Boss Zhou, a person should have a conscience. How can you do this? I’ve worked here for three months and hardly ever taken leave. This time I was genuinely ill…”

“So what if you were ill? I don’t need weaklings here. And you don’t even have a health certificate. It’s already generous of me to have used you. Feeding and housing you for three months was more than enough kindness.”

Zhou Haitao had clearly decided the two of them had no backing and was determined to stiff them.

Shi Qingqing had already dealt with him once before, and she had a rough idea of his nature. Unlike her mother, she did not lose her temper.

She moved to shield Shi Yufen behind her. “Mom, don’t get yourself worked up and fall ill. Let me handle this.”

Shi Yufen clutched her chest. Blood rushed upward, making her heart race and her breathing erratic. Obeying her daughter, she sat down on a chair nearby and said no more.

Shi Qingqing looked around Juxiang Pavilion again. The place was bustling and prosperous, yet the owner was so utterly shameless. If only someone could punish this black-hearted boss properly.

Hm?

Bustling and prosperous?

Then the opposite would be…

Desolate and empty?

Shi Qingqing’s spirits lifted. She wondered whether that might work here.

More customers meant more business, after all. If this place became deserted, with no one coming in, then what kind of money could that skinflint Zhou make?

Ha ha ha…

At worst, if they could not recover the wages, she would at least vent this anger.

Though she was making plans in her heart, her face showed nothing.

Instead, she looked indignant. “If you deduct like this, then when people work for you, won’t they end up owing you thousands in the end? Boss Zhou, that’s not what you told me last time. You said the wages would be paid in a couple of days…”

Zhou Haitao snorted coldly and stepped forward to drive them out. “Enough nonsense. Don’t interfere with our business. Idlers and irrelevant people, get out.”

Shi Qingqing nimbly dodged away, slipping past his shove. Last time, he had been the one to kick her out.

“If you don’t pay my wages today, I’m not leaving!”

Shi Qingqing sat down on the large stool beside her mother and began looking around idly.

Just then, another large group of customers surged in through the door.