Chapter 105: Borrowing a Breath of Fragrance
The voice sounded calm but was laced with teasing. He Kai and his companions instinctively turned around. At the entrance of the late-night snack shop, a crowd had gathered—these were the people who had lined up and registered outside Old Huang’s store. More people than the labor company? For a moment, the twenty or so men were left speechless. One of them, sensing trouble, tried to slip away but was harshly stopped by Old Huang’s insulting grip on his ear: “The matter’s not settled yet, you can’t leave. Young man, show some patience.”
At that moment, Chai Jin took a cup from the side, filled it with water, and brought it close to He Kai’s flushed face. “Still dare to knock the cup out of my hand?” He Kai’s chest heaved with anger as he ground out through clenched teeth, “You brought so many people here because you want to—”
“Pfft!” Chai Jin splashed the water right onto He Kai’s face, pouring as he spoke, “Want what?” Then, holding the cup up again, he asked, “Still dare to knock the cup from my hand?”
He Kai bristled all over, like an enraged yet restrained lion. “Chai Jin, are you deliberately insulting me?”
“Pfft!” Chai Jin doused him again, and He Kai lost control, ready to strike. But Old Huang coldly warned from the side, “You dare lay a hand, just try.”
At those words, the two dozen thugs behind He Kai instinctively took a step back. They had only come to bluff, lacking the guts to actually fight.
He Kai forced himself to control his rage and finally ground out, “I advise you to have your men step aside so I can leave, or you won’t be able to bear the consequences.”
Chai Jin smiled faintly and casually placed a blanket before him. His smile was pleasant, but his voice was icy: “I’ve asked you twice already—do you still have the guts to knock the cup from my hand?”
His words, like a demon’s curse, sent chills down everyone’s spines despite the midsummer heat. Even Chen Ni on the opposite side was stunned by the murderous aura radiating from Chai Jin.
He Kai now realized this country bumpkin had no intention of letting him off easily. Sure enough, Chai Jin mercilessly splashed another cup of tea onto his face.
Old Huang, seeing Chai Jin still pouring water, the sly old fox, read the situation well. Laughing heartily, he said, “Seems like Mr. He’s a little lacking in sincerity.”
“In ancient times, one would carry a thorned branch to ask for forgiveness. We should carry on that noble tradition, don’t you agree?”
Liu Shan and Su Wenbin understood immediately. The two grabbed He Kai roughly, one delivering a swift kick to the bend of his knee while the other pressed down firmly on his shoulders to keep him still.
He Kai knelt before Chai Jin.
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Though He Kai’s eyes burned with murderous intent, he dared not argue anymore. After pouring another cup of water, Chai Jin brought it close once again. “Still dare to knock my cup away?”
He Kai said nothing.
Chai Jin shook his head. “Ungrateful wretch.”
Again, water splashed onto He Kai’s face.
Old Huang, seeing how stubborn this guy was, sighed. He grabbed a cup and held it before a burly man with a thick beard. “Brother, lend me a bit of your ‘fragrance.’”
“Fragrance? What fragrance?”
“Spit. Don’t waste time. When you do, make sure you include a beautiful curse from your heart, like ‘damn you’ or something.” Old Huang urged impatiently.
The bearded man understood immediately and spat into the cup.
Old Huang pinched his nose with one hand, holding the cup with the other, and moved on to the next. “Come on, brother, lend me some fragrance.”
“Spit!”
And so it went, Old Huang collecting spittle from the crowd while loudly instructing:
“The spit must be heartfelt, rich and potent.”
“How to make it rich and fragrant? First, take a deep breath and bring the scent from your nostrils up to your throat.”
“Then, channel your internal energy from your dantian to your throat in a sudden burst, creating an uncontrollable sound, ha!”
“Then, spit!”
“This kind of fragrance is the essence of the human body, understand?”
“Oh yes, this young man has great comprehension—he must have practiced qigong before.”
…
After going around, Old Huang had collected a large cup of this ‘fragrance,’ which he placed before Chai Jin with a grin.
“Chai Jin, use this cup of fragrance.”
“Wow!”
Someone nearby couldn’t bear it and rushed off, gagging while covering their mouth.
Not just anyone—Chai Jin himself felt his stomach churn.
Chen Ni also covered her mouth, feeling quite unwell.
Only He Kai was desperate, glaring at Old Huang as if he wanted to devour the old fox alive.
Suppressing his nausea, Chai Jin held the cup with one hand over his nose and brought it before He Kai.
“This is the fourth time I’m asking—do you still dare to knock the cup from my hand?”
“Heave!” He Kai couldn’t take it anymore, clutching his stomach and vomiting violently. But terrified that Chai Jin would splash this cup of ‘fragrance’ on him, he stammered between retches, “I don’t dare anymore, I’m sorry.”
“Just now, I was wrong.”
If it had been water, Chai Jin might have splashed him again without hesitation and called it done.
But this was the essence of the gods, and he felt utterly disgusted.
Even holding it gave him goosebumps, so he quickly set it aside and said, “Remember this lesson. Don’t think you can run wild outside the factory just because you’re used to it inside.”
“Outside the factory, you’re nothing. No one will give you an ounce of respect.”
Su Wenbin, hearing Chai Jin’s words, released He Kai.
He Kai didn’t care about anything else—he knelt there vomiting.
What made it worse was Old Huang’s sly, fox-like laughter echoing in the background.
It sent a chill down everyone’s spines.
Then the old fox deliberately bumped into the cup of divine essence, spilling it with a loud splash.
It poured right over He Kai’s head as he knelt there, dizzy and vomiting.
He Kai was stunned.
His vomiting was thunderous.
Many onlookers couldn’t bear it and also started vomiting wildly.
Chai Jin didn’t dare look at the cup of divine essence—he feared he might vomit too.
He glanced at the pale-faced Chen Ni. “Maybe we should leave. I can’t eat anymore.”
Chen Ni had long since reached her limit and nodded quickly as they headed out.
As the two walked away, Old Huang’s voice carried from behind them:
“Everyone, give yourselves ten slaps each and then scram!”
Who was Old Huang? This old fox of the small town was no stranger to scheming and trickery.
His methods of dealing with people were truly numerous.
Soon, the sound of many slaps echoed from behind.
Chen Ni and Chai Jin sat in a nearby park for a while.
During this time, Chen Ni gazed wistfully at the grand gate of Hongda Electronics Factory.
She sighed and said, “Before I came, I made many plans. I wanted to turn Hongda Electronics Factory into the largest OEM factory in Shenzhen.”
“But things didn’t go as hoped. It hasn’t been long, and I already feel an overwhelming difficulty.”