Chapter 533: Strangers
In this Chinatown, the restaurants opened by the Pan brothers could be said to be known by everyone, and there were not a few customers who patronized them. But the restaurants opened by these two brothers were separate, and had a clear difference. The restaurant opened by the older brother only served Chinese people, and even the staff were Chinese, and he practiced a xenophobic policy. And the younger brother, on the other hand, believed in the principle that the customer is God, and treated both Chinese and foreigners equally. And this was also the beginning of the two’s divergence.
Pan Xinan’s eldest uncle was named Pan Yi. It was he who had brought people over to cause trouble at her old dad’s restaurant. For some reason, her eldest uncle disliked foreigners very much. Although he lived abroad, he disliked foreigners entering his restaurant very much. Because Yu Linna had entered Pan Xinan’s dad’s restaurant to be a chef, he had brought people over to express his dissatisfaction.
“Pan Yong, although I usually don’t care about you, you can’t hire a foreigner as a chef. You, a Chinese restaurant, to hire a foreigner to cook, do you think it’s appropriate? Our own Chinese things, on what grounds should others do it?”
The two brothers were confronting each other, their swords drawn, sparks flying. Pan Xinan’s dad was not flustered at all. He just stood there, and was not afraid of the few burly men his older brother had brought.
“She cooks well, and our customers like it. What’s the problem? Besides, she is also a Chinese person, not an outsider. On what grounds can I not hire her? I hired her because she is capable, so I hired her. Big brother, your restaurant and mine are not in the same place. I haven’t hindered your business. Is it necessary?”
“But she, she is not an orthodox Chinese person.”
“So what? Is there a problem? This is my own restaurant. It’s my business who I hire to work. To force me to drive this little girl away, where is your conscience? You can’t just exclude all foreigners just because of what the Americans have done to you.”
“What do you know?”
“Then what do you know about me?”
These two were standing there, neither of them giving way. A battle full of gunpowder seemed to be on the verge of breaking out. Pan Xinan, seeing that the two of them had no intention of reconciling for a while, simply stood up.
“Since you’ve brought all the people, then let’s go to the backyard. No one will care if we fight there. I’m enough by myself. If the few people you’ve brought lose to me, then please leave.”
“Niece, I don’t want to hurt you. Although you’ve practiced martial arts, it’s not good if you get hurt. And for a little girl, it’s not necessary to be like this.”
“Then you also said it’s not necessary to be like this, but you’ve brought all the people. In short, she is our employee. It is our freedom who we hire to work. If you’re not convinced, let’s have a fight in the backyard. The loser leaves.”
Yu Linna had been a melon-eating crowd all along, but in her heart, she was also sweating. This person was clearly trying to drive her out. This Chinatown, it seemed that there were still people who did not welcome her.
And Pan Xinan was not wasting her breath on her eldest uncle. She had her eldest uncle’s people go into the backyard and have a fight directly. Pan Xinan struck a pose, and then she started to fight directly. Yu Linna was watching this scene from outside the door. This fight was really like a big brawl. Pan Xinan alone was fighting against seven or eight people on the other side, and the other side were all strong and sturdy men, but Pan Xinan was really not afraid of them at all. One move, one punch, one kick, she fought with a proper manner. Looking at her posture, she had indeed practiced, and her martial arts were also very good.
This reminded Yu Linna of Nangong Ying, the one who had also practiced, and whose martial arts were also quite high.
A few minutes later, Pan Xinan was standing alone, clapping her hands. The few men on the other side had all been beaten down, holding the places where they had been injured and groaning.
“You’ve lost. Please leave.”
Pan Xinan was really amazing. She had originally thought that she was just an ordinary stunt double, but she had not expected that she was really quite good at fighting, and the kind that was ruthless when she fought. Seeing this, Pan Yi was also helpless.
“Niece, you’ve gotten better and better at practicing.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Let’s go.”
Pan Yi was helpless and could only take his people and leave. This time’s smashing of the place could only be hastily concluded. Although he still wanted to say something, in the end, he did not.
Pan Yong stood there, not saying a word for a long time. Afterwards, the Pan father and daughter had apologized to Yu Linna and had also asked for her forgiveness.
“No, you don’t need to apologize. This is not your fault.”
“But in the end, it was my eldest uncle’s people who came to cause trouble. We can’t get away from it. My eldest uncle is actually a good person. He won’t do anything bad, but he just doesn’t like foreigners very much. He lives in Chinatown. Although he will have dealings with Americans, his restaurant never serves foreigners. This time, he heard that my dad’s restaurant had hired you as a chef. He couldn’t hold his temper and came to the door. You also know, before you, our family’s restaurant had never hired other foreigners… ah, no, no, I was wrong. Before you, we had always hired Chinese faces, and had never hired a face like yours. So you don’t have to mind.”
“Not at all. In fact, I’ve been gossiped about a lot because of this face since I was little.”
Yu Linna said it was fine. In fact, she had experienced a lot of such things when she was little. Before, when she had first come to Guangnan, she had had no money and had to go out to work, and had been to many places. She had also experienced being driven out. Once, the boss’s wife of that shop had said that she did not want to hire a foreign devil and had directly thrown her out. Like today, she felt it was still okay. At least there were still people who spoke up for her.
“It’s just that I didn’t expect that there would be so many xenophobes abroad.”
Yes, this was something Yu Linna had not expected. She had originally thought that there were only examples in her home country, but she had not expected that there were also some abroad.
“There are xenophobes in every country. Although the whole world now says that there should be no racial discrimination, and that xenophobia is forbidden, in fact, there are xenophobes everywhere. Those who discriminate against Chinese, those who discriminate against black people, and even those who discriminate against white people, there are some everywhere. The newspapers say that everyone is equal. It sounds so nice, but in fact, this world has not achieved equality for all.”
Pan Xinan said with a wry smile.
That was not a lie. Yu Linna herself had seen many similar examples in her home country. For example, to discriminate against outsiders was just a regular operation. Some people simply did not bother with so much and would just label outsiders. In the last century, the Chinese were discriminated against. Later, there were also black people who were discriminated against. Now even white people were not spared. These people also had many reasons, saying that they had come to their country and had brought a bad influence. Actually, these were all very stereotypical impressions. Not all people of color were bad people. However, there were always some people who did not want to understand the truth, or rather, they were unwilling to understand.
“Xinan, then what will you do after this?”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine. My eldest uncle won’t do anything to me in any case. By the way, tomorrow our Chinatown has a chamber of commerce activity. A rich businessman will come to host the event and has invited us Chinese to perform. If you’re free, you can come and see.”
Pan Xinan had skipped this topic and had started to talk about other things. She had talked about tomorrow’s commercial performance in Chinatown. A rich businessman had hosted this event, had met with the Chinese chamber of commerce, and had discussed holding this event, saying it was to have a business cooperation. This performance was a way to deepen their friendship. Pan Xinan had been lucky enough to be invited up to perform Wing Chun. She had thought that it was a rare opportunity to perform and had invited Yu Linna to be an audience member.
Yu Linna thought that she had no major arrangements for tomorrow, and the restaurant didn’t necessarily need her all the time, so she agreed.
…
The next day, Chinatown was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers. The lion dancers were swaying, and the drummers were not to be outdone. The Chinese had set up the scene and were shouting there. Pan Yi, in his shop, saw this scene and sneered, his eyes full of disgust.
And Pan Xinan was already wearing a Tang suit and was preparing for work in the backstage. Yu Linna took the ticket that Pan Xinan had given her and entered the venue. She looked at so many Chinese people, and also some foreigners who had come to watch the fun, and thought to herself, This is indeed a Chinese home ground. To be here feels like being back in my own country. Chinatown itself was one of the residences of the Chinese overseas. It was also normal to see so many Chinese people in this place. It was just that these people might have been away from their country for too long. Some of their behaviors were slightly different from the citizens in their home country.
Yu Linna was thinking of where to go and see. At this time, she saw a white man in a suit, with a slicked-back hairstyle, his face oily, looking over here. He had a hint of confusion on his face, but he still walked over, putting on a kind look.
“Little friend, did you come alone?”
This man probably, like most people, had taken Yu Linna as a child. Although Yu Linna wanted to say something, she felt it was better not to.
“I came alone.”
“So strange. And your parents?”
“Eh… not here.” Yu Linna was not lying. They were indeed not here.
“Do you like it here? You should know what we are performing here. We will be performing kung fu next. You know, the kind of kung fu that Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan can do.”
“I know. I also like them very much.”
“Really? Me too. We have a lot in common.”
The man smiled, and then he looked at this little girl again, and actually felt very familiar. It was as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t say. He had dealt with so many people over these years. There would always be one or two who looked alike. He also didn’t pay much attention to it.
“My name is Eric. And you?”
“My name is… my name is Shion.”
“What a strange name? Is this a flower?”
“Yes.”
“It seems you are not willing to tell me your name. But it’s fine. We will have a chance to meet again.”
After Eric had finished speaking, he turned and left, continuing to go to the backstage to greet the people who were about to perform on stage. At that time, Yu Linna didn’t know why, but she was just not willing to say her name.
She had a sense of unease, an indescribable unease, and even a feeling, a very familiar feeling.
She vaguely felt that she seemed to have seen this person somewhere before. But in her heart, there was not a single bit of a sense of security. On the contrary, it was very fearful.
This person, on the surface, looked no different from an ordinary person, but Yu Linna felt that something was not right.
And Eric also felt a little strange. He always felt that this little girl was a little familiar, very strange. He couldn’t say where it was not right. This little girl looked very much like a movie star, and her face, and her aura, were really very familiar. Eric thought to himself that he might have been overthinking it. After all, this kind of thing was also common. It was just that he had a sense of unease, which was a first in so many years.
