Chapter 117: Everyone Protests Together

“John, I’ve had guests at my house these past two days. How is George handling the matter of the auction for our Xiangshui Town?” Liu Heming asked after putting away the kitchen knife.

“Ah, it’s not going well at all,” John shook his head and said.

“George already called the State Government, and they just vaguely promised to think it over carefully. But news from his friends showed that they’ve already started preparing for the auction of Xiangshui Town.”

“George is trying to see if he can get the townspeople together for a protest by the roadside. It’s his last hope.”

“Protest? Will it help?” Liu Heming frowned and asked.

In the United States, protests happen everywhere. If you turn on the TV to any news channel, you’d see reports about them soon. Although there are many protests here, most are peaceful ones, not like the violent ones in South Korea.

It’s not like peaceful protests never turn violent, but those cases are very rare. Only for really serious problems do they get explosive.

Because protests are so common here—one group today, another tomorrow—many just end up being loud and then fading away. They don’t do much real good.

How many people live in Xiangshui Town? Even if you pulled all of them to the roadside for a protest, how much impact could they have? The most traffic there comes from truck drivers. Even if they wanted to help, they couldn’t make much difference.

“Whether it helps or not, we have to try our best,” John said very seriously.

“Look, George already brought the banner back. If you’re free, join in. You’re the true half-owner of Xiangshui Town anyway.”

Liu Heming nodded. Whether it helped or not, he had to be part of it. Like John said, keeping Xiangshui Town was best for him.

He went with John and George to the front of the Restaurant and set up the banner. They also put up a sunshade nearby. They couldn’t pick anywhere else—this was where the most people in town gathered.

“Lewis, sorry, but this might hurt your business a bit,” George said apologetically to Lewis.

“George, don’t say that. I don’t want Xiangshui Town sold either,” Lewis shook his head and said.

“Put the small protest flags on the Restaurant building. I’ll also tell passing truck drivers. If they help out, they can put a flag on their vehicles.”

Liu Heming didn’t just sit around. He took two small flags and placed them behind the Bear Kids, tying them on with cloth strips. They were part of Xiangshui Town too. After all, the town used to be called Bear Town, so they should pitch in for the protest.

Through this small action, Liu Heming finally saw how united the shabby Xiangshui Town was.

At first, it was just them out there. But within half an hour, more people started gathering. They were all people he knew, residents of Xiangshui Town.

Some might have thought selling Xiangshui Town was better for everyone, but caught up in the mood, they joined the protest too.

With so many people, it had some effect. At lunchtime, truck drivers who came to eat asked for protest flags to put on their truck fronts. But they’d only take them from the Bear Kids or Alex’s hands.

In handing out the flags, the two Bear Kids did a much better job than his own daughter. Liu Heming didn’t know if those kind drivers were just having fun or truly wanted to help. Why else would they take photos with the little bears after getting the flags?

“Boss, daily sales are still going up these days. I asked customers—many came because their friends told them about us,” Amelia said to Liu Heming.

“More customers mean more work for you. Give it time. If sales stay steady for about two weeks, we can decide whether to hire another worker,” Liu Heming nodded.

Sales at the Restaurant were much better than he expected. He thought it was just a temporary thing that wouldn’t last, but sales were still rising. No wonder Lewis looked so happy—he’d made good money too.

The protest was really just everyone sitting around and chatting. The banner already said what it was about, no need to tell people why doing this would help.

Today’s protest wasn’t on Liu Heming’s to-do list. So at lunch, there was a small problem—the Bear Kids’ food bowls weren’t in the car.

His own bear cubs were clean bears who brushed their teeth, but others might not accept them, even if they were cute.

There was no other way. Liu Heming got two dumpling bowls from the Restaurant and marked them to show they were for the Bear Kids only, so they didn’t mix with the customers’.

Alex waited at the outside table with the well-behaved Little Bears, looking cute for lunch. The truck drivers who came for lunch took photos with their mobile phones again.

He brought three bowls of dumplings. Alex’s bowl had fewer dumplings, while the Little Bears’ bowls were full. They had big stomachs, after all. A small amount wouldn’t do.

That wasn’t all. Liu Heming also gave his daughter a tomato and each Little Bear three more—lunch fruits.

For the townspeople’s lunch, Liu Heming waved it off and took care of it. Anyone who wanted dumplings or rougamo could get them from Amelia for free that day.

“Dad, today’s dumplings are really yummy. Have some,” Alex scooped a dumpling with a spoon and held it to Liu Heming’s mouth.

“Ahh!” Liu Heming opened his mouth wide and bit the spoon, making Alex giggle happily.

He savored it carefully. The flavor in the dumpling filling was indeed richer that day. It showed the boost from his Chef Title wasn’t fake.

But the rougamo tasted no different. Probably because the main ingredient, Master Stock, came from the System. So even with a skill boost, it couldn’t change the rougamo’s taste.

One man and one girl eating with two Little Bears at the same table was a beautiful sight. For many, seeing something like this was a first.