Chapter 688: Fermenting

"Look, look!" Zhang Zuo was very excited. "What did I tell you? This is Ye Jun's usual tactic: order the cheapest thing, occupy a table until closing time, and even calling the police is useless."

"A bit interesting." Zhou Andong chuckled lightly. "It's just that we have seven or eight hundred tables in this shop; these hundred-plus people don't amount to much, they don't really matter."

Zhang Zuo gloated and chuckled, "This is just a warning shot. If you don't compromise, tomorrow they'll intensify their efforts until you do."

"Oh!" Zhou Andong responded indifferently.

"Oh?" Zhang Zuo looked dissatisfied. "People are already slapping you in the face, and all you have to say is 'oh'?"

Zhou Andong glanced at this idiot and gestured around, saying to An Jing, "As long as these pieces of trash don't cause trouble, just let them be."

"I know!" An Jing nodded.

………………

The crowd watching the spectacle outside not only didn't disperse, but grew larger, as they all noticed the sudden appearance of those hundred-plus people.

"Old sister!" A middle-aged woman pulled another plump middle-aged woman aside. "Let me tell you something, but you mustn't tell anyone else."

The plump woman asked curiously, "What is it?"

The woman whispered, "You don't know yet, do you? Dicos isn't opened by foreigners; it's opened by us Chinese."

The plump woman was stunned, then widened her eyes. "Who did you hear that from?"

"Never mind who I heard it from, it's absolutely true." The woman smiled triumphantly. "Do you know why Dicos is being inspected?"

The plump woman's interest was piqued. "I don't know, tell me quickly."

The woman lowered her voice. "It's because McDonald's couldn't compete, so..."

The more the plump woman heard, the more shocked and angry she became. "That's too despicable."

"Don't shout!" The woman pulled at the plump woman. "Exactly. When I found out, I was furious, but even if we're angry, there's nothing we can do."

The plump woman, filled with a sense of justice, sighed. "If you ask me, this shouldn't be kept secret. We should let everyone know and stop going to McDonald's to eat."

"No, no!" The woman hurriedly stopped her. "You can't do that. I promised someone I wouldn't tell. I only told you because we're close."

The plump woman, full of righteousness, sighed. "Fine, I won't say anything."

The woman nodded in satisfaction. "I'm going back; it's time to make dinner. Are you coming?"

The plump woman shook her head. "I'll watch a while longer."

"Alright then!" The woman waved her hand. "I'm off."

Seeing the woman leave, the plump woman looked at the Dicos sign and the second-floor balcony.

What a great restaurant, and they even have free performances at night. Those bastards just can't stand to see others doing well.

The plump woman stood there gritting her teeth and cursing, while on the outskirts of the crowd, a middle-aged man was whispering to a few people around him.

Soon, a girl found the plump woman. "Mom, have you heard?"

The plump woman's heart stirred. "You aren't going to say Dicos is opened by us Chinese, are you?"

"You know?" The girl nodded. "I also heard..."

The plump woman interrupted her. "I know it all. Where did you hear it?"

The girl pointed at the crowd behind her. "Everyone is discussing it."

The plump woman was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Your Auntie Liu even told me not to tell anyone, but look, everyone knows."

The girl giggled, hugging the plump woman's arm, and whispered, "I heard some people are going to stand at the entrance of McDonald's and tell everyone who wants to go in to eat about this."

The plump woman's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea, I'm going too."

The girl glared at the plump woman. "Don't just repeat whatever you hear. Let's just watch the show, why get involved?"

"Silly girl!" The plump woman scolded. "Haven't you watched the news? Our country's national brands are all being acquired by foreigners.

Now, McDonald's can't compete with Dicos, so they're using these underhanded tactics to bring Dicos down. As Chinese people living in the capital, how can we not protect our own national enterprises?"

"Fine, fine!" The girl said dismissively. "You're very patriotic, alright?"

Just then, a man's shout was heard: "Let's go! To McDonald's! We must expose their conspiracy and protect our own national brand!"

"Let's go!"

"Let's go!"

"How utterly shameful."

"Must expose them."

In a flash, a large crowd left.

Zhang Zuo opened his mouth wide. "Where are these people going?"

Jian Qiu looked at Zhou Andong, a beautiful curve appearing at the corner of her mouth. "The bait you cast has been digested."

Zhou Andong hadn't expected it to be so fast. "Let's go take a look."

The group walked out and followed the crowd to the entrance of McDonald's.

These people were stopping anyone who wanted to go in to eat, telling them that Dicos was a Chinese brand and how shameful McDonald's was.

Zhou Andong watched and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "This is just the beginning; the real power will show tomorrow and the day after."

May 15, 1993, the 24th day of the intercalary third lunar month, Saturday!

At 5:20 PM, a flight from Hong Kong landed at Beijing International Airport.

Soon, Tang Bei led a dozen men and women out of the airport exit, and Jian Qiu waved.

"Over here!"

It had been nearly a year since they last met, and Tang Bei, once Wu Huilin's secretary, had truly grown.

Her long hair was tied in a bun, she wore a black women's suit, her slender legs were clad in black silk stockings, and she wore high heels.

Whether in temperament or bearing, she was a completely different person from before.

"Director Jian!"

"Director Jian!"

"Director Jian!"

"..."

Tang Bei led the group over, and they all greeted her very respectfully.

Jian Qiu nodded. "Let's go, the hotel has been arranged for you."

They boarded a small bus borrowed by Tang Lin, driven by Wu Chao.

"How about it? Have the press passes been arranged?" Zhou Andong asked Tang Bei.

Tang Bei nodded. "They've all been arranged."

Zhou Andong looked at the dozen men and women, ranging in age from their twenties to their forties.

"Did you brief them?"

"I did!" Tang Bei smiled confidently. "There definitely won't be any problems."

They arrived at the hotel and settled Tang Bei and the others in.

Except for Tang Bei, the others were visiting the mainland for the first time, so Zhou Andong arranged for them to eat roast duck.

There was nothing to do in the evening, so he took them to stroll around Wang Fujing. From afar, they saw that the entrance to McDonald's was packed with people.

Zhou Andong and the others walked over; there were two or three hundred people confronting the McDonald's staff.

Qiao Zhenghai, the deputy general manager of McDonald's, looked at the crowd opposite with an ashen face.

Last night, these people came to cause trouble, and he endured it, but he didn't expect them to come again tonight.

Qiao Zhenghai shouted sternly: "If you don't leave now, I'm calling the police."