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He Xinglong had been given special permission to leave training early that evening to help his father prepare the restaurant for the following day. It wasn’t usual for him to do that, but they were preparing for a very important visitor. For the past year a food critic had been visiting different restaurants in their city and writing reviews on a very successful blog. A good review could improve business, a bad review saw a few restaurants close within months. While his father, as usual, told him not to worry about it and keep to his usual routine at school, Xinglong knew that one evening of training would not make or break his performance, but could make or break the business.
They had faith that everything would be okay. They used high quality ingredients and had excellent hygiene practices, as well as his father having decades of experience and always pleasing customers. If everything was as normal then everything would be okay.
The restaurant was closed when he arrived home. His father was wiping down the tables and putting the chairs up ready to clean the floors. Being a good son and wanting to help in any way he could, Xinglong eagerly joined him and between the two of them they had the place sparkling clean in no time. They still stayed later than was usual, and the dark nights sky revealed that, but it wasn’t so late that a good night’s sleep would be impacted. His father grabbed his coat from the back room and they started to leave.
Then there was a loud bang, shortly followed by the noise of glass shattering and landing on the floor. After a further three loud bangs they heard the door fly open and then the regular charm to let them know that a customer had arrived alerted them to the fact that they were not alone, but it was not a customer. There were voices. At least three. They laughed and spoke with each other casually, arguing over which of them got to destroy which tables and who was the more destructive force. They made a competition of it.
There were three intruders, so they were outnumbered, not to mention that his father had a bad back and would be even more vulnerable if they were to end up in a fight. Confronting them would be disastrous. Without saying anything, Xinglong and his father backed into the staff room, out of sight.
He had his phone in his coat pocket so they could phone the police. He whispered their location and that at least three people had broken into the restaurant and then handed his phone off to his father. The voices were getting closer and the bangs had changed in nature. It was no longer dull thuds of boots crashing against wooden tables, they were the high-pitched clang of metal hitting against metal.
The intruders had gotten into the kitchen. The tables and chairs could be easily replaced, but the stoves and equipment were very valuable and the slightest damage in the wrong place could put them out of commission.
There was also his father’s knives. They were expensive. As far as knives go they weren’t the most expensive, but were definitely high quality. But it wasn’t their monetary value that mattered. His father took him with him to buy those knives when he was just a child, intending to hand them down when he retired. They weren’t just knives, they were a symbol of everything his father had worked for, all of the hours slaving away in the hot kitchen, all of the burns and scars on his hands, the pain he put his body through to make a living and pass that on to his son.
‘Stay here,’ his father insisted, grabbing him tightly by the forearms. ‘We have insurance. Whatever they break can be bought again.’
‘What about the review tomorrow? If they damage our ingredients then we’ll never be able to cook for them.’
‘Forget about the review!’ his father hissed. He was a gentle and kind man. He very rarely got angry or raised his voice. The only light there was to illuminate his face came from a dimmed phone screen, counting the seconds that go by while the line to the police is open. His father was terrified and Xinglong had never seen him so upset. ‘You need to stay safe.’
‘Who’s there?’ came a voice through the door.
He Xinglong froze. His father did the same. The clattering and banging stopped. Xinglong knew exactly which pan was responsible for making the lingering ring of metal on tile as it rolled around the floor. It was the big one they used to roll the goose in seasoning.
‘It’s probably nothing.’
‘No. I heard voices. Someone’s here.’ Footsteps marched towards them, not at all concerned to make noise while Xinglong barely dared to breathe lest it alert them to his presence. ‘Do you think the old man is still here?’
‘Maybe he stayed late to make the place extra nice for the critic tomorrow,’ one of them jeered. ‘Lot of good that did him.’
‘Old man? Is that you?’ Another voice taunted. ‘We’ll find you sooner or later. Why don’t you come out and say hello?’
Xinglong swallowed and held his father tightly by the arms, the both of them listening as the sound of footsteps neared. By the time the intruder stepped on the creaky plank just outside of the staff room they both knew that they would be found. His father looked him in the eyes, pinning him in place. Then he grabbed the door handle and without hesitation, opened it as little as possible so that he could slip out and close the door behind him.
Xinglong stared at the handle while he listened to their conversation.
You need to stay safe.
The noise began again in earnest. They would laugh and cheer as they pointed out a specific ingredient and asked what it was used for. His father answered them honestly and proudly, but there was no escaping the hitch in his voice whenever they threw down that ingredient, sending more sound waves into the air. The sharp sound of metal became less and less crisp as they progressed and there was food on the floor to cushion the blow of pots and pans, so they began to fling the smaller tubs for spices and herbs against the wall. The ones that were in glass shattered. The entire kitchen would be contaminated.
You need to stay safe.
‘What do you think now? Not going to be able to cook for your special review tomorrow, are you?’
‘No. No, we can’t,’ his father answered immediately.
‘Good.’
‘Yeah. Better just give up and pack the whole thing in. At your age it’s about time you hung up your hat, don’t you think?’
His father was silent.
You need to stay safe.
‘Don’t you think that you should quit?’ the man insisted again.
‘I won’t quit,’ his father said resolutely. ‘This restaurant is my legacy. You can break all my tables and throw out all of my ingredients, but so long as I am able to cook, I will be here. I will keep our kitchen going until I can give it to my son.’
One of the guys scoffed. ‘Guess we’ll have to make you unable to cook then,’ he said nonchalantly. ‘Grab his hands.’
Xinglong burst through the door. ‘Do not hurt my father.’
The regular line up at Yu Qing was missing one person. Their coach announced at the beginning of training that Xinglong was in the hospital and though he was likely to be released that evening he would be unable to train for the next week. Training that night was somber and everyone itched to call on their friend and see with their own eyes that he was alright.
Yan Zhiming was quick to find answers to the burning question on everyone’s minds. ‘According to an article published 3 hours ago, “The restaurant was broken into. Three men fled the scene and father and son were taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital. A police investigation is under way.” It sounds serious.’
‘We need to go and see him,’ Qiao Chen insisted.
Siyang shook his head. ‘His father may be with him. He won’t appreciate so many people in his hospital room. Dachi and I will go.’
Dachi nodded. ‘We’ll let you all know what he says.’
He Xinglong was a very lucky man.
Years of Taekwondo as a kid had instilled in him a level of muscle memory that was very useful when backed into a corner. The people he was facing clearly had no formal fight training. Xinglong was also very fit and athletic. He had the advantage of stamina and strength. If he was defending himself against one average attacker, possibly even two, he would have no trouble. Against three and he was at a substantial disadvantage, but if it was against three while trying to protect his elderly father then he had his back up against a wall. However, he knew the layout of the restaurant like the back of his hand, so while his opponents struggled to see and banged into cabinets, he could navigate it effortlessly.
He put up a good fight, but when the tallest, strongest man of the trio grabbed a frying pan and raised it above his head, poised to bring it down and hit his father in the face, Xinglong was too far away to stop the swing. All he could do was throw himself in front of his father and hope that his skull was thick enough to withstand the strike. He was young and fit, his father was old and already feeling the pains that came with that. If he survived it his recovery would be long and painful. Xinglong couldn’t bare to see that happen to him.
He fell forwards against his father after losing consciousness, and while Mr. He’s panic increased he shouted at the young men with their faces covered, asking whether they were happy that they might have killed his son. He was a proud man, but the source of his pride was his brilliant and caring son. The same son that laid unconscious in his arms because three men made a target of their little family business.
With the seriousness of the offense magnifying tenfold to potential murder, the men scarpered.
Xinglong woke up in an ambulance with a paramedic shining a torch in his eyes. The blinding light was the first pain he felt. Soon he became aware of the bruises he had on his arms and chest from all the blows he took, but they took a back seat to the immense pain he felt at the back of his head. He winced and tried to touch it, but his hand was held tightly by his father, who would not let him go.
‘Oh you silly boy,’ he said fondly, squeezing his hand even tighter for just a second. ‘My brave boy.’
He Xinglong chuckled and instinctively went to rub the back of his neck, before realising that was a poor decision, both due to the broken rib he had as well as doctor’s orders not to touch his head and neck unless strictly necessary. ‘I’m fine.’
‘But you might not have been. You heard what the doctor said. You were lucky. They could have killed you!’ his father scolded. Still, despite being told off for his behaviour, all he could feel was his fathers love and anxiety over him. He knew than any anger his father felt was not directed at him, but at the situation, and only proved how much he cared about him.
‘I’m fine, but it would have been a lot worse if they hurt you,’ Xinglong reassured him. ‘How would we run the restaurant if they hurt you? You haven’t taught me all of your secrets yet.’
His father sighed. ‘And without you, there would be no reason for me to run a restaurant.’
He Xinglong let his mouth fall open slightly in shock. He looked down at the floor. ‘We’ll both be fine after some rest.’
His father smiled at him softly.
A knock on the door pulled them from the moment. They were expecting a doctor to do their final checks soon to approve them to be discharged. ‘You can come in.’
It was not a doctor, but the captain and vice-captain of Yu Qing tennis team. Dachi had a bouquet of flowers in his hands. ‘Captain. Dachi.’ Dachi smiled widely at him. Siyang gave him a nod.
‘We came to see how you are. Everyone's been worried about you two. The news said that there was a break in and the police are involved,’ Dachi said kindly.
‘I’m fine.’
Mr. He shook his head. ‘He was hit in the head with a frying pan and has concussion. The doctors might let him out tonight, but they might want him in longer because he was unconscious for a while.’
‘I’m fine, really,’ Xinglong insisted.
‘And how are you?’ Siyang asked.
Mr He blinked in surprise. ‘Me?’
Siyang nodded. ‘The team was worried when we heard you were both injured.’ Their primary concern was their friend, but Mr. He was also injured that night and there with them in the room so it was only polite to ask about him too. They were just being polite.
Mr He smiled. ‘A few scrapes and bruises but I’ll survive. He made sure that they didn’t hurt me.’ He patted Xinglong’s arm fondly, then busied himself finding a vase to put the flowers in.
Xinglong was required to stay in hospital for another night.
He was released the next afternoon. Siyang and Dachi helped by carrying his bags and making the journey home as simple and seamless as possible. Xinglong was fine to walk by himself without help, but minimising the strain he was under was appreciated.
He was feeling so well that he insisted that they go to the restaurant. Dachi and Siyang approved of it, encouraged it even. His father pushed back on the idea a few times, but he couldn’t deny that he needed to see the state of it and he was in no position to refuse his son when he was equally as affected that night. He let him come with him, but made him promise that he wouldn’t try to fix anything or clean when he was freshly out of the hospital.
Cleaning and fixing wouldn’t be necessary.
When they got there it was suspiciously normal.
While the glass pane in the door was broken, there was no shattered glass on the floor either inside or outside. Some of the tables were broken, but their legs had been taped together in a makeshift fix that at least let them stand upright under their own weight. There was no pile of poultry rotting in the middle of the kitchen after two days of being left out in the summer heat unrefrigerated. The whole place was spotless. There were no herbs and spices littering surfaces like there should have been given how many were thrown around that night. Even the pots and pans that were thrown out onto the floor had been wiped off, cleaned and placed neatly on the counter tops ready to be put in their rightful place. Freshly cut flowers were placed in the centre of every table in dainty little vases.
At the back of the kitchen, standing proud and sparkling in the light, were the his father's knives.
‘I don’t understand…’
‘Surprise!’ said a voice behind them. Xinglong would recognise that voice anywhere. It was Jiale. They turned around to see all of the regulars from Yu Qing, as well as the first years and cheerleading squad.
‘Did you guys do all of this?’ Xinglong asked, in disbelief.
His team mates nodded.
Yan Zhiming adjusted his glasses before speaking. ‘We checked that the police had gathered all the evidence needed for their investigation and Zhuo Zhi photographed all the damaged items before we touched anything. I have emailed them to you in case you need them for your insurance claim.’
‘T-thank you…’ Mr He stuttered.
‘Everything that could not be salvaged was disposed of appropriately according to the cities waste and recycling policies. Proper hygiene practices were used throughout the process,’ Yan concluded proudly.
Qiao Chen patted his chest confidently. ‘Me and Baiyang competed to see who could fix all the tables the fastest. I won.’
Biayang scoffed and rolled his eyes. ‘My tables are stronger.’ Siyang glared at both of them, stopping the argument before it could even start. It was neither the time nor the place for their rivalry.
‘The woman who does the reviews for the blog went to journalism school with the reporter who wrote all those articles on Yu Qing. So after I told her about what happened, she reached out to her friend and she agreed to rearrange when she would visit your restaurant. She said she was sorry that that happened and she understood,’ Qi Ying explained. ‘Apparently lots of restaurants have been targeted recently. The sushi place and the pizzaria around the corner that she was meant to visit this week also got vandalised.’
‘Thank you,’ Xinglong said honestly. ‘Thank you all so much…’
To say that it was a surprise would be an understatement, and yet it was completely predictable. If one of his friend’s houses was damaged he would not hesitate to offer his help in whatever way he could. His teammates were the same. They couldn’t install a new glass door but they could put on some rubber gloves and peg their noses to get rid of the spoiled food. They couldn’t make him heal any faster but they could carry his bags on his way home. They couldn’t make up the school he missed but they could speak to his teachers and get some resources for him to use to catch up.
They couldn’t fix all of his problems, but they would be there beside him helping however they could.
Siyang cleared his throat. ‘We will be late to our reservation if we don’t set off soon.’
‘Reservation?’ Xinglong asked.
Dachi smiled warmly. ‘Since our usual place is out of commission for a while, we’ll have to try somewhere else until everything is fixed. We booked a table at the hot pot place not far away.’ They were a big party so it was only polite to ring ahead and let them know to expect them. They would be split up across at least two tables, but they would still be together.
Mr. He let out a little sigh, not that anyone could hear it, then put on a brave face. ‘Thank you all for looking after my son.’ He looked back at his restaurant, a little worse for wear but still standing and in one piece. ‘And for all your hard work here. Thank you.’ He began to bow but multiple pairs of hands stopped him. He didn’t need to bow to them.
Lu Xia shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. ‘It’s not like we did anything special.’
‘Yeah. Coach let us out of training early so we didn’t have to finish our laps. We all came here and we put some music on and got to work, then the time just flew by and we were done! And anything is better than running laps,’ Jiale joked, pretending to nudge Xinglong with his elbow, but making sure not to actually touch him in case he hurt him more.
‘We've spent so much time here. This place is just as much a part of Yu Qing as the club house,’ Zhuo Zhi said warmly. ‘We wanted to help.’
‘We’ll eat here after we win nationals,’ Baiyang agreed.
Xinglong couldn’t help but grin. ‘I’m lucky to have such good friends,’ he declared.
There was a beat of silence where everyone was stunned at his sincerity before immediately feeling uncomfortably by it and overcompensating.
‘Aww.’
‘Xinglong!’
‘Bring it in.’
For a few seconds Xinglong was crowded into the centre of a big group hug, then everyone took one huge step back the moment he groaned in pain and they remembered that squeezing an assault victim was not wise. Their guilt was assuaged quickly by Xinglong reassuring them that he was completely fine, echoed by his father laughing quietly as he watched them.
‘You lot should get going. You don’t want to miss your table,’ he told them warmly.
‘Do you not want to join us?’ Siyang asked. ‘You've cooked for us so many times that we would all like to return the favour to you now.’
Mr He shook his head. ‘You don’t want an old man ruining the atmosphere. You boys go ahead and enjoy your night.’
He thanked them once again and waved them off, waiting until they were around the corner and he was completely alone to let the emotion get to him and wipe a tear from his eye.
They were good kids.
The hot pot was delicious. It did, however, create many opportunities for tension to have groups of 6 all around one table, so Yan did his best on the spot calculations to establish the most harmonious seating plan. Keeping Baiyang and Qiao Chen apart was key, as well as keeping the first years away from Siyang who they found intimidating.
Xinglong recounted the incident, making sure to highlight how heroic and selfless his father was while downplaying how heroic and selfless he himself was, and everyone listened attentively. It was curious. Many aspects of what happened that night were interesting. Nobody wanted to say it out loud because it was a nice night to welcome Xinglong back and nobody needed that negativity, but plenty of them had connected some dots.
After they had finished dinner Lu Xia and Qiao Chen offered to walk Xinglong home.
Siyang turned to Zhuo Zhi, who had been quiet all night. ‘What are you thinking?’
‘Nothing,’ he said innocently. ‘A-Yan, I have a question about that plan you drew up for me. Can you explain it while we walk home together?’
Yan Zhiming agreed, a little confused, but happy to talk about his data to anyone who would listen. He gave Zhuo Zhi the contact details of some of their former rivals when he asked for them. He wasn't unaware of what Zhuo Zhi was planning, and he knew that their captain would likely disapprove of his schemes, but given that Zhuo Zhi himself would not break any rules, or laws, he allowed it to happen. Xinglong was injured and telling his old friend about it wasn't that unusual, especially given how they had become closer after playing tennis. What that friend did after finding out that information was out of their control.
The next day there was news of a similar break-in to another local restaurant. Coincidentally, it was the final establishment in the stretch that were supposed to be reviewed in that week’s article. With no reviews possible due to so many burglaries, the post would instead focus on the rise in crime faced by restaurants, including an interview with the victims from the attack on Xinglong Roast Goose. Unlike the previous break-ins, it was perpetrated by only one person who didn’t match the description of any of the three men responsible for the previous attacks.
Three young men were found tied to a table when the police arrived after neighbors reported hearing shouting. The men swiftly told the police that they were responsible for the previous incidents, in an attempt to make the other establishments get poor reviews and make their own food the best in the city. Whoever the lone avenger was, they didn’t know his name and didn’t give the police any useful identifying information about him. They confirmed that it wasn't anyone who worked at any of the restaurants they had targeted. They were all unharmed, but terrified enough to confess to everything without prompting.
Xinglong had many people who cared about him.
One of those was an acquaintance who would reach out to an old school friend to help him.
One of those people was a coach willing to allow the team to leave early to help him and his family.
Some of those were friends who would pick him up from hospital and bring him flowers.
Some of those were friends who would sweep up glass and disinfect surfaces for him.
Even someone he had a very complicated friendship with was willing to deliver the people who hurt him to the police with their hands tied.
The person who loved him the most was his dad, who supported him in pursuing his passion for tennis, wanted him to enjoy his youth to it’s fullest potential and was willing to put himself in the certain danger if it meant his son would be safe. He had the best dad anyone could ask for.
Xinglong was a very lucky person to be so loved.