"Alright, wait a moment." Although these people didn't appear to be good individuals, Jake couldn't judge them solely by their appearance ; he still had to do business.
However, when these people approached Jake's stall, the students who were initially standing in front of Jake's booth unconsciously took a few steps aside, creating some distance between them and the newcomers. Observing this, the young individuals didn't feel embarrassed at all; instead, they seemed quite pleased with themselves.
"Boss, why isn't it ready yet? What's taking so long?" It didn't take long for these young men to become a bit impatient.
"I'd love to cook it faster, but I can't serve you something that isn't fully cooked," Jake replied.
"Enough with the nonsense." The leader of the group said and then, intentionally or not, rolled up his sleeve, revealing a tattoo on it. He continued, "I heard the barbecue here is delicious. If you don't satisfy us today, your business won't thrive."
Jake, who already had a negative impression of these people, frowned even more upon hearing their words. "Everyone has different tastes. What others find delicious may not be to your liking. I can't guarantee that everyone will enjoy my barbecue."
Initially, Jake only disliked their behavior, but now he could more or less confirm that these people were likely here to cause trouble. Otherwise, the leader wouldn't have spoken like that. It was evident that they were not sophisticated individuals, and their intentions were quite transparent, as they seemed to be outsiders with questionable motives.
"Stop the chatter." The young man scolded, "Hurry up and make it! Can't you see we're waiting to eat? I don't care how you do it, but you must satisfy us, brothers!" Whether we are satisfied or not is entirely up to us. Even if you do a great job, we might still say we're not satisfied. Let's see what you can do!"
"Master, could there be trouble?" Alan also noticed that these people were troublesome and asked Jake in a low voice.
"No problem," Jake replied, "They're just a bunch of troublemakers, nothing serious."
Seeing Jake so calm, Alan refrained from saying anything further. He wasn't particularly afraid either, as he had gained some worldly experience during his time working in Kailomen and wouldn't be frightened by these hooligans.
Soon, Jake finished cooking the food in his hands. The young men assumed that the food was for them and reached out to take it, but Jake didn't hand it to them; instead, he gave it to others.
"What do you mean?! Are you looking down on us?" the leader of the young men angrily asked.
"First come, first served. They were here before you," Jake said calmly, pointing to the other customers in front of his stall, who were indeed waiting in line.
"I'm showing you face by eating your food, and yet you want us to wait in line?" the young man said.
"Everyone has to wait in line," Jake said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, get in line."
"We've been waiting for a long time to eat. Those behind us can wait in line."
"No cutting in line!"
Originally, the young man intended to use this opportunity to vent his anger and disrupt Jake's stall. However, before he could say anything, the people who were waiting in line started speaking up.
It's worth noting that most of the people queuing up to buy barbecue were students, and students are usually quite passionate. Moreover, they didn't want to see themselves waiting in line for so long only to be cut in front of by others.
If it was just one or two students, these young men might not have cared, and they might have even considered confronting those students physically. However, with many students around, they couldn't easily resort to violence, especially since this place was near a school where students were abundant and tended to stick together. Therefore, even if they had intentions of causing trouble, they couldn't easily act against the students. So, although they didn't like it, these young men reluctantly went to the back of the line, waiting for half an hour before it was their turn.
"Hurry up and cook!" Unable to vent their anger on the students, these individuals directed their hostility towards Jake, using a harsh tone.
Jake ignored them and continued cooking the barbecue. In the eyes of those young men, it seemed like Jake was afraid of them, which made them feel somewhat satisfied, finally regaining some face after feeling humiliated in front of the students.
"Your food is ready." It didn't take long for Jake to hand the food to them.
"So fast? Are they even fully cooked? If we get sick from eating them, you're in big trouble!" The young men, who had been pressuring Jake to hurry, now expressed doubts when they saw that the food was ready so quickly.
"If you're afraid, you don't have to eat it," Jake said, "I won't take your money either."
"Why wouldn't we eat it?" The leader of the young men snatched the barbecue from Jake's hand and said, "But if we get sick, you won't get rid of us with just a couple million!"
After saying that, he divided the barbecue among his friends and they didn't leave; they stood right in front of Jake's stall and started eating. As soon as they took a bite, the ones who had intended to make trouble almost simultaneously had their eyes light up. They swallowed a few times, then took several more bites, stuffing their mouths full before they began chewing and swallowing.
"Hanson, what should we do? This stuff is really delicious," one of the young men next to the leader said in a low voice. But because his mouth was full, his speech was unclear.
"Watch your identity! Can't you finish eating before talking? Aren't you ashamed?" the leader berated him.
The person who spoke earlier shrank his neck, increased the speed of chewing, and inwardly despised the leader. "Who are you to criticize me? You're not any better. You finished a skewer of chicken with bones in a matter of seconds. You looked like a starving ghost. Why don't you pay attention to your image?"
At this moment, the leader felt conflicted. He had indeed never eaten such delicious barbecue before, and he was hungry, so he ate quite a lot without stopping. However, he was also tasked with causing trouble, and he shouldn't be shamelessly eating and drinking like this. At this moment, he should have found an excuse to create a disturbance.
Thinking of this, the young man swallowed what was in his mouth and looked at Jake, opening his mouth, "The ones we ordered just now, make another batch!"