Chen Hui thought for a moment, "I don't think so, I've never heard Ma Jiehui mention anything about it."
"Did you know each other before you came to Los Angeles?" As far as Luke knew, most people who came abroad to work were introduced by someone, either relatives or friends from the same hometown.
If there wasn't someone familiar to vouch for them, they wouldn't dare to travel so far across the ocean.
We met working together, he took good care of me, and we naturally ended up together."
"Does Ma Jiehui have any close friends or acquaintances from his hometown?"
Chen Hui's face turned somewhat ugly, "The owner of Sichuan Restaurant, Chen Jianxin, is from the same hometown as him, I heard they are even somewhat related..."
It wasn't uncommon for friends and relatives to become enemies over interests. Luke felt it was necessary to meet Chen Jianxin, the owner of Sichuan Restaurant; perhaps he could uncover some new clues.
Chen Hui pointed out the car window, "Captain Li, that person wearing the dark blue T-shirt over there is Chen Jianxin, he's still outside the Yu Xiang Restaurant, watching the excitement.
With Ma Jiehui gone, that must play right into his hands."
Luke got out of the car and walked over to the entrance of Yu Xiang Restaurant, shouting, "Chen Jianxin."
"Eh." The man in the dark blue tee turned his head, looking to be in his forties, of average height, with a beer belly, appearing somewhat affluent.
Chen Jianxin's gaze fell on Luke, "Who are you?"
Luke showed his badge, "LAPD."
Chen Jianhua took a step back. He had been in Los Angeles for over a decade, had learned quite a bit of English, and had essentially integrated into the local lifestyle.
"Do you know Ma Jiehui?"
Chen Jianxin glanced at Yu Xiang Restaurant, "I know him."
"I hear you two are old countrymen from China?"
Luke came straight to the point, "We'd like to understand some information about him."
Chen Jianxin was silent for a moment and then sighed, "Ah... let's go inside my restaurant and talk."
Under Chen Jianxin's lead, Luke and his colleagues came to Sichuan Restaurant. At this time, the peak lunch hour had passed, and there were no customers. Only two staff members were cleaning up.
"Officer, how may I address you?"
"My surname is Li, I'm the captain of the first squad of the Robbery and Murder Department, and this is my colleague, Jackson."
Chen Jianxin busied himself pouring tea as he asked, "Your ancestors were Chinese too, right? No wonder your Mandarin is so good."
Luke glanced around the restaurant, asking seemingly casually, "So, you run a Sichuan cuisine restaurant too?"
"Yes, an authentic Sichuan cuisine restaurant. Our Mao Xue Wang and Fu Qi Fei Pian are second to none. If you have the time someday, I'll cook for you personally."
Luke asked, "How's business at your restaurant?"
Chen Jianxin took the teapot from the staff, "This is tea that I had a fellow countryman bring from back home; you can't buy it here in Los Angeles. Try it."
Chen Jianxin poured a cup of tea for both Luke and Jackson, continuing, "Business has been tough these last two years, basically just breaking even, we're hanging in there."
Luke took a sip of tea and asked, "How long have you known Ma Jiehui?"
Chen Jianxin pondered for a moment, "It's been over twenty years, I reckon. Our families are somewhat related; to be exact, he's a relative of my sister-in-law's family. There's no blood relation, it's not that close."
"Why did Ma Jiehui come to Los Angeles initially?"
"To make money, of course. He was someone with ambition. Ordinary people wouldn't even think of going abroad to work."
"Did he have a criminal record back in China?"
Chen Jianxin shook his head, "I've never heard of that."
"So, what's the reason he never went back to his country?"
"At first, he had no legal status. After he got it, he didn't want to spend the money.
Traveling back home means not just the round-trip flight tickets. You have to buy gifts for every relative, and some relatives ask to bring back some medications and baby formula. Charging them would look bad; not charging means it's not just one or two families—it's unaffordable.
A trip back home and you've worked for months for nothing."
Luke probed further, "What do you think of Ma Jiehui as a person?"
Chen Jianxin curled his lip, "He's definitely not the clear-headed type."
"I heard there's been some conflict between your two restaurants?"
Chen Jianxin glanced at Luke, "Captain Li, I'll be straight with you.
I really don't like the guy. He used to work in my restaurant for a while and then jumped ship to another place.
Afterward, he opened his own restaurant and started going head-to-head with me.
No, not just with me, but with all the restaurants on the street.
Go outside and ask around, no one has a good word to say about him."
"What taboo did he break? It can't just be because he worked at your place and then opened his own, can it?"
"It's not about opening his own spot, that's his business, and we're all from the same country, no one resents him for it.
The key is what he did; it was just taboo, cutting off other people's livings." Chen Jianxin grew increasingly agitated, gulped down a cup of tea,
"When his restaurant first opened, there weren't many customers, which is quite normal. Who makes money right from the start? You've got to slowly build up, and over time you get return customers, naturally, you'll start to profit. There was no need to rush.
But he was different. Seeing that his restaurant wasn't making money, he had devious ideas. For the same dish of Mao Xue Wang, I charge 20 US Dollars, he charged 15 US Dollars. For the Fu Qi Fei Pian I sold at 16 US Dollars, he charged 12 US Dollars.
Many of my regular customers saw that his restaurant was cheaper and went to eat there instead. Tell me if he's not asking to be hated, then who is?"
Starting a price war was indeed taboo. Luke said, "What happened after that?"
"I obviously had to confront him. At first, I thought he didn't understand. I brought over a bottle of good wine one evening, planning to have a few drinks with him and settle the matter amicably."