Xiang Beifei used the Zhen Tang Sword to conceal his home, and without his permission, no one could know where his house was located. He practiced daily at home, rarely stepping outside, hence Liu Shenghui barely had an opportunity to move against Xiang Beifei.
Once school began, and Xiang Beifei went to Liangzhou University, with so many professors around, especially under the protection of Luo Yunxian, it would be even more difficult to make a move.
Therefore, Liu Shenghui sent Ma Kainian to gather some information first.
As an S-level Awakener and the one in charge of supervising the business operations of Kong Daming's shops, Ma Kainian was best suited for undertaking this investigation.
Kong Daming frequently interacted with Ma Kainian, who had the final say in the management rights of the shop; Kong Daming had no choice but to treat him courteously.
"Zhang Xiang, serve the tea," Kong Daming said.
Zhang Xiang immediately brought the tea set over. The water in the teapot, heated by Spiritual Power, swiftly brewed a cup of tea for him.
Ma Kainian took the tea and lazily glanced at Zhang Xiang, asking, "Was this brewed with water at ninety-eight degrees?"
"What?" Zhang Xiang was taken aback.
Ma Kainian languidly said, "Mr. Kong, this employee of yours isn't very sharp!"
Kong Daming's face slightly stiffened as he hurriedly said, "That's my fault. He's new here, and I forgot to tell him about these things. Let me handle it."
Ma Kainian had no special skills other than being fond of putting on airs. Relying on his bit of authority, he lived quite fastidiously. Whenever he inspected each shop, he would make some stringent demands, and if they weren't met, he would make it hard for them. Thus, many shop owners were well aware of Ma Kainian's rules.
Zhang Xiang was new and completely unaware of these rules, and Kong Daming had also momentarily forgotten to mention them.
Ma Kainian glanced at Zhang Xiang and said, "An employee who doesn't even understand the rules, can't he even do simple jobs like serving people properly? Mr. Kong, hiring such employees is just asking for trouble, isn't it?"
Zhang Xiang's face turned beet red from the remark.
Kong Daming spoke in a stern tone, "Mr. Ma, you are being too harsh."
Ma Kainian said, "Being new, he should know what rules apply to what kind of people, and what roles suit what kind of status."
He disdainfully glanced at Zhang Xiang. The servers here were generally N-level Awakeners, whom he always looked down upon.
"I heard that Xiang Beifei's grandfather also works here. Why haven't I seen him?" Ma Kainian asked again.
"He's resting upstairs," Kong Daming said.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to him?" Ma Kainian asked.
Kong Daming replied, "Old Master Xiang is getting on in years. He felt a bit unwell just now and is resting upstairs. Maybe next time!"
Ma Kainian's expression hardened as he asked blandly, "Is he genuinely unwell, or is he putting on airs? Not even willing to meet with a market supervising leader like me?"
"Old Master Xiang is advanced in age. I hope Mr. Ma can be understanding."
Kong Daming personally brewed a pot of tea and then handed the tea to Ma Kainian.
"Oddly coincidental that he feels unwell all the time, precisely when I arrive. Could it be that some people are too proud, thinking they can inflate their ego after gaining some fame?"
Ma Kainian took the tea from Kong Daming and tasted it briefly before frowning.
"This tea wasn't steeped for three minutes, Mr. Kong. Your staff doesn't understand, and you don't know my rules either?" Ma Kainian set down the tea and slowly stated.
Kong Daming's gaze darkened slightly, but he still chuckled and said, "I'll brew another pot of tea."
He had no choice since he wanted to run his shop here, he had to strictly follow Ma Kainian's rules. Otherwise, Ma Kainian would intentionally find various faults in his shop later, be it food hygiene inspections or other issues; he would pick bones out of an egg.
Kong Daming brewed another pot of tea, this time carefully measuring thirty-nine grams of tea with Spiritual Power and steeped it for exactly three minutes before serving it to Ma Kainian.
Ma Kainian picked up the teacup, his finger leisurely circling the rim, then set the tea down and said discontentedly, "This water has already dropped to ninety-five degrees. How can you drink tea brewed ?"
Kong Daming's anger grew.
This was no longer about brewing tea. His shop had recently reopened and was doing quite well, but since he hadn't paid Ma Kainian off, that's why Ma Kainian was deliberately finding excuses to hassle him.
"Mr. Kong, I've already given you a chance, but it seems you don't know how to seize it. You can't handle people and you can't brew tea. Running a shop , I seriously doubt how attentively you host customers. If you can't even handle such a trivial matter, I'm afraid your shop will receive many complaints."
Ma Kainian glanced around and pointed to a painting on the wall of the shop, saying, "If you hang a painting right above the dining table, any dust on it can easily fall into the table. According to the hygiene regulations I set, this will incur a fine."
Kong Daming said gravely, "Our staff clean that area every day."
"Right, right, I just wiped it this morning," Zhang Xiang quickly added.
Ma Kainian waved his hand, and a spherical object whizzed out, emitting a beam of light and landing on the painting.
[The current dust index of this painting is 48]
The sphere in the air emitted a mechanical voice; it was a scanner, a system device specifically used for checking hygiene conditions.
Kong Daming immediately said, "According to the alliance's hygiene regulations, a dust index below 60 is considered satisfactory."
"With a responsible attitude towards customers, the satisfactory dust index has been revised to 40. Anything above 40 is considered unsatisfactory," Ma Kainian lazily said.
Kong Daming frowned and asked, "When was this changed?"
Ma Kainian looked at Kong Daming with a somewhat teasing gaze.
Kong Daming's expression turned very ugly.
Kong Daming said, "Mr. Ma, if you have any matter today, please state it clearly."
"First, brew the tea properly," Ma Kainian said languidly.
Kong Daming suppressed his anger and started to heat up another pot of tea.
Ma Kainian watched as Kong Daming heated the water and brewed the tea, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.
He enjoyed watching these shop owners being bossed around by him, no matter that Kong Daming had been a hero who saved the district. He was ultimately just a civilian shopkeeper, while he himself was an official of the alliance! He still held more power than these retired pioneers like Kong Daming!
He must make these shop owners understand the gap between the status of an alliance official and a civilian!
After a while, Ma Kainian slowly said, "So, where is Xiang Qingde? I've been waiting for him so long, isn't he going to meet me?"
Kong Daming didn't understand why Ma Kainian insisted on meeting Xiang Qingde, but he knew that if he didn't show up today, Ma Kainian could continue causing trouble indefinitely. He could only say, "Zhang Xiang, go upstairs and check on Old Master Xiang's condition, ask how he's doing."
Zhang Xiang hurried upstairs, and about a minute later, he ran down in a panic, saying, "Boss, Old Master Xiang is gone!"