Xinqiao Town was the largest market town within a ten-kilometer radius, twenty-five kilometers from the county seat. Yang Jian drove to the entrance of the Jixiang Supermarket in town and parked.
The supermarket belonged to his aunt's family. He was here today to collect the license plates that had been mailed to him. He had provided this address when he bought the car, making it convenient for the express delivery company.
"Brother Jian, is this the new car you bought? It's so beautiful. Can you take me for a spin?"
At the supermarket entrance, his cousin Jing Yongli, full of envy, circled the sedan. He was three years younger than Yang Jian, just turned twenty, and hadn't gone out to work. He stayed home to help his parents run the supermarket.
"Sure, and you can take me to the auto repair shop to get the license plates installed, then come home with me."
"Okay, wait a moment."
Jing Yongli scurried inside to get the license plates, then got into the car and led Yang Jian to an auto repair shop on another street.
After the license plates were installed, Yang Jian drove his cousin back to Yangli Village. Just as they reached the town entrance, he spotted a familiar figure in a billiard hall by the roadside.
Yang Jian steered the sedan and parked it in front of the billiard hall.
"San Pang, you're quite leisurely, aren't you?"
Yang Jian got out of the car and walked into the billiard hall. He lightly kicked the rear end of a chubby young man, about his age, who was playing billiards. The kick wasn't hard, just a symbolic nudge.
"Who is it? Can't you see I'm playing?"
Because of that kick, the young man's shot went awry. Enraged, he turned and raised his cue stick, ready to swing. But the moment he saw who it was, his expression changed instantly, and the cue stick retracted involuntarily.
"San Pang, whose father are you calling me?"
"Yang, Yang Jian, is that you?"
San Pang stammered.
At this moment, seven or eight people gathered around. One young man with dyed yellow hair stood beside San Pang, looking provocatively at Yang Jian. "Brother San, is this guy causing trouble? We'll sort him out for you."
San Pang quickly stopped him. "No, no, no. This is my classmate, Yang Jian. The same Yang Jian who crippled Liu Ming a few days ago."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire billiard hall fell silent.
The young men who had gathered around all changed their expressions and involuntarily took a few steps back.
The one with yellow hair was particularly startled. He quickly pulled out a cigarette. "Yang, Yang, Brother Yang, I'm sorry. I misspoke. Please, you're a magnanimous person. I apologize. Have a cigarette."
Yang Jian ignored him, nodded to San Pang, and said, "Get in the car, I need to talk to you."
San Pang dared not refuse. As he was about to go out with Yang Jian, Jing Yongli suddenly got out of the car.
"Brother, these two have been running a tab at our supermarket and haven't paid. It's over two thousand yuan already."
Jing Yongli pointed at the yellow-haired man and a burly young man beside him, his eyes filled with anger.
Yang Jian turned and stared at the yellow-haired man, but said nothing.
Cold sweat broke out on the yellow-haired man's forehead. "Little, Little Jing, I was just about to settle the bill at your place tomorrow. Brother Yang is your relative?"
"He's my cousin."
Jing Yongli said this with a hint of pride. Although he wasn't involved in the underworld, he had heard in the past few days how Yang Jian's reputation in the county seat was soaring, and that even the most formidable fighter, Liu Ming, had been crippled by him.
"Yongli, who else has taken things from your supermarket without paying?"
Yang Jian couldn't stand seeing these thugs bullying ordinary people, especially his own relatives.
"There's also Xu Zheng. In the past two years, he's taken over five thousand yuan worth of cigarettes and alcohol from us, and hasn't paid a cent."
"Who is Xu Zheng? Do you know him, San Pang?"
San Pang nodded. "I know him, but I'm not very close to him. He's the boss of Xinqiao Town. He runs a restaurant and a mahjong parlor across from Jixiang Supermarket."
The yellow-haired man said at this point, "Brother Yang, I know Xu Zheng very well. How about I go talk to him and get him to settle the bill?"
Yang Jian glanced at him. "When will you settle your accounts?"
"Tomorrow. I guarantee I'll clear all the outstanding debts before noon tomorrow."
"Me too."
The young man next to him nodded repeatedly.
"Alright. Take a message to that guy named Xu Zheng: tell him to pay all the money owed to my aunt's family for cigarettes and alcohol before noon tomorrow. Don't make me come in person."
"Brother Yang, don't worry, I'll deliver your message."
The words "come in person" were incredibly intimidating. Liu Ming had been crippled by his personal visit. The yellow-haired man felt incredibly fortunate to have met Yang Jian today. If Yang Jian had come to his own house, the consequences would have been dire.
He hoped Xu Zheng would understand the meaning of those words, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to operate in Xinqiao.
Watching Yang Jian and the others drive away, the yellow-haired man finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Yang Jian drove the car to a relatively secluded grove not far from the town and called San Pang out of the car.
"Old classmate, tell me, how should we settle our accounts?"
"Yang, Yang Jian, what do you mean? I don't owe you any money."
San Pang tried to remain calm, but he already knew that he wouldn't get through this day easily.
"For the sake of our old classmate relationship, I'll give you a chance to admit your mistake. If you insist you're not wrong, I won't do anything to you today, and our friendship will end here. In a few days, I'll talk to Brother Mao. He should be able to tell me how I lost that two hundred thousand yuan."
Yang Jian's tone was casual, and he even wore a smile.
San Pang's legs trembled, and he remained silent for a long time, as if contemplating something.
"Never mind, I won't force you. You can go. As an old classmate, I'll give you one last reminder: be careful when you walk outside from now on. There are more and more cars, and traffic accidents happen frequently. Cars like ours have millions in insurance. Even if they hit and disable or kill someone, they won't compensate a million."
After speaking, Yang Jian turned to open the car door, ready to leave.
San Pang could no longer maintain his composure. He fell to his knees with a thud. "Yang Jian, I'm sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me for the sake of our old classmate friendship."
Yang Jian turned around. "Tell me, how much money did you get from Brother Mao for tricking me into gambling?"
"I only got five thousand yuan. If I'm lying, I'm not human."
"So, you knew from the start that he was running a rigged game and treated me like a pig to be slaughtered?"
"Yes. Brother Mao is my mentor in cheating. The condition for me to learn his tricks was to introduce at least one wealthy gambler to him. But I didn't know any rich people. Later, I heard you had earned over a hundred thousand yuan from contracting projects, so I set my sights on you."
"You did this to me just to learn cheating?"
"Yes. I'm obese, can't do heavy labor, have low education, and my family is poor. I really didn't know what else I could do to support myself, so I thought about learning a trade from him. This line of work makes money quickly."
San Pang dared not hide anything. Yang Jian's pressure was too immense; he was truly afraid Yang Jian would run him over with the car.