"This month's protection money is down by a fifth, you bunch of good-for-nothings!"
"If it's like this next month, believe it or not, I'll chop off your heads and kick them around like balls!"
"Young Master Xie ordered that many people we can't afford to offend will be coming to Wangchuan recently, so all of you be quiet this week!!!"
After Lu Gang vented his fury, he kicked all his subordinates out.
At the KTV entrance, two guys stood by the door smoking.
"Hoo."
One of the tall guys exhaled a cloud of smoke and then said, "Mazha, the boss has spoken. Protection money must be paid in full next month. What do you plan to do?"
"What the hell am I supposed to do? The economic situation is bad now, not many people are coming out to spend. Those restaurants on Yanhe Street aren't doing much business. Getting this much money is already not easy. I reckon if I dare to raise the protection fee, those bosses will fight me to the death."
The man beside him had a face full of pockmarks, looking rather terrifying.
As he spoke, he threw the cigarette in his hand to the ground and fiercely crushed it with his foot, as if to vent his dissatisfaction.
However, the two could only rage impotently. If they truly angered Lu Gang, chopping off their heads might be an exaggeration, but a severe beating was absolutely certain.
The two walked towards their territory, talking big.
...
"Brother, can you really cure my mom's illness?"
The little girl was very happy today. All her flowers were sold. Her mother would surely be happy when they got home.
Moreover, the brother and sister who bought her flowers also said they would help her mother with her illness. Today was truly her lucky day.
"Yes, since Brother promised, he will definitely cure your mother's illness."
Du Fei looked at the innocent girl and nodded seriously.
Hearing Du Fei's words, a happy smile appeared on the girl's tender face.
Because they met the little flower girl, Liu Shishi no longer planned to take a painted boat.
After paying for all the little girl's flowers, Liu Shishi asked for the girl's home address, intending to go with Du Fei to help her mother.
The two adults and one child walked along the bustling Yanhe Street for about half an hour, then turned into a dark alley.
The streetlights in the alley had long been broken, and the walls on both sides were covered with stains and indescribable strange smells, making people very uncomfortable.
The road ahead became narrower and narrower, and the houses became more and more dilapidated.
"Brother, Sister, my home is up ahead."
Reaching a three-way intersection, the little girl excitedly pointed to a small courtyard not far away, where a wall had already collapsed by more than half, at Du Fei and Liu Shishi.
Seeing that the little girl lived in such poor conditions yet was still so sensible, Liu Shishi felt even more heartbroken for her.
"Mom, Mom, I sold all my flowers today, and there are kind brothers and sisters..."
As soon as she entered the courtyard, the little girl couldn't wait to rush into a room on the left, shouting as she ran.
"Damn it, don't pretend to be dead with me. You won't be short of repaying a single cent of your husband's debt!"
"What? Don't think I won't hit you just because you're a woman!"
"If you really push us to the edge, believe it or not, we'll capture your daughter and sell her."
In the room, a pale middle-aged woman was lying on a dilapidated wooden bed.
In front of her stood two fierce-looking men, shouting loudly.
The middle-aged woman said, "My husband is already dead. It's too late for whatever you say. Don't you fear retribution for bullying us, a widowed mother and her child?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw her daughter who had just walked into the room.
Before she could say anything, the tall man in the room chuckled, "Yoho, you're back just in time. The little girl is quite pretty and delicate. Selling her to those big bosses with peculiar tastes will definitely fetch a good price!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man bared a lewd smile and walked towards the little girl.
"Please, don't take my daughter. Please, be merciful."
Seeing the other party about to grab her daughter, the middle-aged woman became agitated and tried to stand up, but she forgot that she was ill.
In her agitation, she not only failed to stand up but also fell off the bed.
"Mom!!"
Seeing her mother fall off the bed, the little girl was also agitated and wanted to run over.
However, the fierce tall man stood between her and her mother, leaving her anxious.
"Brat, let's see where you run!"
The tall man spread his arms and lunged at the girl.
Bang.
Unexpectedly, just as the tall man was about to grab the girl, a foot kicked him in the body, sending him sprawling.
Immediately after, Du Fei walked in with Liu Shishi.
"Mom, Mom, are you okay?"
Taking advantage of the tall man being kicked down and the other guy being stunned, the little girl quickly rushed to her mother's side, trying to help them up.
But she was only a seven or eight-year-old child and couldn't possibly lift her mother.
Seeing this, Liu Shishi quickly went forward to help. After a lot of effort, she managed to help the little girl's mother lie back down.
"Who are you? Do you know who we are?"
Seeing his companion kicked down, the remaining man didn't dare to act rashly. He wanted to use the gang behind them to scare Du Fei.
Du Fei sneered, "Who are you? You're a bunch of heartless beasts!"
"You..."
"Get out!"
Du Fei didn't want to waste any more words on such people.
The man looked at Du Fei with resentment, but he knew he was no match for Du Fei. So, he helped his fallen companion and limped away.
"Thank you, thank you so much."
The middle-aged woman hugged the little girl and thanked Du Fei and Liu Shishi.
It was a good thing that the two of them returned with her daughter, otherwise, if her daughter had been caught by those two lunatics, who knew what would have happened.
"Sister Qin, why were those people bullying you and trying to take Xinxin?"
After the recent conversation, Liu Shishi learned that the sick woman was named Yu Suqin, and the little girl was named Zhuang Jiaxin.
Yu Suqin sighed deeply, "It's a long story. My husband used to be a foreman at a construction site. Later, I don't know how he got mixed up with these people and became addicted to gambling. By the time he wanted to turn over a new leaf, the family was destitute. My husband felt he had wronged me and our daughter, and in a fit of remorse, impulsively jumped to his death."
"Not long after my husband died, these people came to our door, saying my husband owed them over a million. My husband had borrowed money from many friends and relatives. To repay the debt, I sold our house and moved here with Xinxin."
"But I never expected that not long after, they still found us. It's all my fault for being useless and unable to protect Xinxin, woo woo woo."
Towards the end, Yu Suqin couldn't help but cry.
"Mom, Mom, don't cry. Xinxin will be good."
Little girl Zhuang Jiaxin's eyes reddened when she saw her mother crying, and she spoke to comfort her.
Yu Suqin hugged Zhuang Jiaxin tightly, feeling unspeakable pain in her heart.
Honestly, if she hadn't been reluctant to leave Zhuang Jiaxin, constantly on the run from people, and with all her physical ailments, she really wanted to end it all.
But if she died, her daughter would completely lose her relatives. That would be too tragic, so Yu Suqin could only grit her teeth and persevere.