491: Chapter 491: The Orphanage’s Headache 491: Chapter 491: The Orphanage’s Headache “Shanshan, Tangyu, what brings you here at this time?
And these gentlemen?” The orphanage director came out with a beaming smile, his gaze falling on Xu Hu, the stupefied Tuoluo, and Deng Li.
Other than Deng Li, Xu Hu and Tuoluo didn’t seem like good people.
After all, both of them were street-wise, especially Xu Hu, who undoubtedly carried a bandit’s air.
If it weren’t for Tangyu’s presence, the director would definitely be worried.
“How are you, director?
They’re my friends.
We just stopped by to take a look,” Tangyu said.
“Oh.” The director nodded in relief, then immediately said with enthusiasm, “I see it’s almost noon.
Why don’t you stay for lunch?
Tangyu, the kids miss you terribly.
They’re always asking when Brother Tangyu will come to see them.”
Thinking of the children, Tangyu smiled, “Okay, director.”
“Hehe, great.
I’ll go and have the kitchen start preparing.
Just wait a moment,” the director said joyfully and ran off to the kitchen.
Tangyu looked around the orphanage.
The foundation for the dormitory building had been laid, and the workers were about to start with the construction materials.
Once the foundation was set, the rest would accelerate.
However, Tangyu noticed that the construction was progressing incredibly slowly.
There hadn’t been much change since before the National Day holiday, which puzzled him.
There should be no issue with funding, and all the needed materials had been purchased.
The work just needed to be done.
Winter was coming soon, and if they couldn’t finish at least the bottom floor, the children would suffer through the cold.
This building wasn’t planned to be very high, only two stories.
Tangyu’s eyes suddenly sharpened as he saw a gang of shabby-looking characters enter.
There were eight of them, all armed with things like steel pipes.
Tangyu’s gaze turned colder when he saw the group walking toward the construction site.
The workers, terrified upon their arrival, dropped their tools and huddled together.
The hooligans approached, and the green-haired leader pointed at the workers and bellowed, “God damn, are you dumb peasants not afraid to die?
We warned you twice not to show up for work here, and you’re still bold enough to come?
Thinking I’m playing with you?
Guys, beat them up.”
“Damn degenerates, they’re actually bullying migrant workers.
They’re so fucking messed up,” Tuoluo said, clearly annoyed.
Liu Shanshan, witnessing the scene, involuntarily glanced at Tangyu.
These hooligans were obviously targeting the Orphanage, which naturally worried her.
Just then, the director came over, beaming with happiness.
But when he saw the thugs about to attack the workers, his face instantly turned pale, and he hurried over, shouting, “Gentlemen, gentlemen, please don’t hit anyone!”
The green-haired leader sneered at him and spat, cursing, “You senile fool, you bring this upon yourself by refusing to drink a toast and forcing liquor down your throat.
I gave you two chances, and yet you dared to think it was a joke.
Today’s the final deadline.
I’ll ask you one last time, are you giving the money or not?
Without it, let’s see who dares to work here.
Be smart, pay up, and you’ll have our protection.
Then none of this will happen.”
“Extorting protection money from an orphanage, have these people no humanity?” Xu Hu cursed angrily.
There’s a code even in this world, and Xu Hu despised unscrupulous thugs who lacked it.
Calling them “thugs” was a compliment; they were vermin, the scum of the earth.
The director was also in a panic, “You want so much money, where can I get it for you?”
“Motherfucker, stop playing poor with me.
You have money for such a big building, so stop crying poverty to me.
I’m only asking for a hundred thousand for peace and smooth construction.
Don’t play poor.
One hundred thousand, not a penny less, or else forget about continuing the construction,” the green-haired goon cursed, truly a lion’s demand.
“You want one hundred thousand, right?” a voice rang out as Tangyu walked over.
Xu Hu and the others, along with Liu Shanshan, followed.
Xu Hu and his crew had been irked for a while, and if it wasn’t for Tangyu’s instructions, they would have already wanted to teach these people a lesson.
The green-haired thug turned to look at Tangyu, but his gaze didn’t linger on Tangyu, instead falling on Liu Shanshan.
His eyes immediately glinted, his face revealing a lecherous smile as he blatantly stared at Liu Shanshan.
Besides this green-haired thug, the other hooligans also ogled Liu Shanshan with the same leering gaze.
In this working-class district, a beauty like Liu Shanshan was a rare sight.
“What, can you represent this old bastard and cough up the hundred thousand?
If you’re smart enough to pay up, you can safely finish the building.
Otherwise, forget about the construction,” the green-haired goon said.
Displeased by this green-haired thug’s gaze, Tangyu said to Xu Hu, “Charge them one hundred thousand.”
Xu Hu nodded with a big grin, and the green-haired thug was left confused, unable to grasp what was happening.
Almost simultaneously, Xu Hu, Tuoluo, and Deng Li struck out against the thugs.
Seeing Tangyu there, the director secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as he had no idea how to resolve the situation otherwise.
The workers stepped aside, watching the drama unfold but not daring to get involved.
The eight hooligans were no match for Xu Hu and his companions.
In fact, any one of them alone could easily pick off the eight, so in barely ten seconds, all the thugs lay on the ground, wailing in pain, a pitiful sight to see.
The green-haired leader got the worst of it, lying under Xu Hu’s foot, in a sorry state.
“One hundred thousand, not a penny less,” Xu Hu said to the green-haired thug.
The green-haired thug had a look of incredulous resignation.
He’d come out today intending to collect protection money from others, only to end up being charged himself.
Since when did others have the audacity to shake him down?
“Who are you guys?
Do you know who we roll with?
Do you know who our boss is?” snarled the green-haired thug menacingly.
Xu Hu’s foot pressed down harder, eliciting a tearing scream from the green-haired thug.
Xu Hu let out a cold laugh.
He had almost taken down the entire Eastern District, and there wasn’t a noteworthy character he didn’t know about.
The district was a mishmash, lacking any significant figures—Xu Hu wasn’t even interested in involving himself there, as he considered it beneath him and not worth the effort.
“So who’s your boss, then?” Xu Hu asked with a hint of amusement.
“My boss is Tuoluo.
If you’re in the scene, you must have heard of my boss’s name.
We’re all in the same line of work; there’s no need for this,” the green-haired thug said.
“Oh, Tuoluo, huh?
Never heard of him,” Xu Hu remarked.
The green-haired thug was obviously choked up.
Tangyu looked at the orphanage director and asked, “Director, what’s going on with these people?”
The director sighed helplessly and said, “I don’t know these people either.
About a week ago, they came here and demanded protection money, and they asked for a hundred thousand right off the bat.
If they’d asked for just a few thousand, I would have just gritted my teeth and paid them, but the amount they’re asking for is just too much—I can’t possibly give them the children’s living expenses.
If we don’t pay them, they start beating up the workers, causing our workers to leave one after another.
That’s why the house construction has been delayed for over ten days and barely progressed.”
Tangyu frowned.
“Then why didn’t you call the police?”
“I did call the police, but they can’t stay here all day.
And they didn’t assault me directly or cause any damage on the premises.
They only verbally threatened the workers and caused trouble for them on their way home from work, to the point where some of the workers ended up in the hospital.
No one dares to take on work here anymore.
The police have come several times, but they haven’t had enough evidence to arrest them, so nothing has changed,” the director explained with a shake of his head.
Police can’t always solve everything; arresting people requires sufficient evidence.
These people are obviously used to dealing with the police, acting with just enough restraint not to leave any evidence.
Tangyu raised an eyebrow—this was indeed a troublesome matter.
The director was an honest person and often didn’t know how to use legal means to protect himself.
If this problem wasn’t resolved, the orphanage would continue to face endless issues.
Tangyu’s gaze fell on the green-haired thug on the ground and said, “Call your boss and tell him to bring 100,000 to bail you out.”
The green-haired thug looked at Tangyu, clenched his teeth, and spat out angrily, “Pah, dream on!
Since you dare to cross us, just wait for our revenge.”
“Still acting tough?” Xu Hu didn’t hesitate to stomp down hard, almost audibly breaking the green-haired thug’s bones; the scream was indeed piercing.
“Are you going to make the call?” Xu Hu asked coldly.
The voice cut into the green-haired thug’s heart like a sharp sword, making him feel an inexplicable fear.
After a moment’s thought and gritting his teeth, he said, “Fine, I’ll call.”
After making the call, the green-haired thug glared fiercely at Tangyu.
The director looked worriedly at Tangyu, opening his mouth as if to speak but stopping himself.
Liu Shanshan noticed the director’s concern and comforted him, “Don’t worry, Director.
Tangyu’s friends are all very influential.
As long as they step in, everything can be settled.
These people are simply too despicable; if they aren’t dealt with thoroughly, there will be endless trouble in the future.”
Relieved, the director nodded, “I hope so.
I suppose so.” He had been worrying about this matter so much these past days that it had turned quite a few of his hairs white.
But what could he, a man in his sixties, do?
He had called the police twice, to no avail, and so he had lost interest in calling them again, as it seemed to serve no purpose.
He couldn’t give them the money, but if these people kept causing disturbances every few days, then no workers would dare come here, and that was indeed a headache for the director.
Looking at Tangyu, the director’s eyes were filled with gratitude.
Tangyu had resolved everything every time, and the director didn’t even know what to say anymore.
If this matter could be resolved smoothly, then the children could have a good winter this year.
Liu Shanshan also looked at Tangyu, her deepest feelings stirred once again.
She understood why she had fallen for Tangyu so unconditionally, regardless of the consequences, and without regret, because Tangyu was indeed worth a woman’s deep love.