Chen Lishu listened to her words, her brows nearly knitted into a knot.
In her previous life, although she hadn't been in business, she had heard snippets of information. The public order was chaotic these past few years, and lawlessness was not uncommon. There were even rampant gangs that disregarded the public security bureaus.
She remembered one year, a newly married neighbor was given a pair of gold earrings by her elders. She wore them out that day, but on her way home from work at night, she was snatched. She had only managed to shout a couple of times before her attacker directly stabbed her. In the darkness, there was nowhere to find the culprit. The neighbor, however, spent over half a month in the hospital for nothing.
It was precisely because these people were so rampant that there was a crackdown in eighty-three.
With two to three years still to go before the crackdown, the most important thing now was how to resolve Zhao Liang's matter.
The other party's sudden visit, giving only three days' notice, must have had a reason. Otherwise, everything had been fine before. She hadn't owed any protection money. Moreover, the other party asked for her name right away, meaning someone must know her.
But no matter how hard Chen Lishu racked her brain, she couldn't think of anyone she had fallen out with recently. If there was anyone, it could only be Lu Chengming. But he was such a good-for-nothing; while he could be aggressive towards women, in a group of men, he was nothing.
Could it be that Zhao Liang and his group had set their sights on her store's business, wanting to take it for themselves?
Chen Lishu quickly dismissed this idea. People like them, who only knew how to fight and act tough, found collecting protection money less taxing on the brain than running a business. Plus, it was much faster to earn money.
Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a long time, Wang Aixiang asked with some concern, "Lishu, our shop?"
Chen Lishu snapped back to attention. "Open as usual."
"But..."
"Sister Aixiang, this is a society governed by law. Besides, we've always run our shop honestly. Are we supposed to close down just because he says so? If anyone can just come and extort us, I might as well not do business anymore."
"These people don't make sense. If you resist, what if they come to cause trouble every day? Sigh." Wang Aixiang couldn't understand how their business had gotten entangled in such a mess.
"Sister Aixiang, you can open as usual for the next couple of days. I'll try to gather some information about Zhao Liang. It would be best if we can resolve this privately."
Apart from what Chen Lishu said, there seemed to be no better solution. Thinking of something, Wang Aixiang said, "It's not safe for you to run around alone. Let Liang Chunsheng put aside the fabric business for a bit and accompany you for these two days."
Chen Lishu nodded. "Okay."
Since she needed to inquire about Zhao Liang and his group, Chen Lishu didn't look for anyone else. The next day, she and Liang Chunsheng went to the public security bureau on Youyi Road where Yang Shuang was stationed.
For people like Zhao Liang, besides their own gang, the public security bureau knew them best. Furthermore, she had interacted with Yang Shuang many times, and their relationship was quite good.
Upon hearing Chen Lishu's account, Yang Shuang was so angry that she slammed the table. "Who do they think they are? They can tell anyone to close down, and their authority is greater than ours?"
But anger aside, gangs like Zhao Liang, who were already organized, sometimes didn't even put the public security on par. And most of the time, they didn't commit major crimes. Ordinary fights would result in detention at most after being brought to the bureau. For cases involving a large number of people, with limited space in the bureau, it would only be a case of criticism and education.
Now, they received fifty to thirty such reports every month, responding to calls about them once or twice almost every day.
"I remember Zhao Liang has an older brother named Jin Kun. He seems to be involved in demolition work recently, right around here. A while ago, someone reported him for forced demolition. It caused quite a stir, but then the case was withdrawn for some reason."
Indeed, these people were lawless.
"Thank you, Officer Yang." After understanding the general situation, Chen Lishu thanked her and got up.
"You're welcome. If they come to cause trouble again, call us immediately. We will not tolerate their arrogance."
Chen Lishu nodded, thanked her again, and left with Liang Chunsheng.
Having a general understanding of Zhao Liang's situation, Chen Lishu became even more certain that she had no prior grievances with him. Thinking that if that were the case, the matter might be easier to resolve.
Yang Shuang also mentioned that his older brother, Jin Kun, had started a demolition team. Approaching the problem from this angle should not be a major issue.
Chen Lishu's initial thoughts were quite good, but upon learning that Jin Kun was Zhao Hong's husband, a wry smile appeared on her face.
It truly was a case of narrow roads making enemies.
This also explained why Lu Chengming would want to target her, and why Zhao Liang would suddenly show up.
"What should we do now?" Liang Chunsheng, seeing her frowning the whole way and not speaking, asked with some worry.
"Nothing much, just a cold salad." Chen Lishu chuckled and looked up. She didn't believe that no matter how rampant they were, they could openly commit murder and arson in broad daylight.
Liang Chunsheng hesitated and said, "Why don't we just drop it? It's better to have one less thing to worry about. Let's move and open the shop elsewhere..."
"Can you guarantee that if we move, there won't be any Liu Liangs or Wang Liangs? Such things are unavoidable when doing business. I'm not moving. I want to see what they can do to me!"
As Chen Lishu spoke, her hesitant heart suddenly became resolute.
She would definitely continue to do business, but she would never bow down to people like them.
After thinking it through, Chen Lishu stopped worrying about other things. Every day, she went to the shop as usual. On the other hand, Wang Aixiang and Liang Chunsheng became increasingly restless as the three-day deadline approached.
"Damn it." Wang Aixiang suddenly threw the rag in her hand heavily onto the counter and said fiercely, "These bastards are simply going too far. If you don't move, you don't move. Lishu, don't worry, Sister is with you. Let's see what they can do to us!"
Seeing that even a woman had voiced her stance, Liang Chunsheng hesitated for a moment before forcing a smile. "Yes, we'll definitely stand with you."
"Thank you." Chen Lishu smiled and thanked the two of them, then said to Liang Chunsheng, "There's still some stock upstairs. See if you can move it all to the storeroom. Try not to keep too much stock here."
Who knew what those people might do? It was better to be safe than sorry.
The sun rose and set every day, and what was coming would eventually arrive.
Zhao Liang came a little past nine in the morning, followed by two men with permed chrysanthemum tops.
Seeing that Chen Lishu's shop was still operating normally, the muscles on Zhao Liang's cheeks twitched, and the ferocity in his eyes intensified. It seemed she really didn't know what was good for her.
He had given her, a woman, a three-day deadline, and now she dared to ignore his words.
If he didn't teach her a lesson today for defying him, how could he lead his brothers on this street in the future?
"Crash!"
With a clanging sound, Zhao Liang kicked open the closed shop door. The glass door hit the wall and bounced back, the hinges emitting a dull creak.