Baozi watched as the figure of his opponent drew closer and closer, that unsettling feeling growing stronger by the moment. Before Ye Cheng even made a move, Baozi knelt on the ground, "Look, brother, I was just talking big earlier. I never really meant to make your sister stay. You see how timid I am, I’m clearly not one to do bad things. We just wanted to extort some road fees from the passing drivers, honestly, we had no intention of harming anyone."
They relied on their numerical advantage, simply standing next to lone drivers was usually enough to intimidate them. Most drivers preferred to avoid hassle and would rather pay up than make a fuss.
The others, seeing Baozi acting so cowardly, were truly unable to watch, all turning their backs, not wanting to look any longer.
The man who usually acted the toughest was so timid at the crucial moment. It was a real eye-opener.
Ye Cheng looked at him, raising one hand, and Baozi, without any regard for himself, clutched at Ye Cheng’s legs, looking pitifully at Xiaofeng, "Miss, please put in a good word for me. I really meant no harm to you."
Xiaofeng glanced at Ye Cheng, then at the man clinging to his legs, and silently lit a candle for him in her heart. Of all people to hold onto, you had to choose Ye Cheng.
Sure enough, in the next moment, a perfect parabola appeared against the pitch-black sky. The figure traced the arc, only to crash heavily to the ground.
The others, witnessing the silhouette that flew over their heads, could not bear to look directly, their eyes tearing up silently. What kind of a tough nut had they encountered tonight, handling a grown man as if he were a mere chick. Even with five of them, they were no match.
Mantou stood up, holding his aching back with difficulty, feeling unbearably humiliated by the night’s events. This couldn’t just be let go, he incited, "This kid is too arrogant. If we don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll think we’re afraid of him. Let’s round up the big guns from the village. I refuse to believe that all of us together can’t handle him."
Do you know where you are? This is Tiekou Village, where people once lived by forging iron and no one is a pushover. If you really provoke the villagers, there’s no telling what they might do.
"I’ll go," a chubby man interjected. "I’ll call the gang. Damn it, this is just too humiliating tonight. We’ve never dealt with this sort of thing before. If we don’t sort this out tonight, we might as well give up on charging protection fees."
This past year, they had earned a tidy sum by charging road fees, and every household had had their share. Just as life was starting to look up, someone came to crash their racket. Naturally, they were not going to stand for it.
Seeing the others preparing to leave, Xiaofeng stepped forward to block them, "Where do you think you’re going, buddy?"
Still thinking of calling the villagers for backup, were they trying to stir up trouble?
"Of course I’m going to call people. Just you wait. This is Tiekou Village, our territory. You think you can be tough on our turf, soon you’ll see what you get," the chubby man said fiercely, gesturing at Xiaofeng, "Just wait, you’ve stirred up trouble, big trouble."
Daring to make a move on their territory, as if they didn’t know what this place was about. They wouldn’t be needing that car of theirs by the looks of it.
"Brother," Xiaofeng said as the man turned to leave, blocking his path with one hand: "As men of honor, is it not shameful to call for backup after a defeat? There are five of you and just two of us. What are you afraid of? It’s not like my brother and I are going to eat you."
Looking at the five men, judging by their height and build, you would think they could handle themselves. But their combat effectiveness was a huge disappointment, hardly worth watching.
"Don’t get too cocky," said the group of five, already facing embarrassment being unable to deal with just two. "Just you wait, if we’re going down, we’re taking you with us."
Look at them, three out of five injured. What a mess.
"Come on, why call so many people? I’m hungry and don’t have much strength left. Sigh, whose cooking in the village is good? Why not let my brother and me have a meal first?" Xiaofeng had seen enough to know that these guys really weren’t bad to the core. If anything, they were emboldened by circumstances, possessed of more audacity than malice.
You..." The chubby man was nearly breathless with anger. What kind of timing was this to think about food? It was so late, all the villagers were asleep, who would have the time to cook for her?
Xiaofeng cast a glance at Baozi, who had just climbed up from the pond, his demeanor slightly sluggish as if he hadn’t fully woken up, and she yawned, "In the middle of the night, you won’t even let people rest properly. Don’t worry, we won’t eat for free, we’ll pay."
They had originally intended to park the car at the entrance of the village for a quick nap before hitting the national highway, but they hadn’t expected to get the wheel stuck in a large pit dug by the villagers. No sleep, no food, and with her stomach protesting, it would be a disservice to herself not to find something to eat.
Baozi, listening to Xiaofeng’s words, dismissed the dampness on his body with an embarrassed chuckle, "We have food, my mom’s cooking isn’t too shabby. If you don’t mind, you can eat at our place. As for the cost, no need, really, no need. Please consider it my treat as an apology to you."
The chubby man sneered disdainfully, "Baozi, don’t let the toss make a fool out of you. This is our village, and we’ve got the numbers. Are we supposed to be afraid of them? Can’t you show a little backbone?"
Baozi was usually so bullish it was unexpected to discover he had a spine of jelly, getting thrown to the ground as if it rattled his brains.
Ignoring the chubby man’s comments, Baozi didn’t care — it’s not as if they were going to eat at his place, and it wasn’t his business anyway, "What do you know? These two are clearly capable individuals. They even mentioned that our village could have better ways to make money. Instead of this racket extorting people, I’d rather earn clean money — at least that’s more respectable."
The chubby man glared at Baozi, "Didn’t you come up with the idea of charging road fees in the first place? And now you find this too dirty, is that it? You were the one who said that, thanks to the natural advantages of our village, all we needed was a few more people to stand by drivers going out alone, and they would definitely fall in line obediently."
Guilt flickered across Baozi’s face; indeed, the scheme had been his idea at first. But one can encounter ghosts on any dark road, like tonight — if he hadn’t fallen into that pond by sheer luck, whether he’d still be alive to stand here would be doubtful. This is why he decided no more of this risky business for him; he’d find another way to make a living.
Emboldened by his thoughts, Baozi spoke up, "As the saying goes, wander the night long enough and you’re bound to meet a ghost. We’ve been in this business for nearly a year now, and the drivers know what’s what with our village. Who’s to say some rascal won’t take a disliking to us and call the cops? I think the young lady here has a point. Our village is well-located, there are certainly other ways to earn money. No need to stick with this shady business, don’t you all agree?"
If there was a better way to make money, who’d want to stick with this? Facing a tough character, you could really lose your life.
Like these two right now, tossing them around like it was nothing.