"Uncle Liu, still fixing bikes?" Lin Chuan said with a beaming smile as he walked over.
"Yo, is that you, kid?" Uncle Liu looked up and couldn't help but laugh: "How's your mom's leg doing?"
"Not bad." Lin Chuan offered a cigarette, smiling as he spoke: "Uncle Liu, what do you plan to do after the demolition?"
"I'll die before I let them demolish!" Uncle Liu's tone was firm, he snorted coldly: "I've lived here my whole life, if anyone tries to make me leave, I'll fight them to the death. Hmph!"
"Haha..." Lin Chuan laughed heartily.
"What are you laughing at, kid?" Uncle Liu, with the cigarette in his mouth, sat down on a nearby chair, and said: "I started working at Changlin Factory when I was fifteen, used to make guns and bullets in the mountains. I've been through the era of deep digging and hoarding grain, and also ************, later on, I moved to Jiangbei City, and have been here for most of my life, no one is going to drive me out."
"Rest assured, no one is going to force us out." Lin Chuan took a puff of his cigarette.
After chatting with Uncle Liu for a while, Lin Chuan got up to return home.
He had only taken a few steps when Zhou Kai and Lu Dapao, accompanied by five or six others, were heading his way. Lin Chuan asked with a smile: "Where are you guys going?"
"Brother Chuan?" Zhou Kai smiled and said: "We're about to treat ourselves at the food stall, why not join us?"
"Sure!" Lin Chuan naturally wasn't shy.
The group found a bustling barbecue stall outside of the community and plopped down. Zhou Kai was a regular there; after they entered, he lugged a case of beer over himself. The owner was a solidly built middle-aged man, with a helper who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, probably the man's son.
"What will you have?" The young helper came over, without pen and paper, his curious eyes flitting over Zhou Kai and the others, looking like a sharp kid.
"Yo, kid, you don't need pen and paper?" Zhou Kai smiled and asked.
"No need," the young helper sniffled, and said: "Order whatever, I can remember, guaranteed no mistakes."
"Alright then, give us forty-eight lamb skewers, fifty-six kidney skewers, sixty-one cartilage skewers, and decide the rest as you see fit." Zhou Kai smirked devilishly, as if deliberately trying to test the kid.
"Okay." The young helper nodded.
"You got hurt, lad?" Lin Chuan saw something was off with Zhou Kai. Not just Zhou Kai, even Lu Dapao had a cut on his arm, and the others had bruises and swellings to varying degrees. Lin Chuan frowned and said: "Did you get into a fight with someone?"
"Helping out to show some muscle at a venue," Zhou Kai replied with an awkward smile.
"Why do that?" Lin Chuan asked with confusion.
"Making some money," Zhou Kai laughed and said: "This time we got three thousand, five hundred each. Hehe..."
"Helping whom?" Lin Chuan inquired.
"Who else but Northeast Tiger," Zhou Kai said with a laugh.
Through Zhou Kai's narration, Lin Chuan found out that Northeast Tiger was a big local thug active in the eastern part of the city. This guy was a dropout and a hoodlum in his early years. Somehow, he got his hands on some construction vehicles and formed a transport team, eventually monopolizing the sand and soil market in the eastern part of the city, a typical sand and soil tyrant. Because another gang with similar influence intruded into Northeast Tiger's territory, this had led to disputes and clashes between them, and they had arranged to have a fight down by the river that afternoon...
"Aren't you afraid of dying?" Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow.
"If we were afraid of dying, we wouldn't be doing this for a living," Zhou Kai chuckled.
"Why be someone's lackey, why not head your own operation?" Lin Chuan glanced at Zhou Kai and said: "If others can put together a construction vehicle team, why can't you? Besides, Jiangbei City is so big, and with so many new apartments being built, every household needs sand for renovation, and construction sites need earth moved too, it really is a huge market."
"But, it's mostly monopolized by others," Zhou Kai said with a bitter smile: "Moreover, to really form a construction vehicle team, we don't have that kind of capital."
Just then, the young helper briskly came up with the trays, saying: "Forty-eight lamb skewers, fifty-six kidney skewers, sixty-one cartilage skewers, twenty pig heart skewers, twenty pig lung skewers..."
The young helper placed the trays on the table.
"Kid, what are you trying to pull!" Zhou Kai was furious when he heard: "When did I ever order pig heart and lungs, you trying to insult us or what?"
"That's for looking down on people!" The young helper sniffled, not seeming the least bit afraid.
"Looks like you're asking for a beating, kid." Lu Dapao got up, twirling a steel pipe as if he was about to swing it at the young helper.
Bang...
Off to the side, the middle-aged man cutting meat slammed his knife down onto the chopping board fiercely.
Zhou Kai and his companions turned their heads to look at the middle-aged man. This fellow had been running a barbecue business in the area for a long time, often harassed by local hooligans and ruffians, but every time he would teach them a lesson until they wilted away.
Lin Chuan had just caught a glimpse of the murderous intent in that middle-aged man's eyes, evidently, this was a man who had served in the military, and moreover, he was a veteran who had been through blood-stained battlefields. After exchanging a glance, the middle-aged man showed a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly turned his head back to continue cutting meat and said, "Goudan, stop messing around."
"Oh!" The young helper responded and turned away to leave.
"Damn it, this is too much to bear!" Zhou Kai snorted.
"Getting back to business," Lin Chuan said, "How much would it cost to set up a dump truck team?"
"At least three to five hundred thousand, right?" Zhou Kai counted with his fingers and said, "Considering the current market for second-hand vehicles, a vehicle that's eighty percent new would cost at least a hundred thousand. Three vehicles would need three hundred thousand, right?"
"Hmm." Lin Chuan nodded, "This is something to consider."
"Bro Chuan, it's not about consideration, it's about money," Zhou Kai sighed and said, "In this real world, those with money are the bosses and those without are the grandsons."
Among the complaints and curses, they began to lift their glasses and drink.
After drinking for about half an hour, Lin Chuan suddenly remembered that his mother might still be waiting for him to come home for dinner, so he took his leave early. Leaving Zhou Kai and the others to continue clinking their glasses and drinking outside.
Lin Chuan had drunk about four or five bottles of beer, feeling slightly warm, and had barely taken a few steps before entering Changlin Community. When he came back, Uncle Liu, who fixed bicycles, had already left, and under the dim light, his repair tools wrapped in rags looked somewhat desolate.
The infrastructure in Changlin Community was dilapidated, with street lights broken and no one repairing them. Walking further inside, it was pitch black, the road and the conditions inside barely visible. Lin Chuan walked through the darkness, exhaling alcohol fumes and smoking a cigarette. In fact, ever since he entered the community, he had felt someone stalking him from behind.
Not far away, two silhouettes approached Lin Chuan head-on. A smile appeared on Lin Chuan's face, as such ambushes and the quality of this tailing were utterly appalling. After walking a few steps, Lin Chuan stopped and said, "Come out, stop following me. If you want to fight, let's do it here."
Suddenly, several blinding beams of light landed on Lin Chuan.
"Hehe..." Long Wu started laughing, revealing his row of dingy yellow teeth, reminiscent of a ghost from the underworld seeking lives.
"You?" Lin Chuan exhaled a puff of smoke and said contemptuously, "You're not getting itchy again, are you?"
"Lin Chuan!" Long Wu had a cigar in his mouth—always wanting to stand out; others smoked cigarettes, he had to smoke cigars; others drove BMW, he had to drive Porsche. Long Wu, a man who loved to show off, just as he did on Huainan Road and in Jiangbei City, sneered, "You broke my arm and hijacked my luxury car. It's time we settle this account properly."
"How do you want to play?" Lin Chuan glanced disdainfully at him.
The opposing side had around five or six people, all tall and muscular, armed with sticks and knives, but for Lin Chuan, who was used to the bloody battlefields, these men posed no real challenge. At that moment, Long Wu laughed and said, "Boy, take a good look. This is the nineteenth-generation descendent of Southern Fist, top-notch in martial arts, a titleholder in international competitions. Hehe..."
His smile seemed to foresee Lin Chuan covered in blood, Long Wu's pride was built on his strong self-confidence, and also on the prowess of the Southern Fist descendent.
Lin Chuan glanced at the robust man beside him, who indeed had well-developed muscles and fierce eyes. However, this fierceness was solely that—lacking a true murderous aura. Such a person was fine in a competition, but when it came to a real fight, even ten of them would be no match for him.
Lin Chuan laughed, stubbed out the cigarette butt in his hand, and asked with a smile, "How much did he cost you?"
"Two hundred thousand!" Long Wu blurted out.
"Really generous, aren't you?" Lin Chuan laughed and said, "Now you might have to spend another two hundred thousand for his hospital stay."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Long Wu was furious and ordered, "Old Li, what are you waiting for, take him down."
Creak, creak...
Old Li loosened up his limbs, joints cracking, as he coldly stared at Lin Chuan and said, "Boy, heaven's retribution can be avoided, but one cannot live through self-inflicted misfortune!"
With that, Old Li launched a series of punches at Lin Chuan. It had to be said that this so-called nineteenth-generation descendent of Southern Fist really had some skill, at least his punches were really fast. Lin Chuan stepped back repeatedly. A sweeping attack from his opponent stirred up the fallen leaves in the wind. Long Wu and his men stepped back.
Crack...
The opponent's kick landed harshly on Lin Chuan's shin, bone clashing against bone with a crisp sound.
Hiss...
Old Li suddenly felt a sharp pain in his nerve, as if his leg bone had been struck with a steel pipe and broken. He hastily retreated several steps, looking at Lin Chuan with disbelief. He hadn't expected this man's bones to be so solid.
"Come at me again," Lin Chuan advanced towards Old Li.
"Seeking death," Old Li finally regained his composure, gritted his teeth, and his fists, like a series of dark shadows, smashed towards Lin Chuan.