Chapter 46

Fukang drove back to Iron Slag Street, dropped off Sister Mei and Huanxi at the hair salon, and left his phone number for them. Then he continued to run his business, picking up passengers. In the past two years, the city had developed rapidly, and many residential areas did not have bus services, making it difficult to find taxis. Black cars had found their niche, and with good luck, one could earn a hundred yuan in a single night without much trouble.

Sister Mei sent Huanxi to the back yard and called Nana and Xiaoya for a meeting. She lit a cigarette and said solemnly, "I've made up my mind. I'll support Ni'er to retake her exams for a year and get into college. I'll continue to support her through college."

Nana pursed her lips and said, "Sister Mei, do you have too much money to throw around? Ni'er's family is in trouble. Her parents are sick, and she has a younger brother who is still in school. Can you handle all that?"

Xiaoya also said, "Exactly, in this day and age, good deeds don't get good returns. The government doesn't even care, so why should you?"

Sister Mei said, "I'm willing. I won't get involved in Ni'er's family problems. I'll just support her to retake her exams and get into college. I can't handle the rest of her family. This salon is a partnership between the three of us. If Ni'er wants to stay here to retake her exams, I just want to hear your opinions."

Nana said, "Sure, it won't cost much for her to eat and stay. Once she graduates, we'll have a wealthy relative."

Xiaoya also said, "I agree, as long as I don't have to pay."

Sister Mei exhaled a puff of smoke. "You two still have some conscience. You haven't let me down."

A customer arrived, and Sister Mei went back to the back yard. In the bedroom, a little girl about three or four years old was sitting on the bed, her bright eyes looking at her, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Mom, are you going to do business?" the little girl asked, tilting her head. This was the agreement between her and her mother. Every time her mother did business, she would hide in the cabinet.

"Mom's not doing business today. I'll play with you, Little Yan." Sister Mei sat down on the bed and played with her daughter with building blocks.

...

Hua Deyi tried to call Director Jiao again, but the phone was off. It seemed he had really offended him this time.

He was very angry. He had bowed 999 times, just one bow short of success, and now he had failed. The leader in charge of construction at the Transportation Department was a god of wealth. It was hard for ordinary people to find a way to curry favor. He had tried his best to cater to his tastes, but ended up offending him. Now he wouldn't get the project, and all his previous investments would be wasted.

"Brother, how's it going? Is there any way to salvage it?" Hua Bao asked. Actually, the major shareholder of Pengcheng Engineering Company was Hua Deyi, and Hua Bao was just the front man. All major decisions were made by his brother.

"It's over," Hua Deyi said with a grim face.

Zhao Yufeng cautiously entered, bowing and scraping. "Brother-in-law, Village Chief."

Hua Bao grabbed the large crystal ashtray from the coffee table and threw it. "F*ck you, can you do anything right? You've messed up a good thing. You deserve to be beaten to death."

The ashtray missed and hit the ground with a loud thud.

Zhao Yufeng was terrified. In the past, when his brother-in-law was angry, he would curse his sister. Today, he was cursing his mother-in-law, which showed he was really angry.

"Sister, Sister... Brother-in-law, you can't blame me for this. Mei Zi refused to take the money and quit. What could I do? Force her? That's a five-star hotel, a place for the upper class."

Hua Bao kicked him. "What kind of job did you do? You found unreliable people. Do you know what level of leader Director Jiao is? Can you afford to offend him? I'll kick you to death!"

Zhao Yufeng dodged and said, "Brother-in-law, I know I was wrong. I won't do it again."

Hua Bao didn't let up, grabbed him, and slapped him four times.

Hua Deyi waved his hand. "Bao, that's enough."

Hua Bao stopped, still angry. "Brother, what do we do now?"

Hua Deyi thought for a moment and said, "We can't give up on Director Jiao. We need to step up our efforts and find someone to smooth things over. There's still a chance. As for that Mei Zi, I want you to deal with her. She's ruined my business, and I'll make her wish she was dead!"

Saying this, he broke the cigarette he had smoked halfway in two on the table.

Hua Bao said, "Brother, don't worry. I'll take care of it."

...

Hua Deyi was the village chief of Huohuo Village. Dealing with the girls on Iron Slag Street was a piece of cake, but he had made a mistake by entrusting the task to Hua Bao, who was simple-minded and strong.

Hua Bao was brave and loyal, but he was not good at playing dirty tricks. His methods were simple and brutal. That night, he arranged for four or five henchmen to go to Sister Mei's hair salon with iron bars and axes.

At 10 PM, five hooligans came in, cursing and swearing. The salon was doing business, and a salesman who had just arrived by long-distance bus was getting a back massage, asking for special services. The hooligans came in and smashed the red neon sign at the door, scaring Nana into screaming.

"Smash it!" the leader swung his iron bar, knocking over cheap cosmetics, combs, and scissors. Just as he was about to start smashing, a loud engine sound was heard. A white Fukang car stopped at the door, and a man with a small fire extinguisher came in, looking fierce.

A henchman tried to stop him but was knocked down by the fire extinguisher.

The other henchmen stopped smashing and rushed at him. The man lifted the fire extinguisher and sprayed white foam into their eyes. There were several thuds, and the henchmen fell to the ground, dazed.

Sister Mei ran from the back yard and was shocked. "Brother Dong!"

The man was Liu Handong. He was worried about Huanxi and the others and had come to check on them. He didn't expect to encounter a raid.

Liu Handong picked up a henchman from the ground and asked who had sent him.

"You're brave, daring to oppose Brother Bao. I'll kill you," the henchman said defiantly.

Liu Handong headbutted him, making him bleed from the nose and mouth, and threw him aside. "Tell Hua Bao that this salon is under my protection. If he has any issues, he should talk to me."

The hooligans got up, holding their heads, and left in a hurry.

The frightened customer also grabbed his bag and ran.

"Hey, you haven't paid yet," Nana called out.

Liu Handong looked at the damage in the salon. It wasn't too severe. "Sister Mei, be careful tonight. Block the door with something."

Sister Mei said, "Don't worry, I've seen bigger things. If they come back, I'll call the police."

Liu Handong said, "If anything happens, call me first. I live nearby and can come quickly."

"Thank you," Sister Mei said, seeing Liu Handong off. Nana, who had failed to catch the customer, also returned. They closed the salon early, pulled down the roller shutter, and locked it. They cleaned up the mess and decided not to do business for the day.

"Sister Mei, who did you offend?" Xiaoya asked.

"I offended Hua Deyi," Sister Mei said.

Nana and Xiaoya looked at each other. Hua Deyi was the local tyrant of Huohuo Village. If he stomped his foot, the whole street would shake. Offending him meant they couldn't survive on this street.

"It's already done. There's no point in regretting it," Sister Mei said firmly.

Xiaoya said, "Why don't we move somewhere else?"

Sister Mei said, "We've paid a year's rent here. I can't afford to leave."

...

In Huohuo Village, there was a large self-built house, covering at least a thousand square meters. It was the home of Village Chief Hua Deyi. The house was decorated in a rustic style, with golden glazed tiles and yellow tiles. The entrance wall was decorated with a mosaic of the sun rising over the East Sea. The yard was filled with various flowers, and the garage had a BMW 5 Series and an imported Peugeot 207 hardtop convertible.

Hua Bao rushed in, and Hua Deyi, wearing a golden robe, received him in the living room.

"Brother, it's not easy," Hua Bao said.

Hua Deyi's face changed. "F*ck, you can't even handle a bunch of prostitutes. Go find a block of tofu and smash your head against it."

Hua Bao quickly explained, "There's someone protecting them."

"Who?" Hua Deyi calmed down, lit a cigarette, and threw one to Hua Bao.

"This guy is named Liu Handong. He lives in Huo Lianhe. He's a tough guy, a former soldier who has been in fights and served time in detention. Last month, he killed six people from Shifeng Group. Oh, and Gu Changjun was also killed by him."

Hua Deyi took a deep puff of the cigarette, enveloping himself in smoke, and began to think.

He was the village chief and party secretary, with great power. His life was precious, and he shouldn't get into a conflict with a dangerous man. Many gangsters had died at the hands of unknown small-time criminals because they were too arrogant. This was a lesson in blood.

"What's the relationship between Liu Handong and Mei Zi?" Hua Deyi asked in a low voice.

"Nothing much, they've known each other for a short time. But according to Zhao Yufeng, he has a good relationship with the young girl in the salon, maybe a lover or something."

Hua Deyi took another deep puff of the cigarette and began to piece together the situation. Liu Handong was a customer of the young girl, and they had developed a relationship over time, which led him to risk his life to help them. But then he thought, if the girl was a virgin, how could she have a relationship with Liu Handong? If she wasn't a virgin, how could she still sell her virginity?

With his years of experience in both the underworld and politics, Hua Deyi couldn't figure out the logic, but he knew one thing: a commoner's anger could lead to bloodshed. Liu Handong was not someone to offend.

"Leopard, hold off for now. Think of another way," Hua Deyi said.

"What way? Pour gasoline and set fire to the house at midnight?" Hua Bao, being simple-minded, was not much better than Zhao Yufeng.

"F*ck, the buildings on Iron Slag Street are all illegally constructed. If you set fire, it will be hard to put out, and it might spread to my house. What then?" Hua Deyi couldn't help but curse, but then he scolded himself: "Quality, I must maintain my quality. I'm a people's representative, after all."

"Find the landlord and have them evict these women," Hua Deyi said.

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