Chapter 3

"Jian, don't worry about it, I'm fine!" Shi Yufeng was concerned for her younger brother, knowing that Shi Zhijian had a weak personality and was afraid he wouldn't be a match for Jin Yabing.

Shi Zhijian didn't move, still standing in front of her.

When Jin Yabing saw it was Shi Zhijian, he laughed, his eyes filled with disdain and his expression full of contempt.

"I thought it was someone else, but it's just you, this good-for-nothing! So, now that you've given up your gun and can't be a cop anymore, you think you're tough?"

"Toughness isn't about having a gun!"

"Then what is it about?"

"About this!"

Shi Zhijian raised his right hand, holding a brick!

"Smack!"

A brick hit Jin Yabing's forehead!

Blood spurted out!

Jin Yabing collapsed to the ground!

There's no reasoning with scum like him! You have to show him who's boss first!

The crowd around them was stunned; no one expected Shi Zhijian to attack without warning.

Jin Yabing, lying on the ground, tried to move, but Shi Zhijian raised the brick again and hit him twice more on the head.

Whoosh!

The crowd drew in a sharp breath.

"Thud!"

Shi Zhijian threw away the "weapon" and beckoned to the thug.

The thug shuddered and, with a stiff upper lip, stepped forward.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

The thug hurriedly pulled out a pack of "Good Luck" cigarettes, which cost 2.8 yuan.

Shi Zhijian took the pack, flicked it, and a cigarette flew out, which he put in his mouth.

The thug and the crowd couldn't help but be impressed by Shi Zhijian's cool smoking pose.

Shi Zhijian glanced at the thug, who quickly took out a match, bent over, and stuck out his butt to light the cigarette for him.

Shi Zhijian squinted, took a puff of the cigarette, and then patted the thug's face with his palm: "Come back tomorrow for the money! And drag this scumbag away!"

Come back tomorrow for the money?

The thug didn't believe it.

Shi Zhijian gave him a look.

The thug, now scared, didn't hesitate and quickly dragged the unconscious Jin Yabing away.

The neighbors, who had been watching, were now silent, their faces filled with shock as they looked at Shi Zhijian.

Even Shi Yufeng stared at her brother with wide eyes, as if she had just met him for the first time.

Shi Zhijian looked at the neighbors, his eyes filled with disdain, and exhaled a puff of smoke: "The show's over, who wants to stay for dinner?"

...

The crowd dispersed—

Shi Yufeng finally came to her senses from the shock. Before she could speak, Shi Zhijian pointed to the bloodstains on the ground and said, "Please, sis! Help clean this up, I get dizzy at the sight of blood!"

"Eh?" Shi Yufeng almost choked on his words, "If you get dizzy at the sight of blood, why did you hit him so hard? Hitting someone to death is a capital offense! Especially that Jin Yabing, his life isn't worth a penny! You're different; you're the only heir of the Shi family, very precious!"

Shi Yufeng grumbled, complaining that Shi Zhijian shouldn't have taken the lead, especially not hitting Jin Yabing. She said Jin Yabing would definitely come back for revenge and cursed the neighbors for being ungrateful, always ready to help others but turning a deaf ear when it was their turn.

Shi Zhijian, of course, knew the consequences of offending Jin Yabing and was clear about what he needed to do next!

If you don't want to be bullied, you have to become strong!

The best way to become strong is—make money!

Thinking of this, Shi Zhijian started to think about the horse racing in the afternoon.

You can go to the racetrack to make a fortune, but you need capital!

Shi Zhijian looked around the empty room, where even rats would starve, let alone money.

Without money, how could he go to the racetrack?

Shi Zhijian searched for a long time but found nothing valuable. The only thing he could offer was the hand-cranked shoe repair machine left by his deceased father.

The machine was well-maintained, wrapped in oil paper. When he unwrapped it, it was smooth and shiny, with no rust at all.

Shi Zhijian's father was a shoemaker who, in his prime, supported the entire family with this machine.

Unfortunately, Shi Zhijian didn't inherit his father's skills; he couldn't even make a shoe insole!

"Can't I sell this machine for money?" Shi Zhijian's head started to hurt again. Even if he wanted to sell it, his sister Shi Yufeng wouldn't agree; it was the only thing left by their father.

Just then, Shi Yufeng came in with a bucket of water, splashing it on the ground to clean up the bloodstains.

Bao'er, the little girl, helped by wringing out the mop with all her might.

"Mom, Uncle Xiao hit someone just now, he looked so scary, it scared me," Bao'er said.

"He was just being crazy! Trying to be a hero, that one hit will cost us a fortune in medical bills!" Shi Yufeng was frustrated.

"Mom, do you think that big bad guy will come back? I'm so scared!" Bao'er said, then quickly hid in Shi Yufeng's arms, hugging her.

Shi Yufeng patted Bao'er's back: "Don't worry, if he dares to come back, I'll cut him with a knife! It's okay, Bao'er, don't be afraid!"

At this moment, Shi Zhijian came over, "Sis, I'm not eating. I need to go out. By the way, do you have any money?"

Shi Yufeng was taken aback, then shouted at Shi Zhijian, "What money? Didn't you see, I gave all the money to Jin Yabing just now! Now I'm broke, I don't even know how to pay Bao'er's school fees!"

Shi Yufeng worked at a plastic flower factory on Midton Road, earning only 370 yuan a month. She had already used all her savings to help her brother become a police officer.

"Come on, don't say I don't care about you. If you really need it, I can borrow some from my coworkers at the factory!"

"It's too late!" Shi Zhijian shook his head. The factory was far away, and his sister's coworkers were all struggling, so it was uncertain whether they could lend him any money.

Shi Yufeng took out the remaining half of a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff: "Actually, you could try to find 'Da Sheng Xiong'—he owes us 500 yuan, and it's been almost three years!"

"Da Sheng Xiong" borrowed 500 yuan from Shi Zhijian's father when the family was still prosperous. Shi Zhijian's father ran a shoe store and, with his excellent skills, made a lot of money.

Da Sheng Xiong didn't rush to repay the debt, and neither did Shi Zhijian's father, as they weren't short of money at the time.

Three years passed, and even after the two elders passed away, the debt was never repaid.

Now the Shi family was in decline, while Da Sheng Xiong had risen to become a "head horse" under the "Hongyi Hai" boss, Zhang Jiuding.

"Turns out we have an outstanding debt, that's good!" Shi Zhijian smiled.

"You're not really going to collect it, are you? I was just joking! You know what kind of person Da Sheng Xiong is!"

Shi Yufeng was stunned; she couldn't believe her brother would dare to go to Da Sheng Xiong to collect the debt.

Just then, someone outside shouted, "Jian, are you okay? Where's that scumbag Jin Yabing?"

As he spoke, a black-faced, burly man rushed in, wielding a rolling pin.

...

The man was named "Ding Yongqiang," with the nickname "Shaqiang," one of Shi Zhijian's few close friends in Shek Kip Mei.

Shaqiang was a bit slow-witted and often taken advantage of, but the only person who didn't take advantage of him was Shi Zhijian.

Therefore, Shaqiang considered Shi Zhijian his only "best friend." He had just returned from the dock and, upon hearing that Jin Yabing had brought people to cause trouble for Shi Zhijian, immediately rushed over with his rolling pin.

"I'm fine, he's gone!" Shi Zhijian laughed.

"Really, you're okay?" Shaqiang looked around and asked Shi Yufeng, "Are you okay?"

Shi Yufeng said, "I'm fine!" and asked Shaqiang, "Have you eaten?"

Shaqiang patted his stomach, "I was fine until you mentioned it, now I'm starving!" He glanced at the food on the table.

The meal was simple: two pickled vegetables, three bowls of porridge, and a boiled egg that Shi Yufeng had prepared specially for Shi Zhijian.

"Would you like to eat something?" Shi Yufeng asked politely.

"Sure!" Shaqiang's face lit up.

"Oh no!" Shi Zhijian knew what kind of person Shaqiang was and tried to stop him, but Shaqiang had already picked up a bowl of porridge and poured it into his mouth!

Whoosh!

A bowl of porridge, gone!

Shi Yufeng was speechless, damn it! Shaqiang didn't know what "politeness" meant!

Shaqiang patted his stomach and was about to attack the other two bowls of porridge when Shi Zhijian pulled him back, "Stop eating! We have work to do!"

"What work?"

"Collecting a debt!"

Shaqiang, pulled by the collar by Shi Zhijian, broke free at the door and hurriedly ran back to the table, picking up the boiled egg with his dirty hands and shyly said to Shi Yufeng, "Sorry, I'll eat this egg too!"

Shi Yufeng, however, was too busy to care and shouted at Shi Zhijian, "Jian, what are you doing? You're not really going to find Da Sheng Xiong, are you? Come back, I was just joking!"

Unfortunately, Shi Zhijian didn't even look back.

"You damn...!" Shi Yufeng regretted her big mouth.