Chapter 5

The Unlucky Trio saw Xue Xiang walking towards them and immediately felt bitter in their hearts: "Bro, you've already messed with us, why don't you go mess with those who haven't experienced your 'dictatorial' iron fist? Why do you keep targeting the injured?" Fortunately, their thoughts couldn't be heard by others, or the remaining members of the motorcycle gang would have torn them apart.

Xue Xiang walked up to the three and patted the fatty's oily face: "Why were you riding so fast? Didn't you see the elderly and children ahead? You even pulled a girl's scarf. How do you flirt with women? Can you sing the 'Three Main Rules and Eight Points for Attention'? What's the seventh rule?" Xue Xiang always spoke in a gentle and refined manner, but you never knew when he would suddenly get angry and attack, and his attacks were always brutal. The stark contrast between these two images made the motorcycle gang fear him while also admiring him: "Only when a hooligan reaches the level of Third Brother can he be considered a true master."

"Third Brother, my bike's brakes were broken, and I couldn't stop in time. I can sing that song, the seventh rule, the seventh rule is, oh, it's 'No flirting with women.'" The fatty, whose face was being patted by Xue Xiang, didn't dare to move, trying to lower his voice to sound calm and harmless. He made up a reason about the brakes failing, feeling proud of his quick thinking. After all, the bike was already wrecked by Xue Xiang's kick, so the brakes must have been broken.

The revolutionary song Xue Xiang mentioned was a popular street song at the time. The fatty really knew how to sing it, but being suddenly asked about the seventh rule caught him off guard. He mentally hummed the lyrics and finally remembered.

"Since you know, why were you still pulling girls' scarves all over the street? You said you can sing it, come on, sing it for everyone to hear."

"That's not good, Third Brother. If you want to listen, I can bring my phonograph to your place. The records are absolutely genuine and original..."

"Sing it if I tell you to, no more nonsense."

The fatty saw Xue Xiang's expression turn unfriendly and didn't dare to be cheeky anymore. However, he couldn't bring himself to sing in front of so many people and was at a loss.

"It seems you don't like singing revolutionary songs. That's not good. The great leader taught us that excellent revolutionary songs are valuable assets of the entire party and army. Revolutionary youth should inherit and promote them. Well, I'll leave a mark on you to remind you." Xue Xiang's tone was calm, and his face was serene. After speaking, he slowly grabbed the fatty's left middle finger and bent it upwards with force. There was a crack, and the fatty's middle finger bent at an odd angle, broken. The fatty knew it was going to be bad as soon as Xue Xiang grabbed his hand and tried to pull it back, but his finger was like being clamped in an iron vise, unable to move.

"Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A piercing scream made everyone's jaws ache. The fatty's face turned pale, and large sweat drops rolled down his forehead. His teeth chattered in pain. "Pawing women" was something hooligans often did, and Xue Xiang didn't think it was wrong. However, these guys bullying the elderly and harming children made him hate them from the bottom of his heart. Everyone has elderly and young in their families, especially Xue Xiang's current family, where his uncle was sent down and his younger siblings were still young. The fatty's behavior had touched his sore spot. Dragons have their sore spots, and touching them would surely anger them, so Xue Xiang was ruthless.

After letting the fatty go, Xue Xiang grabbed the guy who had been playing with the dagger and coldly said, "Where's that pretty dagger you had? Show it to me."

The dagger man, seeing Xue Xiang's treatment of the fatty, was already scared stiff. When Xue Xiang targeted him, he was completely paralyzed. If Xue Xiang hadn't been holding him, he would have collapsed on the ground. The dagger he had thrown away was already in his satchel. Seeing Xue Xiang's question, he was terrified but dared not refuse. The dagger man took out the dagger from his satchel and trembled as he handed it to Xue Xiang.

Xue Xiang didn't take it, but smiled coldly, "You wanted to be my grandpa and bleed me, right? I won't make it hard for you. Just use this dagger to leave a mark on yourself, so you won't lose your life in the future."

Hearing Xue Xiang's words, the dagger man stopped trembling. The unknown was the source of fear. He gritted his teeth, gripped the dagger, and was about to cut his left hand.

"Stop!" A clear voice interrupted.

Xue Xiang turned and saw Liu Ying'er walking from the old lady's side, blocking his path.

"Why are you so cruel? They are despicable, but they have already been punished. Why do you have to hurt their bodies?" Liu Ying'er pointed at Xue Xiang, her finger trembling slightly, showing her agitation. As a nurse at the central hospital in the capital, Liu Ying'er couldn't stand seeing people hurt others, even if Xue Xiang was punishing the bad guys.

Xue Xiang, without paying attention to her slender fingers, sneered and said, "Move!"

"No!"

"Say it again, move."

"I won't move. You have the guts to hit me."

"You!"

The scene was at an impasse. Xue Xiang was at a loss, unable to hit a woman. He had no such hobby. There was no point in reasoning with this silly girl, and he couldn't hit her. He decided to ignore her and walked towards the Water Snake and his gang.

The dagger man, seeing Xue Xiang leave, knew he had escaped and was instantly in tears, feeling saved. In his mind, Liu Ying'er's image was instantly elevated to that of a famous Buddhist goddess.

The dagger man, with tears streaming down his face, saw the fatty tightly gripping his right hand, looking up at the sky with a melancholic and profound gaze, like a wandering poet searching for inspiration. Gradually, his eyes moistened, and a tear rolled down his cheek and splashed on the ground.

"Why didn't you come to save me when he was marking me? Why do you play the good guy now? Why do you discriminate? Why! Why!! Why!!!..." The fatty's mind was filled with countless questions, his resentment reaching the sky.

"Still standing there? Don't you remember to compensate for the damage?" Xue Xiang patted Water Snake's head.

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll pay, get the money out, what are you standing there for? Do as Third Brother says." Water Snake, seeing a glimmer of hope, was overjoyed and urged his gang to pay up.

Water Snake took out a wallet from his inner pocket. It was about a palm long and three inches wide, with a yellow and white animal pattern. On closer inspection, it was made of tiger skin, a rare sight in those days. Water Snake was thinking about how much to pay when Xue Xiang snatched the wallet and opened it. There were quite a few bills inside, three large ones, a few fives and ones, and very few coins. In the wallet's inner pocket was a photo. Xue Xiang didn't look at it closely, just took it out and gave it back to Water Snake, saying, "This wallet is nice, I like it. I'll keep it. You won't mind, right?"

"Of course not, of course not. If Third Brother likes it, it's a good match. It's a waste for me to have it." Water Snake's face turned bitter, but he still spoke smoothly, flattering Xue Xiang.

"Good, you have a good eye. Go collect the compensation and bring it over." Xue Xiang smiled.

Water Snake obeyed and went to collect the money. He had been stripped by Xue Xiang and didn't want others to be better off. He didn't spare the Unlucky Trio either. Soon, a pile of various wallets was brought to Xue Xiang. They were all high-end, indicating that the motorcycle gang had robbed many people. Xue Xiang didn't hesitate, gathered all the bills, a thick stack of about 130 to 140 yuan, removed the coins, and put them in the tiger skin wallet along with his own money. He threw the other wallets back to them.

Xue Xiang handed the coins to Water Snake, saying, "This money isn't enough to compensate for the eggs and my mental distress. I'll take a loss and won't make it hard for you. Keep this money for lunch. Don't forget to get the fatty's finger set. Old Zhang at the crossroads is good at setting bones."

Water Snake was speechless. This much money could buy a truckload of eggs, but he put on a grateful face.

At that time, each egg cost only three to four cents, and a regular worker's salary was only 20 to 30 yuan. In some rural areas, a day's labor was worth only 50 cents. This 100-plus yuan was indeed a large sum.

The motorcycle gang, seeing Xue Xiang wave them off, didn't waste time on thoughts like Water Snake. They picked up their bikes and fled, leaving a trail of dust. The bald fatty was the most aggressive, ignoring the wrecked "Big Phoenix," and pedaled furiously, his legs moving like wheels, as if a rocket booster was attached to his back. Despite his weight, he was so fast that the other motorcycle gang members couldn't catch up.

After dealing with the motorcycle gang, Xue Xiang walked to the old lady and handed her three large bills: "Old lady, did you hurt your leg? This is the money for the eggs and your nutrition. Please take it."

The old lady, wearing a gray and black cotton jacket, with white hair and a purple and blue long skirt stained with egg yolk and dust, was heartbroken. She had saved eggs for a month, and most were broken. These eggs were meant to be sold at the acquisition station to buy a schoolbag for her granddaughter. Seeing the young man who had just punished the bad guys, she was at a loss. Her thin hands pushed the money away, saying, "It's not that much, it's not that much. Only 18 eggs were broken, you can give me 72 cents. I'm fine, just my clothes are dirty. I can wash them. No need for nutrition money. Thank you, young man. Thanks to you."

The old lady insisted on not taking so much money. Xue Xiang had to take out two one-yuan bills, and she finally accepted them. She then wrapped the remaining dozen or so intact eggs in a flowered cloth and forced them on Xue Xiang. The people in front of Liu Ying'er had already bought their groceries and left, leaving the sales window empty. Xue Xiang picked up his fallen bike, picked up the basket, and, without acknowledging Liu Ying'er, picked up the little girl. He was about to help the old lady when Liu Ying'er got there first. They walked to the window. The little girl, with her red, tear-stained face, had a round, rosy-cheeked face. Xue Xiang, unnoticed, slipped the three large bills into the little girl's inner pocket.

PS: "Pawing women" refers to pursuing girls or flirting. This term originated from the courtyard where the children of officials in the western suburbs gathered. Compared to the "circle" used by street kids, it was considered more advanced and quickly became a common term among the youth in the capital. The term first appeared in the Jinbei base area, where many female students were intercepted and detained. The old Red Army soldiers took the initiative to approach them, leading to this term with a Sichuan dialect flavor.

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