My name is Kui Datou.

I live in a small alleyway inside Xizhimen.

My father's name was quite famous; he was called Kui the Giant. Going back further, my grandfather's name was also quite famous; he was called Kui the Iron Head.

Ahem, we've gotten a bit off-topic.

In short, that's just how people are. Before liberation, our family, for three generations, relied on the Lou family for a living. After liberation, the Lou family sent many people away. But in reality, those of us who were close to the Lou family knew that the Lou family's strength hadn't actually weakened much compared to before liberation; in fact, it had become even stronger.

However, it was only later, when the distinction between poor peasants and middle peasants began to emerge, that the Lou family gradually declined.

I heard that at that time, my grandfather and father were discussing what to do.

Ultimately, the two reached the same conclusion: to continue following the Lou family. They both believed that even if the Lou family had fallen from grace, their foundation was still there, and they would be set for life by following them. Moreover, their current status was quite good; even if they were ever investigated, they could still survive because of their identities.

So, our whole family decided to continue following the Lou family.

Although we were supposed to be with the Lou family, our family was never really valued. We mostly did odd jobs and ran errands. My dad told me that later, the eldest daughter got a powerful faction from her father.

Seeing our loyalty, Chairman Lou gave us to the eldest daughter.

Back then, my dad and grandpa knew that their time to make a fortune had come.

In fact, those who worked under the Lou family were all pretty much the same.

These days, everyone has a special skill. Take my dad, for example. Back then, he was invincible in this alley, known as "Iron Hand." I'm also pretty good at wrestling; three or five people can't get close to me.

My father worked under the young lady and even managed to get a position as a manager in Pigeon City.

Unfortunately, before he could realize his ambitions, he drank himself to death.

It was just my mother and me left, relying on each other for survival.

My mother was someone my father bought from the countryside. She never had any ambitions in her life; all she wanted was for me to grow up quickly, find a wife, and carry on the family line. She didn't want us to go on the dangerous journey with the Lou family; she always thought it was too risky. But my father and I never listened to her. When my father was alive, she didn't dare to cause trouble. After my father passed away, she became a huge mountain weighing on my head.

To be honest, it's actually quite heavy.

Later, the situation became increasingly unfavorable.

More and more people are leaving from Chairman Lou's side, and the eldest daughter has also gotten married.

I thought my connection with the Lou family was about to end, but to my surprise, the young lady would occasionally come to see us and ask about our recent situation. However, she never cared about the affairs of Pigeon City. She told us that if we could manage it well, that was our ability, and she wouldn't use the money.

With such a good opportunity, my two brothers and I certainly couldn't let it pass us by.

Oh, and I should also introduce my two little brothers, Yuan Li and Yuan Wai. These two brothers were adopted by my father when they were young and always followed me around. Although we were not born to the same parents, we are true brothers.

I originally thought that life would just go on like this.

But later, the Lou family ran away.

This news really scared me.

What exactly happened that made the Lou family run away? Is there something big going on above?

I don't know, but before we ran away, the young lady sold us out.

This would have been reasonable in the past. According to my father, our family was essentially the Lou family's servants, and the head of the family had the right to decide where his subordinates went.

But now that we're liberated, and we know the young lady isn't that kind of person. She's probably just helping us find a new backer. My father said long ago that Pigeon City wasn't established because of our military strength, but because of the Lou family's influence. Military strength is only temporary. If we relied solely on military strength, Pigeon City would have to change hands in a few months.

He was right.

At that time, a group of people came from the south and occupied a territory with their weapons.

And guess what? Hey, the next day, they were all dead.

His death was truly tragic.

My dad even took the three of us brothers over to take a look and told us not to be too arrogant.

I'm not arrogant, not at all. Besides, my family are slaves, what right do I have to be arrogant?

I was thinking that if the new guy was difficult to deal with, I might as well empty my savings and buy a factory job. But I wasn't willing to just go in like that; I felt that working in a factory must be incredibly boring.

Just then, the person that the young lady had asked for arrived.

The first time I met that bastard Wang Shouren, well, let me tell you, he was quite the handsome fellow, and incredibly ruthless. Even that fat guy Yuan Wai was completely subdued. We were cursing him at first, but after experiencing one of his blows, we stopped cursing. If we were in his shoes, we wouldn't be able to handle it either.

Alright, my combat skills are up to par.

So, what about power?

We didn't know, but he mysteriously arrived with a truckload of goods and told us to sell them.

I still remember that night clearly. After deducting all the miscellaneous expenses and his costs, the three of us brothers made eighty yuan.

Eighty yuan!

What a concept!

I started working at the factory as an apprentice, earning 18.5 yuan a month. I had to work there for four and a half months to earn that 80 yuan. That night, the three of us brothers were stunned. However, we didn't forget the whole story, because Dad had said that running a pigeon market wasn't just about brute force. It was about the power behind the scenes.

Later, Wang Shouren found us and told us that he had inside information and that we should keep the pigeon market open. He said he would notify us if there were any problems.

We were somewhat relieved about that, since it was normal for them not to let us know about the connections between those higher up. Later, I learned that he didn't actually know anyone in the black market; he was just telling us based on his own judgment. Such a despicable act, and I was foolish enough to believe him back then.

However, there are also benefits to believing.

Our lives are visibly getting better day by day.

It's so good that I feel like I'm wasting my life. I'm drinking and smoking, but all I'm missing is a wife. Xiao Li says we call this "when you're full, you think about sex." I don't care about that; I still need to find someone to give birth to Kui Xiaotou.

But in our line of work, it's really not easy to find a job.