"He Bo, are you crazy? We agreed to keep to ourselves!" Cao Laoliu covered his face and backed away, barely managing to regain his footing.

"Take it out!" He Bo stretched out his hand.

"Take...take what?" Cao Laoliu thought He Bo was going to hit him again, and took a step back in fright, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.

"A pink checkered handkerchief bag, the one you stole from the supply and marketing cooperative today," He Bo said coldly, his face stern.

"He Bo, are you being reasonable? The supply and marketing cooperative is my territory," Cao Laoliu said angrily.

There are quite a few scoundrels in Peach Blossom Town.

Most of these young people were afraid of hard farm work and couldn't find opportunities in factories. Cao Laoliu was one of them.

Cao Laoliu had a penchant for petty theft since he was a child. After his parents died of anger eight years ago, no one cared about him anymore.

During the Cultural Revolution, Cao Laoliu served as a guard leader, leading a group of hot-blooded youths to smash, loot, and plunder everywhere, living a very comfortable life.

After the movement ended, Cao Laoliu had no source of income and lived a very frugal life.

Two years ago, after the market reopened, Cao Laoliu felt that his chance to make a fortune had arrived.

Cao Laoliu gathered a few of his former henchmen and started a business with no capital—theft. Sometimes, Cao Laoliu would also find opportunities to extort money from villagers who came to town for the market.

Last year, He Bo suddenly appeared and gathered a dozen or so people under his command.

Under He Bo's leadership, these people took on all sorts of odd jobs in town: running errands for a fee, carrying luggage at the station, moving, carrying dowries at weddings, and even helping out at funerals.

When the scoundrels saw that they could make money by doing legitimate work with He Bo, they were no longer willing to follow Cao Laoliu to do shady things.

Working with He Bo was tiring, but it was better than doing illegal things with Cao Laoliu. At least I didn't have to worry about being arrested by the police and going to jail one day.

When Cao Laoliu saw that his men had dwindled from seven or eight to only two or three, he became furious and got into a fight with He Bo.

Despite his young age, He Bo is much fiercer than Cao Laoliu when it comes to fighting.

This fight ended with Cao Laoliu swearing that he and his men would never again "make a living" around the train station.

He Bo never thought he could teach Cao Laoliu well, nor did he ever think he could unify the "jianghu" of Peach Blossom Town.

The flow of people at the station is relatively stable, offering more opportunities for moving and carrying things. There are also more opportunities to make money.

He Bo had long had his eye on the area around the station.

He Bo and Cao Laoliu made an agreement that as long as Cao Laoliu and his gang didn't steal things from the train station, they would keep to themselves and not interfere with each other.

Cao Laoliu felt that he had been following the rules very well during this period.

When He Bo came knocking on the door, Cao Laoliu was definitely not going to accept it.

"You dare steal my relatives' things? Hand them over right now, or I'll beat you up again," He Bo said, raising his fist in a threatening gesture.

He Bo knew that Cao Laoliu bullied the weak and feared the strong.

That's why he punched Cao Laoliu right away before talking about anything else.

A pink plaid handkerchief bag? Is that woman He Bo's lover? Cao Laoliu's eyes darted around.

Huang Xiuhong was wearing clothes that were almost new today, which suggested she came from a well-off family. Cao Laoliu followed Huang Xiuhong for a long time before finally finding his chance to strike.

The handkerchief packet felt thick; there should be several yuan inside. Cao Laoliu was somewhat unwilling to return it to He Bo just like that.

“I know someone saw you here.” He Bo saw Cao Laoliu’s eyes darting around and knew what Cao Laoliu was up to, so he gave him a cold warning.

"Go outside and wait, I'll look for it and bring it out to you when I find it," said Cao Laoliu.

"Hurry up and find it, I'll wait here." He Bo raised his chin and said.

After a standoff with He Bo for half a minute, Cao Laoliu decided to back down.

He Bo is a madman when he goes crazy; he's someone you can't mess with.

Oh well, I made a good living today anyway. It was just a handkerchief pouch, let's just pretend I didn't steal it!

More than ten minutes later, He Bo returned to the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Is this it?" He Bo handed the handkerchief package to Huang Xiuhong.

"Oh, it really is my handkerchief bag." Huang Xiuhong's face was full of surprise.

"Open it and see if anything is missing," He Bo said.

"No need, I trust you." Huang Xiuhong said somewhat embarrassed.

“Let’s see,” He Bo said stubbornly.

If Cao Laoliu dares to cause trouble, He Bo is prepared to go back and beat him up again.

Huang Xiuhong opened it and saw that all the money and tickets were still there.

“That’s right, not a single penny is missing,” Huang Xiuhong nodded and said.

"Be careful next time you come to town, especially in crowded places. Don't get targeted by pickpockets," He Bo instructed before walking away.

“Hey~!” Huang Xiuhong called out.

He Bo turned around.

"Thank you." Looking into He Bo's dark eyes, Huang Xiuhong blushed.

He Bo waved his hand, said nothing, and continued walking forward.

He Bo knew that a relationship between him and Huang Xiuhong was impossible. His family wasn't well-off, and he wasn't good enough for such a wonderful girl as Huang Xiuhong.

However, He Bo was still very happy to have accomplished something for the girl he liked.

When He Bo returned to the fried dough stall, Liang Xiaobao and Zhou Jiaxiang had already left.

Grandma Hua is not busy right now.

Grandma Hua looked her grandson over and saw that He Bo's clothes were neat and his face was unharmed, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

When He Bo left, he looked unwell, and Granny Hua was afraid that he had gone to pick a fight.

"Xiao Bo, what were you doing just now?" Granny Hua asked.

"I went to see a friend." He Bo didn't dare look at Granny Hua and lowered his head to tidy up the things on the stall.

Business was good today. Grandma Hua brought out three bowls of batter, and by noon there was only half a bowl left.

The two empty basins were taking up space here, so He Bo planned to take them home later.

"Is it a woman?" Granny Hua's eyes lit up.

He Bo's marriage became a source of great anxiety for Granny Hua.

When He Bo turned seventeen, Granny Hua begged the town's matchmaker to help her find a good girl from the surrounding area.

He Bo's family has a heavy burden. His father is a sickly man who relies on medication, and his grandparents are old and can't earn many work points throughout the year.

The matchmakers didn't think that Granny Hua's fried dough stall could earn much money in a year.

Families who love their daughters would not want them to marry into a poor family like He Bo's.

Families who don't love their daughters will try to marry into a better family if their daughters are even slightly attractive, and they will look down on He Bo even more.

Grandma Hua had been waiting for over a year, but the matchmaker hadn't found her a granddaughter-in-law. So she could only nag He Bo every day, urging him to put in more effort and find a wife himself.

“It’s not a woman,” He Bo said, after a moment of surprise.

He Bo liked Huang Xiuhong. But knowing his own family situation, he didn't want Huang Xiuhong to suffer with him, so he could only bury his feelings deep in his heart.

"Xiao Bo, if you have a girl you like, you must tell Grandma." Grandma Hua said, then leaned close to He Bo's ear and whispered, "Don't underestimate Grandma's oil cakes, which only sell for a few cents each. In a market day, I can actually earn at least five or eight dollars. That's more than a factory worker earns in a month!"