Chapter 211 Provocation at the Door
Twenty or thirty burly men dressed in black, carrying steel pipes, swaggered down the middle of the road. Passing vehicles didn't dare to honk their horns, and instead detoured around them from a great distance.
Bai Lu frowned, and asked casually, "Who are they? Why did they smash up the electronics store? Don't they allow people to open electronics stores in the city?"
The motorcycle taxi driver was moving at a speed comparable to that of a bicycle, and the closer he got to the group of people, the more wary he became, almost to the point of fear.
"It's not that we can't open it, it's that we have to pay money. There isn't a single appliance store in the city. Anyone who wants to monopolize this market has to pay them a large sum of money."
"They have a boss called Brother Biao. I heard he has a lot of powerful backing. Nobody in Pingcheng dares to offend him. Everyone has to bow and scrape when they see him, otherwise, if he gets angry, he can beat people to a pulp!"
When they were about 800 meters away from the new appliance store, the motorcycle taxi driver stopped and refused to go any further.
He earnestly advised, "That Brother Biao is extremely ruthless, so you shouldn't go and join in the fun."
"Last year, a new electronics store opened on North Street. On the opening day, everything in the store was smashed. There were no televisions or tape recorders, and even small light bulbs were not spared, all of them were smashed to pieces."
"The whole process took less than an hour. The new store opened but then closed down. I later heard that Brother Biao and his gang asked for too much money, and when the store owner disagreed, they smashed up the store."
"So arrogant?" After getting out of the car, Bai Lu grabbed Xiao Wei, who wanted to go to the electronics store, with one hand and took out money to pay the fare with the other. Her tone was calm and undisturbed, without the slightest fear.
Seeing that Bai Lu was not only unafraid but also frequently looked towards the electronics store, the motorcycle taxi driver earnestly advised her, "Evil people are arrogant. If you can't buy a TV, so be it. You can go buy one elsewhere when you have the chance. Don't risk your life."
"This appliance store is definitely going to close down. If you get hurt there, who will you complain to? The owner of that store also had some influence. After his store was vandalized, he sent people to take revenge, and they all ended up in the hospital."
The motorcycle taxi driver said a lot, but Xiao Wei only heard one sentence and immediately retorted, "The electronics store will never close down, it's my brother's place..."
Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was covered.
Xiao Wei looked at Bai Lu with a mixture of anxiety and helplessness.
Bai Lu ignored him and instead spoke first, stopping the motorcycle taxi driver from trying to persuade her again: "Let's not buy a TV, let's buy roasted chestnuts."
After saying that, he pulled Xiao Wei away.
When the motorcycle taxi driver realized what was happening, the two figures, one large and one small, were already on the other side of the road; it was definitely not Chengnan Road.
It's the North Road Fruit Street where they sell roasted chestnuts.
The only fruit shop in town that sells roasted chestnuts suddenly ran out of stock a few days ago, catching both new and old customers off guard. Today, as soon as the roasted chestnuts reappeared, long queues immediately formed, with customers afraid that if they lined up too late, they would run out of stock again.
Sure enough, the stock ran out after only five people.
Yu Fugui repeatedly assured the customer that there would be roasted chestnuts in the afternoon, and only then did the customer reluctantly leave.
The congested store entrance was instantly brightened, and Bai Lu and Xiao Wei's figures became clear in front of them.
Yu Fugui immediately came out to greet him, and then, realizing that Xiao Cheng's electronics store was opening today, he understood.
"Don't you know the way to Xiao Cheng's new store? I'll take you there."
Bai Lu thanked Yu Fugui for his kindness and explained, "I need to take care of something first. I'd like Xiao Wei to stay here with you for a while. I'll come back to pick him up when I'm done."
Yu Fugui's shop wasn't on Chengnan Road, and it was in the opposite direction from Xiao Cheng's electronics store. Plus, there were a lot of customers who came to buy roasted chestnuts earlier, so they didn't know what had happened.
He immediately agreed: "It's okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll keep an eye on things, Xiao Wei won't run around."
Xiao Wei, however, held onto Bai Lu's sleeve tightly, preventing her from leaving: "Take me with you to find my elder brother."
Bai Lu explained softly, "I'm going to get reinforcements, not to find your brother. Wait for me to come back, okay?"
Xiao Wei knew what it meant to call for reinforcements; he had seen it on TV before, and Bai Lu had explained it to him.
The eldest brother's shop is about to be smashed by thugs with steel pipes, and the eldest sister-in-law is going to go and get reinforcements to help her brother.
Xiao Wei had no choice but to loosen his grip on Bai Lu's sleeve and clutch his own clothes tightly: "Then come back and pick me up when you're done."
"I'll wait for you here, I won't wander off."
Bai Lu could hear the little guy's nervous and scared tone, so she patted his head and comforted him, "Don't worry, I will definitely come back."
After watching Bai Lu leave, Yu Fugui turned around and found Xiao Wei still staring intently, as if he wanted to take root in the spot and wait for Bai Lu to return.
Judging from Bai Lu's tone just now, it seems that Xiao Cheng's electronics store opening has run into some troublesome issues.
In Pingcheng, it's the big boss's people who are charging fees. It's not really an internal feud, since Xiao Cheng has already withdrawn. But it could be a personal grudge.
Hu Biao was beaten so badly last time that the news spread throughout the streets and alleys. He will definitely seek revenge and get his revenge.
Hopefully, the White Dew solar term will bring in even greater reinforcements.
These days, human traffickers are rampant, so Yu Fugui can't let Xiao Wei wait outside: "Xiao Wei, come back to the shop with Uncle Fugui to eat fruit and wait. Customers will be coming in a little while, and it wouldn't be good if you were accidentally squeezed into a corner."
Xiao Wei disliked joining crowds and even more so disliked people getting too close to him, so he immediately agreed.
"good."
Yu Fugui's fruit shop is small; after displaying the fruit, there's barely any space left, but it's enough for a little boy to sit on a small stool at the back, eagerly waiting.
Bai Lu hailed a motorcycle taxi and went to a public phone booth near the police station to make a call to Xiao Cheng's shop.
It rang several times before being answered: "Sister-in-law?"
The shop had Xiao Cheng's home phone number, which Xiao Dazhuang, Luo Shiliu, and the others memorized after just one glance.
But honest people can't keep things to themselves; their greetings were filled with anger and anxiety, as if they were in a hurry to beat someone up.
"No one is allowed to lay a hand on me. Wait for me to return." Bai Lu's tone was serious and left no room for argument.
Xiao Dazhuang was a little flustered. He hadn't said anything, so how did his sister-in-law seem to know everything?
Did they also find out about Hu Biao's provocative visit?
But how could we not take action? We had to argue our case. Xiao Dazhuang said bluntly, "If Hu Biao makes the first move, Brother Cheng won't tolerate him, and neither will we."
"Try to stall him, I'll be back soon." Before hanging up the phone, Bai Lu specifically instructed, "You must stop Xiao Cheng."
Xiao Dazhuang remembered Bai Lu as gentle and kind, and had never heard her speak in such a serious tone before. Her seriousness was exactly like Xiao Cheng's, which made him subconsciously agree.
"OK."
The atmosphere at the electronics store, which was cheerful just a moment ago, is now tense and fraught with tension.
"Looking for death?" Xiao Cheng said disdainfully, his gaze sweeping over Hu Biao across from him like that of an ant.
The words "defeated opponent" kept echoing in Hu Biao's mind. The scene of being brutally beaten by Xiao Cheng that night was still vivid in his mind. He had lost all face and dignity.
Hu Biao wanted nothing more than to tear Xiao Cheng to pieces on the spot: "You're the one who's asking for death."
(End of this chapter)
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