Chapter 172 interprets these rules to the fullest
Jiang Zhiyue walked around outside and found that most shops were closed, but some small stalls were bustling with activity, selling fruits, breakfast, toys and clothes.
Rather than visiting high-end department stores, people in the old town prefer the street vendors full of local flavor.
The most popular food is a thin, crispy wrap made of a mixture of cornmeal and cheese, wrapped with stewed meat drizzled with a local sauce, and the lines are long.
Jiang Zhiyue took a look, felt the money in her pocket, and continued to look for a second-hand store.
I searched for a long time, but the big shopping malls were full of luxury stores and I didn't see any second-hand luxury stores at all.
In the shops of large department stores and among the small vendors on the street, you can see gangs wearing black clothes and carrying rifles roaming around everywhere.
Whenever these people walked to the door of a store, the clerk would tremblingly pick up a thick stack of envelopes and hand them over.
The leading man shook his head, and the shop assistants gritted their teeth and took out a bunch of money from their wallets and handed it over.
Jiang Zhiyue returned empty-handed, and on the way she saw the most popular breakfast stall, which was suddenly surrounded by a group of burly men.
The stall owner stopped what he was doing, wiped his hands clean, and said respectfully, "Mr. Li, I just paid the protection fee last week, two thousand dollars. I'm just a small business, and I work hard every day to make enough money to eat."
"Business is so good, the protection fee has to be doubled." The burly man glared at him and said unhappily, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll triple it."
The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a slightly bald head. He had elderly parents and young children to take care of. He had cold sweat on his face and his fingers were almost twisted into knots. "Mr. Li, please be kind... I really can't take it out. We agreed to pay it monthly. We have done what we should do every month. You only come once in half a month. I really can't stand it..."
"Each burrito is fifty cents. As you can see, I make a hundred dollars at most. Just one visit from you takes away one-third of my family's living expenses..." The stall owner's voice was almost out of breath. He looked so desperate and helpless, as if he was about to cry.
He was bent over, and the invisible weight seemed to be crushing him.
When the people still in line saw this group of people, they quietly hid far away. The locals were no longer surprised by the phenomenon of collecting protection fees, and as for what would happen next, everyone's eyes showed a hint of sympathy.
Jiang Zhiyue looked back and saw that in the hustle and bustle, the breakfast stall that had been tidy just a moment ago had turned into a ruin in the blink of an eye. The stall owner could not pay the protection fee and could not continue his business. Smashing his stall was not enough, the leading man grabbed the stall owner by the collar and punched him, knocking him to the ground.
Fists and kicks rained down on the stall owner, who held his head and screamed. In a moment, his teeth and blood splattered out of his mouth.
The man lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth, saying viciously: "You have been here for so long, don't you know whose territory this is? You dare to bargain for the protection fee given to Xiao Ye?"
He smiled grimly, "I heard that you have a daughter. You can't pay the protection fee. How about using your daughter to pay off the debt?"
"It just so happens that the club is looking for new members, and I'm worried about not having enough sales."
"No, no! Please, don't!" The stall owner crawled over and hugged the men's thighs, begging them not to touch his daughter. He promised to pay the protection fee on time and promised to double the fee if business was good.
"You're smart." The man pressed the burning cigarette butt on the stall owner's forehead. Instantly a smoking blood hole flowed down the stall owner's forehead, but he seemed not to feel the pain and kept begging for mercy.
Kill the chicken to scare the monkey.
When the vendors around saw this scene, they all jumped out and said that they would definitely pay double the protection fee.
The man threw away his cigarette butt with satisfaction and kicked the other person away like a dog.
[In the Brandenberg Empire, where the class hierarchy is particularly strict and dominated by nobles and dignitaries, power and wealth override the rules.
In this world where the gap between the rich and the poor is too great, people without power and influence live worse than a dog in an aristocratic family. 】
The scene before us perfectly illustrates the rules of this world.
The man in black then collected protection money.
Jiang Zhiyue's eyelids suddenly jumped, and she saw a yellow-haired man in the crowd. His arms were wrapped in gauze, and it was obvious that he was seriously injured.
He bared his teeth and cursed, "Mr. Li, the man who beat me up yesterday must have come to this part of the city, and that woman even stole the money from my brother's pocket!"
"Don't be fooled by their thieves' appearance. Based on my experience, that man must be a rich young man. If we kidnap him, we will be rich!"
One needs to register one's identity to enter or leave the wealthy area, so the relatively free old town area has become the first choice for tourists.
The yellow-haired man was right to think so.
Jiang Zhiyue's heart skipped a beat unconsciously. Knowing that things had gotten out of hand, she quickly moved to the side.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the crowd, he ran away.
The leading man, however, sneered as he counted the confiscated money, and said meaningfully, "I heard from the higher-ups that we have had several uninvited guests recently."
"I wonder if these guests can still return alive?"
...
Jiang Zhiyue ran back to the hotel.
No one at the front desk.
She looked up and glanced at the surveillance cameras around her. There were no surveillance cameras nearby, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
She went upstairs to find Qin Si.
Qin Si didn't know what he was doing in the room.
After a long while, he slowly opened the door.
The lighting is poor, the old-fashioned floor and gray walls make the place look depressed and dilapidated.
The man stood against the light, his whole body sunk into shadow. A ray of warm sunlight shining in from behind carved his already three-dimensional and sharp facial features into even greater depth.
He has a straight nose and thin lips that reveal a cold look.
The man was wearing a white sports vest, and his broad shoulders, strong arms, and full, well-developed chest and abdominal muscles were clearly visible.
His eyes were full of oppression, looking down at her condescendingly.
Jiang Zhiyue frowned slightly when she saw this expressionless face.
The man's body is so explosive.
Strong visual impact.
The large shadow cast by Qin Si directly enveloped her entire body.
"Breakfast," he said.
"......" Jiang Zhiyue had nothing in her hands, obviously she didn't buy breakfast for him.
Qin Si's face suddenly turned ugly and he looked at her coldly.
Jiang Zhiyue said: "I am not your babysitter. You have hands and feet. You can buy whatever you want to eat yourself..."
After saying this, I thought about the troubles he had gotten into.
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