The two men were quite tall and thin, like a bamboo pole, and short and fat, like a winter melon; they were both in their thirties.
They exchanged a glance, realizing that the little girl had already noticed them, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on their faces.
The skinny guy tried to explain dryly, "Um... I'm sorry, little sister, our boss told us to keep an eye on you after we saw you came!"
"Why are you staring at me? Are you looking for death?" Ning Yuan smiled sweetly on her round face, but her eyes held a cold ferocity.
In her past life, she wouldn't dare glare at anyone and would run away whenever trouble came her way. But these days of running a street stall in this life have taught her that sometimes being fierce is a good thing.
The skinny guy and the short guy were startled, after all, they had just watched the whole thing from the start.
The short, stout man rolled his eyes and chuckled, "The main thing is that the bowl you brought to sell before the New Year was indeed a good one, but our eldest brother couldn't buy it, so he's been waiting for you to come to the secondhand market every day."
Upon hearing this, Ning Yuan realized it was about the incident at the flea market last time.
She raised an eyebrow: "It's kind of your eldest brother to have thought about me for so long, and even went so far as to send someone to follow me. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was going to rob me."
After saying that, she smiled at Chen Chen: "Right, Chen Chen?"
Chen Chen cooperated, giving the short, skinny guy a roguish and fierce smile.
He deftly twirled the dagger in his hand: "Sister-in-law is right, it's just a matter of who robbed whom."
With the sight of three people on the ground, either dead or crippled, and the smell of blood in the alley, the short, thin man and the skinny man were almost scared to death.
Damn it, we've run into a tough one!
Although this little girl was not nearly as powerful as that big guy, she was fearless despite her small size.
The sharp, fierce glint in the girl's eyes was a rare sight among women these days.
Fat Winter Melon immediately bowed and scraped to Ning Yuan: "It's a misunderstanding, please don't misunderstand. Our elder brother is Uncle Liu, whom you met at the flea market last time. He even helped you sell that antique bowl for a good price."
Ning Yuan was taken aback. She thought it was someone else who hadn't bought a bowl, or even someone like Brother Tu who had bought a bowl last time and was glaring at her resentfully for paying a "high price."
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be Uncle Liu, that kind and honest uncle who had helped her sell the antique bowl for a good price.
"Pfft... Uncle Liu, you really are a capable man." Ning Yuan suddenly chuckled.
Society really taught her a lesson. When you're out in the world doing small business, you encounter all sorts of people, from all walks of life.
Ning Yuan's large, dark eyes flashed with an unusual light: "Then why are you stopping me from calling the police? Could it be...?"
She noticed that the skinny, wiry man next to the short, stout man kept looking at the three robbers lying on the ground.
"Could these three guys be one of yours too?" Ning Yuan suddenly asked.
As soon as Ning Yuan finished speaking, the short, thin man and the skinny man's expressions changed. The short, thin man chuckled awkwardly, "Well... yes, they were ignorant and offended you both."
Chen Chen was stunned for a moment. What? These three robbers knew these two guys?
The skinny guy immediately chimed in, "You've beaten them up like this too. If we're going to do business together in the future, why not let them off the hook? If this gets out of hand, you...you can forget about doing business on the black market!"
Chen Chen's brow furrowed, and he was about to speak.
Ning Yuan sneered, "You think you're worthy of talking to me about feelings? Last time you pretended to be a good person and tried to do me a favor, but secretly you had people following me. And today you're following me too. Aren't you just trying to rob me and threaten me?"
After saying that, she looked at Chen Chen and said, "Chen Chen, if anyone dares to stop us from calling the police, then you'll have to cripple them. At worst, we'll just have to stop doing business here!"
The moment he finished speaking, the skinny man froze, taking a step back in a panic and fear.
The short, stout man immediately grabbed the skinny man's arm and bowed and scraped before Ning Yuan.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sister. My brother is stupid and doesn't know how to talk. We were wrong. Just tell me your conditions, and I'll go tell my brother right away!"
The skinny guy was also scared, so he quickly lowered his head and apologized. He usually threatened his victims in the same way, but this time he had bitten off more than he could chew!
Ning Yuan looked at the short, stocky man and said, "There's a saying in Guangdong Province: 'Short men are often cunning,' and you certainly fit that description. But why should I give you a chance?"
The man in his thirties, without any hesitation, flattered her, calling the young girl "sister." He was shrewd and knew exactly what he was doing.
The short, stocky man immediately grinned, his smile ingratiating: "Sister, our eldest brother has praised you before. He really didn't mean to rob you. He's just been looking forward to your arrival day and night. He knows you don't care about anything, but..."
He paused, looked at the middle-aged man huddled timidly in the corner, clutching his bundle, and smiled kindly—
"You bravely stepped in to save someone, which could have led to the police arresting the bad guys. You two could have become good Samaritans. But this guy lives in the county and is a teacher at the county's No. 2 Middle School, right?"
A cold glint flashed in Ning Yuan's large eyes: "..."
"No, I won't call the police, I'm fine! I'm fine!" The middle-aged man, whose face was bruised and swollen, immediately stood up and said in a terrified voice.
Enraged, Chen Chen strode towards the short, stocky man: "Damn it, you dare threaten the people right in front of me?"
But before he could take two steps, the middle-aged intellectual rushed over and grabbed his leg: "Brother, I'm fine, please don't call the police, you really can't call the police, you'll be forcing me to my death if you call the police!"
Chen Chen stared incredulously at the man clinging tightly to his leg, clenching his fists in anger: "What did you say? We're forcing you to your death?"
Throughout his years of military service, he never imagined that he would be betrayed by the very person he was protecting.
Ning Yuan suddenly grabbed Chen Chen's arm, signaling him to calm down, and coldly looked at the short, stout man—
"So you think that just because you have the victim under your control, I can't do anything to you?"
They are threatening to keep harassing the victims as long as the police can't arrest them all.
The short, stout man was not arrogant at all. Instead, he bowed to her again with great sincerity and politeness: "No, no, please don't misunderstand. We are just asking for a way to survive. We only hope that you will be lenient. Our boss values you very much."
This is true. The older brother thinks this girl has good stuff and speaks eloquently, so he has been telling them to keep an eye out for when Ning Yuan will come to the flea market again to sell her goods.
The reason they followed Ning Yuan this time was simply to find out her background and connections.
Who would have thought that they would run into their own people "working" and get taken down by Ning Yuan and her team!
Ning Yuan's gaze swept over the middle-aged intellectual kneeling on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, looking at her with a pleading expression.
She said slowly, "Alright, leave fifty yuan for the treatment, then go and invite your eldest brother here, let's settle things and make things clear!"
Chen Chen was annoyed and wanted to say something, but in the end, looking at the middle-aged man clinging to his leg, he held back and said nothing.
But the short, stout guy was overjoyed and immediately took out money from his pocket, not forgetting to urge the skinny guy to take out money as well.
The skinny man clutched his purse, unwilling but also frightened and aggrieved: "But... I don't have enough money on me. They're robbing me."
They're the ones who always rob others, how come they got robbed by a girl today?
The short, stout man glared at him irritably: "Idiot, shut up!"
Then he simply turned around and ransacked the pockets of the three guys lying on the ground, taking handfuls of loose change. The five of them eventually scraped together fifty dollars.
The short, stout man handed it to Ning Yuan with a forced smile: "Sister, please keep this."
Ning Yuan refused to take it, and coldly said, "Go give it to the victim yourselves."
The short, stocky man froze for a moment, but understood Ning Yuan's meaning. He immediately walked up to the middle-aged man and handed him fifty yuan.
The refined-looking middle-aged man trembled with fear: "I...I won't..."
"Alright, here you go, brother. This was a misunderstanding. We won't bother you about this again. Keep your word." The short, stout man gave him an impatient look and stuffed the money into his hand.
The middle-aged intellectual sensed the hostility emanating from the other party and dared not refuse, so he obediently accepted the answer.
"Alright, you two wait a moment, we'll go get our big brother right away." The short, stout man smiled, then grabbed the skinny bamboo pole and ran out of the alley.
They didn't even bother with the three people lying on the ground.
Ning Yuan realized that this short, stout man was probably more talkative than the skinny bamboo pole, and she showed a thoughtful expression.
"Comrade, why are they robbing you?"
Since she had no choice but to be targeted by Uncle Liu, and since she planned to continue working in the county's secondhand market, she needed to first understand the full picture of the situation.
When the middle-aged intellectual noticed Ning Yuan staring at him, his expression became somewhat strange, as if he were trying to hide something: "I... I'm off work... they just wanted to rob me... there's no other reason."
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