"Bang!" The short man felt a sharp pain on his head. He turned around and saw that he had been hit by the copper basin. The old woman holding the basin was still standing behind him, her face full of anger. Wait, she looked familiar, but her hat was worn too low, and a lot of cellophane was sticking out, covering half of her face. But...
"Look at your grandma's legs! Don't you even recognize your own mother?! You're making a fool of yourself here. Get out of here!"
The old lady picked up the basin and smashed it again. This time, the little boy learned his lesson and raised his hand to block it. The basin hit the numb tendon on his elbow, and he was in so much pain that tears almost fell from his eyes.
"What's going on, bro?" The short guy wasn't alone; he brought a few brothers. Hearing something was wrong inside, they rushed in. Seeing that the short guy was about to get hurt, they tried to charge forward.
"You little brat! Your wife has gone back to her parents' house again! Where have you been all these days? You haven't been home for days!" An old woman rushed out and grabbed a young man, refusing to let go.
"Come here! Where are you running to!" Another boy was caught by his mother.
The competition venue was in chaos. A group of hooligans who had been so arrogant just moments before were taught a lesson by their own mothers.
Qin Xiaoyu gave a cold laugh and walked out of the classroom. Aunt Wang knew Qi Si and his gang best; she'd even brought their mothers—she wasn't sure she couldn't handle these unruly kids.
"Little Fish, who did you find?" Master Wang suppressed a laugh and chased after them.
"Master, keep an eye on things and don't let them touch our students. If they break anything, make them pay for it. Getting a perm is free, but we can't let things get smashed for nothing."
Qin Xiaoyu had asked Aunt Wang to inquire, and Qi Si would be out soon; they just needed to buy a few days. This commotion had severely weakened the short guy and his group, so they would probably have to wait a few days before trying again.
These are just petty thugs; Qi Si is the real murderer, yet Qin Xiaoyu chooses to trust him, which is strange.
When Qi Si appeared, his hair was very short. Qin Xiaoyu glanced at his shiny scalp and knew he hadn't had a haircut in a while. He had shaved it off at the police station.
"I'm here to settle the accounts." Qi Si sat down on the sofa in Qin Xiaoyu's office, took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes, lit one, and took a deep drag.
"The short guys came, but I didn't give them anything." Qin Xiaoyu had made up her mind; if she were to give anything, it would be to Qi Si.
"Got it. You're quite resourceful." Qi Si twitched the corner of his mouth, giving a slight smile. Qin Xiaoyu noticed that although his face was still full of fat, his wrinkles had deepened considerably; this period had been rather difficult for him.
"Brother, if it doesn't work out, let's switch to another industry." Qin Xiaoyu suddenly said this, which startled even herself.
"Change? Which line of work? All I know is fighting and killing," Qi Si said with a wry smile.
"It's not like that. Before, when you had no power, if someone bullied you, you would fight back. Now it's different. You have a foundation, you can do other things and make money just the same. With money comes power, and you can accomplish great things without fighting." Qin Xiaoyu's voice was soft and gentle.
"Hehe, we'll see. Let me think about it." Qi Si surprisingly didn't argue anymore. He stood up and walked out, and Qin Xiaoyu also stood up to see him off.
"Brother, didn't you say you were going to settle the accounts?" Qin Xiaoyu asked, still worried.
"What did you call me?" Qi Si stopped and asked without turning his head.
Qin Xiaoyu then realized that she hadn't called him "Fourth Brother," but "Brother," and she panicked a little.
"You actually want to settle accounts with me? Do you think I'm stupid? Can Aunt Wang afford Daqianmen cigarettes? You gave me those things, didn't you? You've already called me brother, how could I not acknowledge you as my sister? Today is just to acknowledge our kinship, nothing else. I'm leaving, they won't be coming." Qi Si finished speaking and pushed the door open forcefully.
Master Wang, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, was unexpectedly knocked to the ground, seeing stars. Qin Xiaoyu rushed over to help her up, but Qi Si had already disappeared.
"What happened? I didn't understand?" Master Wang asked hurriedly, ignoring the pain.
"I'm not sure either. It looks like we can't collect protection money from them anymore. Let's leave it at that."
Qin Xiaoyu had survived another ordeal and breathed a sigh of relief.
When she got home, she sensed something was off. Usually, the brother and sister would rush out to greet her as soon as they heard her voice, but today there was no sound.
"It seems like Grandma Hanhan just slapped my little sister twice, and that boy is throwing a tantrum, locking himself in his room and refusing to come out," my cousin-in-law whispered as she came over.
Upon hearing that her younger sister had been hit twice, Qin Xiaoyu immediately felt uncomfortable.
Because the younger sister couldn't speak, Hanhan doted on her and had held her in her arms since she was a baby. Qin Xiaoyu loved Hanhan, so he went along with her wishes and showed more favoritism to the younger sister. They couldn't bear to lay a finger on her, so how could they feel good if someone else hit her?
Normally, Qin Xiaoyu would go to the upper room to report when she got home, but today she knocked on her own door first. Hanhan answered the door, called out softly "Mom," her eyes red, and turned to go inside.
Just as Qin Xiaoyu was about to ask further, Hanhan's grandmother walked in, carrying a tin box of pastries.
This is a valuable item; if it weren't given away as a gift, it could be kept at home for several years.
Now that it's being brought here as an apology, it's a huge favor, and it's also definitely the madam's doing. Even if Grandma Hanhan had a lot of guts, she wouldn't dare to take it out privately.
Upon seeing the snack box, the little girl's eyes lit up. She stood up from the kang (a heated brick bed), stared intently at the box, put her index finger in her mouth, and drooled.
Hanhan climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), pulled her younger sister's hand out, gently wiped it with a handkerchief, and pushed her to sit inside, blocking her gaze.
"Little Fish, give this to the child." Grandma Hanhan noticed that Qin Xiaoyu was acting strangely, unlike her usual warm demeanor, and she knew what was going on.
"No need, Mom, I'll buy it if they want to eat it." Qin Xiaoyu was unmoved.
"Little Fish, don't be angry. It's my fault today. I was too anxious." In her anxiety, Grandma Hanhan burst into tears, wiping them from her sleeve.
"Alright, Mom, it's just a child. A couple of slaps is fine. But little sister... please don't hit her anymore." Qin Xiaoyu said this against her will, but seeing Grandma Hanhan's expression, she couldn't bear it and had to give her a way out.
"I was really in a hurry. She suddenly darted out and bumped into my wife. If I hadn't caught her firmly, she would have been knocked back to the hospital." Grandma Hanhan was also aggrieved. When Qin Xiaoyu heard that she had bumped into her wife, she couldn't sit still either.
"This child is naughty and deserves a beating!"
"It's not my little sister's fault. Grandma invited her to play hide-and-seek and suddenly came out to scare her," Hanhan quickly explained.
Qin Xiaoyu and Hanhan's grandmother suddenly realized that they had indeed misunderstood the child; someone else had been up to no good again.
"Oh dear! What a wicked person she is! Doesn't she fear retribution?" Grandma Hanhan stomped her feet angrily at the door.
"Mom, there's something I haven't told you yet, but I'll tell you today. When my wife was in the hospital, my two children almost died."
Qin Xiaoyu recounted how the old lady poured water into the coal, which made Grandma Hanhan tremble with anger.
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