The three quickly checked the television and found it to be working perfectly. Xia Liang said, "Find a few people to help us deliver it to the train station. I'll get the money from the guesthouse for you. Once it's loaded onto the car, we'll leave immediately." The man readily agreed. After all, they would be living in fear every day they didn't sell it; the sooner they sold it, the easier it would be. The man went out to find people and returned shortly after, followed by several young men, presumably from the same village. The man said, "Boss lady, we'll deliver it to you directly after dark. It's too conspicuous right now." Xia Liang wanted to make money, but she didn't dare take such a big risk. She could only wait until dark. Fortunately, it was already late; it would be completely dark in no more than an hour.
Xia Liang gave Xia Rong and Ji Xiao a look, and the three of them went out. Xia Liang looked at Ji Xiao and said, "You and Yan Xiao are friends, so I won't stand on ceremony with you. No matter how much profit we make from this batch of goods, the three of us will split it equally. But you have to take this batch of goods back to the capital tonight. We'll bring back the goods we bought during the day tomorrow." Ji Xiao hadn't expected to get a share. He thought his sister-in-law was really generous, giving him such a large sum of money so readily. But considering the large amount she spent on buying goods during the day, he wasn't surprised. He didn't refuse and said, "Okay, sister-in-law, I will definitely bring the goods back intact." Xia Liang nodded.
When it was completely dark, Xia Liang and her two companions, along with the man and other villagers, rode tricycles to the train station to load the goods onto the train. Ji Xiao bought train tickets for that night at a high price from a nearby passenger. At this time, there was no real-name ticketing system, so as long as you had a ticket, you could board the train. Xia Liang saw that the goods were almost loaded, so she called Ji Xiao and her brother aside to talk. Hearing Xia Liang ask Xia Rong for money, Ji Xiao said, "Is it enough? I have some more." He reached for his money, but Xia Liang refused, "No need, I have enough for now." A total of 120,000 yuan. Xia Liang had originally planned to make a big splash this time, so she had prepared sufficient funds. Xia Rong had a large bag, but only 30,000 yuan. Xia Liang said to her brother, "Let's go to the boss's wife and borrow some money from her." Ji Xiao stayed behind to watch over the goods. Xia Liang and his sister went to the wholesale market and found the shop owner. Xia Liang said directly, "Shop owner, I need to buy a batch of goods, but I don't have enough cash right now, and the banks aren't open at this time." Before Xia Liang could finish speaking, the shop owner smiled and said, "Don't worry, there's a bank nearby. For the convenience of customers in this wholesale market, the bank is open 24 hours a day. It's just that we're worried that distant customers like you might not be able to carry so much cash." Hearing this, Xia Liang immediately asked the shop owner to lead the way. The shop owner said, "I have to watch the shop. I'll have my daughter take you." As she spoke, she called out, "Shufen, Shufen, come out quickly and take this aunt to the bank." The little girl was watching TV in the back of the shop, and the volume was very loud. The shop owner had to call her twice before she came out. Following her mother's instructions, she led Xia Liang and his sister to the nearby bank.
Upon arriving at the bank, Xia Liang thanked the young woman and left. Xia Liang and Xia Rong withdrew 90,000 yuan to pay for tonight's expenses, planning to withdraw the rest the next day. Xia Liang put the money in her backpack, wearing it in front for added security. As they were heading to the station to pay, they were suddenly surrounded by five middle-aged men in an alley. Xia Liang recognized them as the same men who had ridden the tricycle outside the watch shop earlier that day; they were clearly there to ambush them. One of the men coughed and said, "Hand over the money, and we'll spare your lives. Otherwise, you won't get the money, and you won't be leaving." Xia Liang looked at the five men, trying to figure out how to escape. She wasn't entirely calm. Although she knew life in Yangcheng wouldn't be safe, and she carried a knife, she knew she and her brother couldn't fight them. After a moment's thought, she handed the knife to Xia Rong, figuring it would be more useful in his hands than in hers.
Seeing that Xia Liang was not only tightly clutching her bag but also brandishing a knife, the man who had spoken became enraged. He waved his hand and shouted, "Brothers, let's go! If we grab this woman, we can go home and build our houses!" He then stepped forward to snatch the bag from Xia Liang's hand. Xia Rong stepped in front of his sister, kicking the man at the front of the charge. Xia Rong was a true northerner, over 1.8 meters tall, while the men in front of him, though numerous, were mostly around 1.7 meters tall. After the man in front was kicked, the men behind became more cautious. Xia Rong brandished his steel knife, and the men dared not approach easily. Xia Rong's plan was to buy time. If Ji Xiao couldn't wait for them to return, he would definitely come looking for them, and the smugglers hadn't received their money yet, so they couldn't just leave. The men realized they were stalling for time. The man Xia Rong had kicked down got up, clutching his chest, and said, "Brothers, let's go! They outnumber us. Grab this guy first, then we'll grab the woman." They swarmed forward. Xia Liang's hand was already in her bag. Seeing her brother being harassed by three men, and two others rushing towards her, Xia Liang feigned a kick at one of the men. The man stumbled back, which was exactly what Xia Liang wanted. She pulled out a small spray bottle she had prepared beforehand—a red and white striped bottle with a brass spout—filled with pepper spray. She sprayed it into the eyes of the approaching man, who immediately covered his eyes and screamed, stumbling backward. The man who had been standing there didn't even have time to rush forward. He helped the man on the ground and asked, "Qiangzi, are you alright?" The man was burning from the pepper spray and felt like he was going to die. He didn't have time to answer. Xia Liang saw a brick in the dark corner, ran over, picked it up, and smashed it against the back of another man's head. The man fell to the ground. Xia Liang then hit the man whose eyes had been sprayed with pepper spray with two bricks. After the two men fell to the ground, Xia Liang went to help her brother. With a small pepper spray bottle in one hand and a brick in the other, the three men were still fighting fiercely with Xia Rong. They heard screams of pain but didn't bother to see what was happening. They thought that two people could easily beat Xia Liang, a woman, so they didn't pay much attention. That was the effect Xia Liang wanted. Taking advantage of one of their distractions, she used the small pepper spray bottle in her left hand to spray the man's eyes. The man bent over, covering his eyes from the burning sensation. Xia Liang then smashed his head open. The remaining two were easy to deal with.
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