Robbery?!
When I heard those two words, I was completely dumbfounded.
What era are we living in? How can someone dare to commit armed robbery in broad daylight inside a scenic area?
Although I was very surprised by this, the stinging sensation in my lower back reminded me that this was no joke.
Could it be that the people from Chuanshitang are double-crossing me and trying to get my money back?
This possibility is not high.
After all, Xu Bo bought my three-legged pottery tripod for five thousand yuan, which was a great bargain. Given the scale of Chuanshitang, it's impossible for them to ruin their reputation for five thousand yuan.
Besides, the fact that he gave me his business card means he expects me to make more money.
Before I could figure out what was going on, a young man with triangular eyes wearing a mask appeared in front of me and started reaching into my pocket: "Where did you hide your money?"
I felt the arms around my neck loosen a little, and I protested, "Dude, I have no money! I'm just a migrant worker, I'm here for a day off."
The man with the triangular eyes impatiently pulled out a folding knife: "Stop talking nonsense. I saw you selling things at Chuanshitang just now, and the other party gave you money. Hand it over!"
Looking at the ignorance and fearlessness in the other person's triangular eyes, I didn't want to offend this hothead for a few thousand yuan, so I turned slightly to the side and said, "The money is in my back pocket."
The man with the triangular eyes reached into my pocket, pulled out a wad of cash, counted out nine hundred dollars, and put the rest of the money back into my pocket.
This action completely baffled me: "Friend, what do you mean by this?"
The man with the triangular eyes looked at me arrogantly: "Stealing more than a thousand yuan is considered a relatively large amount. Do you think I don't know the law?"
"But this is robbery."
He left me speechless: "The threshold for filing a robbery case doesn't depend on the amount involved; the amount is just a factor in sentencing. As long as you've committed the act, it's enough to get you convicted! Robbing public or private property by violence, coercion, or other means starts at three years!"
Now it was the triangular-eyed man's turn to be confused: "Huh? Isn't robbery and theft the same?"
The man behind me responded, "Don't ask me, I don't know!"
The man with the triangular eyes clutched the nine hundred yuan in his hand, bewildered in the wind: "What the hell am I going to do?"
"Why don't we kill him?" someone behind me suggested. "Take him away, find a place to bury him, and as long as no one reports it, we'll be fine, right?"
"Oh dear! How did this situation escalate like this?"
I suddenly felt like I'd run into two lunatics: "Your attempted robbery only gets you three years at most, but if you actually hurt someone, you'll be executed!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
The man with the triangular eyes cursed at me irritably, then thought for a moment and gestured with the money at me: "So tell me, should I take this money or not?"
"No, don't get agitated! We can reason with each other!"
Looking at this dimwitted thief in front of me, my brain raced: "See, am I right...? You robbed me to make money, right?"
The man with the triangular eyes slammed a dagger into my head: "Isn't that obvious? If I weren't after money, would I be here looking for thrills?"
"That makes things easier. If you want to make money, you don't have to resort to the extreme path of robbery! I have a way for you to make money without committing a crime."
I calmed the man with the triangular eyes downcast and then had a sudden inspiration: "I learned about antique appraisal in elementary school, and there are so many antique shops on this street. We can definitely find some bargains! Here's what we'll do: you two give me five thousand yuan, and I'll add my five thousand to make it ten thousand! Then I'll use it to hunt for antiques. If we really find something good, we'll split the profits 50/50. It's legal income, and everyone makes money. Isn't that great!"
The man who was choking me spoke in a deep voice: "Brother Que, this method will work! It's not illegal!"
"Shut up!"
The man with the triangular eyes snapped at me, then looked at me, somewhat bewildered: "I'm robbing you here, and you're asking me for money? Your actions would be considered pretty outrageous even in our robbery circle!"
"You can't say that. You give me money, and I help you make money. That's an investment, and it's not illegal!"
I coaxed him gently, "But if you steal my money, you'll end up in jail, and that would be a huge loss! I only have a little over five thousand on me. Even if you scavenged for three years, you wouldn't earn that much, would you?"
The man with the triangular eyes inexplicably felt that what I said made sense, but after thinking about it, he cursed again: "What kind of bullshit are you talking about! If I could produce money, would I need to rob someone?"
The man behind me chimed in with a curse: "Yeah, we haven't eaten for two days straight!"
"I have a way! I have a way!"
I became increasingly certain that these two were mentally ill, and fearing that the bastard behind me might stab me, I quickly reassured him, "You stole my money to eat, which is illegal, but if you let me go, I'll treat you to a meal. That's not illegal, right?"
The person behind me immediately let go of me when they heard that.
The man with the triangular eyes was startled: "What are you doing?"
The person behind me pointed at me: "Didn't he say he'd treat us to dinner?"
I originally planned to trick them into letting me go and then find a chance to run away; I never thought of calling the police.
After all, the Wei and Qu families are both here. Once I'm registered with the police, even if I'm the one who filed the report, it will be very troublesome if they find out.
Upon seeing the person behind me, I instantly abandoned the idea of running away.
That bastard is so big, he's about the size of a bear standing up.
He was a full 1.9 meters tall, and his fists were as big as half of my head. The switchblade, which was more than ten centimeters long, looked like an ear pick in his hand. No wonder I didn't even have the strength to struggle when he strangled me.
The bear, noticing me staring at him, asked impatiently, "What do you want to eat?"
I looked at the two brothers, Haier and his gang of robbers, and smiled: "Anything is fine with you. You can choose any restaurant around here!"
...
In a pan-fried bun shop in Wenbo West City, I saw that the bear had already eaten six trays of buns in a short time and showed no signs of stopping. I asked the man with triangular eyes, "Handsome, may I ask where you two work?"
He looked at me with a fierce but cowardly expression, his triangular eyes saying, "What are you asking about? Trying to call the police and have us arrested?"
I was speechless. There are surveillance cameras everywhere in this cultural and museum city. These two guys don't even bother to cover their faces anymore. If I really want to call the police, do I need to know their information?
"What kind of attitude is that? He invited us to dinner, and you're yelling at him like that?"
The bear, however, was displeased and asked me, "What did you just say, 'uncle'?"
I smiled and picked up my teacup: "I mean, what do you do for a living?"
The bear stuffed two buns into his mouth in one gulp: "We two came from out of town to work. We started as security guards and later sold electric bikes."
I became increasingly curious: "Selling electric bikes is a legitimate profession, how could it be associated with robbery?"
The man with the triangular eyes picked up the cigarette pack in front of me, took out a cigarette and lit it, then casually put the remaining half pack into his pocket: "We sell electric bikes, mainly depending on which one the employer likes. After they choose their bike, we go and ride it back for them at night."
I nearly choked on my tea: "Isn't this just stealing a car?"
The man with triangular eyes was very averse to the word "steal": "Please call me the Battery Hunter, thank you."
I was completely speechless: "Then why rob someone? Is business slow lately?"
The man with the triangular eyes suddenly looked somewhat forlorn: "No, I mainly suffered from the pain of love."
I wanted a cigarette, but he had already taken it. I rolled my eyes and said, "Speak like a human being!"
The bear chimed in, "He was dating a female live streamer and spent all his money on her. To support his relationship, we both ended up with a mountain of online loans and high-interest debt."
I listened with great interest: "And then?"
"When that woman saw that I had no money, she blocked me in the live stream."
The man with the triangular eyes looked somewhat melancholy: "The debt collectors have been found, and they want me to raise 60,000 yuan within five days. Even if I steal an electric scooter and make it smoke, I still can't earn that much money. What else can I do but rob someone?"
Looking at the two bumbling thieves in front of me, I thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you two come with me? I'll help you make money and pay off your debts, how about it?"
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