Ling Chengyan saw clearly that among the three, Daxiong was the main force. If he went down, the other two would be basically useless.
The truth proved that even with a different body, her judgment had not deteriorated.
With a straight punch and a downward chop, Daxiong couldn't even retaliate before his massive body fell with a thud, unable to rise again.
The man who brought Ling Chengyan was quick-witted. Seeing the unfavorable situation, he turned to escape, but Ling Chengyan threw a small stone at him, striking the back of his knee, causing him to kneel down with a thud, and due to the inertia of his run, he sprawled face-down on the ground.
Having taken down two, Ling Chengyan turned her gaze to the stunned Gou'er.
He still held the short dagger in his hand, but his earlier showy gestures were nowhere to be seen, leaving only trembling and fear: "You, you don't come over, I didn't mean anything, just wanted to find some money to spend..."
Ling Chengyan reached out, and Gou'er didn't even see her move before the short dagger had changed hands and was now in Ling Chengyan's possession.
She tested the blade with her fingertip: "It's still usable." Without another glance at Gou'er, she casually tucked the dagger into the bundle in her arms.
Heartbroken, Gou'er dared not utter even a half-word of protest, stammering, "My grandfather forged that with railway steel, prime steel material, take it if you don't mind..."
Disregarding his babble, Ling Chengyan said blandly, "Take out the milk powder, won't you?"
"Wha-what milk powder?" Gou'er was dumbfounded.
The three of them were unemployed youths, idling at home and barely scraping by, having no means to find even their own food, let alone any milk powder.
Ling Chengyan turned to the man behind her: "He said there was milk powder..."
"Old Third, why are you talking nonsense? The three of us only came out to find some money because we aren't full, where could we get such a good thing as milk powder... Hey, Third, you didn't mean those people from Hai Sheng, did you?"
The man, Old Third, who had tricked Ling Chengyan into coming over, was lying on the ground silent, either unconscious from the fall or playing dead. However, Gou'er was talkative, and without Ling Chengyan asking, he spilled the beans about Hai Sheng running a black market and selling scarce goods.
"Those people usually hang around in the alley behind the shipyard, but young ladies shouldn't go there..." Gou'er's voice trailed off to almost a whisper by the end.
The person before him was indeed a young woman, appearing tender and frail, but anyone who mistook her for a sheep would be gravely mistaken.
Not a sheep, but a wolf in sheep's clothing... No, more like a tigress, the kind that devoured without leaving a trace.
Under Ling Chengyan's sardonic gaze, Gou'er said hesitantly, "Well, you could go, but you'd better be careful; they are many and ruthless, really capable of killing..."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall some bloody and terrifying scenes and shivered.
Ling Chengyan squinted slightly, her voice barely audible: "Hai Sheng, is it?"
Muttering under her breath, she had already rounded Gou'er and the other two, heading back the way they had come.
Having walked only a dozen paces, Ling Chengyan suddenly heard a shout from behind: "Auntie, don't you need someone to lead the way? That place is hard to find..."
She turned back, raising an eyebrow: "Is there something else?"
Gou'er was half kneeling beside Daxiong, a slight crying tone in his voice: "Please, save Old Third and Daxiong, I am willing to serve you, be at your disposal, even if it means being a beast of burden for you..."
He had just slapped Old Third and Daxiong a few times, neither of them responded. If he hadn't checked their breath, he would have thought they were dead.
"You?" Ling Chengyan sneered, "Can be a beast, or a horse?"
Gou'er hung his head, then suddenly lifted it, crawling over to Ling Chengyan, saying, "I'm familiar with the county town; whatever you need to find, or inquire about, leave it to me."
Ling Chengyan looked down at Gou'er for a moment, long enough for him to break out in a cold sweat, and just as he was about to collapse, she suddenly said: "I hope you remember what you said today."
With that, she walked past and kicked Old Third and Daxiong on the body, both groaned, and regained consciousness.
This time Ling Chengyan didn't pause, tossing back a sentence as she left: "I'll be at the department store. If you can't keep up, don't ever appear before me again."
Gou'er responded repeatedly, and once Ling Chengyan was gone, he immediately pounced on Old Third and Daxiong, asking if there was anything wrong with them and whether they needed to go to the hospital.
Old Third, a quick thinker, rubbed his head remembering the previous events, but Daxiong, though dull, rubbed his head and puzzled: "Why go to the hospital? I just took a nap..."
Gou'er's eyes widened, and after double-checking to confirm that Old Third and Daxiong were unharmed, not even in pain, his face turned pale.
In a panic, he patted Daxiong and called out to Old Third, frantically leading the two towards the department store.
The three of them ran frantically all the way and finally managed to intercept her at the entrance of the department store.
"Hehe, sis, well, we, we came!" Gou'er wheezed like a bellows but still managed to hold onto a smile and greet her.
Ling Chengyan said: "Do you have a place? Take the children to wait, leave one person to lead the way for me."
Gou'er said: "Sis, Daxiong's house is just him and a younger sister, we can go to his house. As for running errands, leave it to us, so sis can rest with the children."
Ling Chengyan looked at Xiao Xing, then glanced at the baby stone she held, pondering for a moment, and said: "Let's go have a look and see."
Seeing the sun slanting west, the two children had been on the go for half the day without even a sip of water; indeed, it was time to get some food and rest.
Xiao Xi was Daxiong's sister, twelve years old, already skilled in sewing, cooking, and had taken on the street factory job of wrapping matchboxes to earn money and support the family.
The room was divided inside and outside, Daxiong set up a bed outside, Xiao Xi slept in the inner room.
Ling Chengyan assessed the simple yet tidy room, handed ten yuan to Gou'er, instructing him to buy milk powder. She also gave some spare change and food coupons to Old Third, telling him to go to the state-run restaurant and bring back some food.
Xiao Xi, seeing several yuan and ten pounds of food coupons, blinked and said: "Yan'er... sis, the state-run restaurant is expensive, not worth it. We still have some flour and two eggs at home, how about we eat here? I can make a pancake and an egg roll, is that alright?"
Ling Chengyan glanced at the skinny little girl and the towering stack of paper boxes, her gaze softening a bit, said: "Your family's rice and flour aren't much either; if we eat them, you and your brother will go hungry. Let them buy some buns or something, and you can make an egg flower soup."
With that, she handed five cents to Xiao Xi.
Xiao Xi shook her head: "No need for money, there's no way I can take your money."
It was just a few eggs, so Ling Chengyan didn't argue further, turning instead to prepare the baby's bottle and feed the little stone.
After feeding the baby and changing the diaper, the little one fell sound asleep having eaten his fill.
Old Third, being quick, soon returned with five big buns: "There were only five buns left; I bought them all. Three large meat buns, didn't use any meat coupons."
Ling Chengyan glanced at him but didn't comment,
Just then, Xiao Xi also brought out a large bowl of egg flower soup, garnished with green scallions and beautiful golden egg flowers, Xiao Xi also thickened it, added a few drops of oil, and it smelled quite nice.
Ling Chengyan handed a large meat bun to Xiao Xing, took one herself, and started to eat.
Having finished two buns and not yet finishing the soup, Gou'er came running in breathlessly.