"Momo, actually, you don't need to worry about this matter at all!" Ye Chen looked at her and said, "Even if it wasn't you at that time, I would have still stepped in to help!"
"I know!" Liu Momo nodded and said, "That's why I like Brother Chen. If Brother Chen only saved beautiful girls and ignored others, I wouldn't like you this much!"
Clap clap clap...
A series of metallic sounds, followed by Mrs. Liu's panic-stricken scream.
"Mom..." Liu Momo almost instinctively rushed over.
A few young thugs with dyed yellow hair, wearing several metal rings on their ears and even a nose ring, were holding metal machetes and striking hard on Mrs. Liu's barbecue grill.
"Damn, Ma Le Gobi, pay the protection fee now!" The leading Huangmao man, looking arrogant, swung his machete, knocking almost all the barbeque off the grill onto the floor; a few fish balls rolled all over the place, with one rolling to Ye Chen's feet.
"We... we just paid a couple of days ago, didn't we?" Mrs. Liu stammered, looking at them nervously and asked, "Why are you asking for it again today?"
"Damn, you ate a few days ago, so you don't need to eat today?" Huangmao twisted his face, looking cocky, and angrily said, "Hurry up and pay, or pack up and leave!"
Ye Chen watched coldly from the side. There is a code even among those in the underworld. Ye Chen understood their need to collect protection fees, but collecting them again after they've already been paid is absolutely unacceptable, as it violates the agreed rules. Ye Chen glanced around, noticing several other barbecue stall owners observing silently, making it clear to him what was going on.
"We'll pay, we'll pay!" Mrs. Liu intended to pay and avoid further trouble. After all, business was good now, and she'd just work harder for a few days to make up the difference. She hurriedly asked, "How much... how much do we have to pay?"
"Five thousand yuan!" Huangmao replied with a cold smile.
"What!" Mrs. Liu looked at him in shock, asking, "Wasn't it always three hundred yuan?"
"Damn, you know that was in the past, right?" Huangmao spat on the ground and angrily said, "Society's progressed now, prices have risen, the CPI's going up faster than housing prices, pork's 25 yuan a pound now, and what used to feed a family of four with 10 yuan now takes over a hundred per person! You still expect me to charge the old rates? How do you expect my boys to eat?"
"Can't... can't it be a bit less?" Mrs. Liu still hoped to avoid escalating the situation.
"Damn, no way!" Huangmao swung his machete, nearly cutting the barbecue grill in half.
"Mom, we should call the police!" Liu Momo hastily shielded Mrs. Liu behind her and glared angrily.
The thugs lit up when they saw Liu Momo. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the sight of such a beautiful girl. No wonder this barbecue stall had such good business; turns out they had a beauty marketing strategy. Smart move! Why hadn't the Fatty Liu next door figured this out? That's why he had to pay two thousand bucks to run this stall out of Jianghuai University!
"Little sister..." Huangmao reached out, drooling, aiming for Liu Momo's chest.
Slap...
A figure flashed by, followed by Huangmao's blood-curdling scream. With that slap, it seemed like Huangmao's wrist was almost dislocated. Ye Chen couldn't stand idly by anymore. He hadn't intended to get involved, but daring to lay a hand on Momo was a major no-go in Ye Chen's book. Over the past six months, he had inadvertently come to see Liu Momo as his own sister.