Chapter 18

The saying "Dongqing West Expensive South Rich North Chaotic" from the Taian Metropolitan Area is widely circulated.

The "Dongqing" in it refers to Old Factory Street, located in Dangyang's eastern suburbs.

With the relocation of industry, factories went bankrupt one after another; this seemingly forgotten old city district, like a patient with a wasting disease suffering excessive blood loss, breathed with difficulty, barely clinging to life.

But just as weeds growing in rock crevices, the harsher the environment, the more it stimulates tenacious vitality.

Old Factory Street did not become desolate and cold because of this; instead, it settled into an even richer atmosphere of human warmth.

After seven-ten in the evening, the streets and alleys gradually became lively.

Uncles and aunts wearing sandals and waving palm-leaf fans strolled around idly, individual vendors selling fried skewers and spicy food pushed their carts to set up stalls, and loudspeakers endlessly repeated the catchy sound of "Baba chicken~ ah baba baba chicken~ one yuan a skewer of baba chicken"!

"A Shi, let me treat you to grilled chicken frames! This place tastes the best; I used to pester my mom to buy them every day!"

Li Yuan stopped in front of a pushcart fitted with wire mesh and charcoal blocks underneath.

Seven or eight chicken frames were flipped back and forth, grilled to a slightly charred golden yellow, the aroma so fraquent it made people drool.

"Thanks, Brother Yuan. I was just hungry; I haven't been to Beiguan Street in ages, I almost forgot what grilled chicken frames taste like!"

Qin Shi was not polite and directly told the boss:

"Give me a spicy one, no vinegar, sprinkle more cumin."

Li Yuan seemed rather cold and hard to get along with at first glance, but only once you got close would you discover he was actually quite straightforward.

He was a bit like the martial artists Qin Shi had encountered in his previous life, who believed in the principle of "righteousness comes first" from old movies.

"Brother Yuan, I also want to eat chicken..."

Xie Yucheng smiled and edged closer.

"Get lost! You stuffed half a box of nutrient paste into your belly and can still gnaw on chicken frames—what a glutton!"

Li Yuan cursed at him verbally but paid the boss for three portions.

Xie Yucheng pushed his luck and deliberately said:

"At this time, having another bottle of Bao Gong Soda would be even more refreshing."

Li Yuan took out a few small bills:

"Stop nagging, go buy it yourself! If you win a prize, remember to give me the bottle cap, don't hide it!"

Xie Yucheng put on an innocent face:

"That's unfair, Brother Yuan, how could I possibly do such a dishonest thing!"

Not long after, Qin Shi received a bottle of orange-flavored Bao Gong Soda, bit the straw and took a long drink, the icy coolness rushing straight to his brain, then he gnawed on the piping hot grilled chicken frame in his hand—truly a perfect match!

"My mom used to work at a slaughterhouse, and every now and then she brought back frozen chicken frames for me and my sister to fry."

Xie Yucheng had a smile on the corner of his mouth, saying happily:

"After the factories in the back declined, those laid off who swept buildings, cleaned, and washed laundry for others found it hard to eat them anymore."

Li Yuan gave a dry laugh:

"Back when my dad worked at the steel mill, he was a production model worker every month! The factory handed out benefits—apples, hairtail fish by the box—and during the New Year there were soap, towels, big wall calendars... But once Xinxing Development ended, everyone moved to Tai'an New City to build a big urban circle, and no one remembers Dangyang anymore!"

Qin Shi stood by the side listening with deep feeling; back then, large-scale production in Dangyang's eastern suburbs was in full swing, workers came in groups, and after work they surged in a dense cluster.

Factory machines ran twenty-four hours without stopping, and every corner had banners and slogans like "Grasp production tightly, don't let up; advance in an orderly manner," "Quality first, seek perfection," "Strive and fight, increase production and efficiency."

The reason chicken frames became the number one commoner food on Old Factory Street was that Hengzhou's largest chicken farm and slaughterhouse were located here back then.

Workers and machines disassembled and packed chicken meat and other parts, sending them to the urban circle.

The leftover chicken frames were especially cheap, tasted especially good after frying, and became popular as drinking snacks.

"Those unforgettable years that were both fiery and glorious can now only be heard from the older generation at the tables of street stalls and restaurants."

Qin Shi sighed in his heart and followed the two chatting ahead.

Stepping into the deep night, he entered the liveliest Beiguan Street.

The planning and construction of Dangyang's old city area is very complex.

Various factories, tube buildings, and family quarters are densely packed, causing narrow alleys and tight passages, forming a winding, spiderweb-like layout.

Older residents of Old Factory Street usually call north-south roads "streets" and east-west roads "roads."

Beiguan Street is more special; its original name was Xingshun Road, located right at the intersection of north-south and east-west, divided in the middle by a pedestrian overpass.

Due to the huge flow of people, there were extremely many shops and storefronts, attracting crowds of playful young men and women from Old Factory Street with fashionable clothes, the latest electronic products, and entertainment venues of all kinds.

Qin Shi had a straw in his mouth, shook the empty bottle, and asked softly:

"How did you get to know Brother Ze?"

As a model student known to everyone on Bao Gong Street, he naturally had no time to wander around the night market late at night.

When he first arrived at Beiguan Street, everything around seemed unfamiliar.

Qin Shi glanced around roughly; in the bustling crowds coming and going, many young people wore sailor shirts and carried small green bags slung across their bodies.

They gathered in twos and threes, either leaning against the curb smoking and drinking, or standing at the entrances of song halls and nightclubs, handing out small cards to everyone they met.

Back when he wasn't in school yet, his parents always told him to stay away from these people.

Later, Qin Shi learned from neighbors chatting that these were called "cleaver squads," hooligans who hung around the streets.

Those military green bags often contained bricks or cleavers, so they could grab weapons and fight when trouble arose.

Compared to the family quarters area where stalls and small shops were connected in rows, with uncles and aunts listening to radios and cooling off in the warmth of human life.

Here exuded an intoxicating feeling similar to alcoholic drinks, like another sinking form of the neon-lit urban circle.

"How did we get to know Brother Ze? Of course because of fighting with people."

Li Yuan did not conceal it and said slowly:

"A Cheng and I had just started high school; during summer vacation we went to Beiguan Street to look for part-time jobs. A labor broker bullied us for being young, introduced us to work as waiters at a song hall carrying plates, saying wages were settled daily, fifty yuan a day, plus commission for selling alcohol."

"As a result, the labor contractor not only took twenty from each of me and A Cheng, but also withheld our alcohol commission; I couldn't hold back my anger and smashed a wine bottle on his head."

Xie Yucheng picked up the thread, a bitter smile on his face:

"Those who do labor contracting, bringing people everywhere to take jobs, are old hands at it. The moment Brother Yuan made a move, I knew things had gone bad; I dragged him to run, but we didn't escape, got blocked back by thugs at the doorway, and then were dragged into a private room and beaten like two dead dogs."

"That old bastard made me and Brother Yuan pay ten thousand in medical fees; if we couldn't produce it, he'd cripple one hand of each of us."

Li Yuan shrugged:

"Later Brother Ze stepped in; he learned the two of us studied at No. 9 Middle School, so he had me and A Cheng go work at a venue he covers — previously at Banana Song Hall, recently switched to the Midnight Palace next to the Hongxia Hotel."

Qin Shi tossed the soda bottle into the trash can:

"Brother Ze is quite righteous."

Li Yuan nodded:

"Brother Ze also studied at No. 9 Middle School for a year before; later his family had difficulties, he went to sea with relatives, seemed to be those big sand-dredging ships, could earn a good ten or twenty thousand a night! Now he watches venues for the Big Boss!"

"Brother Ze takes good care of his little brothers; everyone is willing to work for him, otherwise how would the saying 'West of Beiguan Street, Brother Ze is Number One' come about."

So it really was "Chen Haonan of Causeway Bay".

Qin Shi smiled, not knowing whether that Brother Ze also had a head of flowing long hair and a bunch of brothers who played with lighters.

"We've arrived, A Shi; up ahead is the Midnight Palace, the most dazzling nightclub on Beiguan Street; I heard many wealthy people from the Urban Circle sneak over here to play."

Li Yuan led the way, bringing Xie Yucheng and Qin Shi, turning into a dark alley piled with various black garbage bags, raising his hand to knock on the tightly locked iron door.

(Chapter End)