Chapter 48: Peace of Mind

"Liu Yang, what should we do?"

Watching Jiang Xiong and his party gradually recede, the two people beside Liu Yang wore bitter faces.

They had originally hoped to seize this opportunity to draw closer to Jiang Xiong and his crew, to latch onto their legs, which would naturally be the best.

In the end it backfired, not only failing to meet the expected goal and earning the other's disgust, but also being extorted for a sum.

One thousand yuan! That's no small sum.

"What else can we do?"

Liu Yang gritted his teeth and said, "We can only rob more people, pool the money for them; otherwise, will the three of us have any good days ahead?"

The two beside him exchanged glances.

Three days to snatch a thousand?

Not every street vendor can earn five or six hundred a day like that sweet‑potato seller; for them, earning one or two hundred is already decent.

"Liu Yang, perhaps we shouldn't, shouldn't..."

The man on the left lowered his head, eyes fixed on the ground, speaking hesitantly.

If they hadn't gone looking for Jiang Xiong yesterday, perhaps the recent incident wouldn't have occurred.

"What does that mean? Are you blaming me?"

Liu Yang's face grew cold, "When we discussed it the night before last, you also agreed."

"Liu Yang, I don't mean that; I just... just muttered a few words," the man said hastily upon seeing the reaction.

"Liu Yang, that's just his way; don't get into the same quarrel with him," the other quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Yes, yes, Liu Yang, just pretend I said nothing just now, said nothing."

Liu Yang let out a cold snort, then bitterly said, "That kid also got terrible luck; even if he had delayed a day in securing the Senior Member for the Martial Arts Hall, today's outcome would have been entirely different. Yet his business hasn't been booming for long, has it? How does he suddenly produce five thousand yuan?"

"Perhaps he had saved some money earlier?"

The peacemaker guessed, "Isn't it the end of the month? Their stall owners also have to pay the Wild Wolf Gang the Stall Fee, so everyone must have saved some money. Now he pays the Martial Arts Hall, and for the next month when he sets up a stall on the street, he won't need to pay the Wild Wolf Gang again."

"That does make sense."

Liu Yang's eyes were filled with resentment.

And anger.

If those people the day before had been bolder and listened to us, at least half of those few thousand would have been ours.

What a bunch of useless people!

"Liu Yang, actually I'm still worried about something."

"What?"

"I worry that kid will cause us trouble later; after all, we may have robbed his money before, and these past few days we have repeatedly bothered him twice, though we didn't do anything to him, the grudge between the three of us and him is now fully settled. If later he runs into us on the road..." the man on the right stopped mid‑sentence.

"Don't worry, he doesn't know where we live; if unlucky and he spots us on the road later, it'll be just like last time—better split up and run."

Liu Yang said, "In the next three days, first figure out a way to pool together that thousand."

"Okay."

The other two replied weakly.

If today also counts as a day, the remaining time is even shorter.

And after wasting so much time just now, there are probably few people left on the streets.

……

Jiang Cheng pushed the cart and from a distance saw Grandma and Chen Sao watching from the doorway.

A warm feeling rose in his heart; being cared for like this felt nice.

Before reaching the doorway, Chen Sao stepped forward and asked concernedly, "Xiao Cheng, how are you? Did you encounter any danger on the way back?"

The Old Man, taking a few slower steps, said nothing, but his eyes revealed everything.

"Chen Sao, Grandma, let's discuss after we go inside," Jiang Cheng said with a faint smile.

Chen Sao was startled, her hand held before her trembling. Clearly Jiang Cheng's return tonight was due to some situation; otherwise he could have simply said he encountered no danger.

The three entered the house one after another.

Jiang Cheng parked the cart, took two big gulps of water, then said, "A couple of days ago I felt something was off; luckily, Chen Sao, you lent me three thousand this morning to obtain the Senior Member, and just now on my way back I was stopped by eight or nine people."

"What? Eight or nine people!"

Chen Sao's eyes widened.

"Xiao Cheng, are you alright?" The Old Man was even more frantic, like ants on a hot pan, his eyes constantly scanning Jiang Cheng.

"Yes, and among them was that guy surnamed Jiang; I don't know if you remember, Chen Sao, a few times my tricycle was impounded, and I only redeemed it with the money I borrowed from you."

"It's them!"

Chen Sao suddenly remembered.

It is said those few people are linked to the Wild Wolf Gang.

Everyone dares to be angry but not to speak.

"Hmm, if I didn't have this, they'd surely take all my money, and the cargo on the cart probably wouldn't be saved."

Jiang Cheng smiled, took the Membership Card from his person and placed it on the table.

"But after I showed them this, those few people left dejectedly."

Hearing this, Chen Sao finally exhaled, a smile appearing on her face.

"As long as it works, this Membership Card was worth getting; Xiao Cheng, quickly put it away, store it properly, and when you go out to set up a stall later, be sure to keep it on you, don't leave it at home."

"Okay, I will; from now on I'll check several times each time I go out," Jiang Cheng said with a smile.

"Grandma, Chen Sao, when I make big money next month, the two families will have a big dinner together."

"You kid, we'll talk about it then."

Chen Sao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

But inside, there was also a bit more anticipation.

From today onward, for a month we won't have to worry about being robbed on the way back, so the money Jiang Cheng earns then will be quite substantial.

At a profit of five hundred per day, after deducting the 5,000 Senior Member fee, that's still ten thousand.

Ten thousand—what can it do? At least eating meat every day won't be a problem.

"Chen Sao, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? How about staying and eating together?" Jiang Cheng said warmly.

"Next time, sister-in-law, I'll wait for that big feast of yours," Chen Sao joked.

"Fine." Jiang Cheng replied in one breath, "When the time comes, I'll definitely let Chen Sao and Xiao Yue eat until they're stuffed."

"Alright, then sister-in-law, just wait," Chen Sao said with a smile as she got up and left.

"Xiao Cheng, you're not hurt, are you?"

The Old Man asked again, "Grandma, I'm really fine."

Jiang Cheng said, spreading his arms wide, spun around twice on the spot, indicating that he was perfectly fine.

Then he took out the money he earned today; only then did the Old Man relax and say to himself, "Good thing we got the card, good thing we got the card—by the way, Xiao Cheng,"

She suddenly looked up and asked, "If we encounter robbery again later, should we pull out that card, just like today?"

"Exactly," Jiang Cheng laughed, "For the next month, as long as we have this card, nothing will happen. In a few days, when the Wild Wolf Gang shows up, after seeing the card they won't demand money from us either."

"Alright, alright."

The Old Man nodded repeatedly, a look of satisfaction on his face.

So for this month, she won't have to worry anxiously every evening.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng instantly felt that the five thousand spent was worth it; even if he later becomes powerful enough not to rely on the Martial Arts Hall's reputation, he can still tell a benevolent lie to put the Old Man at ease.

(End of chapter)