Chapter 116: Hello, Sheriff

However, these petty troubles, Chen Yongren has no intention of letting Hua Lei know.

Seeing Hua Lei stop eating hastily, Chen Yongren asked, "Have you had enough?"

"Mm!" Hua Lei nodded.

Having lived 17 years, she had never been as full as today.

"Once you're full, I'll take you to buy some daily necessities, then we'll go home together to get familiar with the surroundings," Chen Yongren said with a smile.

Looking at Chen Yongren's gentle smile, Hua Lei felt a warm surge in her heart and lightly nodded.

This is a child who knows thrift; before leaving, she packed up the uneaten food.

"By the way, Ren Ge, can we first go back to my place?" Just stepping out of the tavern, Hua Lei suddenly said.

"A Ren't we already heading home?" Chen Yongren felt bewildered, then realized that the home Hua Lei spoke of was not the same place he meant.

"It's where I used to live." Hua Lei lowered her head: "I still have some things to retrieve."

"What things, worth making a special trip for?" Chen Yongren frowned: "Don't waste time; later I'll buy you something better."

"No, I must get that thing." Hua Lei shook her head, her words tinged with sorrow: "Because it's the only keepsake my father left me…"

Upon hearing that, Chen Yongren said no more, nodding: "Since that's the case, I'll accompany you back."

The father's sole keepsake should indeed be retrieved.

Her parents died early; her cheap older brother also sacrificed on a mission, leaving only a simple memorial tomb.

She never even got to see his body.

"Mm!" Hua Lei nodded heavily.

Before departing, after clarifying Hua Lei's home, Chen Yongren borrowed a phone from the tavern owner and had Zhang Haifeng bring his brothers along.

Making preparations in advance for unexpected events can save a bit of trouble.

Afterwards, Chen Yongren then took Hua Lei to her former home.

As Chen Yongren expected, the three men he had beaten earlier were now squatting at Hua Lei's doorstep.

"You dead girl, I knew you'd come back!" The horse-faced man had a gauze patch on his nose bridge, looking quite ridiculous.

The other two men also held clubs, walking toward Chen Yongren.

"You damn run pretty fast, did you really think we couldn't catch you?" The fat man pointed at Chen Yongren, cursing.

"Damn, no wonder you won't acknowledge us; turns out you found a lover!" The man with the plaster also joined in cursing.

Chen Yongren also didn't say much, just gave them a light glare.

The three men involuntarily shuddered, recalling how Chen Yongren had knocked them down with a few kicks, they all stepped back, daring not to stand out.

The commotion caused by these three men drew a crowd of onlookers inside and outside the street, all neighbors nearby who knew about Hua Lei's situation.

"Hua Lei belongs to our family; you want to take her away, that's fine, but you can't just say you'll take a living person and walk off with her," the fat man said with a sinister laugh.

"Then what do you want?" Chen Yongren asked.

Seeing Chen Yongren's dignified bearing, Hua Lei's clothes were all high-end goods from the Jinling Road Clothing Store, and she was carrying various bags, clearly a wealthy person.

The three men exchanged glances, revealing wicked smiles, whispering among themselves.

"This kid is just a fat sheep."

"We can't just slaughter him in one go and run away."

"Let's extort some money first; as long as Hua Lei follows him, we won't fail to get cash."

"Exactly, this kid has money; we can feast for a lifetime!"

……

After a few sentences each, they had an idea.

Simply put, they were preparing to extort Chen Yongren.

Chen Yongren had kept his insight active, so he naturally knew their thoughts; his expression remained calm, while Hua Lei was anxious enough to stomp her foot.

"Raising Hua Lei in our family hasn't been easy either, am I right?" the fat man said.

"Not easy." Chen Yongren nodded.

Upon hearing that, the three men all smiled.

The man with the plaster on his face said: "Such a big living person, you can't just say you'll take them and leave; you'd be letting us raise them for over a decade for nothing."

"Who…" Hua Lei flushed red with anger, unable to finish her sentence as Chen Yongren gently grabbed her wrist; seeing him shake her head, she could only relent.

"Flat rate, 30…" the horse-faced man was about to speak when the fat man stopped him, stepping forward to say: "60 silver dollars, Hua Lei, you can just take her!"

"Exactly, one hundred silver dollars!" the remaining two men shouted in unison.

"This is clearly seeing that he has money and deliberately extorting him."

"60 silver dollars would be enough for a family of three to live comfortably for several years."

"I feel this young guy looks somewhat familiar."

"You think everyone looks familiar; does anyone actually look familiar to you?"

"I'm not lying; I really feel I've seen him somewhere."

"Don't say it; after he said that, I also feel I've seen him somewhere."

……

"Look familiar?"

"I, the young master, have only just appeared in the newspaper; how could I not be familiar?"

These three before me are also like old longevity stars hanging themselves, complaining life is too long; Chen Yongren originally planned to deal with them tonight, but since we've run into them…

…then later we'll just have to be apologetic.

"Ren Ge, don't pay them any mind; they're just deliberately trying to extort you," Hua Lei reminded.

Chen Yongren smiled.

Seeing this, the three men also laughed.

Chen Yongren waved at the fat man, who came over.

"I'll give… I'll give you fifty slaps!" Chen Yongren promptly slapped him.

Pa—

The fat man only saw stars, spun around twice, and plopped down on his rear.

"Money… so much money." The fat man, seeing stars, reached out to grab.

Immediately, Chen Yongren kicked, sending the fat man flying sideways to crash into the wall, unconscious. Chen Yongren, who had taken the potion twice, was now beyond comparison.

"You still dare to hit people?" The other two men came to their senses, picked up their sticks, and swung at Chen Yongren.

"Young master, I'm not hitting people today—I'm hitting you."

Before they could approach, Chen Yongren kicked them, sending them tumbling.

The two men cried out, fell to the ground again, and Chen Yongren ruthlessly kicked their faces.

The three beaten men, noses bruised and faces swollen, crawled back and forth on the ground.

Hua Lei beside them was also dumbfounded—just moments ago she said she'd give money, then turned and started beating them; although her eyes showed a hint of fear, her heart was filled with unprecedented excitement.

That's how you ought to deal with these bastards.

Exhilarating.

Hit harder, don't stop.

Hua Lei was cheering for Chen Yongren when she heard shouts from outside the street.

"Who's causing trouble here?"

"Stop, everyone stop."

Zhang Haifeng pushed through the crowd, saw Hua Lei standing to the side, and froze.

No wonder the address felt familiar—isn't this Hua Lei's home?

Chen Yongren was now holding a stick, continually calling out to the three men on the ground.

Seeing Zhang Haifeng in his police uniform, the fat man seemed to have seen a savior, rolling and crawling to his feet, clutching his leg and wailing: "Officer, please…"

But before he could finish, he saw the person beside him stand at attention and salute Chen Yongren.

He let out a cry, his voice filled with despair.

"Chief, hello!"