After Wang An took the money, his attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. He pulled out a cigarette, handed it over, and said with a warm, beaming smile
"I'm telling you, Uncle Ma, I love the way you handle things. Paying back debts is only natural and right. I mean, it's just not good to be killing and fighting over money every single day, right?"
As Wang An's attitude shifted, Ma Xingyao became even more terrified, truly having no idea what kind of ghostly scheme Wang An was plotting.
Ma Xingyao looked at the Type 54 pistol on the table, his old face looking as if he were about to burst into tears. With a voice full of sobbing, he said
"Little brother—no, Young Master—I promise I'll never owe money again in the future. Please, just spare me this once."
Seeing Ma Xingyao's pathetic state, a sudden surge of disgust rose within Wang An, and he instantly lost interest in dealing with him.
Clearly, this guy was a piece of trash, yet he had the nerve to act like a big shot and bully people—and a woman at that. People like this were truly loathsome.
If this old fellow hadn't handed over the money so readily, Wang An would have given him a severe thrashing regardless.
With that, Wang An put away the Type 54, turned around, and called out to Wang Li and Mu Xueli
"Old Five, Xueli, let's go."
After leaving Ma Xingyao's pharmacy, Wang An returned to the car and handed all the principal and interest to Han Xiaomin, saying with a chuckle
"Principal, interest, and even the travel expenses are all here. Go ahead and count it."
Truth be told, collecting the debt from Ma Xingyao had been exceptionally smooth.
Han Xiaomin looked at the thick stack of cash in her hand with great surprise, saying in disbelief
"How did he give you the money so readily? I came to ask several times, and he kept saying he never borrowed money from my father."
Wang An pointed toward the pharmacy window and laughed
"Didn't you see that we smashed his glass? If he didn't pay up, he was going to get beaten. Do you think he dared not to pay?"
Wang Li added with a grin
"If that old guy hadn't paid so fast, those few pieces of good glass wouldn't have survived; we two would have smashed them all."
Han Xiaomin's nose stung, and tears began to fall. In a moment of vulnerability, she said to the three of them
"Thank you, thank you so much. I wish you were my brothers; I'd like to see who would dare bully me then."
This sentence left Wang An and the other two speechless.
Given what had happened last night, it felt very inappropriate to start swearing brotherhood or anything of the sort now.
Wang An blinked a few times and changed the subject
"Xiaomin, where is your former boyfriend's place? Which way should we go?"
Han Xiaomin wiped her eyes and tucked the money into her bag, saying
"Their pharmacy is on the street; we just keep heading south."
DZ County was not large to begin with, and at this time, motor vehicles were very scarce on the streets, and there was no such thing as traffic lights. Thus, in just three or four minutes, the beat-up GAZ arrived at the entrance of another pharmacy.
From Han Xiaomin, he learned that her former boyfriend was named Du Bin, and Du Bin's father was named Du Huaiping. The person who owed the money was indeed Du Huaiping.
Following the same old routine of "striking first to seize the initiative," Wang An led the way while Wang Li and Mu Xueli followed behind carrying bricks and stones. As soon as they reached the door, Wang An's large foot delivered a violent kick.
However, this time, Wang An didn't kick the door and the frame down together; he simply kicked the pharmacy door open.
Compared to Ma Xingyao's pharmacy door, the door frame of the Du family was installed quite sturdily.
As the three of them stepped inside, a young man in his twenties shouted loudly
"What the hell are you doing? Can't you open the door a bit more gently, damn it?"
To be fair, that shout gave all three of them a start.
Consequently, without a word, Wang An leaped toward the kid in a few strides and, with lightning speed, delivered a slap.
With a loud "slap," Wang An's large palm made very intimate contact with the kid's cheek.
Wang An put full force into this slap, and with his arm and wrist strength, he knocked the kid completely senseless.
Only after hitting him did Wang An glare with wide eyes and curse
"Fuck your mother! What the fuck are you screaming for? Do you have any idea that you scared the shit out of me?"
At this moment, Wang An fully embodied the persona of a street thug and hooligan, projecting an aura that suggested Heaven was first, Earth was second, and he was third.
Still not satisfied after cursing, and while the kid was still reeling from the shock, Wang An grabbed the boy's collar with his left hand and unleashed a flurry of blows with his right, resulting in two more crisp "slap slap" sounds.
Then, Wang An gave a powerful push with his left hand, sending the kid stumbling back more than two meters before he landed hard on his backside.
Only then did Wang An scan the pharmacy. With a crooked smirk and eyes wide open, he shouted to the people inside
"Which one of you is Du Huaiping?"
Anyone seeing Wang An's current demeanor, along with Wang Li and Mu Xueli holding stones and bricks, would know they had ill intentions and were absolutely there to cause trouble.
Therefore, after Wang An shouted, although the people in the pharmacy looked fearful and angry, not a single person answered. As for the customers buying medicine, seeing the scene, they didn't even wait for Wang An to shout; they proactively scrambled out the door.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Wang An turned to Wang Li and Mu Xueli and ordered
"Smash the windows first. Damn it, I don't believe he won't come out."
Wang Li and Mu Xueli had gained some experience in smashing glass. As soon as Wang An finished speaking, the stones and bricks in their hands flew toward the windows.
A series of "crash and shatter" sounds followed as several panes of glass broke.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Wang An asked the pharmacy staff again
"Where's Du Bin? Which one of you is Du Bin?"
This time, Wang An got a response. One of the clerks pointed to the young man in his twenties lying on the floor and stammered
"He... he... he is our boss's son, Du Bin."
Wang An was momentarily stunned. He had accidentally hit the mark; he had somehow managed to beat up Han Xiaomin's ex-boyfriend by sheer coincidence.
Wang An squatted on the ground, looking at Du Bin who was struggling to get up, and laughed loudly
"Oh wow, what a coincidence! So you're Du Bin, huh? Hahaha, well, your old man owes a debt. Why don't you see if you can pay it back, alright?"
At this point, Du Bin was still in a state of shock from being hit and hadn't fully recovered his senses.
Hearing Wang An's words, the kid stood up, shook his head, and suddenly grabbed a wooden basket used for holding medicinal herbs from the counter, smashing it directly onto Wang An's head while shouting
"Fuck your mother!"
To be fair, this kid actually had some genuine guts.