Chapter 41: Encountering Local Thugs Causing Trouble

He leaned back and said casually, "Do you come here for malatang often? You seem quite close with the owner."

Qiao Nian was in a good mood after finally eating the noodles she had been craving. Without looking up, she answered while eating, "Not often, just whenever I have time. Auntie Chen used to work as a helper for the Qiao family; after she stopped, she set up this little stall."

"Her vegetables and meat are all picked fresh from the market every morning, then washed and skewered. It's more hygienic than the food in the nearby restaurants."

This was the first time Ye Wangchuan had heard her mention her foster parents' home. His gaze deepened, and just as he was about to speak,

The girl sitting opposite him suddenly frowned. She put down her chopsticks, her jaw tightening as she said, "You eat first. I have to go over there for a moment!"

With that, she stood up and walked toward the tricycle.

It was only when Ye Wangchuan looked back that he saw several rowdy-looking youths in ripped jeans crowding around the tricycle, picking through the neatly arranged vegetables in the crates...

"Didn't I just give you 200 yuan the day before yesterday? Did you spend it all again?" From a distance, Qiao Nian could hear Auntie Chen's pained and helpless voice.

Among the group of hooligans was a boy clearly going through puberty. In an impatient, cracking voice, he replied, "That money was spent long ago, Mom. Give me some more."

"No!" Auntie Chen slapped his hand away as he tried to grab her wallet, shielding it. "This money is for your father's hospital bills. You can't use it!"

The boy pulled his hand back, gritting his teeth, a flicker of hesitation crossing his eyes.

His companion immediately began to jeer from the side, "Yo, Chen Yuan, how old are you? Still haven't been weaned? Still begging your mom for money? And you don't even dare take it if she says no."

"Shut up!"

The group of delinquents wasn't intimidated by him at all and continued to mock him. "If it were me, I wouldn't care whether that old woman gives it or not; I'd just take it. It's your own family's money anyway. Your stall is doing so well, what's a little money to you? Your dad has been in the hospital for over a year; why waste the money? If you ask me, just let him die. It'll save money, and he'll be at peace... Fuck... what are you doing!"

The boy with the cracking voice suddenly lunged forward as if possessed, throwing two punches straight at the man's face.

"I told you to shut up! Shut up!"

Seeing that the little lackey following them actually dared to strike back, the others spat on the ground and rolled up their sleeves, preparing to swarm him.

The middle-aged woman had never seen such a scene in her life. Having been an honest, simple person her whole life, seeing her son fighting with delinquents, she forgot all about her damaged stall and rushed forward with tearful eyes.

"Stop fighting, please stop fighting!"

"Get lost, you old hag!"

Before she could reach them, one of the delinquents violently shoved her hand away, making a move to strike her.

Auntie Chen was terrified. Just as a fist the size of a bowl was about to land on her face, a slender hand reached out, caught the man's fist, and steadied her at the same time.

"If trash doesn't stay in the landfill, does it think it can turn into a spirit?"

Auntie Chen froze. She turned her head and stared blankly at Qiao Nian's clean, porcelain-white, oval face, completely stunned. Her lips trembled as she stammered, "Nian... Nian Nian?"

"Fuck! Where did this little bitch come from? Get lost before I beat you too!" the man whose hand Qiao Nian had caught bellowed.

Coming to her senses, Auntie Chen pushed Qiao Nian away anxiously, saying hurriedly, "Nian Nian, don't get involved with me. Get away, quickly! They're just thugs, don't provoke them."

(End of Chapter)