PCJ – Chapter 155 Bloodshed

“Jiaohua, stay here and don’t move. Dad’s going to buy some red paper, so we can write the price and let people know we’re selling wine. Oh, and we need to buy a wine measure and funnel too.” Zhang Youping thought about it and decided to write a sign on red paper and mark the price. Such a big barrel of wine wouldn’t be sold by the barrel anyway.

As for the price, Zhang Youping planned to set it according to the price of rice wine. In Meiziao, a pound of rice was exchanged for a pound of wine. This wine had a high alcohol content, so this exchange wouldn’t be profitable. But Zhang Youping thought the wine was basically free, so selling it at the price of regular rice wine seemed acceptable.

“Alright,” Zhang Jiaohua looked at the nearby steamed bun stall. The smell was really tantalizing. They had left early, and Zhang Jiaohua had only eaten a few bites of rice, not enough to fill him.

Zhang Youping, anxious to sell the three barrels of wine, didn’t notice his son’s longing look. He left a word and hurried away.

With nothing to do, Zhang Jiaohua searched his pocket and surprisingly found a red envelope. He quickly opened it and found five yuan inside. He didn’t remember when he had received it and forgotten to turn it in.

Zhang Jiaohua chuckled, left Jinhu and the others to watch the three barrels of wine and the bicycle, and went to the steamed bun stall to buy buns.

A heavy-duty bicycle with three full barrels of rice wine was a tempting target. It was quickly noticed by the local loafers of Gezhuping Town.

Sun Dinggui, Li Fading, and Yuan Renqiang were three former workers at a match factory. In recent years, the proliferation of cheap disposable lighters had severely affected the factory’s profitability, and wages were no longer being paid. Many had already left the factory to find other ways to make a living, often starting businesses around the factory. Sun Dinggui, Li Fading, and Yuan Renqiang had always been lazy at the factory and hadn’t sought other ways to earn money. They focused on finding easy money, like extorting money from people in the market. Farmers often came to the town market to sell their produce and buy necessities. These farmers were honest and wouldn’t usually make a fuss when extorted. The loafers typically targeted the elderly who came to town alone.

“Hey, there’s a bicycle here.” Sun Dinggui, walking in front, immediately noticed the bicycle Zhang Youping had placed by the roadside and looked around, not seeing its owner.

Li Fading and Yuan Renqiang exchanged glances and shared knowing smiles.

“Guys, it looks like Comrade Lei Feng has brought us some New Year supplies.”

“Brother Sun, let’s each take a barrel of rice wine, and the bicycle can be yours. How about that?” Li Fading suggested.

“Let’s move the stuff first. If the owner comes back, we won’t get anything.” Yuan Renqiang looked around and noticed some people starting to watch them.

The local vendors recognized the three loafers as soon as they arrived.

“These troublemakers are up to no good again.”

“That bicycle was just ridden over by a young man with a child. Looks like they went to buy something. Sigh, they’re going to lose their money.”

“It seemed the child was guarding the bicycle, but now he’s gone.”

The surrounding vendors didn’t dare to offend the loafers and only dared to whisper among themselves.

Zhang Youping had left his son to guard the bicycle without even locking it.

Sun Dinggui grabbed the bicycle handlebars, intending to push it away. Unexpectedly, when he kicked the bike stand, he didn’t dislodge it but instead injured his toe. The stand seemed to snap back, hitting his toe hard.

“Ouch!” Sun Dinggui cried, hopping on one foot.

The surrounding vendors felt a sense of satisfaction watching.

“Serves him right! It seems even heaven is fed up with them. These scoundrels do bad things every day. If only the authorities would crack down on them and execute them.”

“Nowadays, these people are lawless, stealing in broad daylight, almost like robbery.”

“Brother Sun, how could you be so careless?” Yuan Renqiang asked.

“Damn it, this stand is stuck. Maybe it’s because of the heavy load.” Sun Dinggui noticed his heavy shoes were torn and felt extremely frustrated.

“Brother Sun, let me try,” Li Fading said with a sly smile.

“Get lost, I don’t believe this!” Sun Dinggui kicked the stand again, this time with more force, but the stand snapped back again, hitting his toe even harder.

“Ah!” Sun Dinggui screamed even louder, holding his leg. His shoe was torn open, and his toe was badly cut, exposing the bone and bleeding profusely.

This time, Sun Dinggui sat on the ground, holding his leg and crying out.

Li Fading and Yuan Renqiang were shocked. The first kick tore the shoe, and the second one cut the leg. Could someone be this unlucky?

“Brother Sun, bandage your wound. We’ll handle the bicycle,” Yuan Renqiang said.

Yuan Renqiang tried to push the stand with his foot but couldn’t move it.

“Huh, what’s going on? Is it really stuck?” Yuan Renqiang tried again, but it didn’t budge.

“It’s simple, just unload the wine and remove the stand,” Li Fading said and started untying the ropes securing the barrels. But the knots were too tight to untie.

“You’re so dumb. Use a knife!” Yuan Renqiang scolded.

Li Fading had a knife tucked in his belt, but when he took it out, the knife slipped from his hand, flew through the air, and stabbed into his foot. He didn’t have time to react before he let out a pig-like scream. The knife had pierced through his foot, sticking out of the sole of his shoe.

“Ah!” Li Fading’s scream was deafening.

Yuan Renqiang felt chills down his spine. He realized something was wrong. Nothing happened when they didn’t touch the bicycle, but as soon as they did, bad things occurred. He tried to step away from the bicycle, but it was too late. A loose brick fell from the nearby wall, hitting his knee.

“Ah!” Yuan Renqiang cried out.

The three looked at each other in terror and ran away in a panic.

“Take me to the hospital! My foot is pierced!”

Zhang Jiaohua, holding a paper bag of buns, was eating one as he leisurely returned to the bicycle.

Jinhu and the others saw him and gestured excitedly.

“You want buns? I bought these for my dad. But okay, you can have some.” Zhang Jiaohua misunderstood their gestures.