Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 64 Closing the Stall

Director Qin turned his head and glanced at Chen Hui, Xiao Wei, and the others, then looked at Huang Laoliu, who was standing by the stall with a bewildered expression. After thinking for a moment, he pointed at Huang Laoliu and said, "Take him back and interrogate him. Find out how many times he has done this kind of forced buying and selling. I will handle it personally tomorrow."

The leader of the joint defense nodded, turned around and walked to Huang Laoliu's side, which was only about ten meters away, and said, "Sixth Brother, let's go. It looks like you're going to suffer a bit today, otherwise this matter won't be over."

The joint defense officers have daily contact with these vendors and have enjoyed plenty of good cigarettes and alcohol, so they are quite familiar with them.

Huang Laoliu asked, "What's wrong? What did I do wrong? What am I supporting?"

The leader patted him on the shoulder and said, "Everyone knows about your petty squabbles, and nobody cares about you unless it's something serious. But you've really messed up today. Let me tell you, Sixth Brother, you're not getting away with this without paying a price. Old Qin will fight you to the death."

Huang Laoliu asked, "What's wrong? Who's over there? Aren't they just a few out-of-towners?"

The leader glanced at him sideways, then turned to look over there and said, "Out of town? Sixth Brother, you've really lost your mind this time. He's from the power bureau, understand? And he's the director's son, get it? Didn't you see the power management office send him back with just a few words? They even pulled over the shopping mall. This kid is really daring. This could get really big. Let's go, you should close this stall today. Otherwise, you might not be able to stay in this area anymore."

Huang Laoliu asked, "Which bureau? Can't we just find someone to put in a good word for us?"

The leader said, "Stop talking nonsense. If you could find someone to talk to, would you even need to do this? The provincial bureau, do you think you can find someone? Come on, stop nagging. You're not going to get through this today. Tell your wife to pack up."

The power bureau is an organization that's powerful because it's called the same thing everywhere. It's the central government's power bureau, the provincial government's power bureau, and even the town and county governments' power bureaus. And the director is a different person from everyone else.

Huang Laoliu's wife, standing nearby, said, "Is it really necessary? Can't I just not take the money?"

The leader glanced at her and said, "Sixth Sister-in-law, we usually get along well. Let me tell you something: before things got serious, everything was fine, but now it's late. Didn't you see Old Qin is already at his wit's end? Now we have to see what they want. If they don't deal with it, you definitely can't go on without it. If the power goes out for a few days, or even just a few days, and the mall's power is out for a whole morning tomorrow, this will be all over the provincial news. Hurry up and pack up. If you leave, things might be easier for Old Qin. You can figure out what to do after this is over. You've been around for so many years, haven't you?"

Huang Laoliu's wife panicked, pointing at Huang Laoliu and cursing, "You damn good-for-nothing! What are we going to do? If the business fails, we'll starve! What are we going to do?" The woman plopped down on the ground and started crying, cursing between sobs, "Always so arrogant! How many times have I told you to take it easy? Now look what's happened, the pot is broken! How are we going to live like this?"

Several stall owners gathered around to inquire. Since every household had emergency lights and flashlights, there was some chaos before the power went out, but now those who needed to buy were buying and those who needed to sell were selling, so there was nothing to worry about, it was just a bit dark.

The security guard was getting impatient. He nudged Huang Laoliu's wife, who was sitting on the ground, and said, "Hey, hey, get up! What are you doing? Trying to cause me trouble? Do you think this is too small a problem? Pack up and get out of here, you hear me? Believe me or not, I'll take everything away!"

Huang Laoliu's wife wiped her face and said, "Brother, we've never shortchanged you, have we? What haven't we given you? What do you want from us? Now that we're in trouble, not only do you not lend a hand, but you even push us away. How are we supposed to live like this?"

The surrounding stall owners nodded in agreement, all of them in the same boat. They had all given these administrators and security guards a fair share of money, hoping they would be of help if needed.

The captain of the joint defense team was a little embarrassed by what everyone said. Although they had often taken advantage of these merchants and enjoyed their food and drinks, they had always been generous to them and had turned a blind eye to their many problems. They had never really confronted anyone, but today they found that these people were getting a bit too arrogant.

"What do you mean? Don't you guys have enough of your usual messes and troubles? Don't you know how you always get away with them? And today you're picking on me? Can you just go and turn the electricity back on right now, and I'll leave immediately? Do you know how serious this is? If the electricity isn't back on tonight, people from the district and city will be coming down tomorrow, and Huang Laoliu, you'll be the first one to get away with it. Which of you doesn't have some messes up? Do I have to list them all? Everyone's gone, Huang Laoliu, are you going to clean up the mess? If not, I'll clean it up for you."

The surrounding stall owners didn't respond and slowly dispersed. Huang Laoliu said to his wife, "Let's pack up for now and do it again after this is over. They can't stop us from doing business, can they? We're just unlucky today, let's just take a break."

His wife stopped crying, got up from the ground, and went to pack up the stall while cursing. Meanwhile, Huang Laoliu followed one of the members of the joint defense team to the management office.

Director Qin was starting to panic. The situation had gotten beyond his control, and he was in a bit of a bind. In reality, his position as director of the market management office was at most a section-level unit, usually managing small privately owned restaurants, shops, and night markets. If he had connections, he wouldn't be in this position. If his actions affected the operations of the large shopping malls in the area, he would be the first to be dismissed.

Director Qin forced a smile, which, combined with the blood smeared all over his face, made it look somewhat sinister. He said to Chen Hui, "Brother, it was a misunderstanding earlier. I just didn't know the situation. Look, I've already taken down Huang Laoliu's stall and taken him back for investigation. I'll definitely give you an explanation, okay? Cutting off the power was really inappropriate. If this gets out of hand, it won't look good for anyone. Was it really necessary? It was just a matter of pride. I'll cover for you, okay? Let's put the power back on first."

Chen Hui spat and said, "I just happened to have my keys with me, otherwise I'd be stuck in your management office getting beaten up right now, wouldn't I? You were so tough just now, why are you so soft now? Who misunderstood you? What misunderstanding could there be? I don't know anything about it!"

Just then, Xiao Wang from the power management office came over with a ladder and some other people. They propped the ladder against the wall of the building, and several people gathered around. Xiao Wang said to Chen Hui, "Cigarettes, cigarettes, get them out. You really wore us out today. Do you know how heavy this thing is? We carried it back and forth three times. You're treating us to dinner tomorrow."

Several employees from the power management office laughed and chimed in, "That's right, every time we go out, it feels like we're climbing a mountain. Xiao Hui, can't you ask your dad to get us a batch of telescopic ladders? One person can carry those things, unlike this guy who's so clumsy."