Chapter 14: Robbery of a decent woman

When the family came home that evening and heard the melons were all sold and the two siblings had earned twenty-six yuan in one morning, everyone was genuinely happy for them.

Jiang Yanwen handed the money over to Li Shuzhen.
“Mom, here’s the money.”

“Good.”
Li Shuzhen took it happily, then thought for a moment and pulled out two yuan.
“You two worked hard—here, one yuan each for your trouble.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Jiang Peiyu said cheerfully as she took the money. Jiang Yanwen didn’t hesitate either—after all, these were his melons, and there was no reason to be shy about taking his share.

The next day, before dawn, the two of them once again headed to the city on the ox cart and stopped at their usual spot. After shaking off the morning drowsiness, Jiang Peiyu began calling out like the day before.

“Fresh melons for sale! Big, round, sweet and juicy! Three mao per jin, five mao for two!”

“One bite and you’ll taste the sweetness in your heart! Don’t know it till you try it—once you do, you’ll never forget it!”

“Buy now while supplies last! Freshly picked this morning, just harvested—get your melons here!”

“Little girl, that pitch of yours is something else—give me two jin!”

“Me too, I want two!”

“I’ll take ten jin!”

“I’ll take four!”

In just over two hours, nearly both baskets of melons were sold—only about ten were left. Jiang Yanwen couldn’t stop grinning.

“Little sis, I never imagined just shouting a few lines would make the melons sell so well!”

“Of course! People don’t just buy the product, they buy from people.”

“The more energy you show, the more they like you. If you just stand there silently, who’s going to care?”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Second Brother’s tongue isn’t nearly as sharp as yours. If it weren’t for you, I’d never have sold so many melons…”

“Exactly. Who do you think I am?” Peiyu grinned. “Second Brother, I want meat. Go buy two jin of pork.”

“There aren’t many left. I’ll stay here and sell the rest.”

Jiang Yanwen remembered how he promised to buy meat yesterday but forgot. Seeing only a few melons left, he nodded.

“Okay, you stay here and sell. When you’re done, wait here for me—don’t run off, got it?”

“Got it, got it. Hurry, or all the meat might be gone.”

Since the supply store wasn’t far and it’d only take about 20 minutes round trip, Jiang Yanwen felt safe leaving her and quickly hurried off—if he got there too late, there might be no meat left by noon.

After he left, Jiang Peiyu sat on the ox cart, calling out as she sold another six jin of melons. Only two were left, which she decided to save for herself.

Seeing that her brother wouldn’t be back right away, she sat on the cart and began eating one of the melons.

Suddenly, three fierce-looking men approached. One of them shoved her hard to the ground.

“Ow…”

The melon in her hand dropped and got dirty, and her fall knocked over one of the baskets. One of the last melons rolled far away, only to be stomped on by the greasy middle-aged man leading the group. He ground the melon under his foot until it was completely smashed.

“Who said you could sell melons here? This is my turf—Lord Kong’s turf.”

“If you set up shop here without my permission, you’ve got a death wish.”

“Pay the protection fee, and I’ll let you off today. Otherwise…” He laughed sinisterly.
“Don’t blame me for not going easy on a pretty girl like you.”

He leered at Jiang Peiyu with a sleazy, disrespectful expression, a cigarette dangling from his lips, stroking his chin and acting like he owned the place.

People nearby, afraid of trouble, quickly packed up their things and ran away.

Jiang Peiyu got up, brushed the dirt off her clothes, and picked up the overturned basket, setting it beside her.

“Protection fee? What protection fee?”

One of the thugs standing behind “Lord Kong” stepped forward and kicked over the basket she had just picked up.

“Haha, hilarious! Out here doing business and you’ve never heard of our Lord Kong?”

“If you want to sell here, you pay up. That’s how it works.”

Jiang Peiyu glanced at the basket that had rolled away and held back her anger. They had paid an official fee to sell in this area. These thugs were just bullies, pretending to collect protection fees to extort money. She’d seen plenty like them in her previous life—she wasn’t afraid.

This era still had strict law enforcement. As long as she could stall them until Jiang Yanwen returned, they could report it to the police.

“How much is your so-called protection fee?”

Kong, thinking she was scared, replied proudly,
“Thirty yuan! That covers a whole month—sell safely, no trouble from anyone.”

“If someone dares bother you, just mention my name—nobody will touch you. Got it, little girl?”

Hearing that, Jiang Peiyu was furious. Thirty yuan? That was daylight robbery.

“Thirty?! Why don’t you just go rob someone? I don’t have the money, but I’ve got a life to give.”

“A bunch of lowlife scumbags like you calling yourselves ‘lords’? Ha! You’re not worthy!”

“You little b*tch!” the man snarled. “You don’t want to drink the wine of respect, huh? Fine—we’ll make you pay another way…”

“No money? Then use your body to pay!”

“This soft little thing—I like her already. Come keep us company, girl…”

“If you serve us well, we’ll waive the protection fee. How about it, huh? Hahahaha…”

The three of them looked at her with disgusting, perverted grins. The leader even reached out, trying to touch her.

Enough was enough. She could tolerate many things, but not this.

“Screw your whole family!”

Jiang Peiyu took two steps back, then grabbed the basket off the ground and smashed it right over “Lord Kong’s” head.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jiang Peiyu kicked him twice, then dropped the basket and immediately bolted toward the crowded area.

“Pah… you little b*tch! Boys, go get her! Once we catch her, we’ll have some real fun tonight…”

“Yes, boss!” The two lackeys immediately chased after Jiang Peiyu upon receiving the order from their thug leader, “Lord Kong.”

Seeing the two men getting closer and closer, Jiang Peiyu ran while shouting at the top of her lungs:
“Help! Murder! Someone’s trying to assault a decent woman!”

Not far away, a green military jeep, clearly from the army, was approaching. Inside sat two young soldiers.

The soldier driving turned to the man in the back seat.
“Commander, looks like something’s going on up ahead?”

The man addressed as the commander looked up.
“What’s going on?”

The driver slowed down and glanced out the window.
“Looks like a young woman shouting for help—someone’s chasing her?”

“Drive over there. Let’s see what’s going on.”

“Yes, Commander.”
Wu Junmin stepped on the gas and sped forward.

Meanwhile, Jiang Peiyu, being a girl, couldn’t keep up her speed against the two men much longer. One of them was already nearly close enough to grab her.

Jiang Peiyu saw the approaching military jeep in the distance and screamed even louder,
“Help! Murder! Sexual assault! Someone’s attacking a decent woman!”

“You little slut! Still trying to run? Just wait till I get my hands on you!”

“Hurry up, Third! Grab her!”

“On it, Second Brother…”
The thug picked up speed and charged after her.
“B*tch, let’s see where you run now…”