Sijiucheng, Nanluoguxiang.
No. 95, the East Cross Courtyard.
Carefully turning the tofu, Liu Ren watched the boiling pot in front of his weed-choked house.
"Pickled vegetables simmered with tofu, even the Emperor couldn't top this... hehe!"
Thinking about how difficult it was in these times just to get a full meal, Liu Ren fell silent for a moment.
Hardship was never worth glorifying—after all, suffering was just suffering. Yet their nation had risen again and again from hardship, only growing stronger through it!
Picking up a piece of tofu with pickled vegetables using makeshift twig chopsticks, Liu Ren gently blew away the steam and prepared to pop it into his mouth. But suddenly, a deafening crash sent the tofu tumbling from his chopsticks onto the dirt.
*Crash!*
As the dilapidated door was kicked open, Liu Ren stared down in utter disbelief at the shattered piece of tofu on the ground. Then he turned his head toward the intruder and muttered, "What the hell?"
"You little bastard, you've got some nerve! Acting as a foye thief on your very first day here—you're the one who stole the old lady's money, aren't you?"
Glaring down at Liu Ren with an arrogant swagger was a man of about thirty-five with curly hair, shouting in righteous fury.
Blinking, Liu Ren slowly got to his feet, quickened his pace, and burst into a sprint.
"What are you doing?"
Catching Liu Ren's sudden movement, the man froze in shock.
This half-grown kid wasn't intimidated by him at all; in fact, he was charging straight at him. Something wasn't right!
*Bang!*
With an Ultra Flying Kick squarely to the man's chest, Liu Ren sent him flying backward out of the East Cross Courtyard, hurtling several meters through the air.
*Thud!*
A heavy impact resounded. The people gathered in the middle courtyard froze in their tracks the moment they saw Yi Zhonghai come crashing out.
Hadn't he gone to summon that new kid? How had he been booted out instead?
Just as Yi Zhonghai was groaning from the sensation that his ribs were fractured, Liu Ren strode out of the East Cross Courtyard with a dark, menacing expression. He rolled his neck until his joints popped loudly and growled, "Curly, you've got a lot of nerve! You actually dared to kick down my door!"
Ignoring the stunned stares of the surrounding neighbors, Liu Ren walked right up to Yi Zhonghai, grabbed him by the hair with his left hand, and drove his right fist down into his face.
*Pow!*
Spitting a mouthful of blood, Yi Zhonghai was instantly dazed, utterly lacking the strength to fight back.
When Yi Zhonghai instinctively raised a hand to shield himself, Liu Ren roared, "You still dare to block? Now you've really got me going!"
With that, Liu Ren's right fist rained down repeatedly, battering Yi Zhonghai's face until it swelled like a balloon.
Sensing that things were getting out of hand, the onlookers who had been watching the spectacle rushed forward in panic. "Young brother, young brother, that's enough, that's enough! Any more and you'll kill him! Stop hitting him!"
Glancing at the neighbors trying to intervene, Liu Ren threw one last punch into Yi Zhonghai's face, knocking him out cold.
Swallowing hard, the crowd looked at Liu Ren and sucked in cold breaths. This half-grown kid was utterly ruthless.
He didn't look very old, but his left fist dealt high damage, and his right fist hit just as hard.
Yi Zhonghai was a laborer at the rolling mill, yet after just a few punches, he had been beaten so badly he looked like a helpless child.
"Whose damn family does this curly-haired bastard belong to? Speak up!"
Sweeping his glare across the crowd, Liu Ren bellowed furiously.
"Lao Yi, Lao Yi! Are you all right, Lao Yi?"
Weeping, Yi Zhonghai's wife came running out, crying out in terror.
"Young brother, I'm He Daqing from this courtyard. What on earth happened just now to make you this angry?"
Looking at Liu Ren, He Daqing did not dare look down on him just because of his youth. He had clearly seen Yi Zhonghai fly through the air. The kid either knew martial arts or was born with superhuman strength.
Whichever it was, He Daqing knew better than to provoke him recklessly.
After all, someone who could pull out silver dollars to buy the East Cross Courtyard from the Deaf Old Lady was clearly no simple character.
As a cook who dealt smoothly with people from all walks of life, He Daqing understood that judging people by their appearances was the most foolish mistake one could make.
Watching He Daqing step forward, Liu Ren narrowed his eyes slightly. This old bastard was still alive?
During his last assassination, He Daqing had taken a face full of blood. To come out of that unscathed without getting dragged into it showed the man had some real skills.
Then again, He Daqing claimed his family possessed the legacy of Tan Family Cuisine, so he clearly had some official connections; otherwise, why would the Japanese army have summoned him to cook for them?
Furthermore, during the chaotic retreat of defeated soldiers in '49, He Daqing had managed to send Shazhu out to sell meat buns. An ordinary person would never have had such resources!
"This curly bastard kicked down my door. You tell me, should I have taught him a lesson or not?"
Liu Ren looked at He Daqing with a teasing smirk.
No matter the era, kicking down someone's door was a blatant provocation to the master of the house.
Not beating you to death on the spot was already considered merciful!
Why was there a saying about kicking down a widow's door? Because widows were weak and easy to bully!
It was a direct violation of a person's bottom line for survival!
Hearing Liu Ren's words, He Daqing was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Yi Zhonghai to be so reckless. How could a sensible man act with such suicidal boldness?
Unfortunately, Yi Zhonghai was currently fast asleep like a baby. He had merely heard that the Deaf Old Lady's money had been stolen and that a half-grown youth had just moved in, so he had preemptively assumed Liu Ren was the culprit—and an easy target to push around.
Yi Zhonghai hadn't realized that instead of kicking a soft persimmon, he had kicked a live stick of dynamite!
"Young brother, how about this? I'll have Lao Yi fix your front door and give you some compensation on top of that. What do you say? He's already been beaten half to death, so please, let your anger cool!"
He Daqing put on his best peacemaker smile as he looked at Liu Ren.
Sizing He Daqing up, Liu Ren raised an eyebrow, a grin spreading across his face. "You know how to talk! I'm starting to like you!"
As the old saying went, one never struck a smiling face. When it came to handling situations, He Daqing was indeed competent.
He had already seen that Liu Ren was no soft target.
The longtime residents of the courtyard all claimed He Daqing was an unprincipled scoundrel, but that depended on whom he was dealing with.
Could He Daqing fail to understand what kind of characters lived in this quadrangle courtyard? Of course he had to act tough!
But when dealing with genuinely ruthless people, He Daqing knew exactly how to conduct himself.
"Aiyo, my little Yi! Who did this? Who beat my little Yi like this! Who was it!"
Leaning angrily on her walking stick, the Deaf Old Lady emerged, her face contorted in rage.
Looking over at her, Liu Ren raised an eyebrow. "I did! What about it?"
"You? Why did you beat little Yi like this!"
Staring at Liu Ren in astonishment, the Deaf Old Lady was stunned.
"Ask that wailing woman of his! He's lucky I didn't stick a knife in him today. Kicking down my door—does he think I'm a pushover?"
Liu Ren's gaze turned razor-sharp as he addressed the Deaf Old Lady.
Sensing something, the Deaf Old Lady quickly looked at He Daqing beside her.
Nodding, He Daqing confirmed the story.
"Aiyo, isn't this just a misunderstanding? A misunderstanding! Little Yi was too reckless, but young man, why did you have to hit him so hard!"
The Deaf Old Lady tried to smooth things over.
Even though her small gold bars and private savings had been stolen on the very day Liu Ren moved in, this clearly wasn't his doing.
What kind of foye thief acted like an uncontrollable thug?
She probably assumed Liu Ren was an enforcer for one of the local four overlords!
"Don't play dumb with me by calling him a 'child.' He's an old coot well into his thirties—who is he trying to fool acting young? Tell him to bring twenty silver dollars tomorrow morning! Otherwise, this matter isn't over!"
Turning around to head back into the East Cross Courtyard, Liu Ren couldn't be bothered to waste any more breath.
Watching Liu Ren walk away, the Deaf Old Lady looked at He Daqing, her eyes silently questioning him.
Shaking his head, He Daqing remained silent.
Chapter 91