Watching the group of ruffians behave so arrogantly, Yu Zhou couldn't help but find it amusing.
No matter the era, these thugs always resorted to the same few tactics: verbal threats or physical coercion. It was all so cliché.
Was he afraid? That would be ridiculous.
He just hadn't expected Liu Dalong to resort to such a low-level trick.
"You took benefits from Liu Dalong, so just say you're here to cause trouble. Do you need to find such an excuse?"
"One hundred yuan a day? Ask my fellow vendors if they agree!"
Yu Zhou said jokingly, gesturing towards the surrounding stalls.
As expected, his words immediately drew the attention of the other vendors.
Suddenly, gazes as sharp as knives shot from the vendors' faces, fixing on Old Nine with unfriendly expressions.
Some of them even put down their work and started walking towards Yu Zhou's stall.
They might compete with each other, or even try to cheat each other, but when facing outsiders, they were always united.
They were all laid-off workers without jobs. They wouldn't care if some thugs came to collect fees, and they would pay what was due.
But one hundred yuan a day? If this plan succeeded, wouldn't Old Nine be able to dictate terms and extort as much as he pleased?
After months of unemployment, they had finally found a way to make a living. Were they going to be threatened by these thugs?
"Little Yu~ You don't need to give him... One hundred yuan a day? What makes these thugs so bold?"
"We paid you for stall fees before because we didn't want trouble. But Old Nine, you want to bully us with your connections? We won't agree."
A vendor with a brutish face glared at the leader of the thugs.
These street thugs, if you wanted to put it nicely, were called "brother" by others.
But within the factory community, they were looked down upon. They were just loafers. Weren't there hundreds, even thousands, of employees in every factory? Did they dare to be arrogant there?
"That's right, Old Nine, this is too much. One hundred yuan a day, why don't you just drive people to their death?"
At the same time, many other vendors had also gathered around.
Strictly speaking, they weren't helping Yu Zhou, but themselves.
"What do you guys think you're doing? Do you want to rebel?"
"I'm collecting stall fees from you because I'm giving you face. Don't be ungrateful..."
Seeing this scene, Old Nine immediately exploded.
But as soon as he finished speaking, someone took advantage of the chaos and kicked him.
Old Nine stumbled and almost fell to the ground. He angrily looked for the person who kicked him.
In the past, collecting stall fees had always been smooth sailing. But today, not only Yu Zhou, but even the other stall owners were standing up for him.
In his eyes, these people setting up stalls in Nanqiao Square were just pushovers, easily manipulated. Wouldn't it be better if they just paid the money and kept the peace?
He was a thug, the boss of the thugs.
Why wasn't his usual tactic working today?
Liu Dalong had indeed given him benefits and sent him to trouble Yu Zhou, but he never expected that in the process of causing trouble, it would turn into his own problem.
If it came to a fight, his small group wouldn't be enough to scratch the teeth of these people.
These laid-off workers, who hadn't fought in groups in the factory before? Would they be afraid of a few small thugs like them?
"You can leave... Go back and tell Liu Dalong that I'll take whatever tricks he has. Don't be so low-level, it makes me look down on you."
Yu Zhou sneered at Old Nine, finding the situation amusing. Liu Dalong's tactic was indeed not very clever.
However, his words completely ignited Old Nine's rage.
He slammed his hand onto the tricycle, his pride wounded. Of course, he had to retaliate to save face.
Immediately, a threat came out: "Yu Zhou, do you really think I can't do anything to you?"
"Let me tell you, if you don't pay the stall fee today, be careful on your way home tonight. See if I dare to send you to the hospital?"
"A mere laid-off worker dares to act so arrogantly in front of me? If you have the guts, don't back down."
He didn't dare to target all the vendors because they were all factory workers.
But to say he didn't dare to threaten Yu Zhou was a bit of a stretch. He was just a laid-off worker, and one who had offended Liu Dalong at that. Wouldn't they, the thugs, be able to mold him however they pleased?
"You want to send my boss to the hospital?"
Just then, a large hand suddenly grabbed Old Nine's wrist.
Before Old Nine could react, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist.
An immense force, like a vise, clamped down on his hand.
The burly Wu Dabiao had returned. Seeing his boss seemingly being bullied, he went berserk.
"Wu... Wu Dabiao? Why... why are you here?"
The moment he saw Wu Dabiao, the thug named Old Nine became terrified.
In the entire factory and old town area, there weren't many people he, Old Nine, didn't dare to provoke, but there were very few he was truly afraid of.
Among them, Wu Dabiao of the Second Textile Factory was one.
At over 1.85 meters tall, he was already towering in the early nineties.
Furthermore, he was known for being a reckless fighter who didn't care about his own life. Getting into a fight with him could genuinely be fatal.
Old Nine knew that Wu Dabiao was from the Second Textile Factory and generally avoided provoking him. However, he wasn't a factory worker himself and naturally didn't know about the relationship between Wu Dabiao and Yu Zhou.
"You've got some nerve! You dare to lay a hand on my boss?"
"Boss! How should we handle these little brats? You decide."
Wu Dabiao was also filled with anger. He hadn't been here for half the morning, and someone was already causing trouble. These street loafers clearly didn't take him seriously.
It was only because of his family situation that he wasn't like these thugs, always loafing around and doing nothing productive. Otherwise, in this factory area and the old town, would Old Nine even have a reputation?
This guy had built his reputation through fighting since he was a child.
Seeing Wu Dabiao arrive, Yu Zhou, who had been thinking of ways to trick these people, lost interest. In his words, in the face of such absolute strength, these thugs were insignificant.
Didn't the surrounding vendors, upon seeing this scene, stop bothering to pay attention?
Few people in the factory area didn't know Wu Dabiao's reputation.
"Beat them up a bit, but don't go too far."
"Got it!"
As soon as Yu Zhou finished speaking, Wu Dabiao's face lit up with excitement.
He turned around sharply and looked around the ground.
In a moment, he found a large iron hammer from somewhere. He tested its weight, found it suitable, and then turned back with a sinister grin.
"Stand there obediently! My boss said to beat you up, so don't try to dodge!"
His demeanor was like that of a ruthless villain in a movie.
Yu Zhou's expression immediately changed. "Whoa, how could I forget that this guy is a simpleton and a dramatist?"
He quickly stepped forward to stop Wu Dabiao, looking at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"I told you to beat them up, not like this!"
With one swing of that hammer, wouldn't the thug leader named Old Nine be finished?