"Miss Shen, your three-day deadline has passed. Have you prepared the money?"
Just then, three burly bald men with fierce faces swaggered into the shop. The leader, a stout man, pulled the stool in front of Ye Ling and sat down, crossing his legs and deliberately rolling up his sleeve to reveal his tattooed arm.
Upon seeing the three enter, the diners in the shop all displayed fearful expressions.
These three were notorious thugs of the area, making a living by extorting protection fees from various shops. They had been arrested multiple times but never reformed.
Most shopkeepers who wanted to survive in this night market dared not provoke them, choosing to pay up.
Once a shop was targeted by them, it was hard to even keep the shop open, let alone do business.
Shen Weiwei used to pay them monthly. However, recently, her food stall business had been poor, and her mother was ill, requiring urgent funds. Shen Weiwei couldn't afford the protection fee.
Seeing the three men enter, Shen Weiwei cast an apologetic glance at Ye Ling before quietly pleading with the leader, "Boss Liu, you know, business has been slow lately, and my mother is sick and needs money urgently. Could you possibly give me a few more days?"
"What business is it of mine if your business is bad? I've already been generous, giving you three days to raise the money. If I extend it further, how am I supposed to operate on this street?"
Boss Liu slammed the table and shouted in his gruff voice.
Boss Liu's roar startled the diners, and they quickly fled the shop, fearing they might get caught in the crossfire.
Seeing Boss Liu's anger, Shen Weiwei panicked and pleaded, "Boss Liu, I truly have no money. Please give me some more time."
Boss Liu saw Shen Weiwei's pitiable state and a thought crossed his mind. He smiled, "Seeing how pitiful you are, Miss Shen, it's not impossible to give you a few more days."
Shen Weiwei was overjoyed, "Thank you, Boss Liu!"
"As long as you spend a night with us brothers, forget a few days' grace on the protection fee, we can even waive it for you in the future. What do you say?"
Boss Liu leered, his gaze shamelessly appraising Shen Weiwei's alluring figure.
Shen Weiwei's beauty and figure were considered top-tier even in the entire Jiang City. Boss Liu had long coveted her, but he had never had the opportunity.
"This..."
Shen Weiwei's face changed drastically. She never expected Boss Liu to make such a demand.
"No!"
Without hesitation, Shen Weiwei directly refused Boss Liu's request and even took a few steps back.
"No?" Boss Liu's face turned grim. He stood up abruptly and slammed the table, roaring, "You two, smash it! As long as this girl doesn't pay the protection fee for a single day, we'll smash it every day!"
With that, Boss Liu grabbed the edge of the table with both hands and forcefully tried to flip it!
However, the table remained motionless.
"Huh?"
Boss Liu was stunned. He tried to flip it again, but found that the table in front of him seemed rooted to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge.
"Boss?"
The other two thugs were waiting for Boss Liu's command. Seeing him standing by the table in a daze, they both looked confused, wondering what he was waiting for.
Didn't he want to smash the shop?
Boss Liu's face was ashen. He was too embarrassed to admit he couldn't flip a table. He yelled sternly, "What are you two still looking at? Smash it!"
"If you kneel down and apologize to the owner now, I can give you a chance."
Ye Ling, who had been supporting the table with one hand, suddenly spoke. His cold, indifferent voice reached the ears of the three thugs, making them pause.
It was then that the three thugs noticed there was another person in the food stall.
After a moment of silence, the three of them burst into laughter in unison.
"Where did this pretty boy come from, trying to play hero to save the damsel?"
"Look at your frail appearance. Believe it or not, I can kill you with one punch!"
"Scram from wherever you came from, don't get in the way of our work!"
Each of them spoke a sentence, their tone filled with disdain and mockery towards Ye Ling.
They were accustomed to their arrogance in this night market; even the police couldn't do anything about them. Now, encountering someone who dared to step forward, they saw him as a foolishly overconfident idiot.
Seeing their ignorant demeanor, Ye Ling remained calm and said to Shen Weiwei, "Help me warm a pot of wine and get a few small dishes."
"Guest, you..."
Shen Weiwei looked at Ye Ling with concern. Although she was grateful that Ye Ling was standing up for her, she knew that Boss Liu and his cronies were not to be trifled with. They had even been to jail for intentional assault before.
Provoking such thugs would only bring trouble upon herself.
Ye Ling smiled gently at Shen Weiwei and said, "Leave this to me."
"What are you pretending for?"
Boss Liu's temper flared. He grabbed a nearby stool and swung it towards Ye Ling's head, not considering whether it would be fatal.
"There are always such societal trash everywhere," Ye Ling sighed. He caught the stool swung by Boss Liu with one hand and easily snatched it from his grasp.
Boss Liu stood there, dumbfounded.
"This?"
The other two thugs were also stunned. Boss Liu was at least 1.9 meters tall with a broad, muscular build. The force of his punch could even kill someone!
How could this young man block Boss Liu's swung stool with just one hand?
How much strength did that take?
"Don't damage other people's property casually."
Ye Ling gently placed the stool down, walked up to Boss Liu, tidied his slightly messy collar, and then patted the dust off his shoulder.
Ye Ling asked softly, "You've grown so big, why are you still an orphan?"
Boss Liu's eyes widened, "You're looking for..."
*Slap!*
As Boss Liu began to curse, he received a solid slap from Ye Ling, which completely stunned him.
Seeing this, the other two thugs lunged at Ye Ling. However, before they could get close, their feet were suddenly tripped by something, causing them to fall to their knees and slide in front of Ye Ling.
Witnessing such a comical scene, Shen Weiwei, who had been worried about Ye Ling's safety, couldn't help but chuckle. Her bell-like laughter resonated captivatingly.
Boss Liu finally reacted, his face contorted with rage. He pulled out a small knife from his pocket and suddenly lunged at Ye Ling, "I'll kill you!"
Ye Ling easily gripped Boss Liu's wrist and squeezed with his fingers, crushing his wrist!
The small knife fell to the ground, and a piercing scream echoed through the shop.
"Quick, quick, run!"
Seeing Boss Liu's miserable state, the two thugs were terrified. They scrambled to their feet and ran towards the shop exit.
However, before they could take more than a few steps, Ye Ling appeared behind them and kicked each of their calves, breaking their leg bones!
The two thugs collapsed on the ground, their pig-like screams rising one after another, making the scene incredibly brutal.
After dealing with the three, Ye Ling cleanly tossed them out of the shop. He then turned to the stunned Shen Weiwei with a smile, "Boss, my wine."