At first, the fellow opposite truly didn't react.
After a moment of stunned silence, he finally understood what was happening.
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"How dare you insult me?"
Hearing his indignant voice, Li Qingfeng almost couldn't suppress his laughter again, but managed to hold it in.
He reached out and patted the man's head, then said, "Kid, don't overthink it, you really are quite unintelligent!"
Seeing Jiang Xing pat his head, the ruffian was completely bewildered and couldn't recover for a long time.
"Never mind whether you're smart or not, are we fighting or not?"
Perhaps because the fellow was too hesitant, his companions, who were also second-rate thugs, grew impatient.
They repeatedly asked if he was going to fight.
Upon hearing his companion, he muttered, "It's just that he has the stick!"
"There are three of us, and only him! What are you afraid of?"
Perhaps his cowardice greatly displeased his companion, who, in anger, directly kicked him.
"Go beat him!"
Seeing one of the thugs rush forward, Li Qingfeng unleashed a kick, sending him flying several meters away.
Watching him fly, the remaining two froze on the spot.
Seeing Li Qingfeng advance, the remaining two were so scared they stumbled backward, shouting, "Brother, brother, we were wrong!"
"You know you were wrong?"
Li Qingfeng, holding the stick, pointed at them and asked again, "Are you sure you all know you were wrong?"
"Wrong your head!"
Just then, they suddenly lunged, swinging their fists towards Li Qingfeng's face.
Li Qingfeng scoffed at their movements, throwing a few punches that sent them all flying.
He shook his head helplessly, looking at their pathetic state.
These guys were truly annoying, hurting his own hands with their blows, truly at a loss.
Seeing them get up again, Li Qingfeng walked up to them.
This time, they didn't even wait for him to ask; they immediately begged for mercy, agreeing to whatever Li Qingfeng said, without any further questions.
"Apologize to this gentleman!"
Pointing at the middle-aged man who had just gotten up, Li Qingfeng said loudly.
His voice startled the thugs.
"Brother, we're sorry, we're truly scum, we were wrong, brother!"
These scoundrels repeatedly slapped their own faces, and it sounded so forceful that Li Qingfeng could hear them clearly from over two meters away.
Seeing these thugs slap themselves, the middle-aged man was clearly frightened and dared not respond.
"I... Brother, I'll give you the money after I sell the goods!"
"No, no, no, we don't want the money, please don't give me money!"
The middle-aged man's words scared the thugs into kneeling, and they incessantly apologized to him.
However, in Li Qingfeng's eyes, a miraculous scene unfolded.
The ones collecting protection money and the ones being extorted were kneeling together. Anyone who didn't know might think they were performing a wedding ceremony.
"Cough cough!"
"Brother, brother, what are your orders!"
Hearing Li Qingfeng's cough, they were so frightened they immediately knelt before him.
"Alright, alright, get up. You're making it seem like I'm bullying you!"
Li Qingfeng reluctantly pulled the three of them up. Seeing the tear tracks on their faces, he felt a sense of guilt.
I didn't even do much, did I? It makes it seem like I bullied you?
However, in the eyes of these thugs, his current image was that of a demon king.
"Pay the medical fees and the money for the stalls you smashed, and then you can leave!"
Hearing Li Qingfeng's words, they repeatedly nodded.
The leader opened his shirt and took out a tattered small cloth bag from within.
The small cloth bag was wrapped quite tightly, layer upon layer with cloth strips, which piqued Li Qingfeng's interest.
Finally, he opened the bag, and inside were indeed important items.
That is, money!
This fellow reluctantly pulled out twenty large red bills from it, at an agonizingly slow pace, tears welling up.
It was as if taking out money from him was like taking his life.
This scene stunned Li Qingfeng.
"Hurry up! I'll help you get it!"
He snatched the small cloth bag from his hand and took a cursory glance, estimating there to be a few thousand yuan inside.
Without a second word, he pulled out a small stack of large red bills, making the thugs' eyelids twitch.
"Brother, don't do that, brother, life is hard for us little brothers!"
Hearing him say this, Li Qingfeng finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked,
"Don't you collect protection money every day? I see the small vendors here look at you three like mice seeing a cat, yet you suddenly say life is hard?"
"Who are you kidding?"
Hearing his words, the thugs were extremely embarrassed and could only explain in a low voice, "Brother, it's our livelihood! There are people above us, and we also need to hand over money..."
The fellow stopped speaking at this point, but Li Qingfeng understood his meaning and knew what he was trying to say.
"Alright, you can go. Don't bully these stall owners anymore!"
"Hey, thank you, brother, we're leaving now!"
Hearing Li Qingfeng's words, they were like pardoned prisoners, running away excitedly one by one.
However, from their trembling footsteps, Li Qingfeng could tell that this experience would leave a profound impression on them.
Seeing them all leave, the middle-aged man who had been selling at the stall finally looked up.
Li Qingfeng then discovered that the man's injuries were all faked.
He had several large tomato packets on his body, filled with ketchup.
The bleeding from his scalp earlier was simply because he had broken the ketchup packet and smeared it on himself.
"You... you were acting just now?"
"Yes! Life is hard, young man, thank you!"
Hearing the middle-aged man's words, the deep weariness in his voice convinced Li Qingfeng that this was definitely a man with a story.
"You don't have to thank me. Although you weren't actually injured, you should still take this compensation!"
After some thought, Li Qingfeng handed the stack of large red bills to him.
"I counted earlier, it's a total of three thousand five hundred yuan. It's not much, but it's definitely enough for your medicinal herbs!"
"Thank you, young man, but I cannot accept this money!"
No matter what Li Qingfeng said, the middle-aged man refused to accept the money. However, Li Qingfeng still forcefully stuffed it into his clothes.
"This money was originally compensation for you. It wouldn't be right if I took it!"
Hearing his words, the middle-aged man could only concede.
"How about this, benefactor, I'll give you these fish mints. You seem to be going to sell herbs, and fish mints are worth some money!"
"That's fine too!"
Finally, Li Qingfeng agreed to his terms.
Together with the middle-aged man, he began to pack up the stall.