Trouble

Strolling along Crock Street, Lin Sheng knew that despite having "street" in its name, Crock Street did not merely refer to a single road—it meant the entire slum district within Lin'an County City.

Though Lin'an County was only a county town, its area was enormous. In terms of size, it was even somewhat larger than an ordinary prefecture-level city from his previous life. Its population was vast, a motley mix of dragons and snakes.

A slum meant filth, chaos, and squalor, so Lin'an County did not think much of the place. Even the Prefectural Office assigned only a handful of constables here. Calling it responsibility was generous; they were really just here to shake down a little extra cash.

As a result, public order here was far from good. Calling it chaotic would not have been an exaggeration.

Fights and brawls happened constantly. So long as no one died, the Prefectural Office could not be bothered to intervene.

Thus, Crock Street was basically controlled by various gangs.

They made their living by collecting protection fees from people and monopolizing certain businesses on the streets.

Lin Sheng had long grown accustomed to the mingled stench hanging in the air.

Hawkers' cries occasionally rang out from the street. Though this was merely the city's slum district, it still possessed a lively air.

Setting everything else aside, even the city's slums were much better off than the people in those villages outside. At the very least, one could find a way to make a living and earn a mouthful of food.

Lin Sheng threaded through the streets and bought some meat. This time, he did not buy nothing but pork offal; unusually, he picked out some lean meat as well. They had to improve their meals somehow. Thinking of how the two elders' clothes were patched all over, Lin Sheng went to a cloth shop on the street and bought two bolts of fabric before carrying everything toward where Lin Hong was.

Dad, Lin Hong, had a crippled leg. On top of that, he could not afford the stall fee on the main street, so he generally sold his goods in the remote corners of Crock Street.

With pork slung over his shoulder, fine rice in his hand, and coarse cloth tucked beneath his arm, Lin Sheng turned left and right through the streets before entering a narrow alley. There were not many people inside, but this was precisely where Lin Hong sold sundries.

Business was naturally terrible in a place like this, but the upside was that there was less miscellaneous trouble, such as so-called protection fees and stall fees.

In Lin Sheng's memories, aside from Lin Hong, there had only been two or three other stalls here. Their owners were all white-haired elders in their twilight years.

Yet just as he turned into the alley, he heard someone shout a curse.

"You old bastards have been selling goods here for so long. It's about time you paid some stall money. If you can't produce five copper coins today, I'll overturn your stalls."

Hearing the shout, Lin Sheng frowned slightly.

He immediately quickened his pace. Lin Hong's leg was crippled and he had trouble moving; if a conflict broke out, he would surely be the one to suffer.

Turning the corner, he saw several men surrounding the few small stalls in the alley.

The leader was a tall, thin man with a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks. He held an apple in his hand, looking it over as he cursed impatiently.

"Sir, this alley isn't Crock Street's main alley. It should... should not fall within the area where stall fees are collected, should it?"

Near the inner end of the alley, Lin Hong spoke with a troubled expression in front of a stall barely over a meter square.

"Yes, among us, we're either old or injured. Sir, please raise your hand and spare us. Don't make things difficult for us old fellows..."

The other stall owners immediately echoed Lin Hong's plea.

"Bullshit. If I raise my hand and spare you lot, what the hell am I supposed to eat and drink? Let me make this clear today: if you want to set up a stall here, you'll pay five copper coins in stall fees every month. If you're short even one coin, Dog Lord will write his name backwards."

At this, Lin Hong and the other stall owners all looked grim. They wanted to say more, but Dog Lord cut them off directly.

"Enough nonsense. If you can't come up with five copper coins, that's fine. Brothers, take everything from these stalls. Consider it their stall fees for the past two months."

"Yes, Brother Dog."

The three men aside from the skinny monkey immediately answered with smiles. Rolling up their sleeves, they moved to take away all the sundries displayed on the stalls.

Seeing that they truly meant to act, the stall owners finally could not sit still.

It was not difficult to understand. Though there were not many goods on their small stalls and they were not worth much, they were still worth far more than five copper coins. Naturally, they could not stand by and watch their things be taken away.

"Wait... we'll pay! We'll pay right now."

As they spoke, the stall owners painfully fished five copper coins from their clothes and scraped them together.

Before they could even hold them securely, Dog Lord, skinny as a monkey, snatched them away.

He tossed them in his palm a few times before finally baring his teeth in a grin.

"You old bastards really won't know your own names until you're shown some color."

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon Lin Hong nearby.

"Old cripple, you're the only one left now."

Among the stall owners, only Lin Hong had not moved.

If it were just five copper coins, he could grit his teeth and afford them.

But ever since his leg was injured, his family's circumstances had gone from bad to worse. After working hard at his stall for an entire month, he only made eight or nine copper coins in net profit. Asking him to hand over five at once was truly hard for him to accept—especially when it would be five copper coins every month.

Lin Hong opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but a voice reached them before he could.

"We'll pay the five copper coins."

As the words fell, Lin Sheng had already stepped forward. He straightforwardly took five copper coins from his clothes and tossed them to Dog Lord.

"Ah Sheng..."

Seeing Lin Sheng, Lin Hong was first stunned. Then he opened his mouth to say something, only for Lin Sheng to cut him off.

"Dad, paying a stall fee when you set up a stall is only natural. Don't say any more. Pack up, and let's go home."

With a smile on his face, Lin Sheng began packing up Lin Hong's stall for him without waiting for an answer.

"So you're this old fellow's son. At least you know what's good for you."

Dog Lord caught the copper coins and toyed with them in his hand, looking at Lin Sheng with a rather amused gaze.

But when he saw the meat and fine rice in Lin Sheng's hands, he paused slightly.

Lin Sheng moved quickly. Lin Hong did not have much at his stall to begin with, so within a few breaths, Lin Sheng had rolled it all up and helped Lin Hong leave the alley.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the men gathered around Brother Dog.

"Brother Dog, that old cripple is damn good at pretending to be poor. That kid was carrying pork and fine rice just now, plus those two bolts of cloth. Those things alone are probably worth a tael of silver."

"Bullshit. Do you think I'm blind? Who would've thought there was still some fat to skim in this shithole?"

Brother Dog played with the few copper coins in his hand, undisguised greed showing on his face.

"Third Brother, follow them and see where that kid lives."

"Yes, Brother Dog."

Hearing this, a gray-clothed man grinned and hurried away.

"Big Brother, we only just took over this territory. The boss told us to keep a low profile. That kid looks like he has some means—could he have some sort of background?"

One of the lackeys spoke hesitantly.

But before he could finish, Brother Dog cut him off.

"Background? Would someone with a background live in a shithole like this? And come here to set up a stall? Let me tell you, in all of Crock Street, there's no one Dog Lord doesn't dare touch."

Brother Dog's face was full of cold sneers.

"Get us some more silver. In a couple of days, I'll take you all to Osmanthus Lane in the city to have some fun..."

"Thank you, Brother Dog! Thank you, Brother Dog..."

Hearing this, the lackeys seemed to think of something, and each of them revealed a lewd grin.