"Uncle Jiang, hurry and open the door! I've come to return your plate."
Yun'er called for a good while from outside before Jiang Yan finally opened the door.
"Uncle Jiang." The little girl beamed brightly.
"Mother said we can't eat your roast goose for nothing. She made these hotcakes herself. They're delicious."
Yun'er stretched out her arms and held out the plate. Golden cakes were piled high on it, stacked until they nearly toppled over.
"Thank your mother for me."
Jiang Yan accepted the plate without hesitation.
The little girl smiled. She wanted to say a few more things; she was curious about the uncle who had just moved in next door.
Mostly, though, it was because he was so generous. He'd given her roast goose on his very first day.
Just then, cries of pain and angry shouting suddenly came from the neighboring alley.
A man, drenched in blood, staggered out, but before he could take more than a few steps, a burly foot kicked him to the ground.
"You won't pay up. You won't pay your taxes, either."
"Seems you don't take the Divine Palace's orders seriously."
The speaker was a middle-aged man in his thirties.
He was short, but his limbs were extremely thick and muscular. A short hammer hung at his waist, a scar marked his chin, and his whole bearing radiated reckless arrogance.
"Uncle Daozi..."
At the sight of the blood-covered man, the little girl cried out and instinctively hid behind Jiang Yan. Fear spread across her small face.
She knew the man being beaten. He was Uncle Daozi from the neighboring alley, who made a living selling tofu and was usually very mild-mannered.
"Ah!"
Uncle Daozi screamed again as the burly man ground his hand beneath his foot.
"Some people really don't know how