Great Yan Dynasty.
With a sharp whistle, the smoke-belching steam train pulled into Puxi City.
The train screeched to a halt at the platform. The passengers poured out, and the street vendors who had been waiting there immediately raised their voices:
"Five-spice tea eggs!"
"Rice cakes! Deep-fried rice cakes! Fragrant and crispy!"
"Shen Bao! Xin Wen Bao! Shi Bao! The latest papers, just off the press! Only three cents a copy!"
Their cries were swallowed by the crowd.
The throng spilled out of the station and into the 38th Shop District, then vanished like a river flowing into the sea, blending into the rows of Western-style houses and muddy streets.
In the steady drizzle, with the faint earthy smell of rain-soaked dust in the air, a young man pushed against the flow of people, making his way through the bustling crowds on 38th Shop District's main street. Passersby couldn't help turning to look—
A black felt hat, a black Tang-style jacket with white trim and cloud patterns, a grubby white shirt underneath, black straight-leg trousers, and black cloth shoes.
He looked like a gang enforcer.
But how could a gang enforcer be a mere boy of fifteen or sixteen?
Xu Yi felt the curious stares around him and instinctively tugged down the brim of his black felt hat, quickening his pace.
The streets grew more crowded, and the smell of fried rice grew stronger. Xu Yi endured his hunger until he had crossed the last stretch of rutted, muddy road and reached Hongfa Fruit Firm, deep in an alley in the 38th Shop District.
The moment he stepped inside, the sound of the abacus behind the counter stopped abruptly.
Xu Yi didn't see any shop assistants. Beneath the dim glow of an incandescent bulb, among baskets and bamboo crates full of fragrant fruit, a burly man nearly two meters tall and around forty years old came out from behind the counter.
The man stopped in front of Xu Yi, staring at him in disbelief.
"They sent you to collect the protection money?"
Xu Yi looked up at the giant and clasped his hands in greeting.
"You must be Shopkeeper Chen. I'm here to collect the protection money."
Shopkeeper Chen let out a loud laugh.
"Your thigh isn't even as thick as my wrist! What makes you think you can collect money from me?"
Xu Yi already knew that Shopkeeper Chen of Hongfa Fruit Firm was one of the few tough nuts in the 38th Shop District. He'd driven off Green Gang members who'd come to collect protection money several times.
Xu Yi knew he couldn't beat the man. Looking up at Shopkeeper Chen, who towered over him like a mountain, he spoke politely.
"Shopkeeper Chen, I'm Xu Yi, of the Xue generation, under Mr. Ye Hai of Jiahai Hall, the Puxi branch of the Green Gang.
"I came to your shop today to pay my respects and have a reasonable discussion."
Shopkeeper Chen stared at Xu Yi coldly without a word.
If this had been some ordinary street punk, Shopkeeper Chen would've slapped him out the door and sent him eating dog shit.
But this kid was clearly different from the usual hoodlums in the gang.
He looked more like a student who'd had an education.
Shopkeeper Chen couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on a student.
His own child was attending school now.
Shopkeeper Chen gritted his teeth.
Those bastards must've figured I wouldn't hurt a kid, so they sent him to collect the protection money!
Those damned scum!
As Shopkeeper Chen's anger mounted, Xu Yi spoke.
"Since Puxi opened its port, people from all over the country have gathered in the 38th Shop District. This area has always been under Mr. Ye Hai's protection, and everyone has been able to get along and do good business.
"You've been able to run your shop in peace, without anyone causing trouble. That's largely thanks to the brothers who keep order.
"Their hard work deserves compensation. Mr. Ye Hai doesn't ask for much—just two silver dollars a month."
Shopkeeper Chen was so enraged by this twisted logic that he nearly saw stars.
"The 38th Shop District is thriving because refugees gathered here, not because it's under your Mr. Ye Hai's protection!
"Two silver dollars could buy thirty bolts of cloth—ten meters in all! And you call that a small amount?
"And what's this about your brothers keeping order? Those gangsters are lucky if they don't steal or rob! You call that keeping order?!"
Xu Yi answered earnestly.
"Once the protection money passes through my hands, I'll be the one keeping order from now on! I'll protect your shop!"
Shopkeeper Chen had had enough. He waved Xu Yi away.
"Don't waste your breath! Get lost!"
Xu Yi shouted, "Dad!"
The irritation vanished from Shopkeeper Chen's face. His pupils quivered, and the muscles in his cheeks twitched. He was too shocked to speak.
Xu Yi clasped his hands.
"I'll take you as my godfather! As long as you pay the protection money, I guarantee no one will harass your shop!"
Shopkeeper Chen opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
At last, he sighed.
"Let me be honest with you."
Shopkeeper Chen stared at Xu Yi coldly.
"Before you came, they tried everything."
"At first, they demanded protection money. When I refused, they sent a few thugs with nasty faces to stand outside my fruit shop and stare at every customer going in or out. If that went on long enough, who'd dare buy my fruit?
"So I beat them off."
"Then they sent people I didn't know to buy fruit. They'd take a bite, then lie down in the street, shouting that the fruit had given them a stomachache. They scared away all my customers.
"I beat those people off, too.
"After that, I kept a sharp eye out and learned to recognize them in advance. That trick stopped working on me."
"I stood guard over my fruit shop. Whether they dumped filth on it, threw dead animals at it, beat my shop assistants, or gathered a crowd to go after my family...
"I weathered every one of their dirty tricks.
"I let my shop assistants go and kept watch over my shop day and night."
Shopkeeper Chen stared at Xu Yi coldly.
"I could withstand it before, and I can withstand it now."
"My little shop doesn't make much to begin with, and I have to pay for my child's schooling. If I pay protection money, my family will have to starve!"
"I won't pay this damn protection money, no matter what."
"I'm only telling you all this because you seem like a student who can be reasoned with!"
Shopkeeper Chen flashed a menacing grin and interlaced his index fingers. His knuckles cracked loudly.
"If you don't get lost, don't blame me for what happens next!"
Xu Yi lowered his head and sighed.
He'd already expected things to end this way before he came.
So he took a bottle of Zhengguanghe soda filled with yellow liquid from his clothes. He unscrewed the cap, and a strong, pungent chemical smell wafted out.
The bottle labeled Zhengguanghe soda was full of gasoline.
Xu Yi lifted the bottle and took a couple of gulps, then wiped away the few drops of gasoline that had dribbled down his chin. He held it out to Shopkeeper Chen.
"Shopkeeper, have some soda."
Shopkeeper Chen's face turned ghastly pale. He hesitated, uncertain, and didn't reach for the bottle.
Xu Yi set it in a bamboo crate of apples and adjusted its angle so the gasoline dripped out, one drop at a time, onto the floor of Hongfa Fruit Firm.
The smell of gasoline spread, and the evening darkness seemed to deepen.
Drip. Drip.
The drops of gasoline fell one by one, each landing like a weight on Shopkeeper Chen's heart.
Xu Yi took a pack of loose cigarettes from his clothes, pulled one out, and put it between his lips. Then he flicked out another cigarette and held the pack toward Shopkeeper Chen.
"Shopkeeper, have a cigarette."
Shopkeeper Chen wiped away a bead of cold sweat.
At last, Xu Yi pulled out a lighter.
"Shopkeeper Chen."
He sat beside the fruit basket, keeping watch over his bottle of gasoline as he looked up at Shopkeeper Chen, who towered three heads above him.
Xu Yi still felt a little awkward asking for money outright. His expression grew bashful.
"If you don't want a cigarette..."
He put the pack back in his pocket and straightened his collar.
"Can you give me the two silver dollars in protection money now?"
Before you continue