Monthly Silver

Great Yan Dynasty.

With a sharp whistle, the steam train, billowing thick smoke, pulled into Puxi City.

The steam train came to a halt at the platform amidst the screech of brakes. The crowd on board surged out onto the platform, and the small vendors who had been waiting there immediately began to cry out at the top of their lungs:

"Five-spice tea eggs—!"

"Fried rice cakes! Deep-fried rice cakes! Fragrant and crispy!"

"Shenbao! News Daily! Times! The latest papers just off the press! Only 3 cents a copy!"

The hawking was drowned out by the tide of people.

The crowd surged out of the train station and into the 38th Shop District, where they were like mud oxen entering the sea, merging into the rows of Western-style houses and muddy streets.

In the light, drizzling rain, amidst the faint, earthy scent of dust mixed with water, a young man moved against the flow of the crowd. As he pushed through the bustling throng on the main street of the 38th Shop District, passersby couldn't help but cast side-glances—

A black felt hat, a black Tang suit with white-trimmed cloud patterns, a dingy white shirt underneath, black trousers, and old-fashioned black cloth shoes.

This was the attire of a gang enforcer.

But how could this gang enforcer be a mere lad of fifteen or sixteen?

Xu Yi sensed the strange gazes around him, so he instinctively pulled down the brim of his black felt hat and quickened his pace.

The alleys grew increasingly crowded, and the aroma of fried rice became more intense. Enduring his hunger, Xu Yi finally walked past the last stretch of muddy dirt road and arrived before the door of the Hongfa Fruit Firm in the depths of the 38th Shop District alleys.

He had barely stepped one foot inside when the sound of an abacus clicking at the counter came to an abrupt halt.

Xu Yi didn't see any shop assistants; he only saw a burly man, nearly two meters tall and looking to be about forty years old, emerging from behind the counter amidst the dim light of a white incandescent bulb and baskets of fragrant fruit.

The burly man came up to Xu Yi, looked him over with an expression of disbelief, and spoke in a tone of utter astonishment:

"They sent you to collect the monthly protection fee?"

Xu Yi looked up at the burly man and cupped his hands in a salute:

"You must be Shopkeeper Chen. I have indeed come to collect the monthly fee."

Shopkeeper Chen let out a laugh:

"Your thigh isn't even as thick as my wrist; what right do you have to collect protection money from me!"

Shopkeeper Chen of the Hongfa Fruit Firm was one of the few tough nuts in the 38th Shop District. Xu Yi knew before coming here that he had previously beaten back several Green Gang disciples who had come to collect fees.

Xu Yi knew he couldn't win a fight, so he looked at the mountain-like Shopkeeper Chen and spoke politely:

"Shopkeeper Chen, I am Xu Yi of the 'Xue' generation, under the tutelage of Mr. Ye Hai of the Jiahai Hall, the Puxi branch of the Green Gang.

I have come to your shop today to pay my respects and discuss the rules of the trade."

Shopkeeper Chen watched Xu Yi with cold eyes, saying nothing.

If this had been an ordinary street thug, he would have slapped him out the door to eat dog dung long ago.

But this kid clearly looked different from the usual riffraff in the gangs.

This kid looked more like a student who had read books.

Shopkeeper Chen couldn't bring himself to strike a student who had read books.

Because Shopkeeper Chen's own child was currently studying in school.

Shopkeeper Chen gritted his teeth.

These scoundrels must have gambled that I couldn't bring myself to strike a child, which is why they sent this boy to collect the fee!

Those god-forsaken bastards!

As Shopkeeper Chen's inner rage began to rise, he heard Xu Yi say:

"Ever since Puxi opened as a port, travelers from all over have gathered in the 38th Shop District. This area has always been under the protection of Mr. Ye Hai, allowing everyone to live in peace and business to flourish.

That Shopkeeper Chen can do business here in peace without anyone causing trouble is largely due to the efforts of our brothers in maintaining order.

Because of this hard work, a monthly fee is required as a reward.

The fee Mr. Ye Hai asks for on behalf of the brothers is not much—just two silver dollars a month."

Shopkeeper Chen was so infuriated by this twisted logic that he felt smoke coming out of his seven orifices:

"The 38th Shop District is prosperous because refugees gathered here! It's not because of your Mr. Ye Hai!

Two silver dollars is enough for me to buy 30 bolts of cloth! You call that a small amount!

And what 'brothers maintaining order'! Those hooligans and thugs—it would be good enough if they didn't steal or rob! You call that maintaining order?!"

Xu Yi said earnestly:

"If the monthly fee passes through my hands, I will naturally be the one to maintain order from now on! I will protect this shop of yours!"

Shopkeeper Chen lost his patience and waved for him to leave:

"Don't say another word to me! Get out, get out, get out!"

Xu Yi said loudly:

"Father!"

The impatience on Shopkeeper Chen's face vanished in an instant; his pupils dilated and the muscles in his cheeks trembled, leaving him too shocked to speak.

Xu Yi simply cupped his hands in a salute and said:

"I will be your godson! As long as you pay the monthly protection fee, I guarantee that no one will harass your shop!"

Shopkeeper Chen opened his mouth.

But no words came out.

He finally let out a sigh:

"I'll be honest with you."

Shopkeeper Chen eyed Xu Yi coldly:

"Before you arrived, they had already tried every trick in the book."

"At first, they demanded a monthly fee. When I refused, they sent a few thugs with vicious faces to stand at the entrance of my Hongfa Fruit Firm, doing nothing but staring down every customer who walked in or out.

As time went on, who would dare come to buy my fruit?

So, I beat them away."

"Then, they sent strangers to buy fruit, take a single bite, and collapse on the ground, screaming that they had food poisoning, scaring all my customers away.

I beat those people away, too.

Later, I kept my eyes peeled and learned to spot them in advance, so that trick became useless against me."

"I guarded my fruit shop, whether they came to throw feces, toss dead animals, beat my clerks, or gather a mob to threaten my family...

I withstood all those underhanded tactics.

I fired my clerks and guarded my shop day and night."

Shopkeeper Chen looked at Xu Yi with cold eyes:

"I could withstand them before, and I can withstand them in the future."

"My little shop doesn't make much profit to begin with, and I have to pay for my children's schooling. If I pay this monthly fee, my whole family will be left starving!"

"This damn monthly fee—I will never pay it, no matter what."

"I only told you all this because I thought you were a student who could be reasoned with!"

Shopkeeper Chen bared his teeth in a fierce grin, interlacing his fingers and cracking his knuckles with a loud "pop-pop":

"If you don't get lost now, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Xu Yi lowered his head and sighed.

He had already anticipated this outcome before he arrived.

He reached into his tunic and pulled out a Zhengguanghe soda bottle filled with a yellow liquid, popped the cap, and a pungent, chemical stench wafted into the air.

The Zhengguanghe bottle was filled with gasoline.

Xu Yi took the bottle, gulped down two mouthfuls, wiped the stray drops from the corner of his mouth, and then held the bottle out to Shopkeeper Chen:

"Shopkeeper, let me treat you to a soda."

Shopkeeper Chen's expression turned ghastly; caught between fear and suspicion, he didn't reach out to take it.

Xu Yi placed the bottle into a bamboo crate filled with apples, adjusting the angle so that the gasoline began to drip, one drop at a time, onto the floor of the Hongfa Fruit Firm.

The scent of gasoline spread, and the evening twilight seemed to grow heavier because of it.

"Drip. Drip."

Each drop of gasoline fell directly onto Shopkeeper Chen's heart.

Xu Yi reached into his tunic again and pulled out a pack of loose cigarettes, pulled one out to hang from his lips, and flicked another toward Shopkeeper Chen, holding the pack out to him.

"Shopkeeper, let me treat you to a smoke."

Shopkeeper Chen wiped away a cold sweat.

Finally, Xu Yi pulled out a lighter.

"Shopkeeper Chen."

He sat beside the fruit basket, guarding his gasoline bottle, and looked up at Shopkeeper Chen, who stood three heads taller than him.

Xu Yi still felt a bit embarrassed to ask for money directly, his face showing a shy expression:

"If you aren't going to smoke..."

He tucked the cigarette pack back into his pocket and straightened his collar:

"Can you give me the two silver dollars for the monthly fee now?"