Killing Him Is Too Cruel, Let's Cripple Him

There is only one pharmacy in the entire Joyful District, located right next to Happy Forest.

Others consider Joyful District a slum with no profit to be made, so they are unwilling to open a pharmacy here.

Happy Forest is indeed prosperous, but how many people in a single street could possibly fall ill? Opening a pharmacy here would only lead to losses.

However, the Shopkeeper Wang of Wang's Pharmacy thinks much further ahead than the others.

The poor cannot afford medical treatment; they endure minor illnesses and only come to the pharmacy to find a physician when they can no longer hold on.

By that time, he can open his mouth like a lion and fleece them mercilessly.

Even a rotting ship has three pounds of nails; no matter how poor the people of Joyful District are, a little profit can still be squeezed out of them.

Therefore, business at Wang's Pharmacy is not only not bad, but it actually earns more than pharmacies in some bustling districts.

Shopkeeper Wang of Wang's Pharmacy is in his sixties, covered in fat, and looks less like a doctor and more like a butcher.

At this moment, Shopkeeper Wang is admiring a bright green bracelet.

The jade bracelet is as clear as water and engraved with hollowed-out patterns, looking quite extraordinary.

"What a pity, there is only one of these bracelets. If it were a pair, the price would have multiplied several times over.

I just don't know which family that little girl belongs to; otherwise, if I used some methods, I might have been able to get the other bracelet as well."

Shopkeeper Wang shook his head regretfully, put the bracelet back into the box, and prepared to go to the pawnshop when he had time to exchange it for silver.

"All of you, be quick! Don't slack off! Otherwise, your monthly wages will be deducted in full!"

Shopkeeper Wang scolded the shop assistants, and just as he was about to stand up, he saw a handsome young man walking in, holding a little girl by the hand.

Seeing this little girl, Shopkeeper Wang's eyes lit up instantly. Isn't this the little girl who came to his pharmacy to steal medicine a few days ago?

"Haha! You little girl actually dare to come back! You ruined so much of my medicinal herbs last time; this one bracelet isn't enough to compensate! Hurry up and give me the other one!"

Su Xin'er was startled by Shopkeeper Wang and grabbed the hem of Su Xin's clothes tightly, saying aggrievedly, "But I already returned the medicine."

"Hmph! Can medicine that has been touched by your dirty hands still be used?" Shopkeeper Wang snorted coldly, his face full of disdain.

Su Xin patted Su Xin'er's little head and looked at Shopkeeper Wang indifferently: "What kind of medicine requires two jade bracelets as compensation?"

Only then did Shopkeeper Wang notice Su Xin, and he sneered: "You must be this little girl's family, right? Look closely, what she took last time was genuine Liaodong Korean Ginseng, all shipped from Eastern Jin.

From Eastern Jin to our Great Zhou is a distance of tens of thousands of miles; each piece of Korean Ginseng is worth hundreds of taels! She ruined seven or eight of them at once; can you afford to pay for that?"

Shopkeeper Wang even deliberately took out a box wrapped in red cloth containing Korean Ginseng and placed it in front of them, looking as if he had them cornered.

"Liar! You're a liar! What I took last time was definitely not this thing!" Su Xin'er clenched her little fists and shouted aggrievedly.

"Hmph! I say it is, so it is!" Shopkeeper Wang looked at Su Xin and sneered: "Kid, quickly hand over the other jade bracelet, or I'll report you to the authorities right now, and you can wait to eat prison food in the jail!"

Shopkeeper Wang has the most experience in dealing with commoners like Su Xin.

As long as he uses the government to scare them, they will surely submit obediently.

The government office doors open to the south; if you have reason but no money, do not enter.

Since ancient times, the government has never been meant for the poor.

But to Shopkeeper Wang's surprise, he did not see a trace of panic in Su Xin's eyes; this young man remained calm throughout.

After a long silence, Su Xin finally spoke: "I haven't eaten prison food, but I believe you won't be able to eat anything very soon."

"You kid still dare to threaten me?" Shopkeeper Wang sneered: "Do you know the Flying Eagle Gang? I pay the Flying Eagle Gang dozens of taels in protection money every month. Believe it or not, if I say the word, you will be thrown out with your legs broken by the Flying Eagle Gang right now!"

"Old Huang, come in." Su Xin called out softly.

Hearing Su Xin's words, Huang Bingcheng immediately walked in with eight gang members.

"Oh! Master Huang, why are you here?" Seeing Huang Bingcheng enter, Shopkeeper Wang immediately trotted over on his short, fat legs to welcome him.

Huang Bingcheng has been in the Flying Eagle Gang for more than a dozen years.

Back when Liu Sandao was the leader, although he trusted brothers like Boss Sun who had always followed him, the job of collecting protection money was still left to experienced old hands like Huang Bingcheng.

Therefore, Shopkeeper Wang was very familiar with him, and when the Flying Eagle Gang first occupied Happy Forest, he had even slipped Huang Bingcheng a few taels of silver to ask him to look after his shop.

"Boss, what are your orders?" Huang Bingcheng didn't even look at Shopkeeper Wang, but bowed his head respectfully to Su Xin.

"B... Boss!?" Shopkeeper Wang was instantly dumbfounded.

This young man is actually from the Flying Eagle Gang? And an old hand of the Flying Eagle Gang like Huang Bingcheng actually calls him Boss!

Huang Bingcheng looked coldly at Shopkeeper Wang: "Let me reintroduce you. My boss, Su Xin, is the adopted son of the Great Leader Third Master Hu and a newly promoted minor leader responsible for managing Happy Forest.

Fatty Wang, you are quite capable, aren't you? You actually dared to blackmail my boss. Tell me, are you tired of living?"

Shopkeeper Wang broke into a cold sweat, his short legs trembling, barely able to support his obese body.

For a merchant with a little bit of assets like him, he is not afraid of the government.

If the government comes to cause trouble, he can just spend money to resolve it.

What they cannot afford to provoke are the pugilistic gangs like the Flying Eagle Gang.

Doing business is all about harmony and making money; if you encounter such a violent and aggressive gang, they have ten thousand ways to ruin you.

Even if they don't take your life, they can make it impossible for you to survive here.

"Boss Su, I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. Please, spare me this once!"

Shopkeeper Wang wore a mournful expression as he immediately returned the bracelet to Su Xin, tactfully adding a stack of silver banknotes. Su Xin glanced at them; there were no less than three hundred taels.

"Spare you? Heh." Su Xin let out an inscrutable chuckle and walked out of the shop, holding Su Xin'er.

Shopkeeper Wang felt a chill run down his spine at Su Xin's laugh, unable to fathom what he meant.

Huang Bingcheng chased after him, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes as he whispered, "Boss, should we take out this Fatty Wang?"

Don't let Huang Bingcheng's sycophantic behavior in front of Su Xin fool you; he had been knocking about the Flying Eagle Gang for over a decade. While not much of a fighter, he had killed men before.

Su Xin shook his head and said softly, "The old man doesn't have many years left to live. Killing him is too cruel. Just cripple him."

For some reason, hearing Su Xin's indifferent words, Huang Bingcheng felt a cold shiver rise from his heart.

He nodded and walked back into the shop.

The shop was suddenly filled with the screams of Shopkeeper Wang: "Don't come over! What are you doing!? If you dare touch me, the authorities won't let you off! Ah! Ah!"

Su Xin patted Su Xin'er on the head, covering her ears to keep her from hearing Shopkeeper Wang's screams.

Seeing Shopkeeper Wang lying on the ground, lacking even the strength to groan, Huang Bingcheng stroked his chin and said, "Alright, stop hitting him. Any more and he'll be dead."

Hearing his command, the eight gang members finally stopped.

Looking at the shop assistants cowering in the corner, Huang Bingcheng sneered, "Bandage this fat pig up. Don't let him die. You should know what to say if the authorities come by later."

The assistants nodded repeatedly; they wouldn't dare provoke the Flying Eagle Gang even if they were given ten times the courage.

"Xin'er, let's go home."

Su Xin picked up Su Xin'er and shoved the bracelet into her hand, though a trace of doubt rose in his heart.

The style and material of this bracelet were far too exquisite; it didn't look like something the Su Family could possess.

However, Su Xin's memories of his childhood in this body had long since blurred, even more so than Su Xin'er's.

He asked Su Xin'er a couple of questions, but she couldn't explain it clearly, so Su Xin decided not to press the matter.

After settling Su Xin'er at home and arranging for someone to look after her, Su Xin had someone fetch Huang Bingcheng: "Old Huang, gather all the shop owners in Happy Forest at the Drunken Moon Pavilion for a meeting."

He still had a main quest to earn ten thousand taels of silver, and this money had to be squeezed out of Happy Forest.

However, he, Su Xin, was not Liu Sandao. Naturally, he wouldn't bleed those merchants and shop owners dry; that would be nothing more than killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Huang Bingcheng wore a knowing look upon hearing this.

A new official always brings new rules, and they had certainly paid their fair share of tribute when Liu Sandao first took power.

Now that Su Xin was the boss, if they didn't bleed a little, did they even want to keep operating in Happy Forest?

Seeing the expression on Huang Bingcheng's face, Su Xin knew exactly what he was thinking, but he didn't bother to correct him. He would understand soon enough.