Volume One, Chapter Six: Collecting the Debt

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I patrolled in the morning and only returned to the company at eleven o'clock noon. I went to my cousin’s wife’s place for lunch, then returned to the first squad’s office. The afternoon shift was assigned to another team for patrol, so I stayed on duty in the office. Li Da didn’t come; it was just me and the squad leader, Hu Yong, on duty. I didn’t ask much about it. Thus, my first day at work passed quietly and uneventfully.

At six in the evening, I finished work and went home. My cousin’s wife had already prepared a large table full of delicious dishes.
“Sis-in-law! What’s the occasion today, making such a sumptuous meal?” I asked curiously as I looked at the feast.
“Today is your first day at work, we’re celebrating tonight,” Su Wan smiled in reply.

Hearing her words, I felt very happy and quickly walked over to help, grabbing some bowls.
“Sis-in-law, let me help you.”
“Don’t move! Go wash your hands. We’re about to start eating.”

Su Wan wouldn’t let me help, so I didn’t insist and went to wash my hands, feeling a pang of emotion inside. Such a virtuous and kind woman—why didn’t my cousin cherish her when he was alive?

“So many delicious dishes! Looks like you knew the guys were coming today and prepared this specially…”

Suddenly, a sarcastic voice interrupted, and a few young men in bell-bottom pants and floral shirts, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, walked in.

The one speaking was a flashy youth. He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, swaggering over to the table and picking up a piece of meat with two fingers to chew on.
“Hmm! This tastes pretty good.”

He chewed a few bites, smiling as he glanced at my cousin’s wife with a mocking look. He seemed to be the leader—and quite obnoxious.

“Who are you?”

Noticing these men were clearly troublemakers, I frowned and stepped forward, eyeing the youth who spoke coldly.

“Scram! If you want to be a hero saving a damsel in distress, watch your life,” the leader sneered disdainfully.

Then he sat down, lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, squinted his eyes, and said, “Zhao Fei borrowed five thousand yuan from us before. Now with interest, it’s fifteen thousand. Even though he’s dead, the debt remains. When do you plan to pay it back?”

“Zhao Fei owes you money? Go ask him. It’s got nothing to do with me,” Su Wan said timidly, avoiding their gaze and lowering her head.

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Now I understood—they had come to collect a debt. My earlier suspicions were correct.

My cousin Zhao Fei was a gambler; he even bet his wife. He must have owed a lot to others outside. Since he was dead, these debts would naturally fall on Su Wan.

“Debts of the father to be paid by the son, debts of the husband to be paid by the wife. You planning to skip out on this?”

The leader looked at Su Wan with a fake smile, his eyes cold.

Su Wan turned pale with fright and instinctively stepped back two paces. It was clear she was terrified.

My anger flared up, and I glared at the youth with a cold rebuke. “Get lost!”

“You punk! Who do you think you are to be so arrogant?”

The leader’s three followers were infuriated by my arrogance; one pointed his finger at my nose and shouted insults.

“Ah!”

But he quickly screamed in pain as I grabbed his finger and bent it backward.

“You dare fight us? Do you know who we are?”

The leader stood up fiercely, pointing at me and shouting angrily.

“I don’t care who you are. If you come bothering my sister-in-law again, I’ll take you down…”

I released the youth and warned the group coldly.

“Damn! You’ve got a death wish, daring to mess with the Little Tiger Gang…”

Hearing the name “Little Tiger Gang,” I frowned. I recalled last year when Su Wan and I went to the county town to repay debts, two burly men claimed to be from the Little Tiger Gang.

So these people were also from the same gang. It seemed fate was cruelly crossing our paths.

Seeing the leader swing a punch, I raised my foot and kicked his lower abdomen, sending him flying outside instantly.

“Brother Zhang…”

The three youths who came with him shouted in alarm and quickly ran after him.

“Yan Feng! Don’t cause trouble.”

Su Wan rushed over anxiously and grabbed me when she saw me fighting, her face full of worry.

I patted her hand gently and reassured her softly, “Sis-in-law, don’t worry. I’m fine. You stay here and don’t go out.”

With that, I stepped outside.

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The sunset stained half the sky red. Families were either enjoying the cool evening outdoors or preparing dinner.

The commotion caused by the youths immediately attracted neighbors from the four nearby houses to gather and watch.

I scanned the crowd and noticed Li Da skulking suspiciously among them. My brow furrowed.

I thought to myself, could the Little Tiger Gang’s sudden debt collection today be connected to this guy?

“You’re dead meat, punk.”

The leader was helped up by his men, glaring at me with fury. He cursed and drew a short knife from his waist, charging toward me.

The onlookers paled in fear at the sight. Some timid souls even closed their eyes, unwilling to watch.

Among the crowd, Li Da’s eyes gleamed with a smug expression. A cold smile curled at his lips.

Little bastard. You dared provoke me. Just wait until you join Zhao Fei and that dead ghost. I’ll show you how I deal with that little bitch, Su Wan.

Su Wan, standing in the kitchen, saw the whole scene and was so frightened she collapsed to the floor. She wanted to scream but couldn’t utter a sound. She could only watch helplessly as the leader charged at me with the knife, her heart pounding with anxiety.

Facing the leader rushing at me with a knife, I remained calm and composed.

My grandfather once told me, in the face of danger, one must stay calm. Panic and fear only cause loss of composure, leading to peril with no escape.

The leader was almost upon me, the short knife aimed at my abdomen.

I shifted my body slightly to the side, dodging the thrust. With one hand, I grabbed the leader’s wrist holding the knife and twisted hard.

He howled in pain immediately.

My face cold, I delivered a punch to his face, knocking him down. He writhed on the ground, helpless.

Everyone was stunned, unable to believe my strength. Not only had I dodged the knife, but I had also knocked him out cold—it was beyond anyone’s expectation.

Li Da’s triumphant expression instantly darkened when he saw me take down the leader.

He cursed inwardly that the leader was useless, unable to beat me even with a knife.

“Brother Zhang…”

The three youths who had come with the leader cried out again and hurried to his side, flustered as they helped him up.