During the Republic of China era, I achieved unparalleled success by returning to the past.

Upon hearing someone arrive at the courtyard, Song Beiyou greeted, "Daguan, come in."

Shen Daguan agreed and jogged into the courtyard, followed by three burly men in black.

Song Beiyou naturally recognized them; they were Ding Qiang's three henchmen: A Lei, A Liang, and A Cheng. He put his arm around Shen Daguan's shoulder and introduced them, "A Qiang, this is my brother Daguan, he'll be your brother too from now on."

Ding Qiang clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Brother Guan."

Shen Daguan was flattered, his thick eyebrows jumping up and down. He quickly followed suit and cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Qiang, I don't deserve this."

"What do you mean, 'I wouldn't dare'? Since I've acknowledged Brother You as my brother, then you're my brother too," Ding Qiang said matter-of-factly. He looked at his three underlings and instructed, "Call them out. This is Brother Guan, and this is Brother You."

The three underlings exchanged glances, finding their boss's recent actions utterly baffling. Following the rules of the underworld, they clasped their hands in a salute.

Shen Daguan felt lightheaded, rubbing his hands together, unsure where to put them. He unconsciously straightened his back. The axe-wielding boy, whom he usually avoided, was now calling him Brother Guan.

Ah Lei, with his stubble-covered face, suddenly looked at Song Beiyou as if pricked by a needle, and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother You, you're Ah You?"

Song Beiyou smiled slightly: "It's me."

Stubble-faced Lei suddenly realized, thinking to himself, "No wonder, so the boss has a master backing him up." He remembered that the boss had mentioned the name "Ayou" before. The other two underlings also looked thoughtful.

Ding Qiang glared at him: "You have no manners. What brings you all here? Still thinking about opening an opium den?"

Ah Lei quickly shook his head: "No, Master Biao sent us to inform Big Brother that on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Dragon Head will promote Big Brother to a higher rank and also take him as his personal disciple."

Song Beiyou said from the side, "This is a good thing. Now that you've become Master Bao's personal disciple, anyone who wants to deal with you will have to think twice."

Ding Qiang nodded: "I'll listen to Brother You. Go tell Boss Biao that I understand."

The three underlings responded, and when they looked at Song Beiyou again, their eyes were different. They felt that their leader was completely obedient to this Brother You.

Song Beiyou looked at his three underlings: "Has He Zheng's resettlement allowance been paid?"

Ah Lei shook his head: "We don't know about that."

"Qiang, come with me to his house tomorrow."

"Yes, I, Ding Qiang, admire heroes the most, and He Zheng is a true man."

Song Beiyou asked, "Do you know where that scavenging girl from your village lives?"

The bearded man, Lei, had a gleam in his eye: "I know, I'll take Brother You there." He thought to himself, now everything makes sense. It turns out that skinny, blond girl is Brother You's type.

"Qiangbao, remember to come back for dinner. Ayou, come over tonight." The old lady's voice came from behind.

Song Beiyou smiled and waved, and the group left.

The shacks, made of bamboo strips and yellow mud, stood side by side, with only narrow passageways between them. The drains were filled with dried green patches and rotten mud, resembling ant nests.

"Brother Qiang, Brother Qiang is here." Some elderly, weak, women and children who were not out working greeted Ding Qiang when they saw him.

The group walked along the narrow alley for a while. A-Lei stopped in front of a shack made of broken wooden planks: "Brother You, Brother Qiang, that girl lives here."

A cold wind blew in from all four walls, bringing with it the smell of cheap, bitter Chinese medicine, and the sound of a man coughing violently.

A few scattered coal briquettes and firewood lay in front of the door, along with a nearly rusted coal stove. Song Beiyou walked to the door and asked, "Is Wen Yingxue home?"

The man inside seemed not to have heard him clearly and called out, "Which neighbor wants to write a letter? Come in."

Song Beiyou lifted the curtain, and the room reeked of medicine and decay. Sitting on the wooden bed against the wall was a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion, covering his mouth with a tattered cloth and forcing back a cough: "Young man, you look unfamiliar. Who do you want to write a letter to?"

He shakily took a few sheets of yellowed straw paper from the bamboo basket beside his bed, and immediately got up to find ink. Song Beiyou quickly stopped him: "Uncle Wen, I didn't come here to write a letter."

"Then you are..." Before he could finish speaking, Ding Qiang lifted the curtain and walked in, his bear-like body filling the cramped room as soon as he entered.

"Qiang, Brother Qiang..." The tattered cloth covering the middle-aged man's mouth fell onto the quilt. "I'm sorry, Brother Qiang, we'll pay back the money as soon as possible."

Ding Qiang shook his large head on his broad shoulders: "I came with Brother You to see you, not to ask you for money."

Song Beiyou's gaze was drawn to an old photo frame by the bedside. It was a black and white photograph: at the gate of Jinghua University, a handsome and refined man was holding a little girl's hand, while a beautiful woman beside him was holding a baby in swaddling clothes. The family wore happy smiles.

"Brother You?" The middle-aged man's sallow face instantly drained of color, and he almost rolled off the bed. His voice was dry and trembling. "Did my girl get into trouble? Don't hurt her. Whatever happens, I'll take responsibility, I'll take responsibility!"

Song Beiyou caught him and said with a smile, "Uncle Wen, you've misunderstood. Yingxue and I are friends. I came here specifically to see her."

"Friend...friend?" His chapped lips trembled as he stammered, incredulous. The young man before him had a gentle demeanor and an extraordinary appearance, and didn't seem like a bad person.

"My daughter hasn't come back yet. I don't know how you two met."

"It was a stroke of luck," Song Beiyou said with a smile. "Thanks to her help, I escaped danger."

Uncle Wen's heart gradually calmed down, realizing there was a story behind it.

"Ayou, I'm here." Shen Daguan returned from shopping. Ding Qiang went out to help, carrying a bag of good quality rice in one hand, while Shen Daguan carried a bucket of oil and a bag of flour.

Song Beiyou placed the rice, flour, and oil onto the table made of broken bricks.

Uncle Wen waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, Ah You, take it back quickly."

Song Beiyou gently patted his hand: "Uncle, this is just a small token of my appreciation. Yingxue has helped me a lot. If you don't want it, don't you want Yingxue to have a good meal for a couple of days? She looks terrible."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Wen stopped insisting, his eyes reddening with bitterness: "Then thank you very much. I am plagued by illness, and I really feel sorry for the two siblings."

Song Beiyou said, "Since Yingxue isn't here, we'll be leaving now and will come to see her another day. Uncle, you should rest well; there's no need to see us off."

……

The setting sun bathed the two figures, one tall and one short, in its light.

"Here you go." Wen Yingxue carefully took out a beautifully packaged pencil case.

The boy next to her was thin and dressed in faded old clothes. His eyes lit up when he saw the pencil case, and he quickly grabbed it and opened it: "Sis, thank you so much! I've been dreaming of having one!"

Wen Yingxue smiled slightly: "You mustn't let Dad know that I borrowed this money."

"Don't worry, sis!" The boy looked at the Parker pen with great delight before putting it into his yellow cloth bag. His face was beaming with joy, and the bruises on his arms hidden in his sleeves seemed to have stopped hurting.

The two siblings returned home briskly, and when they lifted the curtain, they were stunned by the several bags of rice, oil, and flour on the table.

"Dad, who bought this?" Wen Yingxue was not happy at all; instead, she was a little scared.

Uncle Wen coughed twice and looked at her calmly: "I was just about to ask you that. Do you know someone named Ayou? They're the ones who delivered it."

"Ayou? It's him! Where is he?" Wen Yingxue asked quickly.

"He's gone, he just left." Uncle Wen was completely relieved. Since they knew each other, the young man must be right.

"I'm going to find him," Wen Yingxue said, then turned and rushed out the door.

The setting sun cast a dim, yellowish light along the narrow alleyway. A small, thin figure ran, breathless, her face flushed, but the person she was looking for was already far away.

……

Two days later.

Night fell, and a cold wind cut through the air. Outside a large warehouse in Zhabei, beams of gas and vehicle headlights crisscrossed, casting many shadowy figures.

Song Beiyou jumped off the rickshaw and looked around. This was the underground boxing ring.