Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 535 Thugs

Xiao Wei said, "If there aren't enough rooms here, we need to keep those rooms in case people come to stay. It'll be better when we get to Fengtian; there will be plenty of houses, and you can live however you want."

The soldier said, "Is it like the houses in the city? Everyone's crammed together, there's not even a yard."

Xiao Wei said, "No, we built it ourselves. The yard is even bigger than this, and there's a pond in the middle."

Xiaobing nodded and said, "My parents told me you built a house, and they praised you for being so capable. Building houses over there must be difficult, right? They said it costs a lot of money."

Xiao Wei said, "Yeah, it costs money. What doesn't cost money to live? Clothes, food, transportation, school, housing—aren't all of these bought with money? Who's going to give them to you for free?"

The soldier nodded, then thought for a moment and asked, "Is money easy to earn? Who earns more, you or your older brother?"

Xiao Wei asked, "What do you think?"

Xiao Bing frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "This is a bit strange. I feel like it's easy to make money here, but my classmates' families don't seem to have much money, so I also feel that making money must be quite difficult. I never talk about money with my classmates, because I'm afraid they'll feel inferior."

Xiao Wei smiled and patted Xiao Bing on the head. The little guy was quite enthusiastic when he spoke, afraid that his classmates would feel inferior.

Xiaobing said, "I'm telling the truth. At school, I don't dare to spend any money I have. My classmates don't have much money either. What if they stop hanging out with me? When we chat, they ask me what my family does, and I always say that we work in a food factory, my dad is a boiler operator, and my mom is a cook."

Xiao Wei said, "That's right, you did a good job, let's give you a compliment."

After finishing his sponge cake, Xiaobing got up, put the bowl in the sink to soak in water, sat back down, and asked, "So, am I going to transfer schools again? When are we moving? Us?"

Xiao Wei said, "Around the end of October, we'll process your transfer. After that, we won't be moving again. There are more schools over there, the teaching quality is better, and there are many more students."

The soldier asked, "Are there any thugs in the schools around Fengtian? You know, the kind who camp out at the school gates and extort money from students, the kind who's always fighting."

Xiao Wei asked, "Did someone block your way and demand money?"

The soldier said, "My classmates were beaten up by them, but I'm fast. Our house is only a tiny bit far away, so I ran back in one breath."

Xiao Wei frowned and said, "Did you tell the teacher?"

Xiaobing shook his head and said, "No, what's the use of telling the teacher? What can the teacher do? Besides, even if they could, they couldn't control him. There are so many hooligans out there. He's not even in school, and he doesn't come every day."

Xiao Wei asked, "Do you need me and your dad to pick you up or take you home?"

The soldier said, "No need. I haven't even told my parents. I'm not a kid anymore. If I can fight, I will; if I can't, I'll just run away."

Xiao Wei said, "I'll go visit your school tomorrow."

Xiaobing turned to look at Xiaowei: "Really? Do you know any police officers? If you bring a policeman along, they probably won't dare to block me anymore."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll call two policemen over tomorrow. They'll stop you here, you'll recognize them. They'll arrest you and lock you up for a few days, then you'll behave."

Xiaobing put down his chopsticks, rinsed his mouth, patted Xiaowei's arm, and said, "Awesome, you're my idol from today onwards. Anyway, I'm not going to chat with you anymore, you sit here, I have to do my homework."

Xiao Wei burst out laughing.

The next day, the trainees who had received their certificates began to leave. Most of them left, regardless of whether they were going to work there or not. Those who were going to work would stay home until October and come back, with Xiaowei covering their train tickets. Yu Qiu, Zhang Guiqin, and a few others who were from the area stayed behind to help clean and tidy the dormitories in preparation for welcoming the new trainees. These few were considered to have started working today and were receiving their wages.

Xiao Wei is just listening and observing things here for now, and has mainly left the rest to Liu Shangyue. She will definitely stay in Longcheng, and Xiao Wei plans to give her a raise so that she can become the "principal".

At noon, Xiaowei went to find Liu Huasheng, and the two of them took a walk around Xiaobing School.

Although Xiaowei didn't ostensibly have anything to do with recovering the money Heizi lost, Liu Huasheng handled it admirably, and Xiaowei appreciated the favor, thus strengthening their relationship. There was no need to elaborate; everyone understood.

There were indeed some young thugs squatting around the school, a few years older than the students, smoking cigarettes. This age is when they are most rebellious and have nothing to do since they are not in school, so it is only natural that they go out to hang out.

Xiao Wei also saw a few "familiar faces," people he frequented the billiards club and had met a few times before. Among them was Xiao Wu.

"Brother, what are you doing here?" Xiao Wu greeted Xiao Wei from a distance.

Xiao Wei turned his head and looked at the group of teenagers with Xiao Wu, asking, "Where do you usually hang out around here?"

Xiao Wu glanced at Liu Huasheng, who was dressed in a police uniform, and said, "What are you doing here? Just hanging around for a while."

Xiao Wei beckoned Xiao Wu over, offered him a cigarette, and asked, "Are you familiar with the people around here?"

Xiao Wu asked, "What's wrong? Who did something wrong?" He then glanced at Liu Huasheng.

Xiao Wei said, "My younger brother goes to school here, and people have blocked the road for him a few times. I came here today to take a look around."

Xiao Wu said, "Do you know who it is? If you know the name, I can find out for you. I know most of them."

Xiao Wei said, "Do you guys make money by doing this every day? How much money can you rob students from? It's illegal."

Xiao Wu said, "I never robbed anyone. I just came out to hang out because I was bored at home. I don't need any pocket money, why would I rob someone for a dollar and fifty cents? Those who rob money are kids, those who have just graduated a year or two ago. I'm so old. Besides, I'm about to start working at a billiards hall."

Xiao Wei glanced at Liu Huasheng and said with a smile, "Old Wu asked you to come? What do you want him to do?"

Xiao Wu said, "I do whatever's available—cleaning, handling cases, selling things for a living. Why be picky when I have a shift? It's not tiring. Bro, are you still the boss? That'll probably cost hundreds of thousands more, right? I wish I could be that rich someday."

Xiao Wei patted Xiao Wu on the shoulder and said, "Okay, if you're going to work here, then we're not outsiders anymore. Work hard and do something worthwhile; it's better than just drifting along like this. If anything comes up, just let me know."

Xiao Wu said, "Who wants to slack off when there's work to be done? The key is that there are no jobs right now, and it's hard to find work. We can't just laze around at home all day, can we? Who's your brother? Let me get to know him. After that, you can leave this to me. I guarantee no one will dare to touch him afterward."

The school bell rang, and the school building erupted in noise.

Perhaps because they saw Liu Huasheng in his police uniform, the group of thugs who had been there earlier all disappeared, and the students began to leave the school gate.

Xiao Wei said to Liu Huasheng, "Actually, your police station should set up a checkpoint near the school, even just two auxiliary police officers would be fine. That would make things much less chaotic at the school gate. How can we study well when everyone's blocking the entrance and trying to rob us every day?"

Liu Huasheng said, "I have the final say in this matter. To put it nicely, I'm the deputy director, but to put it bluntly, I'm nothing and have no power."

Xiao Wei said, "You can do a public security investigation report and submit it. I'll submit it for you when you're done."

Liu Huasheng said, "Do you think I can't do it? Go ahead and report to higher-ups? I have the director and political commissar above me. If I don't go ahead and report to higher-ups, it's useless to hand it over to them. If I do go ahead and report to higher-ups, I'll offend them. Will I still be able to stay in this institute? Even if I go to another institute, people will feel uncomfortable. It's a thankless task."

(End of this chapter)