Chapter 118: The Food Street Police Station

As Zhang Xiaoli and Sun Xiaogang boarded a taxi, Liu Yunfei pulled up a chair and sat outside the entrance of the yurt. A crowd had already gathered, pointing and whispering, likely people who had been dining inside and were now recounting the earlier scene. Liu Yunfei pulled out a cigarette and, just as he was about to light it, a lighter was extended toward him by none other than Zhang Xiaoli’s father.

"Oh?" Liu Yunfei was taken aback. A moment ago, the man had looked at him with nothing but fear and resentment; now, he was beaming. "What is it?"

The old man, clearly intimidated after seeing this young man beat someone and even pull a gun, stammered for a long time before saying, "Brother, you beat up Zhou Jinbao, and now my business is ruined. You took my daughter away. It wasn't easy raising her all these years, feeding her and putting her through school. Shouldn't you give me something..."

"Oh, give me a break." It seemed the man was truly blinded by greed, trying to squeeze out one last profit even in his final hour. "To be honest, I was actually thinking of buying a storefront on the food street for you to run your business, but your place is such a disappointment. You’re a nest of animals. If you don't have money, get lost."

"We still need some child-support fees." The old man might be willing to risk his life, but when it came to money, he would argue even with the King of Hell himself.

Liu Yunfei gave a mocking smirk, looking the old man up and down. "Child-support fees? Zhang Xiaoli has been helping out in the shop for years; you should be paying her wages instead."

"I raised my daughter for all these years, are you saying it was all for nothing? No matter who she goes with, you have to give me some money," the old man insisted, looking utterly defiant.

"You’ve finally hit the nail on the head. Your mentality is just to sell your daughter for a good price. I’m not a stingy person—I’ve donated millions before—but for someone like you, I won't give a single cent. However, I can teach you a way: if you really want money, go sue me in court. Even if the court orders me to pay ten million, I’ll pay it."

"That’s a big talk!" A gravelly, aged voice barked out.

Liu Yunfei did not hurry to turn around. He slowly tilted his head, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Zhou Papi had arrived, accompanied by his other two sons and an old woman. It truly was a case of "like father, like son." The whole family looked like they had been cast from the same mold as Zhou Jinbao—burly, thick-necked, and brutish. If it were anyone else, they would have fled at the sight of this family; the onlookers had long since retreated to the sidewalk across the street.

"First a nest of animals, and now a pack of beasts. Dragon, Tiger, Leopard—what a fitting name," Liu Yunfei said, pushing past the old man and walking toward Zhou Papi with a gait that was light, steady, and elegant.

"You’ve got guts. I guess I was right; you’re the one who injured my third son. Which gang are you with?" Zhou Papi hadn't seen the incident himself, only heard the call. Seeing this young man, who looked like a delicate scholar walking with such a light step, he couldn't comprehend how his son could have fallen to him. Though he enjoyed martial arts dramas, he didn't believe in "kung fu"; he only believed in brute strength.

"Old Zhou, why waste breath on him?" The old woman, who detested such social pleasantries, stepped forward. In her youth, she had been a butcher who wielded a heavy cleaver; known on the street as a "she-tiger," she was just as capable of violence as her husband, with the added talent for making a scene and acting shamelessly.

As she spoke, she lunged at Liu Yunfei, claws bared. Before Liu Yunfei could even push her away, she threw herself onto the ground, grabbing his pant leg and wailing, "He’s hitting people! He’s hitting an old woman! Just kill me now!" She shrieked and clawed at his clothes. Even the toughest person is often helpless against such an old shrew.

Liu Yunfei hadn't intended to strike her; hitting her would only play into her trap. However, he didn't expect the old woman to resort to a despicable "monkey steals the peach" maneuver, grabbing his crotch with a firm grip. For an ordinary person, this would have meant immediate incapacitation or worse.

"You old hag, you’re truly venomous. I don't hit women, but you no longer qualify as one." Liu Yunfei landed a few sharp slaps across her face, leaving her dizzy and bleeding from the corner of her mouth. People like this are truly base—when you don't hit them, they wail and cause a scene, but once you actually do, they suddenly go quiet.

With the old woman silenced, Zhou Papi and his two sons stepped up, shouting to the crowd, "He hit her first! Everyone saw it! He hit an elderly woman!" The implication was clear: since he started it, they would be justified in beating him to a pulp.

The Zhou family prepared to pounce, intending to beat this unknown, ignorant brat half to death. In their minds, their third son must have fallen for some trick; if they actually used their fists, they would finish him in three moves.

"Wooo-ooo-ooo..." As luck—or perhaps timing—would have it, the police arrived. A line of police cars pulled up to the curb. These were officers from the Food Street station. When they first received the call forwarded from the emergency line, they couldn't believe anyone would dare to poke the tiger's backside. They assumed it was just someone disgruntled by Zhou Jinbao spreading rumors. They didn't even dispatch anyone until several more calls came in, claiming the third Zhou son had had his arm ripped off. Upon arriving, they found the two parties in a standoff.

The police immediately separated the groups and took everyone to the station. Liu Yunfei was in the lead car. The station was very close; he wondered why it had taken them so long to arrive if they were so near—a real waste of resources.

Walking into the station, two young officers approached with stony faces, looking as if they were owed money. "Who was fighting? Are you the one who beat up Zhou Jinbao?"

Liu Yunfei figured these officers were on familiar, uneasy terms with the Zhou family. It was said that the police and the local thugs were in cahoots, and it certainly looked that way. He nodded. To his surprise, the two officers immediately broke into smiles and said, "Come with us to the conference room." On the way, one of the officers whispered, "Well done."

In truth, these officers despised the Zhou family. The food street was notorious for having the worst public order in the city, and they had never once won the "Best Station" award. They all knew most of the crimes were linked to the Zhou family, but they never had enough evidence. They were constantly reprimanded at meetings, and the officers hadn't received a bonus in years.

As Liu Yunfei walked ahead, he heard Zhou Papi’s wife shouting from behind, "The criminal goes to the conference room for questioning, while we, the victims, are sent to the interrogation room? Is this even a police station? You’re just gangsters in uniform!"

"Stand still! This is a police station; no causing trouble!"

"To hell with the police station! I’ve even made scenes at City Hall. The police are hitting people! The police are beating the plaintiffs!" It seemed the old shrew had the same routine everywhere.

Inside the conference room, the two officers were quite polite; they felt Liu Yunfei had vented their own frustrations, and all those years of lost bonuses hadn't been in vain. The Zhou family had failed to cultivate any real local connections; they had relied solely on intimidation for years. They weren't a professional criminal organization—just bullies and extortionists who were notorious but hadn't actually made much money. How could they afford to pay off the police? Recently, the third son had hooked up with the Four-Harmony Gang, and the older two had been arrested. Just as they seemed to be heading toward a "proper" path, they ran into Liu Yunfei.

Liu Yunfei sipped his tea and recounted the evening's events exactly as they happened. He had nothing to hide, save for the part where he pulled out the gun. When he mentioned grabbing Zhou Jinbao’s arm and ripping it off, the younger officer’s jaw dropped. "You can really rip a man’s arm off?"

Liu Yunfei pulled out a cigarette, offered it to the officers, and after they lit up, he blew a smoke ring and said mysteriously, "Brother, you don't know—that Zhou Jinbao must have some kind of cartilage disease. I didn't even use any force. Look at my thin arms and legs; who could I possibly rip apart? They’re just trying to frame me."

"Damn, if I’d known he was just a paper tiger, I would have ripped his arm off too! If it were me, I wouldn't even return it. I’ve lost so many years of bonuses that treating an arm like a piece of meat to boil for dinner would be a bargain."

"If it were me, I wouldn't even eat it. I’d feed it to the dogs."

"Feeding it to the dogs is too good for him. It belongs in a sewer for the maggots."

"That won't work. Someone would report finding an arm, and we’d have to investigate it as a dismemberment case."

Seeing the two officers getting completely off-track, Liu Yunfei hurriedly crushed his cigarette. "Brothers, that's enough. You can research that later. Let's record the statement first; I have people waiting for me at home."

"Is it that female student you saved? Is she pretty?"

"It’s Old Zhang’s daughter from that restaurant. Didn't you see her when you went to eat there last time?"

"I didn't pay attention. I didn't expect you to have such a youthful heart, eyeing a girl in a small restaurant while grabbing a bite."

"Rubbish, I'm not Zhou Jinbao."

"Gentlemen, my family is waiting. Please, I’ll treat you both to drinks tomorrow." Seeing them veer off-topic again, Liu Yunfei had to remind them once more.