"Business is good, congratulations on your fortune~" another young man said with a grin, his eyes lecherously fixed on Tao Hua.
"Thank you. May I ask what you need? Please have a seat if you'd like some coffee," Peach Blossom said with a smile, barely managing to suppress the lecherous look in the man's eyes. After all, she'd seen plenty of those kinds of looks before, and her tolerance was pretty good.
"No need for coffee. Our boss sent us to say hello. This place is now under his protection, understand?" a young man said smugly, waving his hand.
"What do you mean?" Peach Blossom asked, frowning.
"What do you mean? It's simple. From now on, you'll have to pay protection money every month. This used to be Brother K's territory, but now Brother K has run away, and the bar has been transferred to our boss. From now on, this is Brother Shuan's territory, and you'll have to pay protection money regularly. Otherwise, you understand~" The young man raised an eyebrow and said arrogantly, exuding a fierce aura.
Peach Blossom understood. In the past, when Brother K was around, they naturally didn't need to pay protection money. But now that Brother K had run away and someone else had taken over, their good days were over, and they had to pay protection money.
"How much?" Peach Blossom asked, suppressing her anger. She knew it wasn't easy making a living outside; doing business involved dealing with countless people, and being charged protection money was normal. It was just that this was the first time she'd been treated like this, and she was quite annoyed.
"Seeing how good your business is, and the location is great, how about ten thousand a month?" The thug glanced around, saw the store was packed with customers, and casually added a few thousand. Da Shuan had specified five to eight thousand, with five thousand being the minimum.
"Why don't you just rob it?" Peach Blossom was furious, and her suppressed anger suddenly erupted.
"Hey? Boss, you're wrong about that. Your business is so good. If it weren't for our protection, who would be responsible if something went wrong? Would your business still be thriving? Don't you know how to be grateful?" a young man said with a sneer.
"Let me tell you, don't try to fool me here. I know the going rate for protection money. It's a maximum of a thousand yuan, not a penny more." Tao Ye couldn't stand it anymore and walked to the door, pointing at the two thugs and saying coldly.
Peach Blossom glanced at Peach Leaf but remained silent. She knew her sister's temperament; she was too stubborn. Let's see how things go.
"What? One thousand? Are you trying to fob us off? I'm telling you, it's eight thousand, not a penny less!" the young thug shouted fiercely.
"Then you can get it by closing your eyes~" Taoye sneered.
"What do you mean?" The two of them didn't understand.
"Dream on~" Peach Leaf said dismissively.
"Damn it~ You dare to mess with our brothers? Do you think you're so tough just because you're women? Don't anger our brothers, or we'll beat up women too!" A young man suddenly pulled out a shiny dagger, brandished it, and said fiercely.
At this point, many coffee drinkers began to slip away; they dared not get involved in such a scene.
But one person remained seated firmly in a peculiar position—at the bar, a spot only the owner's friends would occupy. This person showed no fear whatsoever, a mocking smile playing on their lips as they watched them, as if laughing at their perceived incompetence.
The two thugs exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's meaning. Hitting a woman was beneath them, so they decided to use this guy to establish their authority. They planned to smash some things in the coffee shop, and then those two women would definitely not dare to be arrogant anymore and would obediently hand over their money.
"You really won't pay?" The young man brandished the dagger in his hand with a sinister look in his eyes.
Peach Blossom's face paled slightly, and she began to panic. She thought to herself, "Maybe I should just pay to avoid trouble. Eight thousand yuan is acceptable; after all, the coffee shop makes over ten thousand yuan a month. The loss isn't significant."
Chapter 842: Letting the Wolf In
But Tao Ye was much more stubborn and resilient than her, gritting her teeth and insisting, "You're all blind to think you can freeload off me!"
"Alright, today we'll show you what's what, let's see if you're still so stubborn later!" The two young thugs exchanged a glance, glared fiercely at Tao Ye, pushed them aside, and headed straight for Li Yang.
"Brother, what a refined taste! They've all run away, why aren't you?" one of the thugs said with a sneer, brandishing a dagger.
"Because I have a gun," Li Yang said with a faint smile. Li Yang meant he was a man, with a penis. But the two thugs misunderstood.
The two men's expressions changed drastically. A gun? That's a powerful thug, definitely a big shot.
"Hey bro, where do you hang out? Give me your gang!" The two thugs hesitated.
“I’ll call you Grandpa,” Li Yang said with a wicked smile.
"Master Nida? I've never heard of such a name before," the two thugs said, bewildered.
"Pfft..." Peach Blossom and Peach Leaf couldn't help but chuckle. Li Yang was too wicked. He was clearly insulting them!
Hearing the two women's laughter, the two immediately understood and were enraged. "Damn it~ You're asking for it!" They also realized that Li Yang's words earlier were just a prank. They brandished their daggers and stabbed, but aimed for Li Yang's arm and hand—not vital areas. They were afraid of killing him.
"Ah—watch out!" Peach Blossom exclaimed. But Peach Leaf's cheeks were flushed with excitement, and her eyes were burning as she stared at Li Yang.
Ding-dong!
The dagger slammed into the bar counter, its blade buzzing. The two thugs were somewhat confused; they had clearly seen the dagger embedded in Li Yang's hand and arm, but instead, it was stuck in the bar counter.
The two tried to pull the thorns out again, but it was too late. Li Yang grabbed them by the hair and dragged them out of the coffee shop like pigs being slaughtered. The two immediately let out screams like pigs being slaughtered.
Li Yang slammed the two men to the ground. Stunned and disoriented, they screamed in pain, crying out repeatedly. Their eyes widened in terror as they looked at Li Yang.
"Sir, sir, spare our lives! We're just underlings, trying to make a living. We're just following orders!" The two men knelt on the ground, begging for mercy, looking extremely disheveled.
Peach leaves and peach blossoms also came out to watch the excitement, and a lot of people gathered around, pointing and gossiping.
Peach Blossom chuckled self-deprecatingly, thinking to herself, "How could I forget that Li Yang is a master? I was just worried about him. How ridiculous." But why was she worried about him? Was it because he had helped her, or because he was implicated because of them? Peach Blossom shook her head, trying to banish these chaotic thoughts.
"Give them a good lesson so they'll never dare come here again," Tao Ye said coldly. She then kicked the two men several times. Her sharp high heels felt like knives, causing them excruciating pain. The two thugs screamed in agony, but dared not retaliate.
"Hmm. A beautiful lady has given her orders, how dare you disobey?" Li Yang chuckled, then kicked the two men several more times, leaving them almost paralyzed on the ground, unable to get up.
"Big brother, spare us! Ah, we are Brother Shuan's underlings. Even if you don't give us face, you should at least give Brother Shuan face!" The two underlings were still begging for mercy, but they were using Da Shuan to threaten Li Yang.
"Dare to threaten me? Looks like I haven't beaten you enough~" Li Yang sneered. He originally wanted to cause trouble for Da Shuan. Many people knew that he had caused trouble for Sha K, and even the local bully Liu Ziheng didn't dare to interfere. Da Shuan dared to interfere, what was this if not provocation? Today, taking advantage of the Peach Blossom and Peach Leaf incident, Li Yang planned to make a good scene, preferably to bring Da Shuan out, and then deal with him.
Li Yang kicked them a few more times, and the two thugs were immediately bruised and swollen, spitting blood, and several of their teeth flew out, leaving them completely defeated.
"Have you submitted yet?" Li Yang asked calmly.
"I'm convinced..." the two of them said immediately.
"Do you still dare to come and collect protection money?" Li Yang continued, squatting down to ask.
"This..." The two hesitated for a moment, after all, they were acting under orders and had no autonomy.