Chapter 66 - 65: Trust and Connections

Chapter 66: Chapter 65: Trust and Connections

"Huh?"

Huai Yu stood there innocently. Uncle Zaozi, on the other hand, was bewildered for a moment before directly grabbing the greasy middle-aged man. With a backhand SLAP, he struck him hard across the face.

"Eat shit!"

Then, as the middle-aged man stumbled backward, Uncle Zaozi took two steps forward and kicked him right in the knee. He didn’t let go until he heard the man yelp and crash to the ground.

Clapping his red palms, he turned to Huai Yu and said, "See that, girl? The next time you run into someone spouting disgusting nonsense like that, smash his head with a shovel first!

"Beat his dog brains out before asking questions!

"If it turns out to be a misunderstanding, you can apologize afterward."

Huai Yu was speechless.

Meanwhile, a nearby police officer wearing a uniform similar to the Defense Army’s who had been called over was also stunned.

"Huh?"

He had just arrived and hadn’t even grasped the situation yet. Why were they already fighting amongst themselves?

He looked at the solitary piece of cardboard discarded on the ground, then at the man clutching his knee and groaning in pain. Finally, he glanced at Uncle Zaozi and Huai Yu, waving his large hand.

"Don’t you know conflicts aren’t allowed in the trading market? All of you, come with me."

A short while later, a car suddenly pulled up outside the Red Victory Trading Market. A man in a Guard Army uniform stepped out, followed by Captain Zhou.

However, Captain Zhou looked somewhat disheveled. A very fine, long bloody scratch ran from his temple down the side of his face, now scabbed over into a dark red line.

The Guard Army soldier beside him was in a similar state. From a distance, his snow-white uniform still looked pristine, but up close, one could see that the specially coated fabric had been slashed with deep cuts.

It was as if a fierce wind had swept at them from all directions like a sharp blade.

Their battered appearances drew quite a crowd of onlookers. Zhou Qian’s brow was furrowed, weighing heavy with guilt.

When they arrived at Huaxia Gold, the Guard Army soldier beside him pulled out his ID and asked, "Is there a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl who frequently trades with you? Where is she?"

"Huh?" Boss Tang was taken aback and instinctively replied, "What’s this about?" ℯ

Zhou Qian quickly interjected, "It’s General Wu. General Wu needs Little Yu for something. I heard she told someone she was coming here to sell things."

Boss Tang didn’t know why Wu Yue was looking for Huai Yu, but remembering the auntie who had just left, he kept a straight face. "I don’t know. Young people, you know, she probably went shopping somewhere... How about you search the shops one by one?"

The two turned up empty-handed. They scoured the street again but still couldn’t find any trace of Huai Yu. Ultimately, they had no choice but to return dejectedly to the car.

"I’m sorry, General Wu. Little Yu isn’t here."

Inside the car, Wu Yue, who hadn’t stepped out, looked just as battered. His snow-white uniform was torn open across the chest with deep slashes, and faint bloody scratches were visible on his upper arms.

At the same time, a patch of hair on one side of his head had been sheared off. Hidden within his remaining hair, two fine, bloody scabs extended just above his eye. It looked incredibly dangerous and severely undercut his naturally melancholic aura.

He sighed and spoke to Zhou Qian with undeniable guilt. "I have to leave tonight, so I can only trouble you to apologize to her on my behalf.

"Also, please ask her what her demands are. I will do my best to provide compensation for any requests I can fulfill."

He let out a bitter smile. As expected, the name "Huai Yu" never failed to leave a deep impression on him and fill his heart with guilt.

Zhou Qian didn’t refuse, but his deeply furrowed brow clearly showed his immense distress. Thinking about the utter devastation in front of Huai Yu’s treehouse, he knew how much effort she had put into building her home, and now...

Sigh!

Huai Yu had no idea what had happened back home. Right now, she was being led into the police station, bewildered yet curious, finding everything around her entirely novel.

Uncle Zaozi, on the other hand, walked with his hands on his hips, looking exceptionally arrogant and proud. As they walked, he imparted his wisdom to Huai Yu.

"Let me tell you, we aren’t living in the pre-apocalypse era anymore, where self-defense easily gets you into trouble. Little Yu, just go for it boldly! When you run into a guy like that, beat him up, and beat him hard!

"If you can’t win, just run. Don’t drag it out.

"Whenever someone makes you uncomfortable, fight if you can win, and run if you can’t. You can never go wrong with that."

"Ahem!" the police officer beside them coughed pointedly.

Next to the officer, the greasy man limped along, clutching his swollen, burning face. He kept his eyes cast downward, acting very obediently.

Huai Yu nodded earnestly. Soon, she was led into a separate room by a policewoman. "Come, let’s take your statement. Tell the truth, because if we find out you lied and fought in the trading market, you’ll be fined."

Huai Yu nodded meekly, opting not to mention that she wasn’t the one who had hit him. It was a good thing Uncle Zaozi had stepped in for her. With her small amount of strength, she wouldn’t have been able to beat someone up so cleanly.

"Name?"

"Age?"

"What is your purpose at the trading market?"

After all that hassle, she finally met Uncle Zaozi at the police station entrance. He looked absolutely radiant, clearly even more smug than before!

"Son of a bitch! One look and anyone could tell you’re a repeat offender. Enjoy two years of honest wasteland reclamation!"

Then, looking at Huai Yu, he let out a sudden gasp. "The chickens!"

Huai Yu also gasped. "What do we do?"

"It’s fine, it’s fine!" Uncle Zaozi dragged her into a wild sprint. Checking his watch, he reassured her. "We’re good, we’re good! It’s only been a dozen minutes past our agreed time. Maybe we can still catch him.

"Sigh, it’s all my fault! My daughter is so talented, yet I never bought her a drawing board. Now look at the mess it caused."

Huai Yu was panting heavily from running, struggling to ask her question. "Uncle Zaozi, what exactly did you guys agree on?"

Uncle Zaozi didn’t hide anything. "I have connections at the Animal Husbandry Institute! I arranged a private deal with someone for a few baby chicks... Since I was wrapping my face in a scarf, I was worried he wouldn’t recognize me, so we agreed I’d write down a ridiculously low price of five points as a signal..."

Well, this was great. After all that commotion, would they still be able to buy the chicks?

They could still buy the chicks, though it came with an earful of complaints from the seller.

"Let me tell you, if you come up with another unreliable plan like this next time, I’m out.

"I walked around here and didn’t see you. I thought you had purposely written ten or eight points to blend in, so I asked around if five points would do... And guess what?! I got completely chewed out by people calling me a shameless capitalist and accusing me of undercutting them..."

The man opposite them had a large red chiffon scarf covering his face, making him even more conspicuous on the street. As he and Uncle Zaozi pulled and shoved each other into an alleyway, Huai Yu felt too embarrassed to follow them.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the two emerged with their faces back to normal. Uncle Zaozi lifted his coat toward Huai Yu.

Inside the coat was a layer of mesh divided into small pockets, with a completely immobilized baby chick stuffed into each one. "Four chicks, one rooster and three hens, though the gender isn’t guaranteed. I’ll give them to you at a discounted price of 1,000 points!"

Huai Yu took out her wristband and lifted the lid of her bamboo basket, her eyes burning with excitement.

Once she had left, Uncle Zaozi finally waved at his buddy. "Sold fast this time, didn’t they? This is the result of the trust and connections I’ve built up! Come, come, the usual split—forty percent for me, sixty for you—"