Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Old Li, you mean... Ma Youcai is dissatisfied and brought people to cause trouble?"

Ding Dong also realized what was going on, and his tone became serious: "Coming to our school area, are you trying to ambush you, or are you trying to ambush your uncle?"

A chill ran down the spines of the three of them.

In small county towns in the 1990s, it was not uncommon for such private grudges to be resolved by "setting up a scene" or "finding someone" to settle them.

The fact that the other party dared to come directly to the vicinity of Li Yunjing's house clearly indicates that they came prepared.

"Damn it, it won't leave you alone."

Li Yunjing gritted his teeth.

This is just never going to end.

The mornings are filled with all sorts of "ordeals" at school; you can even run into your enemies while having lunch, and they might even be enemies who come with thugs.

"What do we do now?"

Fu Chao clenched his fists. He had a bit of a street smarts about him, and far from being afraid of this, he was actually quite excited. "Should I... call some guys? Let's take them down!"

"Thanks, bro!"

Li Yunjing looked at Fu Chao and said sincerely.

He knew that although Fu Chao was usually carefree and irresponsible, he never expected him to be so loyal in a critical moment.

Don't give me that.

Fu Chao waved his hand, but his eyes were fixed on the other side of the street. "We're like family. But..."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further, "This matter probably can't be resolved by fighting alone."

"Ma Youcai dared to bring people here because he couldn't swallow his anger and wanted to do something ruthless."

"Even if we get rid of him today, won't he find someone even more capable in the future?"

"Or perhaps you'll resort to underhanded tactics?"

Li Yunjing's heart sank.

Fu Chao's words woke him up.

The security environment in the 1990s was different from that of later generations. Once such personal grudges started, they could easily escalate and become endless, and might even affect family members.

He recalled some heinous cases he had heard about in his previous life, many of which were escalated from seemingly minor conflicts.

"you mean……"

"We need to scare him into submission once and for all, or..."

A ruthless and calculating glint flashed in Fu Chao's eyes, unbecoming of his age. "I'll make sure he never dares to cause trouble again."

"So what do you think we should do?"

Li Yunjing remained silent for a moment.

"Don't rush to take action when the people arrive."

Fu Chao licked his slightly chapped lips and leaned close to Li Yunjing's ear: "We'll do it like this..."

He quickly outlined a plan.

As Li Yunjing listened, his eyes gradually sharpened, and he nodded.

"Ding Dong, go 'borrow' a bicycle!"

Fu Chao looked at his underlings and gave them instructions.

"Alright!"

Ding Dong was a warmonger by nature. When he heard that a big fight was about to break out, his eyes widened. He looked around and saw an unlocked bicycle nearby. He pushed the bicycle, straddled it, and rode off.

About ten minutes later, Ding Dong returned panting on his bicycle, with a young man in a floral shirt riding a beat-up bike on the back.

"Brother Chao!"

They greeted each other in hushed tones, looking at Li Yunjing with curiosity and excitement.

Fu Chao clearly held some prestige among them.

……

A low, mournful drumbeat arose.

"Shut up!"

Fu Chao gave a low shout, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with an unusual air of authority, "Listen to me, we're not going to fight, we're going to 'reason' with each other."

"Watch my signals and act accordingly."

He then gave Li Yunjing and Ding Dong a few more instructions.

Then, the group dispersed, pretending to be passersby, and slowly gathered near Ma Ji Stir-fry.

Li Yunjing, Fu Chao, and Ding Dong then went around to the back alley of the restaurant.

Fu Chao gestured to a quick-witted underling to listen in through the back window of the restaurant.

The window was ajar, and voices could be faintly heard coming from inside.

At this moment, inside Ma's Stir-Fry.

Ma Youcai was already covered in sweat from eating, his gray jacket open, revealing a faded white undershirt underneath.

The two burly men with buzz cuts opposite him were also flushed from drinking, and there were several empty beer bottles on the table.

"...Don't worry, brothers. That bastard Li Hongfeng is just an ordinary worker with no background."

Ma Youcai poured drinks for the two men and said through gritted teeth, "Last time I was careless and let him find some hotheads from the factory."

"With these two here, we're going to beat the shit out of him!"

A burly man with a scar on his face chewed on peanuts and mumbled, "Brother Ma, if the money's right, I'll definitely do a great job for you."

"Tell me, how exactly do we do it?"

Ma Youcai lowered his voice, his eyes flashing with resentment: "I've found out that his little shop closes around six o'clock in the evening."

"Li Hongfeng and his son, who was in high school, must have been there at that time."

"We'll block their way home."

"Hurry up, I need one of Li Hongfeng's legs!"

"Let's leave after we're done!"

Another burly man with a blue tiger tattoo on his arm chuckled sinisterly, "Li Hongfeng crippled him, but what about the kid? Students are delicate and easily frightened, a little scare should suffice, right?"

"frighten?"

Ma Youcai's face twitched. "That kid's cunning; he was the one who instigated it last time!"

"Take care of him too!"

"If we don't hit them hard, they won't know how many eyes Lord Ma has!"

"After it's all done, in addition to the agreed-upon amount, I'll treat you two to a massage parlor for some fun!"

"Haha, Brother Ma is so straightforward!"

The underling who was eavesdropping under the back window was terrified. He quickly and quietly retreated and told Fu Chao and Li Yunjing everything he had heard.

Li Yunjing's face instantly turned ashen, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

They not only wanted to take revenge on their father, but they also planned to harm themselves, and their scheme was so vicious!

"Looks like they're really asking for it!"

A cold glint flashed in Fu Chao's eyes. He patted Li Yunjing on the shoulder and whispered, "I was originally planning to beat them up and let them off, but it seems I'll have to go all out this time!"

He winked at one of his underlings at the alley entrance.

The underling nodded, turned around and quickly headed towards the restaurant's main entrance to keep watch, waiting for Ma Youcai and his two companions to come out after they had finished eating and drinking.

Across the street, the white Lada sedan, covered in mud, looked like a bedridden beetle.

A dozen minutes later, Ma Youcai walked ahead with a protruding belly, his face still glistening with the oil from a hearty meal and a hint of glee at the impending revenge.