Gangster heir? Please call me a legitimate entrepreneur.

Gao Qiang squatted behind the corrugated steel gate, the pungent smell of cheap diesel fuel wafting into his nostrils.

The tracks of the excavator in Section B crunched over the broken bricks, making a tooth-grinding sound.

Zhao Hongyuan spat out a mouthful of phlegm and directed several of his thugs with dyed yellow hair to frantically smash the flimsy security door with pickaxe handles.

The old man on the roof was shivering, the flame of his lighter flickering in the cold wind, about to light the gas cylinder hose.

Gao Qiang's palms were covered in cold sweat, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

He instinctively reached for his lower back, only to find nothing.

The service weapon was returned to the station a long time ago.

"I can't worry about that anymore." He gritted his teeth, his thigh muscles tensed, and he was about to rush out to save the person.

A rough, large hand, reeking of garlic, slapped him on the shoulder.

Gao Qiang was startled and almost cried out, then turned his head sharply.

Lei Hu's shiny bald head reflected the light under the streetlights, and the scars on his face were bunched together.

This former double-flower red stick wasn't wearing his signature black suit today; instead, he was wearing a faded military green tank top.

What's alarming is that he was carrying a bamboo pole on his right shoulder, with large red plastic buckets printed with mandarin ducks playing in the water hanging from both ends.

"What are you staring at? Go squat on the toilet!" Lei Hu poked Gao Qiang's chest with the end of a carrying pole.

Gao Qiang pointed to the wall, his tongue a little tied.

"Tiger, Tiger... someone's going to die next door. Aren't we going to go and take over their territory... no, aren't we going to help?"

"Help my ass! Brother Su said we're a legitimate company, operating legally." Lei Hu rolled his eyes and slammed an empty bucket at Gao Qiang's feet.

"Hurry up. Grandma Zhang's water pipe in building number three up ahead has rusted. You need to come with me to fetch water. If you're late, your perfect attendance bonus for the month will be deducted."

Gao Qiang was stunned.

He carried the red bucket that smelled of plastic, following behind Lei Hu like a puppet.

We walked towards the old family compound of Section A, stumbling along the muddy path.

Just as he rounded a corner of an alley, the scene before him nearly made this veteran detective, who had worked for five years, chew up the bucket in his hand.

There were no machetes, no steel pipes, and no gasoline bottles.

Dozens of burly men, with tattoos of tigers descending from the mountain and dragons over their shoulders, stood in a long, orderly line.

The makeshift rubber hose was gushing water, and the icy groundwater splashed onto the leather shoes of these thugs in suits.

"Hey, hurry up! Don't spill the water, Grandpa Li's family needs it to brew their Chinese medicine!"

A fat man with a gold chain around his neck carefully carried a full basin of water and tiptoed up the stairs.

They were so careful not to spill a single drop of water and dirty the stairwell.

Suddenly, a screeching sound of bricks rubbing against each other came from above.

When Gao Qiang looked up, he saw that Er Lengzi, the most ruthless debt collector from the collection department, was lying on the roof of the two-story building with his butt sticking out.

He was holding a trowel in his hand and a flashlight in his mouth.

With a "rip," the blue tile beneath his feet slipped, and Er Lengzi found half his leg dangling in mid-air, letting out a scream in fright.

A piece of broken tile fell down and, by sheer coincidence, hit one of the younger brothers on the toe.

"Holy crap! Second brother, are you blind? You smashed my toenail!" The underling below jumped around, clutching his foot.

"Shut up! What are you yelling about!" Lei Hu put down his carrying pole and pointed at the roof, cursing loudly.

"Do you think this is a circus act? Why aren't you wearing a safety rope? What did Brother Su teach us? Safety first!"

Er Lengzi spat out the flashlight, wiped the soot off his face, and chuckled foolishly.

"Brother Tiger, Grandma Zhang's roof is leaking, I'm thinking of fixing it as soon as possible. It's the middle of the night, it's not good to disturb her sleep."

Just then, the old wooden door on the first floor creaked open.

Grandma Zhang, who was over seventy years old, walked out unsteadily, wearing an old sweater and carrying an enamel tea mug.

A sweet aroma of brown sugar and ginger water instantly filled the cold air.

"Young men, take a break and have a hot drink." Grandma Zhang's wrinkled face beamed with joy.

Lei Hu quickly took two steps forward and gently supported the old lady's elbow with his thick arm.

His usually gruff voice, which he used to yell at his younger brothers, was now strained to sound as thin as a cat's.

"Oh my dear Grandma Zhang, why are you out here? It's windy outside, don't catch a cold."

Grandma Zhang took a crumpled piece of toilet paper from her pocket, stood on tiptoe, and wiped the sweat from Lei Hu's forehead.

"Good child, your boss Su is a living bodhisattva. In the middle of the night, he's still helping this old woman fetch water and repair her roof."

The old lady turned her head and looked at the group of muscular men, then sighed.

"It's those drawings on your bodies that you can't wash off, right? Going shirtless like that and catching a chill will cause leg pain when you get old."

Several burly men who usually acted arrogantly on the streets blushed with embarrassment after being spoken to, and quickly went to put on their clothes.

The fat man scratched the back of his head and muttered, "Grandma, this is called a tattoo, art... and it's waterproof."

"Alright, alright." Grandma Zhang took out a pair of reading glasses from her sleeve and put them on, then took out a ballpoint pen.

"Where's the agreement? I'll sign it. Just for you good young people, I don't need that much demolition compensation; enough to buy a small apartment will do."

"No, no, no!" Lei Hu grabbed the old lady's hand and stamped his feet anxiously.

"Grandma, Brother Su said that we should get exactly what we're owed, not a penny less."

"If you take less, that woman Lin Dai from the legal department will bring up the Labor Law and breach of contract against me again! Please, out of compassion, sign the maximum compensation!"

Gao Qiang stood there, and the empty bucket in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

Just then, from section B not far away, came a loud crash as glass shattered.

Interspersed with women's screams and Zhao Hongyuan's maniacal laughter shouted through a megaphone.

On one side is looting, vandalism, and arson; on the other side is respect for the elderly and care for the

Gao Qiang felt his head throbbing and his chest tightness.

Was he investigating organized crime or selecting the city's top ten outstanding youths as an undercover agent?

……

Across the street, in the shade of two rows of plane trees.

A clump of holly bushes, about half a person's height, swayed unnaturally twice.

The red recording indicator light flickered in the darkness, and the faint hum of electricity was masked by the night breeze.

Wang, a reporter from the provincial TV station's People's Livelihood Channel, squatted until his legs went numb.

He sniffed, his nose stinging, and zoomed in on the high-definition camera to its maximum.

The monitor screen was split in two.

On the left, Zhao Hongyuan is directing a bulldozer to demolish a wall, holding a pickaxe handle. On the right, Lei Hu is grinning widely as he blows on brown sugar water for an old lady.

The intern next to him, Xiao Liu, was so excited that his hands were shaking, and he leaned closer in a low voice.

"Brother Wang... this footage is amazing! The two sides are less than fifty meters apart, the contrast is just too stark!"

Reporter Wang rubbed his dry eyes, patted the camera body, and a smile of excitement appeared on his lips.

"It's more than just tragic. Tomorrow morning at 6:30, get this unedited video straight to the top of the morning news."

He paused, his eyes fixed on the bald man carrying a shoulder pole on the monitor, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"I've already thought of a title: Shocking! A criminal gang in Longhai City strikes at night and does this to an octogenarian!"