Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

The entrance to Kaoshantun Village.

The anthracite in the gasoline drum was burning bright red, with flames shooting out.

Ah Biao leaned back in his armchair with an air of superiority, repeatedly stroking a gray squirrel pelt he had just acquired.

The pelt was as big as a washbasin, with a shiny coat and a wide, flat leather.

Ah Biao tossed the hide into the mountain of sacks behind him with satisfaction, exhaling a thick smoke ring: "This poor mountain village really does have a lot of treasures hidden in it."

The henchman next to him rubbed his hands together, his face beaming, and came over: "Brother Biao, all we've collected today are top-grade hides like this. No wonder that guy surnamed Zhao was able to make a fortune before, this place really does produce good stuff."

"What's the use of producing good products?"

Ah Biao snorted coldly, placing his leather-shoe-clad foot on the mahogany round table. Pointing at the half-empty mountain of money on the table, his tone was full of arrogance: "Without capital, even guarding a mountain of gold will starve you to death. Now all these top-quality items belong to our Wenzhou gang. That Zhao guy won't even get a hair on his head!"

A commotion suddenly broke out on the outskirts of the crowd.

A man wrapped in a tattered sheepskin coat squeezed his way to the front of the table.

He wore a tattered dog-skin hat with the brim pulled low on his head, and carried three bulging fertilizer bags on his shoulders.

The man's body sank, and the sack slammed heavily onto the snow with a dull thud.

The younger brother impatiently tapped on the table: "Open it!"

The man squatted down and ripped open the knot that was tightly tied around the mouth of the sack.

Hundreds of large, wide, "top-quality" gray squirrel pelts spilled out instantly, filling the air with a strong, sour, and pungent smell of nitrification.

The younger brother's eyes lit up, and he was about to reach out to flip it over when Ah Biao suddenly sat up straight.

He stared intently at the man's hands, which were covered in frostbite and knife scars, then suddenly stood up and ripped off the man's dog-skin hat.

Erga Zi's expressionless face was revealed.

The noisy villagers around them fell into a deathly silence in an instant.

All the hands that were rushing to deliver the goods froze in mid-air, and all that could be heard was the crackling sound of firewood popping in the gasoline drums.

Ah Biao was stunned for a moment, then threw his head back and burst into an extremely piercing burst of maniacal laughter.

"Who do we have here!"

Ah Biao, his finger holding a cigarette, almost poked Er Ga Zi's nose, laughing so hard he was doubled over: "Isn't this Boss Zhao's number one mad dog?"

The henchmen around him burst into laughter, their eyes filled with disdain as they looked at Ergaizi.

Ah Biao walked around the mahogany round table to Er Ga Zi, reached out and contemptuously patted Er Ga Zi's cheek, making a loud slapping sound.

"Didn't you try to stab me with a knife just a couple of days ago?"

Ah Biao blew a cloud of smoke hard into Er Gai Zi's face, his eyes filled with malice: "What's this? You forgot your knife today, so you brought leather instead to offer as a tribute to your brother Biao?"

Ergaizi kept his head down, his hands gripping the edge of the sack tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

He forced out a few words through gritted teeth: "Five hundred bills, pay up."

"Hahahaha!" Ah Biao laughed so hard that tears almost came out.

He turned and walked back to the table, grabbed a handful of leather, shook it vigorously, and shouted at the surrounding villagers, "Isn't Zhao Shanhe supposed to be all that great? How come he can't even support his own brothers? Did you steal these five hundred top-quality bills from Zhao Shanhe's warehouse, or did you secretly collect them behind your master's back?"

Erga remained silent, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the money on the table.

The surrounding villagers began to back away, and a buzzing sound of whispering filled the air.

"Ergaizi is even secretly selling goods now..."

"Look at that sack of his, it's full of high-end goods from the Zhao family compound's warehouse!"

"The family has turned against each other. Zhao Shanhe is really finished this time. Even his own brothers have run away with the Wenzhou gang."

Listening to the surrounding chatter, Ah Biao sat back down in his chair with great comfort and gestured with his chin towards his younger brother.

"Give him the money."

The younger brother immediately pulled out 750 yuan and handed it over. But Ah Biao snatched it away.

He didn't hand it to Ergaizi, but instead let go of it.

Splash!

Brand new banknotes fluttered down and fell into the snow and mud at Erga's feet.

"Seven hundred and fifty, not a penny less."

Ah Biao stomped on a few ten-yuan bills, grinding the sole of his leather shoe into the dirty snow mud. His eyes were filled with extreme insult: "Pick them up yourself. After you're done, call me Brother Biao, and you'll work for me from now on, and you'll have meat to eat every day."

Ergazi slowly squatted down.

Without a word, he picked up the money from the snow and mud one by one, wiped the mud off his sleeves, and stuffed it into his pocket.

When he picked it up from under A Biao's feet, Er Ga Zi reached out his hand.

Ah Biao grinned maliciously and stomped hard on Er Ga Zi's hand with the sole of his leather shoe!

Erga's body trembled violently, but he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound, forcefully pulling the few banknotes out from under Abiao's shoes.

The rough sole of the shoe scraped a large patch of skin off the back of his hand, along with ice shards, and dark red blood immediately seeped out and dripped onto the snow.

Ergazi clutched the blood- and mud-stained money tightly in his hand and stuffed it into his pocket. He grabbed the empty sack and stood up abruptly.

He didn't even glance at A Biao, turned around and roughly pushed through the crowd, walking along the main road out of the village without looking back.

The younger brother sidled up, watching Ergaizi's retreating figure with some hesitation: "Brother Biao, this kid is usually pretty tough, but he's acting so strangely today. Could it be a trap?"

Ah Biao flicked his cigarette butt away disdainfully, his eyes filled with greed as he looked at the mountain of top-quality leather on the table.

"What a load of rubbish! Stealing his master's goods to sell, he didn't even dare to fart after I stepped on his hand. He's just a spineless stray dog!"

Ah Biao propped his legs up high on the table again, his arrogance reaching its peak: "Zhao Shanhe's right and left hands have all betrayed him, he's completely finished! Send the word down: whatever quality of this, however many they steal from within their ranks, I'll take them all!"

……

The Zhao Family Compound.

The thick wooden door of the main room was flung open, and Ergaizi strode in amidst the wind and snow.

Without saying a word, he pulled out the 750 yuan note stained with mud and blood from his pocket and slammed it heavily onto the kang table.

The edges of the banknotes were stained dark red with the blood from the back of his hand.

Dazhuang stared intently at Ergaizi's bloodied and mangled right hand, the skin and flesh turned inside out, blood still dripping down.

Zhao Shanhe sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his gaze falling on that hand, his eyes instantly turning cold.

"Sold?" Zhao Shanhe asked.

"Sold it." Ergazi gritted his teeth and sneered, "Five hundred pieces of scrap leather, that bastard Abiao bought them without even looking at them!"

Zhao Shanhe stood up, walked to the cabinet, took out a bottle of 65-proof Red Star Erguotou, and twisted off the cap.

He strode back, grabbed Ergaizi's right hand, and twisted his wrist violently, pouring half a bottle of strong liquor directly onto the chapped wound.

Erga Zi shuddered violently, the veins on his neck bulging, but he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

Blood mixed with high concentrations of alcohol splattered onto the blue brick floor, leaving red spots all over the ground.

Zhao Shanhe casually put down the wine bottle, grabbed a white towel, and tightly wrapped it around Ergaizi's hand, tying it into a tight knot.

"Dazhuang," Zhao Shanhe said coldly as he turned his head.

"Brother." Da Zhuang immediately stepped forward.

Zhao Shanhe pointed to a faux leather bag on the cabinet next to him: "There's 20,000 yuan in cash inside. Take it. Gazi got trampled on; we can't let this go. Take three brothers to the village entrance."

Dazhuang grabbed the briefcase: "Brother, where are we going?"

"Once you get to the village entrance, just open the bag and show the money."

Zhao Shanhe yanked open the door to the main room, letting the wind and snow rush in: "You stand across from Abiao's stall and shout that I, Zhao Shanhe, have scraped together the money I've saved, and starting today, I'll buy anything for two yuan and fifty cents!"

Da Zhuang slapped his thigh, his eyes lighting up: "Brother, are we going to force that Ah Biao to raise the price?"

"He just said during the day that Kaoshantun would be surnamed Huang from now on, and he also stepped on Ga Zi's hand. Now he must be trying to use money to crush us in public."

Zhao Shanhe took out a Daqianmen cigarette, struck a match, lit it, took a deep breath, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke: "But he's just a gofer. When it comes to a price of two yuan and fifty cents, he definitely doesn't have enough cash on his stall, and he can't make the decision. He'll definitely go back to the county town to ask that boss surnamed Huang for the money and then ask for instructions."

Zhao Shanhe threw the matchstick under his foot and crushed it out. He turned to look at the east wing, which was filled with rotten leather, his eyes filled with extreme ruthlessness.

"Once he comes back with the money, keep pushing him higher. If he asks for three dollars, you ask for four dollars, push him to the brink! When that guy surnamed Huang is driven to desperation and gives a firm order to buy whatever price is offered..."

Zhao Shanhe sneered: "Have those unfamiliar brothers take the remaining two thousand five hundred pieces of scrap leather over and throw them at him!"

"Damn it! Let's go!" Da Zhuang picked up his heavy leather bag, grabbed the shovel by the door, and rushed into the snow with a gust of wind.

……

Half an hour later, at the entrance of Kaoshantun Village.

Ah Biao was sitting by the stove smoking, looking smugly at the banknotes on the table that were already mostly gone.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out on the outskirts of the crowd.

Da Zhuang, wearing a tattered military overcoat, led three burly men and forced his way through the crowd.

Da Zhuang strode over to the other side of A Biao's table, and without saying a word, slammed the artificial leather bag in his hand heavily onto the snow.

"Pull it open!" Da Zhuang roared.

The henchman next to him ripped open the zipper of the bag, revealing bundles of brand-new 10,000-yuan notes inside. The dark, ink-black pattern instantly dazzled those around him.

Dazhuang didn't even glance at Abiao; instead, he stepped onto an overturned, broken wooden crate beside him and, looking down at it, roared at the top of his lungs:

"Stop selling, all of you! Brother Shanhe has spoken! The Zhao family compound has sold everything they own to raise the cash!"

Da Zhuang pointed at the leather bag on the ground and shouted at all the villagers around him, "No matter if it's good or bad, the Zhao family compound will accept it all for two yuan and fifty cents! Come back to the compound with me and get your money!"

The villagers who were watching were all stunned, and then the crowd instantly erupted in chaos.

Two yuan and fifty cents! That's even more than the price offered by the Wenzhou gang! Several villagers who were about to hand the sack to A Biao immediately pulled their hands back as if they had been electrocuted.

Ah Biao's hand, holding a cigarette, froze in mid-air. He suddenly stood up, his face turning ashen.

"Two yuan and fifty cents?" Ah Biao stared intently at Da Zhuang, his back teeth grinding together.

Dazhuang stood atop the wooden crate, coldly looking down at him, spitting at Abiao's feet: "If you can't handle it, then tuck your tail between your legs and get out of Kaoshantun!"

"Damn it!"

Ah Biao flew into a rage and kicked over the gasoline can he was using to keep warm, sending red-hot sparks flying everywhere.

He pointed at Dazhuang and cursed, "You think you can compete with the Wenzhou gang in terms of wealth? You're not worthy!"

Ah Biao suddenly turned his head to look at the money on the table, and his heart sank.

There wasn't much cash left on the table. If we kept raising the price and started buying everything, this amount of money wouldn't be enough to sustain the business.

Ah Biao turned around, pointed at Da Zhuang's nose, and said viciously, "You fucking bastard, don't you dare leave! You'd better wait here and die!"

After saying that, Ah Biao turned around, flung open the jeep door, and roared at his henchmen, "Watch the stall! Nobody's allowed to accept the goods! I'm going to the county town to get the money from Boss Huang!"

The jeep floored the gas pedal, its wheels kicking up black mud and snow, and sped off like a mad dog along the main road.

Dazhuang stood on the wooden crate without moving. He slowly took out a Daqianmen cigarette from his pocket, struck a match to light it, and watched the taillights of the jeep disappear into the distance, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.