An Act of Benevolence

"Taf, I see that someone beat you up once again. Child, when will you learn to avoid those up to no good?" 

Mr Ming asked softly and looked over the youth, carefully feeling the bruises with feather-light hands. 

"Find little Sue to rub some ointment on them to help heal, and then start your work for the day. Afterwards, eat some of the leftovers from the day's meals.

Also, make sure to eat some meat and vegetables. I sometimes wonder how the wind has not blown you away since you have thin legs and knobbly knees, just like Maracas. "

Mr Ming chuckled and patted the boy on the shoulder. 

Tafari replied with a smile.

"Old Senior Ming, how am I supposed to grow to my full potential on that so-called 'meat' you provide to your customers?"

He continued with more pronounced sarcasm. 

"You continuously proclaim that you sell premium, imported meats from faraway lands.

Yet let's remember that those grand lands you boast about happen to be around Teng's butchers. Moreover, don't forget who introduced you to him."

Smack! 

The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out as the mischievous Taf tried to shield himself from the glancing blow. His hands covered his head, and his eyes crinkled from laughter. 

Mr Ming replied with a shamelessly smug look, "I specifically said the meat is premium from the outside, and sure, I source it from the Teng, but I never lied.."

He coughed and muttered.

"All meats have their origins somewhere else, and those beast meats are no different.

Sure, they may not come from outside and are reared instead, but their ancestors certainly did! And they were undoubtedly of premium quality.

Though the generation gap was not mentioned, it still applies."

They both looked at each other seriously, then broke out into laughter.

"Yeah.., yeah.., I hear you, old Man Ming." 

Shaking his head, Tafari headed inside.

As soon as he entered the restaurant, he went to find little Sue.

Since it was nighttime, she was probably stacking the dirty plates for him to clean.

Arriving in the kitchen, she gasped at his bruised appearance with a worried look.

Little Sue was Old Senior Ming's youngest daughter at the tender age of sixteen.

She was engaged and scheduled to marry her scholarly fiancee in two months.

Her brows furrowed as she analysed Taf's condition, which soon led to an interrogation.

"Taf, how do you always get a beating every few days? I see you are up to no good once again.

What did you do this time to warrant this amount of beating, or maybe I should ask what you stole?" 

"I did nothing at all! Big Sis Sue, I swear." 

The younger Tafari had a righteous smile that tried to hide his feigned innocence. Nevertheless, little Sue immediately saw right through him. 

Uh-huh!

"Really! I just minded my own business when suddenly, some thugs from the Bing Gang started bothering some innocent people on the street.

Therefore, being a man of honour, how could I watch that happen and not do anything?" 

His words showed that he held no remorse for what had happened next,

"So first, I hid as I noticed they were stealing the purses from the young ladies and their male companions.

Knowing that the situation was getting dangerous, I became alert. Before my eyes, I saw them pool all the loot together in a bag of animal hide. " Taf then continued,

"I recalled the heroic feats of knights in shining armour from the books I read. In my mind, I should save those innocent victims from the criminal Bing Gang thugs. But alas, I am merely one man."

Taf sighed pitifully as he continued his tale,

"So, I steeled my heart since I had two choices. Either fight the thugs and risk dying or 'carry' their collected belongings with me for safekeeping.

I would have returned the things to the wealthy-looking victims later." 

As he spoke, it was all with a righteous tone, believing he was doing a very noble deed. Little Sue could only let him continue,

"Seeing the sad faces of those who lost their belongings, I had a moment of benevolence.

Hence, I secured their belongings by pouncing when no one was looking." 

With a rueful shake of his head, he resumed, 

"Who would have thought that the Bing Gang had been recruiting lately? As soon as I grabbed the loot and reached a corner of the street,

Some of their new members intercepted me. Heck, I was even chased and beaten up each time they caught me." 

He had a wronged look on his face as he recalled those events.

"I tell you, big Sis Sue, it is hard for a man to do good in this world. I swear that is the last time I try to do more noble acts. The ends do not justify the means."

Tafari finished his emotional speech with a disappointed shake of the head.

Little Sue sighed as she listened to his story. She knew what he was like, as he had always been like this: robbed the gangs of their loot and then ran and hid like a Mouse. 

No matter how much she and her father spoke to encourage him to stop, he wouldn't listen.

Meanwhile, Tafari had started washing the stacked dishes with a smug look. 

Sue understood him somewhat. 

He was only a kid, and though he seemed mature for his age, his spoken words were enough to shatter that impression. 

Kids liked mischief; he was the most mischievous little demon she had met. In his eyes, he was surviving how he should. 

He did this by doing what was required. Although it was dangerous, he didn't seem to heed anyone's warnings. 

Instead, he seemed to thrive in that danger.