Chapter 9: Paid Protection Fees Yet?

A customer's good review is more effective than a hundred times the shopkeeper's shouts.

Even though Lin Ruanruan was a stutterer and couldn't introduce her products like other vendors, she chose the selling method that suited her best.

Hearing the praise, the onlookers were eager to try the black chestnuts.

"Miss, may I try one of these chestnuts?" asked a man holding a child, who looked about five or six years old.

The child's eyes were round and bright, fixed on the woman savoring the sugar-fried chestnuts.

Lin Ruanruan had always had a soft spot for cute and well-behaved children. Smiling, she picked two chestnuts from the sieve and placed them in the boy's soft little hands, which melted her heart.

"Thank you, sister," the boy said politely, his chubby face breaking into a sweet smile that matched his voice.

The man thanked her, and Lin Ruanruan resumed stirring the chestnuts with quartz sand in the pot.

With so many people around, she needed to fry more chestnuts quickly.

The little boy took half of a chestnut that his father had peeled and put it in his mouth. After a brief chew, he made a happy sound.

"What's wrong?" the man asked quickly.

Lin Ruanruan also paused, worriedly looking at the boy.

"Daddy, this is delicious. Let's buy more to take home for my big and second sisters," the boy mumbled through the chestnut in his mouth.

Lin Ruanruan sighed in relief, thinking he might have found the chestnut unappetizing.

Although she was confident in her sugar-fried chestnuts, she knew that tastes varied.

"Is it really that good?" the man asked skeptically, putting the remaining half in his mouth.

The soft, sweet flavor exceeded his expectations.

"Indeed, it's quite good. Let's buy more for your mother and sisters."

The boy proudly raised his eyebrows and looked at Lin Ruanruan with a smile.

"We'll take all of it," the boy declared, pointing at the remaining chestnuts in the sieve.

Lin Ruanruan was delighted. The chestnuts in the sieve would fill three or four bags, each selling for ten coins. This sale alone would earn her thirty or forty coins.

Quickly stirring the chestnuts in the pot a few times, she started bagging them. Each bag was packed full, and she handed a few extra chestnuts to the chubby boy.

She packed four bags in total, tied them up, and handed them to the man.

"F-f-forty coins," she stammered.

The onlookers laughed again. The stuttering girl dared to do business; she certainly had courage.

The man cheerfully paid and squeezed through the crowd with his chestnut-filled son.

After these two sales, the chestnuts sold more easily. Besides a few teasing comments about her stutter, the day's business went quite smoothly.

By early afternoon, most of the crowd had dispersed, and only one pot of chestnuts remained in Lin Ruanruan's basket.

She didn't plan to sell this batch; she wanted to take them back to the honest man who had lent her the jade pendant.

After frying chestnuts all day, the quartz sand was coated with a thick layer of oil and syrup. Many vendors had already packed up, and the sweet aroma of chestnuts filled the emptying street.

A few passersby glanced at her chestnuts but didn't seem interested in buying.

Since she didn't intend to sell them and wasn't good at greeting customers, she stayed silent.

People walked by, looking occasionally but not approaching, clearly uninterested in buying.

While some were busy stir-frying chestnuts, others went about their own business, each undisturbed by the other.

Changes often occur in seemingly peaceful places.

Lin Ruanruan frowned deeply as she looked at the overturned iron pot and the scattered items in front of her.

"Where did this little lady come from, daring to set up a stall on my turf?"

"Yeah, little lady, did you pay protection fees to my big brother for setting up here?"

Two burly young men, dressed in good cotton clothes but wearing their robes tucked into their waistbands in a thuggish manner, approached her.

Lin Ruanruan bit her lip, forcing herself to stay calm.

The more agitated she became, the worse her stuttering would get. It was a major flaw.

"Hey, this little lady doesn't seem very compliant," said the man called "big brother," twirling his mustache and swaggering.

"Big brother, I think this little lady looks pretty good. Why don't we...," another thug suggested, rubbing his hands lecherously while looking at Lin Ruanruan.

"Are you looking for death?" The mustached man slapped him hard on the head, yelling.

"We only collect protection fees, you dare break my rules?"

Lin Ruanruan's brow twitched. Well, at least he had some principles.

In light of his principles, maybe she would only dislocate his arm later.

She lightly flexed her joints. This body wasn't hers, after all. She didn't know how well it would perform in a fight.

"Little lady, don't be afraid. We are reasonable people. I, Cheng Dong, only collect protection fees. I don't do things like taking advantage of women," the mustached man said, turning to smile at Lin Ruanruan as she flexed her joints.

Lin Ruanruan tilted her head, looking naive and innocent.

Seeing her delicate appearance, the mustached man couldn't resist stroking his mustache.

"This is your first time setting up a stall here, right? Because you don't know the rules, today I'll only charge you fifty copper coins," he said, taking two steps forward, eyeing the purse Lin Ruanruan had.

"This... this... this... costs one hundred coins," Lin Ruanruan stammered, pointing at the pot and quartz sand on the ground. She had just bought these things from the unscrupulous supermarket today and couldn't let them be smashed for nothing.

"A stutterer?" The mustached man was stunned, then burst into wild laughter.

"Hahaha, can a stutterer do business these days?"

Seeing his laughter, his underling couldn't help but join in, clutching their stomachs and laughing until they bent over.

Lin Ruanruan bit her lip and took a step forward, grabbing the mustached man's collar.

"Is it... is it... is it funny?" She asked, almost agreeing it was quite amusing.

"Hey, stutterer, how dare you grab my big brother's clothes!" the underling shouted shrilly.

Lin Ruanruan turned and smiled elegantly, then pulled the mustached man's collar over her shoulder.

"Ah!" A piercing scream echoed through the streets.

With a perfect shoulder throw, the mustached man was slammed to the ground, writhing and howling.

Lin Ruanruan clapped her hands as if she had touched something dirty.

It seemed this body wasn't as useless as she thought. At least she had some strength.

With strength, she could revive the skills she had learned as an assassin.

The mustached man lay on the ground, screaming. His underling crouched down, trying to help him up.

After years of dominance in Changping Town, Cheng Dong had never encountered someone so tough. With the help of his underling, he shakily stood up.

"Amazing, a stutterer dares to fight me," he shouted, rubbing his sore spots.

Lin Ruanruan extended her hand, palm open in front of him.

"Pay... pay... pay up!" Dare to smash her things, this guy really had a death wish.

"Oh ho, you hit me and still demand compensation? Today I'll show you why I'm the tyrant of Changping Town!"

The mustached man, Cheng Dong, shouted as he prepared to charge forward. His underling, not staying idle, gritted his teeth and followed suit, swinging his fists.

Lin Ruanruan let out a cold laugh, thinking it would be a good opportunity to loosen up her muscles with these two.

But before she could even raise her hands to counter their attack, she felt her shoulders tightly enveloped by a pair of warm, large hands.