Before we even reached Sun Caiwu's wonton stall, we saw a crowd gathered by the roadside, all shouting and making a racket. I clearly spotted Scar Brother and Gangzi among them, roughly grabbing the hair of a boy no older than seventeen or eighteen and slapping his face.

I turned to Zhou Qiang and said, "You, Xiao Ning, and the others go on ahead. I'll see what's going on here."

"I want to see too," Ning Shixuan exclaimed, clamoring to join. Lively girls are always curious; otherwise, why wasn't Yun Yao saying anything?

I pushed through the crowd towards Scar Brother and demanded, "What's going on? Why are you bullying a kid?"

Scar Brother looked up, saw me, and his expression immediately straightened. "Ah, Brother Qian. This brat was asking for it. A moment ago, he was splitting hairs, insisting that the grilled fish on a hot plate wasn't cooked properly. He shorted Boss Sun six yuan. I thought I shouldn't let it slide and taught him a lesson. A kid his age trying to dine and dash—what else is he looking for but a beating?"

I inwardly chuckled; it hadn't been long since four of them had eaten there too. "Teach him a couple of slaps and make him pay Boss Sun back. Come join us for drinks later."

Scar Brother yanked the boy's hair ferociously and snarled, "Remember this, Boss Sun's stall is under my protection from now on. Go apologize properly to him, then pay back the money for the squid. And tell all the night market riffraff that as long as Scar Brother is around, no one messes with Boss Sun's wonton stand!"

The boy, his face bruised and swollen, nodded repeatedly, stammering, "Yes, yes, yes, Scar Brother. I'll do exactly as you say immediately."

Ning Shixuan tugged my arm. "Hey, these guys are really something. They just beat up my uncle, and now they're suddenly his bodyguards? Hehe, it seems you really have some skills."

Yun Yao asked curiously, "Sister Xiao Ning, what happened? How did you get involved with triad types?"

Ning Shixuan turned to take Yun Yao's hand. "Come on, let's go help my aunt first. I'll tell you slowly. Zhao Qian is amazing at fighting..."

The boy fished six yuan from his pocket and respectfully ran over to place it in Sun Caiwu's hand. "I'm sorry, Boss. I didn't have change just now. This is the money for the squid; please keep it safe." After setting down the money, the boy darted away in a flash. Scar Brother watched his retreating back and remarked to me, "Young people nowadays are getting more and more useless."

I almost burst out laughing. Who knew Scar Brother could be rather humorous? I patted his shoulder. "Alright, scaring him was enough. This is my good friend, Zhou Qiang."

Zhou Qiang politely shook Scar Brother's hand. "Hello. Are you part of the triad? Are the triads rampant here in Liangshan?"

I finally let out a laugh. "Enough, tonight we're not discussing official business. Scar Brother is like a new recruit I just took under my wing. I'll handle the triad situation in Liangshan. Those two fatty guys just taught me some secret techniques, and they've come in handy."

Zhou Qiang certainly knew who I meant by the "two fatty guys." In the entire Great Dragon Country, few people didn't know them. Anyone with status who didn't recognize the Fatty brothers would be completely wiped out. The remaining small fries, upon seeing someone very stout, would first inquire about their background before making a move. Because of those two, Zhou Qiang and his associates never had to worry about triads when doing things. In several places where he had previously served, not a single triad member who opposed them was still alive. This time, he was assigned to investigate the poverty alleviation funds in Liangshan. If there were triads here, his first step would be to report to Li Qi and have her notify the two fatty guys to send people to clean things up. But now that I was stepping in, he said no more.

Sun Caiwu pinched the six yuan, watching the boy who had vanished into thin air. "The world has changed. Even the little punks are getting more polite these days."

Ning Shixuan snickered; she knew the whole story. "Uncle, stop spacing out. I have friends here for drinks, hurry up and serve them!"

Sun Caiwu handed his work over to Ning Shixuan and stepped forward to greet me. "Ah, it's Little Zhao! Why aren't Little Zhang and Little Liu here tonight? Sit, sit... Hey... you, why are you..." Sun Caiwu stammered as he stared at Scar Brother behind me, clearly recognizing him.

Scar Brother stepped forward. "Boss Sun, when Little Eight [his nickname] was running this street before, I was ignorant. Don't worry, as long as I, Little Eight, am alive, no one will dare cause trouble at your stall!"

"Ah!" Sun Caiwu still hadn't fully processed it. "W-w-what do you mean by that? We aren't related in any way."

Scar Brother said earnestly, "If you are Brother Qian's friend, you are Little Eight's friend. Just call my name if you ever need anything in the future."

I quickly explained, "Uncle Sun, we came to know each other through a disagreement. Now that we're all friends, let's not talk about the past. This is Zhou Qiang, an old friend from Jingdu City. Hurry up with the wine and the stinky tofu! We're having a massive night, and Brother Qiang is treating!"

Sun Caiwu finally understood that Scar Brother meant no harm and would actually protect his stall from now on. He turned to shout to his wife, Ning Yumei: "Yumei, grill ten skewers of squid and tap ten jugs of draft beer! I want to have a few drinks with everyone; tonight’s on me!"

The group managed to occupy a small square table. Zhou Qiang inhaled the aroma of the grilled squid wistfully. "When I was in high school, there was a stall just like this outside the school gate. My family was struggling back then; I studied high school for three years and never even knew what this tasted like. The changes in life now are truly unbelievable."

Gratitude shone in Zhou Qiang's eyes, but he knew some things couldn't be said in front of others. I smiled. "It will only get better. Liangshan won't stay poor forever."

The beer and stinky tofu arrived first. Sun Caiwu raised his glass. "Yes, I agree with that. A person can't be poor his whole life, and it's the same for a county. Isn't the state sending a special commissioner to investigate poverty alleviation? I think the common folk might finally see better days."

Zhou Qiang asked with interest, "Uncle Sun, the state invested over a billion in poverty alleviation funds for Liangshan, yet Liangshan remains dirt poor to this day. What do you think about that?"

Sun Caiwu replied, "I'm just a rough man; I don't understand these things. But poverty alleviation has certainly helped a few people get rich first, while the majority are still suffering. Our family counts as well-off in Liangshan County, I suppose."

Seeing our confusion, Scar Brother elaborated, "Everyone in Liangshan knows this. Liangshan Small City Department Store, Holiday Entertainment City, Dream-Seeking Garden—these places were all built with poverty alleviation funds. A few big shots were lifted up, while thousands of common people were impoverished. That's the situation." Having said that, Scar Brother downed the beer in his cup in one go.

Zhou Qiang and I exchanged awkward glances. Zhou Qiang gestured for me to look across the street. I had already noticed Secretary Ma, Xie Sen, Secretary Liu, and others lurking there, furtively watching us. I pursed my lips, signaling Zhou Qiang to ignore them; let them watch us drink.

Ning Yumei brought over the squid. Scar Brother and Gangzi casually grabbed a skewer each. Gangzi took a bite of squid, chewing as he spoke, "Investigate poverty funds? I think it's just going through the motions. They come here to eat, drink, play around with the mountain girls, wipe their butts clean, and leave—coming empty-handed, leaving dressed in gold."

Sun Caiwu interrupted Gangzi. "You can't say that. Everyone is talking about it; they say the commissioner sent this time is very upright. He doesn't touch drinking, whoring, or taking bribes. He even eats in the cafeteria with everyone and personally inspects the farmers' problems in the countryside. Maybe Liangshan really can change this time."

Gangzi scoffed, "Have you actually seen any of this yourself? He's just putting on a show. Don't be fooled by surface appearances. You must believe your own eyes; don't just follow what others say."

I spoke to Gangzi, "Your classical Chinese is quite good. You can go get your graduation certificate from your Chinese teacher later."

Gangzi asked in surprise, "Brother Qian, how did you know I never finished middle school? You truly are a divine person!"

As we were enjoying our conversation, Yun Yao, who was frying stinky tofu, suddenly let out a scream: "What are you doing!"