"Hmm, why didn't he pick up? It’s past noon; it should be lunchtime. Since my dad and the others are renovating, they usually rest midday. He really should answer." Luo Feng tapped the 'Phone Location Tracking Feature' on his screen with a puzzled expression. The screen quickly displayed a map of Yangzhou City, with a small red dot marking his own position. The green dot indicated his father’s phone location.

"Not too far from me."

Luo Feng instantly grasped his father’s location, a faint smile spreading across his face. "I’ll rush over to Dad and tell him personally that I’ve become a Quasi-Warrior."

Without delay, Luo Feng swiftly headed in the direction shown on the map.

××××××

Yian District, Tiandu Garden Community.

"Hurry up, move your things faster so you can rest and eat lunch. We need to eat too!" In the private courtyard of one of the townhouses in the community, Zhang Haobai, dressed in a white T-shirt and white trousers, urged them with a frown. Standing beside him were three bodyguards with grim expressions.

"Sir, don't rush. These are valuable goods; we can't be careless. Guys, put some muscle into it!" Parked on the community road just outside the private courtyard was a truck loaded with perfectly wrapped wooden furniture.

Wooden furniture was extremely expensive in this era, a luxury reserved for the few!

This was because humanity mostly resided within the base cities, where places for planting trees were extremely scarce, mostly serving aesthetic purposes. Outside the human base cities, there were indeed large numbers of growing trees, but those areas were also infested with monsters. The cost of venturing out to fight monsters just to cut down and transport wood was incredibly high!

Currently, most household furniture was made of plastic, or higher-end pieces made of glass.

Wood products were simply unaffordable for ordinary families.

"Be careful."

The employees from the decoration company gingerly moved the heavy furniture from the truck onto the ground first. Then, the three employees carefully carried the furniture into the private courtyard.

"Be cautious," Zhang Haobai warned with a frown. "This is solid wood furniture, all top-grade timber. If you damage it, your boss will certainly make things difficult for you."

"Hoo, hoo."

The three employees carefully carried the furniture, which was made of excellent material and weighed over a thousand jin, making the lifting somewhat strenuous for them.

"Guys, stop and rest for a moment. We’ll carry it all inside in one go later." The employee in the lead spoke up. "Just put the furniture here for now; slowly, gently place it down." The three employees carefully set the furniture onto the courtyard floor, then straightened up and let out a long breath.

"Lao Luo, my stomach is starting to rumble," said one of the taller decoration company employees, stretching his body.

"Once this set is done, we still have two more sets to move. When everything is moved, we’ll all go eat together," Luo Hongguo said with a chuckle, looking at his two coworkers. He casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. It was already July, nearly one in the afternoon—the hottest part of the day.

Three men moving over a thousand jin of precious furniture was definitely hard labor.

"Hurry up!" Zhang Haobai impatiently urged.

"Right away." Luo Hongguo bent down and grabbed the furniture. "Guys, put some effort in; let's get this set inside."

"Ready, one, two, three, lift!"

Luo Hongguo and the other two exerted themselves together, lifting the furniture, then carefully ascended the steps one by one. They were soon inside the house and walked out moments later. As Luo Hongguo and his two coworkers passed by Zhang Haobai and his group, the smell of sweat wafted out, causing Zhang Haobai to frown.

"Poor people remain poor, destined to do manual labor their whole lives," Zhang Haobai thought to himself.

His father was wealthy, and Zhang Haobai came from an affluent background. He harbored an innate disdain for those at the very bottom of society who engaged in hard labor. In his view, these people who willingly chose grueling work lacked the spirit to strive and fight, thus deserving their miserable lives.

"Be careful not to hit the main door."

Luo Hongguo’s trio carefully carried the furniture forward step by step. Their clothes were completely soaked with sweat, which beaded on their foreheads and trickled down their necks.

"Rest outside for a bit." Luo Hongguo’s trio set the furniture down again and paused slightly to regulate their breathing.

"Let's go, one, two, three, lift!"

Although Luo Hongguo and his men were tired, they had been doing this kind of work for twenty or thirty years and were accustomed to it. They knew their limits, so mistakes during transportation were rare.

A moment later, Luo Hongguo and his men went to move the last set of furniture.

"It's so hot," Zhang Haobai looked up at the sky. "Brother Wang, later, let’s grab a meal at that restaurant next door."

"Thank you, Young Master," the three bodyguards cheerfully replied.

Zhang Haobai glanced at the three workers currently moving the final set of furniture and let out a low scoff from his nose. Zhang Haobai naturally despised these low-class laborers. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the marble paving stones in the courtyard; one of the slabs had a crack—a crack he had accidentally caused a few days ago while sparring with his bodyguards.

"Hm?" Zhang Haobai's eyes lit up. "I’m a bit short on allowance lately. This might just cover it!"

At this moment, Luo Hongguo’s trio was moving the third set of furniture.

Suddenly—

A mobile phone ringtone sounded. Luo Hongguo, who was carrying the furniture, felt a surge of happiness: "It must be Xiao Feng calling." However, since he was handling the furniture, he couldn't answer and could only suppress the urge to call back until he set it down.

"Rest outside first. Place it gently, slowly." Luo Hongguo’s trio carefully set the furniture down.

Luo Hongguo pulled out his phone from his pocket. Seeing it was his son calling, he smiled and prepared to dial back.

"What are you people doing?"

"Ah! I told you to be careful; what did you guys do?" A sharp reprimand suddenly rang out.

Luo Hongguo and the other two decoration company employees froze, turning to look. They saw Zhang Haobai with a dark expression, his finger pointed angrily at the marble paving stone beneath the furniture: "How do you people work? Not paying attention! Look, you’ve damaged the paving of my courtyard. This is Nanshan marble, sourced from outside the base city. One slab costs over a hundred thousand! Can you afford to compensate? Huh!!!"

Luo Hongguo’s trio looked down—

Indeed, on the ground beneath the furniture, one slab of marble had a small crack.

"Hmph, I'll call your company boss and see what’s going on," Zhang Haobai said furiously. "Brother Wang, you have their decoration company number, right? Call them. Get their boss over here! Talking more to these few won't help."

"I have their company's number," the bodyguard surnamed Wang immediately took out his phone and began dialing.

Luo Hongguo’s trio exchanged knowing glances.

"That's not right," the taller decoration company employee immediately said. "This crack on the marble was already there. I saw it before."

"Still arguing? Arguing is useless," Zhang Haobai scoffed.

Luo Hongguo frowned. As an experienced senior worker, he knew these kinds of disputes were the most troublesome. Moreover, companies usually valued their reputation; if they were truly extorted and the company had no proof that the marble wasn't cracked by their employees, the result was usually the company having to pay compensation.

If the company paid, the three employees responsible for the move would certainly have their wages docked.

"Guys, let's move the furniture inside first," Luo Hongguo said, moving to lift the furniture.

"Move it inside?"

Zhang Haobai stepped forward two paces, shoving Luo Hongguo aside. He surveyed the three employees and snapped, "Don't try any tricks! The furniture is sitting on the marble—that's the evidence! You want to move the furniture inside and then deny everything? Hmph, I've seen all your petty schemes. We’ll talk once your boss arrives."

"Lao Luo, Lao Luo."

The other two coworkers hurried to help the pushed Luo Hongguo, who had stumbled and fallen, back onto his feet.

"I'm fine," Luo Hongguo rubbed his shoulder.

"How could you push someone?"

"Whether or not we cracked this marble is still unclear, why are you pushing people?" The other two coworkers immediately glared and shouted angrily. These manual laborers feared nothing; if truly provoked, a fight might break out. Even if they ended up in the police station, these people had no money and cared little for their lives. The police usually couldn't do much and would end up releasing them.

"Don't you act tough with me!" Zhang Haobai moved with lightning speed, delivering two kicks to the stomachs of the two men.

Thud! Thud!

He sent both coworkers flying backward several feet, where they fell to the ground.

"Hmph, acting tough, you should check the location first," Zhang Haobai sneered coldly. The Zhang family had considerable connections in Yian District; beating up a few common laborers was nothing.

"Lao Tian, Da Hou, are you alright?" Luo Hongguo was truly worried now.

"You young man, how can you be like this?" Luo Hongguo roared in anger.

Zhang Haobai wrinkled his brow at the sweat smell emanating from Luo Hongguo and waved his hand: "Brother Wang, you guys teach them a lesson and make them quiet down."

"Young Master, it’s the decoration company on the line," the bodyguard surnamed Wang handed the phone over.

"Mm." Zhang Haobai waved his hand, and the three bodyguards immediately moved to discipline the three workers. Zhang Haobai took the phone. "Yes, I'm calling from Tiandu Garden. Put your boss, surnamed Hou, on the line. Manager Hou, what’s going on with your delivery crew today? So clumsy, they cracked the marble paving in my courtyard. Hurry up and send someone over to handle this! If this isn't resolved, don't even think about getting the final payment for the furniture!"

Before he could finish speaking—

"Stop right there!" A furious shout echoed from outside the courtyard.

At this moment, Luo Hongguo and his two coworkers were cornered in a dark spot of the courtyard by the three burly bodyguards, their bodies covered in footprints.

"Hmm?" The three bodyguards and Zhang Haobai’s group all turned to look.

A blurry figure instantly rushed into the courtyard. Zhang Haobai recognized him at once and roared in fury, "Luo Feng, you actually showed up at my place! Beat him!"

"Damn it!" Luo Feng’s eyes instantly turned red when he saw his father in the courtyard—soaked in sweat, covered in footprints, hunched over, clutching his stomach in the corner. His father had endured such hard labor and scorn for so many years, and now he suffered this humiliation.

One of the three bodyguards, a man who was slightly shorter and stockier, stepped forward with a cold sneer.

"Get lost!!!" Luo Feng roared, and with lightning speed, he delivered a heavy kick, blasting forward mercilessly. The stocky bodyguard tried to block with his right arm.

Bang!

The heavy impact made the stocky bodyguard’s eyes widen. He was sent flying backward four or five meters, suspended in the air, before crashing down. The other two bodyguards nearby were severely startled.

"Luo Feng, you actually came to my house to beat my men!" Zhang Haobai stared wide-eyed and yelled, "You're courting death."

"It is you courting death!!!" Luo Feng’s eyes flashed with fierce light as he snarled through gritted teeth.

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