He pitied the old woman, but alas it was none of their business.
They were not well-known figures, and they were not government officials. It would help if they were local, but they were outsiders, and they should not stir up trouble.
Also, they had a family, a wife, and would soon be fathers. They had to refrain from intervening in matters of justice, otherwise they would only make their wife worry.
After listening to Ye Ling, he turned his cold gaze towards that direction.
The woman was already kneeling on the ground, pleading for more time, yet the local bully would not allow it!
“Old hag, you’ve been late for your monthly payment several times now. Don’t think I’m going to let you keep your stall. Pack your things and scram!”
As the local bully gave his orders, his two subordinates moved to drive her away.
“San Ye, can I pay with this hen? Please, please don’t kick me out. I’ll pay on time next month.” The old woman grabbed the chicken that Liu had his eyes on earlier and presented it to San Ye, the local bully.
San Ye would come to collect money from the stalls in this area every month. Once he got what he wanted, no one else would dare claim it, so the old woman did not want to lose her stall.
Once her crops ripened, she would sell them here.
“Get that away from me!” San Ye took a step back. He did not want to be anywhere near the smell of chicken feces. “Do you think I haven’t tasted chicken before? Do you think you can trade with this hen of yours? Impossible! If you can’t pay up, then get out of here!”
Ye Yang could tell the old woman was no older than their Aunt Ye. While he remained expressionless, his grip tightened. He could not bear to see her being mistreated.
Ye Liu furrowed his fine eyebrows when the old woman got slapped again.
Ye Ling furled his eyebrows so tight they could trap a mosquito. He was fuming as well.
Ye Yang and Ye Liu might have shared the same thought as they exchanged glances and stepped forward.
“Madam, we’ll buy this chicken.”
Ye Yang handed her the money while Ye Liu did the talking.
“Madam, you can use this money to make your monthly payment.” Ye Ling, who had followed his brothers, spoke to her kindly.
Er…
The old woman was apparently stunned by the string of coins (fifty pieces of copper) that had suddenly appeared before her eyes.
San Ye and his two subordinates were shocked too when they realized the men were obviously helping out the old woman.
No one had ever stepped up to help the vendors who could not pay their ‘rent’ on time.
“Hey, you three aren’t from around here, are you? Don’t you know our rules?” San Ye arched his eyebrows, plotting to give them a hard time. “Whatever I say goes, and when I tell them to scram, they aren’t allowed to trade here anymore!”
The men turned towards the fat and pudgy man otherwise known as San Ye.
“San Ye, is that right? Indeed, we’re not from around here. We know absolutely nothing about the rules here!” Ye Liu proceeded with a delightful smile. “San Ye, once the lady here sells her chicken, she’ll have money to pay you; isn’t that killing two birds with one stone? Judging by your looks, a man such as yourself must be a good-natured one. See, you’re as sturdy as a rock and you look just as benevolent as the Buddha himself! Surely, you’ll let this trivial matter slide, won’t you?”
