The Great Era of Siheyuan

At night, in a remote corner of the railway station, several dark-skinned, fierce-looking, street-sporting drivers were holding a young man and beating him to the ground. The thin young man on the ground cried for mercy.

"Ouch, stop hitting me, I'm wrong! Big brother, I'm wrong, please stop hitting me! Ah~ It hurts so much!"

"I've been watching you for a long time, and you're the only one here soliciting customers and stealing our business, right? Do you know the rules? Don't you know whose territory this is? Hit him, Xiao Dong, and smash his car for me!"

"Don't smash it, don't smash my car, brother, I beg you, don't smash my car!"

Even though the young man on the ground was screaming in pain from being beaten, he was still struggling to get up and protect his tricycle.

But two fists are no match for four hands, and he was as thin as a monkey, so how could he withstand the repeated attacks from several eight-foot-tall men? After a burst of crackling blows, not only did he lose the car, but he was also beaten all over.

"Kid, let me remind you, if you don't know the rules, don't come here to solicit customers. Find someone to find out whose territory this is. Do you think anyone can solicit customers here without paying respects? Today I'm teaching you a lesson so that you will remember it. Next time I see you raising the price here, I'll cut your tendons and see if you dare to come here to steal business again!"

"I don't dare, I don't dare! Please spare me!"

The young man on the ground was beaten to the point of being somewhat unconscious, and he subconsciously begged for mercy.

After hearing him begging for mercy, several people kicked him hard again, and then he spoke with a feeling of being unsatisfied.

"Forget about it today. If you dare to come over here again next time, just wait and see how I deal with you. Let's go!"

After saying that, they left laughing.

The social environment of this era is full of chaos, it is difficult to find a job, and most people are fighting for their lives to make a living and support their families. Each industry has its own set of unspoken rules.

A person who doesn't know the rules goes straight into other people's rice bowls to dig for food without saying hello. If nothing happens today, he will be in trouble tomorrow.

There are not many good people driving rickshaws or pedaling tricycles nowadays. They are mostly retired workers, unemployed people, unemployed youth, prisoners released after serving their sentences, those released from re-education through labor, and those under juvenile detention. There are also a few rural members, people from other places who are stranded in Beijing, and some employed people. Their goodness or badness depends entirely on their mood.

Most of them form gangs, car dealerships or certain groups to jointly occupy territory and solicit customers. Their parking spots are mostly concentrated in train stations and bus stations with large traffic such as Beijing Railway Station and Yongdingmen Railway Station.

They bully people from other places who are unfamiliar with Beijing's geography, extort money, rob property, beat and injure passengers, and even rape and gang-rape women on the bus. Except for a few individual passenger tricycles registered and licensed by the district industrial and commercial administration bureaus, most of them are private cars and illegal taxis.

The monthly income of lathe operators is generally 200 to 300 yuan. Some earn 400 to 500 yuan, while some earn more than 100 yuan, which is considered a high-income group.

After the bullies left, the young man, covered in wounds, lay on the ground, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with despair and unwillingness. The hot night wind blew gently, and he felt the wounds on his body become more painful.

After a long while, he endured the pain and struggled to get up. Looking at the smashed tricycle, tears welled up in his eyes. This was his only livelihood and his last hope, but now it was destroyed.

He limped to the side of the tricycle, stroked the broken body, and vowed in his heart: "I must make a name for myself and never be bullied like this again!"

After saying that, he straightened the flattened wheel, supported it and walked back slowly. The pain in his body made him frown, but he was more worried about how to explain to his family when he returned.

"Hey, Yan Jiecheng, what are you doing? Why did you get beaten again?"

Li Wenqiang was walking halfway on the road when he saw the dirty, limping figure in front of him and felt that he looked very familiar. He stopped the car and took a look, and realized who else could it be but Yan Jiecheng.

Yan Jiecheng, who was cheering himself up in front, knew who the voice was the moment he heard it. This voice could only belong to Li Wenqiang from their hospital.

I wanted to say hello in response, but when I thought about my current appearance and remembered that I met him at the door last time when I was unlucky, I immediately said it in anger.

"What does it have to do with you? You are so nosy!"

"Hey, you are really a jerk who doesn't know how to appreciate a good person! You are right. Okay, walk slowly. I'll go back first!"

As Li Wenqiang said this, he stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

Yan Jiecheng was dumbfounded. He was just complaining, why did they take it seriously? I haven't even gotten on the bus yet!

"Hey, wait, wait for me!"

Yan Jiecheng endured the pain and ran a few quick steps. Looking at the motorcycle going away, he couldn't help but feel sad.

"Li Wenqiang, you are a fucking bastard, you have no humanity at all! Are you the reincarnation of a jinx? I always run into you every time I'm unlucky. Are you my nemesis? Are you deliberately trying to mess with me?"

Adults often collapse in an instant, and so do young people. Yan Jiecheng, who suffered a series of blows, burst into tears and collapsed to the ground.

At this time, Li Wenqiang was taking the third uncle and telling him about what he had seen and heard on the road.

"Uncle, you didn't see it! I just saw Yan Jiecheng on the road. He was beaten badly. His body was covered with bruises, and even his tricycle was torn apart! Hey~!"

Li Wenqiang pretended to be reluctant as he spoke.

When the third uncle heard halfway through, he had a bad feeling and almost fainted when he heard the rest.

"My car, my bicycle! It's been broken again just a few days ago. I-I can't take it anymore, Ruihua, Yang Ruihua! Where is our bamboo stick? Find it for me quickly. I want to enforce the family law. I must beat that little beast to death today!"

The third uncle was so angry that he looked for a stick everywhere.

"Old Yan, what's wrong? Why are you so angry? Calm down now, don't get yourself hurt by it."

The third aunt rushed over after hearing the news, and quickly supported the third uncle and helped him to breathe.

"What's wrong? Look at the shit you gave birth to. That little bastard just finished his meal and went to pick up passengers. Now he was beaten up and his car was damaged. What do you think I should do? I spent nearly a hundred dollars on that car. It's only been a few days and it's been repaired once. Now it needs another major overhaul. When will I be able to get my money back?"

The third uncle said angrily.

"What? Jie Cheng was beaten up again? And his car was damaged? Who said this? Where is Jie Cheng?"

The third aunt asked in disbelief after hearing the news.

"Mom and Dad, my brother broke down the car. How am I going to drive it tomorrow? You have to ask him to fix the car as soon as possible, or he has to pay me at least one dollar a day as compensation."

After hearing the noise, Yan Jiefang ran out and said indignantly that he had lent him a few dollars to repair the car last time, and it hasn't been long since the car broke down again. Isn't this delaying his ability to make money?

"Go, go, go, get out of the way first. This is what Li Wenqiang just said. He is still here! If you don't believe me, ask him and see if it's true or not!"

The third uncle said angrily.

The third aunt turned around and asked after hearing this.

"Really? Li Wenqiang, please don't talk nonsense. Did you really see my Jie Cheng being beaten?"

"Of course. We are from the same courtyard, how can I lie? I just saw him on Dongsi Street and wanted to help him, but I ended up getting scolded. It's really like a dog biting Lu Dongbin, not knowing how to appreciate a good person.

He will be here soon, don't be too sad, be gentle, it's just a bicycle worth a hundred yuan, it's broken, as long as the person is fine!"

Li Wenqiang said this hypocritically, and cursed the third uncle in a roundabout way.

After hearing this, the third uncle was even more indignant and wanted to pull him over and beat him up on the spot.