Chapter 253: Protection Fee

But with today’s prices, selling this pair of bracelets for so much would be impossible unless he met a wealthy buyer who knew their true value.

He had been coming here to sell them for several months. Plenty of people stopped to look, but they all just shook their heads and left after hearing the price.

’Maybe I should just lower the price after all,’ the old man thought, conflicted.

He wondered if they would sell for eighty thousand. That was his absolute lowest price; any lower and he wouldn’t sell them.

Yun Jiao stared at them eagerly. "I want them."

The naive Little Yu didn’t even know to bargain.

The old man was stunned. "Huh?"

Yun Jiao said, "But I don’t have that much money on me right now. Can you hold them for me? I’ll bring my family to buy them tomorrow."

She tilted her head and asked, "Will you still be here tomorrow, mister?"

The old man nodded blankly. "Ah, as long as I haven’t sold them, I’ll be here."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Then I’ll come tomorrow."

With that, considering the deal made, she took one last look at the two bracelets.

"You have to be here tomorrow, okay? Otherwise, I won’t be able to find you."

After saying her piece, she popped the last candied haw into her mouth, then rode her little bike away to continue exploring.

After looking around for a while, nothing else caught her eye besides the pair of bracelets, so Yun Jiao decided to leave.

It was already afternoon. She ate a bowl of wontons to fill her stomach, then pedaled her little bike in the direction of home.

The county town wasn’t too far from their small town; it would take about two hours to walk.

On her little bike, she estimated it would take less than an hour.

Yun Jiao bought a pile of small snacks, stuck a lollipop in her mouth, and set off!

Her short legs were quite powerful, but she got thirsty very easily.

After huffing and puffing on the pedals for about ten minutes, she’d have to stop for a drink of water.

Luckily, she had bought plenty of water, and even several different flavors of soda.

Humming a song, the tiny girl on her tiny bicycle rode down the road, attracting countless stares.

"Whose kid is that? Why is she riding around all by herself?"

Seeing her all alone with no adult in sight, a person on the street couldn’t help but speak up. ’Her parents must be so irresponsible.’

Yun Jiao replied, "I’m Yun Linhai’s kid. I’m not running around, I’m going home."

"Kid, where are your parents?"

Judging by the fact that the child had her own bicycle and from the clothes she was wearing, her family must be well-off.

Yun Jiao answered, "At home."

She answered every question asked of her.

"What kind of parents are they? Aren’t they worried she’ll get lost at this age?"

Yun Jiao said, "I won’t get lost. I know the way."

After answering, she pedaled her little bike and sped away.

"Bye-bye, ma’am! I’m heading home!"

In any era, there is never a shortage of greedy people.

Especially someone like Yun Jiao, who looked just like a lost little lamb, ripe for the picking.

Yun Jiao rode her little bike and had a smooth journey back to town.

She glanced at the sky. It should be about time for her brothers to get out of school, so she turned a corner and headed toward their school.

But before she even reached the school, she was stopped.

Five delinquent-looking teenagers blocked her path. The one in the lead even had his hair dyed yellow.

Yun Jiao’s gaze lingered for several seconds on his frizzy, yellow hair.

"Hey kid, you look like you come from a rich family."

The yellow-haired boy had a cigarette dangling from his lips and his hands in his pockets. He jutted out his chin, striking a pose like he was the toughest guy around.

It was just... well, the black and blue bruises on his face made him look a bit pathetic and foolish.

"Do you know the rules around here?"

Yun Jiao obediently shook her head.

"You don’t? New around here? Ever heard of your Brother Mao?"

Yun Jiao: (ㅍ_ㅍ)

’Do I look like I know you?’

"Doesn’t matter if you don’t. Starting today, you will. Every kid who goes to school here has to know me. I’m the boss of this turf, and these guys behind me are my underlings, you get it? That means all the kids around here answer to me."

’So what does that have to do with stopping me?’ Yun Jiao looked completely bewildered.

"So, if you want to have a good time at school here, you have to listen to me and pay a protection fee. If anyone from outside tries to bully you in the future, I, your Brother Mao, will show up to protect you just like Sun Wukong, you know?"

It dawned on Yun Jiao. "Oh, so you’re here to ask for money."

The yellow-haired boy’s expression changed. "Hey kid, watch your mouth! ’Ask for money’ sounds so crude. This is a protection fee! A protection fee, understand!"

"You know that little fatty from the Li Family at this school, right? He paid me a protection fee. The day before yesterday, some punks from who-knows-where tried to bully him, and it was me and my crew who chased those guys off."

Yun Jiao went, "Ah." "No wonder you guys look so beat up."

The yellow-haired boy bristled. "What do you know, you little brat! This is honor! The honor we earned in battle!"

His underlings all nodded eagerly, trying desperately to save face. "Yeah! That’s right!"

Yun Jiao said, "Oh." "But I’m not a student here."

The yellow-haired boy and his underlings: ...

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I’m here to pick up my brothers."

Seeing that school wasn’t out yet, Yun Jiao simply parked her little bike to the side, sat on it, and started chatting with them.

"Your brother goes to this school too? Want to pay the protection fee for him? Don’t worry, once the fee is paid, we’ll definitely protect him!"

The yellow-haired boy pounded his chest with a THUMP-THUMP, making his guarantee.

’That sounds a little tempting.’

So, she took out five yuan of her allowance from her small bag.

Visibly, the eyes of the yellow-haired boy and his underlings lit up instantly.

"Is this enough? How long will the protection last?"

"One month. This five yuan protects your brother for one month. I’m even giving you a discount."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay!"

When the school bell finally rang, Yun Jiao was squatting on the curb with the yellow-haired boy and his underlings.

The students coming out of the school scattered and ran the moment they saw the yellow-haired boy’s group.

Obviously, these guys didn’t have a very good reputation among the students.

However, sitting among a group of hooligans, the fair-skinned Yun Jiao, who was prettier than a doll, stood out conspicuously.

A child from Bailong Village came out, saw her, and his eyes went wide. Then he turned and ran back inside.

"Yun Xiaowu! Xiao Wu, this is bad! Your sister’s been kidnapped by that gang of hooligans from off-campus!"

He sprinted all the way to the classroom of Yun Jiao’s brothers and started yelling at the top of his lungs from the doorway.

"What? What did you say?!"

"Yun Jiao! Yun Jiao is with Brother Mao’s gang!"

Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoqi rushed out. "Are you sure you saw her clearly?"

"I saw her clearly, plain as day! With how Yun Jiao looks, how could I possibly be mistaken unless I was totally blind?"

At that, Yun Xiaowu and the others forgot all about their cleaning duties. They grabbed their brooms and stormed menacingly toward the school entrance.

’How dare they bully my sister! I don’t care who this ’Brother Mao’ is, they’re going down!’

At that moment, he had completely forgotten that with Yun Jiao’s fighting ability, there was no way a few petty hooligans could ever bully her.