145: Chapter 145 My Brother-in-Law, the Boss

"It's already open for business, why aren't you operating?" Xiao Bei asked, puzzled.

The shopkeeper lowered his voice: "Leaders are visiting today, and the Town Government has issued a strict order; we must meet the 'Six No Standards'."

He pointed outside: "Look, even the curbs have to be scrubbed clean with brushes. Isn't this just torturing people?"

Xiao Bei looked in the direction he pointed. Several sanitation workers were kneeling on the ground, cleaning the cracks between bricks with toothbrush-sized brushes.

"So strict? What kind of leader is coming?"

"I heard it's the person from the county in charge of poverty alleviation projects."

The shopkeeper's wife poked her head out from the kitchen, her face full of resentment: "We haven't made much money, but there are so many trivial demands. They don't want any dust on the road outside the door, but how can there be no dust when the wind blows on the street? They did a surprise inspection yesterday, said we weren't up to standard, and fined us five hundred yuan! If it's like this when county leaders come, wouldn't we have to tear down our house and rebuild it if the city leaders came?"

Xiao Bei frowned: "Which department is so overbearing?"

"Who else could it be..."

The shopkeeper was indignant, but his wife interrupted him, signaling him not to say who it was to avoid trouble: "It must be to please those above and show that they are doing their job, turning the whole town upside down. They even closed the market, saying it affects the town's appearance."

As they were speaking, a man in a uniform walked in, with a badge on his chest that read 'Hongxiang Town Comprehensive Law Enforcement': "Old Chen, why is the door still open? Pack up quickly! What if the leaders come in a while and see this mess!"

Xiao Bei kept his head down, observing with his peripheral vision. After the law enforcement officer left, he asked, seemingly casually: "So much fuss, just for an inspection?"

"Indeed."

The shopkeeper leaned closer: "I heard it has something to do with that livestreaming project. There was some issue with the data a few days ago, and a county leader already came yesterday."

Xiao Bei's heart tightened. The abnormal livestreaming data in Hongxiang Town was indeed not as simple as just faking performance figures.

Suddenly, a commotion came from outside the shop. A young man with dyed yellow hair, followed by a few hoodlum-looking lackeys, strutted in.

"Old Chen, it's time to pay this month's management fee, right?"

The yellow-haired man kicked over a stool at the entrance, his voice sharp and grating.

The shopkeeper's face turned pale instantly: "Brother Mu, please give us a few more days... We haven't been allowed to operate for the past two days, we really don't have any money..."

"No money?"

The yellow-haired man grabbed the shopkeeper by the collar: "You won't give me any face? Believe it or not, I can make sure you can't keep this dump open?"

Xiao Bei stood up abruptly: "Stop! What right do you have to collect management fees?"

The shop fell silent instantly. The yellow-haired man released the shopkeeper and looked Xiao Bei up and down: "Yo, where did this hotheaded kid come from?"

He sneered: "Just because this street is under my jurisdiction, is that enough?"

As he spoke, the yellow-haired man and the others pushed Old Chen to the ground and stepped on him. This fifty-something-year-old man kept begging for mercy.

The shopkeeper's wife rushed out from the kitchen, brandishing a kitchen knife: "I'll fight you animals to the death!"

The result was predictable; the shopkeeper's wife was quickly subdued, and the couple was controlled without any dignity.

Xiao Bei's fists clenched, making a cracking sound. The scene before him made his blood boil.

The yellow-haired man, Mu Xiaomao, and the others were slapping the shopkeeper's wife's cheeks with a dirty towel. The woman's eyes were filled with tears, but she dared not resist.

"The little lady is well-maintained, huh," Mu Xiaomao smiled lewdly, his finger tracing the woman's chin, "How about you accompany us brothers for a bit of fun, and we'll waive this month's management fee?"

Old Chen was pinned to the ground by two hoodlums, veins bulging on his forehead: "Animals! Let her go!"

"Shut up, you old fart!" A hoodlum kicked Old Chen, causing him to curl up in pain.

Xiao Bei could no longer hold back. He lunged forward, grabbed Mu Xiaomao's wrist, and twisted it hard.

"Ahhh!" Mu Xiaomao let out a pig-like scream: "You f*cking want to die!"

Xiao Bei didn't give him time to react, delivering an elbow strike to his nasal bridge, and blood gushed out instantly. The other hoodlums swarmed up upon seeing this. He dodged the incoming punch by turning sideways and delivered a backhand chop to the opponent's neck, causing the man to collapse to the ground immediately.

"Everyone stop!" Xiao Bei shouted sternly, while simultaneously delivering a roundhouse kick that sent another hoodlum flying out of the shop door.

Mu Xiaomao clutched his bleeding nose, his eyes filled with venom: "Do you know who I am? My brother-in-law is—"

"I don't care who your brother-in-law is!" Xiao Bei interrupted him, pulling out his phone to call the police: "Extorting and insulting women in broad daylight, that's enough to get you all into serious trouble!"

Old Chen and his wife watched this scene in terror, the wife trembling as she grabbed Xiao Bei's sleeve: "Comrade, don't... don't call the police..."

"Why? They—"

The yellow-haired man acted as if he had heard a joke, turning back to laugh at his lackeys: "Did you hear that? This idiot wants to call the police!"

He leaned in close to Xiao Bei, breathing out a heavy smell of smoke: "In this Hongxiang Town, I do whatever I want!"

The yellow-haired man opened his eyes wide exaggeratedly: "I'm not collecting protection money, this is called a market management service fee! It's in black and white with an official stamp!"

He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and waved it in front of Xiao Bei: "See clearly, Hongxiang Town Market Management Office!"

Xiao Bei glanced at it and saw that it did indeed have the official stamp of the Hongxiang Town Government, but the fee items were vague. This was clearly an arbitrary fee collection under a false pretext!

"How much? I'll pay it for him," Xiao Bei said suddenly.

The yellow-haired man was stunned for a moment, then grinned: "Wouldn't it have been better if you were this sensible earlier? Wasted our energy and had a fight. Including last month's arrears, it's two thousand eight hundred in total."

The shopkeeper waved his hands hurriedly: "Comrade, no need, no need, I this..."

Xiao Bei had already taken out his wallet: "Write a receipt for the shopkeeper."

The yellow-haired man impatiently snatched the money and counted it, then casually tore a blank slip of paper from a notebook and threw it at Xiao Bei: "Write it yourself." Having said that, he turned to leave.

"Stop!" Xiao Bei's voice was as cold as ice, "I want a formal invoice, the kind with a stamp!"

The yellow-haired man turned around, his face darkening: "You f*cking looking for trouble, right?"

He waved his hand, and several lackeys immediately surrounded them.

The shopkeeper hurriedly grabbed Xiao Bei: "Comrade, let it go, let it go... They are not to be trifled with..."

Xiao Bei shook off the shopkeeper's hand: "I want to see today if there is any law in this Hongxiang Town!"

"Law?" The yellow-haired man grinned and pulled out his phone: "Here, I am the law!"

He dialed a number: "Hey, brother-in-law, there's a troublemaker here... Yes, at Old Chen's shop... Okay, wait."

Hanging up the phone, the yellow-haired man looked at Xiao Bei triumphantly: "If you have the guts, don't run. I'll let my brother-in-law come and meet you in person."

Xiao Bei sat down instead, having calmed down a lot, and said slowly and methodically: "I'll wait."

In less than five minutes, an official car screeched to a halt. Secretary Hao Fanren, the Director of the Hongxiang Town Party Committee Office—who also served as the secretary to Party Secretary Qiao Jianhua—walked in with his head held high and a cocky swagger, followed by two police officers from the Police Station.

"Who is causing trouble here?"