Chapter 32: The Ambush
Chapter 32: The Ambush
The matter of borrowing money was just a minor interlude, and Jiang Cheng's attention returned to the roasted sweet potatoes.
Until evening, not a single person came to ask for a loan.
As he sold the last roasted sweet potato, Jiang Cheng took a deep breath, trying to keep the joy in his heart from showing too obviously on his face.
With two stoves, he had sold over 150 roasted sweet potatoes in total.
His total earnings were just over 900.
In other words, today's pure profit was around 450, not as high as the imagined 600.
But Jiang Cheng was still satisfied.
If he had only one stove, today's profit would have been similar to yesterday's, barely over 300.
With an extra stove, he had made half more.
It was enough.
Jiang Cheng began packing up his things, and before leaving, he called out to Lu Zicheng.
The latter watched Jiang Cheng's departing figure, his eyes filled with envy.
In the past few days, he had also benefited from Jiang Cheng's success, earning two to three times more than usual.
"If only my business could be as good as his one day, how wonderful it would be," Lu Zicheng sighed, glanced at the sky, and hurried off.
"Wait, Little Lu," a voice called out from behind.
Lu Zicheng turned around in confusion and saw Xu Hai approaching with a smile.
Behind him were two or three others.
"Uncle Xu, if it's something important, let's talk about it tomorrow. It's getting late," Lu Zicheng said hurriedly.
"Don't worry, Little Lu, I won't keep you for long," Xu Hai said, casually placing his hand on Lu Zicheng's cart.
"Little Lu, you're close to that Jiang Cheng guy. Do you know what trick he's using that's made his business so good recently?"
As he finished speaking, the few people who had come with Xu Hai also stared intently at Lu Zicheng, their full attention on him.
Hearing this, Lu Zicheng smiled.
"Uncle Xu, if I knew the trick, would I tell you? If I did, I might as well start selling roasted sweet potatoes myself," Lu Zicheng replied, leaving Xu Hai and the others speechless.
Yes, it seemed like a reasonable logic.
But seeing Jiang Cheng earn a fortune every day, they couldn't help but feel envious.
"Alright, Uncle Xu, it's getting late. I really should go. If you're sincere about wanting to know, you can ask Jiang Cheng tomorrow," Lu Zicheng said with a smile, removing Xu Hai's hand from his cart and pushing it away.
In his heart, he thought, 'What's wrong with these people? Instead of asking Jiang Cheng directly, they come to me.'
Such a secret technique would only be revealed by a fool.
...
After buying sweet potatoes, Jiang Cheng felt something was amiss on his way back.
In the alley, two people were peering in his direction. When they noticed him looking, they quickly averted their gaze, acting as if nothing was amiss. But their peripheral vision never left him.
Jiang Cheng furrowed his brows.
Just a couple of days ago, these people would have scurried away at the sight of him like mice seeing a cat. How could they now hide in the shadows and watch him like this? Could it be that they were coveting his recent success?
Jiang Cheng felt this was the only plausible explanation.
With his booming business over the past few days and the additional stove today, it was natural for these people to become envious.
However, he didn't pay much attention to just two people. His short stick technique had reached the master level, and if these two caused trouble, he would deal with them harshly.
Jiang Cheng snorted coldly and continued walking forward.
As he passed by the alley entrance, he deliberately glanced at them.
As the two men quickly turned away, pretending not to have seen anything.
After Jiang Cheng walked past, the two glanced at each other, a cold smile creeping onto their faces.
"Let's go! Join the others ahead."
They hurriedly followed him.
As they walked, Jiang Cheng's unease grew.
Initially, encountering two people staring at him could be a coincidence.
But later, he ran into two more groups, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs.
"Something's not right."
Jiang Cheng sensed something amiss and, looking ahead, decided to take a detour.
Just then, footsteps echoed, and over a dozen people surrounded him from all sides, blocking his every escape route.
These people seemed prepared, each holding a short stick, their gazes unfriendly, laced with deep apprehension.
Jiang Cheng's face paled.
These people all seemed unfamiliar.
They were probably local thugs.
The good news was he didn't see anyone connected to the Wild Wolf Gang.
The bad news was there were too many enemies—a whopping thirteen of them!
Jiang Cheng forced himself to stay calm. He took out the short stick hidden behind his back, his eyes scanning the group, and asked, "What do you want?"
"Hehe," a tall man, about 1.8 meters tall, with a slanted fringe, chuckled dryly, "Relax, friend. We're out of cash, and we're here to borrow some money from you."
Jiang Cheng's gaze immediately fixed on him.
This slanted-fringe guy was probably the leader of this group, or at least, the organizer of this ambush.
Although there were many thugs around, it was evident at a glance that they were from various small groups, hastily assembled.
Moreover, from a gang's perspective, they wouldn't allow a group of over a dozen people to operate within their territory.
"If only I had mastered the Twin Sticks now."
Jiang Cheng felt uneasy.
He only had one short stick, and facing over a dozen people was a daunting task.
With the Twin Sticks, his chances of victory would be much higher.
However, there was no way he was going to hand over his money. Moreover, he had a chance to win today.
In a flash, a plan formed in Jiang Cheng's mind.
He stared into the man's eyes and coldly smiled, "You want my money? Don't you know what happened to the last two who tried to rob me?"
His words were met with rustling noises from the surrounding thugs.
Of course, they knew.
Li Wei and his buddy had been beaten so badly that their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.
When they approached the second group, hoping to persuade them, those two refused to budge.
As for the third group, it was even worse. Zheng Jie had several ribs broken, and without medical treatment, he died in agony.
At this thought, several thugs took a step back.
"Don't be afraid!"
The slanted-fringe man shouted, "This kid has some skills, but with so many of us here today, what's there to fear?"
"You're right, I admit, with all of you together, I might not be a match."
Jiang Cheng scanned the group, his eyes fierce, "But have you considered what will happen to the one who charges in first? I'll tell you, if we fight, I won't hold back. I'll aim for your vital spots; this is no joke."
(End of Chapter)
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