He pulled out a cigarette he had found on a Japanese soldier. "Want one?"
Wen Laosan looked at the cigarette and said in surprise, "You're only eight or nine years old, and you're carrying cigarettes? Is that a Hatamen?"
Qin Shuli laughed. "I heard that when you're out and about, a cigarette acts as a bridge and liquor leads the way. I'm just being prepared. What's the deal with that Inspector Wang?"
Wen Laosan lit the cigarette and took a couple of satisfied puffs before answering, "That Fatty Wang is nothing special, just a small-time inspector. He spends his days collecting protection money in his jurisdiction and eating free meals. But he has an older brother named Wang Shengcai. He's exactly as his name suggests—a real expert at making money. Not only is he the chief of the Dongcheng Precinct, but he also owns opium dens, brothels, and gambling houses. His business is huge."
Qin Shuli sank into deep thought. A traitor like that deserved to die. He would find his residence when he had the chance and wipe them all out at once.
Wen Laosan finished his cigarette, brushed the ash off his clothes, and said, "Little brother, take my advice: the Wangs are vicious. Stay as far away from them as you can." With that, he shook his head and walked away.
Qin Shuli looked at the cigarette in his hand and smiled. The man was interesting; despite his humble clothes, he had only smoked one cigarette.
He continued to roam the city until 4:00 PM before heading back. Shortly after passing Zhengyangmen, he happened to see Fatty Wang and a tall, thin man walking out of an opium den.
"Hey, you little runt, get over here!"
Qin Shuli looked left and right; there was no one else on the dim street besides him.
"What are you looking at? I'm talking to you! Hurry up!" the tall, thin man’s voice rasped like a broken gong.
Qin Shuli looked at the pair standing outside the den and suddenly smiled, walking over.
"Did you two gentlemen call for me?" Qin Shuli’s voice sounded rough through the cloth covering his face.
The tall, thin man grabbed Qin Shuli by the collar and hoisted him up. "Kid, our boss is in a good mood today. We're giving you a chance to earn some money—depends on whether you've got the guts."
Qin Shuli sneered. Any "benefit" coming from a traitor’s mouth was a lie. With the experience of nearly thirty years across two lifetimes, there was no way he was going to be fooled. But he wanted to see what these two were up to.
"What are your orders, gentlemen?"
Fatty Wang lifted his chin and headed toward a nearby alley, the tall, thin man dragging Qin Shuli along with them. The three walked until they saw a pile of dog excrement, at which point Fatty Wang stopped. Clearly high on opium, the fat man pointed at the waste and said, "Kid, if you eat that, I'll give you two Silver Dollars!"
Qin Shuli clenched his fists. Having lived in a peaceful era, he found it impossible to imagine that in these times, two Silver Dollars were enough to make a person discard their dignity as a human being.
Seeing that Qin Shuli hadn't moved, the tall, thin man pushed him from behind. "Kid, didn't you see the Silver Dollars in our boss's hand? Hurry up! If our boss is happy, forget two—we could give you twenty!"
Qin Shuli laughed in fury. "That’s quite a claim. May I ask the name of this gentleman, and where he resides?"
"Listen close, kid: our boss is Wang Shenggui, an inspector at the Jiaodaokou Police Station. He lives at 7 Mao'er Hutong, that big mansion that used to belong to an imperial official. Does that sound like the status of someone who would lie to you?"
Fatty Wang seemed to have sobered up slightly from his opium-induced trance. He glanced at Qin Shuli, his fleshy face bunching up as he spat out a few words: "I feel like spending money to be entertained. What's the matter? You want me to get rough?"
The tall, thin man helpfully put on a menacing look.
Qin Shuli said with a faint, enigmatic smile, "Gentlemen, there are people all around this alley. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if someone saw?"
"Hahaha!"
The two let out a shrill, grating laugh. The tall, thin man glanced toward both ends of the alley. It was past 5:00 PM, and the sky was overcast; it was hard to make out a person's features from ten meters away.
"Don't worry, kid. There’s no one around. If there were, I could toss out a Silver Dollar and plenty of people would line up to do this job. Free food and money—who the hell wouldn't want that?"
Qin Shuli checked his surroundings again. There was truly no one in sight, not even in the snowdrifts at the base of the walls. The mocking look on his face vanished, and a fierce, murderous aura emanated from him. Both men shivered involuntarily.
Wang Shenggui pulled his coat tighter and muttered, "The wind seems to be picking up. We need to get home. Hey, kid, do you want to—"
What answered Fatty Wang was a dark red rock. *Thud.*
Fatty Wang collapsed on the spot. The tall, thin man was stunned; the Fatty Wang who was terrifyingly strong in his eyes had been brought down by a single rock. This was beyond his comprehension. Before he could react, the rock in Qin Shuli’s hand struck again.
Qin Shuli waved his hand, collecting both corpses and the blood-stained snow. Then, picking up the rock, he flashed into his Space.
In the warehouse at the back of his Space, Qin Shuli crouched down and searched the pair. He found 21 Silver Dollars and 20 military scrip notes. Qin Shuli looked at the money, never expecting that the arrogant Fatty Wang, who looked down on everyone, would have so little on him. Fortunately, he also found two guns: a Browning 1900 on the fat man—a foreign model—and a Mauser C96 on the thin one. The latter couldn't compare to the Browning, but it had a high magazine capacity and would serve its purpose.
Looking at the guns in his hand, Qin Shuli finally felt a bit more secure. In these times, without a weapon, you didn't have the confidence to get things done.
He threw the two bodies into the pasture area to be buried. The three Japanese soldiers from before were already gone; it seemed the pasture had an astonishing ability to dispose of things. This Space was definitely a great tool for murder and looting—once the evidence was destroyed, no one would ever find them.
Qin Shuli reappeared in the alley. With the money, he bought two sets of cotton-padded clothes for everyone in his family, plus several quilts and mattresses. It cost him 10 Silver Dollars; cotton clothes were truly expensive these days. When the twins got their clothes dirty cooking, they had to go back to their old, tattered rags, which were useless. Luckily, the kang was lit at home, or they would have caught a cold by now. Now that he had money, he had to bundle them up tight; he couldn't let anything happen to them.
He packed the clothes well, went to a restaurant, and ordered two boxes of braised pork and dry-braised fish. Seeing a newspaper on the counter, he grabbed it to wrap the lunchboxes, hoisted the large bundle, and headed home at a brisk pace.
By the time he returned to the Siheyuan, it was pitch black. He knocked on the gate, preparing to call the twins to open it.
*Creak.*
Wang Yueshu opened the door with a grim expression.
Seeing that something was wrong, Qin Shuli immediately put on a smile. "Mom, you just recovered. How can you be out here? Let me help you back to rest."
Wang Yueshu didn't say a word. She slid the bolt shut and went into the main room alone.
Qin Shuli made a wry face. He’d gotten so caught up in dealing with the traitors that he’d forgotten the time. *Better get inside.*
The temperature in the main room was around 15 degrees. He set the bundle down, took off his outer cotton coat, and walked into the bedroom with the lunchboxes.
"Mom, I bought some braised pork!"