Chapter 9: The Little Thief of Fengtian (4)

  That Fourth Master is one of the top wealthy families in Fengtian City, and it's said that he has a very close relationship with Zhang Zuolin, the big warlord of Northeast China. He can be considered as someone who can control the wind and rain in Fengtian City, so naturally his family's pastries are extremely exquisite. Although those pastries were packed in bags and got all crushed and dirty, it didn't stop them from devouring them greedily. Rong Erbing was eating hastily, choking with his eyes rolled back, but still shouting: "Delicious! Delicious! Damn it's delicious!"

  Lao Guanqiang was eating and suddenly burst into tears. Huo Xiaoxie slapped him on the head, scolding: "Eat if you want to eat, why cry?" Lao Guanqiang wiped away his tears and said: "Big brother, I'm eating such delicious food, I couldn't help but think of my parents. They probably never had a chance to eat something this good in their lifetime." Piao Hou was young, hearing Lao Guanqiang say this, also got teary-eyed, two streams of tears rolled into his mouth as he continued to chew with all his might, swallowing the tears along with the food, not saying a word.

  Lang got angry and scolded: "Old Guan! Stupid monkey! You two are so unlucky! Just eating something good and you're like this! Really no style!" Lang turned his head to look at Huo Xiao Ye, saying: "Big brother, don't you think..." But when he saw that Huo Xiao Ye's expression was also gloomy, he didn't dare speak again. This Lang had been an orphan since childhood, and naturally couldn't understand the feelings of Old Guan, Stupid Monkey, and Huo Xiao Ye.

  The four young men fell silent for a moment, and Huo Xiao'ei wiped the dejected look off his face, replacing it with a resolute one. He smiled and said, "From now on, I'll definitely make sure everyone lives a good life! We'll have meat and wine every day, and we'll ride in carriages whenever we go out! What do you all think?"

  Lao Guan Gun, Cui Hou, and Lang De Ben all shouted in unison: "Good! Good! Listen to Big Brother! Listen to Big Brother!" Only then did they regain their spirits. The several people ate snacks and dreamed of getting rich and rising to prominence.

  Lao Guan Gun said: "When I become rich, I will eat big fat meat every day. The kind that melts in your mouth as soon as you put it in!"

  "Is that all you've got? If it were me, I'd get the most popular Xiao De Zhangs in Fengtian City to sing duets every day. They'd sing as we cross bridges, 180 times, and never repeat a single one! You numbskull!"

  The dwarf monkey thought for a moment and said, "When I become rich, I will build a big house and let all the people in Fengtian City who are like us move in. We won't have to suffer from hunger and cold anymore, and we won't have to steal things from others and get beaten."

  "Hey, you little scamp is really loyal!" Old Guan Gun also rushed over to hug the sloth monkey, shouting: "You still have such a good heart! Let me see if you really have the face of a Buddha!" The three of them instantly became a mess.

  Wang Er's avatar laughed and withdrew from the battle team with a shrug, seeing Huo Xiao Si deep in thought. He couldn't help but ask: "Big brother, what are you thinking about?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé said: "Actually, I didn't think of anything."

  Lao Guanqiang and the dwarf monkey stopped quarreling, both staring at Huo Xiaoyi. Lao Guanqiang said: "Big brother, tell us, if you become successful, what do you want to do most?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé said: "Really don't know what you want to do."

  The dwarf ape squeezed a step forward and said: "Big brother, just say it, you must have thought of it long ago."

  "It is, it is!" Lang shouted loudly.

  Huoxiao Ye looked at everyone, scratched his head, smiled foolishly and said: "Actually, I'll tell you guys, don't laugh."

  "Go on, go on! We promise we won't laugh!" everyone shouted.

  Huoxiao Ye said slowly: "If I become rich, I...I want to go find..." Just as he finished speaking, the broken door of the room was kicked open with a loud crash.

  Only a sharp-mouthed man with a dogskin jacket came in, followed by two men who didn't look like good people. The man kicked the door open and suddenly scared Huo Xiao and others into a daze. When they saw clearly, all four faces were pale with fear.

  "This man cursed: 'You bastards, you hide here and think I won't find you?'"

  Huo Xiao hurriedly replied: "Qi Lao Da, we plan to head back now!"

  This man is the real boss of Huo Xiaoxie and his three friends, named Qi Jian'er. He was taken in by Qi Jian'er a few years ago and has been teaching them to do some bad things in secret. Qi Jian'er is a compulsive gambler and has extremely bad luck. Recently, he lost all his money and has been urging his subordinates to steal money to support him. In recent days, due to the rebellion of Guo Songling and Zhang Zuolin's counterattack, a large number of Japanese troops poured into Fengtian City, and the war was urgent. Almost every household in Fengtian City closed their doors, and people doing business were also hiding from the war and dared not enter the city. As a result, Huo Xiaoxie and his friends had no gains for many days.

  These four little rascals, considered to be Qi Jian'er's most favored "disciples", especially with Huo Xiaoxie as the leader, almost inherited Qi Jian'er's "true legacy". Moreover, Huo Xiaoxie was bold and meticulous, agile and quick-witted. If only considering their skills in picking pockets, Huo Xiaoxie might be considered one of the top two experts among the vagrants in Fengtian City.

  Originally, Huo Xiao Ye and others had to return to Qi Jian Er's "Hao Zi Lou" every day to report their numbers, but recently they haven't made much progress, and they haven't been spared from Qi Jian Er's slaps. The beatings have made Huo Xiao Ye extremely resentful, yet he also doesn't dare openly disobey Qi Jian Er. In this city of Fengtian, thieves know each other's backgrounds and are ranked according to their seniority. Qi Jian Er, who leads a group of children in stealing, is called "Upper Five Bells", while Huo Xiao Ye and others are called "Lower Five Bells". If the Lower Five Bells don't have a powerful backer, they won't be able to steal in Fengtian City, let alone do honest work. As the saying goes: "It's easy to get on a thief's ship, but hard to get off", this is exactly what it means.

  In the chaotic Republic of China, wars raged across the land, and heroes rose to power. Each profession emphasized unity, and even those who made a living by thievery were no exception. In fact, the more humble the occupation, such as thievery, begging, robbery, or being part of an evil gang or bandit group, the more they stressed unity. They shared a common breath, never abandoning each other, sharing life and death together. Unless you became a respected leader, able to "wash your hands in a golden basin," it was impossible to make a graceful exit.

  The little thief, also known as Rong Xing, was thinking of running away with the loot, escaping from Qi Jian's control. Although the city of Fengtian was in chaos, it was still possible to find food and shelter there. Where else could they run to? Other places might be even more dangerous. Thieves were afraid of strangers joining their ranks, fearing that if one was caught, he would reveal the entire gang. If they ran to other places and continued to steal, they had to have extraordinary abilities to establish themselves. Otherwise, they had to rely on gangs and endure the "three knives" punishment: two knives stabbed in the legs and one in the shoulder, which had to be precise and severe, without any mistakes. Only then could they gain everyone's trust as a loyal person.

  A thief has many rules, I'll just mention them briefly for now and talk about them later.