She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

The next day, Qiao Yi helped her mother with chores in the house. She got home very late after get off work the day before, watched her mother beat Qiao Shan for a while, and then went to sleep.

Qiao Shan brought in a box of coal briquettes from outside. They were almost out of coal, so he went out early that morning to buy some. While working, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing the bulging muscles in his arms, which made Chen Xiangbei, who came to see Qiao Yi, quite envious.

Not knowing when he would be as strong as Brother Black Dog, Chen Xiangbei wiped away imaginary drool and walked into their courtyard to greet them.

"Brother Qiao, is my sister Qiao Yi here?" Chen Xiangbei asked loudly, then walked over to Qiao Shan's side.

Qiao Yi came out as soon as she heard the sound. When she saw Chen Xiangbei coming to find her, she immediately asked if there was any new news.

Standing next to Qiao Shan, Chen Xiangbei looked particularly petite. He struggled to stand on tiptoe, trying to compare his height with Qiao Shan's, creating a somewhat comical scene.

"Sis, let me tell you, since my second brother wouldn't help me gather information, I contacted my brother-in-law. But it's been too short; all I know is they have several locations, like a rabbit with three burrows—quite well-hidden. The leader is a petty thug, definitely not a good person. The biggest problem is that their people are scattered; the whole gang is in different places, so even if we report it to the police, it'll be very difficult to take them down..."

Chen Xiangbei rattled off a bunch of things, which made Qiao Shan and Qiao Yi even paler. Qiao Shan's dark cheeks were noticeably whiter than usual.

"What should we do?" Qiao Yi frowned, extremely annoyed. How could her brother have to encounter such a thing? Such an honest person, why did he have to suffer like this? Their family has never done anything wrong, so why did they get such retribution?

"Xiaoshan, Xiaoyi, who's outside?" Qiao's mother was tidying up inside when she heard the noise and prepared to come out.

Qiao Yi immediately grabbed Chen Xiangbei and told him not to talk nonsense. Her mother's health was not good, and her father often went to various places to buy things to nourish her body. He also had to work two jobs to earn money and was often not at home. If something happened to her mother, the burden on the family would be even heavier.

Chen Xiangbei had inquired about Qiao Yi's family and naturally knew their situation. He nodded knowingly and then said that he was Qiao Shan's friend. Chen Xiangbei had somehow developed a concept of male-female boundaries and felt that since his parents' divorce, he should act like a man and support the family.

Although no one in the Chen family would expect him to take on the responsibility of supporting the family, that didn't stop him from wanting to grow up on his own.

At that moment, facing Qiao's mother's question, Chen Xiangbei took a step towards Qiao Shan, only saying that he had come to talk to Qiao Shan about something. Seeing that Qiao's mother warmly wanted him to come in for a drink of water, he refused, as he hadn't finished speaking yet.

Chen Xiangbei rolled his eyes, trying to get Qiao's mother away. Qiao's mother believed that guests should be treated with hospitality and kept talking to him, so Chen Xiangbei had no choice but to keep up the conversation.

"Auntie, I heard that the meat processing plant received a new batch of fresh pork today. People in our compound lined up early. I guess the supply and marketing cooperative near you also has some. I think we can buy good meat today."

Mrs. Qiao was truly misled. Their supply and marketing cooperative didn't sell meat every day; there was always a long queue whenever meat was available. It just so happened that Qiao Yi had given her a few meat coupons yesterday, which would be good for improving the children's meals. "Then you..."

Chen Xiangbei: "Auntie, I'm fine. I just came to talk to Brother Qiaoshan about something. I'll be leaving soon. You don't need to entertain me. If there's a long queue later, I'll have to wait a long time."

Qiao's mother immediately took the vegetable basket from the house and, as she walked, turned around to praise him for being a good boy.

Seeing that she had walked away, Chen Xiangbei continued to talk about the situation over there. He had only spoken halfway when he noticed that Qiao Shan's expression was strange. He turned his head to look behind him and saw several thugs who didn't look like good people standing behind him.

Chen Xiangbei cursed his bad luck inwardly. How could he have been caught talking badly about bad people? He was doomed now and was sure to get beaten up.

Sure enough, making money is hard and getting by is tough.

The group had only come to ask Qiao Heigou for his opinion, but when they arrived at the alley, which was separated from Qiao Shan's house by only a wall, they vaguely heard an unfamiliar young man talking badly about them. How could they tolerate this? Wherever they went, they were the kind of people who would avoid them. How could someone openly say that they were no good?

Although they are really not good people, that doesn't mean they want to be talked about behind their backs.

One of the men, with a pointed face and monkey-like features, stepped forward, grabbed Chen Xiangbei by the collar, and lifted him up. "Kid, what did you just say? Say it again."

With his neck gripped, Chen Xiangbei could only plead, "Brother, I didn't, I... I wasn't talking about you guys, really, I swear, I don't even know you guys, how could I be talking about you?"

"Do you think we're stupid or deaf? Trying to outsmart us? You're asking for it!"

Chen Xiangbei was having some difficulty breathing. "Brother, I was wrong, I was really wrong. I won't do it again. Please let me go."

The thugs laughed, "This kid has no backbone. We haven't even laid a hand on him yet, and he's already admitting his mistake so quickly."

Qiao Shan shielded Qiao Yi behind him. Seeing that Chen Xiangbei had suffered this undeserved misfortune because of him, he felt very guilty. So he mustered up his courage and stepped forward, whispering, "Brothers, this has nothing to do with him. Why don't you let him go?"

Another thug shouted, "It has nothing to do with him, but it has something to do with you, with your whole family. Black Dog, our boss offered you some very good terms. We've been asking you so many times, when are you going to give us a reply?"

Last time you said you needed to think about it on the street, so we went to your master's house to find you. Then you said you still hadn't made up your mind at your master's house, so we had no choice but to come to your home. If you still can't decide this time, then we'll go talk to your parents and your sister next time.

So now, have you made up your mind?

The thug who was grabbing Chen Xiangbei shoved him toward Qiao Shan, who immediately caught him. Chen Xiangbei coughed a few times, his face flushed.

"I...I've thought it over." Qiao Shan was panicking, but he knew they wouldn't let him go, so he decided to just agree. If he got caught, it would only hurt him and wouldn't affect his family. It's just that his sister might be criticized because of him, or the factory might not want him because his family had a convict like him.

That's better than being harassed by them. At worst, he can leave half of all the money he earns to his parents and half to his sister.

He felt extremely guilty, and with reddened eyes, he glanced at Qiao Yi, "I promise..."

Chen Xiangbei suddenly coughed violently, interrupting him mid-sentence. It was unclear where he got the courage; perhaps he was angered by the thugs' threats, or perhaps seeing Qiao Shan and Qiao Yi, two honest men, being driven to such a state, suddenly triggered a pang of conscience.

He shouted, "Agree my ass!"