A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Liu Daba La was the temporary leader of this group of Xiao Qinggou people.

Last night, I got a great job from the brother I used to carry heavy loads with.

Paint the walls!

Finished with 8 yuan!

You can get 8 yuan just by whitewashing three small rooms. If only this kind of good thing could happen every day!

It costs 8 yuan a day, which adds up to more than 50 yuan a week.

Good heavens, that's two months' wages for an ordinary worker!

Lost in his daydreams, Liu Dabalai completely disregarded the fact that he had never done this kind of work before and patted his chest in agreement.

Liu Daba La thought he had gotten a great deal, and the others invited by Xu Damao also thought they had gotten a great deal.

Each of the six people contributed one piece of paper, plus the material costs promised by Xu Damao.

I got the dumper and made a net profit of 4 yuan. That's great!

Liu Daba La secretly dug up some quicklime covered in yellow mud from the stockpile at the train station. Just as he was climbing over the wall, he ran into a group of thugs.

He immediately hired them as helpers for the price of a meal.

Now that he had the materials and manpower, he boldly went to the customer's home to do the renovation.

Fortunately, he also knew that quicklime needed to be mixed with water before it could be used.

He sent a young thug to fetch water.

Hearing the sound of water coming from the middle courtyard, the hoodlum went inside. Seeing a wooden bucket placed by someone in the covered walkway, he casually picked it up.

He filled a small half-bucket and was about to leave when two women blocked his way.

One fat and one thin.

The thinner one was quite polite, wearing a blue work uniform, with his ear-length hair combed back.

"Young man, whose family are you from? What are you doing here fetching water?"

Seeing that the man's attire resembled that of the people on the street, the young thug didn't dare to be outspoken: "Get the paste for the family in the east wing of the front yard!"

As he spoke, he lowered his head and tried to leave.

Unexpectedly, the fat man blocked his way again, hands on his hips: "Where are you going! Pay up!"

"Huh? What money do I need to pay?" Xiao Qingpi was a little confused, but the scene felt strangely familiar.

"Pay for the water! We can't let you fetch water for free, and that wooden bucket! It's mine! It costs two cents to use it once, plus the water cost, so five cents isn't unreasonable!"

Upon hearing this, Qingpi was delighted. "Hey, I've met a kindred spirit?"

I just wanted to honestly get a meal, but unfortunately, the situation doesn't allow it!

His rascal nature immediately came out; he stood there awkwardly, trembling like a leaf.

"Hey ma'am, let's talk this over. Do you think the water here comes from Yuquan Mountain?"

"Two cents for each use of the bucket?"

"Isn't this extortion?"

As she spoke, she clutched her chest with both hands and groaned, "Third Uncle! I'm so angry! I can't get up without a few cents!"

After saying that, he lay down straight down.

This lying down was not a big deal; it attracted the rest of the hooligans who had been lounging around in the front yard.

Suddenly, several teenagers surrounded the two women.

An old-looking man pounced on the person lying on the ground and began to wail like a ghost.

"My seventh uncle's eldest son, how could he be bullied like this? He has elderly parents to care for and young children to raise!"

"Brothers, can we just let this go like this?"

The other thugs started shouting, "That's absolutely unacceptable! How can you bully people like that?"

"That's right, they even dare to extort money from us brothers. Don't they know what time it is?"

"Now is the time to uphold the law!"

They talked back and forth, making a racket, their shameless nature on full display.

The two women, who rarely went out, had never encountered such a scene before, and their faces turned deathly pale.

The fat woman was so frightened that she hid behind the thin woman, yelling, "Hey, old lady, get them out of here!"

The old woman was furious. It was clearly Jia Zhangshi who caused the trouble, but now she's using me as a scapegoat.

But she still put on a show of authority, like an older woman: "Don't try to cheat me! Don't you know where you are?!"

Jia Zhangshi, also trying to intimidate others, said, "That's right, we're not afraid of you. We'll just go to the neighborhood committee and get the officials to settle this."

Upon hearing this, the thugs were not afraid at all; instead, they became even more arrogant.

"Go find officials? Who are you trying to scare? We haven't broken the law, we just want justice."

"The world is vast, but justice is paramount!"

"You've made my brother sick from all this extortion! When the officials come, who knows whose side they'll take!"

The thugs started shouting again, completely extinguishing the two women's desire to call for help.

One of the green peels was almost done cooking.

He sat down directly on the wooden tub with an air of authority.

"Auntie, let's not cause any more trouble for the government. What do you think about today's matter? Should we approach it with a gentle approach or a forceful one?"

"Civilian? Military?" The older woman listened to what the other person was saying, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar. It was as if she had heard this phrase somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Wen's! Wen's!"

But when Jia Zhangshi heard them say that, she quickly poked her head out and shouted loudly.

The lecher smiled and summoned one of his henchmen.

He took off his felt hat, stiffened his neck, and turned his head to one side.

The henchman pulled a water ladle from his pocket and smashed it down on his head.

With a "crash," the water ladle shattered into several pieces.

The young man twisted his neck and waved to the older woman: "Please!"

The older woman could tell at a glance that she had encountered some tough people, and these people were definitely not from Beijing, but from Tianjin!

In the past, she had often heard people in the hutongs talk about the "legendary" experiences of the Tianjin hoodlums.

The sounds of martial arts fighting, deep-frying, and grilling are terrifying!

She didn't want to know how these people from Tianjin got into the courtyard.

All I knew was that I absolutely must not get involved in this.

The older woman quickly stepped aside, making way for Jia Zhangshi, while indicating that it was none of her business and that if anyone had a problem, they should go after the fat guy.

Seeing that the other side had backed down, Qingpi smiled smugly and winked at the person next to him.

One of the thugs deliberately stomped his feet loudly and shouted at Jia Zhangshi, "Hey old woman, you chose the civil beating, aren't you going to do it? Do you want me to help you out?"

Why would Jia Zhangshi, who usually screams and yells even when pricked by a needle while sewing shoe soles, go through such a ordeal?

Seeing that the old woman was ignoring her, Jia Zhangshi tried to sneak back home.

But where can one escape?

Another thug with slanted eyes and a fierce look on his face stood behind her.

He threatened, "If you know what's good for you, hand over some money now, or I'll smash your house up."

Jia Zhangshi shuddered in fright and looked around, only to see fierce and menacing faces everywhere.

The usually kind-hearted auntie stood silently to the side, head bowed, and not a single neighbor, who usually enjoys watching a spectacle, showed up.

The green-skinned man, sitting on the bucket, walked over, twisting his neck as he went.

"Hey old lady, if you don't smash this, you'll break the rules of the underworld. I can't just take this for nothing, can I?"

Seeing the thug's aggressive attitude, Jia Zhangshi's mad dog temper flared up as well.

With a glare of its triangular eyes, it raised its dark claws, ready to fight to the death.

I'm not easily intimidated; even a broken ship has some nails left!