SFS Chapter 1048: Road Robbery
Chapter 1048: Road Robbery
After agreeing on the details, Zhang Yunhe took his leave.
Back at his hotel, Zhang Yunhe packed his things and headed to the airport. He had a week to go; he couldn't stay there indefinitely, nor could he leave for Xi'an a week early.
For five consecutive days after returning to Hong Kong, Zhang Yunhe handled various matters, and it wasn't until the afternoon of the fifth day that he finally headed to Xi'an.
This was Zhang Yunhe's first time visiting this ancient city.
The spaceship landing craft landed in a secluded, dark alley. Zhang Yunhe jumped down, looked around, and only when he saw that no one was around did he put the landing craft into his backpack space. Then he turned around and walked towards the alley entrance.
Outside the alley entrance is a side street, not very wide or very clean, but straight, with many shops lining both sides.
It's cold here, but it hasn't snowed.
Walking from the side street to the main street intersection, the scene changes drastically; there are more pedestrians and vehicles, and the street is much wider.
"rickshaw"
Zhang Yunhe was surprised to see a rickshaw puller in this northwestern city, and he quickly waved to him.
"Where are you going, sir?" the rickshaw driver asked Zhang Yunhe as he pulled his rickshaw up to him, speaking in a thick Northwestern accent.
Zhang Yunhe said, "I'll hire your car this afternoon. You can take me around the city, to all the streets and alleys and famous historical sites. I'll give you five silver dollars in cash, how about it?"
"Alright, get in!" The driver's face showed excitement.
Zhang Yunhe nodded, got into the car, and the driver immediately called out, "Hold on tight, let's go!"
"Sir, judging from your accent, you seem to be from out of town?" The driver was clearly a talkative fellow.
"Yes, I'm here on business!"
During their stroll, Zhang Yunhe would occasionally ask questions, which the driver would answer one by one.
Zhang Yunhe spent the entire afternoon exploring the streets and alleys inside and outside the city, and visited several famous scenic spots, including the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. However, at this time, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was covered with grass, and no one was cleaning it. The upper floors were also not cleaned, and there were rubble and dust everywhere.
When it got dark, Zhang Yunhe told the driver to go home, and he found a relatively large restaurant on the street to have dinner.
"Sir, please come in!"
"What would you like to eat?" the waiter asked enthusiastically.
Zhang Yunhe sat down at a table by the window and said, "One serving each of mutton soup and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), four of your restaurant's signature dishes, and a pot of liquor!"
"Alright, please wait a moment!" the waiter happily agreed, and then loudly announced the names of the dishes.
The food arrived in just over ten minutes. It was Zhang Yunhe's first time eating roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) and yangrou paomo (mutton stew with bread), and it had a unique flavor.
The signature dishes were also quite good, and Zhang Yunhe finished all the food and a pot of liquor.
Outside the shop, diagonally opposite under a utility pole, a skinny man wearing tattered cotton-padded clothes and a worn-out hat was bending over and stamping his feet incessantly. The weather was so cold that he had to move his body to prevent himself from freezing.
At this moment, a tall, burly man wearing a sheepskin coat walked over with two henchmen and asked, "Skinny Monkey, what's going on?"
"Brother, a guy from out of town has arrived. He's dressed very well and is eating and drinking inside. He had a rickshaw take him around all afternoon and gave the driver five silver dollars right off the bat. He's definitely a fat sheep!" Skinny Monkey said, breathing out warm air from his hands.
"Alright, let's wait here and see where he settles down!" the leader said. After saying that, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to each of his underlings. The men lit up their cigarettes and squatted on the side of the street, puffing away.
Before he had even finished his cigarette, Zhang Yunhe had already finished eating, paid the bill, and walked out of the restaurant, heading straight down the street.
Once Zhang Yunhe had walked a little further away, the leader threw his half-finished cigarette butt on the ground and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go, follow him!"
The group stood at a distance behind Zhang Yunhe. The moment they caught up, Zhang Yunhe noticed them. After walking for a while, he realized that he was being watched by this group. He then continued walking forward without making a sound. Not long after, he turned around and walked into a hotel on the side of the street.
"Shopkeeper, do you have any rooms available? I'd like to stay one night!" Zhang Yunhe walked to the counter and tapped on the table to ask.
"Yes, yes, but we only have three superior rooms available right now, 3 silver dollars per night. Would you like that?" the innkeeper said quickly.
Zhang Yunhe asked, "Is there hot water?"
"Yes, yes, all the superior rooms have running hot water for washing up!"
Zhang Yunhe immediately slammed three silver dollars on the table.
The innkeeper took the money and immediately handed the key to Zhang Yunhe. "Go up these stairs, room 206. You can check out before noon tomorrow."
Zhang Yunhe went up the stairs to the second floor without taking the key and quickly found room 206.
After he went upstairs, the leader and a few of his underlings entered the inn. "Manager, which room is that guy in the black coat in?"
The shopkeeper's expression changed immediately upon seeing the group: "Gentlemen, that gentleman is clearly no ordinary person. You'd better not try anything with him."
"Stop talking nonsense and tell me, which room number?" Skinny Monkey threatened the innkeeper, holding a small knife to his neck.
The shopkeeper stammered, "Don't do it, don't do it, it's in number 206."
"Shut your mouth from now on. If you dare to report me to the authorities, I'll make sure you don't make it through the New Year!" Skinny Monkey warned, sheathing his knife.
Led by the leader, the underlings followed him up to the second floor and soon arrived at the door of room 206.
"Knock on the door!"
At the leader's signal, Skinny Monkey went to the door and knocked: "Knock knock knock."
"Come in, the door is locked!" came a voice from inside the guest room.
The men outside the door looked at each other, and even the leader hesitated for a moment. But things had come to this point, and if he didn't go in, he might lose face in front of his underlings. So he pushed open the door and went in.
Zhang Yunhe stood by the window and said without turning his head, "Close the door!"
The last henchman actually closed the door.
At this moment, Zhang Yunhe turned around and looked at the leader and his few henchmen, asking with interest, "Gentlemen, what brings you here?"
"What are you pretending for? Be smart and hand over all your money. My brother is short of cash and needs to borrow some from you!" Skinny Monkey shouted arrogantly.
“Borrow money? I’m a complete stranger to you, how could I possibly borrow money? You’ve managed to call robbery a loan, you’ve got some literary talent!” Zhang Yunhe laughed.
"Oh ho, you're getting cocky now. Enough talk, hand over all the money!" Skinny Monkey threatened, pulling out a dagger.
"The money is on me, come and take it if you dare!" Zhang Yunhe said with a smile.
"Big Brother!" Skinny Monkey looked at the leader.
"Go get it!" The leader said, pulling a Mauser pistol from his waist and pointing it at Zhang Yunhe.
"Okay!" the skinny monkey replied, grinning as he walked toward Zhang Yunhe.
With a "bang," a gunshot suddenly rang out, and Zhang Yunhe's pistol suddenly transformed into a gun, with smoke rising from its muzzle.
"Ah—" The leader screamed, clutching his bleeding hand, and dropped his Mauser pistol to the ground.