He remained half-bent, clutching his stomach with his left hand, glaring fiercely at me without a word.
I said, "Do you believe I'll kill you right here today? Or report you for robbery and let the police handle it?"
I don't know which of my words had an effect, but his eyeballs moved, and he said softly, "What do you want to know?"
"Why is Zhou Yingying fixated on me?"
He said, "You can't touch Sister Zhou, she has people behind her. You can't deal with her. The moment you make a move, you're dead!"
I said, "I don't care who's behind her. If she touches my family, I'll go after her. My life is worthless. I live one day at a time, and I earn more than I spend. I don't care if she kills me or not. It's all the same. It's worth risking my life for the big shot behind her! But I'm not letting you go now. We have no prior enmity, but you messed with me, so you have to die! You saw what happened to Da Laizi. I always get revenge!"
My hand still gripped his hair, and I tightened my hold.
"What do you want?"
I said, "I don't want anything. Either I cripple you, or I send you to the police station. You choose!"
As I spoke, I took out a keychain and fitted it onto my right middle finger. The keychain had a small, delicate blade, about half an inch long. I pressed the blade against his throat. His eyes clearly showed fear. He probably didn't expect me to be so ruthless.
I once heard an old man tell me, "Strike to kill, save to revive." If an unresolvable enmity is left, it becomes a root of trouble.
Of course, I couldn't actually kill him; that would be putting myself in just as much trouble. I just wanted to make him completely fearful of me, so he wouldn't dare to step all over me again.
I wanted to break his will.
If he didn't speak, I would continue to apply pressure.
I saw blood starting to flow from his throat. If I pushed any further, I would pierce it through.
He struggled and managed to say a few words, "Let me go, and I'll tell you everything I know."
I knew he was scared. I released my right hand but kept my left hand firmly gripping his hair, pulling hard as if to rip his scalp open.
I wanted to make him despair.
He looked at me pleadingly, but I ignored him. "Just say it."
He had no choice but to say, "My name is Wen Siqiang, everyone calls me Qiangzi. I was imprisoned for three years for robbery and was just released a few days ago. I had nothing to do, so I wanted to join Sister Lan's operation at the Great World to make a living. But Sister Lan didn't take me in. She said she doesn't accept thieves or robbers here. Fighting is fine, but she doesn't want any lowlifes. I had no other options, so I went out and drank alone at the bar on the first floor. Sister Zhou met me, asked about my situation, and said she'd let me be her subordinate and protect me."
He paused and continued, "She brings girls from high school. You know what I mean. She takes a cut from the money. Middle school girls are popular inside and can fetch a high price. Sister Lan initially disagreed, but she bribed the manager and secretly sent people in. She told me to manage the girls she brought and to step in if there were any troublemakers."
I asked, "Doesn't she know that's illegal?"
Qiangzi said, "She claims she's bringing people for consumption. She only brings two or three at a time. If asked, they have to say it's voluntary, and it has nothing to do with her."
This damned demoness was quite meticulous. Bringing three or four people for consumption, even if someone went up, it was an individual act. There was indeed nothing wrong with it.
I said, "Get to the point, stop rambling about useless things."
He said, "I don't know anything else. Sister Zhou told me that someone higher up took money and told Sister Zhou to target your family. I don't know anything else."
It seemed my guess was right. The demoness was just a pawn, and someone must have been directing her from behind.
I said, "I can let you go, but I need to know who that person behind her is. If you get any news, come find me at the stone gambling shop we were at earlier. I'll give you three days. If you don't come to me, you know the consequences."
As I spoke, I tightened my grip again. He immediately broke out in a sweat from the pain and quickly said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely find a way to figure things out. But Sister Zhou is very tight-lipped, she won't let me get away with it easily."
I said, "That's your problem. I only want the result. If you don't deliver, then you deal with it."
With that, I released his hair and shoved him backward forcefully. He sat down on the ground.
I strode forward and stepped on his stomach, saying fiercely, "I'll wait for you for three days. I'll cooperate with you during this time and won't show up at the Great World. But you must know, you stole my pager. If I reported it to the police, you'd probably get more than three years!"
He looked at me in terror. I knew I had achieved my goal. I had completely broken him. He had spent three years inside, and he knew what it was like. He absolutely did not want to go back.
After I finished speaking, I walked away. I took out my pager, flipped through the numbers, and found a phone booth to call Sister Zhang.
Sister Zhang answered quickly and asked with concern, "Little brother, you drank a lot. Are you alright? Sister shouldn't have made you drink so much. You know I regretted it when I went back."
I said, "I'm fine. I had a slight headache this morning, but I'm much better now. By the way, I have some family matters to attend to these days. After I've handled them, I'll treat you to a meal."
Then I called Lan Ya as well, also saying I had family matters to deal with and wouldn't be coming to the Great World for a few days.
Lan Ya said she understood over the phone and didn't pry.
I could hear a heavy tone in Lan Ya's voice. Connecting it to what happened last night, I vaguely felt that this matter wasn't over. Although she said not to ask what I shouldn't know, I felt I should do something for her and resolve this issue.
I wanted to help, but I didn't know how or where to start.
Suddenly, I remembered something. I still owed someone thirty yuan for glass and hadn't paid it back yet. If I didn't pay it soon, they'd come and smash my windows.
I hailed a pedicab and gave them the address.
I also wanted to go home to buy some daily necessities to take back.
I gave my mother one hundred yuan, wondering if she would be willing to spend it.
After paying my debt, I asked the pedicab driver to wait for me. In the nearby store, I bought a barrel of cooking oil, a bag of rice, some light soy sauce, and some daily necessities. I asked the store owner to find me a cardboard box to pack them together and put them on the vehicle. I carried a bag of rice myself and placed it in front of my seat. I told the driver my home address. The driver didn't say anything and pedaled the tricycle with effort.
I felt a bit bad, being a young man and having an old man pull me along.
With so many things bought, I really couldn't carry them back.
The house was still the same. I looked at the rice bin. My mother indeed hadn't been willing to buy rice. There was at most a bowl of rice in the bin, and it looked like we wouldn't be able to cook soon.
Perhaps she didn't have time, or perhaps she wanted to wait until the rice was finished before buying more. Whatever the case, the situation was the same as when I left; nothing had changed.
With tears welling up, I opened the rice bag and poured it into the rice bin. Then I neatly arranged the purchased seasonings, along with some pickled vegetables, chili sauce, and placed them on the stove. The kitchen finally looked like a kitchen.