Chapter 426: The Name’s a Bit Tricky

The group took a taxi to the hardware store that Mei Liangxin had mentioned.

Nowadays, hardware stores handle multiple tasks—unlocking and unclogging drains are regular jobs for them.

As they got out of the car, they noticed a crowd gathering at the entrance of the hardware store.

“What’s going on?”

“No idea, let’s check it out.”

The group moved through the crowd towards the store.

“You bastard! Wang, you dared to scratch my car? Are you tired of living? From today on, this hardware store belongs to me!”

“Brother Wu, it wasn’t me! I can’t, Brother Wu! My dad left me this store. You can beat me, but I can’t give you the store!”

As they pushed through the crowd, they saw three middle-aged men kicking and punching a young man lying on the ground while spewing insults at him.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Seeing this, Mei Liangxin was immediately enraged. He quickly pushed one of the middle-aged men aside and bent down to help the young man.

“Boom!”

The bald-headed leader kicked Mei Liangxin to the ground. “You dare to push my brother? Are you tired of living?”

“Slap!”

Before the man finished his sentence, Xu Shaochen delivered a swift slap to his face. “You dared to hit my friend? Are you tired of living?”

Woah! The crowd gasped, realizing the situation had just gotten a lot more complicated.

“Damn it! Where did you crawl out from to dare hit me? Are you asking for death?” The bald-headed man was first stunned, then seething with anger as he glared at Xu Shaochen.

“Teach him how to talk to me. Just make sure he doesn’t die.”

Xu Shaochen smiled coldly as he casually tossed out the command.

Several bodyguards rushed in, pounding the three men into submission, landing punch after punch.

“Ah! Stop hitting us, please! Damn it, if you want to kill me, then do it! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Stop! Don’t hit us anymore! Ah…”

In an instant, the three aggressive middle-aged men were reduced to bloodied figures on the ground, crying out in pain and begging for mercy.

“Take them further away to beat them. Don’t interrupt business.”

Xu Shaochen waved his hand, and the bodyguards dragged the three men away like dead dogs, out of the crowd.

Mei Liangxin helped the young man to his feet and pointed at Xu Shaochen. “This is my friend.”

“Thank you, Brother. If not for you, I would’ve been beaten to death.” The young man forced a bitter smile, expressing his gratitude to Xu Shaochen.

Xu Shaochen shook his head. “No need to thank me. I need your help with something. You’re Gen Ji, right?”

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Xu Shaochen realized that the name he used was a bit inappropriate. Gen Ji? Seriously?

Zhang Wei quickly stepped forward to cover it up. “My boss speaks too quickly. He meant Little Wang, right?”

The atmosphere froze again.

“Ahem, ahem! Can you speak properly?” Zhao Qing glared at Zhang Wei and smiled, “You’re Little Ji, right?”

The atmosphere was so frozen it could shatter. It was getting awkward.

The young man’s lips twitched uncontrollably. Why did it feel like this was a roundabout way of insulting him? And they did it three times.

“Uh, sorry about that, Brother. It’s just that your name is a bit tricky.” Xu Shaochen apologized, swearing he didn’t do it on purpose.

Wang Genji chuckled, “No problem, no problem. I’m used to it. I know you meant no harm.”

“What’s up with those guys?” Mei Liangxin pointed at the three beaten middle-aged men, now lying on the ground.

Genji sighed bitterly, “That bald-headed guy is Brother Wu. He’s been eyeing my hardware store for a while now. Today he parked his car outside and falsely claimed I scratched it.”

“Huh, even in today’s society people are still trying to forcibly take others’ property? Incredible.”

Xu Shaochen sneered. When he wanted something, he’d at least offer money to acquire it.

But Brother Wu didn’t even want to pay a single cent. His method was even more advanced.

“Drag those three fools back here.”

Xu Shaochen said.

The bodyguards dragged the three men over and dumped them in front of Xu Shaochen.

“B-Brother, I was wrong! I don’t want the store. I don’t want anything! Just let me go, please let me go!”

Brother Wu clutched Xu Shaochen’s leg, sobbing and pleading.

If he’d known Wang Genji had such powerful friends, he wouldn’t have dared to mess with the hardware store even if he had a hundred chances.

The bystanders were thrilled to see this turn of events.

After all, Brother Wu’s reputation on this street was terrible. As ordinary people, they were always too scared to stand up to him.

Now seeing him beaten like this, they couldn’t be happier.

“The law governs us now, and you still want to forcibly take others’ property? You’re really falling behind.”

Xu Shaochen looked down at Brother Wu with a hint of mockery in his voice.

“No, Brother! I was wrong! I really was! Please, please forgive me!”

Brother Wu didn’t dare argue anymore; he just kept begging, knowing he had no other option and just wanted to get out of this.

“Call the police and get him ready to pick up soap in prison. We can’t have him harming others.” Xu Shaochen said to Zhang Wei.

Hearing this, Brother Wu and his two companions nearly fainted. “No, Brother! I was wrong! This is really my last time, I swear!”

They had all done time in prison before and never wanted to go back.

“Whether you’re forgiven or not is up to the courts. You should have a good idea of how much time you might get.”

With that, Xu Shaochen pried his leg free from Brother Wu’s grip, ignoring him, and turned to Wang Genji. “Let’s go inside and talk. I need you to open a lock for me.”

“Yes, please, come in, Brother. I guarantee I can open it.” Genji was very grateful to Xu Shaochen, so he warmly welcomed them into the hardware store.

Xu Shaochen pulled out the metal box. “Can you open this?”

If Xu Shaochen wasn’t worried about damaging the contents, he would have just busted the box open.

“This might take a bit of time, but it shouldn’t be a big problem.” Wang Genji examined the metal box and then replied to Xu Shaochen.

Xu Shaochen nodded. “I appreciate it. What’s inside is important to me.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Wang Genji took the box to his workbench as he finished speaking.

After about half an hour, Wang Genji wiped the sweat from his forehead and handed the box back to Xu Shaochen. “The lock is open.”

He didn’t even take a peek inside after unlocking it, which earned him the group’s approval.

Mei Liangxin and the others instantly gathered around Xu Shaochen, their eyes fixed on the metal box.