These thugs were obviously the local thugs from the neighborhood, specifically here to collect "protection money"!

Protection money has always been just an excuse for these hooligans to make money. They are not skilled in protection, but are experts in causing damage. If a small stall owner cannot meet their demands, they might be constantly harassed or even have their stalls wrecked!

The little stall owner, who was originally focused on grilling lamb skewers, turned pale as he heard the voices of these thugs, "Hey, guys, I don’t have that much cash right now. Can you give me a few more days? Five thousand bucks isn’t a small sum..."

The lamb skewer seller’s tone was pleading pitifully. In fact, he might have been able to come up with five thousand bucks, but that was his small stall’s gross profit for nearly a month. How could he just hand it over so easily?!

"Mr. Fu, don’t you dare think we need to be nice to you. If it weren’t for Brother Shan covering for you in this area, your crappy stall would’ve been demolished long ago! Don’t dig your own grave!" threatened a subordinate following the young man with a silver chain.

The young man, called Brother Shan, looked pleased, patting the shoulder of that subordinate and then turned to Mr. Fu, who was still grilling lamb skewers, and said deeply, "Mr. Fu, whether you hand over the protection money honestly or we have to beat you up to find it, we must get the money tonight. Otherwise, I’ll smash your stall right now!"

After saying this, Brother Shan pulled out a machete tightly wrapped in newspaper from behind his waist and slammed it heavily in front of Mr. Fu...

Then, Brother Shan grabbed a skewer of lamb that the stall owner had already grilled, took a casual bite, spat it out, and then threw the remaining half, along with the skewer, to the side of the street...

"Pah, it tastes awful... think it over!" Brother Shan licked his lower lip, coldly smiling at the stall owner in a rather arrogant threat.

Mr. Fu frowned tightly, glaring fiercely at these thugs in front of him, gripping onto his small leather bag at his waist. Inside was his entire night’s earnings, roughly two thousand bucks. After deducting the cost of setting up and the original eighteen hundred in cash, the remaining two hundred or so was his and the owner’s hard-earned money for a night. How could he just "honor" it to these thugs across from him?!

But then again, what could he do if he didn’t give it to them? Maybe giving it would ensure some safety for a while, and he could slowly earn back this sum. But then again, who knows if giving it to them would indulge their appetite, and they’d come back often to scavenge?!

Mr. Fu gritted his teeth, feeling utterly at a loss!

The other customers at the tables, seeing the tense situation, quickly put down money for their bills and packed their unfinished food to leave, not daring to stay around to watch the commotion...

However, those scared off didn’t include Lin Feng and Xu Jing.

"That guy actually dared to eat my lamb skewer and then waste it like that, and worse, he had the nerve to say it was awful! What a bastard!" Xu Jing clearly saw that Brother Shan had taken the skewer from her plate of lamb skewers and had only eaten half before tossing the skewer away, which was simply an insult to her!

"Lin Feng, teach that guy a lesson for me..." Xu Jing had never been this angry before. This time, to defend the honor of the lamb skewers, she even forgot she was still mad at Lin Feng and outright asked him to step in...

"Well... that might not be such a good idea!" Lin Feng hesitated for a moment. He felt somewhat unjustified in responding to Xu Jing’s request since those thugs hadn’t directly offended him, so he felt a bit awkward having to step in!

"I don’t care, just teach them a lesson for me... Look, that guy is reaching for the lamb skewer again, hurry up..." Xu Jing saw that Brother Shan was about to grab her lamb skewer again, and she urged Lin Feng to act in a burst of anger...

Thus, just as Brother Shan reached for the plate of lamb skewers in front of the stall owner again, there was a flash of a figure, and suddenly, the whole plate of lamb skewers was gone...

When Brother Shan focused to see what had happened, Lin Feng was already standing in front of him, grinning with the plate in hand!

"Get your filthy hands off, if you want to eat, go dig through a trash can. This isn’t a place for a wild stray like you to find food!" Lin Feng said cheerfully to the so-called Brother Shan.

Lin Feng’s tone was very calm, but the words were quite unpleasant!

More than unpleasant, they were almost enough to make someone explode with anger!

"Who the hell are you to meddle in Brother Shan’s business on Hengshan Street, are you looking to die?!" roared the lackey who had spoken earlier, loudly at Lin Feng...

This place, called Hengshan Street, was known to be one of the most remote streets in Jiangzhou City. In such areas, law enforcement could usually only maintain superficial order, often hiding filth beneath the surface, with many arrogant thugs like Brother Shan...

"Brother, you’d better take Miss Xu and leave... this doesn’t concern you!" The lamb skewer seller noticed that Lin Feng and Xu Jing hadn’t left yet, his face changed slightly. If he felt only pained about the five thousand bucks before, now he was becoming somewhat anxious...

The lamb skewer stall owner feared that Lin Feng would provoke these thugs and get Xu Jing involved...

Knowing fully well that Xu Jing’s identity was not simple, the small stall owner dreaded such a situation unfolding, so he decided to let things pass for the moment!

"Brother Shan, I’m really sorry, my business has been barely scraping by, and I’ve managed to save a little over two thousand bucks. Why don’t you take it all for now, and we will gather the rest and give it to you in a few days?! Please don’t trouble the other customers!" The snack stall owner spoke to Brother Shan with a smile, trying to humbly plead.

Although saying such words meant the money in the bag was like bleeding from his heart, but to prevent Xu Jing from being caught up in this, he had to make such a choice...

The snack stall owner respectfully pulled out a wad of cash from his bag, handing it to Brother Shan and praying that he would be satisfied and leave.

Unfortunately, even though the snack stall owner had already backed down, it wasn’t enough to satisfy those thugs.

"Two thousand bucks, not even enough for the guys to call a girl. Mr. Fu, did you really think this could pass off as sufficient?! But given that you’re showing some sincerity, I’ll give you a chance, make sure to have the other three thousand ready by tomorrow!"

Brother Shan laughed while holding the two thousand bucks handed over by the snack stall owner, then suddenly turned to Lin Feng and said deeply, "As for this kid, don’t think we’ll just let this go. Offending me, Zhou Shan, without teaching you a lesson, how can I continue to hold my ground on Hengshan Street?!"