Black Society

  Old Wang finally found his old nest after asking around.

  "This is not a place for humans to live!" The old house was leaking wind everywhere. Fortunately, Shanghai's winters are not too cold, otherwise it would be hard to say whether they could make it through. Old Wang walked into the house and two boys jumped out from the corner, about ten years old, dressed similarly to how Old Wang had just woken up.

  The two children were visibly excited when they saw Old Wang.

  The slightly younger one came to Old Wang's side, and Old Wang had already known in the church that these children were not full, so he bought meat buns halfway. Looking at their affectionate appearance, it should be these two. He stretched out his hand and handed over the buns to the two of them.

  The kid who just arrived was more excited to see the white-faced meat buns than he was to see Old Wang, grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, then reached out and snatched two more to hold in his hands, apparently having been starving.

  Another one who was a bit older didn't move, standing there stupidly.

  Old Wang noticed that only two of the three children came over. Something must have happened to the other one. He hastily asked, "Where's the other one?"

  The child who was stuffing buns into his mouth stopped, his cheeks bulging, his face flushed bright red, and slowly lowered his head.

  "The little swallow was taken away by Scarblade." An older man said in a low voice:

  Old Wang thought to himself, "So I finally know that the little brother is called Little Swallow." Hearing this name was a girl's, but who was Knife Scar Face? He couldn't say he didn't know, so he comforted the two children by saying: "First sit down, eat while you talk, what exactly happened?"

  The older one said: "Wang Ge, you weren't here for the past two days, so I took Xia Liu and Xia Yan out to beg for food. But Xu Long that bastard took advantage of your absence and bullied us, not letting us beg on our usual street. He chased us into the alley. We can't make ends meet, sometimes we even go hungry, and naturally, we couldn't pay Knife Scar's protection fee. Yesterday, Knife Scar came to me and asked for 10 silver dollars. Where am I supposed to get that?! They took Xia Yan away, saying if we don't pay up by tomorrow, they'll sell her to a brothel! Big brother, please think of something quickly, forget about the buns, let's hurry and rescue Xia Yan!"

  Old Wang sighed inwardly and stretched out his hand to pat the elder child's head.

  "Big brother is not around, luckily you're in charge! Don't worry, big brother is back, of course we have to go get him! Wait till you two finish eating the buns and then we'll go! By the way, Little Liu, can you find me some tattered clothes?"

  Xiao Liu Zi stuffed half a bun into his mouth and muttered: "Big brother, doesn't your new clothes look pretty good?"

  The older one said: "We've been wearing this set of clothes for the Spring Festival, let's find another set to wear during the New Year and see if there are any kind-hearted people who will give us some charity."

  Old Wang thought so too. Wearing this new set of clothes can also intimidate people a bit.

  After finishing their meal, Old Wang called two younger brothers to take him out. Since Old Wang didn't know the way, he told Xiaoliuzi, "First go find Xulong and discuss the territory issue with him, then go rescue Xiaoyanzi."

  Xiao Liu Zi listened and got used to it, and with Old Wang's guidance, they arrived in front of a broken temple. Old Wang thought to himself: I didn't expect that after crossing over, I'd become the leader of beggars! It seems my goal should be changed to becoming the leader of the new era's Beggars' Sect, unifying all of China's beggars.

  Xiao Liu's child called out the door. A slightly thin and weak middle-aged man came out, looking over 40 years old, dressed in a similar attire with two children, one could tell they were of the same kind at a glance.

  It should be Xu Long who is coming. Old Wang stood still on the spot and didn't move, waiting for Xu Long to approach before saying: "Xu Lao Da, what's been going on with you these past two days?"

  Xu Long saw that Old Wang was fine, still wearing such a dignified outfit, and his arrogance immediately diminished by three points. He thought to himself: "This guy didn't just get lucky with some money after being sick or something?" Even if this guy is faking it, I won't be able to beat him. A good man doesn't take advantage of someone in front of him. Anyway, Knife Scar has already taken my money and promised to give me that street. If there's anything, just have him go find Knife Scar. All chapters are hand-typed, please come to the house. XS555.

  With a plan in mind, Xu Long hastily nodded and apologized to Old Wang: "A few days ago, two short-sighted kids ran to the neighboring Wang brother's place, sorry about that, I really didn't know, it won't happen again."

  Xiao Liu Zi was visibly unhappy and rushed forward wanting to argue with Xu Long, but an older child pulled him back.

  Old Wang thought to himself: "He knows what's right and wrong. Leave some things undone, it's better for future encounters."

  Old Wang pulled Xu Long to one side and said, "What's going on, I think we both understand. I won't pursue past matters anymore. Now help me get a set of tattered clothes."

  Xu Long saw that Old Wang was willing to let him off, so he softened his tone and said: "You know, we're all struggling! I'm just trying to make sure these few people at home have enough food to eat!"

  Old Wang didn't want to drag it out with him, cutting him off by saying: "Don't drag it out! Do you have any old clothes or not?"

  Xu Long said: "Yes, yes! I'll find it for you right away!"

  Before long, Old Wang returned to his appearance before going to the church. The tattered clothes were his own, but thinking of other people's lice crawling all over him made him feel a bit nauseous.

  After a few people came out, Old Wang handed new clothes to Little Liu and said: "You go back first, we two will go to Knife Scar!"

  Xiao Liu, one hundred unwillingly said: "What if we have to resort to violence?! I'm also very fierce when biting people!"

  Old Wang thought to himself that his previous life must have been a reckless guy, having fought many unjustified fights. Old Wang comforted Xiao Liu Zi: "I have an important task for you, now take this set of beautiful clothes back home and find a safe place to put them away."

  Xiao Liu's face was full of excitement, Eldest Brother had entrusted me with such beautiful clothes. Xiao Liu didn't have the kind of thinking that doubted who to trust or not, it was just that Old Wang had satisfied a child's yearning for responsibility.

  Xiao Liu Zi took the clothes and turned around to run away without a trace.

  Old Wang turned around and asked the slightly older child: "Was Xu Long present when you guys were fighting for territory a few days ago?"

  The child said: "Yes, and he even threatened to let us roll away. If we don't roll away, the boys will be sent to the palace as eunuchs, and the girls will be thrown into a brothel to become prostitutes."

  Old Wang smelled a hint of conspiracy from this sentence.

  "Come on, let's go find Scarface, don't be impulsive when we get there, I've got everything under control!"

  Two men walked into a two-story courtyard, one in front of the other. The little brother who was squatting at the gate ran inside to report, and soon a man came out of the house. He had a square face, a big beard, and a clear scar on his cheek, with an air of a gangster about him. Standing on the steps outside, he said with his hands on his hips: "Old Wang, you've come to rescue someone? Don't even think about taking anyone away without paying up! From the day you left, we've had twenty big yuan in debt."

  He knew this guy was knocking on bamboo, and said in a low voice: "How can there be so many."

  Scarface saw Old Wang yield and was secretly delighted.

  "That little girl of yours is staying at my place and eating here, but it's all free? Don't waste words, pay up and leave!"

  Old Wang thought to himself, "Today is not the day for a fight. What I pay out today, I will get back tenfold later." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver cross to give to Scarface. This cross was given to Old Wang by Bao De Shi, made of pure silver. Plus all the yuan heads. "These things are worth twenty yuan heads," he said.

  Scarface smiled and said, "I didn't expect it, Old Wang not only got sick but also made a fortune! Alright, I'm not a ruthless person either, let him go!"

  "Can we go back to our street tomorrow then?"

  Scarface's face turned gloomy, and he said, "There are rules on the road, and I have to be a good girl and marry into two families. The big brothers above won't let me off easily." It seems that I can only return Xu Long's money now.

  Now that I've made up my mind, my face has cleared up. My mouth says: "That's natural, you paid the protection fee so that street is naturally yours! Who dares to beg for food there, come find me!"

  Old Wang thought to himself: As for whether or not I'll be able to eat in the future, that's a different story. The scar-faced man called out to one of the older kids to follow him and lead the way, while he himself walked over to Old Wang's side. "Old Wang, listen to your brother's advice - you can't be too extreme in what you do. You've hidden all the money away! At least let the kids eat their fill!" Having said this, Scarface turned around and headed back inside, still muttering to himself: "Everyone says we triads are inhumane, but I think I'm better than those child traffickers!"

  Old Wang felt a sudden "boom" in his brain. He immediately understood what role he was playing. In the previous life, there was also such a society, where unwanted children were gathered together to steal things and swindle money from people in the bustling city. What kind of nonsense is this transmigration?!

  Others who travel back in time either bring an army or a computer, or they're reborn as some great person, at least someone with a clean record! But not me, I'm just the small head of a criminal organization! If it were like Japan's Yamaguchi-gumi that would be okay, but this isn't the Yamaguchi-gumi, it's the San Kou Zu, three mouths to feed!

  Old Wang's heart was in intense turmoil, but on the surface he seemed calm, and said to the back of Knife Scar's figure: "Younger brother will remember older brother's teachings!"

  His unknown little brother led out a swallow from the backyard. The swallow flew over to Old Wang as soon as it saw him.

  "Big brother, waaahhh..." Old Wang was really no good at dealing with women, so he just held Little Swallow in his arms and let her sob. The little brother next to him pulled out a paper package from his pocket, which contained the meat buns that Old Wang had bought earlier, and handed them to Little Swallow. Old Wang was actually quite impressed with this little brother of his, as he himself had even forgotten to save two buns for Little Swallow.

  Three people walked back and forth. Swallow said while eating, "This is the best baozi I've ever had from somewhere. It's much better than those stolen from Old Zhao's house by Wu Quan."

  Old Wang felt a sense of emotion, finally knowing the name of this little brother. However, the ideological tendencies of these children are obviously problematic, which should be the result of their previous life's education. It seems that Wu Quan wants to change but it's not easy, he has already formed his character. The other two children should also be well-educated, and a family meeting will be held tonight.

  A few children meet naturally very happy.

  Old Wang thought that he must have hidden his money in a place in his previous life, so he let the children play together first, and then searched for it in the ruins. Generally speaking, the place where the money is hidden should not be at risk of being flooded by water, and there are not many places like this house with heavy rain outside and light rain inside; secondly, there should be no risk of theft, which is relatively simple, just call the children to reach it. It's okay if you can't get it; also, it's best if you can see it often but others can't see it, and the place that meets these conditions is the attic.

  Old Wang roughly calculated the height of several people and found a few holes that were about the same. He dug into each one, finally finding an iron box in one of them. Inside was a British bank deposit slip. Old Wang looked at the English on it and knew that the slip required fingerprints and receipts to withdraw, meaning the children wouldn't be able to use it even if they got their hands on it. Old Wang looked at the amount on the slip - over 100 taels of silver. He thought to himself that this was a small fortune, but unfortunately he didn't tell the children about it. If he had, the children could have used the money to hire a doctor and the person in front might not have died.

  Old Wang made an astonishing announcement at the family meeting tonight.

  "Tomorrow we won't be begging for food anymore. Let's buy a few new sets of clothes. Get ready, it's time to go to school!"