Chapter 1: The Widow's Cunning

  The city of Huzhou is located in the south, geographically situated at the intersection of the subtropical and tropical zones. The climate is hot but also rainy. At this time, the sky was already very hot, and the entire city seemed lifeless under the scorching sun. Not only were there few pedestrians on the streets, but the storefronts in the commercial and residential areas had no business to speak of, yet they couldn't close their doors. Some shop assistants simply lay down on the table for a nap, while others played mahjong or poker, and some were intently playing computer games. In short, everyone was just passing the time, waiting for these few hours to quickly pass by.

  The white poplar trees on both sides of the road, although still neatly arranged in two rows, were also listless. The leaves hanging from the branches were slightly dehydrated under the scorching sun, and their originally lush green color had turned a bit pale. The cicadas preparing to suck sap from the branches were crying out one after another in protest of the weather, as if they had forgotten that once the weather cooled down, they would disappear without a trace.

  "With a clang", he heard the heavy prison gate closing behind him, looked up at the blue sky and the scorching sun, although it was the same blue sky and the same sun, but Long Fei felt that now the sky seemed bluer than before, and the sun was more dazzling than when he was in prison. When he was in prison, the sky always seemed gray and hazy, and the sun always seemed to be hiding behind closed eyelids. This must be what people mean by "one's mood can change their perception", Long Fei thought.

  The location of the prison gate is on the most remote street in Huzhou City. The entire street, except for the passing crowd, is lined with two rows of poplar trees standing upright. There are no shops or residential areas here, and the road is also the narrowest in Huzhou City, making it seem especially quiet.

  He patted the bag in his hand, still so light, because there was nothing in it, only two sets of spare clothes and some toiletries. Long Fei threw the bag behind him, put it on his back, pulled the strap with his right hand, humming a little tune as he walked out in big strides.

  To be honest, Long Fei has no idea where to go now. He's been an orphan since he was a child and lived in the orphanage for seven years. He couldn't stand the nagging of the old lady director of the orphanage, so he ran away secretly. After that, he wandered around in society. Although he didn't steal chickens or dogs (there are fewer such things in cities), his wallet has been stolen many times. Otherwise, Long Fei would have starved to death long ago.

  To know that there's nowhere to go after coming out, it would be better not to have come out at all. Long Fei wandered aimlessly while thinking.

  Unconsciously, Long Fei arrived at the largest hotel in Huzhou City - Xianglong Hotel, a place where he had consumed many times before. Smelling the fragrance wafting from inside, Long Fei's fingers moved involuntarily, and he habitually patted his pants pocket, only to find 11 yuan and 60 cents. With a disappointed face, Long Fei gently shook his head, realizing that this amount of money was only enough for a meal on the snack street. It seemed that he couldn't afford to consume here today. Long Fei could only swallow a dry saliva, shrug his shoulders helplessly, and turn towards the snack street.

  "Stir-fried liangpi is ready." A plump middle-aged man gently placed a steaming hot bowl of stir-fried liangpi on the table in front of Long Fei.

  "Here you go", a woman in her early twenties with an extremely beautiful appearance handed over the white soap that Long Fei had asked for earlier.

  Long Fei often eats here, and he knows all the small vendors. The middle-aged man who stir-fries liangpi is called Wang Daocheng, and he has been selling liangpi here for nearly ten years. His stir-fried liangpi is a specialty, with a perfect combination of color, fragrance, and flavor, and the portion is generous at an affordable price. As a result, there are over 200 people eating his stir-fried liangpi every day, sometimes as many as 300. At peak times, he cooks on five stoves simultaneously, but the flavor never suffers.

  This woman, with a very beautiful appearance, is called Bai Li. She is a widow whose husband was a police officer who died in the line of duty three years ago. Bai Li does not work and her husband was also an orphan. Their child is only one year old, and at home there is only a nearly sixty-year-old mother to help take care of the child; they have no other relatives. After her husband's death, Bai Li had no choice but to come here and start a small business selling wontons.

  Because Bai Liren was beautiful, she was a famous beauty in this area. Although the taste of her baijiu was not as good as others at first, many people still bought it from her. Of course, these were all men who wanted to touch Bai Liren's soft hands when she handed them the baijiu, seeking a momentary thrill.

  Bai Li's white steamed buns also got a good name, called "Qiao Widow Bao (Mo)", at first Bai Li was very unaccustomed to it, and even had the idea of carrying a pole back home, but thinking about the children who could hardly afford kindergarten fees and their future life, Bai Li finally didn't leave, and gradually got used to it.

  Long Fei was a man who often came to buy from Bai Li, but never took advantage of her. This wasn't because he wasn't a normal man, it's just that Long Fei, despite being a small-time hoodlum who had done everything from stealing and robbing to extortion and whoring, still had a chivalrous heart. He looked down on taking advantage of women in broad daylight and would often intervene when he saw injustice. Long Fei had been imprisoned six times, with the longest sentence being eight months and the shortest three months. Three of those times were because of Bai Li.

  At this time, the judges should have said that Long Fei must have had a secret crush on Bai Li. No, it's wrong to say that he liked her, but not in a romantic way.

  Long Fei had no relatives since he was a child and lived a hard life, while Bai Li was also an unfortunate woman. The two can be said to have almost the same fate. In the gradual contact, Long Fei unknowingly regarded Bai Li as his own sister. In these two years or more, there were indeed many little hooligans who teased Bai Li, and each time they were beaten by Long Fei until they fled in disarray, after all, Long Fei's fighting reputation was very great in this area.

  Later, Long Fei simply acknowledged Bai Li as his sworn sister, and from then on, no one dared to have ideas about Bai Li again. However, Bai Li's white radish business plummeted, and the men who used to buy white radishes from her no longer patronized her stall. Fortunately, over the past two years or so, Bai Li had saved some money, otherwise, her life would inevitably fall into difficulties again.