The Yongan Pawn Shop of American Comics

Li Cheng sat in front of Lao Pan's tombstone for a long time, so long that the old godfather staggered away.

Looking at the bleak back, Li Cheng couldn't help but have mixed feelings. The back that was once straight like a sharp sword could no longer be straightened. The old godfather saw his decadence, why didn't he see the old godfather's suffering?

Lying on the green grass and adjusting himself to a comfortable position, Li Cheng looked at the lonely stone tablet beside him, as if he was still in the haystack back then. He was still the young man with a bruised nose and swollen face, and Lao Pan was still the hungry old man. Pan.

"hungry"

"You're not hungry, get away"

"You little brat has a bad temper. Take it, I've been saving this half piece of cake all afternoon."

"Xi Qi, don't treat me like a child"

Li Cheng turned to look at the bare tombstone and muttered, if he had eaten that piece of cake, Lao Pan would have been very happy.

"Old Pan, Old Pan, tell me what you have done to us now that you are gone."

"You said that if I demolish the church that you have been working on for several years and completely forget about it, after I go down, will you brag about my beard and stare at me?" Li Cheng smiled: "Just throw it away. That half piece of cake is the same.”

‘No, you can’t’

Li Cheng turned his head, as if Lao Pan was still sitting on the stone tablet as before, with his head on his head and shaking from side to side.

"Hey, you're so stubborn here, you've convinced me, right? I still want it today, young master."

After saying that, he stopped looking at the stone tablet, slapped his butt hard, and walked back angrily.

This time, after taking only a few steps, Li Cheng turned back.

With red eyes, Li Cheng choked and looked at Lao Pan: "Okay, okay, can't I just listen to you?"

-

As soon as noon passed, Li Cheng happily returned to Ronghua Street with two big watermelons in his arms. Today, Ronghua Street seemed particularly lively compared to the deserted place in the past. The cats in the corners and those hiding in the nooks and corners were all driven out. , hundreds of people scattered on the street, looking chaotic.

Most of the dozens of remaining members of the Qinggang arrived, carrying guns with rude movements, nodding heads one by one to collect taxes. Anyone who moved slowly or failed to pay would be severely beaten, wailing, and crying, scaring everyone around them. Everyone is hunching their necks, waiting to pay the 80% tax.

"Are you busy? You bought some watermelon, do you want to have a bite?" Li Cheng happily walked through the crowd and said hello to the leader in a spotless white mandarin jacket in the middle.

"Oh, Master Cheng, Master Cheng, I can't do it, I can't do it, right now, we'll finish collecting here and leave. I don't dare to disturb you, I don't dare." Master Wang hurriedly waved his hand, bending his back and bowing. , the leader of the black market is now far beyond the reach of his little master.

"Okay, then you can go ahead and collect it, I'm going to eat my melons." After saying that, Li Cheng happily ran back to the church, brought out a small mazaar, and sat at the gate. With a few clicks of the knife, the melon broke into several pieces, and the melon flesh splashed everywhere.

"Don't just look at me. Keep on collecting. I'll take advantage of it without delaying you." Li Cheng waved his hands to those who were still looking at him.

"Then Master Cheng, we are too much trouble." Master Wang raised his hand again, and then called on his brothers to collect the protection money one by one, and the wailing and crying started again.

Master Wang collected it vigorously, and Li Cheng also ate vigorously. It didn't take long for Master Wang to finish collecting it. The result was good, only two were killed. He turned around to say a few words to Li Cheng, but found that Li Cheng was still eating vigorously. The melon pulp was flying everywhere, so I had no choice but to lead the people away angrily.

The two melons were still too big. Although the flesh of the melons flew everywhere, there was still a large piece left that could not be finished. He frowned, and Li Cheng simply threw it to the ground, and then stepped on it with a clang. Don't stop until the melon pulp and soil mix into reddish-brown muddy water.

Shi Shiran stood up, wiped the handles on his clothes randomly, and planned to go back with the ponytail. When he turned around, everyone in Ronghua Street was staring at him, making him tremble.

"What are you doing? My goosebumps stand up when I stare at you. Okay, let's break up. It's not like I'm collecting your taxes. Why are you staring at me? Maomao. By the way, put those two Drag the dead body away and throw it outside, the smell will affect my business." He said and planned to open the door and walk in.

woohoo-

"What are you howling? You're howling like mourning birds. I didn't see you crying so vigorously just now. You're so noisy and you're not letting people do business?" As he said that, he was about to walk into the door. When he turned around, he saw the corpse. appearance.

"Hey, isn't that Xiao Li and Xiao Liu? He's from my family. Tsk tsk tsk. I remember that Xiao Liu's high fever two years ago seemed to have been treated by Lao Pan. Oops, he still doesn't have a few more years to live."

"Brother Cheng, can you help us?" came a small voice from the crowd.

"My name is Mr. Cheng, no matter how big or small." Li Cheng waved his hands unhappily: "But I also have to thank you. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am now. Lao Pan knows, right? Yes, he is the one who helps you all day long and plans to create a black market to help you. Oops, he was beaten up by the Qing Gang because of this incident. Do you think it is worth it? No, I am the one who can’t bear it."

"I won't talk about this, and it's not good for you to pretend you don't know, so now, I'll thank you in person." Li Cheng smiled and cupped his hands, and continued: "It's not sincere to thank you dryly. In this way, in the future Every time when old Mike gives you porridge, I will add half a bowl of rice as much as I give you, and I will make sure that you are fat and healthy, and you will have enough energy to pay taxes, right?"

As he spoke, he hunched slightly and whispered to the people around him.

"Let me tell you, I am the best at doing business. Did you notice that the Qing Gang didn't fire a single shot today? Everyone was beaten to death with sticks." As he said this, he gave the people around him a "You know what?" 's eyes.

"What does this mean? It's a business opportunity. The Qing Gang doesn't have many bullets and only has a few guns. Now that I have money from your taxes, I will definitely buy guns and bullets." Li Cheng rubbed his hands excitedly, "I Mr. Li is about to pay. With so much head tax, he will have to buy tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition."

"I just happened to wholesale a batch of antique guns from the Anti-Japanese War. The quality is not that good but they are cheap. If I sell them all tomorrow, tsk" Li Cheng hammered his hand hard, with an excited look on his face "I thank you all. Come! Tomorrow, you can come and have porridge, and I will give you an extra bowl of rice! One bowl!"

With that said, Li Cheng made another move to go in, but was stopped by a "Master Cheng".

"Hey, ancestors, what are you doing! What are you doing! Are you letting me go back? I pushed the door three times and couldn't get in. Do you think I am Dayu?" With that, Li Cheng patted his thigh again. You are my food, clothing, and parents. If you ask Master Cheng to have more children, from now on, you can call me Brother Cheng."

"Brother Chengcheng, I want to buy a gun" a weak voice came from the crowd.

"Buy whatever you want, buy whatever you want, the poll tax has just been paid, what can I buy, can I use it as your pants? It's useless if I want so many pants, don't you see my brand? I'm a child, I don't want to be bullied." "Credit"

"I'll pay you back as soon as we make money."

"Read it after me, no, credit, owe, do you understand Chinese? Well, there is also English here. I spent ten dollars to find a translation, and it's unmistakable."

"I still expect you to pay me back? The rack of old Mike's car is still there. It's fine if I don't steal it. Now I don't even dare to buy a car. I will sell the goods to the Qinggang tomorrow. Don’t even think about touching the locked warehouse. Look, I’ll make a fortune tomorrow.”

As he spoke, Li Cheng scratched the top of his head triumphantly, and the watermelon flesh splashed on it and became sticky.

"Okay, let's go. Remember to come over and have porridge tomorrow morning. I'll add an extra bowl of rice. If you want to be more cheerful, you won't be beaten to death next month. If you eat a piece of iron peanut rice, it will be painless and disaster-free. Well, let’s go, let’s go.”

With that said, Li Cheng finally walked into the door and closed it firmly.