"No matter how much the people are suffering, you, Duan Lei, can't be so poor that you can't even afford a cigarette, right?" Jiang Xiaobai said with a cigarette in his mouth and a smile.
Duan Lei poured out his troubles, "I can barely afford to eat. Those guys come to collect protection money from me every few days. Can I bear this? I earn twenty thousand, and they take twenty-five thousand. I don't know if you've observed this street when you came, but it used to be quite bustling. What about now? Eight out of ten shops have closed, and the remaining two are barely hanging on."
Jiang Xiaobai indeed noticed. Not just this street; all the streets he drove past on his way here were desolate and barren, with many shops shuttered. It's not just that business isn't running during the day; they've really closed down completely.
"Boss Jiang, let's not talk about these sad things. By the way, where have you been these past few years?" Duan Lei asked.
