Chapter 7 Mother Attacked
Zhang Muzhe's "Buy One Get Two Free" sucked almost every customer on the street toward him.
In front of my stall, not a single person stopped.
I counted income that shrank day by day. My chest felt heavy.
Stall rent, ingredient costs, living expenses... every line pressed down like a boulder. I could barely breathe.
A helplessness I had never known rose in me.
I couldn't hold on.
This little stall I had run for three years, poured endless effort into—maybe tomorrow it would... reach its end.
Just as despair swallowed me, my phone rang and cut through my thoughts.
It was Liu, my neighbor.
"He Qingwei! Come back quick! Something happened to your mom!"
My head buzzed. I nearly lost my footing. "What happened to my mom?!"
"Your mom got blocked by some thugs on her way home."
"They threatened her with knives, saying things like 'tell your daughter to stop blocking the road.'"
"They pushed her down. Her head hit the stone steps. There was so much blood..."
Stop blocking the road... whose path had I blocked?
I understood in an instant.
Zhang Muzhe. It had to be him!
To force me out, they had gone after an old woman!
Worse than animals!
Looking at my mother lying weak on the hospital bed, a tight pain settled in my chest.
She had been kind her whole life, never raised her voice at anyone. Now, because of me, she had suffered this undeserved disaster!
Zhang Muzhe, this wasn't over between us!
Want to force me out?
Fine! I would do as they wished!
I gently patted my mother's hand, my voice calm. "Mom, rest and heal. Leave the rest to me."
"I'll get revenge for you."