Starting as a dockworker

Chapter 28 Old Gang Crosses the Line, a Fight Erupts!

Li Xiao naturally didn't need to worry about his mother's safety.

With two experts comparable to Zhao Liqun sent by Sheng Hai's cheap father protecting him, he'll definitely be fine.

He was worried about his mother's condition.

Tuberculosis will not be so easy to cure even in the future.

Li Xiao jogged to his mother's hospital room.

At that moment, the mother was chatting with the elderly woman in the next bed.

"Mom, I'm home!"

"Ah Si".

Fang Shuhui was overjoyed to see Li Xiao and ran over excitedly.

She grabbed Li Xiao's shoulders and looked him up and down, noticing that A Si had gotten a bit stronger. She exclaimed happily, "You haven't come for a month, you scared your mother to death!"

For the past month, she has been living in constant fear, worried that something might have happened to Li Xiao.

Li Xiao chuckled twice, then asked, "Mother, how are you feeling?"

Before Fang Shuhui could speak, the old lady beside her smiled and said, "Your mother is doing well, she's much better."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao carefully examined his mother.

After a month apart, his mother looked much better than he had expected.

Although she was still thin, her cheeks had a rosy glow, her eyes were clear, and her voice was stronger. She was no longer the weak woman who seemed like she might cough herself to death at any moment.

"Mom, you look much more energetic!"

Li Xiao couldn't help but smile as he sat down on the low stool by the bed and took his mother's slightly cool hand in his.

"Yeah, Ah Si, this foreigner's medicine really works... it's just that the injections hurt..."

Fang Shuhui sat on the edge of the bed with a smile, and the mother and son chatted like that.

After chatting for a while, Fang Shuhui said, "Son, I'm all better now. Let's go home. The nurse came this morning and said the bill is due."

Li Xiao smiled and said, "No rush, let's ask the doctor first."

Li Xiao took his mother to the department of the foreign doctor he used to see to inquire about her condition.

It took some time to queue, but thankfully there weren't many people today.

It was the same bespectacled, blond, blue-eyed foreign doctor who spoke in broken Chinese: "Sir, your mother's illness is... cured! But..."

He held up one finger and shook it. "Not completely, not entirely recovered yet. My suggestion is, it's best to stay for another month of treatment to consolidate the results. Are we okay?"

Upon hearing that she would need another month of treatment, Fang Shuhui was so frightened that she hurriedly shook her head.

Seventy-five silver dollars a month, money flies by like water, how can I afford to live here?

But Li Xiao patiently explained to his mother that he had earned another sum of money on this trip...

It took a lot of persuasion before the mother finally agreed to continue treatment.

Li Xiao went and paid seventy-five silver dollars to extend his mother's hospital stay for another month.

Including last time and this time, I spent a total of 160 yuan at the hospital.

In addition, I gave my mother thirty silver dollars for food, but she was frugal and didn't use much of it.

Right now, Li Xiao only has a little over a hundred silver dollars left in his pocket.

This hospital is really a money pit.

If it weren't for the windfall I made at the Huang family's rice shop, my mother's illness would have dragged on for far longer...

Li Xiao brought his mother back to the ward and was about to talk to her.

Suddenly, I heard a commotion outside, mixed with shouts of "Someone's being hit!"

Li Xiao got up, walked curiously to the window, and looked in the direction of the sound.

Standing on the second floor of the hospital, you can clearly see the main entrance.

There was a crowd of onlookers at the entrance, and five or six people were beating someone in the middle.

The person who got beaten up was none other than Lao Gang.

Li Xiao's face immediately turned as cold as frost.

"What's wrong, Ah Si?"

The mother, leaning against the bed, asked.

"What's going on outside?"

The old lady standing nearby also looked on with curiosity.

"It's nothing, just some petty thugs fighting, nothing to see..."

Li Xiao grinned, slowly drew the curtains, and said, "Mother, I have to go take care of some things now. I'll come to see you in a few days."

Fang Shuhui nodded with relief: "You go ahead with your work, don't worry about me. I'll take good care of myself. My cough is much better, it's nothing serious."

Li Xiao smiled and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The moment he turned around, his smile vanished, and he ran as fast as he could towards the hospital exit.

In just a dozen breaths, he rushed out of the hospital.

A crowd of onlookers gathered outside the hospital to watch the fight, but no one intervened; they were all just there for the spectacle.

Old Gang lay on the ground, holding his head, letting the five men punch and kick him without putting up any resistance.

"What are you doing!"

At this moment, Li Xiao pushed through the crowd and walked in, letting out a deafening shout.

Judging from their clothes, the five men didn't seem to be from a gang; they looked like rickshaw pullers.

Hearing that powerful shout, they were all startled.

However, upon seeing that it was just a person dressed in laborer's clothes, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Old Gang, are you alright?"

Li Xiao squatted down and helped Lao Gang up. "Are you hurt anywhere? I'll take you to see a doctor."

"No need, no need, it's alright."

Old Gang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up with Li Xiao's help. He smiled and said, "I already said it was a misunderstanding. Look, this is the brother I pulled. He came to the hospital to visit someone, and I brought him here..."

Hearing this, Li Xiao roughly understood.

There must have been a division of territory among these rickshaw pullers.

There are many people coming and going to see a doctor at the entrance of this hospital, and this good spot is mostly occupied by the elderly.

Old Gang was waiting at the hospital entrance. The group of drivers thought Old Gang had crossed the line, so they called for someone to clean up the mess.

"Oh, it's a misunderstanding." The driver glanced at Li Xiao, then at Lao Gang, chuckled twice, and said, "Waiting at the door with the cart, who would know? Be more careful next time."

With that, the group of people waved and turned to leave.

"stop!"

Li Xiao coldly retorted, "Did I say you could leave??"

The five men stopped and looked at Li Xiao with displeasure.

He's just a laborer, what more could he want?

"Ah Si, forget it." Old Gang hurriedly pulled Li Xiao back and whispered, "This land belongs to Zhang Mazi, we can't afford to offend him. I'm not hurt, I'll be fine..."

This Zhang Mazi is probably some kind of minor manager at the car dealership.

Old Gang clearly didn't want to offend him, otherwise things might not go well for him in the future.

Li Xiao, his face cold, said disdainfully, "I don't care if he's Zhang Mazi or Li Mazi. Everything should be based on reason. You can't just let it go after someone has been beaten. You lot, come here!"

Old Gang had brought him all the way from the city gate to this place because he had been brutally beaten in the street by five men.

If this matter is simply let go, how will I ever face the world again?

The Lady of Fragrant Mountain still hoped to save all living beings.

If you can't even help your own brother when he's being wronged, then what's the point of saving him?

The five rickshaw pullers returned, and one of them, a lean man, asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Xiao said calmly, "Apologize to Lao Gang, and each of you pay two silver dollars for his medicine. That'll be the end of it..."

The lean man chuckled and said, "He's from the south, coming to our north's territory. He deserves to be beaten. What if he doesn't apologize or give anything?"

"Ignorance..."

Li Xiao sighed deeply. They were all poor people, yet they insisted on picking on each other. He clenched his fists and said, "If you don't give it to me, I'll beat you all up, and that'll even things out..."

"You? Brothers, beat him up!"

The lean man waved his hand, signaling the remaining four men to surround and attack Li Xiao.

"Why bother? Just pay up and apologize, that's all. Why invite trouble..."

Li Xiao went to meet them, fighting five opponents single-handedly.

Although I have never studied martial arts and do not know any moves or routines.

But during that month in the mountains, Li Xiao spent all his time climbing mountains and trees...

Physical flexibility has been greatly improved.

Combined with his original strength and stable lower body.

After several rounds, the five rickshaw pullers were beaten to the ground and couldn't get up, howling in pain.

"Alright, if you're unwilling to pay compensation, then we're even..."

Li Xiao clapped his hands and said, "These few are too weak; they haven't even warmed up yet."

"Wait, where are you from?!"

The lean man lying on the ground grinned and asked, clearly wanting revenge.

"Oh, you're asking about that..."

Li Xiao thought for a moment and felt that if he didn't leave a name behind, Lao Gang's life would probably be difficult in the future, so he said, "I am the closed-door disciple of Xiao Zhenshan, the master of Guiyuan Martial Arts School. If you want revenge, come anytime. I'll be waiting."

After saying that, he casually got back into the rickshaw, and Old Gang hurriedly pulled the rickshaw away.

Upon hearing this, the faces of the five coachmen turned extremely ugly.

A chorus of surprised exclamations came from the surrounding crowd.

Clearly, this title carries a lot of weight!