On their way back from the oranges, they had learned their lesson.
This time, the vehicle wasn’t overloaded—only seven people were on board.
As for the others, they spent a little money and took a few electric tricycles to the entrance of Wushui County No. 2 High School.
Back in 2007, in this small county of Wushui, electric tricycles were still a common sight. For just two or three yuan, they could take you anywhere in the county—quite convenient.
After getting off, Liu Yutong had just entered the school when she noticed the lost expressions on Yun Cheng and the others’ faces, so she turned back.
"Have you figured out where to stay yet?"
Yun Cheng and the others shook their heads in unison.
Though they had decided to follow the young lady, they hadn’t actually thought about where to settle down.
Besides, with only a few hundred yuan left on them, finding a suitable place wouldn’t be easy.
The worst-case scenario was crashing at an internet café for a few nights.
Seeing them like this, Liu Yutong sighed inwardly before an idea struck her.
"After the traffic light up ahead, there’s a night market with food stalls on Youth Road, and there’s also a small snack street at Youth Square with plenty of stalls. You can check those places out when you have time."
"Young Lady, what do you want us to do there? Collect protection money?" Ma Da asked excitedly. "That’s something we’re really good at."
"Ma Da, what did I tell you before? Do you remember?" Liu Yutong asked.
"Tell me what?" Ma Da couldn’t recall at all.
Liu Yutong pointed at the school. "Knowledge changes destiny!"
"Oh, oh! Young Lady, you mean we should be more refined when collecting protection money?" Ma Da had an epiphany.
In his mind, educated people were always refined and polite.
Could it be that collecting protection money politely would make it easier?
Ugh, like talking to a brick wall.
Liu Yutong’s original intention was for them to abide by the law and clean up their act completely.
Well, she’d have to guide them slowly later.
So, she turned her gaze to Yun Cheng, the most reliable and respected figure in the group.
"Yun Cheng, I don’t care what you all used to do, but from now on, you’ll do as I say. Understood?"
Yun Cheng nodded. "Young Lady, I’ll keep them in line."
"The reason I’m sending you to those places is so you can gather information on seafood prices, especially lobsters. Once you’ve got the details, come find me at the school," Liu Yutong said.
"Yes, Young Lady!" Yun Cheng and the others responded in unison.
After entering the school, Liu Yutong first went to the dormitory.
She was a boarding student in high school, something she wasn’t particularly fond of.
Night self-study sessions ran late, and unless it was the weekend, students weren’t allowed to leave the campus freely.
Just as she arrived at the dorm, put away her clothes and luggage, and was about to leave for the cafeteria to grab dinner before heading to night self-study, three delinquent girls blocked the door.
The leader, a girl named Zhao Zhu, stretched out her hand. "Hand it over."
"Hand over what?" Liu Yutong played dumb.
"You went home today, didn’t you? You brought money, right? Fork it over," Zhao Zhu threatened. "Or do you want another beating?"
Wushui County No. 2 High School was one of the county’s key schools, but with nearly ten thousand students, it was also quite chaotic.
Delinquents like Zhao Zhu normally wouldn’t have been able to get into No. 2 High, but since she was a local, she had attended the school since middle school and thus advanced directly to the high school division.
Liu Yutong, on the other hand, had gone to middle school in the countryside. To get into No. 2 High, she had to rely on her own academic performance.
Because of her family circumstances, she had always been timid and introverted—an easy target.
So, when she first started high school, delinquents like Zhao Zhu had singled her out, bullying and harassing her constantly.
Out of her meager monthly allowance of two hundred yuan, at least half would be extorted by Zhao Zhu and her gang, leaving Liu Yutong frequently hungry and frail.
But now, she wouldn’t let them push her around anymore.
As a lawyer—even just a trainee—she had plenty of ways to deal with these brats.
Liu Yutong spread her hands open. "The money’s on me. Take it yourselves."
Zhao Zhu was taken aback. She had expected Liu Yutong to resist like before, only surrendering the money after a beating.
Liu Yutong might have been introverted, even timid, but deep down, she was stubborn and never cooperated with them.
In Zhao Zhu’s memory, they had beaten Liu Yutong many times, but they had never seen her cry.
Yet this time, Liu Yutong was being so compliant.
Assuming she had finally been broken, Zhao Zhu immediately began searching her.
Soon, she found the two hundred yuan in Liu Yutong’s school uniform pocket.
"Hmph, smart move."
"Let’s go!"
After they left, Liu Yutong touched her empty pocket and sighed. Another night of hunger.
The two hundred yuan her grandfather had given her was now gone.
If she had resisted a little, she might have been able to keep at least a hundred, but she didn’t want to—and wouldn’t—fight back.
She turned and climbed onto her bunk, retrieving the phone that had been recording the whole time.
After checking to confirm the footage was intact, she put it away.
The phone was borrowed from Ma Da and the others. Though they were short on cash, they at least had phones.
It was nowhere near as advanced as the smartphones from her past life, but it could still take photos and record videos.
Zhao Zhu and her gang would never have imagined that Liu Yutong—who they saw as dirt-poor—would have a phone.
But Liu Yutong wasn’t planning to report them to the school administration just yet.
Two hundred yuan wasn’t enough to make them face real consequences.
Under Dragon Country’s laws, robbery of private property had to involve amounts between one thousand to three thousand yuan to be considered "significant."
Two hundred yuan might not even meet the threshold for filing a case.
Add to that the fact that they were students—and Zhao Zhu was the niece of the senior year group leader, Teacher Li—even if they were adults, it wouldn’t be easy to deal with them.
That was why Zhao Zhu could act so brazenly at school.
During night self-study, Liu Yutong, having skipped dinner, struggled to focus.
To make matters worse, she found many of the questions difficult to understand.
After all, it had been so long, and in her past life, she had spent years memorizing legal codes—high school knowledge had long faded from her mind.
Fortunately, she still vaguely remembered the content of the college entrance exam.
With a month left, though it was tight, she should at least be able to get into an undergraduate program, right?
Finally making it to 10:30 p.m., she left the classroom but didn’t return to the dorm. Instead, she headed straight for the school gate.
Yun Cheng was already waiting for her.
Not only did he bring information on seafood and lobster prices, but also a box of fried rice.
Liu Yutong didn’t exactly wolf it down, but she ate quickly, listening to Yun Cheng’s report between bites.
Once she had a general understanding, she handed him the phone and instructed him to buy a USB drive, find an internet café, and copy the video footage onto it.
Once everything is settled, he would come to the school to see her tomorrow, and then she would take them on a trip to the countryside.
