Yang Yi didn’t look haggard at all when he was released from solitary confinement. He actually looked very lively.
He was able to eat well, sleep well, exercise well and he even had a magazine to read. Yang Yi’s life was even more comfortable than when he was staying in his own cell.
This time around, Yang Yi was sent directly back to his cell. Zhang Yong lazily asked when he saw Yang Yi return, “You’re back. Your life during solitary confinement must have been comfortable.”
“Comfortable. It was in fact very comfortable.”
Zhang Yong thought Yang Yi was actually being sarcastic. Thus, he waved his hand and said, “I only asked you to snatch some food. I didn’t ask you to cause a big scene though. The rubber bullets don’t taste great, do they?”
In actuality, the most painful thing he had suffered over the past few days was, in fact, the rubber bullets. It would have been fine had Zhang Yong not reminded him. Now that Yang Yi had recalled what happened, the spot he was hit had begun to ache.
“Fuck! It hurts like hell now!”
Yang Yi took off his shirt and checked out his bruised chest. The injuries wouldn’t be going away any time soon. Moreover, it hurt like hell whenever he touched it.
After he put his clothes back on, Yang Yi took out two magazines from his pants and passed them over to Zhang Yong, “Hey, I’ll give you something nice.”
“Wow, that is nice. Even I don’t get this type of treatment.”
Yang Yi went to sit on his bed and started contemplating whether he should inform Zhang Yong he had come to an agreement with Owen. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally decided to let Zhang Yong know.
“There’s a thing. I made a deal with Owen.”
“Oh? How did you manage to do that?”
“One hundred thousand dollars.”
“Expensive. You’ve overpaid. You could have solved it with ten thousand dollars. Are you too wealthy or are you stupid?”
“It's for a year.”
“It’s more acceptable if the duration is for a year. Even still, you paid too much. At most, you should have only paid him thirty thousand dollars. We’re in prison after all. Fights between inmates are just too common. No one would really care even if someone dies. Without a doubt, it would be problematic if someone did die but there’s no need for you to kill anyone. So, a hundred thousand dollars is definitely very expensive.”
Yang Yi helplessly said, “Fine, I overpaid. Not like I have any experience with this kind of matter. I started off with an initial offer of twenty thousand dollars. Fuck, I have really lost out big time here!”
Zhang Yong took his gaze away from the magazine and looked at Yang Yi, “Just take it as a lesson bought.”
Yang Yi let out a bitter laugh and said, “Sure! Can you help me find a phone? I need to make a phone call.”
“You didn’t make the request while you were with Owen but actually came back and asked me?”
“I would like to call the Captain. Such matters are best kept private.”
“Sure, I will pass it to you tomorrow.” Zhang Yong then started reading the magazine.
Yang Yi couldn’t help asking, “Are we not going to train today?”
“Train on your own. I’m going to read this magazine. So, I won’t be training with you. We’ll pick things up again tomorrow. You shouldn’t break the other inmate's arms or even cause too grievous of an injury. As long as the other inmates don’t complain, you’ll be fine because the guards won’t bother to take action for every single fight. Just don’t fight in the canteen. If you want to fight, do it during free activity period.”
Yang Yi then slowly proclaimed with confidence, “Sure, I’ll remember that next time. Only fight during free activity period.”
“Don’t forget to continue asking for food.”
“Fuck! What do mean by asking for food? It sounds horrible when you phrase it like that.”
“How should I say it then?” Asked Zhan Yong.
“I’m not a beggar. So, there’s no way I’m going to ask for food. You should be saying snatching food.”
“Hey, the beggars nowadays don’t want food. What they want is money.” Zhang Yong retorted before he continued on, “Are you very free now?”
Yang Yi missed Zhang Yong over the past three days while he was in solitary confinement. Now that he was back, it was quite enjoyable just passing time chatting with Zhang Yong.
He was in solitary confinement for exactly three days. Thus, he was only released after the lunch hour had already passed. It meant there was still dinner to come and he still had an opportunity to cause some more trouble later. However, he wouldn’t break anyone’s arms this time around. After all, it wasn’t easy dealing with Owen.
After chatting with Zhang Yong throughout the evening, dinner time soon arrived. Yang Yi’s spirits improved by a hundredfold as a result.
*****
Zhang Yong sat alone eating his meal while Yang Yi stood beside the long queue holding a tray.
The short and fat Black man was also standing beside Yang Yi with two other Latinos and a White man. They were all collecting food for their bosses. No one had confronted Yang Yi this time as he had earned the right to collect food.
This was the outcome of the previous fight. The food distribution had pretty much already been determined.
Every gang had sources from which to collect their food tribute. Yang Yi would either have to fight for his share from the other gangs or he would have to discover a new source of food tribute.
Since Yang Yi had defeated a Black gang, those food tributes which were originally theirs now belonged to him. This arrangement was no different than how gangs fought over territory.
A Black man arrived in front of Yang Yi and obediently handed over his main course to Yang Yi. It didn’t really matter to him who he had to hand over the food to since none of the disputes had anything to do with him.
After a while, another Black man came over to handover his food.
Things progressed nicely and Yang Yi was very satisfied with the results. At that moment, a Mexican who was rather bulky and fierce walked passed him.
Although it wasn’t exactly a gang, this Mexican had a few underlings of his own. It ensured they had sufficient strength not to be bullied by others. Regardless, the important factor here was this Mexican had once scolded Yang Yi.
“Hey, you!”
Yang Yi pointed his finger at the Mexican and gravely said, “Give me your food!”
Just when Yang Yi thought he would have to use force, the Mexican only glanced at Yang Yi before handing over his food. The Mexican then walked away with his head lowered. This was totally out of Yang Yi’s expectations. Yang Yi was rather surprised because he didn’t have to force the Mexican into submission.
A white man then walked in front of Yang Yi and took the initiative to hand over his own food. He then gave Yang Yi a respectful smile, “Greetings.”
One doesn’t hit a smiling face. Thus, Yang Yi indifferently asked, “What do you want?”
The white man then took out two packs of cigarettes and gave him a hopeful look, “This is for you. Can I be your follower? I know the rules well. It’s troublesome for you to hold the tray here yourself. I can do it on your behalf.”
Yang Yi realized the man was there seeking refuge.
“Hmm, what’s your name? What crime did you commit to end up in here?”
“My name is Kerry. I was sentenced to serve fifteen years for larceny, robbery and aggravated assault. I’ve served six years now.”
Yang Yi nodded and heavily said, “You’ll be under my protection in the future. Just make sure you do things smartly.”
Kerry nodded repeatedly and laughed, “Thanks a lot, Boss! Thank you!”
Since Yang Yi was carrying a tray, Kerry placed the two packs of cigarettes inside Yang Yi’s trouser pocket. With a smile plastered on his face, Kerry said, “Boss, you should take a seat. This sort of task should be done by me.”
Yang Yi was in a wonderful mood. Now, he also had a henchman to do his bidding. This type of feeling was just great. Absolutely great!
Yang Yi didn’t look haggard at all when he was released from solitary confinement. He actually looked very lively.
He was able to eat well, sleep well, exercise well and he even had a magazine to read. Yang Yi’s life was even more comfortable than when he was staying in his own cell.
This time around, Yang Yi was sent directly back to his cell. Zhang Yong lazily asked when he saw Yang Yi return, “You’re back. Your life during solitary confinement must have been comfortable.”
“Comfortable. It was in fact very comfortable.”
Zhang Yong thought Yang Yi was actually being sarcastic. Thus, he waved his hand and said, “I only asked you to snatch some food. I didn’t ask you to cause a big scene though. The rubber bullets don’t taste great, do they?”
In actuality, the most painful thing he had suffered over the past few days was, in fact, the rubber bullets. It would have been fine had Zhang Yong not reminded him. Now that Yang Yi had recalled what happened, the spot he was hit had begun to ache.
“Fuck! It hurts like hell now!”
Yang Yi took off his shirt and checked out his bruised chest. The injuries wouldn’t be going away any time soon. Moreover, it hurt like hell whenever he touched it.
After he put his clothes back on, Yang Yi took out two magazines from his pants and passed them over to Zhang Yong, “Hey, I’ll give you something nice.”
“Wow, that is nice. Even I don’t get this type of treatment.”
Yang Yi went to sit on his bed and started contemplating whether he should inform Zhang Yong he had come to an agreement with Owen. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally decided to let Zhang Yong know.
“There’s a thing. I made a deal with Owen.”
“Oh? How did you manage to do that?”
“One hundred thousand dollars.”
“Expensive. You’ve overpaid. You could have solved it with ten thousand dollars. Are you too wealthy or are you stupid?”
“It's for a year.”
“It’s more acceptable if the duration is for a year. Even still, you paid too much. At most, you should have only paid him thirty thousand dollars. We’re in prison after all. Fights between inmates are just too common. No one would really care even if someone dies. Without a doubt, it would be problematic if someone did die but there’s no need for you to kill anyone. So, a hundred thousand dollars is definitely very expensive.”
Yang Yi helplessly said, “Fine, I overpaid. Not like I have any experience with this kind of matter. I started off with an initial offer of twenty thousand dollars. Fuck, I have really lost out big time here!”
Zhang Yong took his gaze away from the magazine and looked at Yang Yi, “Just take it as a lesson bought.”
Yang Yi let out a bitter laugh and said, “Sure! Can you help me find a phone? I need to make a phone call.”
“You didn’t make the request while you were with Owen but actually came back and asked me?”
“I would like to call the Captain. Such matters are best kept private.”
“Sure, I will pass it to you tomorrow.” Zhang Yong then started reading the magazine.
Yang Yi couldn’t help asking, “Are we not going to train today?”
“Train on your own. I’m going to read this magazine. So, I won’t be training with you. We’ll pick things up again tomorrow. You shouldn’t break the other inmate's arms or even cause too grievous of an injury. As long as the other inmates don’t complain, you’ll be fine because the guards won’t bother to take action for every single fight. Just don’t fight in the canteen. If you want to fight, do it during free activity period.”
Yang Yi then slowly proclaimed with confidence, “Sure, I’ll remember that next time. Only fight during free activity period.”
“Don’t forget to continue asking for food.”
“Fuck! What do mean by asking for food? It sounds horrible when you phrase it like that.”
“How should I say it then?” Asked Zhan Yong.
“I’m not a beggar. So, there’s no way I’m going to ask for food. You should be saying snatching food.”
“Hey, the beggars nowadays don’t want food. What they want is money.” Zhang Yong retorted before he continued on, “Are you very free now?”
Yang Yi missed Zhang Yong over the past three days while he was in solitary confinement. Now that he was back, it was quite enjoyable just passing time chatting with Zhang Yong.
He was in solitary confinement for exactly three days. Thus, he was only released after the lunch hour had already passed. It meant there was still dinner to come and he still had an opportunity to cause some more trouble later. However, he wouldn’t break anyone’s arms this time around. After all, it wasn’t easy dealing with Owen.
After chatting with Zhang Yong throughout the evening, dinner time soon arrived. Yang Yi’s spirits improved by a hundredfold as a result.
*****
Zhang Yong sat alone eating his meal while Yang Yi stood beside the long queue holding a tray.
The short and fat Black man was also standing beside Yang Yi with two other Latinos and a White man. They were all collecting food for their bosses. No one had confronted Yang Yi this time as he had earned the right to collect food.
This was the outcome of the previous fight. The food distribution had pretty much already been determined.
Every gang had sources from which to collect their food tribute. Yang Yi would either have to fight for his share from the other gangs or he would have to discover a new source of food tribute.
Since Yang Yi had defeated a Black gang, those food tributes which were originally theirs now belonged to him. This arrangement was no different than how gangs fought over territory.
A Black man arrived in front of Yang Yi and obediently handed over his main course to Yang Yi. It didn’t really matter to him who he had to hand over the food to since none of the disputes had anything to do with him.
After a while, another Black man came over to handover his food.
Things progressed nicely and Yang Yi was very satisfied with the results. At that moment, a Mexican who was rather bulky and fierce walked passed him.
Although it wasn’t exactly a gang, this Mexican had a few underlings of his own. It ensured they had sufficient strength not to be bullied by others. Regardless, the important factor here was this Mexican had once scolded Yang Yi.
“Hey, you!”
Yang Yi pointed his finger at the Mexican and gravely said, “Give me your food!”
Just when Yang Yi thought he would have to use force, the Mexican only glanced at Yang Yi before handing over his food. The Mexican then walked away with his head lowered. This was totally out of Yang Yi’s expectations. Yang Yi was rather surprised because he didn’t have to force the Mexican into submission.
A white man then walked in front of Yang Yi and took the initiative to hand over his own food. He then gave Yang Yi a respectful smile, “Greetings.”
One doesn’t hit a smiling face. Thus, Yang Yi indifferently asked, “What do you want?”
The white man then took out two packs of cigarettes and gave him a hopeful look, “This is for you. Can I be your follower? I know the rules well. It’s troublesome for you to hold the tray here yourself. I can do it on your behalf.”
Yang Yi realized the man was there seeking refuge.
“Hmm, what’s your name? What crime did you commit to end up in here?”
“My name is Kerry. I was sentenced to serve fifteen years for larceny, robbery and aggravated assault. I’ve served six years now.”
Yang Yi nodded and heavily said, “You’ll be under my protection in the future. Just make sure you do things smartly.”
Kerry nodded repeatedly and laughed, “Thanks a lot, Boss! Thank you!”
Since Yang Yi was carrying a tray, Kerry placed the two packs of cigarettes inside Yang Yi’s trouser pocket. With a smile plastered on his face, Kerry said, “Boss, you should take a seat. This sort of task should be done by me.”
Yang Yi was in a wonderful mood. Now, he also had a henchman to do his bidding. This type of feeling was just great. Absolutely great!
