Chapter 314: Chapter 313: He’s Here 1
The next day.
Daisy Ginger slept until she naturally woke up.
It was rare that the little rascal didn’t come to bother her early in the morning. Daisy lazily stretched on the bed, got up, and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.
When she came out of the bathroom, a child’s sharp cry suddenly erupted from outside the window.
Daisy paused, recognizing that the cry belonged to Jasper White. She subconsciously opened the door and looked towards Granny Dixon’s house across the way.
What she saw gave Daisy a huge fright!
Four or five young men were in Granny Dixon’s yard, punching and kicking three-year-old Jasper White. Granny Dixon, having heard the crying from her room, rushed out to protect her grandson, but these young men showed no mercy even to an old woman. Their fists struck the old woman’s brow, causing her to cry out in pain.
Daisy instinctively wanted to rush over, but rationality took over. She fetched a small knife from her house, clutched it in her palm, and then hurried over shouting, "What are you doing!"
The four or five young men turned their heads in unison at the sound of Daisy’s voice, their gazes fixing on her face, suddenly freezing in place.
Granny Dixon was lying on the ground, blood at the corner of her mouth. Seeing Daisy approach, she struggled to sit up and anxiously said to Daisy, "Miss Lesser, don’t mind us, you should leave quickly!"
Daisy pressed her lips together, came over to shield the old woman and child behind her, and raised her eyes to look at the gangster-like youths.
They seemed to be only seventeen or eighteen. Perhaps several weren’t even adults yet, but they lacked the spirit and youthfulness of their age, instead exuding the thuggish and roguish aura of those who hadn’t studied.
Daisy could be intimidating when she put on a stern face. Having been in a position of power for a long time, a natural authority emanated from her presence. Those small-time punks froze instinctively under her gaze.
Granny Dixon looked very anxious. She ignored the still crying Jasper White in her lap, crawling up from the ground to grab Daisy’s sleeve and urged, "You must go, Miss Lesser. Don’t get involved. Go home now!"
Daisy tightened her grip on the knife, glanced at the young men, and asked coldly, "Why are you hitting people?"
The slightly older youth was the first to recover, saying to Daisy, "This kid stole our money!"
Jasper White cried out while in Granny Dixon’s arms, "I didn’t! I didn’t steal! They’re framing me!"
"If you didn’t steal it, where did our money go?" The man kicked at Jasper White, "Don’t waste time, hand over the money, or else I’ll beat you to death!"
Jasper continued to cry out, "I didn’t! Grandma, I didn’t steal! They’re lying!"
"..." Granny Dixon slowly got up from the ground, shielding both Daisy and Jasper White behind her, bending over, "How much money?"
The petty thugs exchanged glances, laughing, "Not much... just ten thousand!"
Granny Dixon exclaimed in disbelief, "Ten thousand?! You..."
Seeing her reaction, the gangsters immediately changed their attitude, "What, you don’t even have ten thousand?! Trying to trick us, aren’t you? Isn’t your son dating a rich woman in the city? Didn’t he send you money?"
Granny Dixon’s face turned grim, "Stop talking nonsense!"
"What nonsense! Everyone in the village knows about this," one stepped forward and kicked her hard on the leg, sneering, "Don’t stall, hand over the money, or I won’t let your family have a good year!"
"I-I don’t have that much," Granny Dixon flushed, "F-five thousand, maybe? That’s all I have, don’t hit the child, I’ll give you the money."
"Five thousand? What are you, a beggar?!" The leader of the thugs impatiently pushed her aside, staring at Daisy who was holding Jasper White. He had never seen such a beautiful woman; his eyes were fixated on her even as Granny Dixon tried shakily to block his view again.
"I really don’t have that much money," she tried desperately to shield Daisy with her frail body, "I’ll give you five thousand first, next month, when my son sends us money, I’ll give you more, okay?"
This was pretty much begging, but the men simply ignored her. One stepped forward, suddenly reaching out to touch Daisy’s face, taunting, "Is she your relative? Alright then, let her play with me for a day, and I’ll waive the five thousand, deal?"
Granny Dixon’s face changed upon seeing his actions, desperately trying to shield Daisy, "Miss Lesser has nothing to do with us. She’s from the city, she’ll be leaving in a few days..."
"Old woman, are you done?!" The man pushed her aside, "What’s wrong with me asking her on a date, for some romance? She’s from the city, so what? Think I’m not good enough for her?"
As he spoke, silence fell around them.
Anyone with eyes could see this man fancied Daisy.
Granny Dixon turned pale with fear. She glanced at Daisy, trying to signal her to leave them and run, but Daisy, with a stoic expression and pursed lips, did not move.
Leaving the old and infirm to escape on her own, Daisy couldn’t bring herself to do it.
She said, "How much money do you need? I’ll pay double, just promise not to bother their family again, can you do that?"
Upon hearing her words, the group turned their gazes on her.
"You’ll pay?" The thug leader eyed her, not sure what he was thinking, "Are you rich?"
"I don’t have much money, but I have between ten and twenty thousand. If you promise not to trouble them again, I’ll give you the money," she replied.
If money could solve the problem, then there was no need to make it complicated.
However, Daisy underestimated the situation.
Youths growing up in this chaotic, brutish environment might be more driven by primitive desires than by money; morals meant nothing here.
Touching Daisy’s face wasn’t enough for him, and he reached for her hand. Daisy stepped back, frowning at him, seeing the blatant malice in his eyes.
This primitive impulse and blatant stare were something Daisy had never encountered.
She stepped back further, her expression growing uglier by the moment.
He smiled at her but said nothing, his gaze brazen.
She set Jasper White down and suddenly ran towards her wooden house.
The sound of footsteps chased her, and a hand grabbed her wrist. Daisy’s mind buzzed, and she slashed at him with the knife in her hand.
"Shit!" the thug cursed but did not let go. Daisy only felt a sharp pain in her wrist as the knife handle slipped from her grasp.
"Fuck, you dare bring a knife?!" The man pressed down on her, slapped her, then grabbed her hair, "I’m giving you face by fancying you; didn’t you get surgery to hook up with men? Where’d you get your money, isn’t it from sleeping with men? I haven’t even minded your dirtiness, and you dare despise me?!"
In their logic, pretty women were all surgically enhanced; if a woman had money, it must have been earned by sleeping around.