Upon hearing this, Chen Ling finally understood the cause and effect, nodding slightly.

"Chief Chen Ling." Boss Li glanced around and took out a small bag of oil paper from the cabinet, handing it to Chen Ling, "This is a little token of appreciation from the shop...

You take it, if you want to eat cake in the future, just let me know, I will personally deliver it to your home." Chen Ling squinted his eyes and opened the oil paper, revealing two silver coins still smelling of cream in his palm.

His brows furrowed instantly.

Seeing Chen Ling frown, Boss Li, who was observant, felt a pang in his heart and immediately spoke, "Chief Chen Ling, this month has been filled with heavy rain, heavy snow, and disasters invading.

My shop hasn't earned much...

Next month, next month will definitely be better." Looking at the two silver coins in his hand, Chen Ling seemed to know what the residents of Frost Street were whispering about just now...

Chen Ling was about to speak when several figures emerged from surrounding shops.

"Chief Chen Ling, I am from the tailor shop across the street, just call me Xiao Xu..." "Chief Chen Ling, do you remember me? I fixed the pipes at your house before.

My hardware store is next door, this is a little token of appreciation from me..." "Chief Chen Ling, you are really handsome...

Have some free time to visit our shop? We have many beautiful girls in our shop..." "...” It seemed that after seeing the boss of the cake shop take the lead, the other shop owners followed suit, all smiling and handing oil paper packets to Chen Ling...

Judging by the weight, these bosses must have already discussed before his arrival, each shop giving two silver coins.

Except for the middle-aged woman who asked Chen Ling to visit their shop and gave him five coins in one go, then gave him a knowing look.

In just over ten seconds, Chen Ling had nearly twenty silver coins in his hand...

If converted to the time before the Great Catastrophe, it would already be an income of five thousand RMB, and this was just stepping into the street.

At this moment, Chen Ling suddenly understood why Ma Zhong, a law enforcement officer like that, could buy such a luxurious mansion in District Two.

If an ordinary law enforcer could openly bring in such profits using their position, then Ma Zhong, as the all-powerful law enforcement officer of District Three, must be making terrifying profits.

Moreover, his business also involved areas like Ice Spring Street, a black territory.

Judging from the reactions of the residents of Frost Street, such things seemed commonplace in the Aurora Domain...

"Sorry, I won't accept it." Chen Ling shook his head upon hearing these five words.

Upon hearing this, the faces of the crowd turned pale, and after exchanging glances, they cautiously asked, "So, what do you mean..." "No meaning, I just won't accept it." Chen Ling directly placed the money from the crowd on the cake counter, walked out, and continued towards the other end of Frost Street.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

The faces of many bosses became even more unsightly, gritting their teeth, they took out a few more silver coins from their pockets, stuffed them into their oil paper packets, and hurriedly followed.

"Chief Chen Ling, our revenue this month is indeed not good, please show us some mercy and give us a month off..." "Yes, Chief Chen Ling, we are all neighbors on the same street, please, please be lenient!" "If you don't take this money, we won't feel at ease...

If other law enforcers come, we won't have anyone to cover for us..." The voices of the few people speaking grew softer, but Chen Ling's heart became clearer.

They were not just giving money, but also a form of protection fee...

They wanted to continue operating in District Three, and it was not possible without someone covering for them.

And if he didn't take their money, they would be even more uncertain.

They thought Chen Ling's refusal was purely because the money they gave was too little.

To accept or not to accept...

Chen Ling squinted his eyes, and a thought suddenly emerged in his mind.

"Are you testing the cadre with this?" he said coldly.

As soon as this sentence came out, the other bosses were dumbfounded.

"I, we...

um, how much do you want, you tell us the amount first..." "I, Chen Ling, have never been interested in money." "Then what do you like, just say it, we will prepare it immediately!" Chen Ling slowly took out a peach from the convenience bag and handed it to Boss Li, "I want this kind, the exact same peach...

start with a truckload." With that, Chen Ling turned and left directly.

If these bosses were smart, they should go inquire where this peach was bought from, it wouldn't be difficult to find the old lady selling peaches on the next street...

In this way, they would have paid the old lady for the peaches and also received them, feeling at ease...

Hmm, this plan is perfect.

Chen Ling thought to himself.

As his figure gradually disappeared, the gaze of the bosses fell on Boss Li's hand...

Two of them collapsed to the ground with weak legs.

"He...

he he he...

he said, let us send him this kind of 'peach'?" The hardware store boss, a tough guy at 1.8 meters, was now pale with fear, "He...

calls this a peach!?" At this moment, in Boss Li's hand.

A bright red human heart slowly stopped beating...

[Audience Expectation +2] Seeing these words appear in the snow, Chen Ling was stunned.

How come the audience expectation has risen again for no reason? Chen Ling furrowed his brows, replaying everything he had just done, but still couldn't find where the increase in expectation was coming from...

Could it be that the audience was causing trouble again? As Chen Ling pondered suspiciously, he continued to move deeper into Frost Street.

More and more shop owners approached to build good relations, and Chen Ling handed out peaches from his bag, telling them to only accept this, then turned and left.

The effect of giving out peaches seemed to be better than Chen Ling had imagined.

After each distribution, the group of bosses no longer chased after him, they should have gone to buy peaches somewhere.

[Audience Expectation +2] [Audience Expectation +2] [Audience Expectation...] As more and more expectation values appeared, Chen Ling's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, he seemed to sense something, and looked down at the bag in his hand.

Only one peach remained, lying there, smooth and fragrant.

Chen Ling picked up the peach, examined it in his hand for a while, but found no issues, so he carefully took a bite.

Hmm, it's sweet.

At the same time, across the street, a woman in a house was peeking through the window at Chen Ling, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

Chen Ling finished the peach in two or three bites, by this time Frost Street was almost empty, he saw that it was not early, so he walked straight back to his alley.

When he got back to his doorstep, he noticed that Zhao's breakfast shop across the street had already pulled down the metal shutter, feeling slightly puzzled, normally even if Uncle Zhao wasn't open at this time, he would still have the door open preparing for the next day's ingredients...

Chen Ling didn't think much of it, went straight home, changed out of his black and red uniform, and sat on the doorstep.

After some time passed, he looked at the deserted street and fell into contemplation...

Why hasn't anyone come to deliver peaches yet?