Is her name really Xiaohua? Eric Carter, sweating profusely, hurriedly nodded and said, “Yes, this morning I heard Third Sister-in-law—that is, your mother—talking about delivering eggs.”

As he spoke, Eric Carter looked at Director Clark and said, “Director Clark, may I have a word with you?” He wanted to reveal his identity and quickly turn this big issue into a small one, and the small one into nothing.

But who knew Director Clark was already fuming with rage. Seeing this unknown young man playing a double act, and that little girl, so young yet so cunning, even knowing how to cooperate, he was so angry he was about to explode. He cursed, “Bullshit! I think you’re an enemy sabotaging the socialist economy!”

This was exactly the prototype of “You talk law to him, he acts like a rascal; you act like a rascal, he talks law to you.”

However, Director Clark’s words touched Eric Carter’s sore spot. Eric Carter had a rough childhood; his parents were in a bad situation when he was born, and he was taken away by a nanny right after birth. He was closest to this nanny, who, in his heart, was his real mother. Unfortunately, when he was eight, his wandering foster mother died of illness in Guangning. He was then adopted by a local family with the same surname, and his household registration was moved there. But his new adoptive parents treated him poorly, making him work in the fields from a young age. It wasn’t until he ran away in his teens that his biological parents finally found him and sent him to the army.

But when it came to his birth mother, Eric Carter could never get past that hurdle in his heart. To this day, he’s never called her “Mom,” always feeling that this title should forever belong to the foster mother who accompanied him through hardship and died in misery. Without her, he wouldn’t have survived—he’d probably have been fed to the wild dogs long ago.

All of this, Scott Dawson knew. He had even seen the chief—Eric Carter’s birth mother—secretly wiping away tears.

So, whether Director Clark’s “bullshit” insulted Eric Carter’s foster mother or his birth mother, in Scott Dawson’s eyes, it was an unforgivable mistake.

Director Clark didn’t care if Eric Carter’s face had turned cold and was still loudly berating him when Scott Dawson suddenly stood up and kicked Director Clark squarely in the lower back. Director Clark let out a miserable scream, staggered forward a few steps, and collapsed onto the barber chair like a limp noodle. The huge momentum caused him to grab the chair and crash to the ground with a “thud.”

The law enforcement officers nearby were stunned for a moment, then all rushed forward. Not only Scott Dawson, but even around Eric Carter, several people surrounded and started fighting. The barbershop instantly descended into chaos.

Both Eric Carter and Scott Dawson were in great shape, having come through gunfire and bullets. Especially Eric Carter, who felt even stronger than before—three or five strong men were nothing to him. But after all, they were outnumbered, and couldn’t take everyone down at once. In the chaos, he also took several punches to the face.

Old Mr. Miller, seeing the shop in utter chaos, heard a “bang” as a chair thrown by someone smashed the mirror in front of the barber chair, shattering it into hundreds of cracks.

Old Mr. Miller was so distressed he was about to cry. He ran out of the barbershop shouting, “Somebody help! There’s a fight! Come break it up!”

Just then, a green three-wheeled motorcycle drove up on Willow Lane, carrying three uniformed police officers. Seeing the situation, they quickly got out and rushed into the barbershop. The tall, thin one in the lead shouted, “Stop! All of you, stop!”

Director Clark, struggling to get up, was overjoyed to see them. He recognized the man—Brian Howard, the chief of the Chengguan Police Station, who usually called him brother. He immediately shouted, “Howard Jr., arrest these two thugs! Damn it, they dared to assault law enforcement officers—they’re counterrevolutionaries, counterrevolutionaries!”

Amid Director Clark’s hysterical yelling, Brian Howard saw Eric Carter and Scott Dawson tangled up in the fight and was instantly stunned.

In the entire county’s public security system, if Eric Carter had any close allies, it was this station chief, Brian Howard. Also a former soldier, Brian Howard was just over thirty and often drank with Eric Carter and Scott Dawson, their personalities a good match. Of course, after more than a decade of working locally, Brian Howard was much more streetwise than Eric Carter and Scott Dawson.

Seeing several people fighting with Eric Carter, and a bruise around Eric Carter’s eye, Brian Howard didn’t say a word and strode straight toward Director Clark.

Director Clark pointed at Eric Carter and shouted, “Just you wait, see how I’ll deal with you! ...Ah—” Before he could finish, he let out a miserable scream—Brian Howard had kicked him in the stomach, sending him staggering again, tripping over a fallen chair, and landing flat on his back.

“Fuck you, you commerce guys are rebelling now, even dare to hit our political commissar! Beat the hell out of these bastards for me!” Brian Howard spat fiercely on the ground. In fact, before he even finished speaking, the two young officers had already rushed over. Director Clark’s group was already at a disadvantage, and now they were immediately beaten until they were crying for their mothers.

About ten minutes later, the barbershop finally quieted down. Director Clark was handcuffed to a chair, and his men were ordered to squat on the floor, faces bruised and swollen, whimpering softly, and about to get slapped again.

The barbershop had already closed and boarded up the windows to keep outsiders from seeing what was happening inside. After all, everyone was in uniform, and if word got out about this group brawl, none of them would come out of it unscathed.