Chapter 7: Beat the Dog!

Once the hour of the Rooster arrived, the pitch-black sky grew exceptionally deep.

The day had passed much like any other. Xie Yi had harvested the fishnets he’d cast in the small creek earlier, catching two large crucian carp, several swamp eels, a few loaches, and some river shrimp. Just as dusk was falling, Li Chang arrived; his father, Daoist Li, had sent over a basket of glutinous rice that someone had gifted him after he performed funeral rites.

Qiu Niang kept the loaches and eels alive for now, cleaned the fish, and boiled a large pot of soup with a few blocks of tofu and some chopped chili peppers.

She also steamed a pot of glutinous rice with red dates and lotus seeds. Using some pork skin given to them by Butcher Liu at the end of the alley, she greased the pot, scrambled some eggs, and stir-fried them with the steamed glutinous rice until it was fragrant.

The three of them wanted Li Chang to stay and eat, but Li Chang gestured toward the eastern wall, and with a silent, mutual understanding, they saw him off.

Qiu Niang still set aside a bowl of glutinous rice, keeping it warm in the pot for Li Chang.

The tofu and eggs were produced at home, the chili peppers were grown themselves, the fish cost nothing, and there was a red date tree in the courtyard. The nearby Huashi Town was the home of tribute lotus seeds; during the harvest season, helping out there not only earned wages but also provided some lotus seeds.

All in all, as long as one was diligent and lived near the water, there would always be food.

But living like this was not a long-term solution.

One couldn't just be satisfied with mere survival, could one? One had to accumulate some ability to handle emergencies.

In her previous life, after Lu Jia went to the capital, she quickly fell into a situation where she had no control over her own fate. After exchanging letters to confirm they were safe, she never had the time to keep in touch with Qiu Niang. Later, she heard that her treacherous father had sent people to Tanzhou to find her mother and had gifted them silver and shops, allowing them to live securely, which finally put her mind at ease.

Who would have thought? Xie Yi had lost his father at seven. He had read some books with his father, but later only received two years of instruction in abacus math from Zhang Hong. After Zhang Hong died, Xie Yi had to help with the family chores. In other words, after the age of nine, he hadn't learned any real skills.

Both the Xie and Zhang families had started in business, but aside from being good with an abacus, Xie Yi was completely ignorant of the deceit and trickery of the merchant world.

The shops and silver Lu Jie gave them were eventually swindled away by others.

It was clear that not knowing how to manage a business wasn't just a matter of going hungry; it would bring them disaster.

In his previous life, Xie Yi only lived to be eighteen. If he had possessed even a little ability to manage the family business, he could have kept the Xie family afloat, or at the very least, protected their assets.

After the meal, not wanting to waste lamp oil, Lu Jia sat by the stove, tending the fire and watching the bubbles rise in the large earthenware kettle, lost in thought.

Outside the window, a fine drizzle fell. Around the hour of the Dog, two cat calls came from the base of the side wall. She quietly set down the fire tongs, moved the kettle to the side to keep warm on the charcoal, placed another pot with half-boiled water on the fire, and then made her way in the dark to the woodshed under the west corner gate of the front courtyard.

Xie Yi and Li Chang were both in the woodshed.

Li Chang was wearing the servant clothes from the Zhang family that he had brought over that afternoon. Seeing Lu Jia, Xie Yi hurried over, gritting his teeth as he gestured for her to look toward the east wall: "Just as you predicted, they’ve had people watching from that side since this afternoon. They are dead set on sending you to the Li family. I can't believe Grandfather raised such people. I truly feel it wasn't worth all the help our grandfather gave the Zhang family back then!"

Xie Yi’s words were blunt but true.

Back then, the Zhang family was just a small merchant household. It was Old Master Xie who appreciated Zhang Hong’s character and mentored him, gradually helping him build his fortune. During his lifetime, Zhang Hong not only became a wealthy man in Shawan County but was also a notable figure in the merchant circles of Tanzhou City.

It could be said that without the Xie family’s support, the Zhang family would never have had their current wealth, let alone the ancestral shops they might have lost! How would it have been their turn—the He family—to live in a grand mansion and live in luxury? The He family’s own background was merely that of farmers; the fact that they could wear gold and silver was all thanks to the Xie family!

"They're here!"

As they spoke, a sound indeed came from under the front wall.

Lu Jia gave a signal, and Xie Yi walked out, using the straw stack they had moved to the side wall that afternoon as cover, and climbed up a wooden ladder.

Outside the wall, several people were huddled sneakily under the main gate, heads together, whispering about something. But they were holding a lantern, and as the light shone, it revealed the face of Li Er, who was clearly possessed by his own lust.

Xie Yi climbed down the ladder.

At the same time, Li Chang walked along the wall to the main gate, quietly unbolted it, and poked his head out: "Is that you, Second Master? It’s hard to get things done with too many people. Leave the servants outside and come in with me."

Hearing this, Li Er’s eyes lit up. Leaving the servants behind, he hurried to follow Li Chang inside.

"Where is your cousin?"

Li Chang smiled and bolted the door: "She's inside!"

While the two young men were busy, Lu Jia returned to the kitchen; the water on the stove had long since boiled.

As the door opened, the head on the east wall also poked out, hearing the commotion.

Lu Jia grabbed the kettle of boiling water, stepped onto the chicken coop built against the east wall, and poured it straight onto that head!

Cries of agony immediately erupted from the other side of the wall. Lu Jia was used to hard labor; she was not only strong but quick. Before the screams could even subside, she poured a second kettle!

The people on the other side were in too much pain to care about what was happening on the Xie side.

Just then, Li Er had just slipped into the courtyard.

Hearing the screams, he stopped abruptly. Before he could react, Xie Yi, who had been quietly walking behind him, instantly raised a door bolt and struck his knee!

Li Er fell to the ground.

Li Chang, who had been prepared, stuffed a wad of cotton into Li Er’s mouth without a word! At the same time, Xie Yi quickly tied Li Er’s hands and feet.

"Bag him!"

Xie Yi waved his hand, and Li Chang immediately shook out a sack and shoved Li Er inside.

...

Separated by a wall, Zhang Qi and the He woman had just laid their heads on their pillows when they heard a series of screams coming from the west wall. Both of them sat up in a flash.

"What’s going on?!" The He woman was still dazed.

"Master, it’s bad!"

Before Zhang Qi could react, the screams reached their door!

Recognizing the voice as one of the servants sent to watch the west wall, Zhang Qi didn't even bother putting on his shoes before rushing to open the door.

The servant scrambled toward him, pointing behind him, gasping for air: "M-Master, the Xie family, the Xie family has a trap!..."

"What?!"

Zhang Qi was shocked, but how could he care about what kind of trap? He ran off without even putting his shoes on properly.

When he reached the wall, he saw the two servants who had been watching there, either clutching their faces or their necks. Their upper bodies were soaked, and the wet areas were still steaming in the cold air. The exposed skin on their faces and necks was bright red, with blisters appearing one after another!

"What is the meaning of this?" Zhang Qi was horrified.

The servant who had reported earlier said: "Master, it’s the Xie family’s trickery! They poured boiling water on our heads!"

Zhang Qi stepped back two paces, looking toward the door that led to the Zhang family—the one that had long been locked—and gritted his teeth: "Open the lock!"

On this side, Xie Yi and Li Chang had dragged Li Er to the woodshed.

Both of them worked at the docks and had built up strength, while Li Er had hollowed out his body with wine and women; how could he possibly stand against these two young men?

By the time Zhang Qi reached the west wall, they had already beaten Li Er half to death in silence.

Zhang Qi opened the lock and stepped into the Xie family’s front courtyard with a lantern. Xie Yi and Li Chang, seeing their chance, released Li Er—whose hands were tied behind his back and mouth gagged—from the sack and shoved him out of the woodshed!

Li Er was a tyrant in Shawan County; he was used to bullying others. When had he ever been treated like this?

At this moment, only his upper body was bound and his mouth was gagged; his legs could still move. Seeing an opportunity, he scrambled toward the gate as fast as he could!

Zhang Qi had been on edge all day, guarding against Lu Jia escaping. Just as he entered the courtyard, he saw a figure frantically rushing out in the pitch-black night. How could he let him go? Without a second thought, he lunged forward and grabbed the man by the collar: "Where are you running to?"

Xie Yi and Li Chang, each wielding a stick, quietly moved behind Zhang Qi, extinguished the lantern in the servant’s hand with a few quick swipes, and then began beating Li Er.

Li Chang, while beating him, disguised his voice and cursed: "How dare you plot against our cousin! I’ll beat you to death, you piece of trash! Do you really think our Zhang family is so blinded by greed that we’d sell our niece to a bastard like you?

"That was just to trick you!

"I didn't expect that our mistress was just passing a message, and you’d actually have the guts to come to the Xie house in the middle of the night to climb the wall?

"Don't you have a brain? If you dare to defile our cousin, do you think her uncle and aunt would just stand by and watch? Let me beat you to death to vent the anger of our Master and Mistress!"

The words came out like a machine gun, and the sticks fell like drumbeats. Not only were the Zhang family servants stunned, but Zhang Qi was so shocked he couldn't speak!

The rainy night was already dark, and once the lantern was dropped, the whole courtyard became pitch black. Who was who? How could anyone see clearly?

Zhang Qi knew the Xie family was up to something, but he had only been guarding against Lu Jia escaping. He had never considered anything else!

The moment he grabbed Li Er, he felt something was wrong—this person didn't look like Lu Jia, and he seemed to be tied up. Why would there be a tied-up person in the Xie house?!

But before he could look closely, the man was being beaten!

—Who were these two people who had popped out?

And what was this about them beating someone in the name of his Zhang family?

And who exactly was the person being beaten?!

Listening to these words, Zhang Qi was terrified!

The answer seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, but in this darkness, he couldn't see the person being beaten, nor could he see who was doing the beating or speaking.

Only one thing he was certain of: the people doing the beating were definitely not from his Zhang family.

He had been set up!

Realizing this, he shivered in the cold wind and hurriedly shouted: "Stop!"

How could Xie Yi and Li Chang listen to him? They took advantage of the darkness to beat Li Er until he was left with nothing but ragged breaths.

Zhang Qi panicked: "Light the lanterns, light the lanterns!"

The servants scrambled to find the lanterns. Xie Yi took one last kick at Li Er’s backside before quickly retreating into the backyard.

Li Chang walked quickly to the main gate, pulled the bolt, and threw the door wide open.

Li Er had been beaten until his skin was torn and his lungs felt like they were exploding. Suddenly, the gag was pulled out, and he could speak. Seeing the gate wide open, he remembered he had brought men with him!

If he didn't call for help now, when would he?

He screamed at the top of his lungs: "Help! Someone help me! Destroy the Zhang family, destroy the Zhang family!"

When that raspy voice came out, Zhang Qi felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him!

—It was Li Er!

It really was him!

When he first heard Li Chang’s words, Zhang Qi had been suspicious, but at the time, the blame was being shifted onto him, and he was too busy to think, nor did he believe Li Er would have any reason to be here in the middle of the night.

Now that he confirmed it was indeed Li Er, Zhang Qi couldn't even hold the lantern in his hand!

"Dare to trick our master? I'll beat you to death!"

Before Zhang Qi could recover, three or four burly men rushed in with sticks. Seeing their target by the light of the lanterns, they began raining blows down on Zhang Qi!...

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(End of chapter)