Chapter 7: Uncle Erba

The onlookers had all dispersed, and by now, only a few people remained. One of them appeared to be quite elderly; Chen Jie knew him as Chen Erba, an elder of his own clan.

He had a slight disability in his leg and made a living by weaving bamboo baskets.

According to their lineage, Chen Jie should address him as Uncle Erba.

The Great Qian was a dynasty established by a foreign race, and as such, they implemented a policy of enslavement toward the local populace. The most significant aspect of this was that Han commoners were not allowed to have their own names; they had to use numbers instead, much like livestock being tagged.

For instance, Chen Jie’s original self was called Chen Ninety-Four.

Uncle Erba leaned on his cane, his gait unsteady, and came up to Ninety-Four. "Ninety-Four," he said, "you were too impulsive. It’s not like when your uncle was still alive. You beat Lu San’s wife like that—given Lu San’s temperament, he’s bound to come looking for trouble."

"That Lu San is a big man, and he’s close with the Fishing Gang. If you provoke him, I’m afraid you won’t have a good time of it."

Chen Jie pondered this for a moment and said, "Mm, I know, Uncle Erba."

Uncle Erba continued, "Mm, as long as you’re aware of it. As for today’s matter, I’ll try to find a way to keep Lu San from bothering you."

After saying this, Uncle Erba patted Chen Jie on the shoulder. "You, just behave yourself. Stop gambling and live a good life with Yunjin."

With that, he limped away.

Once Uncle Erba left, the few people behind him also departed one after another, though they all remarked that Chen Jie had been impulsive today. If he had truly provoked Lu San, there would be no more peaceful days ahead; everyone in the village knew what a rogue that Lu San was.

After the people had left, Chen Jie looked at Su Yunjin, who was standing dazed in the same spot. Their eyes met, and there was a hint of awkwardness.

Chen Jie was the first to break the silence. "Are you alright?"

Su Yunjin replied, "I... I'm fine."

Chen Jie said, "That’s good."

He then walked into the house. Seeing little Su Yunrui, who was holding a basket of wild vegetables and watching him with vigilance, Chen Jie ignored her and went straight to find a clay basin.

He drew a bucket of water from the well in the courtyard and began to skin and clean the rabbit.

His movements were quite skillful.

Su Yunjin stood in the courtyard, stunned. Chen Jie’s way of handling things today had completely exceeded her expectations. She had expected to be thoroughly humiliated by Lu Qin-shi, but she never imagined her own husband would step up so forcefully. She had to admit, this feeling of being protected was truly wonderful.

"Um, Yunjin, go heat up the pot. Do we have any soybean oil or rapeseed oil at home? Find it; we’re having stewed rabbit meat today."

Hearing this, Su Yunjin was taken aback. She watched Chen Jie processing the rabbit for a moment before walking over to him. "Um, won't beating Lu San's wife today bring trouble upon you?"

Chen Jie paused at the question and looked up at Su Yunjin. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze and touched her face, wondering if there was something on it.

Only then did Chen Jie speak: "No trouble. Just a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong."

Chen Jie was truly not afraid of this so-called Lu San. In the original owner's memories, Lu San had never practiced any martial arts; he only relied on being taller and bigger than Chen Jie to intimidate the original Chen Ninety-Four.

Chen Jie, however, was not afraid of such things. Before he transmigrated, he had worked as a bouncer and had been in many fights, giving him a wealth of experience. Most importantly, he had once been fortunate enough to study self-defense and counter-attacks under Chen Hegao for a few days.

This gave him deep expertise in such no-nonsense, street-style combat.

Therefore, he didn't take Lu San’s so-called retaliation seriously. If he were facing a trained martial artist, he might have to think of other methods.

For instance, on the way to the man’s house to cause trouble, he could find a dump truck to run him over.

Of course, there were no dump trucks in this world, but perhaps he could design a rolling stone trap, or poison the man’s food...

As long as one wanted to, there was always a way.

But Lu San didn't warrant that.

As he spoke, Chen Jie continued to skin the rabbit and remove its organs, paying no more attention to Su Yunjin.

Seeing that Chen Jie was ignoring her, Su Yunjin hesitated for a moment before returning to the house to wash the wild vegetables she had dug up that day.

Su Yunrui was still somewhat afraid of Chen Jie and stayed far away.

She only watched with curiosity as Chen Jie skinned the rabbit.

She thought to herself, "The bunny looks so delicious!"

But she didn't dare to get close; she had been truly terrified by Chen Jie’s beatings in the past.

And so, the entire courtyard fell into silence.

Meanwhile, at Uncle Erba’s house not far away, Uncle Erba had returned, leaning on his cane.

He was met by an elderly woman with a weathered face. She looked at him and said, "Your legs aren't good, yet you’re wandering everywhere. You aren't weaving the baskets for today, leaving poor Huzi to do all the work alone."

Uncle Erba replied, "Things were quite rowdy at Ninety-Four’s place. I thought I should go check on him. His uncle was kind to our family; I can't just ignore him."

"Ignore, ignore! That degenerate gambler Ninety-Four has already squandered his uncle’s massive estate. Even if you squeezed every drop of oil out of your frail body, how much could you possibly give? Can you fill his bottomless pit?"

Uncle Erba sighed. The woman continued, "It’s just a pity for that girl, Yunjin. By the way, that shrew from Lu San’s house didn't give Yunjin a hard time, did she?"

Uncle Erba said, "She did. I intended to intervene, but Ninety-Four came back."

"Ah! That god-forsaken wretch, did he help an outsider bully Yunjin again?" the woman asked, her eyes widening.

Uncle Erba replied, "No, Ninety-Four helped Yunjin beat that shrew!"

"What!"

The woman’s eyes went wide with shock. She then asked, "Has that god-forsaken wretch changed his ways?"

Uncle Erba said, "It seems he has changed a bit."

The woman then said, "This is bad. Lu San and his wife are both rogues and shrews. If Ninety-Four has provoked that couple, won't he be in for a disaster?"

Uncle Erba frowned in worry. "Wife, go get those fifty wen we have in the house."

"Ah? What do you need money for?"

Uncle Erba looked at her and said, "I told you to get it, so get it."

"No! That money is what I’ve been saving for Huzi to get a wife. I can't give it to you."

"Ugh, you stubborn woman! You won't even listen to me now? Get it!"

Uncle Erba suddenly barked, his expression extremely stern. Despite his slight disability, when he truly got angry, even Aunt Erba didn't dare to defy him.

Uncle Erba then leaned on his cane and went into the courtyard, where he saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy weaving a basket with rattan. The small knife in his hand was trimming the branches off the rattan with lightning speed—he was very skilled.

"Huzi, go scoop up five jin of sorghum rice and take it to your brother Ninety-Four. His family has run out of food."

"Alright, Dad."

The boy stood up. The sunlight shone on him, revealing his bronze-colored, sturdy skin—a result of working shirtless while weaving baskets for so long.

The boy stood up and went into the house, and then the sound of the woman’s scolding could be heard from inside.

"More grain? We can't go on living like this! You two heartless fools, just keep filling that bottomless pit with our money and grain..."

Listening to the woman’s scolding from inside the house, Uncle Erba sat down at his weaving spot, picked up a piece of rattan, and began to weave, muttering to himself, "I can't just ignore it..."