Chapter 204 - 204 Meeting a Gangster at West Mountain Village
There were two horses pulling the carriage for this trip. Li Yu and Yu Niang sat in one, and Li Qing rode alone. The Xu brothers drove the carriage, and the light horses sped up a lot. They did not have to go to Qingzhou. The siblings arrived in Clearwater Town at the end of the afternoon on February 16. The town looked a little livelier than last year. The pedestrians on the road no longer looked sad, and there was smiles on their faces.
Li Qing got out of the car and found an inn called Tong Fu Inn to stay. After washing up, they went to the inn’s lobby.
The innkeeper was a slightly plump middle-aged man. Seeing Li Yu and the others arrive, he asked with a smile, “Dear guests, what do you want to eat?”
Li Qing smiled and said, “Give me a few of your best dishes, stir-fry two vegetables, and a pot of wine!”
“Alright! Serve the dishes!” After shouting loudly, the shopkeeper smiled and said, “From your accent, you’re from Clearwater Town?”
Li Qing nodded and said, “Yes! I’m from West Mountain Village. The Zhou Jii grocery store in front is owned by my brother-in-law.”
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and patted his head. “Oh! The Zhou Ji store has been closed since the drought. Are you his brother-in-law?”
“Yes! My sister and I are planning to sell the shop this time. We’ll go to the brokerage tomorrow morning. If you know of anyone who wants to buy the shop, you can inform them.”
“Alright, sure. The dishes are here. Please enjoy!”
After eating, Li Yu said to the Xu brothers, “Master Xu, the two of you are tired after driving for so long! Go and rest first. I’ll go back to West Mountain Village with Ah Qing and Yuniang!”
The Xu brothers knew that Li Yu didn’t need their protection. Moreover, they were indeed exhausted from driving for half a month. They nodded and replied, “Madam, we
will go and rest first.”
“Okay!” Li Yu and the other two didn’t want to take the car anymore. After settling the bill, they went out to West Mountain Village. When they arrived at the entrance of the town, Yu Niang looked at Green Mountain in the distance and smiled at Li Yu. “Madam, that’s Green Mountain, right? Is Qi Country really on the other side?”
Li Yu shook her head and said, “I don’t know too. Our family fled and moved here. I heard the same thing from others.”
They walked across the stone bridge and through the pass. Li Yu saw that the Zhou family’s fields had already been planted with winter wheat. The wheat had already turned green, and a large patch of green could be seen.
There were still long-term workers in the field clearing the ditch. When they walked to the village entrance, they saw a table under the big banyan tree at the village entrance and an umbrella. A young man dressed in fancy clothes was lying on a chair with his feet up and his eyes narrowed to rest. Behind him were two servants.
Li Yu thought to herself, There’s no need to look for him anymore. The fields at home must have been occupied by this kid.
When Li Yu, Li Qing, and Yu Niang were about to reach the table, a man leaned over and said to the man on the chair, “Third Young Master, two beauties and a handsome youth have arrived.”
The man opened his eyes and looked at Li Yu and the others with a stunned expression. The man stood up and gazed at them with a wretched smile. He walked toward Li Yu and Yu Niang. “Yo! My luck is good today. I’ve two beauties at once. Come, come, tell Third Master where you came from. Are you going to West Mountain Village or East Mountain Village? You must be tired! Sit down and rest!”
Li Qing stepped forward and stopped him. He scolded in disgust, “Get lost! Nothing good comes out of a dog’s mouth. I can tell from your appearance that you’re not a good person!”
The playboy said angrily, “You dog! How dare you scold me? I think you’re tired of living! Hu Wei, beat him to death!”
When the servant named Hu Wei heard this, he rolled up his sleeves and walked toward Li Qing. He reached out to grab Li Qing’s neck but Li Qing grabbed Hu Wei’s arm with one hand and pulled it back. Hu Wei’s arm was broken by Li Qing and he was kicked to the ground. Hu Wei held the bowl and cried, “Third Young Master, my hand was broken.”
Third Young Master flew into a rage. He pointed at Li Qing and said to another servant, “Hu Bao, attack. Beat him to death!”
Hu Baohu looked much stronger than Hu Wei. His figure was like an iron tower, and his muscles were bulging. He walked with loud steps. Yu Niang looked at Li Qing worriedly and said to Li Yu, “Madam, what should we do? I’ll keep watch here. Why don’t you go back and call the Xu brothers to help!”
Li Yu smiled nonchalantly. “Yu Niang, don’t worry, nothing will happen!”
Yu Niang clenched her fists and nervously watched Hu Bao walk toward Li Qing. He reached out to punch Li Qing’s nose. Li Qing reached out and grabbed Hu Bao’s fist. He raised his leg and kicked Hu Bao’s calf bone. With two cracking sounds, Hu Bao collapsed to the ground.
“It’s impolite not to reciprocate.” Li Qing sneered and walked towards Third Young Master. Third Young Master was so frightened that he hid under the table and shouted, “I’m the brother-in-law of the county magistrate. If you dare to hit me, I’ll get my brother-in-law to send you to jail!”
“I didn’t break the law. Do you think your brother-in-law is the king of heaven?! Do you think you can do whatever you want!” Li Qing grabbed Third Young Master’s hair and dragged him out from under the table. He punched him in the stomach. Third Young Master was knocked to the ground. He supported himself with one hand on the ground and held his stomach with the other. He roared and cursed, “Bastard, just you wait. I’ll get someone to deal with you immediately!”
Li Yu walked up to him and stepped on his hand. She crushed it forcefully, and the sound of bones shattering could be heard. Li Yu said coldly, “From your appearance, I know that you’ve harmed countless women. Tell me! Did your family occupy this land?!”
“Who are you?” Third Young Master asked with a trembling voice. His hand was in so much pain that his face was pale and cold sweat flowed. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.
The two servants were shocked when they saw this. Hu Wei couldn’t care less about the pain in his hand and hurriedly ran to the young master to check. Seeing the young master lying there motionless, he was so frightened that he cried.
Hu Bao’s leg bones were broken and he could not walk. Seeing that Hu Wei was crying, he hurriedly turned his head and shouted at the people working in the field, “Someone come quickly! Third Young Master has been killed!” When the busy workers in the field heard this, they ran down the banyan tree with hoes.
At this moment, someone from the village rushed over. A man looked at Li Yu and her brother for a while and shouted uncertainly, “Xiaoyu, Ah Qing, is it you two?”
Li Yu looked at the man with gray hair and a pale face and said, “Yes, Uncle. It’s us . May I know who you are?”
The man said excitedly, “I’m Xu Bin! My brother, Xu Lin, and I were the ones who escaped with you that year and returned halfway!”
Li Yu and Li Qing bowed. “Oh! Uncle Xu, are you guys alright?”