Chapter 21: Chasing After Qingduo, One Person Is Worth Two

"Sigh—" Qingduo sighed. This older sister is too weak! It would be strange if she didn't suffer a loss! Judging from her appearance, she is also a daughter from a poor family. Doesn't she know how these little people live? How can she get back what she deserves without making a scene and tearing off the mask?

Qingduo increasingly believed that what Lu Nong said was true. Apart from Lu Nong's honest temperament, that "Shrimp Shopkeeper" who couldn't appreciate her paintings was obviously no good person!

"Shameless! How dare she say that Zi Pian plagiarized her!"

"Zipian is clearly a talented person. Look at her poor appearance, she'll do anything for money!"

Amidst the jeers and insults, as Lu Nong found herself isolated and helpless, Qing Duo emerged from the crowd, cleared her throat, and declared loudly, "Sisters here, listen to me! Even the skinny sister can't argue, so how could she possibly be capable of lying? I think what she said might be true!"

Only a few people hesitated, while the radicals in the crowd shouted, "How dare you! You insulted our Zipian! You two are in cahoots!"

In short, the hesitant people came to their senses and joined the chorus of condemnation: "Yes! You're all in cahoots!"

"To aid and abet evil is utterly despicable!"

Qingduo was immediately dumbfounded. She had only expressed her opinion, so how did she become a stinking rat that everyone wanted to kill? Zi Pian's pursuers were truly terrifying! They firmly believed in Zi Pian—no, they believed in what they wanted to believe, and resolutely stood in front of Zi Pian like countless nine-toothed rakes raised high, ready to poke holes in her if anything she said didn't suit her taste.

With such dedication, they will succeed in whatever they do!

So she and Lu Nong were pushed outside the door.

The "Nine-Toothed Rakes" not only drove the two away, but many of them also took the opportunity to hit them, pinching and twisting them. Although Lu Nong had a conscience and held her back, she still got hit several times. The fairy-like hair bun that Fang Qing had styled that morning had also fallen to the mortal world.

Qingduo tossed her hair that was hanging in front of her face, like an enraged bull, and was about to rush inside when Lu Nong stopped her. She said sadly, "Forget it, I admit it. Thank you for speaking up for me, and for making you get beaten up."

"You admit it?" Qingduo's eyes widened in surprise, filled with disbelief. "You've already given up after such a short time?"

"I'm just asking you, did you write this book?"

Lu Nong sighed and nodded.

"Then don't give up!"

Lu Nong stared at her blankly, while Qing Duo said decisively, "You can't say no easily if you don't persevere to the end!"

Yes! She's not going to give up! She's clearly on the side of justice, but she was kicked out in public. She'll get her revenge where she was humiliated!

She took a few thumping steps forward, stood in front of the shop with her hands on her hips, and shouted: "You guys surnamed Sai! If you've got the guts, come out and show us! You conspired to set a trap and steal other people's work, you're utterly despicable! You deserve to be infamous for eternity!"

"Shopkeeper Sai, stop calling yourself 'Shopkeeper Sai,' call yourself 'Shopkeeper Sai Pig Dung,' 'Shopkeeper Sai Cow Dung,' whatever stinks! Everything you do stinks!"

Her fiery shouts attracted a large crowd of onlookers, quickly forming several layers deep. Qingduo then turned to the crowd and declared righteously, "Look everyone! This is the shop! They cheated this young lady! They changed the title and names of the stories she painstakingly wrote, putting someone else's name on them! This behavior is just like—"

He said to the mother holding her baby, "It's like taking away your own child." The mother suddenly hugged the child tighter.

To the vegetable vendor pushing his cart, he said, "It's like the money from selling all the vegetables was stolen." The vendor unconsciously clutched his money bag.

To the balding uncle, he said, "It's like a carefully nurtured seedling being suddenly pulled out." The uncle covered his head with his palm.

"They're all despicable and vile acts!" she cried, pointing at Lu Nong in utter grief. "Now you all understand how heartbroken this girl is!"

Lu Nong, who was standing to the side, was dumbfounded. When everyone's eyes fell on her, the grievances she had held for many days welled up in her heart, her eyes reddened, and tears fell involuntarily.

Qingduo pulled her to the side of the crowd and said sincerely, "Everyone, you must be parents or have brothers and sisters at home. If your daughters or sisters are deceived and humiliated, how can you swallow this insult!"

“This young lady, dressed in simple clothes, is like our daughter, like our sister. She is just an ordinary commoner like us, yet she was bullied by the unscrupulous shopkeeper. He wasn’t just bullying a young lady, but all of us here!”

"That's right!" everyone agreed, indignantly stating, "He's just abusing his power!"

Qingduo turned around, stood in the center of the crowd, and raised her arms, shouting, "Give me my money back!"

Everyone raised their hands and shouted in unison, "Give us our money back!!!"

"Return the book!" Qingduo called out again.

"Return the book!!!"

The overwhelming noise was like a tidal wave threatening to engulf the bookstore, with new waves surging in. Passing aunties and daughters searching for their relatives stood beside their loved ones, merging into the surge. Even a group of children babbled and waved along with Qingduo.

Faced with true power, the "Nine-Toothed Rakes" dared not confront it directly. They hid in the shadows of the bookstore, never expecting that the situation would suddenly reverse, and they would become the rats in the gutter.

Shopkeeper Sai wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief, bowed as he walked out of the bookstore, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Fellow villagers, fellow neighbors, please have mercy..."

Qingduo's voice was hoarse: "Now that you know we're fellow villagers, neighbors, and you've lied to us, do you think we're no longer the same? When you refuse to admit it, do you think we're no longer the same?"

"No, no, no, it was my fault. I was blind to your greatness, I..."

"You scoundrel!" Qingduo shouted.

"Yes, yes, yes, I remember now. This young lady is right. She gave me this book first. I was mistaken. No, I was also tricked by Zi Pian. I don't know where she copied this book from, so I assumed it was copied by this young lady, and that's why..."

"Well, Sailinfu! You and my father clearly agreed that my printing business would give you a discount, and you made me a famous artist. Now that something has gone wrong, you're putting all the blame on me! I'm going home right now to tell my father! I'll tell him never to do business with you again!" Zipian shouted, storming off without looking back.

"Hey! Zi Pian! Oh dear, I already told you..." Manager Sai tried to rush out of the crowd to chase after her, but Qing Duo grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back. He met Qing Duo's cold gaze, and his smile bloomed like a chrysanthemum in September.

Qingduo said coldly, "Don't go. Since you've already admitted that this book doesn't belong to Zipian, but to this young lady, when are you going to pay me back?"

A chorus of voices immediately erupted from the crowd: "Yes, give us our money back!" "Give us our money back!"

The angry roars were like thunderclaps in his ears. Manager Sai continued to clasp his hands in a fist and bow, and said with a forced smile, "I'll pay it back now, I'll pay it back now!"

“Listen to me, besides paying back the money immediately, this story is not allowed to be printed or sold again under Zi Pian’s name! If we find a copy on the market, I will make sure to get back the money for this sister’s copy! Don’t even think about making a penny of ill-gotten gains!” Qing Duo shouted.

"Good!" Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. Manager Sai slunk into the house and took out a silver note, handing it to Qing Duo. Qing Duo calmly accepted it, and a circle of curious heads peeked out from around her. She snapped the silver note into her palm and looked at each of them one by one. Seeing that they wisely stepped back, she walked to Lu Nong's side, peeking through a crack to indicate that she could see for herself.

After squinting to see clearly, Lu Nong nodded to her. Qing Duo folded the silver note, stuffed it into Lu Nong's hand, clapped her hands, and casually said to Manager Sai, "You may leave."

"Sigh!" Manager Sai sighed, quickly turned around and fled from the crowd. A large patch of dark sweat spread across his back, like the back of an eel, and he disappeared in an instant.

*

Having accomplished something significant, Qingduo hummed a little tune and continued strolling around, only now she had a companion with her.

"Why are you following me?" Qingduo asked.

"You've helped me so much, and I haven't thanked you yet," Lu Nong said reservedly.

“No need,” Qingduo said nonchalantly, “I’m not after your gratitude.”

“I know, my sister is a chivalrous and righteous person,” Lu Nong said with sincere admiration.

Qingduo became smug: "Well, if you say so, then so be it!"

"But I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. I just can't remember where," Lu Nong said hesitantly.

Qingduo suddenly stopped, and Lu Nong almost bumped into her because she couldn't dodge in time. Qingduo slowly turned around and said, "You and I have a connection of sixty coins."

"Sixty coins?" Lu Nong asked, puzzled.

“Three oranges from Jiyue Nunnery,” Qingduo said, enunciating each word clearly.

Lu Nong's eyes widened: "It's you? We had a falling out, yet you helped me without holding a grudge!" She then sighed, "I didn't expect you to be so young, yet so magnanimous and righteous."

"Hehe, I love hearing that!" Qingduo's lips almost curled up to the sky. She was about to reply to Lu Nong that the previous score had already been settled because she had fallen on her bottom. Of course, she wasn't one to hold grudges. Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed three burly men in the distance, holding wooden sticks, sneaking around and looking in their direction. When they saw her looking in their direction, the burly men disappeared in a flash.

Qingduo had a bad feeling. She took Lu Nong's hand and walked a few steps forward, but then suddenly stopped and looked back. She saw half of their figures that they hadn't had time to hide from.

"What's wrong?" Lu Nong noticed her staring behind her and kept peeking out as well.

Qingduo pulled her along quickly, whispering, "Someone is following us."

"Huh? Who is it?"

"Never mind that, escaping is the priority!" Qingduo's palms were sweating. Who else could it be? She had just offended that one person!

Ahead lay another row of shops, bustling with people. Lu Nong, panting, pointed to the fork in the road on the left: "We'll turn that way, there's a small path there, let's shake them off!"

"no!"

Going down any side streets is absolutely suicide!

"Run towards where there are lots of people!" Qingduo said, and then she and Lu Nong ran off.

She had experience with this. When she was a child, she would always choose a secluded place to teach her son a lesson for laughing at her family's poverty!

A note from the author:

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Qingduo: I am still radiant today!