Chapter 82 published feedback: The life of a child bride was better, how could she have died...?

Bao'er's story was published as quickly as possible. Many people who follow Ta Kung Pao hadn't even seen the content yet, but just seeing Miss Qiu's name made their hearts skip a beat—who was she targeting this time?

After Yao Xiaoyu published her first article under the pen name Miss Qiu, which immediately caused a huge uproar, many people nicknamed Miss Qiu "Qiu Yidao" (meaning "Qiu the One-Cut"), which spread widely and became a public nickname.

Martial arts are like dragons with spears, and literary arts are like knives with pens. No matter how powerful or wealthy you are, if Miss Qiu's article, transformed into an invisible knife, sweeps across you, you will at least be left with a broken leg to survive, and even then, it depends on whether others are willing to let you live. Pure hatred might spare a way out, but political struggles often leave no survivors.

In this era of fame and fortune, people can truly be killed and their bodies thrown into the Huangpu River!

When Yao Xiaoyu learned of this nickname, she almost dug a Barbie castle out with her toes. However, her embarrassment could not stop Comrade Yidao's fame from spreading far and wide. Qiu Yidao's name was spread more and more widely by the people he had been swept up by the article. Unsurprisingly, he became famous in Shanghai and continued to spread to other cities.

...

"Can't Qiu Yidao just shut up for once?"

In the small room, a man wearing a tattered long gown and missing a front tooth complained to a familiar pen name, but his tone sounded gloating no matter how you looked at it—he was originally a respected middle school teacher, practically a perfect person except for a few minor mistakes, but then that damned Qiu Yidao's article suddenly appeared, and he was exposed during the major investigation and expelled from the school.

He used to live in a large, south-facing room with sunlight, and had maids who did his laundry and cooking. He could always afford to buy a new outfit or two when the seasons changed. But after that article, he lost his income and was even confronted by the parents of his students. He even had his front teeth knocked out and had to move to a cheap, useless attic room, where he made a living by pawning things.

He was resentful—the priests had gone far worse than him, and they all enjoyed the same pure existence, so why was he the only one being punished?

Society is so rotten these days, there are countless people who have done far more evil than him, so why is he the only one who suffered retribution? Is it just because Qiu Yidao didn't write about those other people?!

Driven by some dark motive, even when he couldn't afford to eat, he would still inquire about news from the Ta Kung Pao. If he heard that Qiu Yidao's article had appeared, he would take out two copper coins to buy a copy and see who would be unlucky this time!

Unfortunately, both times Qiu Yidao targeted Japanese people, and had nothing to do with his still-glorious cronies. Fortunately, this time the scope of his attack was finally wider. The man in the long gown stared intently at the words "wage arrears" and "no funding" in the text, revealing a chilling smile.

If he remembered correctly, he had a friend who owned a factory and did this kind of shady business of doing work without paying; another friend had some minor power in the government and some connections with orphanages.

The man in the long robe scanned the keywords one by one, and his smile grew wider.

Come on, come on, let's become stray dogs together. His life is ruined, how can other scumbags continue to live a good life?

“I found out that he lives here.”

A sudden commotion came from outside the door, and the man in the long robe turned pale instantly—those persistent parents were back again, he had to run!

I really don't know what they're thinking. They don't seem to care much when their own kid gets hurt, and they can laugh it off if he gets blood. But after his incident was exposed, these people went crazy and chased after him everywhere. They've done it so many times and they still won't give up!

In just a couple of seconds, the gentle knocking turned into a slamming of the door, accompanied by the landlady's distressed cries. The teeth that had been knocked out of his long gown started to ache again. He didn't care about anything else and pushed open the window to climb out.

Then he was forcibly dragged out of the window, and with a shout, a rain of fists and big feet fell down. All he could do was curl up and try to protect his head.

Chang Shan didn't know how he escaped from the encirclement. When he regained consciousness, he was lying in a stinking ditch that was two people wide. A lump of vomit was stuck to his half-raised leg. Chang Shan subconsciously tried to push it down, but the moment he moved, he let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.

His leg was broken.

He struggled to see the doctor, leaning on his cane. He pawned his last piece of clothing to pay for the doctor to fix his bones. He realized that the small room was no longer safe. He struggled to find the landlady to terminate the lease, but not only did he not get a single copper coin, he was also spat on.

"Consider this money for fixing the door. You'd better get out of here right now, or I'll tell those guys you're still hanging around here!"

The man in the long robe glared at the old woman with eyes blazing with fury. He had imagined a thousand times in his mind the scene of her kneeling and begging for mercy, but on his face he only put on a fawning smile and limped away with his cane.

"What is this that has dirtied my house!"

The old woman shouted loudly from behind. Chang Shan gripped his cane tightly. That wretched old woman! Once he recovered from his injuries and found work elsewhere... Don't underestimate the poor middle-aged!

Long-shirted man gritted his teeth and walked forward. The pain and hunger made him completely unaware of the people following behind him—each of his seemingly lucky escapes was actually under the control of these parents.

What's the point of killing it in one go? A beast should be tortured slowly!

...

People like those in long gowns who read Miss Qiu's articles with strange intentions are ultimately a minority; most readers are quite normal.

teahouse.

Old Han, who was a bit fatter than when he was reading Ding Xian's biography, swallowed the last bite of the fried dough stick, patted the gavel in a pretentious manner, and began reading the newspaper to the people in the teahouse.

The teahouse he frequented wasn't a high-class place; it was frequented mainly by poor people. Old Han didn't read the newspaper every day—people couldn't always scrape together enough money. It was only after Ding Xian's Biography started being serialized that Old Han had a regular job reading the newspaper twice a week.

There's no way around it, I don't know how this little fish story came about, but every time I hear it, it feels like there's a hook hanging in my heart, and I can't listen to it any later in the day.

After the Shanghai Rich Story began to be serialized, the situation changed somewhat. Before, everyone was poor, and although the frequency of inviting Old Han twice a week was not high, the money was still something that was occasionally accepted with gritted teeth. Ding Xian's story was exciting, but it was just something to listen to and forget. However, the story of Miao Jinyou was a real lesson in how poor people do business.

When are there any handicraft jobs available? How much income can be made from any business with no capital? Where should one buy and sell? How to avoid street thugs and stinky-footed patrolmen? The details are all broken down and explained in great detail. The working people are best at applying what they've learned to other situations through practice.

Those who linger in teahouses are usually quite bold, after all, there are still conspicuous signs on the wall advocating against discussing state affairs. Even though they might say they're afraid to do business when talking to people, they'll actually ask their family members or go out and try it themselves.

The people in the teahouse weren't particularly lucky; no one achieved upward social mobility like Miao Jinyou, but life was definitely better than before.

The children in the family could afford cornmeal, and they wouldn't wake up hungry in the middle of the night anymore. The elderly and women could occasionally eat an egg. When they went to the teahouse, they didn't have to search their entire bodies to find copper coins to chip in for treating others. Old Han's reading frequency also increased from twice a week to three, four, or five times a week, and he eventually became a regular NPC at the teahouse.

A Little Fish's work is published twice a week, but Old Han from the teahouse can't just sit around doing nothing. So he's dedicated to finding works that can also be read aloud in public. Miss Qiu, who is writing a sequel to Miao Youjin, caught his eye. He only glanced at her tentatively, but he was immediately struck by her talent and added her to the reading list.

"This time I'm talking about Qiu Yidao's new article, 'Bao'er's Story'."

Old Han coughed twice, then read aloud word by word. He had only heard that the Daping Daily had published Miss Qiu's article again, but he hadn't had a chance to read it yet.

The crowd quickly quieted down. In the teahouse, the article about a small fish carried the most weight, but Miss Qiu's story was also quite substantial, worthy of their attention and careful listening to every word.

What is a child bride?

Bao'er, who already believed he was a boy, looked curiously at the girl next to him. The woman had left after saying those words, so why was this girl so happy?

“A child bride is someone who can live a good life where she can sleep in a house and eat as long as she does chores.”

The girl tried her best to explain, but she wasn't much older than Bao'er and only half understood herself, which only confused Bao'er more.

"To work and earn a living, isn't that being a hired laborer?"

The men who carried loads at the docks also earned their living through work. Those who performed well could live in the free shacks built by the foreman and even receive money.

“No one uses children as laborers. Child brides only have food to eat and no money, but the work they do can't be paid for. So when they grow up, they have to sleep with their husbands and have children for them.”

The girl didn't even know what a husband was, but for a homeless child, having food to eat was already the best life imaginable.

"That's great too. As long as there's food to eat, I won't be hungry. I also want to be a child bride."

Bao'er was a little envious, while the girl laughed so hard she almost fell over.

"You're a boy, you can't be a child bride."

Seeing that Bao'er was a little disappointed, the girl thought for a moment and then comforted her.

“A boy can’t be a child bride, but he can be a child husband. Come find me in a while. Once I’m familiar with your husband’s family, I’ll find you a family that wants a child husband.”

Bao'er parted ways with the girl full of hope. She didn't know how long it would be, until the willow leaves drooped to the water's surface. She took the chestnuts she had picked and went to find the girl, but there was no trace of her at the man's house.

"That child bride was incredibly greedy. She even stole chicken feed while working. Her mother-in-law wanted to teach her a lesson, so she starved her for a few days. But unexpectedly, the unlucky girl died!"

"Luckily, this child bride was picked up from the street and didn't cost much money, otherwise her mother-in-law would have suffered a huge loss."

Bao'er felt she couldn't quite understand what they were saying. The girl had become a child bride, where she would be fed if she worked, and was clearly living a better life, so how could she have died before her?

After Old Han finished reading, he picked up his cup and pretended to drink water, afraid that people would see the tear stains on his face. But the people in the teahouse did not have such good self-control. As soon as the first loud sob rang out, the scene was filled with wailing and crying. Even the teahouse owner and waiter wiped away their tears.

The story wasn't finished yet, but everyone felt like they couldn't hold on any longer.

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Author's Note: Do you want to continue reading Bao'er's story and get feedback, or return to Xiaoyu's real life?

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