It's strange, really.
A house, if people live in it, will never be too dilapidated.
Once no one is inside, it quickly loses its vitality, collapses, and crumbles, with broken beams and tiles.
It had only been a little over half a year since Jiang Sheng and his sister left the dilapidated temple, and the two small houses had already fallen into disrepair, with drafts coming from all four corners.
The only thing that remains unchanged is that ever-smiling Buddha statue.
Jiang Sheng stopped the carriage, went to a corner of the dilapidated temple, took out three incense sticks, lit them carefully, and put them away.
"Why are you still superstitious?" Zheng Ruqian asked, sticking his head out.
Jiang Sheng rolled her eyes at him. "This isn't superstition. Buddha has blessed Jiang Sheng with enough to eat and has also blessed Jiang Sheng to always be with her brothers. Of course, we should thank Buddha."
She clasped her hands together and bowed three times solemnly.
Back in the carriage, we continued our journey to Shilipu Village. More than half a year passed, and the village hadn't changed much.
Wisps of smoke rise with the wind, and the cheerful sounds of children playing fill the air.
Aunts and uncles chatter away, spitting as they gossip. They talk about this family and that family.
Uncle Zhao's flatbed cart was tied to the door again, probably because he knew that Xiao Jiangsheng was gone and no one would steal it.
Zhou Zhiqiang's house still frequently hears scolding and criticism, but this time there was a female voice refuting him, though it wasn't very loud.
We arrived at Zhang Qiquan's house.
Fang Heng reined in his horse, handed the reins to Zheng Ruqian, and then jumped down to knock on the door.
"Who is it?" came Aunt Cui'er's voice from inside.
Fang Heng announced loudly, "It's me, Fang Heng, here to see Uncle Zhang."
Liu Cui's eyes widened. She put down the winnowing basket in her hand and ran over, but refused to open the door. Instead, she questioned, "Really? Are you really Fang Heng?"
How could this be fake?
Fang Heng was dumbfounded, completely bewildered.
Jiang Sheng, ever quick-witted, whispered a reminder to him, "Do you two have any secrets that no one else knows?"
Fang Heng understood immediately. "The traps on the mountain haven't been used for half a year. I came to see Uncle Zhang to see if we need to replace the traps with mountain cages."
Small traps can only catch heavy prey, while more agile ones will avoid them. Mountain cages, on the other hand, can trap all prey.
This was something Zhang Qiquan had mentioned to Fang Heng.
Liu Cui was relieved and opened the door. When she saw Fang Heng and his sister, her eyes immediately welled up with tears. "It really is you two."
These words made Xu Mo and Chang Yan frown at the same time.
Was there a fake one before?
Fang Heng tied the carriage to the door and brought in the pastries he had bought. "Auntie, where's Uncle Zhang?"
“He…he’s lying in bed.” Liu Cui’s eyes were red.
It's not winter; it's the wheat harvest season, and everyone has to work. How could anyone be lying in bed?
Even the slow-witted Fang Heng sensed something was wrong. He stepped into the cramped little house and, sure enough, saw Zhang Qiquan lying dazedly on the bed, one leg bound with tree branches and wrapped with white cloth strips.
It's somewhat like the tree branch that Xu Mo used to tie his leg when he broke it, only rougher and simpler.
"What, what's going on?" Fang Heng was startled.
Liu Cui, standing to the side, wiped away her tears again, saying, "It's all because of money."
The Zhang family had three sons, with Zhang Qiquan being the youngest. It is said that emperors love their eldest sons and commoners cherish their youngest, but Zhang Qiquan did not receive much favoritism from his parents. On the contrary, because he had been working hard since he was young, he had become somewhat estranged from his parents.
Five years ago, Zhang Qiquan returned to Shilipu Village from outside. Now a young man in his early twenties, he was bound to get married. His parents arranged several marriages for him, but Zhang Qiquan didn't find any suitable one.
In the end, he fell for Liu Cui, who had no parents.
Zhang's parents disagreed and looked down on Liu Cui, but fortunately Zhang Qiquan persisted, and they finally got married and lived a stable life for five years.
For the past five years, Liu Cui had not conceived. Her in-laws had also made a fuss, but it was already difficult for a farming family to marry a wife, let alone have the money to take a concubine or divorce and remarry.
Until, the tiger was sold and twenty-five taels of silver were distributed.
Liu Cui choked up and said, "My husband had already planned to allocate those twenty-five taels of silver: five taels for my parents, five taels for my eldest brother, five taels for my second brother, and the remaining ten taels for us to use ourselves."
“But they were convinced that I would never have a child, so even if I left ten taels of silver, it would be useless. They urged my parents-in-law to take all the money. My husband would never agree to that. The three families have been fighting since before the new year, and they are almost estranged.”
“A few days ago, my eldest brother and second brother, no, those two beasts, pretended to be acquaintances and knocked on the door. I opened it without thinking, and they rushed over to hit me... My husband protected me and had his leg broken.”
As for these tree branches, they were bandaged by a newly opened doctor in town, who charged a full tael of silver, which broke Liu Cui's heart.
"That's really too much."
Fang Heng clenched his fists in anger. Even if the Zhang brothers were fighting, it wouldn't be considered excessive, but it was unacceptable for the elder brother to hit his younger brother's wife.
The commotion among the group disturbed Zhang Qiquan, who was drowsy on the bed.
He coughed, opened his eyes and saw Fang Heng. He was taken aback at first, but quickly exclaimed with delight, "Good lad, what brings you here?"
The two of them did indeed develop a friendship while hunting together.
Fang Heng didn't waste any words, and with a flick of his sleeve, he said, "Uncle Zhang, I'll avenge you."
Zhang Qiquan's pupils dilated in shock, and he quickly told Liu Cui to stop him.
"Don't be impulsive." Xu Mo also pulled his younger brother back. "Let's hear what Uncle Zhang has to say first."
Zhang Qiquan glanced gratefully at Xu Mo, then turned to Fang Heng and said earnestly, "No matter what, they are still my elder brothers. Over the years, while I've been working hard outside, my parents have relied entirely on them for care. I'm the one who has let them down."
Therefore, after earning twenty-five taels of silver, they were willing to divide five taels among their families.
Unexpectedly, these two companies were insatiable and didn't want to leave any of the money they made to others.
"So Uncle just lets them bully Aunt?" Fang Heng asked rhetorically.
Zhang Qiquan fell silent again.
If it were just him, he could tolerate being wronged, but he couldn't let Liu Cui be implicated; she was innocent.
"Perhaps they didn't intend to use such force, it was just... an accident," Zhang Qiquan whispered in his defense.
Fang Heng was furious. The man who killed the tiger so swiftly and beautifully, who loved his wife so much that he immediately bought her a hairpin after receiving the money, turned out to be a blindly filial son.
He was about to lose his temper.
Xu Mo coughed and pulled his third brother back.
Chang Yan stepped forward with a smile, "Uncle Zhang was able to protect Aunt Cui'er even when he was fully healthy. Now that he has a broken leg and is lying in bed, what will Aunt Cui'er do if some villains come knocking on the door again?"
As if to fit the occasion, Liu Cui covered her face and choked out a sob.
Zhang Qiquan frowned, and after a long pause, he stammered, "No...no, my eldest brother and second brother won't do that again."
"Really?" Changyan laughed again. "Then let's make a bet with Uncle Zhang and see if they come later, okay?"
"If Uncle Zhang wins, we will pay the ten taels of silver for you."
"If Uncle Zhang loses, he should take Aunt Cui'er and run away together."
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