Chapter 75 Hou San
In Guqu Town, Hou San stepped out of the Huang family home with a gloomy face.
The news of Zhu Er's death this morning was too sudden. Now the Zhu and Huang families are in chaos, and you can hear Zhu Er's mother crying from a distance.
So Huang Yuan called him over early this morning, saying he wanted to seal off the town and arrest those men in black from yesterday to avenge Zhu Er.
Thinking of Huang Yuan's manner of saying those words, he sneered inwardly. Zhu Er was always fond of causing trouble and had no sense of propriety. In his opinion, even if he died, he deserved to die.
Hou San walked impatiently toward the market, glancing at the people pretending to be coming and going at the entrance of Huangjia Alley, who were actually just watching the excitement. He felt a surge of irritation.
"What the hell are you all doing here! Get out of here!"
"Third Master! Third Master!" A dock foreman ran over from afar. He seemed to have encountered something serious, and was sweating profusely. He was still panting heavily from running so fast.
"Third Master! Merchant ship! Merchant ship..."
Seeing the foreman's stammering, breathless manner, Hou San felt even more irritated. He glared impatiently at the foreman and cursed:
"Damn it! Are you dead?! Catch your breath before you speak! What happened to the merchant ship?!"
"Merchant ship...the merchant ship has left port!"
"What did you say!" Hou San was shocked. Without a moment's hesitation, he immediately took off running towards the port.
Looking at the empty water in front of him, Hou Sanzhi felt like he was about to stop breathing.
"Ha! Ha! Third Master! Ha! You ran too fast!"
He had barely caught his breath after following the foreman to the port when he felt a blur before his eyes and his collar was being squeezed so tightly that he felt suffocated. He immediately coughed violently.
Hou San didn't care whether the guy was comfortable or not. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared at the foreman, "What's going on here! Where's the ship! Why did you let them leave the port!"
The foreman looked embarrassed after being scolded, and his tone became somewhat hesitant.
"They...they left the port at the crack of dawn, we...we didn't know either..."
Looking at the foreman's pathetic appearance, Hou San felt his blood boil. He shoved the foreman aside and turned to head to the market with a sullen expression.
Seeing that he was about to leave, the foreman panicked. "Third Master! Where are you going? This...the boat...what are we going to do?!"
Hearing the other party's stammering words, Hou San abruptly waved his hand and left the dock without saying a word. The foreman wanted to chase after him, but his companions had been waiting for him for a long time. As soon as he appeared, they immediately surrounded him, noisily asking how they would be paid since there had been no business for the past two days. The poor foreman could only watch Hou San's back recede into the distance.
At the market, there were only a few people setting up stalls today, but it was still pitifully few compared to before. Even the number of people buying things was much smaller.
"Ha, they've really got the guts of a bear and the audacity of a leopard." Hou San's face twisted in disbelief. The merchant ship had sailed away, and now that these people weren't setting up stalls, he wanted to see what they would do for a living!
A series of clear, ringing copper bell sounds came from a nearby building, drawing Hou San's attention. He then realized that he was standing at the entrance of Linjiang Tower.
With a "bang," the windows facing the street upstairs were opened from the inside, and wooden rafts of various sizes were hung out.
Hou San squinted and read the words on the wooden raft word by word.
“Mung beans for nine coins, sour peaches—this is it!” Realizing that these were the things usually sold at the market, Hou San’s mind went blank for a moment.
"Hou San? What are you doing here?" Ji Yushu walked out of Linjiang Tower, fanning himself with a paper fan and carrying some peach and plum snacks.
"I'm here, it's none of your business! Get out of my way!"
Seeing Hou San about to rush into the building with an unfriendly expression, Ji Yushu stretched out his long arm and blocked his way.
"Hey, how is this none of my business? This is Linjiang Tower! Do you remember my father's conditions? You are not allowed to interfere in Linjiang Tower's affairs!"
Hou San glanced at Ji Yushu's handsome face, a wave of disgust washing over him. He sneered, and with a sudden burst of strength, Ji Yushu's meager skills were no match for him.
"Hey! Hou San!"
Watching Hou San stride confidently towards the second floor, Ji Yushu angrily shook her fan vigorously.
"barbarian."
...
"Guo family! Your fruits and vegetables are quite good!"
"Yes! We picked them before it was fully light this morning!"
"Tap tap tap," came the sound of hurried footsteps from the stairwell. The two vendors who were talking stopped talking and craned their necks to look in that direction.
"Oh! We have guests!"
"Hou... Third Master Hou!!" The person standing at the top of the stairs was the first to see Hou San's face clearly. The person was so frightened by Hou San's fierce expression that he took several steps back before regaining his balance.
Hou San also saw the scene before him clearly.
The second floor of Linjiang Tower is different from the old seats; now they have all been replaced with shelves against the wall, which are full of goods. And next to the shelves, some vendors are standing or sitting.
Looking at those familiar faces, Hou San felt a surge of rage. Considering what Ji Jiayun had given to the merchant ship yesterday, what didn't he understand?
"Well, you lot! You've actually started seeking refuge with the Ji family!"
"Hou San, that's a very unpleasant thing to say." Ji Yushu followed him upstairs like a ghost, his tone full of disdain and dissatisfaction.
"What do you mean by learning to side with the Ji family? This is a newly established chamber of commerce. You've failed in your own affairs, so we can't all stand by and watch you and Zhu Er make a scene. We still need to eat!"
Upon hearing Ji Yushu's words, Hou San's face immediately showed displeasure: "What do you mean? What do you mean we failed in our duties!"
"Oh ho, you still don't know? That merchant ship didn't even land yesterday! Don't you know why? Ever since your Huang family started that damn town tax and exit tax, our business has plummeted. Now you won't even let us save ourselves? Don't forget, our Linjiang Tower has never been under your Huang family's control!" Ji Yushu's tone was somewhat aggressive, and Hou San was forced back two steps, barely managing to maintain his composure.
He glared fiercely at the indifferent vendors, a surge of hatred welling up inside him.
"Ji Yushu! Since you dare to stick together, don't blame us for being impolite! You dare to set up a stall at his Linjiang Tower! Then you can forget about ever showing your face in the market again!" With that, he flicked his sleeve and went downstairs.
Seeing his angry expression, a familiar face at the door asked Hou San, who was walking out, with some confusion, "Third Master, where are you going?"
Hou San didn't even turn his head before throwing down the words, "Go home!"
Ji Yushu stood at the top of the stairs, watching his furious back, and grinned maliciously: "Goodbye! Don't come back!"
"Young Master, this...is our plan even feasible?" The merchant who had initially been startled by Hou San approached, clutching his chest, his face contorted in pain. Ji Yushu glanced at him, smiling nonchalantly: "What are you worried about? They can only hold out for half a month. Just you wait and see!"
...
Hou San returned home and pushed open his courtyard gate.
"Wife...I'm home!"
No one answered him in the courtyard; instead, the silence was eerily quiet. Hou San frowned and muttered to himself, "Hey, it's almost noon, why isn't anyone home?"
"Hmm!" Suddenly, there seemed to be some movement coming from inside the tightly closed door. Hou San was startled and quickly walked to the door to listen.
"Ugh!!!" He was startled! Without thinking, he immediately pushed open the door.
"young married woman!"
"Hou San? Is that you? Nice to meet you." Several men in black sat in the shadows inside the room. When Hou San saw them, sweat poured down his back. The image of Zhu Er's unseeing face flashed through his mind. He tilted his head slightly. Two people were tied up on the ground. One was his wife, Zhu Er, and the other was... Chen Ergou! His knuckles, gripping the door, turned white, and his voice trembled.
"What...what do you want to do!?"
The leader of the men in black slowly emerged from the shadows inside the house. The man had a kind face, and he smiled as he looked at Zhu Er: "I heard that a young girl gave you and Zhu Er a pair of walnuts. That girl... seems to be surnamed Fan?"
As the man drew closer, Hou San nervously took a step back, his leg trembling, knowing that he could not lie and escape this time.
"It's...it's her, her name is Fan Erya."
(End of this chapter)
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