Chapter 230 Martial Arts Master He Xiao
The hour of Xu (7-9 PM).
It was already quite dark.
At this time of day, most villagers would be getting ready to rest.
But now they are all full of energy, standing in groups of three or five in Cheng Wanwan's courtyard talking, all of them very enthusiastic, showing no sign of wanting to sleep.
Taking this opportunity, Cheng Wanwan also mentioned that her family needed help.
"I'm sure everyone is curious why I'm building another house. Actually, it's for doing business. Before this business officially starts, I need everyone's help," she said with a smile. "This business requires a lot of firewood, both wood and straw are fine. I buy it by weight, three pounds for one copper coin. If the firewood is ready, the kind that can be burned directly, it's two pounds for one copper coin. After you've stored enough firewood for your winter, you can bring any extra to my house and I'll pay you on the spot."
The whole village beamed with joy.
The village of Dahe is surrounded by mountains, covered with trees. The forest is full of dry leaves and firewood. Dry leaves and grass don't weigh much, but wood does. A large, thick piece of wood weighs at least ten pounds, so you can earn four or five coins. This job is too easy.
Old Mrs. Zhao knew that her eldest daughter-in-law was going to make a lot of money and couldn't be stingy with this small amount. She said, "Let me make this clear from the beginning: we only accept dry firewood. Anyone who tries to pass off wet or uncooked firewood as firewood will be disrespected by this old woman!"
Aunt Wang immediately nodded: "Yes, yes, of course we should get firewood, otherwise Aunt Dashan will suffer too much!"
Big Head Granny said, "Big Tree and Little Tree have cut a lot of firewood on the mountain these past few days. I've chopped and dried it all. It's probably about a hundred pounds. Otherwise, I'll bring it over tomorrow."
Tiezhu's mother added, "Tomorrow I'll have the children finish their studies and go up the mountain to collect firewood. Should I collect as much as they need?"
Firewood doesn't necessarily have to be stored in a woodshed; it can be piled up in any open space, and covered with straw and reeds to keep out the rain.
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "For now, just for the next two weeks, we'll take everything that's delivered."
Everyone in the village was eager to get started.
As everyone was talking, He Xiao, who was sitting in the courtyard, suddenly picked up the cane beside him.
Zhao Sidan hurried over: "Master, are you going back? Let me help you..."
Before he could even touch He Xiao's sleeve, the cane suddenly flew out of the air, crashing against the outside of the courtyard wall, followed by two howls.
Several men standing by the courtyard wall stood on tiptoe to look out and exclaimed in surprise, "There are two people hiding here eavesdropping!"
"These two people look unfamiliar; they're not from our Dahe Village!"
"They must be from Guihua Village. I wonder what they're up to this time!"
Two men under the courtyard wall were stunned by the cane that fell from the sky. Fearing they would be caught, they got up and ran away.
He Xiao narrowed his eyes.
He stood up on one leg, braced his right hand on the table, leaped onto the table against the wall, and then leaped again, soaring over the wall. His uninjured leg kicked one of the men hard in the chest. Then, he flipped in mid-air and kicked another man with his other leg.
The two men fell to the ground one after the other, letting out two screams.
The whole village was stunned, and it took them a long time to come to their senses.
"Xiao He, you...you're amazing!"
"My God, you can fly? How can you be this amazing with a leg injury?"
"No wonder Aunt Dashan made San Niu and Si Dan learn kung fu from you. I should have known you were a martial arts master!"
"..."
He Xiao used his injured leg, which was in excruciating pain, but everyone was praising him, so saying that his leg hurt at this time seemed a bit bad for his image.
He said calmly, "Four Eggs, pick up your cane for me."
Zhao Sidan, his face full of admiration, picked up the cane and respectfully handed it to He Xiao.
He Xiao, leaning on his cane, quickly found a place to sit down and said, "Cousin, these two are breathing evenly and they know martial arts. Tie them up first before interrogating them."
Zhao Sanniu asked naively, "Master, can you tell if they have martial arts skills just by listening to their breathing?"
He Xiao said calmly, "You'll understand after you've finished learning."
This cannot be explained in just a few words.
Wang Yongcheng took a rope, tied the two men up, and threw them in front of Cheng Wanwan.
"Speak, who sent you?" Cheng Wanwan said calmly. "I know you are loyal and won't easily betray your master. I won't force either of you. I'll count to three, and whoever reveals their mastermind first will be released. As for the other one, hehe, he'll stay in our village. I'll torture him to death every day..."
As she said this, a smile appeared on her face. "One! Two! Three—"
"I'll talk!"
"I'll talk!"
The two men kneeling on the ground spoke at the same time, then glared at each other, as if condemning the other for trying to confess.
The two were so afraid that the other would be the one to be let go that they spilled everything they knew.
“We are from the Cao family. Madam sent us to Dahe Village to inquire about two things: first, to find out where Miss is, and second, to find out who the Emperor has appointed as Lady Sui.”
Cao Yingying's cheeks turned red with anger.
That stepmother of hers is really something else!
She clenched her fists, suppressing the anger in her chest.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and asked, "Where is Granny Xu now?"
"Today, Lord Shen escorted Granny Xu to the county government office in Hekou County. After Lord Fu heard the case, he gave Granny Xu thirty lashes on the spot and sentenced her to three months in prison! Madam felt she had lost face, so she ordered us to come and find out what was going on before making any further plans!"
Cheng Wanwan said coldly, "San Niu, lock these two in the pigsty and tie them up tightly so they don't escape."
The two men asked incredulously, "Didn't you say you'd let us go if we confessed?"
"Don't worry, I'll send you back to the Cao family tomorrow." Cheng Wanwan's lips curled up. "Let Madam Cao deal with you personally."
The two men stared wide-eyed, and before they could even cry out, Zhao Sanniu gagged them with a rag and dragged them into the pigsty in the backyard.
After dealing with the matter, Cheng Wanwan told everyone to go back and rest, as it was already late at night.
He Xiao, leaning on his cane, walked towards the old house. The village head quickly followed: "Xiao He, I want to discuss something with you."
He Xiao squatted down: "Village head, please speak freely."
“Grandma Dashan said you know kung fu, and I just saw it. Your kung fu is indeed good. I just wanted to ask if you could teach the villagers?” The village head scratched the back of his head. “I used to think that as long as there were enough people, we wouldn’t be afraid of bad guys breaking in and causing trouble. But today, the Cao family came with great force, which made me realize that just having a lot of people isn’t enough. We also need to know some kung fu, otherwise we won’t be able to stop those people at all! The village will pay for it. You can teach the patrol team some basic kung fu. What do you think? I know this request is a bit abrupt. If you don’t want to, just refuse. There’s no need to feel embarrassed…”
He Xiao didn't stay in the village for long, but every day he lived there, he felt exceptionally peaceful.
This tranquility is a priceless treasure that could never be found elsewhere.
“I agree to this,” He Xiao said. “No fees are required. I’ll just teach you casually, and everyone can learn casually. Whether you can learn it or not is none of my business.”
After he finished speaking, he walked away, leaning on his cane.
The village head grinned. There were over a hundred people in the patrol team; surely someone would learn it. As long as even one person learned it, they would have made a profit.
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