Chapter 197
Bei Qiao: So, what were you thanking me for? It was just a simple compliment.
After leaving the robbers behind, Qin Wu walked on without looking back. The robbers, thrown to the ground, lay sprawled on the roadside, and were "accidentally" stepped on by passersby. It's unclear how much force Qin Wu used to hit them. These people, having been stepped on so many times, their eyes were swiveling right under their noses, yet they dared not wake up.
Qin Wu seemed to have been a frequent visitor to Chuzhou City. Five out of ten roadside shop owners knew him, and they all acted like they were welcoming a hero, clamoring to buy him a drink. Qin Wu declined, the owner offered again, Qin Wu declined again...back and forth, like the adults dancing a tango during New Year's visit to relatives. The children stood impatiently by, confused as to why this drama, with its already predetermined ending, was wasted time every year. Then, under their parents' glares, they expertly verbally declined the red envelope while opening their own pockets.
The result of the arguing was that Qin Wu accepted everyone's invitation. A large group of people walked towards the restaurant in a mighty manner. The boss who had employees walked in a particularly cool manner, and the boss who had no employees also closed the door in a cool manner, announcing that the store would be temporarily closed for two hours and resume business when they came back.
Some of them offered to treat us, but then slipped away once they saw everyone was serious about drinking. The owners of the drinking establishment paid no attention to their supposedly tactful exit, simply glancing at them and remembering their faces. The rest, we'll deal with later.
In a way, this was probably what Qin Wu had Bei Qiao to thank him for. While hooligans left on the ground were easy to deal with, they were also adept at hiding. Without Bei Qiao as a fresh, fat sheep, they might have remained hidden for a long time. And routinely beating up hooligans had become part of Qin Wu's process for building close relationships with the locals. While others wouldn't dare offend the shameless local thugs, Qin Wu, who didn't live in the area, had no such concerns.
Bei Qiao stood by the roadside, watching the group leave in a lively atmosphere, and then continued walking towards the school. The school was not too far away, and the courtyard was large. When Bei Qiao walked outside, he could faintly hear the sound of students studying from inside.
The school's walls weren't high, but they were enough to block most passersby's view. It was class time, and the main entrance was closed. Only a small door, barely wide enough for one person, stood half-open. A middle-aged woman, legs crossed, stood guard at the entrance. Anyone visiting had to pass through her first. If anyone approached her with malicious intent, she would let them know just how heavy her fork was.
Noticing the stranger Bei Qiao appearing near the school, the woman looked up and sized her up. After roughly assessing Bei Qiao's threat, she resumed her lazy sitting position and continued to guard the door, occasionally looking back at the leave notes sent by students' parents on the small table inside the door. It had rained so hard before, and not everyone had rain gear. Even though everyone drank ginger soup after returning, some students still caught colds. Parents who were worried about their children's health sent leave notes, allowing their children to rest at home for a day, but some parents forced students with low-grade fevers to come to class. It was unknown what they were thinking.
With no reason to attend the academy, Bei Qiao wandered around the area. The shops surrounding the academy weren't particularly busy, though children occasionally ran and chased each other on the nearby streets. The story of Meng Mu's three moves also had a similar version in another world. To ensure their children were nurtured from an early age, many would rent apartments near academies after having children, hoping their immature children would be imbued with a scholarly air.
Unfortunately, some children seem to be inherently evil, with a strong desire for destruction, so strong that they are hated by everyone. Not long after Bei Qiao left the school, he came across a group of children squatting in a corner, tormenting a poor pigeon.
"What are you doing? Let go! I told you to let go!" A parent who was cleaning the shop heard the noise and looked out the window. He saw the bamboo tube on the pigeon's leg and quickly ran over to pull his child away from the group of other children: "This pigeon is very expensive. We can't afford to pay for it!"
"How much can a pigeon cost? Brother Bai has dozens of them!" The child unconvinced and let go of his hand. He saw the escaped pigeon fly crookedly to the shoulder of Bei Qiao who was walking across the street, squatting there obediently, looking clingy. Suddenly, he fluttered his limbs in dissatisfaction and wanted to rush over: "Damn it, pigeons also look at faces!"
Just now, he used the sweet corn that he usually wouldn't eat to tease the pigeon, wasting so many corn kernels but still failing to attract it. This guy just walked over, and the pigeon flew over obediently and sat on his shoulder. How unreasonable!
"What do you mean by 'looks'? If a giant suddenly appeared on the street with a head bigger than you, and insisted on grabbing your arms, pulling out your hair, and forcing food on you, would you like him?" The parent anticipated the child's behavior and quickly picked up the struggling child and carried him away: "What's wrong with looking at his face? He's just good-looking. If you don't agree, then just eat your food honestly and don't be picky. You will definitely grow up to be tall and handsome in the future!"
"Who are you kidding! I look like you, and I'll be like that when I grow up!"
"..."If I wasn't afraid of the pigeon's owner claiming compensation, do you believe I would spank you in public?
The parents who were anxious to leave walked away quickly with their children in their arms, leaving behind several other children whose parents were not nearby. They looked at each other, then at their friends who had been "caught" and the pigeons squatting on other people's shoulders, feeling very confused.
They wanted to play with the pigeons again, but it seemed the owner had already arrived. Although this person was handsome, he seemed difficult to talk to and would probably not allow them to continue playing with the pigeons. So, the children hesitantly followed the adult's footsteps and ran to the store, intending to wait until their friend finished being beaten before continuing to play together.
"It's you." Bei Qiao watched the children leave and raised his hand to touch the pigeon's head on his shoulder. The naughty kids were so rough that they pulled out several feathers from the pigeon. Fortunately, the parents of the naughty kids arrived in time, so the pigeon was not seriously injured. However, it was very scared. It squatted on Bei Qiao's shoulder and shook as if it had a vibrator on. It felt very insecure. Bei Qiao tried to take it off his shoulder several times but failed: "Forget it, just stay here."
After a quick check of the pigeon's condition, Bei Qiao picked up one of its paws and unrolled a small piece of paper from the bamboo tube tied to it. The note was from Qin Huan, and it instructed anyone who encountered the pigeon to write down some gossip and send it to the Qin residence as soon as possible.
"As soon as possible... okay." Although he didn't know why Qin Huan used carrier pigeons to collect gossip, but... there was no but. This was probably the relaxed feeling of the rich. Anyway, he had carrier pigeons, so he could use them whenever he wanted and however he wanted.
A nearby shop happened to sell the four treasures of the study, so Bei Qiao found a shop nearby and bought a piece of narrow letter paper specially used for carrier pigeons. He also rented a movable type printing plate from the shop and casually printed the scenes he saw when he met Qin Wu twice today. He also drew a mini paper fan pattern below with a brush. After the ink dried, he rolled up the letter paper and stuffed it into the bamboo tube on the pigeon's leg.
Qin Huan received the note a few days later: Still so careful... Qin Wu
After stuffing the letter into his pocket, Bei Qiao stared at the pigeon on his shoulder for a moment. Seeing that it was too frightened to move, he let it be. It was just such a small, soft and well-behaved creature, sitting on his shoulder without feeling heavy. He could just stay there if he wanted, and it wouldn't be too late to leave when it was ready to fly.
After scratching the pigeon's neck, Beiqiao paid and left the stationery store. When passing by the morning tea shop, he heard the parent he had met before scolding his child inside: "Carrier pigeons are very valuable. If I hadn't run away with you, who knows if that young master would ask us to pay for it..." Seeing Beiqiao stopped at the door, the voice of the parent scolding the child stopped abruptly.
The other children were waiting outside the store to meet up with their friends. When they saw Bei Qiao, they raised their hands to cover their faces, their dark eyes peeking out from between their fingers, mumbling: Oh no, is he chasing us to ask for money?
"Excuse me, I have something I want to ask you..." Bei Qiao patted the pigeon on his shoulder to comfort it.
"Oh, okay, okay. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I've been on this street for nearly 30 years. I basically know everything that happens around here. If I don't know, I can ask someone..." The shop owner put the child down, wiped the sweat off his face, and took two steps forward: As long as it's not a claim for compensation, everything is fine.
Bei Qiao didn't want to find out anything, he just wanted to divert their attention. He didn't know what these people had experienced before, but they didn't feel any regret after hurting the pigeons. Instead, they looked terrified of him, the pigeon's owner, as if he would eat them in the next second.
Without even asking, this person began to chatter away, spilling out everything she thought Beiqiao wanted to know. As she spoke, she relived the feeling of chatting with the aunts and uncles she used to have, and gradually relaxed. The children, who had been a little nervous, gathered around, listening intently to the gossip that interested them.
Child A: "Aunt Niu, is it true that if you don't sleep at night you will be eaten by a tiger?"
The shop owner, Mr. Niu, said: "Of course it's true. Have you heard of Aunt Tiger? If you don't sleep well at night, she will bite off your little ears and little fingers."
Child B: "You must be kidding! There are so many people in the city. Would a big tiger dare to come?"
The shop owner, Mr. Niu, said: "There are many people in the city, but the tiger is strong and has sharp teeth. Why don't they dare to come?"
Bei Qiao: "..." You know what, the adults are quite good at fooling people. I almost believed it.
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