Chapter 30 Don't let me regret helping you!
Lou Yicong, leaning against the wall, stood up unsteadily. Ignoring the blood from the corner of his mouth, he rushed forward, picked up the bundle that the burly men had snatched away and thrown on the ground, and opened it to check it. He was clearly looking for something important.
Song Li quickly went back to queue up again, refusing to look.
She had just stepped out of the line to hit someone. She had told Song Xiaoxiao to save her a spot, but Song Xiaoxiao, being short, was pushed and swayed by the people behind her and was forced out of the line.
The only option now is to rearrange the order.
"Young Master!"
A boy dressed as a pageboy, around fourteen or fifteen years old, ran up from behind.
Lou Yicong's face was bruised and swollen, blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth, and he was in a sorry state. He himself was not in much better shape, with disheveled hair, bruises all over his face, and his clothes torn.
Anyone could tell at a glance that he had also been given a good beating.
"How are you?" The servant Qingzhu asked anxiously, looking at his young master.
Lou Yicong rummaged through his bundle and finally found what he was looking for. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's nothing."
Seeing that he moved around freely and could even pick up his bundle and rummage through things on his own, Qingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.
But when he turned around, he changed his tune completely. He yelled at the people queuing up to leave the city, "Are you all dead? You saw someone committing a crime and didn't even try to help? At the very least, don't you know how to report it to the authorities?"
A common saying goes: "The government office faces south; if you have reason but no money, don't come in."
Therefore, everyone looked at Qingzhu as if she were a fool.
The latter, in turn, stared at them as if they were idiots.
If you see injustice on the road, even if you don't draw your sword, you can at least report it to the police, right? — Their young master is the son of the county magistrate, and his only son at that. If you report it, the yamen will take care of it!
Although Qingzhu was beaten badly, his aura of being from an official family remained undiminished.
If it weren't for the fact that his master, whom he was protecting, was also in a sorry state, he would have really come across as a bully relying on his master's power.
Song Li chuckled inwardly.
In the past, she would have certainly believed in reporting to the authorities, but now... it's best to hone her skills and protect herself!
I've decided. I'll go back and teach Song Xiaoxiao a few more moves.
As the procession left the city moved forward, Song Li, holding Song Xiaoxiao's hand, followed along.
"You..." Qingzhu was indignant at the indifference of the crowd.
He raised his fist to intimidate.
Don't underestimate him, he knows martial arts too!
Lou Yicong quickly grabbed him, saying, "Never mind, I'm fine anyway."
Qingzhu felt sorry for him: "But young master, you were beaten and injured all over..."
Lou Yicong smiled wearily: "It's just a superficial injury, some medicine will do the trick."
The master and servant went to the clinic to have their injuries treated.
Their cotton-padded clothes were torn, with the cotton batting falling out. Not only were they unsightly, but they were also cold. After leaving the clinic, they went to Ruifuxiang, the most upscale store in town, to buy new clothes.
The new clothes weren't cheap, costing a little over five taels in total. Lou Yicong calmly walked to the counter, took out his purse, and paid.
Qingzhu was stunned and asked in confusion, "Young master, didn't those robbers steal your money?"
Lou Yicong sighed helplessly.
This servant was too young and naive, knowing nothing about the world.
It's also his fault. He wasn't favored by his stepmother in the household, so naturally his treatment was inferior to that of his stepsister.
The sun had already set, and the city gates were about to close. After buying the clothes, the master and servant headed straight for the city gate to leave the town.
At the city gate, most of the people had already left the city, leaving only Song Li and Song Xiaoxiao at the very back of the line, along with a few other villagers.
The guards probably thought it was almost time to wrap up for the day, so they closed the city gate, leaving only a crack, just enough for one person to pass through.
"etc!"
Qingzhu came running over, panting.
Cut in line without hesitation.
Upon seeing the ID card, the guard recognized the man as the son of Magistrate Lou and immediately let him pass, then prepared to close the gate.
"The time has come, everyone, get out!"
They were in a hurry to leave their posts and go home, not caring whether there were still people who hadn't left.
If they can't leave the town, they'll be locked up there overnight. In this freezing weather, who can stand it?
The people whispered among themselves to vent their discontent, but because the other party was the son of Magistrate Lou, none of them dared to stand up.
The county magistrate was the superior of the village head. They didn't even dare to approach the yamen. When they saw the sedan chair of Village Head Tang on the street, it was like seeing a divine procession. How could they dare to disrespect the county magistrate?
"Hey, you can't cut in line!"
Song Li stepped forward.
Qingzhu sneered, "Why not?"
These unruly people just stood by and watched the young master being bullied, and now they want to cut in line for him? That's outrageous!
Song Li said, "That won't do. Don't you understand the first-come, first-served rule?"
Then he looked at Lou Yicong and asked, "Young Master, do you remember how you escaped danger just now?"
If she hadn't had that brain fart and stepped out of the line to help, she wouldn't have been pushed out of line and ended up among the last few in line.
"Don't let me regret helping you!"
Lou Yicong was taken aback.
He did see the pebble pierce the strong man's palm.
Could it be her who hit her? But this girl is so slender and thin, how could she have?
Song Li ignored Lou Yicong and left with Song Xiaoxiao.
...
When they got home, Qian Hutao had already prepared the meal and was waiting for Song Li and Song Xiaoxiao to eat.
We've finished the sausage, so tonight we'll just have brown rice porridge, pickled vegetable shreds stewed with cabbage, and a steamed egg—one egg with lots of water, so even though there's not much egg, it's steamed very tender.
Song Li handed Qian Hutao a package wrapped in oil paper: "This is for you."
Qian Hutao was still hesitating when Song Li shoved the food into her hand and sat down to eat.
Qian Hutao silently opened the paper package.
They turned out to be two lamb offal pies.
Although it was cold, the unique aroma of meat still wafted into my nose.
Qian Hutao suddenly frowned.
No, she ate meat for dinner yesterday too.
She's actually living a life where she can eat meat every day and is completely free?!
...
Song Li didn't hide from Qian Hutao why she had the means to eat meat.
She told Qian Hutao about her cosmetics business, but to keep the business secret, she only said that she wholesaled some rouge and face powder in town and then made a profit by reselling them at retail prices.
Qian Hutao believed it.
In her mind, if Song Daya could escape from Wang Laocai's clutches, then there was nothing strange about her switching from wholesale to retail.
To save money on lamp oil, the villagers didn't light lamps at night but went straight to sleep. After dinner, Song Li coaxed Song Xiaoxiao to sleep and then slipped away to the back mountain.
Today is the first lesson in learning light-body skills. Zhao Youchang chose the back mountain as the location and the time as 6:45 PM.
It's late autumn now, and it gets dark early. Normally, the villagers should all be asleep by this time, but tonight is different.
The village road was brightly lit, and everyone, not hesitant to spend money on lamp oil, carried lanterns as they walked toward the village head's house.
Song Li listened carefully on the way and found out that the son of Magistrate Lou had moved to Qingliu Village. When had such an important person ever come to the village? So the villagers spontaneously went to welcome him. They were also afraid that the young master from the county town would not be used to walking on the dirt road and would fall, so they lit many lanterns.
Of course, simply lighting lamps isn't enough to show sincerity in welcoming you.
Each household carried a congratulatory gift for Young Master Lou.
Some had two chickens, some had a bolt of burlap, and some had pickled vegetables...
Song Li saw that Qian Hutao's father, Qian Dahan, was carrying a duck and a piece of salted pork.
Madam Wu also dressed Qian Hudan up in new clothes for the New Year, with a festive red dot on his forehead, saying he would be Lou Gongzi's page.
It seems the Qian family feels the gifts weren't enough and wants to give some more away.
"Tch, a bunch of snobs!" Song Li muttered disdainfully.
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