Chapter 71: Mute Uncle
Only Lü Changhua and his wife, his third daughter Lü Shuiling, and her husband Yu Jintang were left at the table. Lü Changhua took his third daughter and her husband to his room, intending to talk to them privately.
"Did you also see what happened last night?" Lu Changhua asked.
"Did you see that Feng Shijiu came to our house to cause trouble again?" Lu Shuiling asked back.
"Yes, I want you to stop gossiping outside."
"Dad, I always feel there is something fishy about Feng Shijiu's matter." Lu Shuiling continued.
"What do you want to say?" Lu Changhua straightened his back.
"Dad, what we mean is... after so many years, we can't let this thief run rampant over the Lu family. We should do something anyway." Yu Jintang said bravely.
"What can you, a nerd, do?" Lu Changhua was very disapproving.
"Indeed, the Linqing government can't do anything about him. But...can't we find another way?"
"How do you find a new way?"
"No matter how rampant Feng Shisan is, he is nothing more than a gangster. Our Lu family also made a living in the gang in the early years. Can't we use the methods of the gang to deal with him?" Yu Jintang said.
"Dad, we've thought about it," Lu Shuiling continued, "Our Lu family had some connections in the underworld in our early years, so we can definitely use them to handle underworld matters."
Lu Changhua pondered for a moment and said, "As for connections in the underworld... it's hard for people of my generation to find them. However, my uncle might have some connections. But he's mute now, so I don't know how much help he can have."
After a moment of silence, Lu Changhua continued, "Your idea is quite good and worth a try. Let me discuss it with my uncle."
Yu Jintang seemed to be hesitant to speak. Lu Changhua saw what he was thinking and asked, "Jintang, do you have anything else to say?"
"Dad... Actually, some of these words are not appropriate for me to say, but..."
"Just say whatever you want to say. We're all family."
"Well... I always feel that my uncle is hiding something from our family. Even though he has difficulty speaking, it seems that it's not that he can't say it, but that he doesn't want to say it at all."
Lu Changhua frowned, "Where did you get this from?"
"Father-in-law, I don't know if you've noticed, but every time Feng Nineteen shows up, he always comes out to investigate. Yesterday, it was my eldest sister and her husband who heard some noise in Dad's room and went out to inquire first. Over a month ago, it was also late at night, and my second brother-in-law, who was up for the night, spotted Feng Nineteen, and my great uncle immediately left the house. And on several previous occasions, my great uncle left the house quickly, and although he didn't say anything, it was as if he hadn't slept all night, waiting for Feng Nineteen to appear."
Lu Changhua pondered for a moment, then said, "Granduncle is old, so it's normal for him to sleep less. The slightest disturbance outside will definitely disturb his rest. He went out to see what was going on, and he was also concerned about whether Feng Shijiu, the thief, had stolen anything from our family."
"But Feng Shijiu hasn't stolen anything in so many times. What's there for him to worry about? And there's another point," Yu Jintang lowered his voice, "Father-in-law, it's not just my great-uncle, but Uncle Enting is also with him every time. Doesn't he sleep too?"
When asked this question, Lu Changhua narrowed his eyes and remained silent.
"Speaking of Uncle Enting... Dad, he's only eight years younger than you, but he's never considered marriage, and my uncle hasn't bothered to care either. He's remained single until now. Aren't you curious about this?"
"Third brother, this is someone else's family affair. Although we all live under the same roof, our uncle is not a direct relative after all. It is not our place to comment on what the father and son think. You younger generations should stop discussing the family affairs of your elders behind their backs. Hurry and get out of here."
Lu Changhua angrily drove out his third daughter and her husband. Lu Shuiling and Yu Jintang were disappointed and returned to their room in disappointment.
Madam Gao took the teapot and filled Lu Changhua's glass with water. "Master, I heard what Shui Ling and the others said just now. Although they really shouldn't talk about Uncle and the Enting brothers behind their backs, you should also pay attention to this matter."
"Hey, it's not like I haven't helped Enting before, but he just ignored me. What can I do? As for my great uncle... he's been mute for half his life and has a sensitive personality. He's especially wary of anything involving Feng Shijiu. So what Shui Ling said is probably just a fabrication to force me to decide on the inheritance of the three unique skills as soon as possible, and to exclude my great uncle and Enting from my consideration."
"Ah, you said this matter has caused such a stir. It seems that if we don't make plans quickly, it will really be no good. As for solving Feng Shijiu's problem... Master, what do you think of Shui Ling's idea?"
"It's a good idea, but I don't really have many connections in the martial arts world. Perhaps my uncle knows some people there, so why not ask him to make some connections?"
"We were just discussing him, and now we have to invite him..." Mrs. Gao said embarrassedly.
Before Lü Changhua could say anything else, they heard the old man coughing outside the door. The couple immediately recognized it as their mute uncle, Lü Tai, and quickly stood up to greet him.
Sure enough, Lu Tai asked his son Lu Enting to support him and slowly came to the door of the room with a cane.
"Uncle, you are here. Do you have something to talk to me about?" Lu Changhua hurried forward to greet him, and the couple asked Lu Tai to sit in the seat of honor.
"Brother Changhua, my father came here to discuss with you the inheritance of our Lu family's three unique skills." Lu Enting, who was standing next to Lu Tai, spoke first.
Lu Changhua couldn't help but frown, "Uncle, Enting, I'm still thinking about this matter and haven't made up my mind yet. Are you..."
"Ah...ah..." Lu Tai seemed very dissatisfied, gesturing with his hands. Lu Enting nodded after reading it. "My father said that since Brother Changhua has decided to become a Taoist monk, this matter must be resolved immediately. Otherwise, he will not bear to see our Lu family's unique skills lost to you."
Lu Changhua looked rather embarrassed. "You saw it at the dinner table this morning. Our three Lu family children and sons-in-law all had the same attitude. How can I make a decision?"
Lu Enting sneered, "Brother Changhua, have you forgotten? My last name is Lu too."
Lu Changhua's face tightened. "Enting, if you say that, I have to explain myself. If you had a wife and children, I would naturally consider you, but you have always been alone. Even if I pass it on to you, how will you pass it on?"
"Humph, if Lu Jiye were still alive, what you said might make some sense, Brother Changhua. But now we only have three daughters. Even if we have children in the future, wouldn't they be of a different surname? How can we talk about the inheritance of the Lu family?"
"you……"
The two were gradually arguing with each other when Zhang Dafang, Lu Tai's eldest disciple, walked into the house from outside and said, "Master, Master, there are three guests outside."
"Who is it?"
"Two men and one woman, claiming to be from the Cao Gang."
"Cao Gang?" Lu Changhua was a little puzzled. "What does Cao Gang have to do with me? Tell them I'm busy and can't receive them."
Before Zhang Dafang could accept the order and leave, Madam Gao called out to him, "Wait a minute!" Then she whispered to Lu Changhua, "Master, didn't you agree with Shui Ling's idea just now? Now that the Cao Gang is here, why not see what they have up their sleeves?"
Lu Changhua slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, yes, I would have forgotten if you hadn't reminded me. Dafang, please invite them in."
Zhang Dafang agreed and turned around to receive the guests.
"Brother Changhua, do you know anyone from the Cao Gang?" Lu Enting asked.
"Not really, but I had something to ask of the Cao Gang, and it just so happened that someone from them came, saving me the trouble of going out to visit the Cao Gang wharf myself."
"Something? What do you want from these gangs?"
"Hey, isn't it all about Feng Nineteen? After all, Feng Nineteen is considered a thief in the underworld. We might be able to solve this problem by leveraging our connections there. I was planning to ask my uncle about other people he knew in the underworld in his early years. Now that the Cao Gang has come to us, doesn't that save us a lot of trouble?"
Just as he said this, for some reason, his uncle Lu Tai started screaming "Ah... Ah..." incessantly, tapping the ground with his cane. Lu Enting seemed to immediately understand what Lu Tai meant. "Although the Cao Gang is considered the largest gang in the canal area, the members are a motley crew. Can they take on Feng Shijiu? Do they have the ability to do that?"
"Whether you have the ability or not, you might as well invite the person in to have a chat first, and then we can make a conclusion." Lu Changhua said.
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