At Hou Si's command, several young men rushed forward.
The tall man had a clear goal and headed straight for Liu Tong.
Although Hou Si was short, he felt that he could easily take down Lu Qiqi, a young girl, and he didn't think that it was a despicable thing to lay a hand on a woman.
Lu Qiqi stared sharply at the group of scoundrels. Hou Si rushed forward, but before he could even touch Lu Qiqi, she kicked him away.
With a "bang!" it landed directly on the ground.
The remaining hooligans were dealt with by Lu Qiqi like cabbages; in no time, they were all lying on the ground, curled up in various strange positions, making whimpering sounds.
Seeing how swift and clean Lu Qiqi's movements were, the onlookers actually clapped and cheered.
Lu Qiqi knocked down the group of hooligans, let out a breath, and said loudly, "It's true that we are refugees from other places. The Luzhou Prefecture government has taken in many refugees and even allocated land to our village for registration. We are grateful and have never had the idea of forcibly destroying anything. We just want to make a living with our skills. Is that wrong?!"
A voice of doubt arose from the crowd, "Then you shouldn't be taking over the locals' territory."
Lu Qiqi had been waiting for these words. She said, "We have never seized anyone's territory. I paid taxes on this spot on the very first day I set up my stall. Even if it comes to the government office, I'm not afraid. Besides, we are law-abiding citizens assigned to Qingshui Town by Luzhou Prefecture, and we are registered here. So, we are locals. On behalf of Fatty, I'd like to make a statement here: from now on, we will not offend others unless they offend us, and if they do, we will retaliate!"
"Well said!" Liu Tong was helped to sit down by Zhu Zi. Hearing Lu Qiqi's words, he felt his blood boiling and was extremely excited.
Hou Si knew he wouldn't get anything out of this place, so he immediately called for backup and slunk away.
The onlookers, seeing that one side had fled and the show was over, gradually dispersed.
Lu Qiqi walked up to Liu Tong and asked, "Uncle Liu, are you alright?"
Liu Tong shook his head. He and his apprentice barely had to exert any effort; Lu Qiqi handled everything by herself.
Liu Tong said, "I didn't expect anyone to come knocking on our door. It seems our business is too eye-catching, and these people are trying to take over our territory."
Lu Qiqi said, "No matter what, we are upright and honest, so we are not afraid of these scoundrels. Even if there is malicious competition in the future, we are not afraid. We will deal with whatever comes our way. As long as we do business with integrity, discerning people will be able to see through us."
Zhu Zi asked, "So, are we still doing business today?"
Lu Qiqi recalled how the pillar stood in front of Liu Tong and felt that Liu Tong had not been a wasted disciple.
Lu Qiqi said, "Make it! Not only make it, but make even more noodles than last time."
Dunzi was puzzled and asked Lu Qiqi, "We've already had a fight with someone, do you think anyone would dare to come to our door to eat?"
Lu Qiqi couldn't help but laugh when she thought about how Dunzi had been both worried about Liu Tong getting hurt and worried about her getting hurt, and had even forced her to protect Liu Tong behind him.
Lu Qiqi coughed lightly and said, "I dare. We are the winners, so we will definitely earn more and sell more today than last time."
They've certainly made their spicy noodles more famous. Now, for better or worse, more people remember "Fat Brother," thanks to those hooligans who provided free advertising.
Just as Lu Qiqi had expected, business was not only better than the last time she set up her stall, but many people also praised the noodles for being delicious and praised the person for being upright and honest, just like the noodles, which had backbone and strength.
This made Liu Tong extremely happy. He worked tirelessly for several hours straight, kneading dough and making noodles without taking a break. His face was always beaming with joy.
Even after packing up and going home, Liu Tong didn't feel tired. He was still lamenting how fast time flew by and how he wished he could set up his stall every day.
Looking at the guards at the city gate, Lu Qiqi wondered when they would withdraw and whether the refugees who had fled here could live and work in peace and contentment in Luzhou Prefecture, just like them.
Lu Qiqi, carrying a full purse of money, sat on the oxcart humming a song as she returned to the veterans' village in the afterglow of the setting sun.
***
As Lu Qiqi and Liu Tong, master and apprentice, arrived at the big camphor tree at the entrance of the veterans' village, they saw Lu Shi hurriedly running out of the village.
Lu Qiqi called out to Madam Lu, "Auntie."
When Lu saw Lu Qiqi and the others return, her eyes were blurry and she almost tripped. Lu Qiqi quickly jumped off the oxcart and went to help her up.
Lu Qiqi knew that although Madam Lu was usually very efficient, she wouldn't be so flustered as to lose a shoe unless something urgent or important happened.
Lu Qiqi asked, "Auntie, what happened?"
Tears streamed down Madam Lu's face as she tried to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. Finally, she stamped her foot and said, "Come with me."
After saying that, he ran back.
Seeing this, Lu Qiqi hurriedly followed, while Liu Tong stayed behind to drive the oxcart, letting Zhuzi and Dunzi go along to help.
The four of them ran back to the tent. Before Lu Qiqi even entered the tent, she heard crying. Her heart sank, and she quickly stepped into the tent.
“Sister Lu is back!” Zhou San’s loud voice broke through the crying.
Lu Qiqi saw more than a dozen people gathered around the wooden bed. Li Shi was lying on the bed, sobbing. And the person lying on the bed, who else could it be but his third uncle?!
When Lu Qiqi got closer, she saw that Lu Dahai's forehead was covered in blood mixed with white powder; it was no exaggeration to describe it as a bloody mess.
Li Changlong released Li's hand and said with a stern face, "My father was beaten and injured. There is no doctor in the village, so we used Panax notoginseng powder to stop the bleeding as you said, but it didn't work."
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