Chapter 13 Laughing at Poverty, Not Prostitution [Bonus Chapter]
This suggestion, which would be met with a slap in the face today, would actually have been quite difficult to implement in ancient times.
Not every household can afford hot water. Hot water is usually boiled only in winter when guests come to warm them up.
They usually drink well water directly, regardless of whether there are parasites or not, since they might not live long enough for the parasites to develop.
A-Tu's little face wrinkled up: "Hot water... that requires firewood, and firewood is quite expensive. Buying hot water in town costs three coins... sigh, even a hero can be brought down by a penny."
Guan Zhiwei looked at this little hero and wanted to laugh, so she easily helped him up.
"Go to my house and fetch some firewood. You can only take it once a day, and I'll give you as much as you can. It depends on your ability."
"Wow!"
A-Tu struggled and only managed to carry away one piece of wood; it was so heavy!
However, this piece of firewood was enough for him to boil water for his mother.
This piece of firewood even sparked a considerable dispute.
These days, getting firewood isn't easy. If you have money, you can buy it. If you don't have money and want to go into the mountains to chop firewood, you first need an axe, and secondly, you need strength. These are things that children can't possibly have.
When he carried firewood across the street, it was no less impressive than carrying a fortune through a bustling city.
The neighbor jumped out and accused A-Tu of stealing their firewood—the neighbor suspected that the firewood was a gift from her lecherous husband.
The child cried after being scolded, and all his attempts to explain were in vain.
His house door was still tightly closed.
When Madam Feng returned and learned that her child had been bullied, she couldn't stand it. She rolled up her sleeves and went to the street, where she got into an argument with her neighbors.
They were arguing fiercely, using foul language, which disturbed the neighbors.
Seeing so many people, the neighbor decided to start slut-shaming, saying, "Your family can afford to buy firewood?! All the money in your family comes from your wholesale business, you practically scrimp and save!"
Madam Feng trembled like a flower struck by frost. She covered the sobbing A-Tu's ears, turned around, and smiled: "I can earn this money if I want to. Even if you pay me, no one will want to look at your profile. Your husband is so desperate for sex, he can't even bring himself to do it to you."
The neighbor man covered his face, groaning and saying how embarrassing it was, and turned to leave, but was grabbed by a burly woman.
She wanted to utterly humiliate this adulterous couple.
The woman rolled up her sleeves and said, "You little whore who walks the streets! You bastard! Showing off your stench to me? I find it disgusting!"
"You like the smell!" Madam Feng retorted, patting her son's shoulder. "Son, go back inside!"
Atu wouldn't leave, crying, "That firewood was given to me by Xiao Guan!"
The man said, "I didn't give them any firewood, so please stop making a fuss."
The neighbors all advised him to let it go, saying it wasn't a big deal.
But the two women got carried away and insisted on fighting. They swung at each other, pushing and pulling. Feng Niangzi was no match for her opponent's big and strong body, and she was quickly overpowered and pinned down.
Atu cried loudly and went to help his mother, but was pushed away and fell to the ground, getting a small bump on his forehead. He cried even harder.
Amidst this chaos, Guan Zhiwei went home after get off work.
Seeing a crowd gathered in front of the courtyard, she chuckled: "Is there gold to pick up right outside my door?"
Atu looked at her through the crowd, tears streaming down his face, "Xiao Guan, tell them that the firewood was given to me by you."
Seeing his pitiful state, Guan Zhiwei stepped forward and wiped away his tears. "Yes, it was me who gave it to him."
The neighbor woman saw Guan Zhiwei and her eyes showed deep fear, but she was unwilling to give up so easily. She said awkwardly, "Little Guan, don't be fooled by this woman. She's a slut. She goes out all day with her pipa, singing for men. Everyone in the neighborhood knows she's a whore. She's still shameless, swaying her hips and putting on makeup all day, making dirty money. She really thinks people laugh at poverty but not prostitution. It's hilarious!"
Guan Zhiwei calmly said, "Only those in high positions can decide whether to mock prostitutes or the poor."
The woman paused for a moment.
Seeing that she wouldn't get up, Guan Zhiwei simply stepped forward, grabbed her with one hand, and then threw her off forcefully.
The woman was thrown out like a cannonball, landing on top of her husband.
"Ah!" The husband looked pained.
Everyone was shocked. They had all vaguely heard about what happened that night, but this was the first time they had witnessed Guan Zhiwei's strength.
Madam Feng got up from the ground, and the first thing she did was fix her hair. She calmly said, "Didn't you say I had a lover? I'll find two more lovers and burn your house down!"
The neighboring couple weren't afraid of her threats, but seeing Guan Zhiwei standing there calmly, seemingly lost in thought, they felt she looked more and more like a murderer, and so they chickened out.
The neighbors started talking about keeping the peace.
They'd say there was no real grudge, or that life was tough and they should try to understand each other.
Madam Feng brushed the dirt off her clothes, took her son's hand, and said dejectedly, "Let's go home."
"Are we just going to let it go like that?" Guan Zhiwei blurted out.
With red eyes, she tried to sound casual: "What else can we do? We can't just kill them."
Guan Zhiwei then asked, "Where is your husband?"
"Chunsheng, let's go inside," Madam Feng said casually.
The man's name was Yan Chunsheng. He had a good reputation among the neighbors, was gentle, never argued with anyone, and even lent Guan Zhiwei his valuable shovel.
Guan Zhiwei didn't say anything more, but simply opened the door to her yard.
Show it to them.
"These are all the firewood I chopped. I gave them to Atu today, and I will give them to him in the future."
The firewood is piled up as high as a small mountain; how wealthy!
When life gets tough, even a handful of firewood can crush a person's spine.
Atu hugged a piece of firewood and cried, his tears were heartbreaking.
Madam Feng wiped away his tears, while her own tears streamed down her face: "What can we do? This is all I, your mother, can do."
The mother and child embraced each other, and the person crying was heartbroken.
The more sympathy the neighbors had for Madam Feng, the colder their condemning gazes were towards the couple next door.
The neighbor woman was somewhat embarrassed. She thought that she had been unable to resist the temptation of that scumbag man and had used firewood to please Madam Feng.
The man cursed and swore, calling the woman a troublemaker who was always looking for trouble!
They're neighbors, and they're going to stay here.
Amidst the commotion, Dogtooth came running back, panting heavily: "The market... executions... so many people."
With the new excitement of murder, trivial matters like neighborhood quarrels lost their appeal, and the crowd dispersed, all rushing to the market.
Guan Zhiwei was not interested and turned to go back inside.
Dogtooth gestured exaggeratedly: "Something happened to the Zhou family. We were just sending them weapons a couple of days ago."
"Was their house robbed?"
"No—" Dogtooth swallowed hard, and said in terror, "Their family has been arrested for treason and is going to be beheaded!"
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