A rude voice suddenly rang out from the side.
Zheng Quchi turned his head and saw a craftsman with his hair wrapped in cloth and wearing rolled-up work clothes. He looked to be only about 20 years old, with slender eyebrows and eyes and strong limbs.
Zheng Quchi stood up and politely explained, "I can't give this to you. These pieces of wood are for Gao Muyi and Shi Hetong. I'm here to guard them."
But the man didn't stop when he heard Gao Muyi and the others' names. Instead, he got angry: "The timber in this warehouse is shared. Why do those two think they can hog it when they're not even here?"
Hey, does this person not understand human language?
She clearly stated that she was here to guard the place for them, so how can she leave and then occupy it?
"Since it's shared, it's naturally first-come, first-served."
The man ignored her words and said arrogantly, "But they are still in the warehouse. Since the wood hasn't been moved, I can move it."
After saying that, he loudly called over the servants waiting outside and ordered them to move all the elm wood away.
Zheng Quchi couldn't help but get angry. She quickly ran to the wood and spread her arms to block it, saying, "Wait a moment, Mu Gaoyi and Shi Hetong will be back soon."
"You think I'm afraid of them? Move!"
Five or six tall, strong laborers came over, ignoring everyone. Zheng Quchi realized that the elm wood he had chosen was about to be lost. Just then, Mu Gaoyi and Shi Hetong returned.
After hearing Zheng Quchi recount the whole story, the two of them, not caring about the occasion, rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward to argue.
"How dare you! Didn't you hear what Aqing said? We were the ones who picked these logs first!" Mu Gaoyi said fiercely.
Shi Hetong straightened his face and said in a deep voice, "Fu Changfeng, what right do you have to steal our things?"
Upon seeing the two of them, the man, Fu Changfeng, sneered and mocked, "Why? I want to ask you, why did you two break the rules that our craftsmen's group has always followed? Forming factions and sticking together, what exactly do you want to do? Are you trying to squeeze out those of us who have stood out and make room for those of you who are not good enough? Let's see who wins in the end."
Mu Gaoyi, even quicker with his tongue, continued, "Fu Changfeng, who do you think you are? Don't think we're blind to see that your thing is just a copy of Sang Xuanqing's design. What skills do you have? You haven't created anything particularly remarkable in all these years."
This sarcastic retort was deadly.
Upon hearing this, Fu Changfeng became so angry that he blurted out, "And what about you? Before criticizing others, don't you ever take a piss and look at yourselves? The general's orders to develop large-scale machinery for other countries have also resulted in failure after failure..."
Seeing that the two sides had not only brought up their old grudges over a pile of wood, but also argued fiercely in front of everyone, completely tearing off their mask, Zheng Quchi was also amazed.
It's surprising that such a group of artisans is not only fiercely competitive, but also seems to have a lot of internal grudges.
Knowing that continuing to argue was pointless, Fu Changfeng, relying on the large number of men he had brought, directly ordered the laborers behind him: "Go and drag these logs back! I, Fu Changfeng, am determined to have this elm wood today, and no one can stop me!"
Zheng Quchi squeezed in and cursed him, calling him shameless: "Are you trying to rob me by force?"
"What do you mean by forcibly taking it! This thing wasn't yours to begin with. I need it urgently. If you keep stopping me, my crane won't be completed on time, delaying the general's important business. Can you, a mere handyman, and the two of you, bear the responsibility?" Fu Changfeng's arrogance flared.
For a moment, the two sides were in a triangular standoff, neither willing to back down. But overall, Zheng Quchi's side was at a disadvantage because the other side had more people and could take the goods by force, while they only had three.
"If she can't take on the responsibility, can you?"
At the warehouse entrance, a male voice, tinged with laughter at the end, rang out like a blizzard.
Zheng Quchi froze, looking over in surprise.
Everyone else turned around immediately and saw Yuwen Sheng standing there with his adjutant Wang and bodyguard Wei.
The general's scarlet lips curved into a smile, and a cold, sarcastic laugh echoed, piercing the air and making people tremble all over.
Everyone was stunned.
"General?"
Their legs buckled, and they knelt on the ground with a thud. Their attitude of trying to save their lives and their familiar kneeling posture were simply routine.
Zheng Quchi, who was often slow to react because he was not used to kneeling, was always out of place in such situations.
She stood there, like a piece of wood standing still.
She wondered if she, now that she had been promoted to general's wife, still had to kneel before Yuwen Sheng at all times, just like before.
But then she thought again that her title as the general's wife was too exaggerated and shouldn't be taken seriously. It would be better for her to be like everyone else. Besides, now, she was "Aqing," wasn't she?
Just as she was about to kneel, she inadvertently met Yuwen Sheng's gaze. He was staring straight at her, his dark eyes silently entangled with hers.
She paused for a moment.
"Get up, all of you," Yuwen Sheng said.
This is the first time ever! The general has actually exempted them from the punishment of kneeling!
I was shocked, incredulous, and even more terrified.
Anything unusual is not a good thing, at least for Mu Gaoyi, Fu Changfeng and the others, they were all numb.
Imagine in the past, whenever they committed a crime, they would have to kneel until the general's anger subsided or he left. But this time, as soon as they knelt down, the general "considerately and gently" let them go.
Upon hearing Yuwen Sheng call for help, Zheng Quchi's eyes lit up, and his slightly bent knees straightened up again.
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