Chapter 185 Threat
The news of the fight between the Liu father and son quickly spread throughout the village.
The villagers guessed the reason for the fight, and when they discussed it privately, some couldn't help but sigh, "You can't do anything that goes against your conscience."
If Kong Dazhuang hadn't stolen the Sheng family's money back then, and had shown some concern for his daughter An Yatou after his "remarriage," An Yatou wouldn't be ignoring him today.
"Who can disagree? Fortunately, Uncle Sheng's family has finally overcome their hardships and is living a good life, which allows us to benefit as well."
"Haha, each family got a roast chicken and four pounds of pork. So much good stuff, just in time for the New Year. The aroma of meat wafting through the village at noon will probably attract the dogs from the next village."
"Don't even mention the dog, the aroma of that roast chicken was so enticing that even I, a grown man, was mesmerized. My wife was so afraid that I and the kids would steal some, so she not only hid it in the cupboard but also locked it from the outside."
"Your wife is the best. At least the whole roast chicken ends up in your stomachs. My wife is a spendthrift. She just split it in half and sent it to her family."
“You didn’t give your father-in-law a Mid-Autumn Festival gift, so it’s only right that your wife gives him half a chicken. Don’t be so stingy, you’re a grown man.”
“Who’s stingy? If she were really stingy, I would have asked her to send half a chicken. It’s just that my family is too poor. If I had An’s luck, I would be sending meat to my father-in-law’s family every day.”
"..."
The villagers gathered together, chatting animatedly about the Liu family's gossip and how each family planned to eat their meat.
At noon, every household in Huai Shu Village was stewing meat, and the air was filled with a rich aroma of meat, which attracted the dogs from the neighboring village.
The four family members didn't get any meat, so they could only gnaw on the rough, chewy multigrain pancakes, savoring the aroma of meat that wafted over them. Only they knew what they were feeling.
Meanwhile, the constables chased after Liu Erleng to his house to arrest him, but found nothing.
The constables were furious when they learned that Liu Erleng had not returned home for four or five days and that his family did not know where he had gone.
Two people were secretly left to guard the vicinity, while the others continued to search for Liu Erleng's whereabouts. They also issued wanted posters with official seals to villages and towns under Qingzhou's jurisdiction, and the streets and alleys of the city were plastered with them.
The wanted poster indicated a reward: ten taels for providing clues and fifty taels for capturing Liu Erleng.
The bounty was naturally paid by Sheng Anlai. Shengyuan's monthly income was an astonishing figure, so they didn't lack this bounty.
With such a generous reward, brave men would surely emerge. Those who knew Liu Erleng were thrilled and stopped doing their work, instead making a point of wandering around various villages and towns.
Overnight, Liu Erleng became a pariah, afraid to appear in public for fear of being recognized by those who knew him.
At noon, everyone was having lunch, and Liu Huazhi was also in the kitchen cooking dumpling soup for herself.
Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard gate. Thinking it was Xu Huaining returning, she went straight to open the gate.
Upon recognizing the person lurking at the door, her expression changed drastically, and she instinctively tried to close the gate.
A hand as big as a palm-leaf fan reached out and pushed the courtyard gate open with force. A burly figure flashed in and, amidst Liu Huazhi's exclamation, quickly closed the gate and bolted it shut.
"Are you out of your mind? It's broad daylight! You're going to kill me!"
Liu Huazhi's face was pale. She stared at the man who had barged in with a mixture of tension and fear, and growled at him in a low voice.
Liu Erleng glanced at her, then quickly went to the kitchen without saying a word. Seeing the freshly cooked dumpling soup in the pot, he skillfully took out a large bowl from the old cupboard.
Liu Huazhi rushed in and saw that there wasn't a drop of soup left in the pot. She couldn't help but yell at Liu Erleng, "You ate it all by yourself! What am I supposed to eat?!"
Liu Erleng, panting heavily, said without even turning his head, "Just redo it. You didn't have this attitude when I came here before."
Liu Huazhi was agitated, her brows furrowed so deeply they could trap several flies: "How can things be the same now? Your wanted poster is still up at the alley entrance. If someone finds you here, we're both dead!"
She has a long life ahead of her, how could she go to jail with this man?
With a loud thud, Liu Erleng slammed the bowl down on the cutting board, staring coldly at Liu Huazhi:
"You wretched woman, if it weren't for me that night, you would have been raped in the open. The reason I became a wanted criminal is because of your instigation, which led me to take action against that woman."
Upon hearing this, Liu Huazhi's expression twisted: "You're talking nonsense! It was clearly you who had the idea of kidnapping and extortion, it has nothing to do with me!"
At most, she would speak ill of this jinx in front of him, calling him a shrewd businessman who sold a roasted chicken for two ounces and a jar of glutinous rice wine that anyone could make for ten ounces, making a fortune every day.
Liu Huazhi would never admit that she deliberately said these things in front of Liu Erleng, hoping that Liu Erleng would go to Shengyuan and steal all the money.
Liu Huazhi never expected Liu Erleng to be so bold as to kidnap Sheng An in broad daylight and extort money from him.
Not only did they attempt a kidnapping, but they also failed, resulting in the loss of all their henchmen and making them pariahs themselves.
"Hmph, you can't just say you didn't do it and then you don't. If you know what's good for you, you'd better treat me well. Otherwise, if I get arrested one day, I'll tell the authorities that you ordered me to do it."
Liu Erleng didn't care about Liu Huazhi's cold face at all. She was just a pretentious harlot, not his proper wife. He had no interest in her thoughts.
He wouldn't have risked coming to find this woman if he hadn't had nowhere to hide and nowhere to get food.
"How—how could you do this!"
Liu Huazhi was so angry that she jumped up and down. Afraid that the neighbors next door would hear, she lowered her voice and advised Liu Erleng with red eyes: "If you don't want to be arrested and imprisoned, you should leave Qingcheng and go somewhere else as soon as possible, otherwise you will only harm yourself."
Liu Erleng sneered: "I'll leave Qingcheng if you give me two hundred taels of silver, and I'll leave right now."
Liu Huazhi felt dizzy and trembling, pointing at Liu Erleng but unable to speak.
If she had two hundred taels of silver, would she need to put up with Huaining's attitude every day?
Even if you sold her by weight, you wouldn't get two hundred taels.
Seeing that Liu Huazhi didn't speak, Liu Erleng clicked his tongue and ate the last mouthful of dumpling soup in his bowl: "I'll be hiding here for a while, remember to prepare food for me."
After saying that, he put down his chopsticks, got up, pushed aside the willow branches, and slowly walked into the house, as if he were going back to his own home, without any concern that Xu Huaining would find out.
Liu Huazhi was terrified and had no choice but to find a way to hide Liu Erleng. In the end, she tidied up a small storage room of less than two square meters that she had hastily built in the backyard and let Liu Erleng live there temporarily.
Xu Huaining never does housework or goes to the storage room, so Liu Erleng can hide there without being discovered by him.
Sheng An was unaware that Liu Erleng had sneaked into the city and was hiding in the small, dilapidated house rented by Liu Huazhi. Seeing that the authorities had not yet caught Liu Erleng, she was not too worried.
Xu Cuilian's family was very anxious, and the whole family came to Shengyuan to inquire about the situation.
Upon learning that the suspect had not yet been caught, Xu Cuilian began to grumble: "What's the use of the government having so many people? When it really matters, they can't even catch a criminal!"
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