Chapter 44 Li Zhengyang stood frozen in place, forced to watch…
Li Zhengyang stood frozen in place, forced to watch a melodramatic family drama, and was utterly dumbfounded.
He didn't approve of Li Zhu'er's father's character, but he was right about one thing: he had spoiled Li Zhu'er rotten.
The reason why Li Zhu'er couldn't find a wife in his early twenties was not largely due to his family's lack of money.
There are quite a few young men in the village without any family wealth. When they reach a certain age, they will naturally be able to get married. They may be poor, but they are willing to work hard and will not cheat or do anything like stealing chickens or dogs.
The reason he can't find a wife is because he is of low moral character and not worthy of a girl's lifelong commitment.
He himself never reflected on his own actions, but instead blamed all the problems on his parents' incompetence.
The farce ended with Li Zhu'er being slapped hard by his father and warned that if he continued to cause trouble, he would not be allowed to get married.
Compared to building a house and getting married two months later, Li Zhu'er was more afraid of never getting married at all. He knew better than anyone which was more important. He just wanted to rely on his parents' love to cause trouble. When he saw that his goal had failed and he was scolded by his father, he became obedient.
Li Zhengyang thought to himself, "Good job! After the beating, this guy's eyes looked at me much clearer. It seems I should have been dealt with a long time ago."
However, his parents weren't good people either. To prevent them from taking the money and then acting like scoundrels, he took them to his home and made a promise in front of his father. With the village chief as a witness, he figured they wouldn't dare to do anything reckless in the future.
Zhu Mingyue had just finished paying off her mortgage and now had to pay off her land loan, leaving her with mixed feelings of joy and worry.
"Sigh," Zhu Mingyue sighed after seeing off Li Zhengyang, who had come to deliver the good news. "When do you think we'll be able to save any money?"
Xie Pei's eyes darkened, and he was speechless. Unlike Zhu Mingyue, he had not enjoyed the relatively comfortable living conditions of later generations. For him, his current life was already very good, a hundred times better than before. He could eat his fill every meal, including meat. If things could continue like this, it wouldn't be bad at all...
But things often don't go as planned. For example, Zhu Mingyue was determined to save money but always spent more than she earned. Xie Pei wanted to continue living her current life, but the calm lake was disturbed by the first stone.
The dumpling shop was booming, with a constant stream of customers from opening in the morning until closing time. He even hired a waiter specifically for the business.
This was originally a good thing, as the net profit in one month of operation was equivalent to that of the previous month and a half. However, the business was so successful that it attracted the attention of nearby restaurants.
"Esteemed guests, your table has consumed seven large bowls of meat dumplings, totaling one hundred and forty coins."
The newly hired waiter was a fifteen-year-old boy. Although it always felt like child labor, fifteen was not young in this era. Zhu Mingyue was willing to hire him because he came from a poor family, but was steady, meticulous, and had a cleverness about him.
The initial monthly salary was 700 coins, which didn't seem like much, but it was more than what he earned cooking on the riverbank, and the work was easier.
Therefore, this kid cherished it even more and worked even harder than Zhu Mingyue herself.
Seeing this group of burly men sitting together, finishing their dumplings and casually picking their teeth with their legs crossed, showing no intention of paying the bill, he was able to maintain his composure, because this was the second group he had encountered since he started working at the store.
He clenched his fist and urged again in a calm tone, "Sir, would you like to settle this 140 coins in separate payments?"
"Pay up?" one of the middle-aged men, with a full beard covering half his face, said with an unfriendly expression. "Do we have to pay to eat here?"
"Yes! We're honoring you by coming here to support you."
"They're utterly ungrateful! Call your manager out here and let him tell us himself whether we need to pay for your dumplings!"
Their appearance was so terrifying, resembling vicious criminals who had each taken several lives, that not only frightened women and children from entering, but even those dining in the restaurant hurriedly finished their dumplings, paid their bills, and ran away for fear of getting into trouble.
The boy looked around, his clenched fists trembling slightly.
This standoff can't go on; it's clearly seriously impacting the shop's business. Calling the manager over is even worse; Zhu Mingyue is short and thin, and even three of him wouldn't be enough to withstand one punch from this burly man.
He bit his lip and glanced outside the door, hoping Xie Pei would return soon.
If these people really want to cause trouble, he and Xie Pei will still have the power to protect Zhu Mingyue.
To everyone's surprise, his appearance made them seem cowardly, which emboldened them even more.
"What are you standing there for! Call your manager over here!" one of them shouted.
The shop was deserted after everyone had left. The young man was disheartened. He knew that the two were far too weak to fight, so he decided to get rid of them first. "If you can't pay, then don't pay. Get out of here quickly." He had already planned to deduct the 140 coins from his wages.
"Who do you think you are! We have plenty of money." The burly man with the thick beard provocatively reached out to slap him in the face.
"What are you doing! Trying to fight?" The boy slapped the hand away hard, unable to bear it any longer. "You ate for free and now you want to hit me? Believe me or not, I'll report you to the authorities and have them arrest you."
It's unclear what he said that struck a chord with them, but the group burst into laughter.
After the laughter subsided, someone continued, "I'm too lazy to talk to you. Quickly call your manager over! We brothers are going to have a good chat with them today."
Just as the boy was about to lie and say that the shopkeeper was not there, Zhu Mingyue's clear and gentle voice came from behind him: "He An, go and clear away the dishes."
He An subconsciously said "okay," but after realizing what was happening, he didn't move. When Zhu Mingyue walked in front of him, he stood straight behind her, staring intently at the group, ready to fight them to the death if a physical conflict broke out.
"So you're the shopkeeper?" the person opposite mocked. "Are you trying to fool us?"
It's no wonder they didn't believe it. No matter how you looked at Zhu Mingyue, he didn't seem like a shopkeeper at all. His face still had a touch of childishness, and his figure hadn't fully matured. All these signs indicated that he hadn't reached adulthood yet.
Zhu Mingyue ignored their teasing and turned to He An, asking, "Don't you listen to me?"
He An nodded and then shook his head, showing a firm stance towards his superior: "I'm not going anywhere."
Unable to persuade him, Zhu Mingyue had no choice but to back down: "Then you should listen to me if I tell you to close the door, right?"
Close the door? He An really couldn't figure out what he was thinking. He had heard the saying that it's easy to beat someone up when the door is closed, but did he still not understand the situation?
There were only two of them. If he was considered one in terms of fighting ability, and Zhu Mingyue was barely half a fighter, then it would be difficult for them. With only one and a half people against seven burly men, it was obvious that they would be the ones getting beaten up!
He An wasn't afraid; he was just a worthless man, and even if he was beaten half to death, he would still survive. But the shopkeeper was different; with his frail body, he could be killed with a single punch if he wasn't careful.
He An had no fear of fighting, only worry about Zhu Mingyue's health bar.
Despite his disapproval, the moment Zhu Mingyue looked at him for the second time, he obediently went to close the door. He moved swiftly, closing the door and quickly returning behind Zhu Mingyue to act as her most loyal guard.
"As you can see, there are only the two of us in the shop, and there is no third person. The only manager you can be looking for is me."
Because the other person was so tall, he could only raise his head slightly to speak, which made him appear arrogant and disrespectful to others.
He An thought so too, secretly thinking to himself, "What kind of time is this? The shopkeeper still has to act so pretentious."
This perfectly matches the stereotypes that this group of people have about shopkeepers.
"Since you're the manager, then we'll have to have a serious talk with you." The leader said maliciously, "Your waiters are quite ignorant; they come to your restaurant to eat and then ask us for money. Do you think they should ask for it?"
Zhu Mingyue: "Serves you right."
"Exactly! We shouldn't have gone looking for... wait!" The man said incredulously, picking at his ear, "What did you just say?"
Zhu Mingyue raised her eyelids slightly, "Serves you right." This time, she also added, "In my shop, everyone except beggars or dogs has to pay."
"I wonder if you are beggars or—" He paused for two seconds, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said lightly, "dogs?"
"You want to die!" the other person said through gritted teeth with a sinister tone.
He An's hair stood on end, his eyes wide with rage. He clenched one fist and held the bowl in the other, waiting for the other to make a move so he could smash the bowl and use the shards as a weapon.
He regretted it deeply. There was a meat cleaver in the kitchen, which Xie Pei had sharpened to a very fine point, but he had forgotten to grab it in his daze.
"You can give it a try?" Zhu Mingyue had been ripped off twice in just a few days. If he still couldn't figure out that someone was deliberately doing this behind the scenes, then he was just wasting his brain. If he simply tolerated it to quell the situation, he would be falling into their trap, and they would only become more aggressive.
He calmly held the small pot, which he had specially commissioned from a craftsman, steady. No one noticed that his arms were trembling slightly in his loose sleeves, nor did anyone know that he was almost scared to death. There was no way he could change his gentle nature after being a law-abiding student for so many years. The first harsh words he could think of were ones he had learned from Xie Pei.
The other party seemed surprised that this seemingly chubby, white bun could be so tough.
Coincidentally, he loves bullying tough guys. The tougher they are, the more he wants to teach them a lesson. After beating them half to death, they wag their tails and beg for mercy like a lapdog, clinging to his legs and pleading for their life.
He had already thought it all out. If Zhu Mingyue begged him for her life, he would spare her just for that unforgettable, beautiful face. But the conditions were...
"Hehe!" The bearded man laughed, and the lewdness in his laughter was so obvious that even fifteen-year-old He An could instantly understand its meaning.
"How dare you..." He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. He smashed the bowl in his hand, gripping the broken pieces of porcelain tightly, and roared in fury, "I'm going to kill you!"
The man didn't take him seriously at all, and at his command, all seven men pulled out their weapons.
Zhu Mingyue's pupils contracted sharply when she was blinded by the sharp dagger in front of her.
"Brothers, kill the little one first, take it easy on the big one. We brothers will taste what it's like to be a man today!"
The crowd burst into laughter and became even more excited.
Zhu Mingyue shouted, "He An, step back!"
Then, as he lifted the lid of the pot he was carrying, just as the liquid was about to spill out, the door was suddenly kicked open.
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