Chapter 117: Chapter 107: Debts Must Be Repaid
"Shopkeeper, the men have been assembled. I guarantee we’ll be able to take down that Fang Yue this time."
In the courtyard of the Four Directions Gambling House, the pedantic Scholar, who was as tall and thin as a beanpole and served as the Dog Head Military Advisor, spoke to the Shopkeeper seated at the head.
"However, Shopkeeper, are we bringing too many people this time? Isn’t it a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut? That Fang Wuju, although still a Martial Scholar, is a cripple. I’m afraid even a Martial Artist at the Skin Grinding Pass could handle him."
Since the gambling house was in a shady business, it naturally employed many thugs.
Of course, they were just men with mediocre skills. Most of them hadn’t even reached the first stage of the Martial Dao. They were fine for bullying ordinary people, but definitely no match for a true Martial Artist.
As for Martial Artists of higher Martial Arts Realms, they had those as well, of course.
However, these individuals weren’t subordinates of the Martial Arts Hall; it was more of a contractual relationship.
The gambling house paid the money, and they provided the muscle.
To deal with a single wastrel this time, they had hired three Martial Artists at the Bone Forging Pass. It really was a case of overkill, a waste of money.
"There’s no harm in being cautious. A sick tiger is still a tiger. Be careful not to get mauled while trying to hunt it," Shopkeeper Qi said, blowing on his teacup before taking a gentle sip.
"This is a big score. Three thousand acres of land and several thousand taels of silver coins. If we get our hands on it, it’ll be worth an entire year’s profit. We can’t be too careful."
Now that the disaster had passed, Shanyang Prefecture had returned to normal.
The value of those three thousand acres of land was at least twenty thousand taels of silver, and with the Fang Family’s savings on top of that, it was a minimum of thirty thousand taels of silver.
So, for this trip, they had to be extremely careful.
The tall, thin pedantic Scholar immediately exclaimed in loud praise:
"The Shopkeeper is brilliant! Truly brilliant! So farsighted, laying the groundwork so early on. This time, victory is assured."
A proper lackey knows how to suck up at the critical moment.
First, a reasonable question, followed by perfectly timed praise.
It served to better highlight the Shopkeeper’s abilities. Mastering this was the first step to being a good sycophant.
"Alright, keep an eye on that Chen Liang. Don’t let him die on the way. We’ll go to his house first, grab his father, and then head to the Fang Family in Da Liushu Village."
"Also, confirm the paperwork and have another copy signed to be kept at the gambling house."
Shopkeeper Qi gave the orders, then stood up and mounted his horse.
"Don’t you worry, Shopkeeper. That Chen Liang is a piece of work. Utterly shameless. A real backstabber. Right now, if you told him to sell out his own father, he’d do it and thank you for the honor."
The pedantic Scholar sneered.
In his many years at the gambling house, he had seen all sorts of people.
But he had truly never before met someone as shameless and without conscience as Chen Liang.
A poor bastard, and the things he put up for collateral weren’t even his. A mere nephew, acting like the master of his aunt’s house.
Heh, whoever ended up with a relative like that must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck.
~~~~~~
「The next day.」
「Da Liushu Village, the Fang Family home.」
「During breakfast.」
Ms. Chen picked at some green vegetables with her chopsticks, then looked at Fang Yue and said:
"Zhi’Er, isn’t it the examination for Martial Scholars these days? Your uncle sent a message over yesterday. He said his son Chen Liang sent a letter saying he’s sure to pass this time. He wants to borrow some meat from us to hold a celebratory banquet."
Hearing this, Fang Yue smiled at Ms. Chen. "Mother, you can make the decision on these matters. You don’t need to ask me."
The disaster had only just ended, and though life seemed poised to improve, all sorts of supplies were still very scarce.
For an ordinary family to hold a celebration and prepare a feast, just gathering the ingredients was difficult, let alone finding meat.
Even a typical landlord family would find it hard to have a meat dish these days.
’It’s just a request to borrow some meat. Our family still has plenty, so it’s not a problem.’
’I just wonder what my cousin said to make his own father—my uncle—so confident he’ll pass this time.’
Fang Yue had gone through the Military Examination himself. ’If I hadn’t had my Golden Finger, I’d probably still be just a cowherd in the village right now.’
’No, I wouldn’t even have been able to be a cowherd.’
’During this disaster, it was a blessing just to not starve to death. How could the family have afforded to raise a cow?’
"Alright then. I’ll have your father and Cheng’er make a trip later."
After speaking, Ms. Chen looked at Father Fang and Fang Cheng. They both naturally nodded, showing their willingness to go, and only then did Ms. Chen eat her meal with satisfaction.
In reality, Ms. Chen knew she didn’t need to ask Zhi’Er about such matters; she could have made the decision herself.
But everything they had was saved up by Fang Yue, and the good life their family now enjoyed was all thanks to Zhi’Er.
Therefore, for any similar matter, big or small, Ms. Chen always made sure to ask for Fang Yue’s opinion.
Once the meal was over, Father Fang and Fang Cheng set off in the horse-drawn carriage.
Ms. Chen’s maternal home wasn’t far. If they hurried, the father and son could be back by evening.
~~~~~~~
「Evening soon arrived.」
Ms. Chen had finished making dinner. She looked at the sky and calculated the time; Father Fang and Fang Cheng should have been back by now.
’Why aren’t they here yet?’
"Zhi’Er, you go ahead and eat. I’m going to go out and look. Maybe your father and brother are at the village entrance."
Although Ms. Chen usually acted tough in front of Father Fang and a bit cold toward her eldest son, deep down she was very worried about Father Fang and Fang Cheng.
Fang Yue knew he couldn’t stop her, so he didn’t try to persuade her otherwise.
Instead, he followed Ms. Chen out to have a look.
They had just stepped out of the courtyard gate.
Just then, a few of the village’s young men came running up, panting for breath.
"Yue, something’s happened! Something’s happened!"
"Your father and your older brother have been tied up! The people who did it are at the village entrance. Uncle Jiu and the others are blocking them. Yue, go take a look, quickly!"
The young man was so out of breath that his words were jumbled and incoherent.
Ms. Chen froze for a moment, then her face went pale. She asked nervously, "What did you say? Where are they? At the village entrance?"
Ms. Chen immediately started to run toward the village entrance but was stopped by Fang Yue.
"Mother, you go back first. I’ll go see what’s happening."
Fang Yue’s expression hardened, and he first told Ms. Chen to go back and wait.
’I don’t know what the situation is. If Mother comes along, I’ll have to worry about her safety, too.’
"Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll go take a look. Everything will be fine."
Fang Yue then said to the young men, "You few, escort my mother back home."
With that, he started walking toward the village entrance.
「The entrance to Da Liushu Village.」
Two or three hundred villagers had surrounded a group of fierce-looking men in black tight-fitting outfits, armed with clubs.
"Let Mr. Fang go, now! Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving this village today."
A young man from the Fang Family clan, shouldering a hoe, glared at the thugs from the Four Directions Gambling House.
These characters, of unknown origin and obviously up to no good, had Fang Mu and Fang Cheng surrounded. The two of them looked to be in a sorry state.
From the looks of it, they had clearly been roughed up.
"Heh heh, my good villagers, we’re respectable people. We would never do something like kidnapping. Please make way. We just have some business to discuss with Fang Wuju’s family."
Seeing that the farmers remained unmoved, the pedantic Scholar cleared his throat and continued:
"We are all reasonable people here. Tell me, isn’t it only natural to repay one’s debts? Fang Wuju’s family owes us money. Shouldn’t they pay it back?"
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the incensed villagers of Da Liushu Village immediately shouted back, "What nonsense is this? Fang Wuju owes you money? I could just as well say you owe us money! Let them go, now, or we won’t let you off easy!"
Currently, Fang Yue’s Family enjoyed a great deal of prestige in Da Liushu Village.
Besides, which one of their families didn’t rely on Fang Yue’s Family to get by?
At a time like this, it wasn’t just that they didn’t believe what these men were saying; even if it were true...
...they couldn’t let these people bully Fang Mu and Fang Cheng.
Otherwise, how could they ever show their faces in Da Liushu Village again?
The crowd grew more agitated, and they immediately began to press closer to the thugs.
"Bastards! A bunch of mud-legs! Look at this! This is a signed and fingerprinted IOU! Paying your debts is the law of the land. If you dare to obstruct us any further, I’ll report you to the Government Office and have you all charged with a crime!"
"And look who this is! This is our local Village Chief! I’d like to see any of you dare to step forward now!"
The pedantic Scholar produced two signed and fingerprinted IOUs. One was written by Chen Liang, and the other they had written themselves before forcing Fang Mu and Fang Cheng to ’sign and fingerprint’ it.
Sure enough, at the sight of the IOUs and the Village Chief, the furious villagers began to hesitate. After all, the authority of the Government Office was immense and solemn.
How would common folk ever dare to fight against the Government Office?
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