Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 101

Tian Zao also revealed that this time, he would not be lenient with these merchants who hoarded grain and raised prices drastically.

The authorities must have been allocating food supplies and trying to solve the problem as quickly as possible, so they didn't have time to deal with these people.

Now that grain has been widely available on the market, alleviating the grain shortage, there should be time to deal with these woodworms.

"Old Su? Perhaps it really is possible. These grain merchants are too wicked."

As Xu Huizhen was speaking, she saw the team of police officers arrive in front of the grain store, stop, and then rush inside.

"It really is Old Su who's in trouble?" Xu Huizhen said in shock.

"How many good people are there in business these days?" He Yuzhu said with some emotion.

Xu Huizhen rolled her eyes: "Aren't you in business too?"

"That's why I say good people are rare. Where in the world can you find a good person like me?"

"Stop trying to glorify yourself. What kind of good person are you?"

"You've rebelled! How dare you talk about your brother like that?"

After exchanging a few words, the two saw Manager Su being escorted out, along with his wife and daughters, all bound hand and foot. Then, a number of animal carts arrived, emptied the grain store of all its grain, and sealed it off.

"That was quick enough," He Yuzhu said.

Xu Huizhen said, "It should have been sealed off long ago. There's plenty of grain in the warehouse behind their house."

He Yuzhu used his mental power to sense that the room behind was indeed full of grain, and after so many days of selling, not even half of it had been sold yet.

He Yuzhu was about to say something when he heard the sound of firecrackers going off in the street.

Then, in surprise, she exclaimed, "Is this a celebration with fireworks?"

After a burst of firecrackers, not long after, another burst of firecrackers was set off.

Xu Huizhen was also excited and said, "I'll take a plate of firecrackers too."

She skipped and hopped to the back to get a tray of firecrackers, then grabbed He Yuzhu's hand and said, "Come on, Brother Zhu, you light some."

He Yuzhu was speechless and asked, "If you want to set off fireworks, why don't you light them yourself?"

"If I dared to fire, would I need you? Hurry up!" Xu Huizhen urged confidently.

He Yuzhu looked around and saw that many people on the street had taken out firecrackers, and there were also many firecracker sounds in the distance. It seemed that it wasn't just Lao Su who was arrested today; this time, many grain dealers should have been arrested as well.

"Hurry up, why are you dawdling like this?" Xu Huizhen urged again.

He Yuzhu then took the incense sticks to light the firecrackers. Xu Huizhen was so frightened that she covered her ears and closed her eyes, not daring to look.

He Yuzhu lit the fuse of a firecracker and came to her side, then forcefully removed her hand from her ear.

"Wow wow wow."

Xu Huizhen screamed in fright, but He Yuzhu only let go of her hand with a grin after the firecrackers stopped going off.

"Huizhen, you have to listen for the sound when you set off firecrackers. What's the point of setting them off if you don't listen for the sound?"

"You big bad guy, you scared me to death."

Xu Huizhen first patted her still flat chest to calm herself down, and then said angrily, "He Yuzhu, you big bad guy, I'm angry and you can't coax me."

After saying that, she pouted and turned to go into the house.

"Are you really angry?" He Yuzhu asked from behind.

Xu Huizhen just snorted, turned her head without looking back, and swung her braids into the tavern, heading straight to the backyard.

Hong Jinling came up to her and said, "You bullied Huizhen, are you angry now?"

"I didn't bully her, I was just joking around with her," He Yuzhu said helplessly.

"Alright, aren't you going to go and coax her? If you keep this up, she'll really get angry."

He Yuzhu sighed, went to the roadside and bought a few candied hawthorns, keeping only two skewers and giving the rest to Hong Jinling to distribute to everyone.

Then he took it to the east wing at the back.

Once inside the private room, Xu Huizhen, with her back to the door, said, "Who let you in? You didn't even knock."

He Yuzhu handed her a string of candied hawthorns: "My Xu Huizhen is the most well-mannered and knowledgeable. Here, let your brother treat you to some candied hawthorns."

"Who is your Xu Huizhen? Aren't you ashamed?" Xu Huizhen said, "Don't think you can fool me with a candied hawthorn."

"What do you want? Just tell me and I'll give it to you."

"really?"

He Yuzhu said, "That's true. A real man doesn't go back on his word."

"I want to admire chrysanthemums, climb mountains, go sightseeing, and..."

"Sure, no problem. It's time to go out for a walk."

Now the tavern is running smoothly, with Master's wife and Sister Jinling spending almost all day there, giving He Yuzhu plenty of time to go out and have fun.

Xu Huizhen's mood brightened, and she reached out to take the candied hawthorn, then stuffed the rounded top into her cherry-like mouth.

Little girls are easier to please; a string of candied hawthorns and a trip are all they need.

Having finally found some free time, the two sat in the house and talked for a while before coming out. Hung Kam-yin said something that made Hsu Hui-chen blush.

Just as He Yuzhu was about to leave, Xu Damao ran in crying and shouting. When he got to He Yuzhu, he lifted his clothes, took out a kitchen knife from his pocket with his other hand, and started slashing at He Yuzhu.

"Silly Zhu, I killed him."

"Ah~~ Brother Zhu, hide quickly!" Xu Huizhen shouted from behind the counter.

The others also exclaimed in surprise, making all sorts of noises.

He Yuzhu has been practicing wrestling recently and has already become very sharp-witted and agile.

He reacted immediately, and when Xu Damao rushed up to him, he raised his foot and kicked him directly in the chest.

Xu Damao flew back at an even faster speed than before he arrived.

He lost his balance and slid on the ground for a distance until he hit the threshold and stopped. He also dropped the kitchen knife he was holding.

Without waiting for a signal, Da Yong rushed forward, pressed his knee against Xu Damao's back, twisted his wrists, and grabbed both of Xu Damao's wrists. Someone handed him a rope, and in a few moments, Xu Damao was tied up.

Xu Damao, pinned to the ground, continued to shout, "Let me go, you bunch of bastards! Let me go! I'm going to chop that bastard Sha Zhu to pieces!"

Xu Huizhen immediately threw herself into He Yuzhu's arms, hugging him and crying, "You scared me to death, waaaaah!"

He Yuzhu quickly hugged Xu Huizhen, gently patted her shoulder, and whispered soothing words to her.

Xu Huizhen was also caught off guard by the accident and was so frightened that she involuntarily threw herself into He Yuzhu's arms. After crying for a few moments, she was comforted by He Yuzhu and recovered.

Looking up, she felt embarrassed and wanted to explain, but said awkwardly, "I was just scared, please don't overthink it."

He Yuzhu suppressed a laugh: "I didn't think much of it."

The girl is easily embarrassed, and we've already upset her once, so we can't let her get angry again.

The master's wife and senior sisters all suppressed their laughter, turned their heads away, and no longer looked at the shy Xu Huizhen, but only made a gesture of encouragement to He Yuzhu.

At this point, Xu Damao had already been tied up and had a rag stuffed in his mouth. Dayong clapped his hands and then came over to ask, "Should we just send him to the police station?"

He Yuzhu said, "Don't rush, let's move it to the backyard first and ask why."

"Okay."

Da Yong dragged Xu Damao into the west wing of the backyard, and then returned to the front yard. He Yuzhu then pulled the rag out of Xu Damao's mouth and quickly moved aside.

Sure enough, Xu Damao spat out a mouthful of blood straight forward, but luckily He Yuzhu dodged quickly and wasn't sprayed on.

Enraged, he kicked Xu Damao from the side, and Xu Damao cried out and fell to the ground.

He Yuzhu then slapped Xu Damao across the face: "You son of a bitch, you've gotten so bold that you even dared to try and cut me with a knife."

Xu Damao said viciously, "You bastard, you deserve to be killed."

"Have you taken the wrong medicine today, you idiot?"

He Yuzhu slapped him again and asked, "We have no grudges against each other, why did you cut me?"

He Yuzhu was completely baffled. He had beaten Xu Damao once before, but that was several months ago. He had long since calmed down, so why was Xu suddenly attacking him with a knife?

Xu Damao, panting heavily, said angrily, "Who told you to get my father arrested?"

Then she burst into tears: "It's all over, it's all over! We have no food, no money, and my father has been arrested. We're going to be ruined!"

"What? What nonsense are you talking about? What grain? What money?" He Yuzhu asked hurriedly.

Xu Damao, who was crying loudly, suddenly turned his head and widened his eyes, saying, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault. You're the one who reported him, right? You sold grain to my father and then reported him. Only you could do something like this."

He Yuzhu understood somewhat now and asked, "Wait a minute, stop trying to smear me. Let's get this straight. Your father has been arrested?"

"Yes, you reported it yourself, don't you know that? You're just pretending to be confused."

"Heaven and earth bear witness, why would I report your father? I was the one who sold him that grain. If I reported him, wouldn't I also go to jail?"

"You didn't report it?" Xu Damao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Do you even have a brain? You're driving me crazy! Why would I report your dad? Think about it, he got his goods from me. What good would it do me to report him?"

He Yuzhu was furious. Although he didn't get along with Xu Wude, he wouldn't stoop so low as to report him. After all, he was the one who sold the grain. He bought it for 15 cents a pound and sold it for 30 cents a pound, making a profit of 100% and selling two tons of goods, a full 4000 pounds of flour.

Just wait for the price to drop before gradually buying in.