novelraw Chapter 435 - 0416: Just Wait and See (2)
Chapter 435 - 0416: Just Wait and See (2)
Tian Sanbao was so scared after being beaten that he didn’t dare disobey. He hobbled home, cradling his sore leg, to get the silver.
He loved gambling and often got into fights with other gamblers. He frequently returned home bruised and sometimes didn’t come back at all overnight, which his family had become accustomed to, so they never asked why he was gone for a night.
Tian Sanbao offered the silver for the Pavilion Chief to see.
The Pavilion Chief took it and handed it to Song Jinxiu.
Song Jinxiu received it gratefully and bowed to the Pavilion Chief, "Thank you, Pavilion Chief, for upholding justice. I will certainly remember your immense kindness and virtue. When my grandfather recovers, I will bring him to thank you personally at your home."
Li Xing’an, Li Yuzhu, and Mu Yuanxiu also took the opportunity to shower the Pavilion Chief with praise, highlighting his benevolence towards his citizens.
The Pavilion Chief was very pleased with the flattery.
He then more sternly urged Tian Sanbao to quickly go back and write the placard so that the punishment could be carried out, allowing him to go home sooner.
Upon gaining his freedom, Tian Sanbao ran back without even saluting the Pavilion Chief.
Song Lizheng was furious, his face turning grim and dark.
Once the investigation was concluded, the Pavilion Chief got up to take his leave.
The villagers, needing to tend to their farm work, also left in small groups.
Song Lizheng wanted to invite the Pavilion Chief to his home for breakfast, but the Pavilion Chief declined, saying there were other matters he needed to attend to at home.
Having failed in his invitation, Song Lizheng could only respectfully see the Pavilion Chief off.
The Pavilion Chief, claiming he needed to attend to matters, was in fact making an excuse. He wished to see Prince Luling, as today was a golden opportunity to connect with the Li Family, not to be missed.
He smiled and invited Li Xing’an to travel together back to Taohua River Village.
But Li Xing’an was waiting for Li Yuzhu.
As they exchanged polite farewells, Li Yuzhu entered Mr. Song’s bedroom.
She was checking Mr. Song’s condition.
Li Yuzhu found that Mr. Song’s fever had subsided, but he was still weakened from the illness the previous night and had not yet woken up.
Having stayed up all night, she was very tired, so Song Jinxiu did not keep her and urged her to go home for some rest.
Li Yuzhu reassured Song Jinxiu, "Tian Sanbao won’t dare come to bother you again unless he wants to go to jail at the county government. From now on, you can live your life worry-free. If he or his mother comes to trouble you again, just bring up the Pavilion Chief to scare them off."
Song Jinxiu gratefully held her hand, "I understand. Miss Li, please go and rest, you look unwell."
Li Yuzhu was indeed tired. After waving goodbye to Song Jinxiu, she got into Mu Yuanxiu’s mule cart.
Mu Yuanxiu moved quickly; while everyone was dealing with Tian Sanbao, he had already loaded the mule cart.
The group sped towards Taohua River Village in the morning light.
Song Lizheng stood by the roadside to see them off.
Once Li Yuzhu and the others were out of sight, Song Lizheng shook his head and headed home with his hands behind his back.
Song Jinxiu, who had been standing on the steps to see them off, also returned inside.
The previous night, many people had come, leaving behind much dust and disarranged chairs.
Song Jinxiu began tidying up and sweeping the house.
In Mr. Song’s bedroom, a cough resounded, "Jinxiu, ah."
Song Jinxiu dropped her broom and rushed into the room, "Grandpa, you’re awake? Does your head still hurt?"
"No, it feels much better now." Mr. Song looked towards the window; it was fully light outside, "The sun’s already up? Bring me my clothes, I want to get up."
"You had a fever last night. Won’t you sleep a bit longer?" Song Jinxiu brought a bowl of warm water for Mr. Song.
This was something Li Yuzhu recommended: that the elderly should drink a cup of warm, lightly salted water every morning before getting up, to expel toxins from the body and to invigorate the stiff blood vessels that had rested all night.
Regular practice could reduce instances of dizziness and stroke.
Mr. Song initially didn’t care for the lightly salted water, but upon hearing it was Li Yuzhu’s suggestion, he stuck with it for a few days and got used to it.
"I won’t sleep anymore, my bones are stiff from oversleeping." Mr. Song waved his hand, then tilted his head to think, "What happened in the backyard last night? I thought I heard something."
The matter was resolved.
It was all over.
Song Jinxiu didn’t hide anything from Mr. Song.
She recounted everything that happened last night to Mr. Song.
After listening, Mr. Song was silent for a moment, "Later, I’ll go to the Li Family to express my thanks. Without Third Young Master Li, Miss Li, and their neighbors last night, we would’ve continued to suffer indignities."
Song Jinxiu said, "I’ll go with you, Grandpa."
"Alright, we’ll go together." Mr. Song nodded.
Song Jinxiu helped Mr. Song get up and washed, and then she changed into some fresh clothes, washed her face, and they both had a simple bite to eat. Song Jinxiu borrowed a cattle cart from the nearest Niu Family, locked up the house, and used it to take Mr. Song to the Li Family in Taohua River Village.
The grandparents had just left shortly before Tian Sanbao came carrying a wooden board with an apology written on it.
He sighed and with great reluctance, knelt on the steps in front of the Song Family’s house.
When passersby came, he quickly held out the board for them to see, "Look, look, I’m apologizing to Song Jinxiu."
Approaching was an elderly woman with completely white hair, a bent back, leaning on a walking stick, and carrying a small bundle of firewood on her back.
The old woman shook her head, "I can’t read, what does it say?"
Tian Sanbao had only attended a few days of schooling as a child. The words he recognized were roughly the same number as his fingers and toes. The writing on the board wasn’t his; he had gotten a local child who could read to write it for him.
The child’s name is Song Baoshun.
He recites, while Song Baoshun writes.
Song Baoshun is the skinny kid who dared to talk back to Prince Luling.
Song Baoshun looks like a monkey and is as clever as one; he mocked Tian Sanbao harshly.
Tian Sanbao was so angry he wanted to hit him.
But if he hit Song Baoshun, where would he find someone else to write for him?
He needed to hurry and finish writing, kneel down for punishment, and get home early.
Tian Sanbao suppressed his anger, gave him two coins, and asked Song Baoshun to write quickly.
Song Baoshun was also rushing to school, and being pestered by Tian Sanbao annoyed him. He scribbled carelessly, took the two coins as a fee, and happily ran off with his schoolbag.
Tian Sanbao knew the content but did not recognize the characters.
The old woman asked, and Tian Sanbao repeated what he had told Song Baoshun.
"That’s not right. The characters you mentioned don’t match what’s written here; you’re seven characters short," the old woman, who couldn’t read but could count, said, "You’re just making things up."
The old woman couldn’t be bothered with Tian Sanbao anymore and left.
"Come back, listen to me," Tian Sanbao shouted loudly at her.
But the old woman still ignored him. The young ones were just messing around out of boredom, but she didn’t have time to play. She still had to go home to feed the chickens, pigs, and grandchildren.
Tian Sanbao sighed, thinking, "Don’t panic, just wait for someone else to come by, and explain again."
After the old woman left, an old man pushing a cart came by, with a three or four-year-old child eating a pastry sitting on the cart.
It was windy today. The child wore a tiger-skin hat and looked very lively and spirited.
Tian Sanbao shouted at this grandfather and grandson, asking them to look at his sign.
The old man shouted, "What?"
"I’m saying, look at the sign. I’m apologizing to Song Jinxiu; it states the reason and the apology," Tian Sanbao patted the wooden sign,
"What? I can’t hear you, my ears are bad." The old man pointed to his ears.
Tian Sanbao, "..."
He angrily cursed, "Are you deaf? Can’t you use your eyes to read?"
He patted the wooden sign and shouted angrily.
The old man still shook his head, "I can’t hear, and I can’t read either. What are you saying?"
Tian Sanbao was so angry that he was about to jump, "Get lost!"
The old man cursed as he left, "How did I encounter a madman this morning? ’Bao, don’t learn from that kind of person, young and idle, just messing around.’
"Hmm, won’t learn," the tiger-headed grandson muttered while biting into a pastry.
Later on, a few more people came by.
Among them, the older ones who couldn’t read, like the white-haired old woman before, didn’t bother to listen to what Tian Sanbao was saying, either because they couldn’t understand or couldn’t care less.
The younger ones who could read a bit and were familiar with Tian Sanbao’s character walked by directly, too lazy to even say a word to him.
Tian Sanbao knelt and shouted for half a day, but no one cared about his apology.
.
There aren’t many people who ride horses in the village, and there are also few mule carts and horse carts. People don’t find it unusual if one occasionally passes by.
But this morning, a mule cart followed by a horse cart and four riders rushed through the village, which was unusual.
The early-rising villagers saw this spectacle and whispered among themselves, "What’s happening? Where are those vehicles from?"
Someone recognized the person driving the mule cart, Mu Yuanxiu, "Isn’t he from Taohua River Village, staying at Niu Tou Mountain? Did he bring these people to our village?"
Villagers don’t stop at just witnessing something unusual; they like to get to the bottom of things.
After Mu Yuanxiu left, since they couldn’t ask him, they started inquiring elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the villagers whom Li Xing’an took to the Song family to hear the Pavilion Chief’s case had already spread word about Tian Sanbao’s situation.
Once the two bits of information came together, everyone understood that the Pavilion Chief was standing up for Song Jinxiu.
They also learned that Tian Sanbao would be kneeling and apologizing on the steps of the Song family, and many said they wouldn’t pass by the Song house, much less hear what Tian Sanbao had to say.
.
Li Xing’an, arms folded, leaned against the side of the mule cart, yawning.
He thought of something, knocked on the cart’s side, "Hey, Mu Yuanxiu, there’s something I forgot to ask you."
Mu Yuanxiu, who was driving the cart, turned his head and smiled slightly, "Third Brother, what’s up?"
"You said at the Song house that after Tian Sanbao kneels and the villagers know he apologizes to Song Jinxiu, he can go home early. Do you have a way to prevent him from going home early?" Li Xing’an asked.
He intended for Tian Sanbao to kneel for a month, but Mu Yuanxiu modified the punishment method.
Mu Yuanxiu chuckled, "No way."
Li Xing’an was taken aback, "No way? Then that’s letting that Tian kid off too easily?"
"We don’t need any other method. He won’t be able to make the whole village aware that he bullied Song Jinxiu and apologized to her. Just wait and see, by the time the New Year comes, there might still be people in Qingshui River Village who don’t know about his misdeed," Mu Yuanxiu said with a smile.