Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 112 Startling the Snake by Beating the Grass

"Young Master, let's go." Xiao Wu, carrying a small bundle on his back, stepped forward and said.

Chu Xiu snapped out of his daze and whispered, "Go into the carriage and don't come out unless necessary."

Xiao Wu, confused, asked, "Young Master, aren't we leaving yet?"

Having survived a brush with death, he couldn't wait to go home.

Yes, the home he wanted to go back to was Li Ruru's home.

"Just go in when I tell you to. Stop with all the nonsense," Chu Xiu said irritably.

Xiao Wu pouted and reluctantly got into the carriage.

Chu Xiu walked to the entrance of the yamen in a few steps and said to the two yamen runners, "Are you blind? You don't even bow to me when you see me, young master."

In Chenjia Village, Chu Xiu was a polite and well-mannered young master, but in the county government, he was a hot-tempered and unruly young master.

The two constables were clearly surprised to see Chu Xiu, who was dressed in coarse linen clothes and had been busy at the carriage.

They initially thought he was some kind of servant, but upon seeing who it was, their faces froze, and they knelt down in fear.

But as soon as they knelt down, one of them frowned and couldn't help but clutch his chest.

Chu Xiu became even more certain. He straightened his face and said, "Why are you frowning? Are you dissatisfied with me?"

The constable quickly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare."

Chu Xiu pointed at another person's nose and said, "You're so ugly, you don't even have all your teeth, and you're still working at the gate. You're ruining my mood."

The two men kneeling on the ground gritted their teeth and whispered, "We know we were wrong. Please, young master, have mercy on us."

To confirm his conjecture, Chu Xiu kicked the two men to the ground, the kick landing squarely on their chests.

If he remembered correctly, that was the spot where those bandits were injured.

The two constables cried out in pain, as soft as persimmons, unable to get up with the slightest touch.

He raised his foot to deliver another kick, but was interrupted by a cold snort.

Magistrate Chu and Chu Yu happened to walk over. He said with a dark face, "You unfilial son, what's wrong with you now?"

Chu Xiu stepped forward to explain everything, but Magistrate Chu did not give him a chance to speak.

They just kept scolding you: "It's bad enough that you're terrible at studying, but how come you've rotted to the core in terms of basic morality!"

You're incompetent and all you do is target innocent people. Who do you think you are? Why should they have to bear your unwarranted anger?

Your behavior is worse than that of a street thug. If you're so capable, go and challenge the strong. What kind of skill is it to bully the weak?

"Father, no, listen to me." Chu Xiu shook his head anxiously.

"Enough! Do you want to hear what you have to say? Do you want to hear your excuses? You've completely disgraced me."

A crowd of onlookers had gathered around the yamen, and Magistrate Chu felt utterly humiliated.

The little prestige he had painstakingly built up was about to be squandered by his good-for-nothing son.

Chu Yu patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Second Uncle, don't be angry with Ah Xiu. He's still young."

These words were like a bomb, leaving Magistrate Chu glaring in disbelief.

"What do you mean 'little'? You're already 15, 16 by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, and you'll be 17 after the New Year."

"You might as well just say I'm 100 years old." Chu Xiu got angry too. His father never listened to him, and whatever his cousin said was law.

He doesn't want to say a word of explanation now. Even if his father knows the truth, so what? He'll just scold him.

He might even blame his godmother and prevent him from visiting her house again.

"You're not good enough for my godmother." He even wanted his godmother to marry his father, but with his father like that, it would be hard for his godmother to not be mistreated if she married him.

Chu Xiu's nonsensical remark only made Magistrate Chu even more annoyed.

"What godmother or godmother? What are you talking about?"

"Xiao Wu, let's go." Chu Xiu flicked his sleeves, but found that Xiao Wu was not by his side.

Xiao Wu was very obedient and stayed quietly in the carriage.

Chu Xiu quickly boarded the carriage and angrily drove it away.

The magistrate of Chu County sighed and went back to his work.

Chu Yu glanced coldly at the two constables and said, "Come with me."

The two nervously followed him to a secluded alley.

Chu Yu raised his chin: "Tell me, what happened?" The two of them nervously recounted what had happened.

One of the constables said, "If it weren't for that old man meddling, we would have succeeded long ago."

Another one chimed in, "Aunt Li and her group are nothing to fear, young master. Rest assured, we'll storm their house tonight and go all the way."

As he spoke, he made a throat-slitting gesture.

Chu Yu closed his fan, the coldness in his eyes seemingly capable of freezing a person to death.

"You got beaten up for stealing a few buckets of konjac tofu? You're all a bunch of good-for-nothings. And when did I say you were going to kill anyone? Useless trash."

There's no need to kill someone to deal with a village woman.

His only goal was to steal Li Ruru's konjac tofu, deprive Bai Lu of her supply, and force her restaurant to close down.

Now look what happened! These incompetent fools failed to accomplish their task and even alerted the enemy.

The two constables looked at each other, tacitly shifting the blame onto someone else.

"It was the boss. He suddenly said he wanted to kill them, and we were just following orders."

"So you're just going to obey orders? It seems you don't take me seriously at all."

Chu Yu suddenly raised his foot, and with two loud thuds, the two were kicked three zhang away.

The two constables felt as if a thousand knives were cutting into their chests, and the pain was so intense that they were about to lose consciousness.

Blood seeped from his chest, staining the ground red.

"Useless." Chu Yu cursed, then turned and walked away, fanning himself.

At the market.

While busy at work, Aunt Pang said to Li Ruru, "Ruru, your konjac tofu is selling really well. I'd like to order a few more buckets."

Upon hearing that there was business to be had, Li Ruru immediately replied with a smile, "Great! How much do you want?"

Aunt Pang thought for a moment and said, "I'll give you five buckets first, and I'll give you five taels of silver."

"No need to give 5 taels, otherwise how will you make a profit?"

"Yes, I'll pay for it. I don't care about the cost of the fried dough sticks. This set meal sells very well."

Seeing her serious expression, Li Ruru could only say, "Okay, I'll send you six buckets tomorrow, buy five get one free."

Retail business is tough; unlike restaurants like Hongfu Restaurant and Chunfeng Restaurant, which can raise prices per unit.

Once the price of goods at the market increases, they become difficult to sell.

Aunt Pang was a kind and honest person; she always made sure that people could make a profit.

Auntie Pang chuckled and said, "Alright, I'm benefiting from your generosity again."

After saying that, he gave a bright smile.

She earned 21 taels of silver today, and could earn 25 taels tomorrow. Holding the gleaming silver in her pocket, Li Ruru's mood gradually improved.

The group bought some more things at the market and carried their bags and bundles towards the cattle pen.

Suddenly, several men appeared ahead and blocked their way.

They all had round faces, and beneath their thick eyebrows, their eyes revealed shrewd calculation.

The group wore long brocade robes, the brocade being of a fine texture with a flowing luster, as if the brilliance of the entire starry sky had been woven into them.

Yes, he's a rich person.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Li Ruru asked, "Gentlemen... is there something you need?"

Addressing them as "Master" sounds obsequious and subtly gives them the upper hand.

She doesn't know what these people are up to right now, so she has to stay vigilant.

Most of these men were around thirty years old, so it was not appropriate to call them "young masters".

A man with a large face and fat ears stepped forward and asked, "May I ask if you are the Li family who sells konjac tofu?"

Seeing that Li Ruru remained silent, he continued, "We have important business with the Li family."

"What is it?" Li Ruru asked.

She doesn't know any of these people; what good could they possibly want from her?

(End of this chapter)