Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 281 Long time no see
"You little brat, please be careful with your words and don't slander her. Who bullied her? I agreed to give her twenty-five copper coins, and I've already given her that. Where did she get thirty? Besides, most of her charcoal was broken, so it's only worth this much!"

The teahouse owner glared at the person who stepped forward and sneered, flatly denying the initial transaction price and sticking to the twenty-five copper coins.

Su Roujia knelt on the ground with tears streaming down her face and said anxiously, "You are wrong. I sold it to you for thirty copper coins at the beginning, but you only gave me twenty-five. Now I have sold everything to you, but you haven't paid enough. How can you change your words? You can't be like this."

"Shut up, little girl. You have no right to speak. It's already twenty-five copper coins. How can you increase the price at the last minute? How can you really think I'm easy to talk to? Our teahouse has been open for more than ten years and has a great reputation. If I tarnish our reputation, I won't be able to afford the compensation even if I sell you off," sneered the teahouse owner, his words full of threats.

This shows that they really intend to take advantage of her. The teahouse is quite large, with more than ten people working there. Maybe there are other connections as well. At this moment, there are four or five waiters standing behind the shopkeeper. With so many people, there is no need to be afraid.

"No, no, it's thirty copper coins. I spent five days burning those charcoal. Please, give me the remaining five copper coins. I kowtow to you," Su Roujia said with tears in her eyes.

By this time, people had already come to watch. The shopkeeper had decided to take advantage of her. The money wasn't much, but he just didn't want to pay. It was pure disgusting. Not wanting to argue any further, he sneered, "Get out of here, or I'll break your legs. If you affect our business, believe it or not, I'll sell you to a brothel!"

Su Roujia was frightened and burst into tears, not knowing what to do, but she didn't want to give up the five copper coins. For others, it might be just a cup of tea, but for her, it was life.

The young man who had come forward couldn't stand it any longer. He frowned and looked at the teahouse owner with disgust, saying in a deep voice, "In broad daylight, how dare you bully a little girl? She worked so hard to make charcoal, and you only took five copper coins. Where is your conscience?"

"You little brat, I advise you to stay out of other people's business. You look like a decent human being, but be careful with your words. Which eye of yours saw me embezzling her money? Do you have any evidence? Get out of my way. You are slandering our reputation. Believe it or not, I will beat you up and take you to the authorities?" The shopkeeper looked at the young man coldly, not taking him seriously at all, and he didn't know where he got the confidence from.

The young man was so disgusted by the other party that he laughed instead. He shook his head and laughed: "Evidence? What I saw with my own eyes is not enough? I will take care of this matter today, and I have to. Come on, come on, I want to see what you can do to me. You know that your behavior is already a crime. Although the money is not much, it is a violation of conscience. Even if you go to the authorities, you will at least be beaten with fifty sticks. After fifty sticks, have you ever thought about whether you can still survive!"

"Boy, you must be the first to speak out, right? Who is she to you that you are protecting her so much? It's still not too late for you to get out of here now, otherwise don't blame me for being rude. Don't tell me you're rude and try to scare me with big words. My brother is the chief constable of the county government. You'd better think about it. If you keep pestering me, I'll put you in jail. It's hard to say whether you can come out of it safely then," the shopkeeper said fearlessly.

In fact, this teahouse is notorious. It likes to take advantage of others, sell inferior products as good ones, and sometimes even beat customers for no reason, making people dare not speak out. Who can blame it for having a brother who is a government employee? With this relationship, there is no shortage of flatterers to take care of its business.

This is also why so many people did not dare to stand up and speak a fair word when they saw Su Roujia being bullied. The young man seemed to be unaware of the situation and was obviously a fool. Many people winked at him to just forget it and not ask for trouble.

Chen Xuan, who was walking leisurely, was completely amused. There were such evil people in Yang County? Why hadn't he discovered it before?

"What should I do? It turns out that you have this relationship to protect you, so you dare to do evil and oppress others blatantly." The young man suddenly realized. Even if the other party brought out his backers, he was not afraid at all. Instead, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.

Just five copper coins wouldn't cause any trouble, but there are some damn bad guys in the world who enjoy doing this. Maybe they can feel some kind of morbid joy in this way.

The more pitiful others are, the more comfortable it is to bully them.

Su Roujia was frightened when she heard that the other party had a connection with the chief constable. To her, he was already a very powerful figure and she could not afford to offend him.

So she got scared, choked up and stood up and said, "I don't want it anymore, I don't want it anymore..." Then she turned around and smiled sadly at the young man and thanked him, "Master, I don't want it anymore. Please go away. Thank you for your kindness. Don't hurt yourself because of me."

"What do you mean you don't want it anymore? It's a matter of money and goods. Explain it clearly to me, little girl. If people don't know, they might think I'm bullying you." The shopkeeper was unhappy.

Isn't this bullying?

"I...you...you said..." Su Roujia was terrified and was about to change her words. She didn't dare to take the money. She just wanted to get away from this place, go home, cover herself with a quilt and cry. She would only cry for a month at most. She was really scared. How could a commoner dare to provoke an official? To her, the captain of the police was an official, the highest official.

The young man saw her thoughts and wanted to avoid disaster, so he interrupted her and said, "Don't be afraid, little girl. The world is clear and will not allow evil people to prevail. I will definitely get to the bottom of this matter today. Don't worry, you will definitely not have any trouble after this!"

Of course he understood what Su Roujia was worried about. Since he had already taken care of it, he would see it through to the end and would not leave any hidden dangers for the girl.

Chen Xuan thought to himself that this was indeed a sensible person, but why did he think he could handle it properly? After all, the other party had a brother who was a captain of the police.

Suddenly, he thought of something and looked at the young man he had met many years ago. It suddenly became clear that he could really handle this matter.

"In just over ten years, he has already achieved such success. He is worthy of being one of the kings of the past. He has finally made it," Chen Xuan said with emotion.

"You ignorant little brat, today I'll let you know what happens if you meddle in other people's business. Beat me, and I'll take the blame if you kill me!" The teahouse owner sneered as he waved his hand.

As soon as he finished speaking, the waiters behind him who depended on him for their livelihood were ready to take action.

"Let's see who dares!" The young man's follower stepped forward and shouted angrily, with the knife at his waist half drawn out. His eyes were cold, and it was obvious that he was a ruthless character who dared to draw a knife and chop people in the street.

Faced with the knife in his hand, the waiter who was forced to take action was a little afraid and did not dare to step forward.

At this moment, the young man stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Not only is he forcing people to buy and sell things, but he's also taking advantage of a close relative to oppress innocent people and allowing them to commit violence. His crimes are even more serious!"

"Haha, who do you think you are? You are committing a more serious crime. I think you are the one committing the more serious crime. You pulled a knife in the street. Boy, you are finished. I tell you, prepare to go to jail. I have plenty of ways to send you in. Beat them. If they dare to fight back, they will be dead", the teahouse owner laughed arrogantly.

It's really surprising that things have come to this point just because of a mere five copper coins.

It wasn't just five copper coins; after all, for Su Roujia, five copper coins could very well mean his life. Just as the fight was about to turn bloody, footsteps could be heard in the distance as a group of people rushed over. They were clearly police officers and yamen runners.

Seeing this, the teahouse owner not only did not restrain himself at all, but became even more arrogant and said: "Haha, brother, you came at the right time. What are you still standing there for? Beat me!"

"If they dare to attack, beat them to death without holding back," the young man said to his followers calmly, standing with his hands behind his back. He also protected Su Roujia behind him and did not care about the arrival of the constables and yamen runners.

The teahouse owner urged, "Get started! Do you want me to do it myself? Didn't you see my brother is here? Don't you want to do it anymore?"

"Stop, let's see who dares to attack." The head constable who rushed over changed his face and roared from a distance, and quickly came over to block the two groups of people.

The teahouse owner was a little puzzled, but still said, "Here you are, brother. You've come at the right time. Help me deal with this ignorant brat..."

Pa~!

Before he could finish his words, he was slapped hard in the face. He fell to the ground, bleeding from the corner of his mouth and several teeth were knocked out. The attacker had hit him hard.

The teahouse owner was stunned and looked at the younger brother in disbelief, "Brother, why are you..."

"Brother, I usually tell you to be more restrained, but you killed me this time." The captain of the police gnashed his teeth and wished he could beat his brother to death in the street.

But now was not the time to dwell on this. He quickly turned around, knelt on one knee, and said nervously, "Your Excellency, I'm sorry that my guard is late and has frightened you."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of exclamations from the surroundings, and then everyone bowed their heads in greeting. They never thought that the young man was actually the new county lord.

There have been rumors that the county magistrate of Yang County has been changed, but it has been so short that not many people have seen him. It turned out to be him.

Hearing this, the teahouse owner who was knocked unconscious on the ground turned pale, and the frightened Su Roujia looked stunned.

The young man stood with his hands behind his back, not looking at the kneeling captain in front of him. He said calmly, "I'm new here and wanted to understand the people's sentiments and the situation. I never expected to encounter such evil. It's truly lawless. What are you still standing there for? Arrest them all and wait for your punishment!"

"Yes, sir," the captain responded quickly. The county magistrate was unhappy. His elder brother had offended him, so he had to arrest his own brother as well. He would definitely not be able to save his life afterwards. If something was exposed, it was still uncertain whether he could survive.

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes, and the captain felt that his eldest brother might not be able to be saved.

The teahouse owner originally thought that his backers had arrived, but he never expected that they were there to personally arrest him and take him to the county government office.

Then the new county magistrate looked at Su Roujia and said with a smile, "Little girl, now you believe that I can do justice for you, right?"

Before Su Roujia could say anything, someone hurried over from a distance. Without taking in the situation, they anxiously said to Su Roujia, "Roujia, you're still here! Come back with me! Your grandfather...he...hey, hurry home!"

"Uncle, what happened to my grandpa?" Su Roujia asked anxiously.

The visitor urged: "Go home quickly, you will know when you get back."

Su Roujia trembled all over when she realized something. She didn't care about anything else and ran towards home.

No one tried to stop her when she left. It was obvious that something urgent had happened at home. The farce ended here, but it was not over yet. The new county magistrate would definitely "handle it properly" later.

He had just arrived and originally wanted to get to know the situation in Yang County first, but when he encountered this kind of thing, he lost all mood and simply went back home to deal with the follow-up of the matter.

Chen Xuan naturally didn't need to worry about these things. He glanced in the direction of Su Roujia who had hurriedly left, then turned back to look at the newly arrived county magistrate. Since he had met an acquaintance from many years ago, he stepped forward and greeted him, "Shu Yao? Long time no see. Now you're the county magistrate. Congratulations!"

The new county magistrate is none other than Shu Yao, the paper winner who worked and studied at Yushan School.

"How dare you call the county lord by his name!"

Before Shu Yao could say anything, the captain who was planning to take an active role suddenly became unhappy.

Because of what happened before, Shu Yao disliked this captain very much. He frowned slightly and waved his hand to signal him to move aside. He looked at Chen Xuan and asked doubtfully, "This young man looks so familiar. I can't remember him at the moment. I hope you can forgive me."

"I, Chen Xuan, have you remembered?"

……

(End of this chapter)