Su Muqing glanced at the two of them. The young bully's face was full of certainty and pride, while shopkeeper Tu's expression was visibly tense. As he wiped his sweat with his sleeve, he cast a troubled glance at her.
"What are you two exchanging meaningful glances about? If you have something to say, just say it. I, your young master, hate people who only speak half-truths the most!" The young bully also noticed the look in shopkeeper Tu's eyes. Although his temper was a bit irritable, he wasn't stupid. Besides, even a blind person could tell there was something problematic about the way they looked at each other.
"Since you're digging for the truth yourself, I'll oblige!" Su Muqing glanced at shopkeeper Tu beside her and said, "Shopkeeper Tu, why don't you do us a favor and tell Qi the young bully what his reputation is really like in Yong'an Town? Perhaps some things aren't quite what they seem!"
Once again being singled out, shopkeeper Tu felt his head spinning. On one side was a distinguished guest with a secret recipe, and on the other, a local bully he couldn't afford to offend. How should he choose?
"Well, this... what is there to say? Young Master Qi is quite, quite popular in our Yong'an Town... his reputation, his reputation is also quite good..."
Shopkeeper Tu was speaking against his conscience, his smile uglier than a cry. But he had no choice! Su Muqing and the others were outsiders; they would be gone by tomorrow and free of trouble. But his family had to continue living in Yong'an Town.
"No! I say, Tu, if you have something to say, just say it directly. What's with that smile that's worse than crying? Is what he said true? Is my reputation really that bad in Yong'an Town, in your hearts?" The young bully slammed the table and stood up, menacing shopkeeper Tu with his gaze.
Startled by the young bully's sudden movement, shopkeeper Tu swayed and sat down on the floor with a thud. The young bully, seeing him fall for no apparent reason, quickly reached out to help him up.
As he helped the man up, he mocked shopkeeper Tu, "I say, you people look so frail. You can just be sitting there and fall for no reason!"
Su Muqing rolled her eyes, thinking this person truly lacked perception. "I say, you really are... don't you see that shopkeeper Tu was scared by you?"
Upon hearing Su Muqing's words, the young bully turned and asked shopkeeper Tu, "You were scared by me? That can't be right! I wasn't speaking that loudly!"
"Shopkeeper! In my opinion, Young Master Qi is being kept in the dark about many things. If that's the case, you should tell him, lest he continues to be deceived. Furthermore, once things are cleared up, your lives will also change," said Huo Qiyuan, after shopkeeper Tu was helped up, pouring him another cup of tea.
Seeing that Su Muqing and the others had spoken, shopkeeper Tu pondered for a moment. Indeed, Huo Qiyuan was right. What if the young bully had been kept in the dark all along?
Then, the matters of bullying the villagers might not have been instigated by him. If not instigated by him, it would mean he wasn't entirely a bad person.
After figuring this out, shopkeeper Tu looked at the young bully and said with difficulty, "Young Master Qi, I'm just an ordinary commoner. If I say anything that displeases you, please don't take it to heart!"
Seeing his hesitant speech, the young bully's temper flared again. "If I tell you to speak, then speak. Why all this nonsense!"
Shopkeeper Tu looked at the angry young bully, then at the other two. "Please don't be angry, I'll speak, I'll speak... Actually, we're all quite afraid of you... Whenever they hear you're out on the street, many stall owners don't dare to do business. They pack up their stalls and rush home, all because they're afraid of you..."
The young bully hadn't intended to join the conversation, but after shopkeeper Tu mentioned just one thing, his inner doubts couldn't be suppressed. "They're afraid of me? Afraid of what? Afraid I can't afford to pay for things?"
Hearing the young bully's question, shopkeeper Tu felt utter despair. Paying for goods? And then having to compensate for losses, hadn't this Qi the young bully done that often in the past few months? If they were a bit slow, they might even get beaten.
"You are Young Master Qi. If you fancy something, who would dare not accept your money?" Shopkeeper Tu wore a smile, using a more tactful tone.
But upon hearing shopkeeper Tu's words, the young bully still got angry. He slammed the table, "Nonsense! What do you mean by saying that? Is my family lacking that little bit of money for vegetables and scraps? I'll say it again, anything I want, I absolutely pay for. I wouldn't dare eat anything I don't pay for! Even for what they called 'tribute,' I later sent money!"
"Young Master Qi, you say that, but we've never seen the silver you speak of..."
Qi the young bully knew shopkeeper Tu wouldn't lie to him, but he did pay for everything he bought. What was going on? "How is that possible? I always have Ali and the others pay, and they always pay extra!"
"You're talking about Brother Li and them? Oh! Please don't mention it. You've likely been deceived by your subordinates!"
"You don't know, before you arrived, Master Gong loved to bully common people. If he saw something he liked on the street, he would just snatch it."
"Later, when you came to Yong'an Town, and with Brother Li added, their behavior became even more brazen. They robbed people of goods and money. Just last month, they harassed Old Li the vegetable seller's granddaughter in the east of the city. That little girl was only thirteen or fourteen years old. I heard she was already betrothed and was just waiting for her coming-of-age ceremony to get married."
"After that incident, the man's family absolutely refused to take her anymore. The poor girl was eventually forced to jump into a well! Old Li and his wife were so heartbroken they fell ill, and they don't have much time left. It's truly a tragedy!" Shopkeeper Tu's eyes reddened as he recounted these events.
The young bully was furious when he heard about the forced abduction of a young woman. How could this be tolerated? Instantly, veins bulged on his forehead, and his temples throbbed. "Are you all pigs? You don't even know how to resist when you're bullied like this?"
After being oppressed for so long, and then being questioned if they were pigs, shopkeeper Tu clenched his fists tightly. Finally, he slammed his fist on the table, stood up taller than the young bully, and roared back,
"We are not pigs, we are ants worse than pigs! We didn't not resist, but if anyone dared to resist, they would have that group of thugs beat them up. If anyone was defiant and dared to report to the authorities, they would say that the goods and people they robbed were for your tribute! We are ordinary people with families, and your grand-uncle is the town mayor of Yong'an Town. Where are we supposed to complain?"