Shen Yun quickly regained his composure and, holding Su Xiaoqi’s hand, went to find Zhao Laoshi’s mule cart.
As Su Xiaoqi passed the alley where Su Jiamo had been knocked out earlier, she couldn’t help but glance inside.
Seeing no one, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had controlled her strength, and he must have woken up and left. She hoped that after this incident, he wouldn’t bother her anymore.
The two got onto the mule cart and met Zhao Liushun, who was driving.
The cart rattled along, but in another alley behind them, two vagrants were surrounding a young master dressed in fine clothes, searching his person for valuables. They successfully found five taels of silver.
The two men’s eyes lit up with joy, and they let out a loud "Ao!" Unintentionally, they woke the young master, who was only semi-conscious. As soon as he woke up, he found his bag had been rifled through and his silver stolen.
He was having none of it. He pushed himself up against the wall and, catching the two men off guard, snatched the silver ingot back, hurling curses at them.
Having lost what they had just gained, and seeing the richly dressed young master spewing foul language, the two vagrants decided to abandon all pretense. With one punch each, they knocked Su Jiamo, who had just gotten to his feet, to the ground, spitting blood and utterly unable to fight back.
But his mouth was still working, spewing every vile curse imaginable. This finally enraged the two vagrants. One vagrant, whose face was covered in festering sores, looked at Su Jiamo, whose clothes were torn, revealing his fair neck. An evil thought crossed his mind.
He grabbed his companion, who was busy practicing punches on Su Jiamo, and gestured towards Su Jiamo with his chin. His companion immediately understood, chuckled sinisterly, and lunged forward, grabbing Su Jiamo’s legs and tripping him. The vagrant who had the idea immediately stepped forward and began to pull at Su Jiamo’s trousers.
“I’ll be damned, you sons of bitches, what are you doing? What are you doing? How dare you, I am a member of the Su family… Ah…”
Su Jiamo’s curses had become hoarse, and his shouts were also rough. The two men, annoyed by his noise, hit him with a brick to silence him.
Meanwhile, Shen Yun and Su Xiaoqi went to the Fu Yue Inn again and found Zhao Simei, delivering the Dragon Boat Festival gifts. Because Su Xiaoqi had spoken up for Zhao Simei last time, her job washing dishes in the kitchen was now quite stable. She also received a regular wage each month.
In addition, Zhao Simei had saved the fish and rice that Su Xiaoqi had given her previously, not daring to eat them. She sold half of them to exchange for coarse flour, cornmeal, and sweet potatoes, and their family's life was finally manageable.
Before leaving, Su Xiaoqi gave her another ten catties of rice and ten fish. Zhao Simei quickly tried to refuse, saying that last time she hadn’t known, but this time, seeing it in person, she absolutely wouldn’t accept it.
“Consider it a Dragon Boat Festival gift from my husband and me,” Su Xiaoqi whispered close to her.
Since they had to deliver gifts to many families, the Dragon Boat Festival gifts were uniformly two catties of pork and a pack of candy. She planned to make some zongzi at home to give as well.
Considering that their house would be rebuilt in a few days, they wouldn't have time to go to the county in the coming days. So, they delivered the gift to Zhao Simei first. As they didn’t have zongzi, Su Xiaoqi made up for it with rice and fish.
Zhao Simei thanked them, tears streaming down her face. Actually, by rights, Zhao Sanniang was older and should have been the one to give them gifts. But Shen Yun and his wife had specifically sent them in their names so that she would accept them.
After delivering the festival gifts to Zhao Simei’s home, the three of them headed home with the setting sun.
On the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, Su Xiaoqi, along with Shen Xiaomei and Zhao Xiaozhu, made a hundred zongzi. After steaming them, they were packed with the previously purchased meat and candy, and Shen Yun took them to deliver.
However, just as they were about to leave, Shen Yun called Su Xiaoqi over, wanting her to accompany him to deliver the festival gifts. Su Xiaoqi disliked dealing with Qian shi and didn’t want to go. But Shen Yun grabbed her hand, and she couldn’t break free. Reluctantly, Su Xiaoqi followed him.
They first went to the village head Zhao Baoren’s house. According to custom, they didn’t need to send him gifts. But Shen Yun was always good at handling people, and having recently benefited from his land grant, he naturally wouldn’t forget him for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Next, they went to the Zhao clan patriarch’s house. Then they visited several elder relatives within five degrees of kinship. Including Zhao Simei’s portion, that made six. The last four portions went to the old Zhao family residence because the old scholar’s family had split.
So, there was one portion for the old scholar, one for the eldest son’s family, one for the second son’s family, and a separate portion for the sixth son, who was not yet married. Speaking of which, the old Zhao family had many descendants. Old Yu shi had given birth to four sons and two daughters. The two daughters, Zhao Sanniang, lived in the village and was responsible for Old Yu shi’s care. Zhao Simei was married in the county and was also very filial, and would return soon to deliver festival gifts. Of Zhao’s four sons, only three were at home: the eldest, Zhao Dashan; the second, Zhao Erhu; and the sixth, Zhao Liushun.
“Where did your fifth uncle go?” Su Xiaoqi asked quietly.
Shen Yun was silent for a moment and then said, “My father disappeared mysteriously years ago. My fifth uncle, pitying my mother who was pregnant with Xiaomei, and taking care of me and Xiaomei, found it difficult to live as a widow and orphans. So, he went out to look for my father. At that time, there were rebel disturbances, and the times were chaotic. As a result, he never returned.” Everyone implicitly assumed he was likely dead. Therefore, fifth uncle Zhao Wutang was an eternal pain in Shen Yun’s heart, like a thorn in his side. He always felt that his family had caused his fifth uncle’s misfortune. If he hadn’t tried to find his father, he wouldn’t have gone so far away and wouldn’t have met with disaster.
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment, and then something struck her. She proactively took Shen Yun’s hand and said, “Perhaps fifth uncle is alright. The times were chaotic then; with fifth uncle’s strength, he might have joined the army.” She remembered that there were not many descriptions of Zhao Wutang in the book. However, after Shen Yun entered the capital, he had appeared, and it seemed he had become some kind of general because of his involvement in battles.
While lamenting Zhao Wutang’s experience, she did not realize that Shen Yun had also grasped her thoughts. He looked at Su Xiaoqi in astonishment again. Who exactly was she, and why could she see the future of the people around him? Did she also know his future? Such a woman, he had to keep close.
Su Xiaoqi noticed Shen Yun’s expression becoming increasingly profound, and her heart skipped a beat. A strange feeling surged within her. Why did she always feel as if he could read her mind? Shen Yun did not expect Su Xiaoqi to be so sensitive. He lowered his gaze, collected his emotions, delivered the festival gifts, and then led her towards the end of the village. Before they got close, they heard earth-shattering roars coming from a dilapidated thatched hut.
“Ah, I’ll be damned, my mother’s son, damn you, who harmed me, who harmed me…”
Su Xiaoqi looked at Shen Yun in confusion. Whose house was this? Shen Yun said lightly, “Zhao Dexing.”
“That old bachelor,” Su Xiaoqi exclaimed, then realized, “No, it was him who stole our fish that night. What’s happening to him?”
“He succeeded once, and no one pursued him. Yesterday, in the middle of the night, he tried to repeat his actions but fell into a trap and got caught by a beast trap.”
“Hiss…” Su Xiaoqi felt a pang in her calf bone as soon as she heard it. She frowned slightly, “He hasn’t seen a doctor, has he? If this continues, his leg will likely be crippled.” Shen Yun snorted coldly and said indifferently, “He bullied you and then tried to get more by stealing fish. Crippling one of his legs is still letting him off easy.”
Su Xiaoqi’s heart skipped another beat, and her gaze towards Shen Yun gradually changed. As expected, Shen Yun’s later darkening was not without reason. Such ruthlessness and vindictiveness were already ingrained in his bones. As long as there was suitable soil, they would take root and sprout, breaking through his defenses. She became even more afraid of him. Thinking of a suitable time, she decided she should leave him as soon as possible.