Free Web NovelChapter 2: Chapter 2: The Human Heart
’So it’s the Chus’! It must be about the protection money...’
Fang Rui narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then went outside.
By this time, a crowd of neighbors had already gathered outside the Chus’ home.
"Uncle Fu Quan! Sister-in-law Cai Gen! Uncle Da Chui! Brother Xiao Chui!"
Fang Rui greeted them one by one and asked, "What’s going on?"
"The Chus’ are in trouble," Sister-in-law Cai Gen sighed.
"Isn’t it just...?"
"Xiaochui, shut up! Sigh, Ah Rui, just see for yourself!"
The ones called ’Uncle Da Chui’ and ’Brother Xiao Chui’ were Wang Dachui and Wang Xiaochui, respectively. They were a father and son who worked as blacksmiths.
The father and son then parted, creating a gap so Fang Rui could step forward and see what was happening.
He saw:
Outside the Chus’ door, two of Lord Hu’s henchmen were forcing two people to their knees—it was none other than Old Chu and Xiaochu!
They were all local folk, so Fang Rui knew the two of them. He even recalled that his family was on good terms with the Chus; his father had once treated Old Chu’s illness.
"Everyone, listen up!"
Lord Hu stood to the side, his black tunic slightly disheveled.
He didn’t stop the crowd from watching; in fact, this was precisely what he wanted, to make an example of them. "The Chu family resisted paying the protection money, which means they’re resisting me, Zhang Heihu! And resisting the Tiger Gang! And what’s more, they even dared to lay a hand on me..."
Hearing this, the crowd burst into an uproar.
"The Chus are that bold!"
"They dared to attack Lord Hu?"
"They must have a death wish."
...
’Resisting the Tiger Gang? Attacking Lord Hu? Knowing the Chus, they wouldn’t do something like that!’
Fang Rui glanced inside the Chus’ house. The tables and chairs were scattered about, the place a total mess.
Instantly,
a theory formed in his mind. ’The truth is probably this: the Tiger Gang raised the fee, the Chus couldn’t pay, so Lord Hu and his men got greedy and tried to just take their things. A physical scuffle broke out... That must be the real story behind ’resisting the Tiger Gang’ and ’attacking Lord Hu’.’
’Of course, Lord Hu is definitely using this as a pretext to make a show of force and establish his authority!’
And sure enough,
just as Old Chu opened his mouth, as if to defend himself,
BANG!
Lord Hu viciously kicked him, sending Old Chu tumbling. "Today, I’m going to enforce our gang’s laws! Drag them away and beat them! Give them a good, hard beating for me!"
The two henchmen immediately complied, kicking and stomping on Old Chu and his son until they screamed in agony.
After a while,
Lord Hu finally waved his hand, stopping his men. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Alright, the gang’s laws have been enforced, but the protection money is still due... Search the place!"
At his words,
the two henchmen charged into the Chus’ house like hungry wolves and began to ransack it.
CRASH!
The large water vat was overturned and shattered.
RUSTLE!
A sleeping mat was torn up, and the quilt and pillow were thrown to the floor.
The tragic scene of their home being ransacked, combined with the sight of the bruised and battered father and son groaning in pain, made everyone’s heart ache with pity.
After all, they were all neighbors who knew each other well. Seeing the Chu family suffer such a calamity, it was only natural to feel for one of their own.
But pity was the most they could offer.
Anything more?
They didn’t dare.
Fang Rui looked around and thought to himself, ’There are over a hundred neighbors here, and Lord Hu only has two men with him. If everyone grabbed a weapon and charged, he and his ilk would be dead without a proper burial. But people aren’t pushed to that breaking point yet, so obediently enduring this is the result...’
’Of course, Lord Hu still has the Tiger Gang behind him. Any real resistance... would most likely end in tragedy anyway!’
"Found it."
Just then, a henchman cried out in delight. From a large black chest for clothes, he pulled out a silver bracelet wrapped in red cloth and presented it to Lord Hu as if it were a treasure.
"You can’t... Give it back... That was my late wife’s dowry!"
Old Chu had been beaten nearly senseless, but upon seeing the silver bracelet, he suddenly began to struggle violently, as if hit by a final surge of energy.
"Get lost, you old bastard!"
Lord Hu sent Old Chu flying with a kick, causing his forehead to slam into the ground and cover his face in blood. "Well, what do we have here? A silver bracelet weighing two maces. Old Chu... and you said you couldn’t afford the protection money?"
"Haha, I won’t make things hard on you, Old Chu. We’ll just call this compensation for you daring to attack me... Let’s go!"
With that, Lord Hu waved his hand and swaggered off with his two henchmen. The crowd scattered wherever they passed, as if avoiding vipers and scorpions.
Watching Lord Hu and his men’s retreating figures,
Fang Rui recalled Lord Hu’s attitude when he had visited their Caozhi Hall, and a sudden realization dawned on him. ’My family is in the upper-middle tier among the neighbors... Father was conscripted, I’m a sickly weakling, and we have no backing... We were the perfect chicken to be killed to scare the monkeys!’
’Lord Hu and his men must have come looking to stir up trouble. It’s a good thing I knew my place... If I had said just a couple more words back then, I probably would have gotten a vicious beating on the spot!’
’Looked at this way, the Chus ended up suffering in my family’s place. Otherwise, even if the Chus couldn’t pay the full fee on time, Lord Hu might not have been so excessive!’
’Of course, as long as the Chus were unwilling to part with that silver bracelet and couldn’t pay the fee, this outcome was inevitable sooner or later.’
Thinking of this,
Fang Rui let out a deep sigh. "This world... it’s a hard life!"
Despite saying that, his family wasn’t actually in the worst situation, comparatively speaking.
For instance:
The Chus were traveling merchants. With the drought this year, consumption in the county town had dropped, and they couldn’t even scrape together the protection money.
Wang Dachui’s family were blacksmiths. Their business had also declined, but thankfully they had received an order from the Government Office, allowing them to barely get by. The toil and exhaustion involved... went without saying.
Uncle Fu Quan and Sister-in-law Cai Gen’s family made tofu. It was just as difficult; they woke up early and worked late into the night, also just barely scraping by.
...
Among the neighbors, the one doing slightly better was Third Lady next door. She ran a wine shop and was said to have the backing of a Military Leader, making her the best-off in the neighborhood.
"Oh right, Third Lady doesn’t seem to be here..."
Fang Rui glanced at Third Lady’s House next door. The door was locked, meaning she wasn’t home. He shook his head and didn’t dwell on it.
’All in all, my family is in the upper-middle tier of the neighborhood. Not the best off, but not the worst off either. We have more than those below us, but less than those above.’
’We’re average... and average is good, average is wonderful. We don’t stand out, we don’t attract attention.’
With these thoughts in mind, Fang Rui watched the neighbors help the Chu father and son to their feet, but he didn’t join the commotion. Instead, he ambled back to his family’s Caozhi Hall.
As for proactively treating the Chu father and son?
That wasn’t going to happen.
Their friendship didn’t run that deep. Perhaps Father Fang and the Chus were on good terms, but that was his father, not him.
Furthermore,
if Fang Rui offered to treat the Chu father and son at this moment, it would be considered charity. Not only would he not receive a single large coin for the consultation, but he would also have to cover the cost of the medicinal herbs.
On the other hand, if they came to Caozhi Hall, it would be a normal medical visit. Whether they paid the fee with grain or went into debt, they would have to pay.
This wasn’t being overly calculating; it was being too poor. So poor that he had to be mindful of every little thing. freewebnσvel.cѳm
It wasn’t just Fang Rui; everyone else was the same.
For example, right now, all the others were doing was helping the Chu father and son back into their house—kind gestures that cost nothing. Did anyone offer the Chus nourishing food like eggs or cured meat?
No!
If no one else was being generous, why should Fang Rui be?
Rather than being foolishly generous, he would rather use that money to buy something to nourish his mother and sister!
As for being told he lacked perspective?
"Hah! With Father conscripted, if I’m ’foolishly generous,’ not only will I attract unnecessary suspicion, but the neighbors will also think I’m an easy mark and try to bully me for being young!"
Don’t think this was some far-fetched fantasy; it was entirely possible, even probable.
Never underestimate the evil in human nature!
"This is just the way the world is,"
Fang Rui’s eyes flashed. "For the poor, there’s really... no room for excess sympathy!"
...
「In the afternoon.」
Business at Caozhi Hall was decent. Two or three waves of patients came in, bringing in five large coins in consultation fees. After deducting costs, however, the profit was only two large coins.
Oh, and the Chu father and son came by as well. Fang Rui set their bones and applied medicinal liniment. They had no money, so they paid the fee with ten jin of wheat bran.
「As the sun was setting.」
Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family returned with her basket, an expression of lingering fear on her face. The moment she walked in the door, she said, "Brother Rui, it’s all thanks to you!"
...
