The troubles of a beautiful woman at 29
In front of the tofu stall by the Luo River bank.
Two men, one tall and one short, swaggered to the tofu stall, without paying, picked up two bowls of douhua and gulped them down, each drinking three bowls in one breath. The shorter, fatter man, after finishing his drink, took advantage of returning the bowl to the tofu vendor and slyly touched her hand with a sly smile.
That tofu westerner hastily withdrew his hand with a look of panic on his face, not daring to look at the two people, apparently intimidated by the two.
The old man at the tofu stall seemed to be a little afraid of seeing these two people. When he saw them coming, he quickly got up and hid behind the tree. Before he could hide well, the two men had already walked behind him. The big man grabbed the old man's collar from behind his neck like holding a small chicken and lifted him up.
"General Song, where are you going?" The short and stout man walked slowly beside him, asking with a hint of mockery.
The old man turned around and looked at him with a smile all over his face: "Master Pei, what wind brought you here? I was just thinking why I haven't seen you come in these few days?"
"Cut the nonsense, where's this month's rent?"
The old man was held up by someone, his two feet off the ground, his face showing a difficult expression: "Master Pei, this month's business is not very good, I'm a bit tight on cash, can you give me an extension of a few days?"
"Who are you kidding! With your wife being the cash cow, how can this tofu stall not have any business? Every day is packed with people, these rich kids, which one of them doesn't come to eat tens or even over twenty bowls a day. And they still dare to tell me that business is bad? Are they dissatisfied with the punch they got last time and want to get punched again? With just this old body of yours, Song Anwei, I'm afraid if you get punched a few more times, you'll directly enter the coffin! Stupid leopard, give him a taste of bitter medicine."
That big man named Da Bao, with a face as wide as a winnowing fan, slapped the old man's face several times, and instantly his face was like an open sauce shop, red in some places and purple in others, quite a sight to behold.
The old man felt dizzy and saw stars, he struggled with all his might, his face turned red, but the leopard's arm was thicker than his thigh, so he begged: "Master Pei, stop hitting me, I'll give it back, isn't that enough?"
A short and stout man burst out laughing: "Cheap skull, you won't behave unless I take action. Hurry up! If you really don't have it, your son is gone anyway, we can pawn your daughter-in-law to us, and you won't have to pay rent for the rest of your life. You can set up a stall wherever you want."
He pointed at the tofu xishi in front of the stall with his finger.
The old man hastily shook his head: "It can't be, it can't be. Without her, my tofu stall won't be able to operate anymore. Master Pei, put me down, I'll go get the money."
The short and stout man gave a signal with his eyes to that burly man called Da Bao, who then put the old man down.
The old man stepped on the ground and walked towards the tofu stall. He walked to the front of the stall, stretched out one hand to the tofu vendor and said in a harsh tone: "Give me two taels of silver."
The tofu vendor's face turned red with difficulty, and he whispered: "Sir, didn't I give you the stall fee a few days ago? Now it's almost gone, if I gave it all to you, there wouldn't be any money left for buying beans tomorrow."
The old man's face turned red with rage, and he growled in a low voice: "You're delighted to see me being beaten by them, aren't you? I knew you had ill intentions. Let me tell you, don't think that if I die, you'll gain any benefits. The stall is mine, the money is mine, and I can spend it however I want. If you push me too far, be careful or I'll pawn both you and the stall to them! Hand over all the earnings from today, and we'll figure out tomorrow's problems tomorrow!"
That tofu seller was obviously very afraid of the old man and didn't dare say anything more, hastily handing over a small bamboo basket containing nearly a hundred copper coins to the old man.
The old man grabbed it and walked to the front of the short, fat man, with a flattering face handed over the basket: "Master Pei, you also saw that today just opened, there are only these harvests, you take it first, as my filial piety to you, can this stall be tolerated for a few more days?"
The short and stout man lifted one foot and kicked it towards the old man's face.
The old man let out a loud cry and fell to the ground, covering his face and rolling around, shouting loudly. Tofu Western saw this and quickly ran over to help him up, standing timidly beside him, not daring to look at the short fat man.
The short and stout man walked up with a sly smile, gently pinched her fair and rosy face, leaving a black fingerprint on her pale skin. He sneered: "Beauty, why don't you follow me instead? Why bother showing off here and suffering from this old man's temper? In Luoyang, countless women want to be my wife, but I may not even look at them. As long as you obey me, no one in the city will dare to collect your stall rent. You can set up your stall wherever you want, better than being bullied by this old man here. If he dares to utter a word, I'll throw him into the river to feed the turtles."
A dozen or so young men with bookish looks, sitting at the tofu stall, clenched their fists in indignation. Even the young poet couldn't help but stand up to defend the tofu vendor, muttering a curse: "Brute!"
But none of them dared to stand out.
The stout man looked at the young masters in front of the stall with disdain, let out a cold laugh, and had the foolish leopard next to him dump all the copper coins from the basket into his money bag. He hummed a lively tune as he swaggered away.
……
The entrance of Wei Chi's blacksmith shop.
Hundreds of onlookers who rushed to the scene surrounded the entrance of the blacksmith's shop, making it impossible to pass through, and many passersby stopped to watch from a distance.
Many people even climbed up roadside trees and sat on them with their necks stretched out looking around.
In the temple, after setting up the wooden shed, Fei Long and his fellow villagers were about to leave when they saw a crowd gathering at the entrance, also surrounding them, looking around and inquiring with people nearby.
"What's going on? It's so lively."
"Yu Chi Ironworks is hiring."
"Really?! The Wei Chi blacksmith shop is the largest in Luoyang City, I've never heard of them openly recruiting people, what are the conditions?"
The person being asked turned around and took a look at Fei Long, who had an excited expression on his face. Due to the influence of Zhen Ming's teachings, Fei Long now bathed and changed clothes every day, and although his clothes were tattered, they were clean and tidy, making him not look like a beggar anymore. Especially with his robust physique, big belly and fat intestines, he looked majestic and full of energy.
"There's no other condition, as long as someone can lift the stone lion at the entrance of the blacksmith shop with one hand, I think you have a good figure to try."
"Just kidding, one hand? I'm not capable of doing it." Fei Long shook his head.
"Who says it's impossible? Even with your physique, you can't do it. What about that short and skinny kid? I want to see how he'll make a fool of himself."
Fei Long suddenly became interested and tiptoed around looking everywhere: "Where is the person you're talking about? Why can't I see anyone?"
"I went into the blacksmith's shop and heard that I need to prepare some tools. I've been waiting for almost half an hour now."
Among the hubbub of people's discussions, Zhen Ming walked out of the blacksmith shop with a dozen or so newly forged round objects and a bundle of coarse hemp ropes in his hands.
Fei Long's expression froze, and he involuntarily shouted: "Zhen Ge!"
