EBE Chapter 38 Moving reinforcements
Chapter 38 Moving reinforcements
Chapter 38 Calling for Reinforcements
This group of men looked menacing and didn't seem like good people at all. Old Zhang had been running his restaurant for over ten years and occasionally encountered these kinds of ruffians who would eat but not pay. Old Zhang was used to it; when you're in business, it's better to avoid trouble.
Old Zhang said, "Gentlemen, I'm sorry for the poor service. Consider this my treat to you all today, as a way of making friends. You are welcome to come again anytime."
"Who are you?" the one-eyed man asked, looking at Old Zhang.
"This little shop is run by the old man, and this is his granddaughter," Old Zhang said with a forced smile.
"Grandpa!" Zhang Jiao said hurriedly, "They drank eight vats of Daughter's Red wine, and the cost of the food and wine totaled one tael and three mace of silver. How can you just let it go like this?"
"Hey!" the one-eyed man cursed, "Girl, you can't be unreasonable. I only let you pay because your grandfather was being polite. If you keep acting like this, I'll really make you pay!"
"I've seen shameless people before, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you!" Wang Wenzhou cursed. "Today is the eighth day of the second lunar month, winter isn't over yet! Where did these flies come from? You just want to eat without paying, can't you come up with a less idiotic excuse?"
"Son-in-law! Don't be angry! Let it go!" Old Zhang quickly pulled Wang Wenzhou back, afraid that Wang Wenzhou would suffer a loss.
"Haha... Do your parents know you're so fat? Did you eat your family out of house and home, which is why they made you a live-in son-in-law? You won't bankrupt the restaurant, will you?" the one-eyed man laughed and scolded.
"Hurry up and pay up!" A burly man with a dark complexion next to the one-eyed man shoved Wang Wenzhou.
"Pay your sister's money!" Wang Wenzhou retorted.
The one-eyed men were looking for trouble and wanted to extort money from Zhang Jiao, but they were too embarrassed to lay a hand on her since she was a young girl. However, as soon as Wang Wenzhou stepped forward, they immediately surrounded him and began punching and kicking him.
"Stop fighting! Jiaojiao, pull them away, don't lay a hand on them!" Old Zhang rushed over to break up the fight, afraid that Zhang Jiao would hit someone and cause even more trouble, so he told Zhang Jiao not to fight.
"Hero, stop fighting! We'll pay you back!" Old Zhang pleaded humbly.
“Old man, we were just going to let it go, but your grandson-in-law is so unreasonable. We can’t let all those flies go to waste. You can’t skimp on the compensation!” One-Eyed said.
"Okay! Okay! Stop it! Stop hitting me!" Old Zhang pleaded repeatedly.
"Stop!" One-Eye ordered his brothers to cease their attack.
Zhang Jiao was truly looking at Wang Wenzhou in a new light today. She never expected that Wang Wenzhou would stand up for them like a man.
Wang Wenzhou wiped the blood from his nose and fawned, "Brother, I was wrong! I was blind to your greatness!"
Zhang Jiao: "..."
Zhang Jiao glared at Wang Wenzhou with disdain. "You fatso, you're not manly at all. People thought you were a real man just now, but look at you, you got beaten up and immediately went limp."
"You wait here, I'll go to the bank to get the silver right away! Grandpa, you all take good care of these brothers!" Wang Wenzhou winked at Old Zhang.
Old Zhang understood immediately and said respectfully, "Gentlemen, I'm sorry, our shop is small. The silver we receive on the same day is deposited into the bank on the same day. Is five taels of silver enough? I'll have him go get the silver right away."
"Five taels is not enough! Fifty taels! If you're short even a penny, I'll burn your restaurant down!" the one-eyed man cursed.
"Exactly! There are eight of us! How are we going to divide five taels of silver?"
Damn! These people are incredibly greedy! Wang Wenzhou already knew the purchasing power of silver in this era; five taels of silver was enough for an average family of three to cover their expenses for a year. Earning fifty taels of silver a year would have made him middle class in the Ming Dynasty.
"Brother, my shop has little capital and meager profits! I can't make much money. Even if I sold the shop, it wouldn't be worth that much! How about ten taels of silver? That's the most I can offer. Any more than that, and you can just burn the shop down!" Wang Wenzhou said mournfully.
"Heroes, please have pity on us! It's not easy for us to run a small shop!" Old Zhang chimed in.
Zhang Jiao was completely bewildered. What exactly were you two up to?
"Ten taels it is!" One-Eyed sat down on the stool, pointed at Wang Wenzhou and scolded, "What are you still standing here for? Go get the silver!"
"Brother, please wait a moment, I'll be right back!" Wang Wenzhou turned and ran out.
"Damn it! How dare they bully me!" Wang Wenzhou wiped the blood from his nose and cursed inwardly, "You bastards, you wait until I go get the money!" Get your sister's money! I'm going to get reinforcements!
As Geng San passed by, he looked up and saw Wang Wenzhou. The man's face was covered in bruises, and he was limping along, hurrying on his way. Geng San quickly approached him and asked with concern, "Sir! What happened to you?"
Wang Wenzhou recognized Geng San. Geng San had won a prize once. That day, when they were piling up silver at the South Gate, Geng San was very enthusiastic about tax receipts. It was said that he was now partnering with someone to collect tax receipts.
"I ran into a few scoundrels who tried to dine and dash and even beat me up! I was just about to go back to the yamen and take the constables to arrest them," Wang Wenzhou said angrily.
"Outrageous! Where are they? I'll lead my men to arrest them right away!" Upon hearing this, Geng San quickly waved to his companions, and a dozen or so people who worked with Geng San to collect tax invoices immediately ran over.
It was almost noon, and Geng San and his men had originally planned to find a small shop to eat at. Their business of collecting tax invoices still depended on Wang Wenzhou and Lord Wang. Now, upon hearing that someone dared to assault Lord Wang, they were outraged! A dozen or so men rubbed their hands together, eager to try their luck and make a good impression on Lord Wang.
Wang Wenzhou said, "Send someone to the yamen to find the constables and say that I ordered this. Have Captain Ma lead all the constables to the Tower of No Return as quickly as possible to arrest the culprits. The rest of you, come with me to the entrance of the Tower of No Return and wait for those petty thieves. Don't let them get away! We'll make our move when the constables arrive."
"I'll obey your orders, sir! Xiao Fei, go to the yamen and report this!" Geng San instructed one of his younger brothers.
"Okay!" The man ran quickly towards the county government office.
Wang Wenzhou, along with Geng San and the others, waited near the Tower of No Return for the arrival of the yamen runners.
In a short while, four constables rushed over.
"Greetings, Your Excellency!" Li Hechen greeted him, panting.
Wang Wenzhou frowned and asked, "Didn't I say I'd have Chief Ma lead all the constables over? Why are there only four of you?"
"Don't even mention it, sir!" Li Hechen said with a mournful face, "These days, the brothers are almost exhausted! There are errands every day! People commit crimes every day. They're all trivial matters, so you don't know. Fighting, petty theft, even if we arrest them, we can't bring them to justice."
Of course, Li Hechen didn't mention one thing: the reason they didn't send the offenders to jail was also to collect some bribes. After all, these were minor matters that the yamen runners could handle verbally. By making the offenders compensate the victims, they could also get some benefits in the process.
Li Hechen wiped his sweat and said, "Captain Ma and the others have all gone out to handle a case. We rushed over as soon as we heard. Which bastard is so blind and has the guts to dine and dash at No Return Tower!"
The constable, Old Wu, said, "They must be from out of town! These days, all the criminals are from out of town."
"Let's go!" Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and led his men toward the Tower of No Return.