Thinking of how Qin Dazhu had rescued her back then and even helped her search everywhere for the Underground Party, Wang Yueshu felt a sweet warmth surge in her heart.
"I know. From now on, you'll have to take on more of the family's worries."
Qin Shuli chuckled. "Mother, don't speak too soon. Who knows, your organization might need my help someday."
Wang Yueshu rolled her eyes at her confident eldest son. "State matters are for me to handle. The twins are still young; they couldn't bear the pain of losing another loved one."
"That's what I should be saying to you. Anyway, if there are any missions in the future, you'd better clear them with me first."
Wang Yueshu didn't answer; she had no way of knowing what the future would bring.
Qin Shuli left the bedroom to cook in the kitchen. Being a southerner, he preferred rice. Of course, he ate northern noodles too, but he didn't know how to make them—no matter how good the flour was, it was ruined in his hands.
The twins flanked the kitchen doorway, sticking their little heads out to watch their eldest brother cook with curious eyes.
Seeing Qin Shuli all flustered and busy, Third Child grinned from ear to ear and nudged Second Child. "Second Brother, Big Brother looks so funny when he cooks."
Second Child suppressed the corners of his mouth from turning up and put on a stern expression. "Little Sister, Big Brother is cooking for us. It's not nice to laugh right now."
Third Child wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. "I'll have the strength to laugh once I'm full. Haha."
Hearing the children's innocent chatter, Qin Shuli smiled. "I heard someone wants to make fun of me. Do you not want to eat?"
The twins darted out from behind the door and stood straight as ramrods at the entrance. Third Child's rosy little face was deadly serious. "Big Brother, no such thing! Whoever makes fun of you, I'll take them down." With that, she shook her two tiny fists in the air to show how terrifyingly strong she was right now.
Second Child quietly took two steps back, praying those fists wouldn't land on him.
It took Qin Shuli half an hour to finish cooking. He told Second Child to go to the bedroom and call their mother out for dinner.
The twins could feed themselves, though their arms were a bit short, requiring an adult to pick out food for them. Third Child was chewing on cured meat while already pointing her chopsticks at the twice-cooked pork. Her little bottom bounced up and down, and her legs dangled under the table, kicking away excitedly. It was obvious that tonight's dinner was very much to her liking.
After everyone finished eating, just as Qin Shuli had finished clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, someone knocked on the front gate.
He put down what he was holding and opened the door. "Master Yi? Something the matter?"
Looking at Qin Shuli's expressionless face and recalling the unpleasantness from a few days ago, Liu Haizhong—no, Yi Zhonghai—felt a bit awkward.
Qin Shuli thought to himself that Yi Zhonghai's "moral kung fu" was still in the training stage, at best just a beginner, and still a long way off from becoming a true "moral lord."
"Little Qin, it's like this: Jia Fugui from the middle courtyard still hasn't come back now that it's dark. I figured we're all neighbors, so we should go out and look for him together."
Qin Shuli gave a half-smile. "Master Yi, that's an interesting thing to say. Who from our family do you think should go? My mother, or me?"
Yi Zhonghai was genuinely embarrassed this time; he had only thought of rounding people up without considering the Qin family's situation. "Little Qin, it was my oversight. Go on back, and don't go out tonight—it's not safe outside!"
Watching the gate close, the smile vanished from Yi Zhonghai's face. In truth, Yi Zhonghai knew all about Jia Fugui's poisonous scheme. Originally, he had wanted to do it himself, but he had overthought things and let Jia Fugui beat him to the punch. He had also witnessed Jia Fugui going out with Ono today. His real reason for coming to summon people was to observe the reaction of the Qin family, especially Qin Shuli.
Little did he expect Qin Shuli to be completely watertight—he couldn't read a thing.
Yi Zhonghai didn't know that if he had shown even a flicker of a suspicious look, Qin Shuli would have made him disappear tonight. Anyone who posed a threat to the Qin family didn't deserve to live.
When Yi Zhonghai returned to the middle courtyard, Madame Jia was hugging Jia Dongxu and crying. Liu Haizhong and Xu Wude were also at the Jia home. Liu Haizhong's wife was pregnant and had to look after four-year-old Liu Guangqi, so she hadn't come out. Xu Wude's wife worked at the Lou family estate, and their six-year-old son, Xu Damao, was watching the commotion at Madame Jia's place alongside eight-year-old He Yuzhu. He Daqing got off work late at the restaurant, and it wouldn't have been proper for his wife to come out either, so she was tidying up the house at home.
"Master Yi, what did the Qin family say?" Liu Haizhong asked, his eyes gleaming.
Though Xu Wude didn't ask, his expression was quite strange as well.
Yi Zhonghai said with a sour tone, "It was the eldest son of the Qin family who opened the door. On second thought, it wouldn't be proper for a household of a widow and orphans to send someone out. Besides, nobody knows where Old Jia went; how are we supposed to look for him? Maybe he's out drinking with his coworkers."
Madame Jia let go of Jia Dongxu, opened her mouth, and let loose a stream of curses. "Yi Zhonghai, bullshit! Our Old Jia said he had business these past few days and wouldn't go out drinking! You go get that vixen Wang Yueshu out here—where has she charmed my Old Jia off to?"
Liu Haizhong and Xu Wude exchanged glances, their eyes instantly widening by a full eight degrees. There was a story here!
Yi Zhonghai cast a wary glance toward the moon gate, then hurried over to Madame Jia. "Sister-in-law Jia, you can't go around spreading talk that ruins people's reputations like that. It'll cause a huge disaster."
"Our Old Jia hasn't come home in the middle of the night, and you're telling me this isn't a big deal? What *is* a big deal then?! No, I'm going to the Qin place to demand a person!"
With that, Madame Jia scrambled up from the floor.
"No need, I've come to give you your answer!" Qin Shuli stood at the front courtyard's moon gate, his face dark as thunder.
"Let that vixen Wang Yues——" Before Madame Jia could finish screaming, Qin Shuli rushed right in front of her and slapped her across the face. Her already plump, fleshy face instantly swelled up a size.
Seeing that the two sides were asymmetrical, Qin Shuli didn't wait for Madame Jia to speak before backhanding her with another slap.
*Whack!* Now they matched!
Madame Jia was clearly stunned stupid by the twin slaps. She clutched her face, mumbling, "You... you, why did chu hit me?"
"How dare you curse my mother! Young master here has the urge to kill you right now. Try cursing again and see what happens!"
"I'm gonna fight you to the death!"
With that, Madame Jia lowered her head and charged. Though she wasn't as heavy as she would get in later years, she was a born stubby dwarf with a low center of gravity and a rock-solid lower stance. Her charging momentum was fierce; most ordinary people wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Qin Shuli lashed out with a kick. Madame Jia's feet left the ground, and she went flying straight into the veranda, crashing hard against a pillar before coming to a stop.
In the distance, He Yuzhu watched Qin Shuli—who was a year younger than him—send an adult flying with a few moves and thought it looked insanely cool. He silently resolved to go find a master and learn some real skills himself.
As for Xu Damao, the moment the fight broke out, he had already ducked behind a pillar.
And Jia Dongxu? He was still sitting dazed on the ground, entirely paralyzed, unsure whether he was terrified by Qin Shuli's ferocious combat power.
Seeing Qin Shuli beat Madame Jia to a pulp in just a few strokes, Yi Zhonghai hurried to stand in front of her, waving his hands frantically. "Little Qin, calm down! Please calm down! If you keep hitting her, she's going to die!"
"Dead is good! An old witch who goes around splashing dirty water on people all day deserves to die and be done with it!"
Yi Zhonghai anxiously urged, "Little Qin, Dongxu is still young. If Madame Jia dies, what's going to become of this child?"
"That's easy. You and your wife haven't had a child in nearly ten years, Master Yi—you can just take him back and raise him yourselves."