A woman's voice rang out from the gate behind Qin Shuli. Wang Yueshu stepped out, her face deathly pale.
"Jia Fugui, just try laying a hand on him!"
The residents of the middle and back courtyards hadn't seen Wang Yueshu for several years. Seeing her now, shouting with such vigor, they couldn't help but linger for a second look. Wang Yueshu had a delicate, oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, large eyes, and a small mouth—a face that naturally endeared her to others.
Yi Zhonghai had seen her the day before, which was why he had egged the Jia family on to propose a room swap. But for He Daqing, Liu Haizhong, Xu Wude, and the others, this was their first time seeing her in years, and a flicker of astonishment crossed their faces. Qin Dazhu had been a lucky man; no wonder he’d died young.
Jia Fugui was so struck by Wang Yueshu’s appearance that he stood there, at a loss. Qin Shuli tried to step in front of his mother to block the other men's gazes, but he soon realized that even though he was 1.3 meters tall, his mother was nearly 1.7 meters; he simply wasn't tall enough to hide her.
"Jia Fugui, if you dare touch my son, I’ll skin you alive!" Wang Yueshu pointed a firewood axe at the tip of Jia Fugui’s nose and shouted.
Looking at the fierce light in her eyes, Jia Fugui’s mind flashed back to the miserable thrashing he’d received from Qin Dazhu back in the day. But now that Qin Dazhu was missing—likely dead somewhere out there—and looking at Wang Yueshu’s exquisite, youthful face, he felt an itch in his heart like a cat clawing at it.
"Now, now, sister-in-law, don't be like that. Why would I hit your child? It’s just that my brother Zhonghai said your family wanted to swap houses with us, so I came over to discuss it with you!"
"Swap what house? Since when did I know about this?" Wang Yueshu turned to look at Yi Zhonghai.
Yi Zhonghai felt a chill under her piercing gaze. How could he possibly reveal his true intentions? He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Sister-in-law, it’s all a misunderstanding. I had a word with Qin Shuli last night, perhaps he didn't have a chance to tell you yet!"
"Tell your grandfather!" Qin Shuli snapped, furious. Several men were leering at his mother like stray dogs; none of them were any good. "Our house isn't for swap, no matter who asks. Yi Zhonghai, put away your petty schemes. If you dare pull this again, I’ll take care of you myself!"
He Daqing, whose wife was still around and who had no designs of his own, advised, "We’ve all lived in this courtyard for years; let’s not make things too awkward. Since it’s a misunderstanding, let's leave it at that. We all have to get to work, so let's just call it a day!"
Liu Haizhong and Xu Wude, who had said nothing from the start, turned and walked toward the middle courtyard along with He Daqing.
Madame Jia, seeing them all turn to leave, immediately refused to let it go. Her face had been beaten into a swollen mess by Qin Shuli; was this just going to be swept under the rug? But her face was so swollen she could barely open her mouth to speak.
As Wang Yueshu took her eldest son back inside, Jia Fugui called out after them: "Sister-in-law, if you run into any difficulties in the future, be sure to tell us! We’ll be happy to help!"
He was met only by the slamming of the Qin family gate. Jia Fugui wasn't even angry; he walked home alone, the image of Wang Yueshu burned into his mind. When he saw Madame Jia returning with her face swollen like a pig’s, he almost gagged.
"You Jia bastard, were you eyeing that little woman from the Qin family? You left me alone in the front yard—do you have any regard for me at all?"
Madame Jia struggled to speak, and Jia Fugui couldn't quite make out what she was saying. Finally, he snapped, "What would a woman know? None of your business!"
The first conflict in the courtyard ended in an anticlimax under the threat of Wang Yueshu’s axe. However, Qin Shuli knew this wouldn't be the end of it. Having seen beauties from the future, he knew just how captivating his mother’s appearance was.
"Mom, you were so imposing just now!" Qin Shuli began to flatter her the moment the door was shut.
"Imposing!" little Third Child waved her arms from the kang, shouting.
Second Child pulled on the back of her shirt to keep her from bouncing too hard and falling off.
Wang Yueshu set down the axe and sat on the edge of the kang to take a few sips of water, finally letting out a breath of relief. "I was terrified just now. How come I never realized the people in this courtyard were so full of devious thoughts?"
Qin Shuli wanted to say that it was because they used to have Qin Dazhu to keep them in check. He had been a blacksmith by trade, standing 1.8 meters tall and weighing over 200 pounds. When he stood at the moon gate, he was like a brick wall—who would dare to cause trouble?
"Mom, now you know why I don't want you going out. The world is full of bad people who covet your beauty. Dad protected you before, but from now on, it’s my turn!"
Wang Yueshu sighed. Being too beautiful was not a blessing. Fortunately, the son she had raised was capable. "Alright then, I’ll rely on you from now on. But you must tell me whenever you plan to take action so we can analyze it together."
"Deal. You use your head, I’ll do the work!"
Seeing Qin Shuli so excited, Wang Yueshu quickly tried to calm him down. "Son, there are only four of us left in this family. We absolutely cannot afford another disaster, do you hear me?"
Qin Shuli nodded firmly. "I know, Mom!"
With the family matters settled, Qin Shuli planned to head out for a walk. He needed to make money; the planting and grazing areas inside his Space were completely empty and needed to be put to use as soon as possible.
The sky was still overcast, though fortunately, it wasn't snowing. There were few pedestrians on the street. In the alleys on either side of the main road, one could occasionally see people sleeping in the corners. These were refugees who had no food or shelter and were simply freezing to death. There were people in Beiping City whose job it was to collect the bodies and take them outside the city walls to be buried.
Qin Shuli walked and observed. When he looked up, he found himself at Zhengyangmen. There were more shops here and more people on the move.
*Thump!*
In a moment of carelessness, Qin Shuli bumped into a puppet government policeman.
"Hey, kid! Are you blind? You dare bump into Officer Wang of the Zhengyangmen Police Station? I’m telling you, you aren't walking away from this without two Silver Dollars!"
Qin Shuli looked up. A fat man was glaring at him, and behind the fat man, a thin, tall fellow with his hat tilted sideways pointed at him and cursed.
Two Silver Dollars right off the bat—these police dogs really knew how to bite. Two Silver Dollars were enough to buy 80 catties of rice, more than enough to feed a family of three for a while.
But with everyone watching, Qin Shuli didn't dare do anything drastic. He had no choice but to say, "My apologies, officers. I was blind and didn't see where I was going. Please show some mercy!"
Fatty Wang held his chin high, not even glancing at Qin Shuli. The thin man walked over and started searching him, but he found absolutely nothing—all of Qin Shuli’s belongings were stored safely inside his Space.
The thin man was incensed and kicked Qin Shuli to the ground. "What are you doing out and about with no money? Next time you come out, you better have money, you hear me? Bastard!"
Fatty Wang let out a snort of agreement.
Qin Shuli turned and ran. After the two officers were gone, he found a local and asked, "Sir, those two were quite arrogant just now. Who exactly are they?"
A middle-aged man with a small braid looked left and right, and seeing no suspicious characters, he spoke up. "Kid, you asked the right person. There isn't a thing in all of Beiping City that I, Wen Laosan, don't know about."
Qin Shuli’s eyes lit up. He was an encyclopedia!