Chapter 837 - This Old One Is One of the Ninth Prince’s People
This Old One Is One of the Ninth Prince’s People
The old man smiled wryly, “Silly granddaughter, this is five taels of silver! Even over the course of a year, the three of us can’t make this much money.” He said to Feng Yu Heng: “It’s just a bit of boiled water and lending some pots. Young Miss, there’s no need to give this much. Just giving a few coppers is enough.”
Feng Yu Heng smiled and said: “Just take it. Opening up a stall on a cold day is not easy. With so many people, we will be disturbing you for quite some time, and you won’t be able to do business. Just take care of the money since we have already come.”
Huang Quan shoved the money into the old granny’s hands and happily said: “Granny, quickly take it. Also, quickly brew the tea!”
The old couple saw that Feng Yu Heng wanted to give it, and they also knew that they had met with someone noble. They needed to kowtow and give thanks for the grace but were stopped by Feng Yu Heng. After saying their thanks repeatedly, they went to brew the tea. Wang Lin arranged for the people to take the food out of their carriages. The majority of it was pastries that had been purchased in the various counties that they had passed through, and there were some noodles that they had purchased in the morning that had not been boiled. In addition to the jerky that Feng Yu Heng had brought out from the capital, it was all handed to the old couple. The hidden guards that had gone into the mountains to look for wild animals had also returned. Each of them held a rabbit and a pheasant. The people that knew how to prepare wild animals stepped forward to help out. The hidden guards started a fire not too far from the tea stall and began to cook the wild animals that had been prepared.
Not long later, a meal that could be a plentiful lunch had been prepared.
The young girl trembled while watching, and Xiang Rong decided to give her a drumstick. The old woman then kneeled and expressed her thanks to Xiang Rong, saying that their granddaughter had not eaten meat for nearly one month.
Wang Lin was puzzled and asked the old woman: “Normally speaking, one jin of pork should only cost 20 copper coins. You should be able to make 20 to 30 copper coins each day with this stall, right? It should not be to the point of not being able to provide meat for a child for a month.”
The old man sighed and helplessly said: “Young man, how could it be as good as you make it sound. We make 30 copper each day and need to pay 15 taels. There are times when we can’t make 15 copper and need to pay with the coppers that we have saved. If we don’t pay, we get beat. Our days are not going well!”
Wang Lin heard this and felt helpless. Before he had met Feng Yu Heng, his family had also been poor. There would even be some people that would go around collecting protection fees. No matter what business one conducted, money had to be paid to them. If the money was not paid, they would get a beating. After countless years, it had already become a way of life, and there was nothing that the government could do about it. Of course, if these small shops were to suffer from being attacked, there really would be protection. That was why people just came to accept it. After all, running a business on the roads, all types of people could be found. It was inevitable that there would be some people with wicked thoughts. At times like those, they had to rely on the protection.
Feng Yu Heng also understood this reasoning, and she had no desire to concern herself with such small matters. She also believed that operating a shop on the roads like this without protection was no good. She just said to the young girl: “You got some money today, but you must not speak about it to others. When you get home, have your grandpa and grandma buy you something good to eat.”
The young girl repeatedly nodded with a bright smile that was very adorable.
Everyone ate while drinking tea, and someone had brought out some wine and began drinking. Feng Yu Heng did not mind. Either way, they would all be seated inside carriages. If they drank too much, they could just go to sleep. There would be no major problems. It was just that not long after they started eating, another few carriages came from the East. They also stopped in front of the small stall. A dark and fat granny then came out with a tall and muscular man that looked like a butcher. They took a glance at Feng Yu Heng, and the granny faintly revealed a cautious expression. The butcher, however, did not pay any mind to this, as he shouted to the stall: “Prepare 20 millet pancakes. We will be taking them to go.”
The old couple acknowledged the order and quickly went to work. The butcher then immediately took notice of Feng Yu Heng’s group drinking tea. It had a delicate fragrance. Without needing to smell it, he knew that it was an extremely high-quality tea. He then loudly shouted: “This sort of tea, also brew a large pot. Place it in a water bladder, and we will take it to go!”
The old man heard this and quickly explained: “Sir, this tea was brought by those guests themselves. It’s not something that this small tea stall could afford to buy. If you wish to quench your thirst, we do have tea for one copper per cup. Not to hide it from you, but it’s just some powdered tea leaves. It’s just good for warming up the body and quenching some thirst.”
“Brought themselves?” The butcher immediately looked around, and his gaze landed on Feng Yu Heng and Feng Xiang Rong. Thinking for a bit, he whispered into the granny’s ear and saw the granny shake her head. The two received their pancakes then paid the coppers before quickly returning to their carriage.
Xiang Rong was puzzled and quietly asked Feng Yu Heng: “Second sister, what were they just talking about? Why did it look like they were talking about us?”
Feng Yu Heng sneered, “It was just the two of us that are dressed the best, and we have servants around taking care of us. That’s why the one that looked like a butcher came up with some ideas for the two of us and wanted to kidnap us to trade for money.”
“Huh?” Xiang Rong was shocked then let out a laugh. Kidnapping her was easy, but she was currently with her second sister. What sort of courage pill would someone need to take to actually dare to kidnap her second sister? In the end, who would be kidnapped would remain unknown! Xiang Rong had extreme confidence in her second sister when it came to this. She was not hesitant in the slightest.
Her laughter and Feng Yu Heng’s words were not hidden in the slightest, as the granny and butcher heard it clearly. The granny did not have much of a reaction, but the butcher was clearly someone with a fiery temper. Stopping in his tracks, he suddenly turned around and pointed at Feng Yu Heng then loudly asked: “Fuck, you two little sluts, what did you just say?”
Once he began blustering, the grandparents and grandchild were scared silly. The old man quickly stepped forward to advise him, trying his best to apologize to the person that looked like a butcher. The old woman also advised Feng Yu Heng to say a bit less. It would be best to have fewer problems while on the road.
But the butcher’s words had already come out. Even if there was not much of a reaction from Feng Yu Heng, Ban Zou could not bear to continue listening from the crowd of hidden guards. Slut? This word was something that had come out of his mouth, right? Very well! His figure moved, as the people felt their vision slightly blurred. None of them had seen that a person had dashed past them. It was just a blurry figure. Immediately following this, the butcher felt his cheeks being grabbed by someone from both sides. He wanted to break free, but the things holding his cheeks were like iron clamps. No matter what, he could not get loose. It was also during this struggle that the inside of his mouth suddenly felt hot. Before he could even feel the pain, something fell out of his mouth and fell on the ground. In just an instant, his cheeks were released, and the person in front of him disappeared. In shock, he looked down and wanted to see what exactly had fallen on the ground. With this glance, he let out a strange scream and fell to his butt.
The young girl of the tea stall also let out a loud scream, while the two grandparents quickly held the child in their embrace, turning her head away to avoid looking.
The dark and fat granny was also scared silly because the thing that had fallen to the ground was the large man’s tongue. A bloody tongue had been cut off at the base and was thrown on the ground. The large man’s mouth was filled with blood, and he had already fainted from the pain. She took a step back in fear and stared at everyone in front of her. The more she looked, the more frightened she felt.
Just now, the large man had suggested that the two girls were quite good, and it would be better to take them away too. Upon arriving in that location, they would be able to earn a bit more money. But she did not agree because she had noticed that the group might not be normal people. The young people wearing black clothes were clearly experts. On her side, she only had four combatants. If there really was a confrontation, they would definitely lose. But who knew that the two girls would say such a thing to incite the butcher. The butcher had insulted them by calling them sluts and had his tongue cut out. At present, she could neither advance nor retreat. For a while, she did not know what she should do.
Xiang Rong did not think that Feng Yu Heng’s hidden guard would be so bloodthirsty, as she closed her eyes in fear, not daring to look over. But Huang Quan, who was standing to the side, became furious. Glaring at the granny, she loudly said: “Where did such a vile person come from? To actually dare to insult our young miss? Cutting out the tongue is considered light. Ban Zou, why didn’t you just cut that person up?”
Ban Zou rolled his eyes and began a battle with a piece of rabbit meat. At the same time, he replied: “It’s too bloody. We still haven’t finished eating!”
Xiang Rong nodded upon hearing this, agreeing with this greatly.
But Huang Quan did not believe this, “People that insult our young miss should be killed. It’s also a scourge! I see that you don’t seem to be good people. Speak! What exactly do you do? What is inside those carriages?”
While she was shouting, four large men came out of the carriages on the other side. One of them dragged the butcher away. When he returned, he asked the granny: “Might as well kill them all!”
The granny’s nose nearly became crooked with anger, as she quietly said: “Are you all stupid? Can we possibly beat those sorts of experts?” She stomped her foot then changed her expression, fawningly smiling at Feng Yu Heng. At the same time, she waved the handkerchief in her hand and said: “Hah! Young Miss really has misunderstood! Misunderstood! The one that just spoke is not worth listening to. Your actions were correct. Cutting off his tongue was correct. If you did not, I fear that he would have caused more trouble in the future.”
“Oh.” Feng Yu Heng nodded, “Then saying it like this, I helped you with a matter just now? Helped get rid of someone that would cause trouble?”
“That’s right, that’s right!” The granny smiled; however, her expression was very rigid. It was clearly very forced. “Miss is a magnanimous person. When meeting this sort of person, they should be taught a lesson. This old servant thanks Miss for the service.”
“Thank?” Wang Lin suddenly spoke up, “How could just saying a word of thanks be enough? Since it’s thanks, you need to show some sincerity! Our young miss usually does not willingly provide a helping hand. That’s why you should take a look, how much money will you provide to express your thanks?”
These words left the group completely stunned! What was this situation? They spent their days robbing others, yet they were now being robbed?
Even the fat granny laughed: “Oh! Young Brother has begun discussing business?” She was not as courteous when speaking with Wang Lin as when speaking with Feng Yu Heng. Sneering, she said: “Saying this sort of thing, are you not afraid of spraining your tongue from speaking too highly?”
Wang Lin laughed, “My tongue stays inside my mouth, and there is no need to worry. As for you, the tongue of one of your people is lying on the ground. You should be a bit more careful. Who knows if a stray dog might come out and take it away.”
“You…” The granny had been infuriated. Looking again at Feng Yu Heng, she was a rather beautiful girl, but why was there a look of a robber? She calmed herself down and did not continue to argue with Wang Lin then said to Feng Yu Heng: “This old one speaks humbly, but Miss still refuses to give face. Since this is the case, this old one is not afraid of making my status clear. To tell you the truth, this old one is one of the ninth prince’s people. Do you disorderly people want to oppose His Highness the ninth prince?”