Chapter Eleven: Wang Lao Fu Zi

  Lu Xiangying saw that the fat woman was crying even more miserably, and seeing the small corpse of the fat child, her heart suddenly softened. She thought of her father's and husband's usual behavior and didn't want to argue with this person anymore. She took out a silver ingot and threw it in front of the woman.

  The fat woman picked up the silver coins on the ground and lifted her tear-stained pumpkin face towards Luo Xiuying.

  Lu Xiangying sighed and said, "This child's fate is bitter, just like that. My heart as a aunt is not feeling well either, but I'm not a god in heaven, can't bring the dead back to life, nor can I return your living son. Here are ten taels of silver, consider it my contribution as an aunt for the child's coffin!"

  Having said that, he didn't care about the fat woman's reaction, turned around and walked quickly into the wooden house on the second floor.

  As Luo Xiuying entered the house and closed the door, the crowd surrounding the small courtyard suddenly burst into a flurry of discussion. The two words most frequently mentioned were "shrew!"

  "'Rolling knife meat' is thinking of money until she's crazy, right? She can actually do something like this!"

  "It's just that Jin Peng had even saved his family member from a tiger's mouth before, it's really chilling!"

  "Xiu Ying's heart is too soft, she agreed to this, and it was her son this time. Next time if her husband goes hunting and gets injured, will the whole village have to pay for her family's silver?"

  "It's always the villains who come up with some twisted reasoning! Indeed worthy of being called 'Rolling Knife Meat'! These ten taels of silver are more than enough to buy a coffin, let alone build several tiled houses!"

  "Never seen such a shameless woman, and she still has the nerve to accept money from others!"

  "Hmph, if someone's heart is not right, they can do anything!""Cut it out! Stop talking about others here, I think what she did was fine. If your child had died, you'd be even more vicious!""Your child would never die!""Your child, your child!" Two women actually started arguing over this, fortunately the onlookers pulled them apart in time, or else it would have been another shouting match.

  In the midst of everyone's jeers and disdainful glances, the fat woman wiped away her tears and snot, quickly pocketed the silver coins, picked up her son's corpse, and with a gloomy face, she forced her way through the crowd and headed towards her own small courtyard.

  In the first floor hall of Luo's house, Da Niu, Shui Sheng and Xiao Juan watched this scene clearly through the door gap, clenched their fists tightly and angrily stared at the fat woman who disappeared from the yard.

  If looks could kill, this fat woman would have been torn apart by the three men's gaze!

  At this moment, a horseshoe sound and the sound of carriage wheels rushing by came from afar at the village entrance. Before long, with a loud shout of "gee" and the sound of a mule's bray, a tall sorrel horse stopped in its tracks, snorted loudly, and behind it, a black lacquered carriage came to a steady stop outside the gate of the Luo family compound.

  The coachman was a coarse-looking, ugly groom with a long scar from his forehead to his chin, and it was difficult to tell his actual age from his face. The groom smiled at the crowd still gathered in front of Luo's gate, put away the long whip in his hand, nimbly jumped down from the carriage, and respectfully lifted up the curtain on the carriage.

  An old man in his sixties, dressed as a Confucian scholar with white hair and beard, walked out of the carriage. He wore a half-old gray cloth gown, with a snow-white lining that was spotless inside. His right hand held a foot-long golden lacquer folding fan, and his thin face had an air of dignity without being angry.

  Many people recognized that the old man was none other than Wang Lao Fuzi, a retired official from the neighboring village of Wangzhuang. Before the crowd could disperse, many men rushed forward to greet the old man and pay their respects, who smiled and nodded in response.

  At this time, the coachman had already taken out two gift boxes containing pastries from the carriage, and on top of each gift box were three brocade boxes of different sizes.

  Wang Lao is a large village, with a much larger population than Hanshui Village. Wang Lao's family owns over 100 hectares of good land and has a private school at home. As long as there are fellow villagers willing to send their children to study, Wang Lao does not charge any tuition fees. Just for this reason, he is quite respected in the surrounding areas.

  Everyone saw that Wang Lao was rushing towards Luo's house, so they didn't dare to continue watching and dispersed after saying goodbye.

  The old man Wang looked up and gazed at the small courtyard where the Luo family lived, as well as the spacious and clean two-story wooden building in the yard. He shook his clean gray robe and said loudly: "Is Zhou Jinping's nephew Zhou Xian available? Old Wang Ke has come to pay a visit, I wonder if he can grant me an audience?" Although old man Wang was advanced in years, his voice was full of energy.

  The big yellow dog barked twice and ran out, standing at the door with a snarl on its face towards Wang Lao.

  Wang Lao's husband was not afraid at all, lifted his foot and walked into the courtyard, saw a big yellow dog blocking the way, and actually made a bow to the big yellow dog. The big yellow dog tilted its head in confusion, seeing Wang Lao's action seemed harmless, and actually wagged its tail at Wang Lao, clearing the road.

  The coachman's heart was delighted, and the yellow dog also smiled with its tongue out. This man didn't smile often, but when he did, his ugly face would make people's hearts skip a beat. Even the big yellow dog felt uncomfortable, lowered its head, whined a few times, as if it didn't dare to look at him again, and turned away. The coachman then picked up the gift box and quickly followed behind.

  Upon hearing Wang Lao's voice, Luo Xiuying walked out of the wooden building, looked at Lao and smiled all over her face. She quickly walked down from the second floor and said: "So it's Uncle Wang, you're a rare guest. My husband is out hunting and hasn't returned yet. As an elder, what matter do you have that requires someone to send a message? When Jinpeng returns, let him go pay his respects to you, why bother coming in person?"

  Wang Lao said with a wave of his hand: "Mountain village husband, what's the fuss about? It's rather that Xiuying niece is being too polite."

  His gaze slowly swept across the small courtyard, turning on a cluster of lush green bamboo trees surrounding the yard, gliding over a few scattered and elegant wooden fences and magnolias, and finally landing on a row of eight trigrams pillars for practicing martial arts on the west side of the courtyard. A pleased expression appeared in his eyes as he said, "Your father not only has excellent martial skills that make people envy, but also has a refined and elegant heart, truly a reclusive nobleman. In his lifetime, we had a lot of interactions, and our personalities matched."

  Having said that, he let out a light sigh and a hint of loneliness appeared on his face. He slowly closed the folding fan in his hand and continued: "Since your father's passing, I have been staying at home all these years and haven't set foot in Hanshui Village once. It's truly shameful! However, you two have managed this small courtyard better and better, it's quite good, quite good!"

  The words had barely fallen when the two wooden doors of the first floor hall creaked open with a "creak". With a thud, Xiaojuan fell to the ground as the wooden door opened. Behind her, Daniu and Shuisheng were both startled and retreated several steps, hiding behind the door. It turned out that after Wang Lao's entry into the small courtyard, three little children had been squeezed at the door gap to steal a look, but accidentally pushed the door open.

  Xiao Juan lifted her head from the ground, pouted her small mouth, and was about to cry when she saw her mother's gaze cutting over like a knife. She was startled, scrambled to get up, and with tears in her eyes, turned around and ran back into the house, slamming the door shut with a "bang".

  Lu Xiangying knew that the three of them had been peeking out from inside the main hall, and her face sank as she said: "What are you three making a racket about in the house? Who took down the door sill again? Don't you know we have guests arriving? Hurry up and come greet Grandfather Wang, invite him to rest inside!"

  The two wooden doors were pushed open from the inside again, and three little children rushed out in a row, standing at the door and curiously sizing up Wang Lao Fu Zi and the groom behind him.

  When Wang Lao Fu Zi sat down on the leopard skin armchair in the house, Luo Xiu Ying was busy arranging tea and water. Da Niu rushed to pay his respects to Wang Lao Fu Zi, then followed Ma Fu out of the hall after putting down the gift box, ran outside the courtyard, and began to "study" the sorrel horse that pulled the carriage.

  Xiao Juan's tears had long since dried on her sleeve, and a pair of shiny black eyes kept circling around the two gift boxes, secretly guessing what delicious things were inside.

  Shui Sheng ran to the front of Wang Lao Fu Zi and curiously asked: "Old man, why did you just bow to Da Huang? It's a dog!"

  The old man stroked his beard, chuckled and said: "Of course I know it's a dog, but it's a good dog, more sensible than many people. Such a good dog deserves my respect!"

  Shui Sheng scratched his head, looking bewildered. Wang Lao Fu Zi slowly extended three fingers and said: "I have always categorized the dogs that guard the house into three types. The lowest type is the kind that sneaks out behind its master's back to bite people secretly, or even bites anyone it sees, and when it gets anxious, it will even bite its own master. This type of dog can be called a mad dog. What do you think should be done with this kind of dog?"

  The aquatic turtle thought for a moment and said: "Kill and eat meat."

  The old man nodded and said, "That's right. A vicious dog is like a wicked person. When dealing with this kind of mad dog and extremely evil people, there is only one way to beat them to death. You can't have the slightest bit of sympathy, otherwise you'll hurt others and yourself!"

  He paused for a moment, then continued: "As for the middle one, it refers to those who always stand at the door of their house. Every day, regardless of whether they know the person or not, they will bark fiercely at passersby. This kind of dog is born timid, but insists on standing at the door and pretending to be fierce. Although this dog cannot save its master or protect the house in critical moments, it can still remind its owner to beware of thieves in daily life."

  "Ah, this big yellow dog is indeed a top-notch breed! Strong and healthy in body, sharp claws and teeth, brave enough to fight off wolves at critical moments, able to guard the safety of family members and livestock, yet able to distinguish between guests and not recklessly bark or bite people. This kind of dog has already grasped human nature to some extent, and can be called a top-notch breed! Generally speaking, its character is also loyal and unwavering, though it's not human, it's more reliable and respectable than some foolish and cunning scoundrels. When encountering such a top-notch dog, I naturally feel a sense of reverence!"

  Shui Sheng smiled and said: "But my mother always says that eating too much Dahuang is bad!"

  Wang Lao's husband burst out laughing: "Eating a lot is nothing to be afraid of, as long as it doesn't get lazy, it's a good dog!"

  This chapter is over, your support is my greatest motivation!