Chapter 40 Scared to Death a Young Servant

  Scared to death a young servant

  Yao Fang's loud applause still attracted the attention of many rural gentry. When they turned their heads and saw that it was Yao Fang sitting next to Zhou Xiu Song who was applauding, they knew he was a rich man, so most of them quietly turned their heads back to continue watching the play, sighing in their hearts that the world was getting worse day by day. Some people secretly shook their heads, thinking that this person was just an empty shell with a good skin.

  A young man in the distance heard another burst of shouting from behind, which abruptly interrupted his appreciation rhythm and was also indignant. He saw him turn his head around with a twist, glaring at Yao Fang.

  Yao Feng also saw the young man staring at him and responded with a big smile.

  He was just a young boy, with a well-groomed black braid, and a small green hat that covered his forehead. Under the brim of the hat, two curved eyebrows like wisps of smoke were slightly raised, neither too long nor too short, neither too thick nor too thin, delicately arched. His facial features were pale with a hint of red, his nose was straight and slender, and the tip of his nose was still endearingly shiny. His nostrils flared slightly, clearly showing that he was angry.

  Yao Feng saw that this little servant had a big temper, daring to stare at him like this. According to traditional rules, there was a clear distinction between superior and inferior, old and young, and it was really asking for a beating for a lowly servant to use such an impudent gaze to provoke his superiors.

  Yao Fan suddenly stuck out his long tongue at him, first swinging it back and forth, then stretching it downwards with force. He rolled up his eyes and made a dead man's expression. The little servant was frightened to death, turned around and ran away, not daring to look back. Yao Fan felt triumphant in his heart, thinking: "You dare to stare at me? Stare again, I'll scare you to death!"

  That little fellow was so frightened that he turned his head back, feeling both angry and annoyed. His small face flushed bright red as he whispered to a young man dressed like a gentleman beside him: "Brother! That Yao Fang is really a foreign barbarian! Rude and coarse!"

  That young man was Huang Jinshan, the eldest son of the Huang family in Jimo. He furrowed his brow slightly and said: "Why do you care so much about him? You're still wearing a watch from his family's store, aren't you? I've heard that the Yao family has been doing business overseas for over a hundred years, and this person grew up among foreigners since childhood, naturally unaware of our country's etiquette. He came to watch the show for excitement, and when he heard the elegant music, he couldn't help but dance along with the beasts, it's not surprising."

  A gentleman on the side heard this and thought to himself, "So this young fellow is actually a brother of Huang Jinshan. I don't know which Master Huang he is the son of, why would he want to disguise himself as a servant and humiliate himself like that."

  That handsome young man nodded repeatedly at Huang Jinshan's words, feeling that his own brother had made a lot of sense: "At first, Zhou Xiusong introduced you and him to greet each other. I think he is quite dignified in appearance and manner, with some remnants of Chinese culture in his gestures. Who would have thought that he hadn't even heard of the opera? It seems that those Western countries must be dull indeed! He grew up in such a barbaric place, truly rough and pitiful!"

  Zhou Xiuzong was startled by Yao Feng's sudden shout and was also dragged into the ditch, echoing a soft "good" sound. However, upon further thought, this song lyrics clearly had an oppressive tone, where could I find anything to praise? This Yao Feng is simply messing around blindly.

  After this storm, Zhou Xiuzong felt uncomfortable and depressed in his heart, and he didn't speak for half a day, sitting next to Yao Fang without paying attention to him.

  Yao Fangke was in no mood to comfort the local landlord's emotions, and just sat there watching the show, occasionally humming a couple of sentences.

  Before long, a servant from the Zhou family came running to deliver a message, saying that Guo Jixiu had arrived. Zhou Xiusheng hastily apologized to Yao Fang and excused himself, then turned around to welcome him out.

  Yao Feng sat there motionless, thinking to himself: I'd like to see what kind of skills that Guo Jixiu has, whether he's qualified to be my opponent.

  Yao Weng picked up the teacup and took a sip, just as he put it down, he saw Zhou Xiu Song accompanying a young man with a gloomy face into the theater. The young man was probably around thirty years old, with limbs that seemed too long, a slightly protruding belly, and a pale complexion like someone who had been soaked in formaldehyde. His lips were adorned with sparse, yellowish whiskers, resembling a worn-out broom made of reeds. He wore a white silk changshan with newly pressed creases at the hem, and around his waist was tied a narrow, hard satin sash with black embroidery and silver thread, from which hung a piece of green jade and an incense bag.

  Yao Fangda lay motionless, lazily shaking his legs and humming a tune.

  The newcomer was Guo Jixiu. From a distance, he recognized Yao Fan, and his appearance was exactly the same as what he had heard about Yao Fan.

  All he saw was that tall and slender figure glancing over here, then shifting his eyes away as if he hadn't seen anything. At the moment, he was tapping his leg with one hand while drawing rhythms in the air with the other, seemingly humming a tune softly. The gentle sunlight filtering through the sky-blue awning above the courtyard shone on his handsome face, casting a halo that enveloped him in a misty white fog like at dawn.

  Guo Jixiu saw Yao Feng's robust and refined body, handsome like an immortal, sitting there with his feet up on the table, seemingly oblivious to him, and suddenly felt a surge of anger that made his teeth itch.

  He muttered to himself in his belly, "Surnamed Yao! I've already sent the letter, at this time, I think my father has already impeached you and Wei Guofu, Liu Ziming, Sun Maowen, He Wannian four dog talents together! I'd like to see how long your smuggling business can be proud of!"

  The more sullen and resentful he felt, the calmer Guo Jixiu's face became. As soon as he thought that Yao Feng would be caught for smuggling and his family would be ruined, he cracked a faint, soundless smile, his pale face twisted like the mouth of a dying fish flipping its white belly.

  "Brother Yao, I've come to introduce you. This is Guo Jia Dazheng, the son of Guangdong's salt law inspector, Guo Weizhong. His third uncle is also a notable figure."

  Zhou Xiusheng said, as if he had thought of something, apologetically bowed his head to Guo Jixiu: "Brother Jixiu, please forgive me, I misspoke and mentioned your family's ancestral name, please don't blame me."

  Guo Jixiu was very pleased with Zhou Xiusheng's introduction, and smiled slightly: "No need to be polite, we're all one family, Brother Xiusheng shouldn't make a distinction. How is your young nephew doing lately? I'm sure his studies have improved significantly."

  "Where, where, my son is lazy and only reads books for the sake of appearances. If he can't pass the imperial examination in the future, I'll just buy him an official position, just like your family's third brother did before, and send him to work as a low-ranking official in Jinan Prefecture. He can use his salary to make up for it. Anyway, my sixth son is also capable of taking care of himself in Jinan Prefecture."

  Yao Feng listened quietly beside him, thinking that these people were actually local gentry who matched doors and households, each with a courtesy name hanging from their mouths, calling each other brothers, and must have had a good relationship in their daily lives.

  The two of them continued to exchange pleasantries with other rural gentry, bowing and greeting each other as they drew near.

  Yao Fang stood up straight and gazed at Guo Jixiu, who also looked him up and down again. Suddenly, he smiled and took the initiative to speak, saying: "I suppose this is Brother Yao? I've heard that Brother Yao's family is a giant merchant from overseas, but why didn't you go to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Yantai or Xiamen to do business, but instead came to a small place like Qingdao, Jiaozhou. It's really a waste."

  Yao Fangyang raised his thick eyebrows, his nose slightly upturned, and said with a heroic air: "We businessmen are at home in all the four seas, without a fixed abode, only seeking a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and being able to lay down our bedding and sleep soundly is enough."

  Guo Jixiu sneered: "Brother Yao's words are bold, you sea merchants follow the foreigners' buttocks and naturally go wherever they go."

  It's a pity that Elder Yao has been away from our great nation for so long, neglecting etiquette and morals. I'm afraid he has long forgotten the sage's words: "While parents are alive, do not travel far."

  I also heard that Brother Yao made a big fuss in the Chunmian Hall for a certain courtesan, punching and kicking Wang Ba and Gui Gong, haha, can you see the knife on top of the word "color"?

  The ancients said that among all good deeds, filial piety comes first, and among all evils, licentiousness is the worst. Brother Yao came from the Western Ocean, he doesn't know what's good or evil, lacks propriety and education, how is he different from beasts?

  I only hope that Brother Yao will read more books in the future, study hard, learn some teachings of saints, and wash away the foreign air on his body.

  Zhou Xiu-song's face suddenly turned gloomy and frightening upon hearing this, clearly extremely annoyed by Guo Ji-xiu's provocative behavior towards Yao Fang. This was obviously not giving him any face! However, deep down inside, he was secretly pleased, thinking that Guo Ji-xiu's sharp words were not entirely unreasonable. Looking at how Yao Fang had just treated his subordinates and comparing it to his own boisterous shouting while watching plays, he knew that Yao Fang was uncouth and lacking in manners.

  The other gentry around saw this scene and knew that Zhou Xiuzong would not be able to mediate successfully today, so they all came to watch the lively scene on this side and no longer cared about what was being sung on the stage.

  The handsome young man who had been staring at Yao Fang earlier clapped his hands and laughed, saying: "This Guo Jixiu is indeed eloquent! It's only right that he teaches that barbarian Yao Fang a lesson."

  After finishing speaking, he suddenly became somewhat worried and said to Huang Jinshan beside him: "However, brother, did Guo Jixiu say something a bit too much? It seems like we locals are bullying an outsider."

  Huang Jinshan suddenly opened his fan and covered his mouth, saying: "If we can give that Yao Fan a warning, it would be good. We must let him know who really holds power in this Jiaozhou region, don't let him think that just because he has colluded with Sun Maowen and Wei Guofu, he can do as he pleases. Without the support of our five families, no official will dare to act!"

  After hearing Huang Jinshan's words, this young man looked at Yao Fangjun's tall and handsome figure, and couldn't help but feel some worry for him.

  Ke Yanwen burst out laughing as if Guo Jixiu had just told him a joke, and he raised his hand, slowly raising his middle finger at Guo Jixiu, shaking his hand vigorously and shouting "You also dare to compete with me in literature!"

  Yao Feng disdainfully looked at Guo Jixiu with narrowed eyes and loudly retorted: "I see that Brother Guo is elegant and refined, but who would have thought that he's a bookworm who only reads half of the books and swallows the other half to turn them into dung? Truly, it can be said that he's a jade exterior with a rotten interior, an embroidered pillowcase filled with straw."

  Guo Jixiu's eyes widened and his eyebrows furrowed as he gritted his teeth, about to curse.