Chapter 14: Guo Jixiu

  Kuo Jixiu

  By this time, Yao Fan had already departed from his anger.

  "You didn't say that I had already redeemed myself for San Jie?"

  Wang's mother stood there, suddenly slapping her buttocks with both hands on her thighs: "Heavens! How could the old lady not say this? But what a big influence the Guo family has, how can I, an old woman, afford to provoke them.

  Guo Jiaji Xiu said: "Since the person is still in the brothel, it doesn't count as redemption."

  Yao Fanshen was furious, and with a swift kick, he sent the stool that "Gou Zi" had just brought into the courtyard flying out, shattering it against the wall with a loud crash.

  Yao Feng loudly rebuked: "With so many people here, isn't anyone going to stop him?"

  Queen Wang said with a bitter face: "How dare we stop him, that Master Guo is a ruthless master. Every time he goes out, he's afraid of being tied up by bandits and having his goods stolen. Each time he leaves the Guo family village to sell salt, he brings seven or eight strong and skilled men with him, each carrying clubs and big knives. I'm just a law-abiding businesswoman, my shop has only five or six rough apprentices, the rest are all daughters-in-law, how can we stop them?"

  "How dare you not report to the authorities!" Yao Feng cursed.

  Wang's mother looked at Yao Fang as if she had seen him for the first time, re-examining him with surprise: "Doesn't Master Yao know? The Guo family is a hereditary official family! At this moment in the Qing dynasty, there are two people who are serving as high officials. The old master of the Guo family is currently serving as the surveillance commissioner in Jiangxi, and the third son of the Guo family is serving as a participant in the salt law in Guangzhou. As for other members of the clan who have donated official positions and are waiting to be appointed in Beijing, there are several more.

  Moreover, it is said that the current county magistrate of Mo County, Zhao Shuoye, was once a student of Guo's when he was serving as an education commissioner in Sichuan.

  The more Yao Wenyue listened, the more annoyed he became. He thought to himself: "Damn it! What a complicated web of relationships is this? I'd better be careful."

  Yao Fan knew that the reason why the big families in various places during the Qing dynasty were big families was because there were always people in the family who held official positions, and officials on the official scene protected and responded to each other. As a result, the family could dominate the countryside, say one not two, and their words were not only more effective than the law, but also better than local officials. As long as they didn't rebel or resist taxes, Qing dynasty local officials really didn't have the courage to use national laws to control their estates.

  Wang's mother saw Yao Fan deep in thought and not speaking, so she continued: "That old man from the Guo family forced his way into San Jie's room, and when San Jie refused him, she scratched his face!"

  "Ah, this is the end! That old man Guo was so angry that he called his family members to come in, and they pinned down my third sister. He personally slapped her more than a dozen times, oh my goodness, she fainted on the spot, with blood all over her face! Old man Guo wouldn't let up, and ordered his servants to tie her up and take her away. I, an old woman, didn't dare to intervene."

  I finally managed to explain it clearly to Old Man Guo, and he reluctantly handed over 1,500 taels of silver, saying it was the ransom money. Master Yao, this is the deposit for your 500 taels of silver, not a single penny less, all here! If it weren't for my wife, you wouldn't have gotten this money back at all!"

  Yao Feng heard this and his murderous intent rose, cursing: "F**k! Don't f**king play tricks on me!"

  What is this guy named Guo?!

  Damn it! I'm his tenant now! Thinking of bullying me, blind his dog eyes!

  Do you think this money can get rid of me?... Wang Ma, bring me San Jie's body contract!

  Wang's mother cried and said: "Master Yao, since the Guo family head gave us silver, he naturally took away San Jie's body contract too."

  That turtle shell-like man, Wang Gong, took the silver note from Wang Ma's hand and presented it to Yao Fang with a bow and a smile: "Master Yao, you'd better take this back. Don't make things difficult for us. You're an outsider, a merchant from afar, in our Jiaozhou, under someone else's roof, on someone else's turf... if I may say so, it's better to swallow your pride and put up with it."

  "You don't just say it's Qingdao, even if you put it in the whole Jiaozhou, the whole Jimo, or the whole Laizhou prefecture, the Guo family is also a well-known and prominent household! You're just a prostitute, not worthy of being on par with such a family. Look! Not a single cent is missing from this silver! Isn't that settled?"

  Yao Fan's heart was filled with both sadness and anger at this moment, sad for the tragic fate of his third sister, angry that he didn't have enough power to kill off the Guo family at once.

  Yao Feng slapped a palm on the face of that "hook" who could speak, and his hand, which often came into contact with steel and machinery, hit so hard that the "hook" immediately bled from the teeth and loosened, almost falling to the ground. Yao Feng's tall and strong body took a step forward, his large left hand grasped the right shoulder of the "hook", and then pinched up his thick right fist, fiercely pounding it on the face of the "hook", knocking him out with one punch.

  "You're something like a dog, I'm calling you cheap, are you one who can be called a bitch?"

  Hook was slapped heavily on the ear, and then punched to spin around, rolling on the ground like a dead dog. The other big and small turtles saw it, all shrinking back far away.

  These turtles are all soft and afraid of the strong, how dare they provoke Yao Fan who looks like a tyrant. They usually cruelly torture and intimidate others, but when they see someone as wealthy as Yao Fan, who is also colluding with the authorities, they don't dare to come near.

  Otherwise, they would be beaten to death by a group of family members one by one, put into a sack and thrown into the sea or river to feed the fish, which is very likely. Moreover, no one dares to speak out for them, and reporting to the authorities is just a waste of money.

  This reason is not only understood by the turtle masters, but also by everyone in the brothel. At that time, they were so scared that no one dared to speak, and seeing He Shicheng holding a stick on the side, preparing to beat people, they became even more frightened and no one dared to speak.

  Yao Fenghu glared around, seeing that no one in the courtyard dared to make a sound, his heart grew increasingly annoyed. With a swoosh, he flung open his long robe and turned to leave Chunmian Hall.

  He Shicheng hastily wielded his stick and followed Yao Fan in a hurry. When Yao Fan jumped onto the carriage, sat down steadily, He Shicheng asked: "Master, where are we going now?"

  "Go to the yamen."

  He Shicheng grasped the horse's head, gently lifted its tail, and with a slight rustling sound at the tip of the tail in front of the horse, the carriage began to move.

  Yao Fan had already suppressed his anger and calmly asked: "Shi Cheng, what is the reputation of the Guo family in this place?"

  He Shicheng said: "That's open to interpretation."

  "What did you say?"

  He Shicheng said: "Although I am a small person, I also know that the two kinds of reputation on the surface and behind are different. One is what the adults say, and the other is what we ordinary people say."

  "In the official and business circles, as well as among the rural gentry, it's common to have people carried in sedan chairs, but this kind of reputation is not reliable. The ordinary people have their own measuring rod in their hearts, and that's what's really accurate."

  He Shicheng's words came faster and with some excitement: "What the master says is indeed reasonable, after all you are an educated person."

  When it comes to the Guo family, people say that their ancestors accumulated virtue, which is why they have been prosperous for generations. However, the villagers also gave them a nickname, "Pot Bottom Wear". They say that the Guo family's prosperity relies on secretly producing and selling salt, year after year, wearing out dozens of iron pots.

  This nickname also has another meaning, which is that Guo's family does things ruthlessly and viciously, no one dares to provoke them.

  Yao Fan looked ahead and thought that although He Shi was young, he was from a merchant family like the He's after all, so he did have some experience.

  He Shicheng continued, "The people of Jiaozhou and Jimou counties all know that the five families of Zhou, Huang, Lan, Yang, and Guo are the top households in this area. Each family has intermarried with each other for generations, so they all have a kinship relationship."

  Yao Wengdao: "If there were other wealthy families fighting with the Guo family, how much combat power would the Guo family have? Ah... I mean, how many able-bodied servants would they have?"

  He Shicheng, although young in years, was not foolish and hastily said: "Master, you were robbed of your sweetheart by that Master Guo, weren't you? This is a case of someone being jealous. However, Master, you mustn't force the issue, as the Guo family is indeed a prominent local clan. If we were to start a fight, just the servants in the Guo family's compound would be enough to call out thirty or so people! And if the Guo family were to spend some silver and summon the tenant farmers and salt workers from the surrounding villages, they could easily gather two or three hundred men."

  Yao Fan felt extremely depressed upon hearing this.

  He Shicheng continued to mutter: "Master, I'm young and shouldn't say this, don't be angry with me."

  Yao Fandao said: "Just say it."

  He Shicheng said, "I'd advise you not to mess with that Guo family patriarch. We have an old saying in our He family: ordinary people shouldn't fight against officials. With so many of the Guos holding official positions, it would be easy for them to trip you up. My dad says, when you should endure, you must endure."

  Yao Feng let out a cold hum and leaned against the carriage, humming a tune from Ding Junshan to relieve his annoyance.

  "...one does not need war drums beating loudly, two does not need deputy generals following behind."

  As soon as Huang Zhong rode his horse, he took Ding Jun with a single sword!

  Within ten days, I obtained victory and the Grand Marshal's seal was bestowed upon me...

  He Shicheng surprisingly understood it and continued singing: "...within ten days we cannot win, I wish to hang my old head on the gate of Yanmen..."

  Yao Fan was so startled that he almost fell off the car.

  "Come, come, come, lead the horse for me to ride, I want to sweep across Dingjun Mountain!"

  This just made Yao Feng suppress his urge to kick this little kid.

  ……

  The carriage arrived at the government office, and Yao Fan casually handed over a few coins to the gatekeeper and hastily rushed in without waiting for an announcement.

  Sun Maowen came out and saw Yao Fan, opened his mouth to ask the servant to serve tea to Yao Fan, then sat silently in the chair.

  Yao Wenyi said, "Sun Dage, I'm not familiar with this place, and I came to Jiaozhou without thinking that in just a few days, someone would want to bully me. If this gets out, my younger brother will lose face in Qingdao from now on. I'm afraid that in the future, everyone will think I'm a soft persimmon and want to take advantage of me."

  "Brother, I've thought it over and over again, and I'm sure that only you can help me with this matter!"

  After saying that, Yao Fan pulled out the one thousand two silver notes from his sleeve, which were originally intended to be given to the old madam as a ransom, and pushed them onto the table towards Sun Maowen. At the same time, he said: "This small amount of money is for brother's travel expenses, if brother can help me get out of this situation, I am willing to double my filial piety to brother!"

  Sun Maowen's eyebrows furrowed as soon as he heard it involved the Guo family, but when he saw the silver note, his brow relaxed slightly. He took the note and put it in his sleeve after folding it up. After pondering for a long time, he finally said: "Young Master Yao is talented and comes from a good family background. Although born into a merchant family, your writing skills are exceptional and not at all like those of ordinary merchants who are usually uncouth and unrefined. I truly enjoy making friends with you."

  Yao Feng saw Sun Mao Wen receive the silver ticket and stared at him intently, waiting to see what he would do next.