Chapter 2: The Tiger Beaters

  Thinking so in her heart, she sincerely comforted: "Wan Niang don't cry, I'm awake now."

  Wan Niang kept nodding, and due to gravity and inertia, pea-sized tears were flung all over the place. Those who didn't know might have thought it was raining at home: "Mmm, husband is awake, Wan Niang has made a comeback."

  Is the suffering over? Why does Wen Niang mention this sentence three to five times? Wei Hong's heart was a bit suspicious, and he hastily asked: "What is 'the suffering is over'? Could it be that someone bullied you while I was unconscious?"

  Wan Niang didn't respond, her face looked a bit unsightly. Since Wei Hong fell into a coma, the family had lost its pillar, and life became extremely difficult. Even filling their stomachs was a problem, and they still had to take out fixed funds to care for Wei Hong who was bedridden. Life was even more unbearable. If Wan Niang wasn't clever with her hands and hadn't been taking on some private sewing work from the nearby tailor shop, they would have probably starved to death on the streets a long time ago. Moreover, Wan Niang's beauty was renowned in the area, and the local idlers had always coveted her. They used to be afraid of Wei Hong and didn't dare to make their moves openly. But after Wei Hong fell ill, they would often lurk around the door, and whenever they saw Wan Niang go out, they would tease her mercilessly. If Wan Niang wasn't so chaste and virtuous, those idlers would have probably dared to take advantage of her.

  It can be said that for such a long time, this family has been supported by Wan Niang's frail shoulders.

  Wei Hong was very keen, and although Yuanniang didn't say anything, Wei Hong could tell some stories from her facial expressions. However, since Yuanniang wasn't willing to speak, Wei Hong didn't ask any more questions. Physically speaking, Wei Hong wasn't a strong man, and as a businessman, dignity was just a facade, but principles and bottom lines were still necessary. Bullying Yuanniang was no different from slapping himself in the face.

  Just as Wei Hong thought of this, a knock at the door came from outside, followed by a very lewd shout: "Is the wife of the Wei family at home? Open the door, I have something to tell you!"

  Upon hearing the shout, Wan Niang's body suddenly trembled, and a fearful expression flowed out of her eyes as she stared at Wei Hong. Meanwhile, in Wei Hong's heart, he maliciously thought: "This is really saying Cao Cao, Cao Cao has arrived!"

  "Wanniang, are those people outside the ones who bully you every day?" Wei Hong looked at Wanniang with an extremely cold tone.

  Wan Niang nodded and reached out to stop Wei Hong from getting out of bed: "Husband, forget it. The man outside is a notorious idler in the neighborhood who has never lost a fight. Let's not provoke him. Once he finds out you're awake, he won't come again."

  Never lost a fight? Upon hearing this, Wei Hong became even more interested. Back in his university days, fighting was Wei Hong's hobby, and he was respectfully called "Golden Right Leg" by his classmates for defeating the school's undefeated champion! Wei Hong actually wanted to exchange blows with this idle rascal to see who was more skilled!

  Wei Hong reached out and gently touched Wan Niang's cheek, making a dismissive expression: "Wan Niang doesn't need to worry, I'll go reason with him, won't clash with him head-on."

  Wan Niang was worried in her heart, but Wei Hong insisted on going to meet the idle rascals outside the door. Wan Niang could only follow suit and walk behind Wei Hong. If they didn't see eye to eye and ended up fighting, Wan Niang would be there to help out, and at worst, she could call for someone to come and assist.

  When Wei Hong walked into the courtyard, the knocking sound started again: "Bang bang bang... Wei's daughter-in-law? Can't you even respond? Brother isn't a ferocious tiger that can eat you up!"

  Listening to this naked teasing, Wei Hong didn't get angry but smiled instead. The smile was slightly deep and subtle, leaving Yuanniang waiting in the courtyard while Wei Hong walked alone towards the gate with stealthy steps.

  The idle rascal outside the door was named Zhang Youhai, and his nature was as "harmful" as his name. He usually stole chickens and dogs, fought and quarreled, and the neighbors were all afraid of him. After Wei Hong fainted, it was this guy who led the way to tease Wen Niang, and later he even persuaded his accomplices to leave, and every day he guarded the door alone, always thinking about doing something with Wen Niang.

  Today, Zhang Youhai arrived on time and shouted twice outside the door. He knew that Wanniang was afraid he wouldn't dare to answer, so even if there was no movement inside, he lingered and didn't leave. But today, after shouting only twice, footsteps were heard from inside the courtyard. Zhang Youhai's heart skipped a beat with excitement - could it be that Wanniang had finally been moved by his relentless pursuit?

  As he was thinking, the courtyard door slowly opened a crack. Zhang Youhai hastily pressed his face against the crack, wanting to take a look at that lovely face he had been daydreaming about night and day. However, after Zhang Youhai climbed up to the crack, what appeared before his eyes wasn't Wan Niang's face, but rather a massive fist.

  Zhang Youhai didn't even have time to react, and the fist landed on his own nose bridge. He only felt a sourness in his nose, dizziness in his head, and he fell back two steps, heavily crashing to the ground. Zhang Youhai lay stupidly on the ground, tears involuntarily flowing out, his vision becoming blurry. It wasn't until the courtyard gate was fully pushed open that Zhang Youhai vaguely noticed someone walking towards him. From the figure's build, it was absolutely not Wenyang!

  "Guard... Wei Hong?!"

  Zhang Youhai rubbed his eyes hard, wanting to get up, but before he could even stand up, he felt a kick on his back, and the whole person fell to the ground again. Immediately after that, big feet seemed to fall on him like raindrops, and there was also a man's curse in his ear: "I'll let you be a mighty tiger with a white forehead! I'll let you be a mighty tiger with a white forehead! Today, I'm Wu Song, specializing in beating this sick cat!"

  Wan Niang was worried that Wei Hong would get the short end of the stick, so she chased after him. However, when she saw the scene in front of her, she was stunned and leaned against the door frame, thinking: "Isn't my husband a weak scholar? When did he become so brutal?"

  "Don't hit, don't hit..."

  "Your mother! Do you know who I am? I'm here with my brother to take care of you!"

  "Oh no, I'm going to be killed, help...!"

  Zhang Youhai rolled on the ground, begging for mercy, and the big and tall man was crying like a woman.

  Wei Hong kicked Zhang Youhai more than twenty times in one breath, and finally felt unsatisfied. He didn't care if it was fatal or not, and he kicked Zhang's crotch. As soon as the kick landed, Zhang Youhai, who had been screaming just a moment before, suddenly fell silent. After a brief silence, he erupted again, his cries louder than a pig being slaughtered, attracting all the neighbors from nearby streets.

  Young women, old mothers and little girls gathered together in twos and threes, pointing at this side: "Huh? Isn't that Wei Xianggong? When did he wake up?"

  "That guy who got beaten up on the ground seems to be Zhang Youhai, haha, this kid has been doing evil deeds for a long time, today he finally met his match, serves him right!"

  "Does Wei Xianggong dare to hit Zhang Youhai? Isn't he afraid that Zhang Youhai will take revenge on him? Zhang Youhai's cousin is the grandson of Sun Gongzi from Wan Yongbu!"

  "Nonsense, your wife is always flirting with others, aren't you going to risk your life to stop it? In my opinion, Weixiang Gong's beating was well-deserved! Look at Zhang Youhai now, he still dares to be arrogant, relying on his brother-in-law having money and power, thinking that no one can take him down!"

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  PS: Xianggong refers to the local officials (such as Quanzhou Prefectural School) who, based on private schools (such as the earliest Quanzhou private school Panhu Renying Academy's predecessor Renying Book House), cultivated scholars. After passing the county and prefectural examinations, those who qualified were recommended to participate in the imperial examination held by the Ministry of Rites, while those who did not pass were called "Xianggong Jinshi".