Chapter 17: Bai Zonglin's Thoughts (Please Collect)

  The alarm clock on the table ticked away, Bai Zonglin sat in a taishi chair, his face gloomy, smoking water and drinking tea, occasionally raising his eyes to gaze coldly at Bai Huashui.

  Bai Huashui's sweat had come down, and in the eyes of the poor people in the town, he was the great steward of the Bai family, mighty and invincible. But in front of his master, he was nothing more than a servile dog.

  "You were only out for two days, and you've done something good, the best tiger skin, just let it run away like that." Bai Zonglin slammed the water pipe on the table, scolding angrily: "And lost a member of the White family, at your age, you're still living in a dog's belly!"

  Bai Huashui cried with a sad face, and said in a low voice: "I also wanted to, I also wanted to keep the tiger skin, but that kid just wouldn't bring the tiger skin back, no way, so..."

  Bai Zonglin was even angrier when he heard this, and he stood up from his chair, took two steps forward, and scolded: "Fool! Idiot! He won't sell you the tiger skin, can't you think of a way to buy it first, then send someone to follow him, and rob the money back in town? You're not unaware that soon it will be my uncle's 60th birthday. I've already told you about his thoughts - the White family is the most prominent in Boye County, and all that's missing from my uncle's chair is a good tiger skin to show off our prestige. But you, you can't even buy one, nor can you steal one, and instead let Zhang laugh at us."

  "Yes, yes, the little fool is stupid and clumsy." Bai Huai Shui slapped himself twice on the mouth, rolled his eyes around, and shifted the blame to Hu Lao Si again. "It's all because of Little Fool's blindness, taking Hu Lao Si for a golden treasure. He guaranteed that he would capture him with one hand, but unexpectedly, it was just a useless pastry."

  "Hmph, Bai Zonglin let out a cold snort and walked back to sit down in the taishi chair. Not only was the tiger skin gone, but also the carefully planned scheme to infiltrate the security team had been ruined. To find another suitable candidate would require going through the county's connections again, by which time Zhang Yuan might have already taken control of the entire security team."

  Bai Huashui hurried over, carefully lighting a water pipe for Bai Zonglin, and said with a flattering tone: "Master, there's a new opera troupe in town recently, and the dan actor is really pretty, with a good figure, she's a little beauty, why not invite her over..."

  Bai Zonglin's face slightly relaxed, he rolled his eyes and said: "What beauty can your dog eyes recognize? This time I've opened my eyes, that Miss Murong is the only one who can be called a beauty, all others are just rubbish."

  "Miss Murong?" Bai Huashui thought for a moment and said, "Didn't she elope with someone years ago? This is something everyone knows about. Isn't it because of this that Old Master Murong died from anger, and the old lady was driven half mad by grief?"

  "Ah!" Bai Zonglin shook his head and said, "But this crazy old lady picked up a half-dead girl by the river and insisted that it was her own runaway daughter who had returned. She took her home and even held a banquet to celebrate. Hmph, picking up an ugly girl would be one thing, but this crazy old lady's luck is really something else - she actually found a beautiful woman. You say, ah, it's really annoying."

  "Can Murong Chen also be bullied by Old Lady?" Bai Huashui asked.

  "He, rather than being filial, in my opinion, is also thinking of that girl's beauty." Bai Zonglin speculated with malice: "Once the old lady passes away, won't he take that girl to his bed?"

  "The old master is right, it must be so, it must be so." Bai Huashui flattered with a smile.

  Bai Zonglin couldn't get the grapes, so he said the grapes were sour. He teased Murong's family for a while, then asked in a low voice: "By the way, how is Hu Lao Si doing now?"

  Bai Huashui curled his lip in disdain and said, "Four ribs are broken, even if he recovers, he's finished."

  Bai Zonglin expressionlessly puffed out a mouthful of smoke and slowly said, "Our Bai family can't bear the reputation of burning bridges after crossing the river. We'll still have to recruit a few more tough guys in the future! However, you say someone like Hu Lao Si, who's been crippled and lost face, won't he think about ending it all?"

  Bai Huoshui nodded and said, "It's possible that he can't think it through. Just talking about his current injuries, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to get through this ordeal."

  Bai Zonglin pursed the corner of his mouth, revealing a hint of a vicious smile. Hu Lao Si was no longer useful, and it would cost a lot to cure his injuries. The Bai family wouldn't care about him anymore, and their reputation would be ruined. That scoundrel Bai Huaishui was quite good at scheming in his own mind; he could handle the dirty work of covering up the mess.

  "You, take care of this matter, and I'll reward you." White Zonglin showed a hint of a smile, and gently patted White Badwater's shoulder, saying: "Then, go to each village and see if you can collect some good tiger skins. If you can't get them, I'll have to think of another way, and prepare other birthday gifts."

  "Yes, I'll go as soon as possible." Bai Huoshui was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly in response.

  ………

  The moonlight has filled the courtyard, Zhen Niang is sitting on the kang, gently coaxing the child, Niu Niu has new socks, new shoes, and a clay figure, excited for a long time before falling asleep. The moonlight shines through the branches of the big tree, through the window lattice, onto Zhen Niang's full chest. Zhang Xiaosuo quietly and tenderly looks at his wife, listening to the distant sound of wind rising in the mountains.

  "What are you thinking about? Silly." Zhen Niang gently covered the child with a quilt, and asked with a hint of a smile.

  Zhang Xiaosuo hehe smiled twice and said, "I was thinking, if you wear that flower-patterned dress, it will definitely look better than the fairy in the painting."

  "Showing off." Zhen Niang lightly scolded: "You took Huang Dage's money and bought useless things, Father was too easy on you when he scolded you, now your arrogance is back again."

  Zhang Xiaosuo scratched his head and said, "Huang Dage is a kind-hearted person. He wouldn't mind even if he was carrying a large amount of silver dollars in the market. Besides, I promised to keep it for him."

  "What if they don't come to fetch it?" asked Zhen Niang.

  "Well, well, well, then let's give it to Niuniu as her dowry." Zhang Xiaosuo finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, which made Zhen Niang laugh so hard that her eyes curved.

  Zhang Xiaosuo felt a bit embarrassed, climbed onto the kang, and wrapped his arms around Zhen Niang, laughing: "Don't laugh, I didn't say anything wrong. Do you still remember when Father brought us into the mountains for the first time? We were both just kids back then, but in the blink of an eye we grew up, got married, and had a little kid. Niuni's grown into a big girl too, it's all happened so fast."

  Zhen Niang struggled a bit, but couldn't break free from her husband's strong embrace. She gently stretched out her fist and tapped him lightly, saying: "Don't wake up the child."

  Yes, Zhang Xiaosuo felt hot all over his body. He leaned forward and blew out the lamp made of wild animal oil and bone stick on the table, then hugged Zhen Niang and lay down.