spoiled brat

Chapter 7. The Opportunity (Part 7)

"You softie!" The woman slammed her hand on the table, her eyebrows raised high. "If you're really that afraid of your wife, don't come to me with the nerve to come here! We're done for each other from now on!"

Shopkeeper Zhang glanced at her, then at Zhaozhao and Xiaoduo, and sighed in annoyance:
"You know I can't bear to part with you, yet you still say things like that to upset me!"

The two started arguing, completely disregarding the presence of others, and dredging up old grievances.

The woman started cursing and was so fierce she seemed ready to hit him.

Shopkeeper Zhang, his old face covered in saliva, didn't dare to move, only timidly whispering back.

Zhao Zhao and Xiao Duo listened to the gossip in silence, wondering how these two could have such an interesting past.

This woman's name is Azhuo. She was originally the personal maid of the county magistrate's daughter. She met Zhang, the shopkeeper who came to her house for a medical consultation, and they developed feelings for each other over time.

It was supposed to be a good thing, but unfortunately, the county magistrate also took a liking to her.

Azhu refused and vowed to marry only Manager Zhang.

The magistrate laughed and said, "Alright, then let him go to the brothel to marry you."

So they sold Azhuo and threw her into a brothel to work as a prostitute.

Back then, Manager Zhang was still Doctor Zhang. He didn't run a shop yet, and even though he saw more than a dozen patients a day, he couldn't earn much money. He could only watch helplessly as A-Zhuo was beaten in the brothel, forced to submit, and learned to flatter and fawn.

One day, the penniless Dr. Zhang walked into a brothel and met his beloved, whom he had not seen for a long time.

He was filled with boundless pride, slamming the indenture he had redeemed with a thousand pieces of gold onto the table. The usually smooth-talking and hypocritical man finally acted like a real man.

"Let's go!"

Overjoyed, Azhuo wept tears of joy and took his warm hand as they walked out of the brothel.

She thought good days were coming, that she would no longer have to be a slave or a prostitute, and that after enduring enough suffering and humiliation, she and her lover would finally be together.

Manager Zhang replied, "I'm married."

He couldn't bear to see Azhuo working as a prostitute, but he had no money himself.

After thinking it over, if Azhuo can sell, can't he too?
Manager Zhang thought of marrying into the Qi family.

Master Qi's daughter was of bad character and had an affair with the servants in the house, making her infamous for miles around.

In order to get rid of his shameful daughter, Master Qi searched far and wide for a husband and finally found a handsome and respectable shopkeeper named Zhang.

Master Qi took a look and thought, "Good heavens, he has a clean family background, medical skills, and a personality that's easy to control. He's a first-rate bastard!"
Master Qi presented a large sum of gifts and hastily married off his daughter.

On their wedding night, Manager Zhang sat blankly on the bed, like a fledgling bird that hadn't yet hatched.

Miss Qi lifted his chin, her eyes full of disdain:

“I know you’re only after that money. I don’t care, because my own heart isn’t pure either.”

She raised her wrist so that Manager Zhang could take her pulse.

It turned out to be a pregnancy pulse.

Shopkeeper Zhang's head was buzzing, and his temples were throbbing.

Miss Qi clapped her hands, and a handsome young servant pushed open the door and walked in. He glanced at Manager Zhang indifferently and didn't bother to say a word.

"You...you..." Manager Zhang felt hot and cold alternately, his voice trembling with anger: "You Qi family have no shame!"

"So angry? Then go ahead and sue me in court," Miss Qi scoffed.

Even a fool could tell that Zhang couldn't win the case; he was determined to be a bastard!
"You're just after money, aren't you? I'll give it to you." Miss Qi sneered, "But don't try to fool me like I'm a fool. If you want to be a kept man, then kneel down and beg. From now on, I'll cover all household expenses and manage everything. You're not allowed to ask about what I do in private. Just be a deaf and dumb decoration!" Although Manager Zhang was worldly-wise when he was young, he still had some pride. In a fit of anger, he stormed out of the house.

He sold the gifts that Master Qi had given him and used them to redeem Azhuo from her servitude.

When Miss Qi learned of this, she was furious and ordered her servants to bring Manager Zhang back and tie him to a big tree in the courtyard, where he was hung for two whole days.

In the sweltering heat of summer, Zhang, the shopkeeper, felt like he was going to die from the sunburn and kept begging for mercy.

Miss Qi didn't put him down until her voice was hoarse.

He started cursing in a hoarse voice, and when he couldn't curse anymore, he started crying.

Through his teary eyes, he fell to the ground with a thud.

While he was still in a daze, someone used their toe to lift his chin, forcing him to meet a pair of contemptuous eyes.

"I forgot to remind you, although I am a person without morals, I hate it most when people step on my face."

She looked at the shopkeeper, Zhang, who looked like a dead dog, with a mocking gaze and sneered:
"Using my dowry to redeem that whore? She's really asking for it!"

Later, later.

"Ugh."

Xiao Duo sighed, scratched his head, and asked, "Since we've already redeemed you, why did you turn back into a prostitute? Why debase yourself like that?"

Shopkeeper Zhang's eyes were red: "She wasn't demeaning herself, she was clearly demeaning me..."

Ah Zhuo gave a self-deprecating laugh, offering another perspective:
“The magistrate wants me to live in the mud, and I’ll never have a good time. How dare I come ashore? Rather than be tricked by him and thrown into a brothel, I might as well accept it. At least I can still choose my customers.”

He glanced at Manager Zhang and said again:
"His wife separated from the Qi family and lost her support. All she had left was her dowry, and then she was swindled out of everything by a servant."

"What a shrewd and intelligent young lady has now become a vulgar woman who spends her days gambling and drinking, neglecting her family affairs and children."

"This wimp not only has to support his family now, but also someone else's child and an unfaithful wife!"

“I don’t want to care about him at all, but the money used to redeem me was his wife’s dowry. Now that business is bad and his family is short of funds, how can I just stand by and watch them suffer without helping them?”

The more she spoke, the lower Manager Zhang's head sank, until he suddenly raised it after hearing Zhao Zhao speak.

"Uncle Zhang, don't worry, Xiao Duo and I will never say a word about it."

If that proud and arrogant Miss Qi knew that her family was being helped by A-Zhuo, who knows what kind of trouble she would cause.

"You should go home first," Azhuo said to Manager Zhang. "These two children came to see me."

"Looking for you?"

Shopkeeper Zhang blinked, and before he could say anything, A-Zhuo pushed him out the door.

The door closed, and Azhuo pointed to two stools, indicating that they should sit down. She then poured two cups of tea and handed them to Zhaozhao and Xiaoduo:
"Is this for Zhao Si?"

Zhao Zhao hadn't expected to strike up a conversation with her, so she concealed her true intentions:
“He cheated the girls in our building out of their money, and we’re asking him for it back.”

A-Zhu frowned: "Is that sign hanging in front of your building Su Chunfeng? There's a prostitute in there who's his lover... named Yun'er. Zhao Si has made a lot of money off her these past few years, he told me about it."

Xiao Duo stood up abruptly, angrily saying, "Then why didn't you give her a heads-up? We all earn our money through dirty and smelly sex work; you should know how hard it is for her!"

"That sounds very righteous. But why should I give her advice and cut off my own source of income?"

Ah Zhuo sneered, "Living a life depends on having a clear head, not waiting for others to be kind. Am I, a prostitute who can barely take care of herself, supposed to be a chivalrous hero saving all living beings!"