Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 7, No More Worries

In Fangjiazhuang, after Fang Yong took the old man away, the villagers who had been hiding came out one by one to discuss.

Some people say that Fang Yong killed that corrupt official and was a real man who got rid of a threat to the villagers!
Some people also said that Fang Yong killed an official and became a bandit, and he would be caught and beheaded soon.

Some people also said that Fang Yong and Old Man Fang were gone, so what about his family's stuff...

At this point, everyone's eyes lit up and they prepared to go to Fang Yong's house to get some things to supplement the family income. Even a piece of wood would be good as it could be used for burning firewood at home.

Soon, everyone gathered at the door of Fang Yong's house.

At this time, everyone started to murmur again.

Yongwazi has joined the bandits. What if he comes back later and finds out that they have taken my things and want to take revenge on them?
An old man said, "No, I have watched Yong Wazi grow up since he was a child. He is a good boy and would never do that."

As soon as I finished speaking, someone immediately stood up to refute it.

"If he is really a good person, how could he kill someone?"

Everyone fell silent.

They all watched it afterwards and found that Yong Wazi had killed four people. One had his sternum broken by a kick, one had his neck broken, one was beheaded, and another had his heart gouged out.

If he was really a good person, how could he kill so many people?

The more they thought about it, the more scared they became. They all stood at the door and no one dared to go in. In the end, they could only leave in disappointment.

Not long after, Master Fang saw that the housekeeper had not returned yet, so he sent a servant to check.

Then the butler's body was found.

When Mr. Fang found out, he was horrified.

As the saying goes, don’t do bad things and don’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door.

It was he who figured out how to manipulate the grain tax on Fang Yong's family. It was because he saw that the crops in Fang Yong's land were growing well, so he became greedy. He would not allow such a good land to fall into the hands of a peasant.

Moreover, according to the intention of the higher authorities, more grain should be collected. If less grain is collected, how can the benefits of the new policy be demonstrated? Mr. Fang just took advantage of the situation and bribed a few subordinates to get the job done.

But Master Fang never expected that Fang Yong, a lowly person, would dare to kill officials and join the bandits. Master Fang could no longer sit still.

He was now very afraid that Fang Yong would come and kill him with his gangsters.

Especially after hearing that the housekeeper had been beaten to death, Mr. Fang became even more frightened, so he hurriedly took his gold and silver jewelry and fled to the city with his newly married concubine.

On the other side, Fang Yong and Ma Laohei got off the boat, leaving two of them to watch the boat, and the rest of the people rushed to Lian Jie'er's house without stopping.

As the saying goes, good things don’t go out, but bad things spread thousands of miles.

It had been several hours since Fang Yong came and went. Lijiazhuang was right next to Fangjiazhuang, so naturally the news of him killing an official and joining the bandits spread.

As soon as Fang Yong and his men entered the village, the villagers immediately fled in all directions.

Everyone was shouting that Yong Wazi, the official killer from next door, had brought bandits into the village.

Fang Yong ignored them and walked straight towards Lian Jie'er's house.

On the way, every household closed their doors as if they had encountered the god of plague.

Only one person took the initiative to come forward, and that was the clay doll.

Niwa was very scared when he saw Fang Yong leading a dozen ferocious bandits, but he thought about his daily interactions with Fang Yong. When the two of them went fishing, he was not a good swimmer and often couldn't catch any fish. Fang Yong saw that his family was poor and life was not easy, so he always gave him the fish. Niwa kept all these in mind.

So at this time, even though everyone else said that Fang Yong had killed an official and defected to the bandits, Niwawa still bravely walked over.

"Yong, Brother Yong, you really killed the official..."

Fang Yong nodded and explained:
"That official was too aggressive, I had no choice but to do this, there is no need to talk about this matter. Clay boy, after this, those officials will definitely not let it go, are you willing to come and help me?"

Fang Yong extended an invitation to Niwawa.

He was alone and weak in the water fort, and it would be great if the clay boy could come to help him.

But Niwawa obviously didn't want to join the water bandits.

He looked at Ma Laohei and his group with fear and shook his head.

Fang Yong didn't force it when he saw this.

Even his own father was unwilling to join the pirates, so how could he expect Niwawa to join the bandits with him regardless of the consequences?

Fang Yong thought for a moment, took off the sword from his waist, handed it to the clay doll, and said:

"If you encounter any problems in the future, you can take this thing to Hongze Lake to find me."

After saying that, Fang Yong took Ma Laohei and his group and continued to rush towards Lian Jie'er's home.

Soon, Fang Yong arrived at Lian Jie'er's yard. Before he entered the door, he saw Lian Jie'er and her daughter holding hoes and kitchen knives and looking at him and his group very nervously.

Fang Yong saw this and quickly explained:
"Lian Jie'er, Auntie, don't be afraid, they are all my brothers, and we have no intention of hurting you!" Lian Jie'er did not put down the kitchen knife in her hand after hearing this. She looked at Fang Yong in disbelief and asked in a trembling voice:
"You, you really joined the bandits?"

Fang Yong nodded.

"That's right, I came here to pick you up..."

"Why did you join the bandits?"

Sister Lian questioned Fang Yong in a frustrated manner.

"You are an honest man, why do you have to hang out with these gangsters?"

After hearing this, Fang Yong was stunned and looked at Lian Jie'er in disbelief. How could such words come out of her mouth?

Ma Laohei and others behind him were immediately filled with anger at this remark.

Fang Yong said angrily:
"What's wrong with being a bandit? If I don't become a bandit, those officials will eat me up!"

After hearing this, Lian Jieer directly refuted:
"Why didn't the official bully others, but picked you? Why can others tolerate it, but you can't? How much injustice did you suffer, so you turned to the bandits? Can't you sue the official?"

After hearing these words, Fang Yong was so angry that he laughed.

"Report to the authorities? Kneel down in the court and sue the officials?"

Lian Jie'er seemed to realize that this was too far-fetched, but she still refused to admit defeat and said, "No matter what, you can't get along with this group of people!"

"That's enough, that's my brother!"

Fang Yong interrupted Lian Jie'er and said directly:
"I can't get through this with you. Hurry up and pack your things with your aunt. It's not safe to stay here. Those officials will definitely retaliate against you. I'll take you and your family to the village first!"

As he spoke, Fang Yong walked in and prepared to help Lian Jie'er move things.

"We're not going anywhere!"

Lian Jie'er's mother held a hoe and blocked the door.

"You are a gangster, who wants to go with you? We are all innocent people. Don't mess with my Lian'er in the future. If you dare to take another step forward, I will fight you to the death!"

Fang Yong's body stopped moving.

He looked at Sister Lian and asked:
"Do you think so too?"

Lian Jie'er lowered her head and said silently:
"If I had lived a clean life, how could I invite revenge for no reason?"

Fang Yong was silent.

He took two steps back.

Ma Laohei quickly stepped forward to support Fang Yong and asked:
"Third Master, are you okay?"

Fang Yong shook his head and said:
"It's okay. This is fine. I can put my worries to rest."

As he spoke, Fang Yong looked at Sister Lian and said:

"In that case, I have nothing to say. I remember when we got engaged, my family gave you a bushel of rice as a betrothal gift. Please return the rice to me!"

Upon hearing this, Sister Lian trembled and said:
"You, you want to break off the engagement with me?"

Fang Yong remained silent.

Lian Jie'er burst into tears and said, "The rice has been eaten. It's gone. Let's change the grain!"

Lian Jie'er's mother said quickly, "Lian'er, it's only a bushel of rice. Return it to him to avoid any trouble."

Sister Lian pursed her lips and said nothing.

Fang Yong waved back upon seeing this.

Ma Laohei immediately understood Fang Yong's meaning and gave some instructions to his subordinates. Those subordinates immediately ran out and brought back a bucket of rice in a short while.

Fang Yong handed the rice to Lian Jie'er and said:
"Now that you have rice, return it to me, which is also considered as returning my betrothal gift. Our engagement is annulled, and we will have no further contact from now on."

After hearing this, Lian Jie'er could no longer suppress the grievance in her heart.

She threw the rice to Fang Yong.

"Here, here, I advise you to learn well, then you have to break off the engagement with me, go your way, and we will never see each other again!"

Fang Yong took the rice without saying a word.

People with different ideas cannot work together. Some things cannot be discussed. As a fiancé, he has done his best. As for Sister Lian, he has no reason to interfere with her choice.

"let's go!"

Fang Yong gave an order and left with a dozen bandits.

(End of this chapter)