Top Scholar

Chapter 142 The Su family is truly amazing; their one-month-old baby is crawling all over the floor.
"Sigh..." The old man walked alongside the stretcher for a while before sighing, "Qiu-ge'er's influence now is greater than it was back then."

“Grandpa, what face do I have? It was just a coincidence, and Mr. You took care of me.” Su Lu whispered, “Uncle was also released thanks to him.”

"I never expected to benefit from Qiu-ge'er's kindness. Thank you so much, kid. Your uncle didn't spoil you for nothing." Su Youma, lying on the stretcher, also grinned and thanked Su Lu.

"Uncle, you're too kind," Su Lu said with a smile.

"How much did it cost?" The old man looked around to make sure no one was watching, then asked in a low voice, "Fifty taels might not be enough, right?"

"They absolutely refuse," Su Lu said with a wry smile. "Let's wait until he has a son and a grandson before we talk about it."

"This shows how much they value you," the old man said with emotion. "In all my years, I've never seen money that can't be given away, nor a wolf that doesn't eat people."

As he spoke, he patted Su Lu on the back with delight and laughed, "Good! My grandson is destined for great things!"

"Dad, can you praise your son too!" Su Youma said enviously, "I'm also great for being unyielding even in the face of death..."

"You're such a fool!" the old man said irritably. "If Qiu-ge hadn't happened to get to know some big shots in the county, you might not even be alive today."

“That’s true…” Su Youma couldn’t help but shudder, warning his nephews, “Whatever you do, don’t end up in a place like that. Those people aren’t human, and they won’t treat you like one either. They’ll torture you to death if they catch you…”

Although everyone was full of doubts, they couldn't ask him any questions on the street, so they silently carried him back to their home in the back alley.

~~
Upon returning home, there was naturally another round of wailing and lamentation. When the aunt saw her husband being carried back, she cried so hard she almost fainted.

It was the eldest aunt who remained calm and composed, directing everyone to carry the younger brother to the bed in the west room.

The aunt was still there, clueless, asking, "Why not carry him into the east room? It would be easier for me to take care of him then."

Her aunt glanced at her and said speechlessly, "You silly little sister. He moans at night, keeping the baby awake, and the baby's crying disturbs his rest. Besides, we have to turn him over to apply medicine, clean up his poop and pee, how can you take care of all that? Aren't we all relying on these men? Is it more convenient for you or for them?"

"Oh, oh..." Auntie was stunned by the scolding, and this time she behaved herself without any problems.

The eldest aunt was indeed experienced. She had the men help her younger brother onto the bed and then placed a thin mattress under his chest and hips to suspend his abdomen, which would reduce pressure on the wound and prevent prolonged prone position from affecting his breathing.

She was quick and efficient, and with her only trusted assistant—her aunt—she quickly made sure her brother-in-law was settled in perfectly. The two women then went out to busy themselves killing a chicken and making soup to nourish him.

Since the aunt couldn't help, she carried Xibao and Dongge'er to her uncle so he could look after the children.

Upon seeing his two children, the uncle could no longer keep up the act. He grabbed the two little children's feet and sobbed, "I thought I would never see my children again, waaaaah..."

"..." This time, the old man did not stop him, but quietly withdrew from the west room, allowing the four members of the family to calm down their fear.

~~
Inside the main room, the old man settled into his seat, wanting a betel leaf roll, only to find his pockets empty. It turned out he'd been waiting anxiously outside the yamen and had inadvertently chewed them all up.

Xia Ge'er was very perceptive; he quickly rolled up a stick and handed it to the old man.

Su Dacheng took it and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. When the numbing and refreshing sensation came over him, he felt energetic again and asked his grandson, "How's the investigation going?"

Su Lu then reported the details he had learned from You Muyou to the old man, concluding with:
"Mr. You said that this is probably not aimed at my uncle, but at Erlang liquor. Someone is warning us not to overstep our bounds!"

“Very likely, otherwise there would be no need to keep pressing Uncle to admit that he treated people to Erlang wine.” Chun Ge’er nodded and continued, “I asked a few classmates, and they weren’t surprised at all that Uncle got into trouble…”

Everyone turned to look at Chun Ge'er, who said in a deep voice, "They all say that there are many distilleries and wineries in Hejiang County. Although the wine they make is not very good and it is not cheap, they sell a lot of wine because they are located on the Yangtze River."

“Erlang wine is of higher quality than their wine, and it’s cheaper. Once it opens up the market in the county, how can they have any good days left?” Chun Ge’er said in a low voice, “One of my classmates is the son of the county clerk. He said that my uncle wasn’t the first to come and promote Erlang wine.”

“That’s how it is.” Su Lu nodded and glanced at his second brother.

Su Tai then said in a low voice, "A year and a half ago, the He brothers came to the county town to promote Erlang wine. The response was quite good at the time, and many merchants placed orders. However, they were also threatened. Some people threw dead chickens at their residence. In the middle of the night, someone knocked on their window and warned them not to sell Erlang wine in the county town, or else they would be killed without a burial place!"

He sighed and said, "The two brothers refused to believe in bad luck. Last winter, they were transporting a boatload of wine to the county town when the boat sank and they all perished without a proper burial..."

"Could it be that the deaths of the He brothers and this incident involving the third brother were committed by the same group of people?" the old man asked in a deep voice.

“It’s entirely possible.” Su Lu nodded and said, “Mr. You has made it very clear!”

"That's war!" The old man slammed his hand on the table, his eyes wide with fury. "Our Su family is not the He family. This time, we'll make them pay for their crimes in blood!"

~~
As dusk fell that day, Su Youjin, Su Youcai, and the landlady arrived in the county town.

Accompanying them were Su Youpeng, Su Youxi, and Su Youli.

The eldest uncle had visited the younger uncle's house and led them straight to the second house in the back alley.

Little Tiantian opened the door. Seeing her mother, she rushed to her and buried her head tightly in her arms. The events of the past two days had terrified the little girl…

While comforting her daughter, the proprietress asked Su Lu, who came out to greet her, "How is it?"

"The person has been brought back." Su Lu pointed to the west room and said, "He's lying in there." "What happened? Did he get beaten up again?" Su Youjin and Su Youcai asked in unison.

"Hmm." Su Lu nodded, still speaking up for his uncle, "This time, my uncle was so unyielding that he deserves respect. You should all keep your mouth shut about him."

"Him?" The Su brothers both loved and looked down on their little brother, but they still rushed in to see how badly he was hurt.

Su Youpeng and his two brothers also went into the west room.

The landlady knew that her brother-in-law's condition made it inconvenient for female relatives to visit him. Unlike her aunt, who had wiped her brother-in-law's bottom when he was three or four years old, she still had to avoid him.

So she asked her daughter to take her to see her aunt.

The aunt was the daughter of the eldest son of the Cheng family and the cousin of the landlady... If it weren't for this relationship, Da He wouldn't have bought the sorghum from the Su family, and later Su Erge and his son wouldn't have come to collect the debt.

So in the end, we're all family, and the outsiders get all the benefits.

The proprietress breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that this whole thing wasn't all bad; at least she could be more composed when she saw Cuicui.

But when she lifted the curtain and went in, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

There, Cuicui's two children were watching. One was slowly learning to stand, holding onto the edge of the bed. The other was crawling all over the bed, laughing hysterically at the old lady watching over the children...

The proprietress was stunned on the spot, and goosebumps rose on her skin.

Is this a baby less than a month old?! It must be more than eight months old!
At this moment, Cui Cui also saw her cousin and her stunned expression. Embarrassed, she blushed and said, "Sister, listen to me..."

Just then, the old lady saw the proprietress and exclaimed happily, "The second son's wife is here too?"

Now it was Cui Cui's turn to be dumbfounded...

The proprietress blushed deeply and said, "Sister, listen to me..."

~~
In the west room.

Actually, my uncle's buttocks were covered up completely, there was nothing to hide.

A group of brothers stood or sat around the bed, listening to him recount what had happened.

“When Erlang Jiaji was being promoted, I mentioned to my second brother that I wanted to contribute to Erlang wine and help it gain a foothold in the county, but my second brother rejected it.”

"Really?" Su Youcai was taken aback by what he said.

“You were throwing up so badly back then. No matter what I said to you, you just kept saying, ‘You think I’m like you!’” his uncle reminded him.

"Oh, I vaguely remember. You said something like that back then..." Su Youcai patted his head and said, "I regret that I didn't explain it clearly to you. I didn't mean that you weren't capable, but that promoting Erlang wine in the county was dangerous."

“Sigh, brother, I’m not trying to spite you,” Su Youma sighed. “It’s just that seeing you guys getting better and better really worries me. If this keeps up, I’ll end up being a complete freeloader.”

“What’s wrong with eating for free? We’re not stopping you from eating,” Su Youjin said gruffly.

“But we still have to endure being given the cold shoulder,” Su Youma said.

"Of course," Su Youjin said matter-of-factly. "It's impossible for me to let you eat for free and still have to coax you."

“I don’t want to keep getting the cold shoulder! I don’t care about myself, but what will my child think of me when he grows up? All the uncles and aunts are so capable, and his father is just a good-for-nothing. How can he respect me?” the uncle said with a wry smile.

Su Youjin and Su Youcai nodded. It seems becoming a father really changes things; Youma has truly grown up...

"Go on."

"So although I agreed that day, I still felt resentful on the way back, so I went to Boss Xia in Tucheng and got two jars of Erlang wine from him," Su Youma continued.
“After I came back, I followed my second brother and sister-in-law’s method and went around inviting people to drink with the wine. For the first two months, no one took me seriously. Later, the reputation of Erlang wine probably spread to the county town, and finally people asked me how to order, and some people were willing to come to my ‘Erlang Small Market’.”

"What Erlang's Little Gathering?" the brothers asked.

"It's just a small-scale wine tasting party that I organized, imitating 'Erlang Jiaji,' but it doesn't have the same facilities as yours. I handled everything myself, inside and out..." the uncle said somewhat embarrassedly.

"And the wine is almost gone, and I've spent all my savings, so each of us can only have one ounce of wine each time."

"So, are there still people supporting you?" Su Youpeng couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't this all learned from you guys? I told them that you have to look at the wine, smell it, and taste it, and you can only drink a maximum of three cups at a time. Besides, I don't give them any snacks to go with the wine, so how much can they drink?" Su Youma said confidently.

"Then you're bound to get a beating sooner or later," Su Youjin concluded.

P.S. I went to my mother-in-law's birthday party today. I just finished writing Chapter 3 and haven't checked it yet. Please wait a moment.

(End of this chapter)