Top Scholar

Chapter 152 We won't let bad luck carry over to next year!

Meanwhile, the aroma of fine wine wafted through the Su family's courtyard in the back alley, accompanied by laughter and cheerful conversation.

This morning, Su Youma's case was concluded. Magistrate Lu announced in court that he had been framed and the charges were completely fabricated.

Not only was his uncle's innocence cleared, but he was also compensated with eighty taels of silver for his medicine. Ten taels came from the county government, while Magistrate Jiang and Wang Xijie, who was already in prison, each contributed ten taels.

In addition, Hejiang Wine Shop and Heshun Wine Workshop were compensated with forty taels of silver, and the wine customer who gave false testimony was compensated with ten taels of silver.

My uncle's beating wasn't for nothing after all...

What made everyone even happier was that Hejiang Winery was also raided, and it is said that stolen goods were also found.

Now no one can stop Erlang wine from being sold in the county town.

Moreover, thanks to this incident, Erlang Wine is now a household name in Hejiang County, known to everyone from women to children. We won't even need to promote it next year…

With two joyous occasions, it's time to celebrate properly. The old clan chief suggested, "We'll be heading back tomorrow, so let's consider this a pre-full moon celebration!"

Since they had already given money in advance for the wedding, their request had to be fulfilled, resulting in a triple celebration!
Fortunately, there were many restaurants in the county town, and the landlady quickly arranged thirty tables, most of which were set up in the two inns, with six tables also set up in the courtyard.

The elders from each branch of the family had gathered in the courtyard, including the Cheng family. After this joint effort, the relationship between the two families had greatly improved; they were even able to eat together at the same table…

In the past, this would have been unthinkable. Eat? You'd flip the table right there!
After a few rounds of drinks, the old clan chief smiled and said to the old man, "Sixth brother, bring the child out so we can see him?"

“Exactly!” Su Daji and the others said, feigning annoyance, “We’ve been here for two days and haven’t even seen the child yet. Is that acceptable?”

"Haha, yes..." The old man's smile was quite pitiful, and the eldest son of the Cheng family immediately closed his eyes. This was like a public execution...

"What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?" the old clan chief asked.

"Sixth Brother, are your grandchildren so precious? Why is it so hard to let us see them?" Some of the older generation were quite unhappy.

"Look!" The old man gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind, saying, "Bring the baby out!"

The aunt and sister-in-law each carried a child and came out from the inner room, looking rather awkward.

"What a lovely child! So chubby and healthy, with such a lively and energetic face! What's there to hide?"

"Oh, it's got baby teeth! That's great..."

As they spoke, their voices grew softer and softer...

Because they realized they were attending a full-moon celebration. And according to the sixth branch of the family, the two children were born on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, meaning they were only half a month old today…

A baby who's only been half a month old has grown this big? Did they eat some kind of magic pill?!

The old man's ears turned red, probably because he was afraid the air would suddenly become quiet.

Su Daji reacted quickly, laughing and defusing the situation: "This child is really good-looking. The soil and water in this county are really good for people. No wonder rich people give birth in the city."

"That's right, that's right." The old clan chief, recovering from his astonishment, quickly chimed in, "Unlike us mountain people, we grow so slowly..."

As he spoke, he quickly gave the clansmen a wink, and they were all smart enough to cooperate and laugh, saying, "Sixth Brother's offspring are really good; even his grandsons are a whole set bigger than others."

Su Youjin quickly explained for the speechless old man, "The child came out a bit hastily, afraid everyone would worry, so we didn't say anything. But thankfully, it didn't cause any delays, haha..."

"That's nothing, as long as the child is well..." the clansmen said with understanding smiles.

We've all just gone through a moment of profound growth together, and we've even put aside our grudges with the Cheng family. Who would care why this child has grown so big?

"Come on, let's congratulate Sixth Brother on the addition of another pair of grandchildren!" Su Daji raised his glass to everyone.

Congratulations, Sixth Brother!

Congratulations, Sixth Brother!

"Congratulations, Sixth Uncle!"

"Congratulations, Sixth Uncle!" The clansmen also stood up and raised their glasses, offering their sincere blessings.

"Sigh..." The old man exhaled a long breath, raised his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, saying, "Thank you all, thank you very much!"

"Sixth Brother, what are you saying? We're all family!" The clansmen toasted together, and warm laughter eased the awkwardness at the table...

~~
As the banquet drew to a close, Commander Ma and Commander Zhou arrived.

"Sorry, brother, I'm late!" Commander Ma clasped his hands in apology and generously presented fifty taels of silver as a gift for the celebration!
"Please, gentlemen, take your seats." Everyone hurriedly rose to offer them seats and replaced their bowls and chopsticks with new ones. Even the dishes in front of them were replaced with new ones.

Commander Ma naturally wanted to see the children too. The old man was already used to it, and readily brought out Xiwa'er and Dongge'er... Commander Ma was far more sophisticated than the mountain people; he was indeed worldly-wise. He only paused for a moment before smiling and giving a thumbs up, saying, "Good, good, good! Brother, I knew your Su family had good feng shui, amazing! Producing one prodigy wasn't enough, now you've produced a pair...divine infants!"

At this moment, Dongge'er, perhaps a little shy, called out, "Moa..."

"Listen to this! It can even talk now!" Commander Ma exclaimed in admiration, then asked Scholar Cheng, "Master Cheng, which ancient person had this ability?"

"Laozi was born able to speak, and pointed to a plum tree, saying, 'This is my surname,'" said Scholar Cheng. "He was born with snow-white hair."

"See? I told you! Born with extraordinary features, destined for greatness!" Commander Ma's boasting made the old man embarrassed. He quickly told his daughter-in-law to take the child away and raised his cup, saying, "Come, come, let's drink!"

"Alright, have a drink." After drinking three cups with the old man, Commander Ma put down his wine cup, put his arm around the old man's shoulder, and began to whisper to him... telling him about the matter that Magistrate Lu had asked him to do.

The old man listened without changing his expression, and asked softly, "What do you mean?"

"I'll definitely decline if I can. We're all this age, why should we risk it? A thousand taels of silver is a lot, safety first," Commander Ma said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"But it's hard to say 'no' either. It's all my fault for setting the bar too high at the beginning, which allowed that guy surnamed Lu to turn the tables on me. If I don't stand up for myself, I can forget about ever holding my head high in front of him again."

“Indeed, that would be undignified.” The old man nodded.

"On the way back, I thought again, this is not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is that we have completely offended those bandits - not only did we destroy their downstream network and the dens for selling stolen goods, but we also seized their stolen silver and stolen goods."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "These river bandits dare not retaliate against the county, much less run wild on our territory, but they can intercept our wine transport boats on the Chishui River. They certainly have the guts, and it's impossible to guard against them."

"Yes, they will definitely retaliate." The old man nodded.

"So I'm also undecided..." Commander Ma sighed and said, "It's up to you guys—if you want to do it, we'll do it together; if you don't want to, then forget it, we'll talk about the future later."

~~
The following morning, the people of Hejiang were delighted to find that the three hundred armed mountain people and the army, just as they had come, had withdrawn from the east gate and were finally heading home.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although these uninvited guests hadn't done anything out of line, their very presence was unsettling. Who knew what these armed men might do next?

So it's better that you left, otherwise everyone will have an uneasy New Year...

But regardless, everyone in the liquor business had a terrible New Year. Their payments had been confiscated by the county government as embezzled funds, and no one dared utter a sound… At this point, they should be grateful if the local officials didn't cause them any trouble. They still wanted their money back from the county government?

That's like trying to light a lantern in a latrine—it's suicidal!
Another group of people was also furious: the boatmen and pirates who had been entrenched in Shangbaisha! They had risked their lives and worked hard to rob people for more than half a year, but now it all benefited the government!

The gang leader, Qi San, nicknamed "River Dragon," clamored to massacre the entire Hejiang County to vent his hatred!
Unfortunately, the entire Shangbaisha bandit gang only had about two hundred people, so they simply didn't have the strength.

At this time of year, there were no boats on the river for them to recoup their losses. The band of river pirates could only hide in their stronghold, waiting for the following spring to try and recoup their losses with interest...

This is supposed to be the most enjoyable time of the year, when everyone eats, drinks, gambles, and plays with women, having a great time celebrating the New Year.

Now look what's happened! No money to share, no money to spend, no money to have fun. The gang of bandits can only drink themselves into oblivion all day long. They swear they'll rob every single ship transporting Erlang wine next year to vent their anger!

Fortunately, there aren't many days left until next year; it'll be New Year's Eve in the blink of an eye...

The bandits finally perked up and tidied up their stronghold a bit. Even without money, they still had to celebrate the New Year, right?
Shangbaisha is located more than 20 miles upstream from the county seat, in a backwater bay of the Yangtze River. The bay is full of sandbars of all sizes, covered with dense reeds all year round, providing excellent cover for river bandits.

The government troops set up encirclements several times, but they successfully escaped each time by using this natural maze...

However, the sandbar was not suitable for living, and the government troops did not come to suppress the bandits, so they all gathered in the village by the river to celebrate the New Year.

~~
As night fell, a wind rose along the riverbank, causing the two red lanterns on the village gate to sway gently...

Right now, the bandits are having their New Year's Eve dinner. The village is bustling with noise—the sounds of toasting, laughter, and chatter are carried far away by the river breeze…

The bandits guarding the gate also hid in a sheltered spot, roasting fish and drinking around the fire, though they couldn't help but complain a few times:
"Damn it, what bad luck! Not only did we not get any money, but we also have to stand guard for them on New Year's Eve!"

"Even the heavens are playing tricks on us, blowing such a strong wind, are they trying to freeze people to death?"

"Alright, don't think about anything unpleasant during the New Year. Try to say some auspicious things." The leader raised his wine bowl.

"Enough said, cheers!" The bandits nodded, raised their bowls, took a swig of strong liquor, and let out a long sigh.
"Ah. I must say, this Erlang wine is quite potent..."

"Ah, that's right," the foreman chuckled. "Say nice things! Leave all the bad luck for this year..."

Just then, someone in the village set off the stolen fireworks, and the bandits all turned to watch.

Amidst the resounding explosions, one bandit after another had their throats slit...

When the leader heard the strange noise and turned around, he found that the government troops had arrived in front of him.

Just as he was about to shout, a flash of cold light appeared before his eyes, and his neck was severed by a knife!
As he was being beheaded, it suddenly occurred to him that the bad luck really wouldn't carry over into next year...

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(End of this chapter)