Chapter 36

Most of the seven or eight people on the ground had already sat up; those bleeding were clutching their own heads. A circle of neighbors had gathered on the street, scolding them from all sides, especially a dozen or so housewives whose curses sent spittle flying. Hai Gouzi and the others threw the young master they had caught onto the ground as well — this was the young lord of those dozen or so men from earlier.

When that man saw Deng Keshan, his face filled with fury. He stood up, pointed at Deng Keshan, and said, "You swindler, give me back my money!" He lunged forward to grapple with Deng Keshan. Seeing that he still meant violence, the crowd didn't even bother with clubs; they surrounded him and beat him back to the ground with a flurry of fists. Liu Minyou knew this man was actually the victim and couldn't bear to watch him get beaten, so he stepped forward and pulled the crowd apart.

Having been beaten, the young master finally recognized the situation. He glanced fearfully at the surrounding crowd. He was originally from out of town, escorting a shipment of goods to Jingshi. While stopping over in Tianjin, he had been showing off everywhere and ended up falling for Deng Keshan's swindle. He ran back to his boat, called his household servants, searched for three days, and finally found his enemy — which led to the scene of them chasing and beating Deng Keshan.

This young master could be considered unlucky. He usually neglected physical training and was a slow runner. By the time his men had started fleeing, he had only just arrived at Yidao Street, panting heavily, still thinking about how to give Deng Keshan a thorough thrashing. Instead, he saw his routed men. Just as he was about to start cursing, one household servant shouted, "Young master, run!" Zhang Dahui overheard it, saw this was the main culprit, and gave him a fierce beating. One loyal household servant did manage to come back and rescue him; Zhang Dahui had charged too fast and, without Hai Gouzi's coordination, ended up taking a blow from that man. It wasn't until the rest of the group arrived that they finally seized this Young Master Wang.

Deng Keshan said smugly to the young master, "Young Master Wang, you dare come to our Erdaojie to commit violence and beat people — do you take all of us Erdaojie neighbors for dead men?"

The surrounding neighbors, hearing this, felt their faces gain luster. In any case, now was the time to kick a drowning dog, so they all cursed and spat. Young Master Wang showed a fearful expression, stammering and not daring to respond. Earlier, Liu Minyou had stopped the crowd from beating him, so he subconsciously edged a little closer toward Liu Minyou.

Seeing him silent, Deng Keshan grew even more smug. He himself, of course, absolutely avoided mentioning that he had swindled the man. He simply pointed at Zhang Dahui's bleeding head and said, "Young Master Wang, today you've injured so many of our neighbors. How do you propose we settle this? The Vice Prefect of the Tianjin Qingjun office is my maternal uncle. Shall we take a trip to the Qingjun Hall together?"

Hearing these words and observing Deng Keshan's expression, Liu Minyou realized it was exactly the same as when Chen Xin had swindled that fat man from Jixian: first use some shadowy authority to crush the victim's spirit, and the next step would surely be to seek a private settlement with this Young Master Wang.

Sure enough: "If you'd rather not go, then it depends on how you can satisfy us neighbors."

"Elder brother, I'll pay, I'll pay silver."

。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

Deng Keshan held a pair of clipping shears, beaming as he distributed silver to the neighbors who had helped. Those who had helped fight were each given one tael; the two injured, including Zhang Dahui, received two taels; even the several aunties who had helped with the quarreling got five mace of silver. He searched Young Master Wang and his several household servants from head to toe, obtaining over sixty taels of silver, not leaving them even a single copper coin. He then forced Young Master Wang to write a confession, admitting to coming to Erdaojie to beat people without cause. Only then did he let them go.

The neighbors, having received silver, were all delighted. One tael at this time could buy over a hundred jin of grain. They boasted to one another about how fierce they had been, and naturally also praised the Liu household members along the way. Liu Minyou also received one tael of silver. He was very unwilling to become the backing for Deng Keshan's swindling, but the situation just now had practically become Erdaojie's war of defense. If he said something out of place now, it would certainly backfire. Although he was kind-hearted, he was no blockhead, so he went with the flow and accepted the silver.

As everyone gradually dispersed, Liu Minyou and his group also turned and entered the courtyard. But Deng Keshan came trotting in after them. With a shifty, furtive look, he glanced around, shut the courtyard gate, and came to the stone table, taking out all the remaining silver. Dai Zhenggang was unfazed; he had Wang Daixi take Zhang Dahui to bandage his wounds and stayed nearby to keep them company. Hai Gouzi and Zhang Erhui squatted by the stone table, eyeing the several dozen taels of silver on it with envy.

Liu Minyou found him irritating. Although this man's methods were similar to Chen Xin's, somehow he just couldn't stand the sight of him. He said coldly to Deng Keshan, "Brother Deng, how did you manage to get yourself caught in your own honey trap? If not for the neighbors' help today, how would you have gotten out of this?"

Deng Keshan raised his thin face and said flatteringly, "Exactly, it's all thanks to everyone's help today, especially this elder brother with the iron rod and these young brothers. With so many neighbors around earlier, it was a bit inconvenient, so now I've come to properly thank you all."

He carefully divided the silver piled on the table. After deducting the combat bonuses he had just handed out, about thirty taels remained. He split it into two roughly equal piles, then cupped his hands toward Liu Minyou and said, "Brother Liu, please choose a share. If not for you brothers today, I would certainly have suffered greatly. Don't stand on ceremony."

Liu Minyou's face was stern. "Brother Deng, I was not helping you with your honey trap. You don't need to give me a cut, and I'm not capable of doing such things. In the future, if someone is chasing and beating Brother Deng, don't come running my way."

Deng Keshan was a hard nut to crack. He had long known Liu Minyou was this type of person and wasn't angry. Smiling, he said, "How is this a honey trap? It's fine if Brother Liu looks down on people like me. The silver, at least, is blameless. Just consider it a little injury and hardship fee for these young brothers. They worked hard earlier and need to eat something to replenish themselves, don't they?"

Liu Minyou still wore a stern, official expression and was about to lecture him further when Dai Zhenggang came over, picked one pile of silver, and tucked it into his own bosom. Liu Minyou stared at him in astonishment, not understanding his intention.

Dai Zhenggang cupped his hands toward Deng Keshan and said, "Brother Deng, I am Dai Zhenggang. We happen to be short of silver, so I'll accept this gesture on Brother Liu's behalf. But we are not taking a cut of the scheme; we are accepting your goodwill as a neighbor."

Deng Keshan had found his way out. He had originally taken note of their formidable fighting strength and intended to build good relations with these men. He didn't care under what name you accepted it, as long as you took the silver. He chuckled and said, "Brother Dai, that's the way. Between neighbors, there's no need to stand on ceremony. You've all worked hard; rest well. I'll take my leave now."

Liu Minyou had no choice but to cup his hands as well, performing the surface courtesy, and prepared to see Deng Keshan out. Who knew that Deng Keshan, turning his head, would spot the dresses displayed inside the shop front, let out an "Eh?", and run in on his own. He picked one up and began examining it. The one he took was a purple silk dress, pulled on over the head, with cloth button loops at the back of the neck.

Liu Minyou was utterly helpless against this hard nut. In terms of sheer brazenness, the man had already far surpassed Chen Xin. He had no choice but to follow him in and keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't damage anything.

"Brother Liu, are you planning to open a clothing shop? These racks for hanging clothes are quite ingenious."

"Yes."

"Why have I never seen this kind of clothing before? Though it does look a bit like an official's everyday robe."

"Everyday robe? It looks like this too?"

"It looks similar, but actually it's not. Everyday robes still have a right lapel, just with a wrapped cloth around the collar. From a distance, it looks like there's no lapel, but there actually is."

Liu Minyou felt relieved. If this style had truly existed before but hadn't become popular, it meant low acceptance and a worrying market prospect.

"So, Brother Liu, will you sell them right here in the shop?"

"We'll sell them in the shop, and also find some peddler women... Hmm!" As Liu Minyou spoke, he suddenly scrutinized the shifty-looking Deng Keshan and burst out laughing.

Deng Keshan was baffled and asked, puzzled, "Brother Liu, do you find something wrong with me?"

Liu Minyou quickly pulled Deng Keshan into the courtyard, brought him a stool, and said, "Brother Deng, what do you think of this clothing?"

"Very nice."

"Do you think many people would buy it?"

Deng Keshan scratched his head and flattered, "Many, certainly many. How could anything Brother Liu makes not sell well?"

"Brother Deng, look, I have a method here that can add another income stream for you, and it won't interfere with your honey traps."

"Help you sell clothes?" This Deng Keshan truly caught on at the slightest hint.

"Correct. One mace of silver per piece as your wage. It's not much, but it's steady money."

Deng Keshan's eyes darted around. He didn't agree immediately but asked, "Brother Liu, how much do you plan to sell each piece for?"

"Hmm, for satin and silk, I plan to sell at around one tael and three mace. Cotton, four or five mace, adjusted by the amount of material. Besides selling in the shop, we also need to find some peddler women and brothels..."

"One tael and three mace is too little; it's hard to split. This clothing is so beautiful. Let's sell it in the brothels first. Those knife-deserving bastards have plenty of money. Selling one piece can fetch several times the price of your shop. We'll sell this clothing in the brothels for at least three taels a piece. Go straight to the best one, Qunfang House. Give the madam five mace, the pimp two mace, the girl five mace, and we still get over one tael and eight mace. Brother Liu, look, many of those girls only get food, no money. If we do it this way, won't they desperately urge the patrons to buy clothes? The madam and pimp both get a cut, so naturally they won't obstruct it. Right, we also need to find someone to collect the money inside. Don't let the madam collect it; getting it back would be difficult then. Let me think who would be best to go..."

Liu Minyou stared at him, mouth agape, as spittle flew. He thought to himself that he had indeed found the right person. How would he himself know all these ins and outs of the brothels? Hearing him talk about who should collect money in the brothel, it was indeed troublesome. The neighbors were all honest folk; neither men nor women were suitable. If he let Deng Keshan collect the money, he wouldn't feel entirely at ease. For a moment, he hesitated.

Dai Zhenggang, standing nearby, suddenly said, "We can let Zhang Dahui go. He can definitely handle it."

Liu Minyou truly had no one else available. Among the group, Zhang Dahui was a bit more slick and wasn't married. The only worry was that he might pick up bad habits inside.

"I'm just afraid that if he's in there every day watching those worldly affairs, what if he learns bad ways?"

Deng Keshan laughed. "What's there for a man to fear? He's bad even without learning. Learning a bit might even help him father a son sooner."

Liu Minyou ignored him. Seeing his hesitation, Dai Zhenggang advised, "Brother Liu, I have something to say. Please don't take it to heart."

"Brother Dai, go ahead."

"Dahui and Hai Gouzi are both seventeen in real years. If not for the Tatars destroying their homes, they would have long since married and had children. Brother Chen and you still treat them like children, which seems somewhat inappropriate. Moreover, although they'd be going to a brothel, they'd only be selling clothes; it should be harmless."

Liu Minyou was speechless. By the standards of this era, Zhang Dahui and Hai Gouzi were indeed already adults. Although he and Chen Xin knew this, by force of mental habit, they often treated them like high school students.

He stood stunned for a long moment, then finally said, "Then I'll ask Dahui's opinion. If he's willing to go, let him go."

With that, he got up and entered Zhang Dahui's room. Hai Gouzi and Zhang Erhui followed to the doorway and heard Liu Minyou ask Zhang Dahui, "Dahui, there's something here. Your elder brother wants to hear your opinion."

Zhang Dahui grinned widely. "Brother Liu, I'll go. I heard everything. I've been wanting to see that place for a long time, heh heh."

Liu Minyou: "。。。。。。。"