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Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Have all your little buddies been beaten to death?
Before Tong Yao could respond to Liu Yu’s words, Si Boyi and Si Xiaohui happened to arrive. Si Boyi hadn’t even set foot in the shop when he asked, "Sister-in-law, the guy who just left from here, he looked awfully like Jia Qing, didn’t he?" 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
"Brother, I told you, you must be seeing things! Why would Jia Qing ever come here?" As soon as Si Xiaohui entered the shop, she spotted the steamed buns on the counter, picked one up, took a bite, and her mouth was immediately flooded with the savory flavor of meat.
Tong Yao promptly stated, "It was him. I don’t know how he found out about this place, but he was here to cause trouble. I chased him away."
There was no need to hide Jia Qing’s visit. Tong Yao was straight and upright, and had no intention of hiding anything. She wasn’t sure when this troublemaker might pop up again, so it would be good to give Si Boyi a heads up as soon as possible.
"Ahem..." On hearing the news, Si Xiaohui choked on her steamed bun and her face turned bright red. She quickly took a big gulp of soy milk to soothe her throat. "Sister-in-law, what did you say? The guy was actually Jia Qing? What was he doing here?"
Was it possible that Tong Yao was actually involved with Jia Qing and was planning to rekindle their old flame?
With that thought, a strange look crept into Si Xiaohui’s eyes as she looked at Tong Yao.
"He had the guts to show up even after I didn’t confront him last time. I’ll go and teach him a lesson right now," Si Boyi declared, his face darkened in anger, and he spun around to chase after him.
Although Tong Yao was not the type to flirt with just anyone, it’s a fact that Jia Qing had ill intentions. He needed to be taught a lesson, otherwise he might think that the Si family could be pushed around.
If it hadn’t been for his mother stopping him last time, he might have beaten Jia Qing till he was searching his teeth on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Tong Yao reacted swiftly and grabbed hold of Si Boyi’s sleeve. "I already taught him a lesson. Didn’t you notice how he limped away with his back hunched over?"
Si Boyi was a crude and brute man who did not know his own strength. Tong Yao was genuinely afraid that he might actually beat Jia Qing to death. If that happened, Si Boyi’s life would be ruined. Even if he didn’t get sentenced to death, he would definitely end up spending the rest of his life in prison.
Only then did Si Boyi pay attention to Tong Yao’s words. "Sister-in-law, you beat him?"
Si Xiaohui was also astonished. "Sister-in-law, how did someone as petite as you manage to beat up Jia Qing?"
Upon recalling the process of beating Jia Qing, Tong Yao cleared her throat and shifted the focus, "He was using foul language, so I slapped him and kicked him, hard. His face was swollen."
The details of where she kicked him were too awkward to reveal.
"He deserved to be beaten. If mom hadn’t stopped us last time, my brother would have beaten him till his teeth were scattered around the room," Si Xiaohui boasted, showing off her courage when she was in the company of her brothers. As long as her big and second brother were around, she was afraid of no one.
That was all in the past and not something to be proud of. Tong Yao didn’t want to revisit it. So, she changed the subject, "He might come again in the future. Just be careful not to believe his nonsensical accusations."
The situation today made it clear that if Jia Qing couldn’t get what he wanted, he would try to tarnish her reputation. Tong Yao was ready to hit him every time he dared to show up. She just didn’t want Si Boyi and Si Xiaohui to take Jia Qing’s words seriously. If those words reached Lin Fengying’s ears, it would be rather awkward.
Older people tend to stick to traditional thoughts and overthink things. Even though Lin Fengying believed her last time, her faith won’t stand a chance against constant badmouthing by her children. So, caution was a necessity.
"Sister-in-law, don’t worry, I won’t believe anything Jia Qing says," Si Boyi responded without thinking it over. To him, his sister-in-law was a family member while Jia Qing was an outsider. Naturally, he would side with family. Besides, Jia Qing’s reputation in the nearby villages was already notoriously bad. How could he believe anything that man said?
"Sister-in-law, I also won’t believe a word Jia Qing says," Si Xiaohui quickly added, pledging her loyalty.
Tong Yao was going to be the owner of the shop after its opening. Si Xiaohui was counting on her to make more money so she could receive more dowry in the future.
"Let’s put Jia Qing’s issue aside for now. From 7am to 6pm these two days, someone needs to be in the shop because the Bureau of Industry and Commerce might come to inspect the place at any time." Getting the business permit and opening the shop were the real priorities here, not dealing with a lowly miscreant like Jia Qing.
If Jia Qing dared to cause trouble again, she would write a complaint letter, exposing his father’s abuse of power as a village chief. Then, let’s see if Jia Qing still had the nerve to strut around in front of her. Unless the Jia family made significant amends, she wouldn’t let them get away with it.
Thinking that Tong Yao was suggesting that he had overslept again, Si Boyi’s face flushed. "Sister-in-law, I’ll wake up early tomorrow."
His bedmate, Zhang Lijuan, had agitated his thoughts and feelings all night to the point where he could not fall asleep. Tossing and turning, he dreamt about Lijuan repeatedly, and eventually, he even wet his pants in his sleep. Afraid of being discovered by his sister, Si Boyi had to quietly wash his clothes in the middle of the night before going to bed, which resulted in him waking up late this morning.
"There’s no rush. We’re not officially open for business yet. As long as one of you is here when I’m not, that’s fine." Knowing Si Boyi is not a lazy person, Tong Yao didn’t mind if he occasionally overslept. She pointed at the steamed buns on the counter and said, "This is your breakfast. Eat them fast!"
Si Boyi nodded. "Sister-in-law, it’s hot in here. You should go sit under the tree where it’s cooler."
"Alright!"
With nothing to go back for, Tong Yao casually pulled a stool under the tree by the roadside to escape the heat, and put Jia Qing’s matter at the back of her mind.
As soon as she sat on the stool, the little black dog which had led her to the headmaster’s house appeared out of nowhere, wagging its tail around Tong Yao.
[Little Fairy, give me something to eat! I haven’t eaten for an entire day; I’m about to starve.]
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since Tong Yao last saw it. The little black dog was extremely skinny, with its bones clearly visible through its skin. Its eyes were filled with what seemed like unbeknown tears, and its voice was rather hoarse.
"How did you get this hungry?"
The school canteen dumped some leftover food every day. Although they weren’t exactly gourmet meals, they were sufficient for staving off hunger. It shouldn’t have been hungry to this extent.
[After that incident with the students and the milk tea, the school tightened its rules and no longer let us in. Xiaobai and Xiaohui were caught sneaking in and killed by that fat Wang in the canteen. They didn’t even leave their bodies behind.] Saying this, the little black dog shivered slightly. It was born near the school and had been scrounging for food there for its entire life. It had never thought a day would come when it would be driven out.
All they wanted was to fill their bellies with some food. They hadn’t thought that it would cost them their lives. They truly envied domestic dogs with owners. Those dogs never had to worry about food and shelter.
Tong Yao crinkled her face into a frown upon hearing the dog’s story. "Did all your little mates get beaten to death?" she asked.
[Xiaohua and Da Huang didn’t die. They’ve been hiding ever since. Your sister is really mean. We thought of asking her for food but she threw stones at us, threatening to kill us and make dog stew if she saw us again.] The little black dog gathered up its courage to come over due to its past relations with Tong Yao.
With a wry smile, Tong Yao lifted the corners of her lips, "Hmph! She was just trying to scare you. Who would eat dog stew in this heat! It’s a dish for winter."
