400 Rioting
When they returned to the two-story building, the door was still half-open.
Xiaoguo suddenly stopped in her tracks. She glanced around and saw a dark, unknown object.
She immediately had a bad feeling.
When Jiang Danhe saw Xiaoguo stop, he stopped too. He turned around and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
!!
“Did you see anything?”
“What is it?” Jiang Danhe asked again curiously. Then, he looked around and was about to say no when he suddenly saw… a person nestled in the corner?
It could be considered a human.
Xiaoguo turned around angrily and looked straight at the black figure.
When the scruffy man saw that Xiaoguo had finally seen him, he opened his mouth happily and chuckled at her.
With his dirty black hands, he held out two roasted chickens towards her.
Xiaoguo frowned, wondering what he was up to. “I’m not eating that.”
The scruffy man ignored her and pointed at Jiang Danhe.
Xiaoguo stepped in front of him and said calmly, “He won’t eat them either.”
The scruffy man did not seem to take her words to heart. After pointing at Jiang Danhe, he buried his head in his food. Then, he took out a gourd, opened it and took a few gulps. After which, he pointed at the two of them.
Xiaoguo really didn’t understand what he was trying to say now, but she told him, “We’re not drinking either.”
The scruffy man rolled his eyes at her. Then, he placed the roasted chicken and white wine in his arms, seemingly afraid that she would snatch them from him.
“Hey!”
Xiaoguo rolled up her sleeves and was about to step forward. She was going all out. She didn’t intend to keep this hand anymore!
Jiang Danhe held her back and pulled her behind him.
Xiaoguo might not have noticed the two burly figures beside the man, but he did.
“Is that them?”
As soon as the voice sounded, Xiaoguo calmed down and looked in the opposite direction.
The sloppy man seemed very afraid of Xiaoguo’s fists. Even though the other party was blocked, he still leaned against the wall timidly.
However, when he heard the man’s question, he nodded vigorously without thinking. As he nodded, he tightened his grip on the roasted chickens in his hands.
“Is that them?”
At this moment, another man opened his mouth and asked him.
The scruffy man held the wine pot tightly and nodded.
The two men looked at each other. “We’ve found them!”
They spoke at the same time and reached out to Jiang Danhe. “Pay up.”
“What for?”
Before Jiang Danhe could speak, Xiaoguo leaned out and walked to his side.
“Roasted chicken and wine, sixty-five copper coins in total.”
“What does that have to do with us? You should be looking for the person who is eating it.”
Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe understood the situation immediately. It was this scruffy man again.
Looking at the man eating busily in the corner, Xiaoguo crossed her arms over her chest. After saying those words, she grabbed Jiang Danhe and was ready to leave.
“Hey, wait!”
The two men did not react in time. Seeing that the couple was about to leave, they quickly stopped them.
“Your old man can’t eat for free. Judging from your dressing, I cannot imagine that you would ill-treat your father. The younger generation has truly degenerated.”
“That’s right. You’re dressed so well and don’t look like you lack money. How can you dress your elders so poorly? You’re so shameless. Do you have a conscience?!”
“The old man just wants to eat some braised chicken and drink some wine. It’s not expensive. Just buy it for him! Why are you doing this!”
“What? Are you still pretending that you don’t know me? I’ve never seen anyone as ruthless as you!”
“Quick, quick, quick. Fellow villagers, come and say a fair word. Everyone, look at the disgraceful behavior of this young couple!”
The two men did not give Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe a chance to speak at all. They kept rounding up people with their loud voices. Very soon, there was a large crowd.
Jiang Danhe reacted first. He put his arms around Xiaoguo and pushed away the approaching crowd before moving her to a safe place.
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. How about you?”
“I’m fine too.” Jiang Danhe smiled in satisfaction and patted her head. Not bad, she finally knew how to show concern for her man.
At this moment, the two men behind them were still going on. They added fuel to the fire and proclaimed that the couple was disrespectful, unfilial and ungrateful to the old man.
Jiang Danhe was the first to object. The scene was in a frenzy because of the two men and the crowd that was confused by their words. It was impossible to suppress everyone with just their voices. He could only use force. It was more direct that way.
Jiang Danhe quickly pushed aside the crowd and found the man with the loudest voice. He grabbed his collar and lifted him into the air.
The surrounding crowd was immediately frightened by what they saw. They stood rooted to the ground and did not dare to make a sound.
At first, the man tried to resist, but after struggling for a while, he realized that it was useless. Fear took over and he became unable to utter a complete sentence.
Jiang Danhe had no intention of doing anything to him. He just wanted to bring the whole situation under control.
After a while, he put the man down.
...
Wearing a cold expression on his face, he frowned and asked in a soft but forceful voice, “We don’t even know him. Why should we pay for him?”
“What… What do you mean you don’t know him? Aren’t you his son and daughter-in-law…?”
At the end of his sentence, the man began to stutter. Seeing that the other party was not avoiding his gaze, he began to feel uncertain.
He couldn’t help but regret his earlier actions. Why did he believe the man’s words? It was all his fault for being biased—siding the weaker party without finding out the truth.
But it was too late to say anything now. The man swallowed and wondered if the man in front of him would beat him up…
Jiang Danhe sneered and said softly, “My wife and I don’t know that person. Moreover, both our parents passed away a few years ago.”
The man’s face turned pale when he heard that. He looked at the man beside him.
“Oh no…”
As soon as Jiang Danhe finished speaking, some of the people who were criticizing them immediately switched sides and started speaking up one after another.
The two men were so frightened that their legs started trembling. They were only running a small business. That man took the roast chicken and wine from their shop and was about to leave. When they stopped him, he said that he would get the money from his son and daughter-in-law.
At first, the two of them didn’t believe him. After waiting with him for a long time, they finally saw a man and a woman. Moreover, the woman took the initiative to walk towards him, so they subconsciously believed his one-sided explanation.
...
Seeing that the two of them were not going to take responsibility, they even fabricated lies and gathered a crowd to cause trouble. They wanted to trigger public opinion through the masses, forcing the pair to pay up. Unexpectedly, that was a huge mistake.
While the two men were thinking of ways to apologize and beg for forgiveness, someone in the crowd spoke up.
“The man doesn’t look like he is in the right mind. He’s a lunatic. He often goes around looking for a free meal.”
“That’s right. I know him too. He lives around here.”
“He often tricks people into buying food for him. He does that all the time.”
“It was the same trick the last time…”
“That’s right. He even stole a fish from my house the last time…”
When one person spoke up, everyone else started chiming in. Just when they were looking for the protagonist to resolve the matter, they realized that he had long disappeared. There was only a pile of chicken bones left where he was sitting earlier.
Gradually, the surrounding crowd dispersed, leaving only Xiaoguo, Jiang Danhe, and the two men who were asking for the money. However, the two men were feeling regretful at this moment.
“Brother, we’re sorry. We’re really sorry.”
“Brother and Sister-in-law, we’re fools. We’re sick. We’re crazy. Please be magnanimous and forgive us.”
Jiang Danhe’s earlier maneuver left a deep impression on them. How could he be so strong when he didn’t look beefy at all? The two men were really afraid of getting beaten up. They were just ordinary folks and couldn’t withstand a single punch from this big brother, so they tried to apologize as sincerely as they could.
Seeing that the two men were on the verge of getting on their knees, Xiaoguo walked to Jiang Danhe’s side and squeezed his arm, which was hanging by his side.
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