Chapter 23

“Zhou Jing, we know you’re at home. Stop hiding like a coward. Come out!” 

The Zhou family had been enjoying their lunch when the sound of a noisy group shouting outside broke the calm.

Zhou Jing put down his bowl and chopsticks, exchanging a glance with Wang Ren.

Wang Ren quietly slipped out, while Shen Mo looked at Zhou Jing with a hint of concern.

Zhou Jing reassured Shen Mo with a look, then stood up and said to everyone, “I’m just peacefully building a house at home, but it seems someone’s looking for trouble. Sorry to bother you all, but I’ll have to step out for a moment!”

“Boss, don’t worry. With so many of us here, while we won’t start trouble, we’re definitely not cowards,” Carpenter Cao said, he was also irritated by the sudden and unreasonable shouting outside.

The group followed Zhou Jing outside, only to see that at some point, over a dozen men had gathered.

Each of them held some kind of weapon, looking fierce and clearly up to no good.

Leading the group were the Shen father and son.

The Shen father and son had changed into new clothes, once again presenting a respectable appearance, though the bruises on Shen Cheng’s swollen face were the only proof that he had just endured a brutal beating.

Zhou Jing pretended to be puzzled and asked, “Father-in-law, brother-in-law, what brings you and so many people to my home?”

“Zhou Jing, stop pretending! Wasn’t it you who set a trap for me and my father? You tricked us into thinking those two lowly gers were going to give us two silver coins if we met them at the back mountain, but instead, you lured us there just to give me a beating. And… and you even stripped my father and hung him up on a tree to humiliate him. He’s your father-in-law! Aren’t you afraid of retribution for doing this?”

Zhou Jing’s expression darkened, and he said coldly, “Shen Cheng, watch your words. Shen Mo and Shen Lin are your brothers. If you dare insult them again, even if I do beat you, it would only count as a brother-in-law disciplining his younger brother!”

“You…” Shen Cheng wanted to argue further, but he was quickly cut off by a man standing nearby. This man, clearly the leader of the group, exuded authority and raised his hand to silence Shen Cheng.

The man appeared to be in his fifties, carrying himself with the airs of an official—a stern and imposing elder.

He spoke slowly, “Zhou Jing, there’s no need to argue. The injuries on Shen Cheng and the way Old Shen was found—completely stripped—were seen by the entire village.”

“So what?” Zhou Jing snorted coldly, “What does any of that have to do with me?”

The old man’s face also turned cold as he raised his voice to reprimand Zhou Jing, “Don’t be ungrateful! We, the people of Shenjia Village, are kindhearted. Considering that you are, after all, married into our village on both sides, we don’t wish to take this matter to the authorities. If you’re smart, you should kneel before Old Shen and respectfully kowtow a few times to beg for his and your brother-in-law’s forgiveness. Then, offer two silver coins as compensation, and we’ll let this go!”

“Two silver coins won’t do. Those two little brats had already promised to give me two silver coins, and that was agreed upon from the start—it can’t change. Besides, Zhou Jing took several hundred coins from me and Xiao Cheng as well, so I want him to compensate me with an additional—no, two more silver coins,” Father Shen demanded.

The elder gave Father Shen a look that seemed like a mild reproach but was, in reality, he was full of indulgence. He sighed deeply.

“Well, since you have been wronged by your son-in-law, it’s only right to ask for some silver!”

“Only right?” As soon as the elder finished speaking, Carpenter Cao sharply shouted, “You old man come asking for four silver coins right away and call it ‘only right’! Which wealthy lord are you? Don’t you understand the hardships of us farmers? Do you even know what four silver coins mean? It could build a mudbrick house or support a family of three for half a year!”

“And I’ve also come to understand something: you’re trying to extort our Boss! You’re just jealous that our Boss is building a grand brick house, aren’t you? You’re here to rob him, right?”

“You…” The old man’s finger trembled with anger as if he had suffered a stroke.

It seemed he had never been confronted so directly before. After a long pause, he finally managed to sputter, “You’re outrageous!”

“Outrageous? I think it’s you who is outrageous, bullying us just because our Boss doesn’t have anyone at home! You claim that our Boss was the one who hit them; well, that’s just what you say! I can also say that I had twenty silver coins on me just now, and now they’re gone. During this time, the only person I had a verbal conflict with was you, so you must have stolen it! Hurry up and return it to me!”

“You’re making baseless accusations!” the old man shouted.

Zhou Jing said: “Since you say he’s making baseless accusations, then what you are doing now is no different from what Carpenter Cao did. It’s all just empty talk without evidence!”

The old man replied, “Who said we have no evidence? We all saw Father Shen’s naked body and Shen Cheng’s injuries. Aside from your family, Old Shen is such an honest person that he hasn’t had any conflicts with anyone else!”

Zhou Jing said, “This carpenter I invited is also a well-known honest artisan in the town. He has worked for many reputable families and is said to be a skilled and upright carpenter. When he came to my place, he was cautious and serious about his work. He hasn’t had any disputes with anyone except for you. Therefore, the twenty silver coins that went missing from him were indeed lost, and I can testify to that. Based on your statements, it’s clear that you must have stolen that silver. So, you should compensate for it!”

“You, you are simply being unreasonable! I won’t argue with your nonsense. Today, you must compensate the Shen family with silver, whether you were willing to or not! Otherwise, don’t blame me for having the villagers I brought here to smash your new bricks and tiles!”

Before Zhou Jing could scold him, an angry shout came from the crowd behind: “How dare you!”

The person who arrived was none other than Wang Fulu, the Village Chief of Wangjia Village. Standing beside him was Wang Ren, who had slipped away earlier. On the way, Wang Ren had embellished the story when he told his father, presenting a ‘modified’ version of events.

Upon seeing the Village Chief, the old man felt as if he had found a savior. He stepped forward and respectfully called out, “Brother Wang, you’ve finally arrived! You may not know, but this Zhou Jing from your village is utterly wicked. Not only did he hit his brother-in-law, but he also humiliated his father-in-law. He is truly someone who deserves to be struck by lightning…”

However, Wang Fulu did not take the old man’s words seriously. He directly interrupted him: “The villagers of Wangjia Village don’t need you, the Village Chief of Shenjia Village, to dictate to us!”

It turned out that the old man was the Village Chief of Shenjia Village.

He felt his face flush with anger as he was publicly contradicted.

He had held the position for decades, being a figure of authority who managed various village matters, and the villagers had generally shown him respect. For many years, no one had dared to speak to him like that. If it had been the Village Chief from another village, he might have confronted him directly. However, the Village Chief of Wangjia Village had connections at the county office, and no other Village Chief dared to offend him lightly.

Wang Fulu said, “There’s no need to say more. I heard everything clearly just now from behind the crowd. Village Chief Shen, everything you said is based on what you and the villagers saw—Father Shen being stripped and injured, and Shen Cheng hanging from a tree. Then you just took Father Shen’s and Shen Cheng’s word for it and decided Zhou Jing did it. So now I ask you, where are the witnesses? Did anyone see Zhou Jing do it?”

The people from Shenjia Village remained silent. They had been drawn there by Shen Cheng’s cries for help and had indeed not seen Zhou Jing at the scene.

At that time, only Father Shen and Shen Cheng were present, and it was they who claimed that Zhou Jing had done it. Thus, they assumed it was Zhou Jing who was really responsible for it!

Someone from Shenjia Village protested, “We didn’t see Zhou Jing commit the act, but so what? Who else could it be?”

Wang Fulu shouted, “As for who did it, you should report it to the County Magistrate. That’s not my concern. I’m only talking about our village’s Zhou Jing. Since your village has only two parties claiming it was Zhou Jing and no one else saw anything, then if this goes to the magistrate, the County Magistrate won’t accept just one side’s testimony. But for our village’s Zhou Jing, there are people who can vouch for him. After these carpenters arrived, he never left the house; he was helping the whole time. It was only at noon, during the meeting, that he went into the kitchen to cook for everyone!”

Father Shen cried out, “He must have snuck into the mountains while he was cooking!”

Wang Fulu scoffed, “Do you have any idea that Zhou Jing cooked a total of five dishes at noon, all hearty meals: stewed eggplant with meat, braised beans and potatoes with sliced meat, chicken with mushrooms, spicy stir-fried shredded meat, and stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat?

Just considering these five dishes alone, a single person couldn’t finish them in less than an hour or so. Are you suggesting that Zhou Jing could perform tricks and create two Zhou Jings—one in the kitchen cooking and the other running up the mountain to attack someone? If that’s not the case, then if Zhou Jing went up the mountain to harm someone, how did this big variety of food end up on the workers’ table?”

Father Shen said, “Doesn’t he still have Shen Mo and Shen Lin to run the kitchen?”

“Don’t mention Shen Mo and Shen Lin; they were both supervising outside the whole time. And why didn’t they help Zhou Jing in the kitchen? This all comes back to you—you beat them up like that. You, as their father, don’t feel sorry for them, but the head of the Zhou household cared for his family and didn’t allow his wife to cook. For these past few days, Zhou Jing has been the one doing all the cooking. The carpenters working at his house can testify to that, and the chimney on his straw house has been continuously emitting smoke!”

“Th-This…” Village Chief Shen was stunned.

He had never thought that Father Shen would lie.

Moreover, Zhou Jing was not a person of good character, and this incident indeed seemed like something he would do.

So, when the Shen family came to him, he did not ask many questions and stepped forward to help. However, he did not expect that Zhou Jing now had witnesses who could prove he had never left the Zhou family’s house.

That meant Father Shen must have lied. It seemed that when he saw the Zhou family’s new tiled house, his greed had surfaced, leading him to concoct this story.

As for the injuries on Shen Cheng and the humiliation suffered by Father Shen, since Zhou Jing had been on the mountain, it was very likely that they had been caused by the refugees hiding in the hills.

After such an incident, Village Chief Shen realized he had been made a fool of, so he became furious.

He glared at Father Shen and Shen Cheng in anger, then turned to leave with a wave of his sleeve, but he was stopped by Zhou Jing.

“Village Chief Shen, please wait.”

Zhou Jing continued. “Although I am not a master from a wealthy family and cannot endure humiliation, this matter has escalated so much that I cannot let it go without an explanation. Otherwise, if others mistakenly believe the rumors and think that I, Zhou Jing, truly did such a thing, it would bring shame to the entire Wangjia Village. How would the young men and women of Wangjia Village find partners in the future? If they use this false accusation to spread rumors, how would that be resolved?”

A few sentences had turned the personal grievances of the Zhou family into a matter of the entire village’s interests.

It was not that Zhou Jing could sway opinions with a few casual remarks; rather, at that moment, discussions about marriages and finding brides were closely tied to the village’s reputation.

If there were truly people in the village who disrespected their parents, it would negatively impact marriages for the entire village.

The villagers of Wangjia Village, who had been watching the commotion, were no longer passive.

They shouted, “We must have an explanation from you! Don’t think that Wangjia Village is easy to bully. You can’t just throw mud at us. If you ruin someone’s marriage, can the Shenjia village bear the consequences?”

Village Chief Shen knew that he could not escape without providing a satisfactory explanation. He gritted his teeth, he said, “Zhou Jing, what do you want? Don’t forget, Father Shen is your father-in-law.”

Zhou Jing nodded and said, “I understand, so I certainly won’t act like my father-in-law. I won’t ask for compensation; a junior cannot demand a senior’s apology. However, the matter must be explained clearly by my father-in-law. I only ask that he wait at the village entrance today and explain everything clearly to every neighbor who comes to Wangjia Village, so as not to tarnish the village’s reputation. That is not too much to ask, is it?”

Wang Fulu said: “It’s not too much to ask; it needs to be explained clearly. Otherwise, how will Wangjia Village be able to arrange marriages with other villages in the future?”

“But what about the reputation of my Shen family village?” someone interjected.

Having a father-in-law who had wrongfully accused his sons-in-law was enough to tarnish Shenjia village’s reputation.

Young women from other villages would definitely be unwilling to marry into Shen family village.

“It’s precisely because you acted impulsively that today’s outcome occurred. Shouldn’t you be prepared to face the consequences? Do you really want to escalate this to the magistrate? If this matter reaches the magistrate, every man from the Shenjia village who came to Wang Family Village to cause trouble would be considered an accomplice of Father Shen and Shen Cheng. No one would escape a beating, not even one.”

When it came to personal interests, no one was willing to support Father Shen and Shen Cheng.

Even the Village Chief agreed to Zhou Jing’s demands.

In the end, Father Shen and Shen Cheng were left behind, and they had to spend the entire day explaining to passersby what had happened admitting that they had wronged others, forgetting loyalty in pursuit of profit, and trying to extort money from the Zhou family.

At that moment, Father Shen and Shen Cheng felt they could not explain themselves no matter how many mouths they had.

They had no idea how Zhou Jing could be in two places at once—one person beating someone on the mountain while the other cooked at home.

So, they could only endure the humiliation and recounted the entire incident to every passerby.