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The person, likely beaten quite severely, was curled up like a shrimp, crying out in pain.
On the ground beside them lay a nearly extinguished matchstick.
Several young individuals hastily pulled the person up from the ground, grabbed some hemp rope used for tying goods in the workshop, and securely bound them, removing the bamboo basket from the head.
In the lantern light, the person’s face was clearly visible.
With a round, slightly chubby face and narrow eyes, the once plump cheeks now resembled swollen buns due to the beating, the person’s eyes swollen shut.
Judging by the persons appearance, the person were neither from the village nor the neighboring one; in fact, no one recognized the person.
Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun were taken aback.
This person was the vendor they had seen in the county town before.
Clearly, this person harbored resentment due to Song Jingyun and Jiang Mixia’s interference in his business last time, leading them to seek revenge by plotting to set fire to the workshop after tracking down Jiang’s village.
After explanations from Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun, everyone present understood the individual’s motive for wanting to burn down the workshop.
Understanding didn’t quell the rising anger.
“You scoundrel!” Jiang Youcheng kicked the person, “You couldn’t handle fair business, so you hold a grudge and want to retaliate against our workshop?”
“This scoundrel wants to harm the entire Jiang’s village!” Jiang Zhengxin, who arrived upon hearing the commotion, spat out in disgust.
The workshop’s increasing prosperity was visibly benefiting the entire village.
Burning down the workshop would essentially mean severing the lifeline of Jiang’s village!
Moreover, on a windy night, with houses close together and the workshop filled with bamboo products, a fire could easily spread, endangering not just the workshop but also neighboring homes.
If the fire wasn’t contained promptly, the entire village could be at risk of destruction.
By targeting the workshop, this person was effectively harming the entire Jiang’s village.
The others present understood the principle of collective prosperity and loss. Seeing the individual in a more negative light, some added a kick or a punch.
“Let’s calm down, a couple of lessons will suffice. Let’s not escalate the situation and appear unreasonable,” Jiang Zhengxin advised. “Tie this person up for now and we’ll take them to the county office tomorrow.”
“Yes, let the county magistrate punish him properly!”
“A person like this, even if beaten to a pulp, deserves it!”
“With a heart so black, he doesn’t even deserve to live. Being beaten is letting him off lightly!”
“Tonight, tie him up like this, without food or water, and tomorrow take him to the county town…”
In the heat of midsummer, skipping food might be bearable, but withholding water for a whole night could be tough. If they also prevent him from using the toilet…
Cough, cough…
It’s fine; the people of Jiang’s village didn’t mind sending him off in this manner. Why should they cater to his preferences?
Jiang Zhengxin instructed a few strong young men to bind Wei Wanshun in the ancestral hall, taking turns to guard him until sunrise when they would transport him to the county office.
As Wei Wanshun, about to be taken away, glared furiously, if his mouth hadn’t been gagged, he would have wanted to lash out at Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun.
These two troublemakers had swindled him out of so much, disrupted his business, and even led to him being dragged to the magistrate’s office for a beating, taking a long time to recover.
Even if he managed to heal physically, his business couldn’t be restored.
In a small county where gossip spread quickly, many were aware of his shady business due to the rumors that circulated.
Wei Wanshun considered disguising himself to start a new business in a different guise.
However, due to rampant misinformation and a tendency to believe in the negative rather than the positive, many in the county town no longer trusted the business, making it impossible for him to continue.
Forced to try his luck in the town and even venture into the villages, Wei Wanshun encountered predominantly selfish and greedy individuals who, upon unsuccessful haggling, resorted to confrontation and even violence.
This led to not only failed business but also a harsh lesson from the villagers, making his efforts futile and causing him more harm than good.
It was a case of losing more than gaining.
Frustrated and seething with anger at his misfortunes, Wei Wanshun was particularly resentful towards the young man who almost emptied his belongings and his unyielding wife.
He blamed these two troublemakers for his current predicament.
Seeing Song Jingyun and Jiang Mixia in the county town once again, joyfully returning from delivering goods for Zheng’s shop, only fueled Wei Wanshun’s anger even more.
Wei Wanshun, frustrated by the success of the two troublemakers while his own business floundered, harbored thoughts of causing trouble for them.
After gathering information, he learned that the two troublemakers’ family had a bamboo weaving workshop in Jiang’s village. The workshop was poorly guarded, with a low fence and lax security. Despite a child now staying overnight at the workshop, the child was young and slept deeply, unlikely to wake easily.
Wei Wanshun identified a spot where he could easily scale the wall and sneak in. Tonight, he intended to sneak in, planning to throw a small bottle filled with lamp oil into the storage shed, followed by a matchstick, causing a fire that would be hard to extinguish.
Even if the fire could be put out, it would still damage many goods and severely impact their business.
However, he didn’t anticipate that the child, usually sound asleep like a log, would be awake tonight and would ambush him.
Furthermore, he never expected that this seemingly frail child, as thin as a bean sprout, would possess such strength, attacking him fiercely and leaving him powerless to fight back.
What Wei Wanshun least expected was the swift arrival of villagers from Jiang’s village in response to the child’s cries.
Caught red-handed, he had no chance of escape and was taken to the county office for punishment once again.
All of this was a result of the actions of that young man and his wife!
Frustrated and seething with anger, Wei Wanshun struggled to lunge towards Song Jingyun and Jiang Mixia, but despite his efforts, he couldn’t reach them.