Chapter 21
Chaos
The sudden scream silenced the noisy banquet hall for a few seconds. Then panic erupted.
“What’s going on?”
“Did someone die? Run quickly!”
Everyone pushed and shoved each other as they ran out of the courtyard. The wine, dishes, bowls, and chopsticks fell to the ground, and no one could care about continuing to eat.
“Dad!” Li Qingqing ran to Elder Li’s side and said helplessly.
Elder Li forced himself to calm down and said, “Don’t panic. Don’t panic. We have lived our lives honestly. No matter what trouble there is, it won’t be on our heads.”
But looking at the wedding banquet turning into a mess, Elder Li’s expression was also a little helpless and dispirited.
At this moment, an angry curse came from outside the courtyard.
“Stop struggling! All of you get back inside!”
“Hey, what are you doing? Don’t push!”
After a round of pushing and shoving, the people who had just rushed out of the courtyard were all driven back, and they were all making a lot of noise.
Jiang Ming’s eyes darkened slightly. He had already recognized the owner of the voice.
Sure enough, the next moment, Uncle Ba led a group of punks in.
“Murder! Murder! There’s no justice in this world!” Behind Uncle Ba, a fat woman was struggling and cursing madly with a few punks holding her by the shoulder.
Jiang Ming took a closer look. That was his other neighbor, right? Her husband was an arrogant man who worked in the city. Even Uncle Ba did not dare do anything to him. Why did it become like this today?
A few punks threw the fat woman into the yard with their combined strength. One of them even went up and gave her a hard kick. “Shut your mouth. I’ll beat all your teeth out if you keep shouting!”
“Hey, I thought someone really died. So it’s this fat woman!” Only then did everyone in the courtyard quieten down. Someone muttered the last few words very softly. After all, it was not a good thing to be hated by the wife of an official.
The fat woman was still making a scene and screaming, “Uncle Ba, hurry up and let me go home. You’ve got guts; aren’t you afraid that my man will come back and teach you a lesson?”
Uncle Ba’s eyes were filled with ferocity. He walked over and slapped her face, saying sternly, “If you keep shouting, I’ll really kill you!”
The fat woman fell silent in an instant. Her face turned pale with fear. She closed her mouth tightly and did not dare speak again.
She was usually arrogant, but she was not a fool. She could see that Uncle Ba was really angry today. If she continued to make trouble, he might really kill her.
In the corner, Jiang Ming was puzzled. Although Uncle Ba used vicious means, he only bullied the weak and feared the strong. He never provoked Master Zhou, the fat woman, and other people who were not poor. Today, he was so arrogant. Something was wrong.
He suddenly fixed his eyes on an ordinary-looking middle-aged man in a black robe beside Uncle Ba. The latter’s steps were steady, and his eyes were bright. He must be someone who had practiced martial arts.
Uncle Ba did not have such an expert under him.
“Today, no one is allowed to leave without my orders!” On the other side, after Uncle Ba finished dealing with the fat woman, he stepped over her body and stared fiercely at the people in the courtyard.
At his side, the black-robed middle-aged man’s eyes turned and looked at everyone in the field. Finally, he shook his head gently at Uncle Ba.
Uncle Ba’s face was a bit ugly. He turned to Elder Li and sneered, “Elder Li, your daughter is getting married, and your son isn’t coming back to celebrate?”
Jiang Ming and Ah Fei looked at each other. They both remembered the mysterious young man who only showed his face once and then disappeared.
“Hey, I just saw his son, Li Zhuang, earlier. How come he’s gone?” Someone beside him whispered.
“I heard that Li Zhuang is working as a servant in some big family in the city. Did he do something wrong?”
Elder Li’s face changed. Did these guys come for his son?
His lips trembled, and his face was pale. “I wonder what happened to Zhuang?”
Uncle Ba snorted and was about to explain the reason when his eyes suddenly flashed, and he said, “He’s gambling in the city and owes the gang a lot of money. I can’t find him, so I came to ask you.”
Elder Li was a little stunned and quickly shook his head. “That’s impossible. Why would Zhuang do such a thing?”
“If your son doesn’t show up to pay the 30 taels of silver he owes us, you’ll have to pay for him! I heard that you’ve been doing very well in this town. You must have saved a lot of money.” Uncle Ba laughed.
Elder Li’s body was even more hunched, and his face was full of fear. He trembled and said, “Uncle Ba, I only know some carpentry. How can I save so much money this way?”
“I don’t care. I only care about money!” Uncle Ba glanced at him and said with a faint smile, “Besides, you’ve moved to Peace Town for so long. Have you paid any rent for the house you’ve lived in for a few months?”
“Rent?” Elder Li turned pale with panic and trembled as he said, “When my daughter and I first moved in, we gave all our money to the town’s official. The official pointed out a yard for us to live in, and we had never heard of any rent. ”
Uncle Ba glanced at him and sneered, “The officials collect money for the land, and I collect rent. How can you mix them up? ”
Elder Li’s lips turned white, and he did not dare speak.
Uncle Ba heaved a long sigh and pretended to be generous, “I think you’re pitiful. You owe us your son’s gambling money and your rent. I’ll round it off to 40 taels of silver!”
“What?” Elder Li was so shocked by this number that his whole body turned cold. He had never earned so much money in his life.
Li Qingqing was also very angry. She was about to rush up to argue with Uncle Ba, but Elder Li and her husband held her back.
Uncle Ba glanced at Li Qingqing and then looked at the family teasingly. He said casually, “It’s only right to pay back what you owe. I’ll give you one day. If you can’t pay me back by tomorrow, then you can use your daughter to pay off the debt. You can probably sell her for dozens of taels of silver at Qinghe Tower.”
Elder Li’s legs went soft, and he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed madly. “Uncle Ba, I’ll do anything you want me to do, but please don’t take my daughter away!”
“Remember, there’s only one day left. Don’t even think about running away. That will only make things worse!” Uncle Ba showed no mercy. He kicked Elder Li away with one foot and left with a group of punks.
Before he left, Uncle Ba glared at Jiang Ming with an unfriendly look. Obviously, he also noticed Jiang Ming’s hesitation.
After Uncle Ba’s disturbance, the banquet could not be held anymore. The courtyard was soon empty, and a mess was left.
Elder Li sat on the ground powerlessly, his mouth unconsciously muttering, “How is this going to work? What are we going to do?”
Li Qingqing could only support Elder Li. She was at a loss and did not know what to do.
Jiang Ming squatted beside the two and whispered, “No matter what, don’t go to Li Zhuang.”
He could not understand the real reason for Uncle Ba’s fuss, but he was sure that it was not just about money.
The key to everything was Li Zhuang. Once Li Zhuang was found, the consequences would not be good.