Bully 010 02

Of course, some people didn't believe it, but after they witnessed with their own eyes a drunkard who harassed a girl get beaten up, have his hand chopped off, and thrown out, everyone became more cautious.

"Everyone, please continue to enjoy yourselves. I'm terribly sorry for disturbing your refined mood. My intention is not to target any of you distinguished scholars, but to inform everyone that once you enter this Mianyue House, we will ensure your safety, as well as the safety of our ladies."

In other words, those who came knew the rules here and, priding themselves on being cultured literati and elegant gentlemen, kept any improper thoughts well hidden, no matter how tempted they might have been.

They just didn't know that the man with the chopped-off hand immediately reattached his "hand" once he was outside.

"Finished? I need to get back. The boss assigned me another job."

"Go ahead." The person who had grabbed him patted the dust off his clothes a few times, and they hurriedly went their separate ways.

The income of Mianyue House began to rise, and Chen Huaimin's backbone gradually stiffened. When he saw Liu Acai again, he was no longer afraid of the other's mockery. However, he didn't expect that Liu Acai, seeing he could no longer taunt him about earnings, promptly started flaunting his affection, the object being, naturally, the woman with the child.

Chen Huaimin's backbone went soft again.

"Damn it." He, who seldom swore, uttered a curse for the first time.

"Don't see what's so fun about it." Little Hei went for a stroll around Mianyue House. "Nothing but reciting corny poetry. Is that fun?"

Fang Zhiyi laughed: "There aren't many entertainment options these days. Being able to recite corny poetry is pretty good already."

Not to mention he had also set up many other projects in Mianyue House. For example, a "friendship wall" for anonymous socializing. People could write down what they were looking for in a booklet, then place it in a cubby. If someone was interested after reading it, they would reply. This format greatly piqued the guests' interest, with some coming every few days just to check the messages.

There was also a tea room. Fang Zhiyi specifically trained several ladies in the art of tea ceremony just to offer tea-brewing services. Whether it tasted good or not was another matter, but at least the professionalism was unquestionable.

There were quite a few other small projects like these.

At the same time, Fang Zhiyi also made it known that if any lady took a fancy to someone, she could choose to leave and live a simple life with her beloved.

This drove the customers even wilder, to the point that slots to visit Mianyue House once required reservations.

In the blink of an eye, winter arrived.

In previous winters, it was common for twenty or thirty people to freeze to death in the western suburbs. After all, current heating measures were limited, and firewood wasn't something you could burn freely.

But this year was different. Fang Zhiyi took out a considerable sum of money early on to provide some cold protection measures for every household in the western suburbs and distributed a good amount of food. For a time, the entire western suburbs was singing his praises.

The weather grew increasingly cold, and the usually bustling Mianyue House and lottery ticket shop finally quieted down a bit.

Fang Zhiyi gave red envelopes to almost everyone who worked for him. Looking at the smiling faces before him, Fang Zhiyi also smiled: "No matter what, I think this is what the original owner wanted, right?"

Little Hei came flying back gleefully: "Hey, that little ingrate is in trouble now!"

Although the weather was cold, the thoroughly bundled-up Miss Lin was undaunted. She still insisted on going out. Nian'an had no choice but to follow. Although he had a cotton-padded jacket issued by the Lin family, the steward had skimped on the filling, leaving little actual cotton inside. Nian'an could only rely on his own righteous spirit to withstand the biting wind.

Just as he was wiping his nose, a voice sounded by his ear.

"Well, well, it really is you."

Nian'an looked up and saw a face, but he didn't seem to recognize this person.

The man wore thin clothes and was shivering: "Don't recognize me? Look at you now!" As he spoke, he raised his hand and struck. Amidst Miss Lin's exclamation, Nian'an took the punch with his face. But he wasn't quite the same as before either; he raised his hands and shoved the man: "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Why don't you mention how you, relying on the father you recognized, forced a usurious loan on me?"

Nian'an was stunned.

The man continued his attack. Nian'an quickly dodged. He didn't understand what this person was talking about, but upon hearing him mention 'father,' he thought of Fang Zhiyi and immediately glanced guiltily at Lin Yanqing.

That one glance earned him another punch.

"Your heart is even blacker than your father Fang Zhiyi's! He just taught me a lesson—I gambled away my money and couldn't pay the rent, so I accepted the beating. But you? You gave me money, then immediately started collecting interest!"

Upon hearing this, Nian'an's mind exploded.

"I didn't! When did I ever—"

"Still lying! I'll kill you! If it weren't for you, why would I be unable to go home now? You bastard!" The man became agitated, pouncing on Nian'an, clawing and biting.

Nian'an suddenly caught sight of Lin Yanqing standing there. She was looking down at him from her lofty position, her eyes already filled with contempt.

It's over!

Seeing his disguise torn apart by this nonsensical person, Nian'an panicked: "Go to hell!" He punched the man in the face, and the two of them tumbled to the ground, grappling.

Lin Yanqing turned and walked away.

Nian'an was frantic: "Qing'er!" It was important to know that in the entire Lin household, only he was allowed to call her that. Nian'an saw this as a special privilege he had earned.

Lin Yanqing turned back, her gaze icy: "No wonder you always clammed up whenever I asked about your family. So your father is the infamous bully Fang Zhiyi. I almost fell for your trap too." She glanced at the man struggling to get up, then looked back at Nian'an, her face now full of wariness.

Who knew if this Nian'an would try to swindle her too?

"I didn't..."

Watching Lin Yanqing walk away, Nian'an wanted to chase after her but was grabbed by the man: "Pay me back! Pay me back!"

Anxious and frantic, a surge of rage shot straight to the top of Nian'an's head. He broke free from the man, grabbed a stone from the roadside, and smashed it down. The man fell. Nian'an paused for a moment, but seeing him muttering about repayment as he sat back up, Nian'an didn't bother with him anymore. He had to explain to Lin Yanqing that he had no choice! He was different from those villains like Fang Zhiyi!

But he was a step too late. The Lin family's main gate slowly closed right before his eyes.

Lin Yanqing was furious. This person had kept this from her for so long! He was actually the son of a bully! She had heard Fang Zhiyi's name from her father. Her father seemed very concerned about that western suburbs area, especially after hearing about some Mianyue House and lottery shop recently. She had secretly overheard her father talking with the county magistrate.

Lin Yanqing automatically filtered and beautified her father's actions, promptly categorizing Fang Zhiyi as a bully who preyed on the common people.

The son of such a person certainly couldn't be a good man either.

That winter was quite miserable for Nian'an. Fortunately, he had matured a bit more and found a job running errands and delivering goods, which at least kept him fed. He didn't give up, waiting for an opportunity to explain himself to Lin Yanqing.