Chapter 410: A Beating

He Cui’er’s family all changed their expressions upon hearing these words.

He Dashu finally became anxious, "Village Chief, what do you mean by this? Are you planning to deal with my family? We have already said that we did not come to cause trouble, we came to thank the Qi family’s Brother Ping, and to discuss the marriage of the two children."

What does it mean to not let one rotten mouse dropping spoil the whole pot of porridge? What does it mean to clear them out?

Village Chief He shook his head in disappointment, "He Dashu, He Dashu, you still do not repent. Saying you are here to give thanks, is this the appearance of giving thanks? Discuss the marriage of the two children? Framing people to this extent and still having the nerve to talk about discussing marriage?"

He Minzi shouted, "Village Chief, we really did come to the Qi family to discuss the marriage, but they did not agree, which is why we became anxious."

Hearing this, Village Chief He fixed his gaze on He Minzi, then looked towards He Liangzi beside him, sweeping his eyes across the faces of the entire family... Not just one or two in this family were rotten, there was not a single good one among them, they could not be kept.

"Dayuan, tie up their entire family and take them to the He Family Ancestral Hall," Village Chief He finally declared.

"Yes!" He Dayuan, who was already a worker at Gu’s Workshop, having seen the family of He Dashu come to trouble Gu Daya’s house, was already itching with hatred and immediately summoned others, "Tieshu, Shengzi, boy, come and tie up He Dashu’s family."

Several men with ropes rushed over to grab He Minzi.

He Minzi tried to run, but was swept to the ground by a kick from Wang Yongfu and fell heavily.

Wang Yongfu pinned He Minzi’s back with his knee, twisted his hands behind, tied He Minzi’s hands with the rope he carried, and after dragging He Minzi up said, "Behave yourself, or I’ll break your legs."

Did they really think the Qi family had no backing? That they could falsely accuse them at will?

"Let me go, let me go, I am from the He family, you are a servant of another family, what right do you have to capture me?"

Bang!

He Dayuan punched He Minzi in the stomach and said with a cold laugh, "So what if I am a servant from another family? Brother Wang, being a servant, is still more capable than you."

Wang Yongfu is simply unfortunate to have encountered a drought and fled famine, turning him into a servant. But even as a servant, Wang Yongfu is still a real man.

Seeing He Minzi tied up, He Dashu’s face turned an iron blue, and pointing at Village Chief He said, "Village Chief, we are members of the He family, of the same clan and bloodline, and yet you help a bunch of outsiders against your own people, how can you justify this to the ancestors of the He family?!"

Village Chief He had already been thoroughly disappointed with He Dashu’s family, and upon hearing these words, he did not get angry or disheartened, but simply responded to He Dashu, "It is precisely to uphold the honor of the He family ancestors that I have to clear your whole family out."

He Dashu was completely shocked, "Are you serious? Really going to clear our whole family out?"

"Hmph!" Village Chief He just gave a cold laugh, too lazy to say anything more.

He Dashu, seeing the situation, was frightened to pale.

He Liangzi, cunning and quick-witted, heard these words and knew there would be no good outcome today. Not wanting to be caught, he immediately crouched down and started sneaking out quietly.

"He Liangzi, you turtle’s grandson, where do you think you’re escaping to?!" He Sanlai, along with Zhu Changshou, had long received instructions from Gu Jinli and were guarding outside the courtyard door of Gu Daya’s house. Spotting He Liangzi sneaking out, they immediately rushed over and pinned him down.

With several smacks, He Sanlai struck He Liangzi’s head fiercely, angrily saying: "Run? After scheming against others you think you can run? Dream on. Shouzi, bring the rope, let’s tie this turtle’s grandson up."

Zhu Changshou pulled out a rope, grabbed He Liangzi’s hands, tied them up, and then together with He Sanlai, they lifted He Liangzi and headed towards Gu Daya’s house.

He Liangzi hastily begged He Sanlai: "San Lai, San Lai, for the sake of our past brotherhood, let me go, brother remembers your kindness, I will surely repay you later."

"Pah, you and your family are paupers, what will you repay with? I am now with Gu’s Workshop, my monthly salary has increased to four hundred cents a month, and together with my wife, we make eight hundred cents a month, nearly one tael of silver. Your whole family doesn’t make eight hundred cents even with a month of hard work, what will you repay with?" He Sanlai, now somewhat affluent, was working more energetically and contentedly said this sentence, then suddenly, he kicked He Liangzi’s tailbone.

With a bang, He Liangzi was kicked down by He Sanlai, face planting the ground, his nasal bone cracked with a snap, and his mouth also got bloodied from the impact, he was in so much pain that he gasped for breath, cursing He Sanlai: "He Sanlai, you pestilence-struck thing, a coward serving others, why are you hitting me?"

Bang, bang, bang!

He Sanlai stomped fiercely several times on He Liangzi’s back, almost making him spit blood: "Why am I hitting you, you know very well. I warn you, if you dare spread nonsense in the village again, I’ll cripple you."

All the men in the village envied him for being able to marry Mo Chunyue. He Liangzi, along with He Daqian and that gang of bastard kids, often gathered at the village’s large milling stone, saying lewd things about his wife Chunyue. He had long wanted to deal with these people, but had not found the opportunity. Today, He Liangzi stumbled right into it, and He Sanlai wouldn’t be a man if he didn’t beat him harshly.

Hearing this, He Liangzi knew what He Sanlai was referring to, but he wasn’t guilty, instead he retorted: "Damn He Sanlai, you’re hitting me over this? What’s wrong with saying a few lewd words? Haven’t you said plenty before? Besides, Mo Chunyue isn’t exactly..."

"Bastard, you still dare to speak, I will beat you to death." He Sanlai snatched a wooden stick from He Shengzi’s hand and started beating He Liangzi. He struck hard, causing He Liangzi to howl in pain.

Village Chief He watched but did not intervene, He Liangzi had brought this upon himself and deserved a good beating.

However, fearing that He Sanlai might actually kill someone, after He Sanlai had struck for a while, he finally spoke up: "San Lai, stop it, if you injure him seriously, he will have an excuse to lodge in the village and not leave."

Heeding this, He Sanlai hurriedly stopped, spat at He Liangzi, and said: "If it weren’t for the fear of your family refusing to leave the village, I would have killed you today."

He Cui’er’s mother, seeing her most beloved second son being brutally beaten, was shocked out of her wits. Recollecting herself, she wailed piteously: "Murder, murder, you bunch of conscienceless people, ganging up to bully our family. Ancestors of the He family, open your eyes and look, your descendants, ah!"

Before He Cui’er’s mother could finish wailing, she was struck several times by Mrs. Chen and had to jump to dodge.

Mrs. Chen was rather shrewd, seeing He Cui’er’s mother run off, she didn’t chase but turned her stick towards He Cui’er and Mrs. He Liu, striking them, bang, bang, bang, causing He Cui’er and Mrs. He Liu to cry out in chaos.

"You shrew, stop it, why are you hitting us?" Mrs. Liu dodged Mrs. Chen’s blows while angrily scolding.