Later, four carts piled high with goods set off together for the Duan residence.
Duan Yan had not only gathered up every last medicinal herb from the storeroom and loaded it onto the carts, but had also loaded two full carts of surplus grain. All the rice and grain Chen Hu had transported back from Tianshui Village was taken away as well.
Gou San'er led Zhou Wang and Tie Er in delivering the carts to the residence, while Tie Da stayed behind under Duan Yan's watch to forge a new lock for the storeroom.
With a heavy clang, the new lock snapped shut. Duan Yan weighed the long, solid key in his hand, then patted the lock in satisfaction.
“Tie Da, your skill at forging iron and making locks really is second to none.”
Having received Duan Yan's praise, Tie Da thumped his chest and beamed. “That’s only what I ought to do.”
Watching the sky blaze with sunset clouds, Duan Yan hung the new key from his waist and said to Wang Quan, whose anxious face was practically wrinkling into a chrysanthemum:
“When Brother Hu comes back, tell him that the storeroom key has been changed. If he needs to use it, he can come to me.”
“Big Brother, Brother Hu will be back soon. He’s bringing grain with him, and the rice and grain will have to be put into the storeroom. As for this key…”
Seeing the spectacle Duan Yan had made of things today, Wang Quan had tried several times to object, but every attempt had been talked down.
He had always been the sort to echo others, able to put on a stronger front only when Chen Hu was there to back him up. Now not only was Chen Hu absent, but Duan Yan had also taken the other two capable men to the countryside.
That left only him, the two thickheaded simpletons Tie Da and Tie Er, and the fence-sitting Zhou Wang. With Duan Yan here, how could the few of them unite their strength? They could only let Duan Yan arrange everything as he pleased and did not dare defy him.
Now he could only watch as Duan Yan opened the storeroom and hauled the goods away—and even changed the lock. How was he supposed to explain this to Chen Hu when he returned?
He was frantic, but still hoped he could at least keep hold of the new key.
“Wouldn’t it be better, Big Brother, to leave the key with Zhou Wang? Or perhaps wait a little longer for Brother Hu?”
Duan Yan was not buying any of it. “If he needs the key, he can come to me and get it.”
Wang Quan said glumly, “That would mean making a trip there and back. It’s such a nuisance. Before, we always…”
“How long are you going to keep talking? I’m hungry.”
Song Fengsui appeared to direct the words coldly at Duan Yan, but in truth he was cutting off Wang Quan’s attempt to stall.
That Wang Quan was timid and hesitant, yet surprisingly talkative. He was clearly trying to drag things out until Chen Hu returned. Now that everything had been settled, there was no reason to keep arguing with him.
“We’re leaving now.”
At Song Fengsui’s words, Duan Yan immediately agreed. A child could not be allowed to go hungry. They had been out for quite some time, and it was only right that he return and rest.
“You go ahead.”
Song Fengsui gave a soft snort, swept his cold phoenix eyes over the people in the courtyard, and strode out.
Wang Quan opened his mouth, intending to object again, but the two men left just as decisively as they had said they would. They gave him no chance to continue dragging things out. Burning with anxiety, he could only hurry after them for a couple of steps.
“Wang Quan, what did you call me?”
At the shop out front, for a brief moment, only Duan Yan and Wang Quan remained inside.
Wang Quan had already been carrying something on his mind. When the person ahead of him suddenly stopped and asked that question, he was momentarily stunned, unable to make sense of what Duan Yan meant.
“Big brother?”
Duan Yan gave no answer and offered no explanation. He merely cast Wang Quan a deep look before turning around and ducking out through the door of the smithy.
Utterly bewildered, Wang Quan was left in a daze by Duan Yan’s single question.
He had always been accustomed to Duan Yan’s blunt, straightforward ways. Now that Duan Yan had suddenly asked him something like that, his heart gave a heavy thump, and an inexplicable unease welled up within him. He completely forgot about what lay before him. His feet felt as though they had been filled with lead, and he could only stare blankly at Duan Yan’s retreating back.
Song Fengsui, who had left the smithy ahead of them and was waiting by the roadside, looked up to see Duan Yan emerge. When he saw that no one was following behind him, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The two met up and walked side by side. The evening breeze drifted gently around them as they trod into the sunset, and Song Fengsui was in unusually good spirits.
He turned to look at the man whose cheeks were bathed in the golden radiance of the setting sun. His gaze grew warmer.
“You and I worked together rather seamlessly today.”
Duan Yan stared at him for a moment, not quite understanding.
“Hmm?”
Song Fengsui’s long brows lifted slightly.
“What’s with you? When I pretended to lose my temper in the smithy just now, you immediately understood and took advantage of the situation to open the storeroom. Not only did we obtain the medicinal supplies, we even reclaimed the storeroom key.”
“We may have formed an alliance, but this was our first time working together in public. I didn’t expect us to coordinate so perfectly. If that isn’t seamless cooperation, what is?”
At his words, Duan Yan’s mind went blank with a sudden roar. Only then did he understand what that whole commotion in the smithy had been about.
His brows drew sharply together.
“I used you as an excuse to get things done!”
Song Fengsui could not understand why the man was suddenly making such a fuss.
“And what of it?”
“Because of that, I had a reason to act—but won’t Chen Hu resent you even more?”
Now that Duan Yan carefully thought it over, he realized how thoughtless he had been. He had practically dragged Song Fengsui into a pit.
His temples began to ache.
“No, no, that won’t do! I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have let you get involved in this from the start!”
Song Fengsui watched the regretful expression on his face, his eyes shifting slightly.
“So just now, you really thought I was angry?”
“How was I supposed to know you were only pretending…? Ah, I really must have lost my head!”
Duan Yan was consumed by regret. The moment he saw Song Fengsui throwing a tantrum, his wits had deserted him. All he had known was that he needed to coax the other man and keep him from getting angry.
Song Fengsui naturally understood now that Duan Yan had not seen through his thoughts at all. He had cooperated so tacitly with him not because he had understood the act, but simply because Song Fengsui had been displeased…
His eyes flickered, and he turned away somewhat awkwardly.
Did this man truly care about his feelings that much…?
Song Fengsui pressed his lips together lightly and asked in a low voice, “In your eyes, am I the sort of person who changes moods at the drop of a hat? Someone who loses his temper in front of others without giving you any consideration, with an unpleasant and eccentric disposition?”
Duan Yan was briefly at a loss for words.
“I never thought about any of that. I only figured that it’s perfectly normal for someone young to get angry and lose their temper easily.”
Song Fengsui’s gaze swept briefly across Duan Yan’s face before immediately darting away.
…He really was willing to tolerate him. He looked so serious and proper, yet he even knew how to coax people…
“Why are you going on about that? You still haven’t said what matters.”
Duan Yan felt that Song Fengsui had interrupted the main point. He said, “Don’t take risks like that again. Even if I hadn’t had a proper excuse to fall out with Chen Hu today, and he’d grown suspicious and sought revenge against me, putting everything else aside, I’m a man. At worst, I’d either live or die.”
“But you’re a ger. If he directs all his anger at you, that’s an entirely different matter.”
Seeing Duan Yan lecture him, Song Fengsui replied, “But even if nothing had happened today, Chen Hu would never have held a shred of goodwill toward me. He’s been harboring ill intentions for a long time.
“If I keep acting timid and weak out of fear, he’ll think I’m easy to bully. It’s better to let him know I’m no pushover. Then he might have a few reservations.”
“People like him only bully the weak and fear the strong.”
Duan Yan found himself persuaded by Song Fengsui’s words. Though he felt there was some truth to them, he still didn’t want Song Fengsui putting himself in danger. After all, the medicine they had gone to obtain today was primarily meant to cure his poison.
He was about to continue reasoning with Song Fengsui when Song Fengsui lifted his eyes and looked straight at him.
“Besides, aren’t you here?”
Those words left Duan Yan speechless once more.
“Could it be that you still hold out hope for your former good brother, planning to give him only a warning and persuade him to mend his ways, letting bygones be bygones? So that he can come after me again in the future?”
Duan Yan immediately said, “Of course not!”
Song Fengsui pursed his lips slightly. “Since that’s the case, what else is there to say? Didn’t we already agree that we would stand united and support one another? Why quibble over who has borne more of the resentment?”
Facing such wholehearted sincerity from Song Fengsui, Duan Yan’s feelings grew complicated. For a moment, he didn’t know what else to say.
Seeing this, Song Fengsui said, “Let’s hurry back. Don’t think about anything else for now—we don’t have the time to. The epidemic is causing more and more chaos around Yan Town. I need to prepare the medicine as soon as possible.”
At the mention of the epidemic, Duan Yan’s brows drew together again, his expression grave.
“All right!”
Song Fengsui also let out a quiet breath of relief. With his hands clasped behind his back, he quickened his pace and walked ahead.
The evening breeze carried a cool fragrance to the tip of Duan Yan’s nose. Watching Song Fengsui’s elegant figure drifting ahead of him, Duan Yan suddenly remembered something. He cleared his throat.
“Um, Xiao Song... don’t take what Tie Da said today seriously.”
Song Fengsui blinked lightly and turned around at an unhurried pace.
“What did he say? That you don’t bathe or wash your feet, or that you like...?”
Duan Yan hurriedly cut him off. “None of that is true!”
“Is that so?”
Song Fengsui looked at him with an utterly innocent expression. “But I thought he seemed simple-minded. He didn’t look like the sort of person who would lie.”
Duan Yan guiltily shifted his gaze. “If you don’t believe me, I...”
He faltered. If Xiao Song didn’t believe him, what could he do? He certainly couldn’t ask the little ger to take a look and verify it for himself.
“In any case... in any case, the innocent have nothing to fear.”
With that, Duan Yan hurried forward in a daze, walking ahead with his head lowered.
Watching him stride away like that, Song Fengsui couldn’t help but press his lips together to hold back a laugh.
This man really was something...
Meanwhile, at the ironworks, Tie Er and Zhou Wang had finished delivering the grain. They were driving the cart back from the Duan residence when, just as they reached the eastern end of town, they ran into Chen Hu, who had returned from the countryside.
Tie Er poked his head out and saw that the mule cart—which had gone to the village empty at noon—had come back empty as well.
“Brother Hu, how come you didn’t bring the grain back?”
Chen Hu’s face was ashen with fury. Old Man Duan had been stripped of his position as village head, and with one of his legs crippled, he ought to have been much less formidable than before. Who could have imagined that, now that he no longer had to handle the village’s affairs, his official’s pride had only grown worse? These days, he spent all his time guarding the estate, treating it like the apple of his eye.
Chen Hu had gone over that very day to tell the old man that his only son needed to haul grain to the city on business. Instead, the old bastard had spat right in his face. Biaozi and Hanzi, who had gone with him, lost their tempers and shoved the old man to the ground. In an instant, everything had erupted. The people from the estate swarmed over, and the two sides fell into a brawl. Not only had Chen Hu failed to bring back the grain, he had also taken two punches to the gut.
From the looks of it, Old Man Duan wasn’t even willing to give his own son any face anymore. The old bastard truly had a heart of stone.
After taking such a loss today, Chen Hu swore he would deal with that old bastard sooner or later.
He was already in a foul mood, and seeing the thick-headed, foolish-looking Tie Er did nothing to improve it.
The lout wasn’t very bright. If the two brothers hadn’t been so skilled at smithing, Chen Hu wouldn’t have bothered with them at all.
“Everyone knows what the old man is like. Now he won’t even give Brother Duan any face.”
Chen Hu replied coldly, then looked at the two of them.
“What are you doing with the cart? I seem to recall that no one ordered any large delivery these past few days.”
Tie Er answered with his tongue slightly thick, “We delivered some grain to Big Brother’s residence. We’ve just finished and were about to head back.”
Chen Hu hurriedly asked, “What grain? Where did it come from?”
“The grain you and Biaozi and Hanzi brought back from Tian Shui Village this morning. There were also some medicinal herbs. Big Brother told us to deliver those too.”
Chen Hu was stunned.
“What? Someone suddenly came to collect grain? How did they get into the storeroom? I took the key with me when I left in such a hurry!”
Tie Er immediately explained, “It was that young man surnamed Song. Seems Big Brother had promised to let him come look at some medicinal herbs. When he found out there was no key, he threw a fit and refused to let it go. Big Brother, naturally, kept coaxing him and even shouted for me to break the lock if that was what it took to make the young man happy.”
As he talked about it, Tie Er seemed rather excited, as though he had enjoyed watching the whole spectacle.
“Brother Hu, you really are something. You were worried that Big Brother would stay heartbroken over Ji He marrying Qian Saner, so you brought that Song fellow here for him. From what I saw, Big Brother’s mind is completely occupied by the young man now. He definitely won’t keep dwelling on the past and making himself miserable.”
Chen Hu was so furious that he nearly blacked out. Without saying another word, he yanked the mule along and hurried back to the ironworks.
When he arrived, he saw Wang Quan shrinking back timidly, afraid to come forward and speak. That told him Tie Er hadn’t been lying. He didn’t bother settling accounts with anyone first and rushed straight toward the storeroom, wanting to see what had been taken.
But when he got there, he found the heavy lock hanging firmly from the door.
Chen Hu was sharp-eyed indeed; at a glance, he could tell that this was not the lock they had before.
“What happened here?”
Wang Quan didn’t dare say a word. Tie Da, who knew nothing of what had happened and had just been praised by Duan Yan, became rather pleased with himself when Chen Hu asked.
“I forged this new lock myself. It’s every bit as good as the old one. Big Brother said so too. Don’t worry, Brother Hu—it’ll keep the place secure!”
“Where’s the key?”
Tie Da answered as though it were nothing unusual, “Big Brother took it.”
Chen Hu’s vision didn’t merely go black; a rush of blood shot straight to the crown of his head.
“Are you all useless? You can’t even keep an eye on a storeroom! With the epidemic raging outside, you’ll all be starving before long!”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Brother Hu? Big Brother didn’t haul away all the grain. There’s still some stored here.”
Tie Da continued, “Besides, all he did was replace the lock. The key to the storeroom is with Big Brother—not in some outsider’s hands. What are you so angry about, Brother Hu?”
Chen Hu was left speechless. Facing this useless bunch, whose loyalties still weren’t entirely aligned, he was truly furious. In his momentary rage, he had even forgotten to keep up appearances.
“You think I’m angry because Big Brother took the key? Are you an idiot? I’m angry at that Song fellow, filling Big Brother’s head with malicious nonsense and egging him on to do one thing after another! Today he even got him to smash the storeroom lock and replace it. Who knows what else he’ll trick Big Brother into doing tomorrow!”
“Big Brother has always been prone to losing his head over matters involving women and children. I was gone for only a little while, and none of you even knew enough to advise him!”
Chen Hu roared, “I say, every last one of you is just waiting for Big Brother to stumble so you can profit from it!”
He was always good at turning the blame on others. The men in the room who supported Duan Yan were scolded into feeling guilty, and those who had already switched sides to Chen Hu naturally kept silent. The more clear-headed among them, who had yet to decide which side to take, also didn’t dare say anything that might later be used against them.
Chen Hu ranted for a while, then smashed two stools in his fury, yet the anger in his heart still hadn’t abated.
It had been bad enough suffering a setback in Little Yan’er Village that day. He hadn’t expected to come home to something even more infuriating. How could he not throw a fit?
“Brother Hu, please calm down. Don’t work yourself into a rage and ruin your health.”
By nightfall, Chen Hu had returned to his room. Wang Quan approached obsequiously, carrying a bowl of cooling tea.
Chen Hu snatched the bowl and hurled it at him, tea and all. Though the tea was cold, the bowl striking his body still hurt terribly.
Wang Quan bore the pain in silence, not daring even to let out a heavy breath.
“I’ve never treated you badly, Wang Si. Back when your mother was deathly ill, you went to Duan Yan for help. And how did he treat you? He brushed you off with empty assurances, with his whole heart set on that lover of his. He nearly let your mother die without lifting a finger.”
Chen Hu narrowed his eyes.
“If I hadn’t found a doctor for you, the grass on your mother’s grave would already be three feet tall!”
Wang Quan immediately dropped to his knees.
“I have never forgotten how good you’ve been to me, Brother Hu—not for a moment. Today I was alone at the shop. I tried to stop them several times, but not a single person helped me speak up. I truly was powerless.”
Chen Hu gave a cold snort.
“Whether you were powerless or whether there was some other reason, you know that better than anyone.”
He leaned toward Wang Quan, looking every bit like a venomous snake. “I’ll tell you this much: you and I are in the same boat now. If either of us loses focus, neither of us will come to a good end. And since you’re such a filial son, you surely can’t bear to leave your old mother’s illness unattended.”
Cold sweat broke out across Wang Quan’s back. He kept kowtowing to Chen Hu. “Brother Hu, please look after my old mother! Today’s failure was my fault. Give me another chance, Brother Hu—I’ll do anything!”
Listening to the dull thuds of Wang Quan’s forehead striking the floor, Chen Hu merely glanced at him coldly, giving no indication of what he was thinking.
He would get the storeroom key back sooner or later. There was no need to rush it today.
His trip to Little Wild Goose Village had not been solely for the grain shipment. He had also sought out a barefoot doctor to carry out his plans. The man had staked his life on the medicine’s safety; it was only a matter of how long it would take to work.
If he grew impatient and wanted results sooner, increasing the dosage once or twice would ensure success.
Feeling the medicine hidden in his sleeve, Chen Hu figured he probably would not have a chance to act for the time being.
Song Fengsui had followed that little wretch around and now had Duan Yan completely bewitched. Who knew how many vicious things he had said about him in Duan Yan’s presence? Otherwise, today’s events would never have happened.
Chen Hu fell silent, then turned his gaze back to Wang Quan. “Since you claim to be loyal, you can’t expect me to believe you on words alone.
“If you want me to trust you, then handle a task for me properly. Once it’s done, I won’t hold today’s failure against you—and there will be plenty of benefits for you in the future. As for your old mother, I’ll have the physician take good care of her myself.”
The poisonous look in Chen Hu’s eyes sent a shiver through Wang Quan. When he saw the medicine being placed in his hands, fear of the man’s ruthlessness seized him—and his heart sank straight to the bottom of an abyss…
