TATSD Chapter 62

Ji Wei stopped Liu Qing’s actions by jamming a door bolt and standing firmly in front of the fabric shop. The shop clerk was stunned by the scene unfolding before him, standing there pale and speechless.

“What are you standing around for? Go get a doctor for your boss!” Ji Wei shouted. The clerk snapped back to his senses, quickly bent down to carry Chen Dafu on his back, and yelled for people to make way as he rushed toward Xinglin Hall.

After the clerk left with Chen Dafu, Ji Wei squatted down, patted Liu Qing’s cheek, and said with a grin, “You never thought you’d see this day, did you?”

Liu Qing glared at Ji Wei, his bloodshot eyes filled with intense hatred. Seizing the moment while Ji Wei was speaking, Liu Qing spat at him, but Ji Wei easily dodged it.

Liu Qing’s face showed a hint of regret.

“Missed, what a pity.”

Ji Wei mocked him, “You won’t get many more chances. Beating someone to the point of serious injury in broad daylight—what do you think Lord Lu will sentence you to? Five years? Ten years? Or maybe hard labor on the border?”

“Ji Wei! Your time is coming! Do you think you’re so great? Sun Hong doesn’t even consider you a threat! Just wait, I’ll be seeing you soon!” Liu Qing sneered, his throat producing a rasping sound, as he writhed on the ground, half-mad.

But with a door bolt still pinning his arm, the more he struggled, the more his arm hurt. In his crazed state, though, Liu Qing barely noticed the pain, which only fueled his agitation further.

Unable to move his limbs, Liu Qing resorted to hurling insults for quite some time, until his voice went hoarse. Eventually, he was tied up tightly and thrown into the middle of the street.

“Serves you right!” someone shouted.

“You’ve done so many wicked things, now heaven has finally opened its eyes!”

“Let’s see how you’ll bully us now!”

A skinny middle-aged man, seizing the moment, spat in Liu Qing’s face before quickly covering his own and running off, fearing retaliation.

But his action only encouraged more people, who became excited and followed suit, spitting at Liu Qing in turn.

When Constable Zhu hurried over, Liu Qing was lying on the ground, covered in filth—blood, spit, rotten vegetables, and eggs. He looked more like a beggar than the once-feared figure he used to be.

“Who did this?” Constable Zhu asked in surprise, crouching down and flipping Liu Qing over with his sword. Liu Qing yelped in pain as his broken arm was pressed against the ground.

It was only then that Constable Zhu noticed Liu Qing’s arm was fractured.

“It was me,” Ji Wei raised his hand. His other hand, which was being tightly held by Liu Yimian, showed a bit of nervousness as they both watched Constable Zhu get to his feet.

“Acting bravely for justice is commendable!” Constable Zhu said with a rare smile, addressing the onlookers. “I hope all of you follow Ji Wei’s example in the future. We’re all neighbors here—when something happens, we should help, not scatter like cowards!”

It was clear that he had already been briefed on the whole situation before arriving.

Many in the crowd lowered their heads in shame.

“Anything else, Constable Zhu?” Ji Wei asked.

“Why?”

“I only came to see what was happening. Now that the excitement’s over, I should get going.”

Ji Wei lifted the hand that Liu Yimian was holding. Noticing Constable Zhu’s knowing smile, Liu Yimian blushed and let go, awkwardly twisting his hands behind his back as he took a step back.

“Alright, nothing more. You go take care of your business,” Constable Zhu said, laughing as he waved Ji Wei off, before turning to Liu Qing, grabbing the rope tied around him, and hauling him up from the ground.

As they were about to leave North Street, Ji Wei paused and asked, “You’ve never been to North Street before, have you?”

Longliu Town wasn’t too big or too small. It only took fifteen minutes to walk from West Alley to East Street but to get to North Street, you had to go through three alleys, which took about half an hour. Normally, West and South Streets provided everything people needed, so Liu Yimian had never been to North Street before.

He gave a slight nod, and Ji Wei grabbed his wrist.

“Come on, let’s take a stroll around North Street!”

North Street was lined with shops, though not as bustling as East and West Streets, and the area felt quieter. However, the people walking around were more well-dressed and appeared wealthier, suggesting that those who shopped here were relatively affluent.

“Brother Ji, why don’t we head back?” Liu Yimian tugged at Ji Wei’s arm. Just looking at the shops made it clear they weren’t cheap.

Liu Yimian had already bought a few books on South Street and didn’t want to spend more, so he tried to pull Ji Wei away.

“You’re sweating a lot. Is the sun too strong for you?” Ji Wei asked, wiping the sweat from Liu Yimian’s forehead. He pointed to a small tea house ahead and said, “Let’s go have a drink before we head back.”

Seeing Liu Yimian hesitate, Ji Wei playfully flicked his forehead and laughed, “Tea doesn’t cost much! You think I can’t afford that? Come on, we don’t get to go out often.”

Since Ji Wei insisted, Liu Yimian couldn’t refuse, and they followed him into the tea house.

Inside, there were only three people. Two of them, upon seeing new customers, got up to serve, indicating that only one person was a customer, sitting quietly in a corner.

“What would you like to eat or drink?” The middle-aged man who approached them was the shopkeeper, with a face that looked perpetually burdened with sorrow. Only when he smiled did he seem more friendly.

“We have tea, wine, cakes, and snacks like peanuts—all quite affordable. Please, sit wherever you like.”

The two chose a spot by the wall.

Ji Wei glanced around. The tea house wasn’t large, only about twenty paces long and five or six wide, but with so few customers, it felt more spacious than it was.

“Two bowls of cold tea. Nothing else,” Ji Wei said.

The middle-aged man called out to the woman in the back, then turned back to them and said, “If you need anything else, just let me know. I’ll be sitting right over there,” pointing to a seat two tables away.

“When does the shop usually open? It seems like there aren’t many customers,” Ji Wei asked casually, causing the man to let out a bitter laugh. Paired with his already gloomy face, he looked even more downcast.

“Business was just okay before, but in the past year or two, it’s gotten worse.”

“Did a new shop open nearby?”

“Not exactly.”

The middle-aged shopkeeper had a lot to get off his chest, and since Ji Wei asked, he started from the beginning.

This tea house originally sold wine, but no one on this street could compete with Jiu Li Xiang. Their wine was so famous that people from all four streets would flock there.

To keep his shop afloat, the shopkeeper switched to selling tea. But how many people come to North Street just to drink tea?

No matter what he did, it wasn’t working. The shop had no specialties, and its location was tucked away in a corner, so the business grew colder by the day.

Even the one customer here today only stopped by because the tea was cheap. If he saw five or six customers in a day, that was considered a good day.

“This shop isn’t even ours,” the shopkeeper continued. “We renewed the lease for one more year, but now it looks like we won’t even last a month.” As he spoke, he saw the cold tea being brought out from the back and hurried over to serve Ji Wei and Liu Yimian.

“Have you thought about subletting?”

“Of course I have, but the shop is small and comes with a huge backyard. Who would want that?”

The shopkeeper wasn’t a local, and his entire family lived in the backyard. But the locals in Changliu Town had their own homes and wouldn’t move into such a noisy place near a busy street.

The rent on North Street was already two parts higher than elsewhere, and the shops with backyards were even more expensive and noisy. No local in their right mind would take over.

“Oh? This shop has a backyard too?” Ji Wei’s interest was piqued.

“Yes, see, the shop is on the edge, connected to the North Second Alley, which leaves a bit of open space.”

Ji Wei finished his tea in one gulp and asked, “Can I take a look?”

“Hmm?” The shopkeeper was a bit surprised, but since he had nothing else to do, he nodded and led Ji Wei and Liu Yimian behind the curtain to the backyard.

From the front, you couldn’t tell how big the yard was. It had an irregular shape—narrow at first but growing wider as you walked further in. At the back, there were two small rooms with several wooden racks out front, drying herbs.

“The yard’s not bad. We mostly use it to dry herbs and blankets, but that’s about it,” the shopkeeper said, turning over the drying herbs on one of the racks.

“The rent’s not cheap, though. Even for this corner location, it’s three taels of silver a year. But with business this slow, we can’t even cover the rent.” Talking about it made the shopkeeper visibly more frustrated.

Realizing that he had been complaining for too long, he quickly turned back to his guests, saying, “Look at me, going on and on. There’s nothing much to see here. How about we head back inside, and you can order something to eat? I’ll make it for you.” He gestured for them to return to the main hall. Ji Wei didn’t say much and led Liu Yimian back out.

“Brother Ji, what are you thinking?” Liu Yimian asked. If there was one thing he’d learned from following Ji Wei closely, it was how to read his thoughts.

He hadn’t asked directly, but he had been observing Ji Wei’s every reaction, especially when the shopkeeper mentioned the details of the shop. Ji Wei had looked particularly serious and interested.

“What do you think of the shop?” Ji Wei whispered into Liu Yimian’s ear, leaning so close that his warm breath made Liu Yimian’s ears burn.

Liu Yimian gave him a reproachful look as if to say, “Why do you have to get so close when you talk?”

But worried the shopkeeper might hear, he lowered his voice and whispered back, “Brother Ji, are you interested in this shop?”

“Yes, you noticed? You are sharp, Mianmian.”

“Anyone could see it! You were practically glowing when you kept asking him questions!” Liu Yimian teased, covering his mouth as he giggled.

Ji Wei shook his head with a smile, “Was it really that obvious?”

“Absolutely!”

“Fine, I guess it was that obvious. You caught me, clever little thing.” Ji Wei laughed and called the shopkeeper over, ordering some pastries and another round of tea.

Since Ji Wei ordered more, the shopkeeper became even more hospitable. Whatever Ji Wei wanted to talk about, the shopkeeper answered eagerly.

The two of them had only planned to take a quick rest and drink some tea, but by the time they left, an hour had passed, and it was almost noon.

As they were about to leave, Ji Wei called the shopkeeper over and asked, “How should I address you?”

The shopkeeper, having had such a pleasant conversation, didn’t hesitate. “My surname is An, and my name is just a simple ‘Hui.’ Feel free to stop by anytime, even if it’s just for a bowl of tea.”

Ji Wei responded with a smile, “I’ll be sure to do that.”