Dazhangzhuang is twenty miles west of Yongchuan City. It belongs to Zhuangzi who lives in Bancheng.
Zhuangzi is full of farmers, but they are not self-sufficient. Instead, they mainly eat vegetables, poultry and other fast-acting complementary foods. The goal is not to eat it yourself, but to sell it to the Yongchuan City market.
Therefore, although it is not in the city, the farmers in Dazhangzhuang are not poor. On the contrary, there are many big ones. There are even five or six families out of ten who will send their children to the Mengxu School. It's not about pursuing an official career just to get some fame. But simply to be able to read, write and do arithmetic to lay the foundation for taking over the business in Zhuangzi in the future. Otherwise, even the bookkeepers wouldn't be able to pay back the business.
Over a long period of time, for the people of Dazhangzhuang, supplying goods to Yongchuan City is no longer a matter for one household, but a common event for everyone in the village. Sometimes there may be disagreements or pulls internally, but externally, we are always of the same mind.
Since many years ago, no girl from Dazhangzhuang has ever married again. The men in Zhuangzi also prefer the girls in Zhuangzi, and if they don't have them, they still marry them. Even if a girl from Yongchuan City marries to Dazhangzhuang, she will end up in Fuwowo.
Having money, being able to read and write, and being united gives people in Dazhangzhuang a kind of inner self-confidence. Older people can still build up their confidence. The young ones are not only confident, but sometimes even a little arrogant. It becomes even more obvious when it comes to the baby. There are many brothers from the same village in Dazhangzhuang in the school. They eat well and have stronger bodies than their peers, so they always go sideways when fighting. When meeting a "child from a bad family", my sense of justice is overwhelming, and I feel uncomfortable if I don't teach the other person a lesson.
Of course, children can't imagine the consequences. In their eyes, they are "righteous" and not "bullies". So much so that after being beaten in turn, I still felt aggrieved and unwilling, and was surprised that "a child from a bad family" dared to fight back! When I got home, I told my family about my unwillingness, hoping to get their comfort and new strong support. Because the "children from bad families" they know are also what adults tell them.
But who would have expected that when these children from Dazhangzhuang told their families the news and reasons for being beaten, what they received was not comfort, but scoldings. After the scolding was over, it was time to keep in touch and make contacts in various markets.
This takes time. So when Bailang went to the academy, several families in Dazhang Village were trying to find out about him. The whole day passed like this. By night, Bailang's background would be fully figured out.
"What are you afraid of? He's just a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old kid! He was lucky enough to get into the knife shop, so what's the point? No matter what happens this time, he will have to pay for the soup and medicine for our kids. ! It’s best to force him to take his beating dog home and stop him from going to school!”
"Tsk, this is good. How about Zhang Bing, support yourself and tell that Bailang?"
"I'm going to support you? This is our big face, so I'm going to come up with an idea. How can I support you? It's up to the elders of the clan to come forward. Or we can go find the guy surnamed Bai together."
There were several elders sitting in the clan hall in Dazhangzhuang, as well as some young and middle-aged people.
After the people who had just gone out to inquire about the news came back, there was a reaction that was opposite to everyone's fear at first. After all, a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old was just a street kid at the bottom of the sword shop, so he had no reason to be afraid of the huge Dazhangzhuang. On the contrary, if Dazhangzhuang can handle it well this time, he can still make a fortune.
But the differences were significant from the beginning.
"Do you think the streetwalkers are not from the knife studio? Or do the knife studios just recruit streetwalkers casually and then ignore them?"
"So what? There is no way that the knife shop will have a conflict with our Da Zhangzhuang over street wanderers, right? There's no way we can do that! And we are being reasonable this time!"
Those who advocate tougher measures are younger bankers, including five bankers whose children were beaten. Even if you don't force the other party to apologize and admit defeat, you still have to make the other party take a soft drink and pay for the medicine. My child cannot be beaten in vain.
The other side has a different view.
"What makes you think Dazhangzhuang can challenge the Knife Hall? It's true that the Knife Hall's territory is limited to the city, but if we take the initiative to provoke the people from the Knife Hall, they won't have to worry about the territory. Dazhang Zhuang is just a piece of fat, if he really falls into the hands of the knife studio, everything will be over!"
"That's right. Aren't your children the ones who beat up first a few days ago? Now the other party just beats him back. No one can say that he has suffered a loss. It's better not to look for trouble. Zhuang Zilian Isn’t it good to run a stable business and make money? What are you pretending to do?”
Even those who are a little older don't think it's completely unnecessary to have a conflict with the people in the knife studio over such a trivial matter. Even if this matter is separated, it was the child on his side who made the first move, beating someone else first, and then being beaten back. Isn’t this considered a disadvantage no matter how you look at it?
He didn't suffer any loss, but he was clamoring to force a serious street wanderer. Isn't this pretending?
"Besides, you are still talking about "reason" here. I'm afraid you will be laughed to death by the people in the knife studio. Will the knife studio be able to reason with people?"
The two sides were at loggerheads. The last few elders, that is, a few clan elders, raised their hands to interrupt the argument.
With a wave of his hand, all the people who were not the core members of the village dispersed, leaving only a few key members. Only then did the clan elders speak.
"It took several generations for Dazhangzhuang to reach its current scale. But Zhuangzi is already so big, and now it has basically reached its peak." One of the oldest old men wearing a soft hat spoke first with a tired voice.
"If you want to take Dazhangzhuang to the next level, you must go to the city. Several stewards of the City Lord's Mansion have been around for many years. They have mentioned it openly and secretly. After all, the sword shop is not on the stage, but Dazhangzhuang is open and aboveboard. It's a great thing not to have any contact with the Knife Hall scene. As long as we have a firm foothold, Dazhangzhuang will have new room for development in the future.
This time, to put it bluntly, things are a bit more serious. But it's just for exploring. Look at the attitude of the sword shop and the attitude of the city lord's palace. "
"Old man from a wealthy family, is this appropriate? You and I have seen the ferocity of the knife studio many times when we were young. If you don't do it right, you will end up playing with fire and burning yourself!"
"Of course there is danger. But it is controllable. Because in the end it is still the baby's business. If something goes wrong, just come to the door and apologize and settle the matter. Even if the knife studio wants to bully you, there is no excuse, otherwise the city lord's palace will not Let the knife shop be unrestricted.”
"So, you can try this time, but you can't give the other party any leverage. Is this what you mean?"
"That's right. Just grab him and get beaten and ask for compensation. Isn't that street wanderer poor? I want more. It depends on how he reacts."
...
