Chapter 111: Revenge
Zhou Wangshu took the pastry tray from her hands and led her inside.
Su Yaoguang followed behind him and asked, "How are those Feng Chaoyang kids doing at Chen Buyu’s dance house?"
"Not bad." Zhou Wangshu pinched a piece of pastry and handed it to Su Yaoguang, "Do you want to see them?"
"I want to ask them for a small favor." Su Yaoguang said, "At this hour, the dance house should have quite a few people. I’m not sure if they’re available, if they can make time for me."
"What do you need them for? Tell me, maybe there’s another way to solve it."
"I want them to..." Su Yaoguang leaned closer to Zhou Wangshu and whispered a few words in his ear.
Zhou Wangshu’s ears were very sensitive, and being blown on like that made them ticklish; he resisted the urge to scratch them. After hearing her out, he rubbed his ears and looked at her strangely.
"Why do you need that thing?"
"It’s useful, don’t ask too many questions, kid."
Zhou Wangshu: "..."
"If it doesn’t work out, I’ll find some other street kids." Su Yaoguang said, "Those street kids probably know how to handle it."
"I’ll go find them; you wait at home for my news." Zhou Wangshu ate another piece of pastry and strode out the door.
Su Yaoguang felt a bit uneasy and grabbed Zhou Wangshu, "Why don’t I go with you? Places like the dance house are a bit unsafe."
Though now he wouldn’t be sold to shady places, there were many revelers coming in and out of the dance house, and possibly some shameless types eyeing that handsome face.
Zhou Wangshu smiled faintly, "The dance house belongs to Chen Buyu; the stewards and staff there all know me and won’t let me be bullied."
Does she really treat him like a kid raised by her?
Seeing his insistence, Su Yaoguang had no choice but to let go of him.
After Zhou Wangshu left, Zhang Zhaodi walked over mysteriously, "I went searching for a long time and found two."
With that, she dangled two rats by their tails in front of Su Yaoguang.
Su Yaoguang stepped back and said, "Mom, put them in a cage, don’t dangle them like that, it’s so dirty!"
"Go, go, throw them across the street."
"This is too little; I’ve already asked someone to bring more." Su Yaoguang said, "If we’re going to play, let’s play big."
In the early morning, a terrified scream echoed from the rooftops of Fenghua Pavilion.
It was still early, the skies hadn’t brightened. After the first scream, came the second, third, fourth... In no time, the whole Fenghua Pavilion was filled with screams rising and falling.
"What’s with the screaming so early in the morning?" came the grumbling voice of the blacksmith’s wife from next door.
Several other households also began to complain.
After all, the screams from Fenghua Pavilion not only didn’t cease but instead grew sharper.
The nearby families cursed under their breath as they got up, dressed, and went to Fenghua Pavilion to knock on the door.
The door opened, and Zhong Lanhua rushed out in a panic.
Following closely, Jiang Yihuan wrapped tightly in her clothes, ran out as well.
The shop was flooded with rats, which rampaged everywhere inside, scattering the merchandise all over. Not only that, but more rats poured out from the backyard.
"Oh my... is the whole ground filled with rats, did someone turn this into a rat nest?" The tofu shop owner’s wife covered her face, stepping back with disgust.
"Such a number of rats, must be no less than a hundred... ew, how dirty is your place to become a rat den."
"I saw their shop’s clothes, socks, shoes all overrun by rats, and even the face cloths, the rats nested on them and peed..."
The staff of Fenghua Pavilion also rushed out.
Xiao Yanci was still injured and had been recuperating at home for days; his face was swollen, clothes disheveled, and most importantly, when he opened his eyes he saw rats crawling all over him, causing him to fall from bed, crushing a few rats, staining his under-garments with their blood. He felt incredibly uncomfortable, like bugs were crawling everywhere on his body.
As Yang Quan came out, the neighboring families eyed him strangely.
"Is he another staff member of their shop? He sure looks ugly."
"Speaking of birthmarks, that girl at Taoyao Square has one too. These two shops are quite interesting, the bosses often rival each other, even the staff resemble each other."
Yang Quan shrank his neck, hiding behind Jiang Yihuan. He glanced towards Taoyao Square across the street.
"You guys... hurry and get rid of those disgusting things, quickly!" Zhong Lanhua shouted at the staff.
"Boss lady, it’s not just one or two, it’s hundreds, how can we handle them?" one of the staff spoke reluctantly.
"Then buy some rat poison." Xiao Yanci scratched at the skin on his chest. "I can’t take it anymore, I’m heading back to the academy for a wash."
He couldn’t stand it.
Just the thought of spending a night with rats, earlier crushed under them, made him feel nauseated, wanting to scrub off this layer of skin.
Across the street at Taoyao Square, Zhang Zhaodi watched the chaos from the window, laughing heartily. Zhang Pandi and her daughter, Zhang Yingdi and her husband, along with Su Yaoguang, Jiang Jing, and Zhou Wangshu, stood by the window watching the commotion.
They certainly wouldn’t miss such a good show. Plus, Zhou Wangshu had gone to great lengths for this spectacle, sneaking in the middle of the night with Su Yaoguang to deliver this gift.
Su Yaoguang turned to Zhou Wangshu, "That Chaoyang kid didn’t disappoint me. He did a great job this time; I’ll make him some pastry later to thank him and his brothers."
"I’ve already paid them." Zhou Wangshu said, "I offered two cents per rat."
"That’s fair; after all, it’s quite a skill, not everyone can do it." Su Yaoguang said, "Aren’t you exhausted? Why not take a day off and skip the academy today?"
Zhou Wangshu yawned, "I am a bit tired. I’ll go sleep for a while. There’s a zither lesson this morning; I don’t really like it, so I won’t attend, I’ll go in the afternoon."
"It’s a shame; I heard that Young Master Zizhan’s playing sounds quite pleasant. But if Wangshu doesn’t enjoy it, you don’t have to. Personal preference matters." Su Yaoguang consoled.
Zhou Wangshu looked at Su Yaoguang strangely, "Do you find Zizhan’s zither music pleasant?"
"I do!" Su Yaoguang said, "Although I don’t understand zithers, whenever I listen to him play, I feel at peace, my mind goes blank at that moment, not thinking of anything."
Zhang Zhaodi leaned in and said to Su Yaoguang, "What a pity, all those rats are meat, making them into dried rat meat is tasty."
Su Yaoguang: "...Mom, we aren’t short on money now, if you want to eat meat I’ll buy it for you, but let’s not eat that."
"I tell you, this is more satisfying than storming in to beat up Zhong Lanhua. Seeing the state of their shop, they must have lost quite a bit of silver. Zhong Lanhua’s heart must be bleeding now. Haha..."