Chapter 312 - 299: Rogue
“Big Sister Ning, watch out!” Zhang Qiuying suddenly shouted and instinctively leaped forward.
However, before she could reach them, she was stalled by the scene in front of her.
The muscular man’s punch aimed at Zhuang Qingning suddenly paused in mid-air.
And the reason it had stopped halfway was because it was blocked by the steelyard in Zhuang Qingning’s hand.
Visible to the naked eye were the muscles on the burly man’s forehead bulging, and his punch seemed restrained by the superior force exerted by Zhuang Qingning’s steelyard, seemingly unable to move.
At this moment, the burly man was also startled, his back covered in a cold sweat, he stared at Zhuang Qingning in disbelief.
Since he was a child, it was said that his strength was immense, capable of lifting what required two hands of an ordinary person. Even now, lifting an average-sized adult man was effortless. Hence, it was no problem for him to take down another muscular man of his size with a punch.
Yet, his forceful punch was intercepted by the young, slender girl before him. This seemed wholly contrary to logic.
What was even more illogical was that he was unable to lift his arm under the pressure of her steelyard. Even more so, she looked composed and relaxed, seemingly without any effort.
What kind of divine power did this Zhuang Qingning have?
Zhuang Qingning, seeing that the burly man’s face turned pale, couldn’t help but scoff.”Is this all you’ve got? Then I have to remind you, in the future, don’t casually pick a fight with anyone, lest you kick an iron plate and end up hurting yourself instead?”
The burly man’s face turned red with contempt, and he tried to kick Zhuang Qingning.
Zhuang Qingning simply dodged to one side and deftly removed the weight from her steelyard, striking forcefully at the burly man’s knee.
Screams resonated in the shop like a pig being slaughtered.
At this time, the other two burly men accompanying him were first taken aback and then attacked Zhuang Qingning in rage.
Zhuang Qingning took a deep breath, planning to subdue both men at the same time. However, she saw a red-hot item being thrown at them, causing them to jump and scamper, screaming aloud in chaos.
Mrs. Cao, who was on the side, holding a small charcoal basin, instructed Zhang Qiuying hurriedly, “Go., go., go to Ruyi Pavilion and call for someone to come.”
Zhang Qiuying, who was scared earlier, finally snapped back to reality. She dashed out and ran all the way to Ruyi Pavilion to get some help.
Zhuang Qingning moved from behind the counter to the front.
The three men saw Zhuang Qingning come out and they crowded her again. Zhuang Qingning’s steelyard in her hands moved swiftly, and soon, the three men were sporting a head full of bumps. Finally, with one swift kick per person, they were all knocked down.
By now, the three guys had been drained of energy, all they could do was wail with pain on the floor.
They were nothing more than common ruffians trying to stir up trouble with brute force.
Zhuang Qingning snorted coldly, picked up the tofu knife from the counter and then threw it on the ground.
The tofu made of brass, long and thin, was wedged into the ground made of blue bricks. The blade of the knife was reflecting the sunlight, giving off a chilling bright glow.
The man leading the group, seeing this, couldn’t help but shrink back. He hastily got up and knelt down before Zhuang Qingning, knocking his head to the ground repeatedly, begging, “Spare me, please, miss.”
“I was blind not to recognize such a great person, I have offended you. I beg for your mercy, you are a generous person, please forgive me this once.”
Seeing their leader like this, the other two men followed suit, begging for mercy while kneeling on the ground.
After all, this was a person who could pierce a tofu knife into a brick If the blade were to pierce their bodies, wouldn’t they either be disabled or dead?
They really regretted getting into this mess, why did they take up this job and upset such a person?
The more the three people thought about it, the more unfortunate it felt to them. They felt their client, who hired them to cause trouble here, either didn’t know about Zhuang Qingning’s strength or deliberately sent them to their doom.
“I asked earlier, who hired you? Can you tell me now?” Zhuang Qingning asked.
“Yes, yes, we’ll tell.”, the leading man nodded like a pecking chicken, hurriedly replying, “It was Feng Yongkang from Fushun Tower. He gave each of us two taels of silver, asking us to make trouble at the tofu shop. He said there is no need to rob or vandalise the shop, but simply to create an intimidating atmosphere here and inconvenience those who come to buy tofu.”
“If we get too bored, we could buy something and casually step on it or throw it around in the shop. He also said that as long as we do not assault anyone and pay for the damaged goods, nobody can find fault with us. Even if the pavilion chief comes, we only need to pay for the damages and apologize for the misunderstanding, so the pavilion chief also would not do anything to us.”
“Thinking that there’s no risk involved, we can casually cause a small disturbance and get some money, which would be enough for us to drink for a few days. Moreover, Feng Yongkang also said that if we can continue doing this regularly, he would increase the payment. So, we came…”
“We were blinded by the small profit, and in our ignorance, ended up offending such a formidable person. We are really sorry.”
Leading the group, the man took out the silver from his pocket and carefully placed it on the ground, “This is the money given by Feng Yongkang. I have not taken a penny from it. I offer it all to you, miss. I beg for your mercy and hope you can forget about our frivolous behavior.”
“Yes, please spare us, miss.” The other two were also beaten black and blue by now. Following the example set by their leader, they also quickly offered the silver, in hope that they won’t be beaten again.
So, it was Feng Yongkang who did this. It was quite interesting.
Not only was it interesting, his tactics were very cunning too.
Consistently causing ruckus at the tofu shop was meant to instill fear in people, making them believe that it was an unsafe place. As a result, people who usually prefer to steer clear of such troubles would naturally avoid the shop, reducing its customers and gradually affecting the business adversely.
This kind of troublemaking scene can be controlled, as these men had earlier explained. They would not physically harm anyone, just act disorderly and damage some goods. But they would not leave without a trace and instead would pay for the damages and apologize for causing any nuisance. Even if the pavilion chief takes care of the matters, it would not have a resolute conclusion.
This mode of operation is quite despicable. Any regular merchant would be helpless in such a situation, forced to watch helplessly as troublemakers ruin their business, and gradually see their shop’s prosperity decline.
It’s quite apparent that her shop was just the first step in Feng Yongkang’s plan, the next target being Ruyi Pavilion. By hiring a few diners to make a nuisance there, it would eventually tarnish the Pavilion’s reputation, significantly harming its business..