The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“If both of you continue to blabber nonsense, just get out, and forget about asking me for help!”

Zhao Liu and Zhao Sanke immediately became flustered.

Zhao Ziping was the only scholar in the village. When anyone in the village needed to write Spring Festival couplets or a letter, they relied on Zhao Ziping.

Zhao Liu and Zhao Sanke, uncle and nephew, had an elder uncle who conducted business in the city. They wanted to seize the opportunity to go and find some work there, but they weren’t sure if their uncle would accept them. So, they planned to write him a letter first to see if he would reply.

If he replied, it would mean he was willing to lend a hand to his relatives back in his hometown. If he didn’t, it would mean he didn’t want anything to do with these poor relatives, and they would feel ashamed if they went there anyway. So they wouldn’t go.

But for this letter writing, they needed someone else’s help because they couldn’t write themselves. Hiring someone in town to write the letter would cost twenty to thirty coins, and there wasn’t even a guarantee that it would be good. If they wanted a scholar to write it, it would cost forty to fifty coins.

The cost was exorbitant, and the two brothers were reluctant to part with that much. They ultimately decided to rely on Zhao Ziping. They brought two freshly killed quails and some wine to him as a bribe.

However, Zhao Ziping refused the quails and the wine. He said that he would help them write the letter, but they had to accompany him on a little task. If they could complete this task he had in mind, he would write the letter and also handle all the writing needs for their family in the future, for all occasions.

The two brothers thought about it and agreed. Then, under the cover of darkness, they followed Zhao Ziping stealthily till they reached the outskirts of Enji Village. That’s how the earlier incident took place.

The two brothers, seeing Zhao Ziping genuinely angry, hurriedly tried to pacify him with their laughter.

“Brother Ziping, don’t be upset. We were just talking for the sake of talking.”

“Hmm.” Zhao Ziping grunted coldly. “If you keep fooling around here, both of you can leave.”

“We wouldn’t dare, we wouldn’t dare. Brother Ziping, whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do it. If you say go east, I certainly wouldn’t dare to go west.” Zhao Liu said, laughing nervously.

“That’s more like it.” Zhao Ziping’s expression somewhat softened. “Remember this. Later, Liu, you go and knock on the door. After you’ve knocked, hide to one side. If it seems deserted, that wretched girl will definitely come out and take a careful look.”

“As soon as that wretched girl steps outside the door, Sanke, you and I will put this sack over her. After we’ve covered her, I’ll grab her head, and you grab her feet. We’ll carry her to the persimmon forest outside.”

“Remember, you need to be swift and prompt. Don’t let the wretched girl scream. The people in Enji Village are all cunning. If she screams, the entire village will probably come running. Then none of us could escape.”

The last time when the people of Enji Village had treated him to a good beating, Zhao Ziping was somewhat apprehensive. He didn’t want to repeat the same mistake.

“Okay.” Both Zhao Sanke and Zhao Liu nodded in agreement.

“Brother Ziping, once we’ve trapped her in the sack, we could just give her a good beating right there and get our anger out. Why should we carry her to the persimmon forest to beat her there? Isn’t that like taking off one’s pants to fart, unnecessary?”

Zhao Liu asked, somewhat puzzled.

“You don’t have a clue!” Zhao Ziping glared at him. “Are you afraid that the people in Enji Village won’t come quickly enough, or that you won’t get beaten enough if we beat her at the door?”

“If we carry her to the persimmon forest, we can give her a severe beating. Afterwards, no one will be able to identify who did it. No one to blame, and they will have to suffer the loss in silence. Do I have to teach you this?”

The main thing was Zhuang Qingning was so beautiful, much better-looking than Zhou Daya, certainly tastier than Zhou Daya.

Once this was done, Zhuang Qingning would truly be his, and all the workshops in Enji Village would become his. That’s when he would be free to do whatever he wants.

He wondered why he didn’t understand the principle of ‘catch the leader first’ before, and why he involved himself with Zhou Daya, which only brought trouble upon him.

He had to successfully accomplish this task now so that Zhao Qiancheng, who always scolded him, could witness his capabilities and he could finally hold his head high and puff out his chest.

But he didn’t dare share this plan with Zhao Liu and Zhao Sanke.

Firstly, he was afraid that things would go awry if they used the knowledge of his intentions against him and tried to exploit him. Secondly, he feared that these two timid fellows would get scared and run away upon learning that they had more than just a simple bonking task to deal with. That would ruin his plan.

Upon hearing Zhao Ziping’s rebuke, Zhao Liu realized the logic behind it and stopped asking further questions. He simply smiled and said, “That makes sense…”

The three men huddled behind the tung tree, planning to start their operation once it was completely dark.

Out in the open, the wind was whistling. Even though all three of them were wearing thick cotton-padded jackets, they were all nearly frozen stiff. They had to keep pacing back and forth in place, hoping to keep their bodies warm.

“There are people here, Big Brother, Second Brother, come quickly, there are people here.” Suddenly, a shout rang out from nearby.

Zhao Ziping and the others, startled, thought that their plot had been discovered and prepared to run off. But before they could, they bumped into another person.

This person was tall and large, standing there like a wall. The collision didn’t move him at all. Instead, Zhao Ziping and the others tumbled head over heels.

“Why are you running?” Hu Er scratched his ears.

“Nothing, nothing…” Zhao Ziping recovered fastest, scrambled up from the ground, and looked over the human wall in the dim moonlight and starlight.

This man was strongly built, and his face was terrifying, especially with a faint scar on his cheek that seemed to be recent. At first glance, he didn’t seem to be a regular farmer but resembled someone who made a living on the edge of a knife.

Thereafter, two others, who looked similar to him, joined him. The person in front had a bearded face, which was full of ferocity. Seeing him would instantly make one’s legs tremble in fear.

“Good sirs, good sirs.” Zhao Ziping hastily made several gestures of salute, “We’re from a nearby village. We usually farm for a living. Working all year round, we don’t get much grain, and can’t make much money. Our purses are empty, so we can’t really give a tribute to you fine gentlemen.”

“Sirs, if you wish to find some drinking money, you’ve chosen the wrong targets…perhaps, you could try elsewhere and see whether you can make a fortune?”

“Oh, right, if you go in that direction, there’s a place called Enji Village. Enji Village is greatly prosperous. There are several workshops in the village that are making substantial profits. Especially the one owned by Zhuang Qingning, who is tremendously wealthy from running both workshops and shops!”

“I also heard that there are only two girls in Zhuang Qingning’s household and no men. It’s very easy to take advantage of that situation. Sirs, if it doesn’t work out here, why not try that place?”