Chapter 22: To Think Such Words Would Come from a Stern Father

The middle-aged police officer slapped his thigh, a smile breaking across his face. "That’s a brilliant idea!"

"If those hooligans can be taken off the streets, the townspeople will certainly come forward with evidence of their crimes."

The primary reason residents dared not testify against these thugs was the fear of retaliation. If those ruffians were locked away for life or faced the firing squad, the townspeople would surely be willing to provide statements about their misdeeds.

After filing their reports, Xiao Heshuo and Yan Ziyue left the police station and continued toward the marketplace. Yan Ziyue did not ask how he knew the police; it was a good thing, and she saw no need to press for details. Besides, everyone had their own little secrets. As long as those secrets did not interfere with their marriage, it didn't matter.

The couple reached the area where the stalls were set up. It was a large, open lot on the northwest side of town where locals from the town and surrounding villages gathered to trade.

Yan Ziyue surveyed the scene. It was chaotic. Stalls were scattered haphazardly—some vendors carried their goods in baskets on their backs, while others balanced them on shoulder poles. Buyers wandered about, haggling or arguing over prices. There was barely a place to stand, and the air hung heavy with a strange, unpleasant odor. The ground was damp and filthy, littered with chicken, duck, and goose droppings, along with trampled vegetable leaves.

Yan Ziyue thought, *Forget about setting up a stall here.* It wasn't just her distaste for the conditions; it was impractical. Not only was it difficult to make sales in such a mess, but goods were easily stolen. She had just seen someone swipe an item from a neighbor's stall.

"Let's go," Xiao Heshuo said, shielding her and leading her away from the market, unwilling to let her linger in such a place.

Yan Ziyue sighed. "If I can't set up a stall, how am I supposed to make money?"

Xiao Heshuo wanted to say, "I'll take care of you," but he could see that Yan Ziyue was fiercely independent. She didn't want to be supported for life; she wanted to earn her own way.

"You don't have to use a stall to make money," he reassured her. "Take me, for example. Whenever I have game, I sell it directly to the shops in town. I never use the market."

Market prices were low, and it was easy for people to cheat you.

Yan Ziyue’s eyes brightened. "Honey, I heard that many shops in town buy all sorts of supplies. Is that true?"

Xiao Heshuo nodded. "Especially the food stalls; they need a lot of ingredients. They actually prefer buying from villagers rather than in town because it's cheaper and the quality is better."

With that, an idea took root. She pulled Xiao Heshuo along as they strolled slowly through town, asking the food shops if they were looking for suppliers. Some shopkeepers were impatient and dismissive, some ignored her, others offered a few words, and a few were overtly malicious.

"Get out, get out! One look and I can tell you're just some lowly villagers. Don't come near my shop and sully my business!"

"What are you selling? Will you be the one selling it yourself? Hahaha, if you're the one selling, I'll definitely buy!"

"I do buy ingredients, but I don't take just anything. I buy in bulk; I don't want to deal with small batches of ten or twenty. It's too much trouble."

After making the rounds, Yan Ziyue had a general idea of what the eateries needed: eggs, vegetables, fruits, and forest products. Forest goods were hard to gather and scarce. Fruits were non-existent in the village—nobody grew them; people just ate wild berries. Vegetables were grown by every household, but the quantities were small and the prices were easily driven down by buyers. Eggs, however, were abundant; every family kept chickens, ducks, and geese, hoarding the eggs for consumption, sale, or gifts.

Perhaps she could buy eggs in bulk at a low price and resell them in town. She could profit from the difference.

With a plan in mind, she continued to pull Xiao Heshuo toward the shops that required large quantities of eggs, finding suitable buyers and inquiring about their purchase prices and specific volume requirements. Seeing her so enthusiastic, Xiao Heshuo didn't stop her, even though he felt bad for her exhaustion.

...

By four in the afternoon, Yan Ziyue and Xiao Heshuo arrived home. Aside from the sugar they had bought, they had only eaten two bowls of meat noodles in town and nothing else. Yet, Yan Ziyue was thrilled. She had found a way to earn money!

"Honey, I'm going back to my room to study. What will you be doing?" she asked happily.

Xiao Heshuo looked at her with gentle eyes. "I'm going to prepare the rabbit. We'll have braised rabbit for dinner."

"And maybe an egg drop soup—that should be enough for the two of us."

Yan Ziyue’s mouth watered at the thought of braised rabbit; it was truly delicious. "Hard work, honey! I'm going to study."

No sooner had she spoken than she heard her father’s overbearing voice.

"Yan Ziyue, get back home with me right now!"

Yan Ziyue glanced coldly at her father, who was standing at the gate of the courtyard. "I am at my home. Where else would I go?"

Her father pointed a finger at her nose, cursing, "You ungrateful wretch! Just because you're married, you don't recognize your own family anymore?"

Yan Ziyue replied indifferently, "What family? I suggest you stop spouting nonsense in broad daylight!"

Her father’s rage flared instantly. "You wicked creature! I'll beat you to death!" He raised his long tobacco pipe to strike her, but Xiao Heshuo caught his hand in mid-air. Staring at him with eyes like frozen pools, Xiao Heshuo said, "Tell me, what exactly do you think you're doing?"

Her father trembled in fear. He dropped a parting threat—"If you don't come home, Yan Ziyue, I'll destroy your mother's grave"—and fled.

Yan Ziyue was so angry she could have killed him. "Beast!"

"Don't be angry," Xiao Heshuo comforted her softly. "If he really dares to do that, I will deal with him."

Yan Ziyue shook her head. "I don't want my mother to be denied peace even after death. Will you come with me to check on the situation?"

Just as Xiao Heshuo nodded, they heard Miao Lanlan’s booming voice.

"Xiao’s wife, are you there? I have to tell you something!"

Miao Lanlan rushed in like a gust of wind and grabbed Yan Ziyue’s hand. "Some strangers have arrived at your father’s house. They aren't from our village, nor the next one over."

"I've been watching, and your father’s family seems especially happy to see them, like they've just picked up a fortune."

"But those people don't look well-off... there are five of them in total: four young men and a middle-aged woman with a very mean face."

As Yan Ziyue listened, a suspicion formed, and her eyes glinted with sharp light. "Sister Miao, my father just threatened me with my mother’s grave, demanding I go to the Yan house."

Miao Lanlan had seen her fair share of filth. "Could it be that they're planning something terrible for you? Does it have to do with those people who arrived?"