Chapter 812 - 814: I’ll Never Dare Again_1
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "Then mention it to your brother-in-law when you have the chance. Unfortunately, he can’t come today, so you’ll just have to bear the beating." Having said that, she gestured for Cui Fan and the others to continue the beating.
Zhou Chuang and the farmers all stepped aside, feeling a great sense of satisfaction and began hawking their approval. When Bai Ruozhu saw someone was injured, she called for the injured to come one by one for treatment.
Some had skinned injuries that bled, some had severe bruises, and one had dislocated his wrist. Bai Ruozhu treated the dislocation first, then bandaged the bleeding, applied medicine where necessary, and later sent someone to bring bruise-relieving wine, urging those with bruises to rub some on.
The group of farmers was deeply touched and wanted to kneel to show their gratitude. Bai Ruozhu was startled; she wasn’t used to people kneeling before her and quickly said, "Get up quickly, or I’ll get angry."
A farmer wiped the corner of his eye and said, "Miss, you truly are a good person. Others might look down upon us farmers, yet you treat our injuries and send us medicine."
Bai Ruozhu shook her head and said, "What are you thinking? My family is from a farming background; my parents and brother all started out tilling the soil. Even if we become prosperous, we will never look down upon our brothers from farming families. You came to help us at our invitation, and you got injured because of my family. I should be thanking you."
Having finished speaking, she bowed in the manner of men, "Thank you all for your help today, and especially for protecting Uncle Zhou."
She had been deeply moved at first glance; Uncle Zhou’s head was covered in blood, and despite the risk of injury, the farmers had kept protecting him. They were merely hired to till the fields for the Bai Family. Even if they hadn’t helped in the fight, it wouldn’t have been wrong, but they risked their safety for Uncle Zhou and the fields. Just for that, she felt heartfelt gratitude towards them.
Bai Yihong felt immensely proud at this moment because his daughter’s words filled him with pride. Yes, they were from a farmer’s family, people who eked out a living from the soil. No matter how wealthy they became, they would never forget the earth nor look down upon brothers who also toiled in it.
Seeing that Bai Ruozhu wouldn’t allow them to kneel, one of the farmers copied her gesture and bowed to her and Bai Yihong, saying, "Receiving favor from the master’s family is my good fortune."
The others followed suit, bowing one after another to express their gratitude.
Meanwhile, Zhou Buren and others who had been beaten could no longer even grunt. Bai Ruozhu felt it was enough and said, "All right, that’s enough. Stop hitting them."
She walked step by step towards Zhou Buren and stepped on his pig claws. At that time, it was rare for middle-class rural families to have someone overweight due to the coarse grains and vegetables in their diet, the scarcity of meat, and the physical labor they did in the fields year-round, which would make them sturdy rather than fat.
Zhou Buren, however, was noticeably fatter than most, indicating his habitual indulgence and his infrequent participation in farming activities.
"Ah, merciful lady, please spare me!" Zhou Buren cried out in agony, feeling as if each of his fingers were breaking one by one.
"Speak, why did you come to my family’s property to cause trouble?" Bai Ruozhu asked coldly, increasing the pressure on her foot slightly as if to say that if he didn’t speak honestly, he could forget about keeping his hand.
Zhou Buren dared not hesitate any longer and hurriedly said, "It was foolishness induced by gluttony. I heard your family was from out of town and wanted to cause you trouble, hoping to later extort some protection money."
"Who is this brother-in-law you mentioned earlier?" Bai Ruozhu asked.
Zhou Buren clearly hesitated for a moment, and his cries of pain soon followed. The pain from his fingers was throbbing as Bai Ruozhu applied even a little more force.
"I’ll tell you, my younger sister is Wu Xu’s concubine; he is a thousand-household officer in the Northwest infantry camp, so..." he trailed off, his voice growing softer.
Bai Ruozhu sneered, "Can you call the family of a concubine ’brother-in-law’? Your family rules are really quite special."
Not to mention he wasn’t even a legitimate brother-in-law, but even if he were, so what? That Wu Xu’s officer rank was a sixth-rank in the Northwest Main Camp, he still had to follow Jiang Yichun’s orders.
"I... I was just panicked, I deserve to die. Please, my lady, forgive me this once, I’ll never dare to cause trouble again," Zhou Buren cried out in pain, starting to sob.
Bai Yihong interjected, "You can’t bully the other Farmers either. It’s not easy for anyone to farm and eat, what you’re doing is detestable, getting something for nothing."
"Absolutely, absolutely, I’ll never dare again!" Zhou Buren cried out.
Bai Ruozhu then released his pig claws and said to Cui Fan, "Tell them to get lost. If they dare to cause trouble at the Bai Family again, it won’t be just a beating they get, next time it’ll be broken arms and legs."
Zhou Buren was so badly beaten that his mother wouldn’t recognize him. He lay on the ground, unable to stand up for a long time. Some who could barely stand helped him up in a hurry and left. Seeing the pathetic state of these men, some Farmers couldn’t help but laugh, followed by many others laughing out loud. These straightforward folks were hawking, telling Zhou Buren not to come back looking for a beating.
Bai Ruozhu turned to Cui Fan and his men, nodded, and said, "Not bad, quick response and good discipline. I hope it continues."
Cui Fan and the guards all showed joyful expressions. They had trained hard these days and finally received acknowledgment from their master.
Seeing that it was getting late and everyone was injured, Bai Ruozhu said to Zhou Deshun, "Uncle Zhou, let everyone rest for the day. Go home and take care of your injuries. Those who are seriously injured don’t need to work the fields tomorrow, wages will still be paid."
"Right, right, we’ll do just that," Zhou Deshun said happily.
While afterwards, Bai Ruozhu asked Cui Fan to arrange for several guards to stay behind. She then accompanied Zhou Chuang to send Zhou Deshun home. Zhou Auntie saw Zhou Deshun with a bandage on his head, frightened out of her wits. After hearing the details of the incident from Zhou Chuang, she sighed in relief, saying, "Thank goodness you arrived in time, Ruozhu."
Bai Ruozhu took Zhou Deshun’s wife’s hand and said, "Auntie, don’t worry. I’ve arranged for guards at the manor, such things won’t happen again."
Zhou Deshun’s wife nodded repeatedly, "That Zhou Buren really got what he deserved. He will suffer this time."
Bai Ruozhu sneered coldly, "He should be bedridden for over half a month, I guess."
Afterward, Bai Ruozhu gave Zhou Deshun’s wife some silver to distribute to the Farmers in the field, stating it was recuperation money from the main house. Then, she handed Cui Fan some silver, saying, "You take care of giving it to the guards below."
"On behalf of everyone, I thank the young miss for the reward," Cui Fan said joyfully.
She then passed a silver banknote to Cui Fan and said, "This is for you. You’ve led the team well, you deserve a reward! Save it for buying land, a house, and for your bride in the future."
Cui Fan blushed a little at her words, accepted the silver banknote, and thanked Bai Ruozhu again.
As Bai Ruozhu saw that things in the field were nearly sorted out, she pulled her father back to the house. However, as they reached the entrance, she could hear the piercing cries of women from inside the Yard, which sounded terrifyingly chilling...