nagpurpolice Chapter 20 Face
Chapter 20 Face
It had gotten dark.
Du Ren lit the oil lamp and carefully trimmed the wick.
Gao Yuan stood there blankly, and seeing that Master Du didn't look at him again, he quickly looked at Du Ren and asked, "Senior Brother, how did I offend Master Du?"
"What's this about offending or not offending?" Du Ren sat in his chair, crossed his legs, and said with a smile, "But Young Master Gao, to be honest, you're both young and hot-tempered. It's inevitable that you'll have disagreements when you're in the same courtyard every day. And you're the son of Gao Dianshi, so you're used to being domineering. If you beat him up in the martial arts school, that's not a big deal. But if you wait until he leaves the school and then knock him out, that's none of my Du family's business."
Du Ren raised his head, the dim candlelight reflecting on his face. "But your biggest mistake was using your status to bring officials to my house to cause trouble!"
Gao Yuan looked aggrieved and said, "Senior brother, it really wasn't me who ordered it! Besides, the constables were after Meng Chen, not our martial arts school."
"But they kicked the gate of my Du Family Martial Arts School!" Du Zhong, who was usually kind and gentle, turned cold.
Gao Yuan was speechless for a moment.
Du Ren used a small pair of scissors to adjust the wick of the lamp and said, "Young Master Gao, your father is a clerk, so you often see people in officialdom. Although my family's martial arts school also needs to be on good terms with government officials, we are still people of the martial arts world."
"When we opened our school last year, martial arts schools from all over Qingshui County came to congratulate us. The respect our peers had for us was earned by my father fighting four matches; it was through sheer skill that we gained this reputation! Now that we've opened our school and taken on apprentices, we never expected that someone would kick down our door, and it was even brought in by one of our own students!"
Du Ren looked at Gao Yuan and said, "It's not a big deal for fellow disciples to have a quarrel, even if they fight in the middle of the night. Martial artists are known for their fiery tempers. But my Du family doesn't want to see those who paid to learn our skills constantly being arrested on trumped-up charges. We also don't want to worry day and night about whether the authorities will come with an arrest warrant!"
"Senior brother, this is a misunderstanding, from now on..." Gao Yuan finally understood. He wanted to explain, but Du Zhong interrupted him.
"At the beginning of the year, Gao Dianshi sent you to my Du family to learn martial arts, saying that your mother spoiled you too much and that you couldn't learn martial arts at home. He also said that among the several martial arts schools in Qingshui County, only I, Du Zhong, of Tongbei Quan, have the most knowledge." Du Zhong's tone remained indifferent. "That's really overestimating me. Although Gao Dianshi is at the same level as me, his knowledge is ten times greater. I am no match for Gao Dianshi; I can only fool some ignorant children and make a living."
Du Zhong waved his hand and said, "I can't afford to offend or curry favor with Gao Dianshi. Please, Young Master Gao, this small temple cannot accommodate such a great Buddha."
After saying this, Du Zhong said, "Du Ren, go and fetch all the tuition fees that Young Master Gao paid."
"Yes!" Du Ren immediately went to the backyard and returned with a bag of silver. "When you came at the beginning of the year, you paid two hundred taels in one go, and there's also the silver you just gave to Constable Xue, let's say fifty taels. This is two hundred and fifty taels in cash, no more, no less."
Du Ren offered it with both hands, but when Gao Yuan refused to accept it, he forced it into Gao Yuan's arms.
Gao Yuan held the silver, his eyes vacant. After a long silence, he finally looked up at Du Zhong and said, "Master Du, why be so heartless? You think I've disgraced the martial arts school, and I've endured whatever you've done, whether it's hitting or scolding me. Why be so heartless? If my father finds out, he…"
"Don't try to intimidate me with your father. I've lived in Qingshui County my whole life, what kind of powerful figures haven't I seen? I've never heard of anyone who can control the sky over Qingshui County." Du Zhong turned his back. "Remember, you were the one who broke the rules first."
"Please go ahead," Du Ren said, gesturing for them to leave.
Gao Yuan remained silent for a while before finally turning and leaving.
It's almost the middle of the month, but the moon is still faint and the night breeze carries a hint of coolness.
Du Ren sighed, and seeing that Meng Chen was still holding the straw sandals and old clothes, he patted Meng Chen on the shoulder and said, "Go to your sleeping quarters and wash up."
After Meng Chen left, only the Du family father and son remained in the hall.
Now that there were no outsiders around, Du Zhong finally couldn't hold back any longer and said helplessly, "I was hoping to befriend Gao Dianshi, but it's turned into a complete mess!"
"I told you long ago, Gao Yuan always acts all high and mighty, like a refined gentleman, but he's actually a good-for-nothing! The fact that he managed to pass two levels is all thanks to our medicine, it's all thanks to the medicine! In terms of talent, let alone Qi Yun, he's probably not even as good as Meng Chen!" Du Ren was quite open-minded, but still cursed, "I thought he was just a good-for-nothing, but it turns out he's a complete idiot!"
"There's no point in saying more, anyway, we've already driven him away." Du Zhong waved his hand. "He's just a mere clerk. If he tries to use force, let's see if his intrusion is more powerful, or if we, the local strongmen, are more reliable! If he doesn't say a word, we don't need to confront him directly!"
"What about that guy surnamed Meng? He was recommended by my elder brother," Du Ren asked.
"He's no pushover either!" Du Zhong said irritably. "What kind of kind person would make an eighty-year-old man from the same village, a complete stranger, willingly hand over twenty taels of silver to pay for his martial arts lessons? He's just a freeloader! I just saw him; he clearly saw through Gao Yuan's schemes against him and realized we wouldn't let that Xue guy take him away! Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you; he's incredibly shrewd!"
"Should we kick him out too?" Du Ren asked.
"If I kick Gao Yuan out first, and then kick him out right after, people will really think I'm afraid of Gao Wangtian!" Du Zhong's face had lost its usual kindness as he said, "Let him stay for another two months, then we'll find an excuse to kick him out!"
"But he has no money to pay his tuition!" Du Ren was the head steward of the martial arts school, in charge of the finances. "His remaining six taels of silver were stolen, and he doesn't have a single copper coin on him."
"Then don't charge him. What's wrong with supporting him for two months?" Du Zhong said impatiently.
"Alright!" Du Ren immediately agreed. "He's passed the first test, now it's time to prepare for the second. He needs medicine and a bath every three days. We only have a little over a hundred taels left in our accounts, so there's no need to give him any more pills or baths. Let's just stop giving him those and let him get to work! In a couple of months, we'll kick him out and give our elder brother an explanation."
Du Zhong pondered for a moment, then said, "That's not appropriate."
"What's wrong with it?" Du Ren asked, puzzled.
"Let me teach you a lesson: whatever you do, either don't do it at all, or do it wholeheartedly." Du Zhong tapped the table with his finger and continued, "Why is it that some people, despite doing a favor, end up making an enemy? Think about it, we let him stay at the martial arts school. Everyone else gets medicine and a bath every three days, but he doesn't. What does he think? What do others say?"
Du Zhong said very seriously, "Since we're planning to teach him for free, let's go all the way. Make sure he gets his medicine and bath for the next three days; it won't cost much, just consider it a loss!"
"That makes sense." Du Ren seemed to understand, but then sighed, "We're clearly in the business of making money, but today we've lost so much all at once!"
"I've taught you countless times, this martial arts school is a long-term business, it won't make you rich," Du Zhong said earnestly. "Remember this principle, don't focus on those few taels of silver all day. No matter who comes to learn from you in the future, whether they're rich or poor, whether they're talented or not, even if you secretly despise the poor and crave the rich, don't show it. Remember, regardless of whether these people succeed or not, they'll still call you 'Senior Brother' and me 'Master.' If one out of a hundred people becomes a prominent figure, that's your network of connections. If you're incredibly lucky and our school produces someone like Yan Long, then you might just be able to ride in his coattails!"
"Yes," Du Ren replied immediately, then asked, "Since we're raising Meng Chen, if he succeeds in passing the second test within the next two months, will we still send him away?"
"It took him two months to break through the first barrier. Give him another two months and he'll be able to break through the second?" Du Zhong said directly. "If he really has that ability, I'll pay him to stay! If he's even more capable and can break through the third barrier, then this martial arts school will belong to the Meng family, and you can forget about taking over!"
Du Zhong stood up and walked towards the backyard, still fuming, "If passing the second and third levels of the martial arts test were that easy, then everyone in the world would be a master!"