Chapter 34: Black-Hearted Boss, Give Back Our Hard-Earned Money

Early in the morning, before the faint white mist had fully dispersed, Boss Wan arrived at the courtyard ahead of time to open the gate. Any later, and he was afraid Xi Jue’s family would be waiting in yesterday’s spot, ready to shout that teeth-grindingly hateful slogan again when he passed by.

“Chirp, chirp.”

Boss Wan’s heart leapt with joy. A magpie chirping meant good things were coming one after another! He looked toward the big tree in the courtyard, and sure enough, he saw a long-tailed magpie perched on a branch.

Oh my, perhaps yesterday’s bad luck had passed. Maybe Xi Jue’s family had gone off to work and make a living, with no time to come shout slogans in front of his door again.

At that thought, Boss Wan’s mood instantly brightened.

Hands clasped behind his back, he strolled leisurely toward the house.

“Plop.”

A strange sensation reached his forehead along with the sound...

Boss Wan raised his hand and touched it. The sticky feeling gave him a bad premonition. The white-and-black gooey thing on his fingers made him so furious he nearly grew dizzy.

Just then, the skinny shop assistant pushed the door open and came out. Boss Wan shouted, “Hurry up and fetch water!”

He flung the bird droppings from his hand in disgust and hurried after the skinny shop assistant toward the well.

Suddenly, a flapping sound rang by his ears. At first there were only a few flaps, but then it exploded into a whole swarm of noise beside his ears.

The skinny shop assistant lifted the bucket and looked up. A dark mass of birds was flying low through the sky. He had never seen so many birds before, as if every bird from miles around had flown over. His mouth dropped open in surprise. Could something strange have happened in the nearby villages?

“Ah, ptooey!” Something fell into his mouth. Holding the bucket, the assistant spat over and over.

When he turned and saw the boss standing there with bird droppings on his forehead, the skinny shop assistant instantly understood what had fallen into his mouth.

He lowered his head, wanting to scoop some water from the bucket to rinse his mouth. But then he felt something land on his forehead and neck. When he looked at the ground, white-and-black bird droppings had fallen everywhere. From the sky, from under the sky, it was raining bird droppings!

“What are you standing there for? Run!” Boss Wan raised his sleeve over his head and, with no time to wipe his forehead clean, dashed straight for the house.

The skinny shop assistant was dressed in short work clothes, and his sleeves could not cover his forehead. He could only hunch his neck and follow his boss, fleeing wildly into the house.

The birds in midair chattered so noisily it made people’s heads ache.

The little sparrow chirped furiously, “Black-hearted boss, give back our hard-earned money!”

Covered in bird droppings, Boss Wan ran into the house, only to be shoved forward into a stumble by the skinny shop assistant behind him, who could not stop in time.

“Were you born without eyes?” Boss Wan yelled in anger.

The skinny shop assistant shrank his head down and did not make a sound.

Taking off his outer robe, Boss Wan flung it into the corner in disgust. The smell of bird droppings all over him made him grow increasingly irritable.

“B-Boss, in your hair...” Under Boss Wan’s furious glare, the skinny shop assistant swallowed the rest of his words.

“This is damned strange! Where did all these birds come from?” Boss Wan used the inside of his clothes to wipe the top of his head and forehead, then got up and paced back and forth through the room with his hands behind his back.

“Could it be that something unclean has been drawn here?” The skinny shop assistant also took off his outer clothes and stood bare-chested in the room, fear on his face. “I’ve heard animals are very sensitive. They can sense things we can’t.”

“What unclean thing could there be?” Boss Wan frowned. “Wasn’t everything perfectly fine yesterday?”

“Who can say with this kind of eerie business?” The skinny shop assistant gave a soft hiss. “Now that I think about it, yesterday wasn’t exactly fine either. Didn’t we run into bad luck yesterday too?”

Boss Wan stared at the assistant and thought it over. True. Yesterday, the very first time they mixed broken tiles in to sell, they had run into a tough nut. Mixing in broken tiles was something he had never even considered before, so who knew why he had been so possessed three days ago? And also, the tiles before had always been fired perfectly well, so how had more than half the tiles in that one kiln ended up ruined? Could it really be that they had attracted something unclean?

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.

The skinny shop assistant added, “I’ve heard Yunling Temple on Yunling Mountain is very efficacious. Boss, why don’t we go pay our respects at Yunling Temple?”

Boss Wan nodded. They should go pay their respects. He would feel more at ease after praying.

The little sparrow heard Boss Wan and the skinny shop assistant’s conversation from outside the window and cursed inwardly: Yunling Temple won’t look after you. The one you cheated was our Yunling Temple’s Little Temple Master!

Once there was no more movement in the courtyard, the skinny shop assistant leaned against the window to look outside. There was no longer any trace of birds in midair, and no birds were perched in the courtyard trees either. He let out a soft breath of relief and said happily, “Boss, the birds are gone.” His nose twitched. The air was filled with a heavy smell of bird droppings, and the skinny shop assistant quickly retreated a few steps away from the window.

Boss Wan came over and opened the door, instructing the skinny shop assistant, “I’ll head back first. I won’t be coming today. Clean the courtyard thoroughly. I’ll go up the mountain in a bit to pray.” The smell of bird droppings all over him made him want nothing more right now than to soak properly in the river.

The skinny shop assistant nodded and agreed.

The faint white mist fully dispersed, and the sun rose in the east. The early summer sunlight slowly grew scorching, the temperature gradually climbed, and the heat steamed the bird-dropping smell in the courtyard until it was even harder to bear.

Boss Wan had just reached the middle of the courtyard when another flock of birds came whooshing through the sky.

The moment he heard the movement, Boss Wan immediately clutched his head and ran back.

This time, the birds did not drop droppings. They switched to dropping pebbles. One small stone after another fell from the sky. Though it did not hurt when they hit him, it was still infuriating.

“Hurry up and close the door!” Boss Wan shouted for the skinny shop assistant to shut the door as soon as he ran into the house.

“Did I dig up some bird’s ancestral grave or what? Why are they bullying me like this?” Boss Wan cursed inside the house, so angry he could barely stand it. “Tomorrow I’ll have someone spread nets over the courtyard. I’ll net every last one that comes. Once they’re caught, I’ll roast them all over a fire. Roasted birds smell delicious.”

The little sparrow outside the window heard this and grew even angrier. Well, well, you black-hearted boss. You cheated us of our hard-earned money, and now you even want to eat us. Today, don’t even think about stepping out of this door!

The little sparrow flapped his wings. “Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!” Brothers and sisters, go prepare pebbles. Today, we won’t let this black-hearted boss leave!

Dou Ming and Xi Jue came down the mountain with their prey. After throwing the game under the tree, Xi Jue washed his hands and said, “Qiu Sheng, we’ll have to trouble you to go into town today and sell the game. Dou Ming and I have to go shout slogans at Boss Wan’s place after breakfast.”

Qiu Sheng was walking around the courtyard with Chun Hua in his arms. Hearing this, he immediately turned around. “I’m not going into town. I’m going with you.” He did not feel at ease letting Dou Ming and Xi Jue go to Boss Wan’s place by themselves. If Dou Ming tried to fight, he could still help persuade him. Xi Jue might be calm, but when had he ever broken up a fight? At least Qiu Sheng had never seen Xi Jue talk Dou Ming down.

Xi Jue had not expected Qiu Sheng to reject his request so flatly. He looked awkwardly toward Hua Qi. “How about you go into town and sell everything? Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong know how to get to Fragrant Tower.”

Before Hua Qi could agree, Qiu Sheng carried Chun Hua over to Xi Jue and said, “No need to go into town. Today it’s all small wild game. We can sell it all in the village. Xiu Niang and Huaniang can sell it at home.” Qiu Sheng turned and called to Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong, “You two go shout around the village a few times. Say we’re selling wild rabbits and pheasants today.”

“Oh.” Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong each grabbed two steamed buns from the table, one in each hand, and ran out the door.

The table at home had just been set when Qiaozi trotted into the courtyard. She carried a money pouch and said with a smile, “Huaniang, Xiu Niang, I’m here to buy a wild rabbit.” Seeing the wild game under the tree, she quickly walked over. She had just picked out the fattest rabbit when she saw Bailing follow Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong into the courtyard.

“I want a pheasant.” Bailing quickly chose one too, afraid that if she picked too slowly, someone else would choose it first.

Xiu Niang called out, “Have you had breakfast? The food hasn’t even been put on the table yet and you two are already here. Perfect timing. Come eat a little with us.”

“We’ve eaten.” Qiaozi gave the money to Hua Qi, then asked about what happened yesterday afternoon.

“They’re going to shout again after breakfast. If he doesn’t pay us back, we’ll keep shouting,” Hua Qi said.

“Then you’re definitely getting that money back,” Bailing said with certainty. What household that opened its doors to do business could stand being hounded for payment like that?

“Tuo Tuo, eat quickly. I’ll wait for you.” Bailing had already eaten breakfast. Now she wanted to wait for Tuo Tuo and go back together.

Tuo Tuo pouted unhappily. He had already learned how to weave, so why did he still have to go to Bailing’s house? Weaving was not fun at all.

Hua Qi noticed Tuo Tuo’s unhappiness but did not say anything just then. When he saw Tuo Tuo and Bailing off, Hua Qi fixed his eyes on Tuo Tuo and said sternly, “Study properly! Once you learn it well, I’ll buy you a loom, and you can weave cloth to make clothes for Yun Shan.”

Tuo Tuo jolted, knowing Hua Qi was warning him. He looked at the Little Temple Master in his arms and thought, Who wants to buy a loom? Once Yun Shan grows up, I’m going to teach Yun Shan to weave cloth and make clothes for himself.

Yun Shan met Tuo Tuo’s eyes with his bright black-and-white gaze. He moved his little hand, stretched out his short fingers toward Tuo Tuo, and cried “yaa yaa” twice.

“What do you mean, buy a loom?” Bailing said. “Qiu Sheng is a carpenter. Have him make one. Let Qiu Sheng come to my house and see what a loom looks like, then copy that and make one. Otherwise, one loom costs five taels of silver. Mine was passed down to me by my mother-in-law.”

Hearing Bailing’s words, Qiu Sheng quickly walked over from the table and said in delight, “You’ll really let me see it?”

“If you want to see it, then see it. I’m not a carpenter, so why would I hide it?” Bailing suggested, “Qiu Sheng, you should make looms to sell in the future. You’ll definitely earn a lot of money. Every girl and daughter-in-law in our village wants a loom.”

Qiu Sheng calculated it in his mind. If that was really the case, he could indeed earn a large sum. He could sell not only to the girls and young wives in their village, but also to other villages. He said happily, “That’s a good idea. Once I have time, I’ll go to your house and take a look.”

Tuo Tuo reluctantly followed Bailing away. Xiao Cong went along too, carrying the cloth Xiu Niang had cut for him. Xiao Cong had already learned embroidery, and Xiu Niang said his needlework was already very good. She had found time to cut cloth according to Yun Shan’s measurements and let Xiao Cong try sewing clothes.

Xi Jue, Dou Ming, and Qiu Sheng headed toward Shanghe Village.

As soon as they entered Shanghe Village, Xi Jue heard the villagers talking among themselves, saying that quite a few birds had flown over to the Wan family’s courtyard today. Some villagers said they wanted to go home and fetch nets to catch birds.

As soon as Dou Ming heard this, the first thing he thought of was the little sparrow. Yesterday, when he came down the mountain, the little sparrow had asked him about hauling the tiles. This morning, birds had gone to the Wan family’s courtyard. It was the little sparrow! The humans were going to catch birds!

“I’m going to pee.” Dou Ming tossed out the sentence and ran ahead.

Qiu Sheng asked Xi Jue in confusion, “Why is Dou Ming running toward the Wan family’s courtyard to pee?”

Xi Jue did not know. He said nothing and continued walking forward with Qiu Sheng.

Qiu Sheng pondered it on his own and muttered quietly, “It’s not very nice to pee in someone else’s courtyard.”

Hearing this, Xi Jue looked toward Dou Ming, who had already run to the wall of the Wan family’s courtyard, and thought, It really isn’t very nice.

Dou Ming used a spell to transmit his voice and called, “Little sparrow, little sparrow.” Hm? Dou Ming covered his nose in disgust. Why did this place smell so strongly of bird droppings?

The little sparrow flapped his wings and flew over from the roof. “Lord Dou Ming. You came too.”

“Did you call all these birds here?” Dou Ming asked.

“They’re all birds from the mountains. When they heard that the black-hearted boss cheated us of our money, birds from several mountain peaks all came over.” The little sparrow reported the situation happily. “We trapped the black-hearted boss inside the house and won’t let him out. He even thought something strange had happened and wanted to go to our Yunling Mountain to pray.”

Dou Ming pinched his nose and craned his head to look at the courtyard’s miserable state. The ground was covered in bird droppings, with a few bird feathers scattered among them. There was not even a place to put one’s foot in the entire courtyard. The little sparrow had taught him such a good lesson. This was exactly how a black-hearted boss ought to be dealt with! Dou Ming instantly felt comfortable inside. The stifled anger that had built up in his chest disappeared all at once.

He pulled his head back and warned the little sparrow, “You all hurry and leave. I heard people saying they were going to bring nets to catch you. Hurry back to the mountain.”

“Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp.” Brothers and sisters, hurry and leave! The humans are bringing nets to catch us.

A great commotion rose from the surrounding trees, and birds blotted out the sky as they flew up.

Good heavens. Dou Ming had never expected there to be so many birds from several mountain peaks. This was the first time he had ever seen so many birds, a dense black mass that even covered the sun overhead.

Qiu Sheng and Xi Jue were also startled as the flock of birds whooshed over their heads. Thinking back to Dou Ming’s behavior just now, Xi Jue immediately realized that these birds were connected to the animals on the mountain.

When they passed the Wan family’s courtyard, the flock of birds made one last effort, dropping all of today’s bird droppings into the Wan family’s courtyard.

Inside the house, Boss Wan saw the densely packed bird droppings falling into the courtyard through the window. He was so angry he clenched his teeth, both hands balled into fists, looking nearly deranged.

“These damned birds!”

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