“Ha ha ha… You have done a great job this time, Daheng!” Zhao Yu’s mother handed a chicken thigh to Daheng and said, “Here is your reward! You can rest assured, Daheng, I will not mention the dog meat meal anymore!”
“Woof woof…” Daheng barked. It could not withstand the temptation of the tasty chicken thigh. It took the chicken thigh and ran straight to the courtyard to eat it.
At this moment, Miao Ying was treating Zhao Yu’s bruise on his arm. He suffered a bruise because he used his arm to block the iron bar during the fight, and now, the bruise was swelling up.
“You, you just don’t listen to me!” As Miao Ying sprayed some medication on the wound, she complained. “If you had used the tactics that I taught you, you would not have suffered these injuries!”
“Come on!” Zhao Yu was unconvinced and said, “If I had used entirely my own ways to fight, I would have finished the job five minutes earlier, and would not be so passive!”
“Did I not tell you before?” Miao Ying lectured him and said, “Your way of fighting will do you more harm than good, and get you the short end of the stick! From the looks of it, it might appear that you had a good fight, but each time, you are bound to suffer injuries. This is not a feasible solution in the long run, so you need to improve!”
Zhao Yu had always been stubborn, but in the face of Miao Ying’s earnest teachings, he did not lose his temper. He immediately cupped his two hands together and said in a sincere tone, “My wife is right, your husband will work hard and try to do better each day!”
“Stop it!” Handling Zhao Yu’s playful character, Miao Ying was feeling both angry and funny at the same time.
“The dumplings are ready…”
Zhao Yu’s sister-in-law served some steaming hot dumplings on the table. In addition to dumplings, there were cold and hot dishes, and white wine. The whole family sat around the table and enjoyed the delicious food.
At the table, Zhao Yu introduced everyone to Miao Ying. Other than his parents, elder brother and his wife, there were also his two nieces, his second uncle and his wife, and a cousin.
“Oh! The credit goes to Zhao Yu today!” Zhao Yu’s second uncle sang his praises. “Fortunately, you are a policeman, and were able to help us out. Otherwise, we would be in trouble today!”
“Yes, you are right!” Second aunt echoed, “Our Zhao Yu is such a promising young man! He is not only a great detective, but also a rich one! I was dazzled by the big bag of money!”
“Ha ha ha…” Zhao Yu laughed and said, “Second aunt, you flatter me! I owe it to you, my achieving what I have today! Had you not scolded and taunted me daily, saying that I was useless, I would not have worked so hard.”
“Oh? Don’t say that. Ha ha ha…” Second aunt was embarrassed, her face flushed. She tried to explain herself, “Was that not an encouragement to you? Actually, I saw your potential when you were young, seeing that you would become the most promising one in our family. Ha ha ha…”
“Zhao Yu, don’t take it to heart!” Zhao Yu’s second uncle lifted up his glass and said, “Come… Come…Let me offer a toast to you. Please pardon your second aunt for saying anything that was wrong to you.”
“Cough!” Zhao Yu quickly lifted up his glass and said, “Second uncle, don’t say that. I was just joking with Second aunt! We are one family. Why would I be so calculative? Come on, cheers!”
“Ha ha ha…” Zhao Yu’s father laughed and lifted up his glass. He said, “Here, I will drink with you! My son is so capable. I am so happy. Ha ha ha…”
The three men clinked their glasses together, then drank up the white wine in their glasses.
“When you guys were preparing the meal, I went out to survey the situation outside!” Zhao Yu’s cousin said, “Li Ergou’s family had moved the dead cow away! The dove shed on the wall was also dismantled! What’s more, his relatives were so badly beaten by my Brother Yu, that now they are all hospitalized in the county hospital.”
“They deserved it!” Zhao Yu’s father said in a serious tone, “The good and evil get what they deserve in due time. Li Ergou’s family had evil intentions, thus, karma befalls them. Humph!”
“Yes, you are right!” The younger sister echoed. “I also heard that Brother Yu has become famous in our village, and everyone is talking about him. No one would have thought that a person, who was an introvert, would become so powerful today. And no one will dare to bully our family in the future.”
“Let me guess!” Zhao Yu’s sister-in-law laughed. “Besides praising Zhao Yu, they must be envious of Zhao Yu for having such a beautiful girlfriend, too.” She pointed to Miao Ying and said, “So beautiful, to the extent that, even a woman like me is envious of her beauty!”
“Hey hey, that is true!” Zhao Yu’s brother agreed.
“Sister-in-law, don’t regard her as an outsider!” Zhao Yu grabbed Miao Ying’s shoulder and said, “In the future, you can directly address her as ‘sister-in-law’!”
“Yes, yes, you are right!” Zhao Yu’s brother agreed once again.
Miao Ying blushed, everyone laughing heartily.
The family sat around the table eating dumplings and drinking dumpling wine. There was a harmonious atmosphere, as everyone smiled happily.
However, when everyone was halfway done eating, there was a sudden discordant sound that came from the courtyard outside. Soon, someone pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard from the outside. These men seemed to be saying something to each other.
Zhao Yu turned his head and took a look. He was both surprised and happy at the same time.
It was a surprise to see two police officers dressed in police uniform walking in. And it was a joy to see his old uncle.
The main purpose of Zhao Yu returning home, was to pick up his uncle’s handwritten copy of “Ghost Eight Diagrams”. Seeing his uncle’s arrival meant that his uncle was here to deliver the book.
But the two police officers standing behind his uncle looked unfriendly.
“Why did you take so long to arrive, old uncle?” Zhao Yu’s brother was the first one to welcome their uncle. “Come and join us, as these dumplings are still hot. Enjoy them while they are hot. Oh, these two persons are…”
“Oh, I met them at the door!” Zhao Yu’s uncle replied. “They said that they were looking for Zhao Yu. Hey, your face… Who beat you up?”
“Uncle, over here! Over here!” Zhao Yu hurried over to welcome his uncle.
“Zhao Yu! You are here at the right time!” Zhao Yu’s uncle pointed at the two police officers and said, “These two officers are looking for you! Oh yes, I brought along the book that you wanted…”
Zhao Yu’s uncle handed him a book wrapped in newspaper and said, “I am sorry to tell you that your cousin once donated this book to the school library. What’s worse, he got the last few pages of the book wet, ruining them. And now the book is incomplete. You will have to make do with what you have.”
Zhao Yu took the book from his uncle. Before he could flip the pages of the book, the two police officers were right in front of him. One of them flashed his police officer’s card and said to Zhao Yu, “Are you Zhao Yu? Someone has accused you of beating up others, and you will have to come with us to the police station.”
“Huh? Beat up a man? Ha ha ha…” Once Zhao Yu’s uncle heard the police officers saying that Zhao Yu had beaten some people up, he could not help but laugh. He added, “Officer, are you joking? Did you say Zhao Yu beat up a man? Let me tell you, Zhao Yu does not even dare speak loudly, much less beat people up! Have you made a mistake?”
“No, we did not make a mistake! We have a witness,” said a police officer. “You alone have beaten up eleven people, brutally. Some of them were seriously injured.”
“Surely not? Ha ha ha…” Zhao Yu’s uncle laughed. “Officer, you must be telling a story! Is this April Fool’s day? Did you say one against eleven? Our introverted Zhao Yu? Ha ha ha… Your story is too exaggerated…”
“Gosh!” Zhao Yu murmured to himself, “Li Ergou is ignorant of the rules of the triad! After getting beaten up, he actually called the police!”
“Yes! Among those who have been beaten up, there is someone called Li Ergou!” A police officer said, “Since you are aware of the situation, follow us back to the police station.”
“Oh no, this is… What is going on?”
Zhao Yu’s mother was so frightened to see the police officers arresting her son. She quickly explained to them about Li Ergou killing his own cow, lying about it, and putting the blame on them. However, the two police officers still insisted on taking Zhao Yu away.
Just as they were busy explaining themselves to the police officers, a middle-aged man with gold rimmed spectacles suddenly led a large group of people into Zhao Yu’s courtyard. The man who wearing the gold rimmed glasses was Zhao Jinsheng, the village head. Li Ergou was his nephew.
“Zhao Yu, you went overboard!” As soon as Zhao Jinsheng entered the door, he shouted to Zhao Yu. “What have you done to my relatives? Police officer, you came at the right time!” He hastened to give the two police officers a look, and said, “Quick, this is the guy who beat the others up! Arrest him, and put him in jail!”