Newborn 1927

Wang Sanlaizi glanced at Zhao Jinyuan and said, "Master Zhao has been eyeing your family's land for quite some time now, but he hasn't found a suitable opportunity. I heard you're doing very well in school, and Master Zhao is itching to get your hands on it!" Yang Jiefang asked in surprise, "What does my studying have to do with him? Is that something to hate me for?" Wang Sanlaizi replied, "Because in Master Zhao's heart, only his family members are qualified to study; we lower-class people are not worthy of studying. Not only have you entered school, but I heard you're doing very well. How can Master Zhao tolerate that?" Yang Jiefang was speechless. In later generations, people often couldn't stand seeing other people's children doing well in school; now, it's even worse—they can't stand seeing other people's children go to school.

Wang Sanlaizi said, "It's true that Master Zhao's wheat was stolen by his own cow. The eldest young master saw your cow tied up under a tree eating, and since your father wasn't home, he had it led around the wheat field and then accused the cow of stealing wheat seedlings..." Yang Jiefang pressed, "Who led the cow?" Wang Sanlaizi hesitated, then said, "Well..." Seeing his evasive eyes, Yang Jiefang asked, "You led it, didn't you?" Wang Sanlaizi quickly replied, "The eldest young master ordered it; I couldn't disobey." Yang Jiefang said, "Then you were the one who beat my father, weren't you?" Wang Sanlaizi immediately retorted, "No, that wasn't true. Your father is big, and I'm just skinny, really..." "How could I possibly win a fight? It was Captain Li who did it; the young master ordered it—beat him to death! I was just helping out with a punch..." Yang Jiefang waved his hand and said, "I can roughly guess what happened next. The doctor who treated my father's injuries was also arranged by your young master, right? And the person who lent money to my mother was also arranged by you, right?" Wang Sanlaizi replied, "Anyone with eyes can see that, but we were kept in the dark at the time. The doctor was also threatened by the young master and Captain Li; it wasn't arranged in advance. The borrower, however, was arranged in advance by the second master." The second master was Zhao Yinyuan, who was in charge of lending and debt collection; he was a colleague in the financial industry.

Yang Jiefang didn't let Wang Sanlaizi continue, turning to Zhao Jinyuan and saying, "I just don't understand, your family is all scheming to harm my family, do we have some kind of grudge against you?" Zhao Jinyuan turned his head away, not answering. Wang Sanlaizi interrupted, "That can't be, I haven't heard of that. I only know that the eldest young master has always been after your sister, wanting to take her as a concubine..." Zhao Changgui grabbed Wang Sanlaizi's clothes and roared, "Are you telling the truth? Did he bully Lianhua?" Wang Sanlaizi replied, "Of course it's true, many people know about it. Who knew that the eldest young mistress was too formidable? She disagreed, argued with the eldest young master, and even scratched his face, so the eldest young master didn't succeed." "Oh, right, it was the eldest young mistress's idea to sell Yang Lianhua to a brothel. She said she looked like a vixen, so she should... she should..." Zhao Changgui released Wang Sanlaizi, shoved him aside, and glared at Zhao Jinyuan, saying, "You have a daughter too, how could you bear to do such a thing? Aren't you afraid she'll be sold to a brothel too?" Yang Jiefang nodded seriously and said, "That's a good idea. And his daughter-in-law, it's true what they say, 'birds of a feather flock together,' let's sell her too."

Zhao Jinyuan could no longer sit still and shouted, "Zhao Changgui, you're also a member of the Zhao family! How dare you side with outsiders? What are the Yang family? A bastard who's just a burden, and he hasn't even changed his surname. What right do they have to occupy our Zhao Family Village's land? The land of Zhao Family Village belongs to the Zhao family. I'm just taking our Zhao family's land back from outsiders. What's wrong with that? Now you're helping outsiders against your own family. How can you face your ancestors?" In his view, tonight's events were ruined by this Zhao Changgui. Otherwise, Zhao Changming and the others wouldn't have turned against him, so he hated Zhao Changgui to the core. Zhao Changgui was caught in his trap and stood there dumbfounded, not knowing how to refute him.

Yang Jiefang's grandmother married into Zhao Family Village after her husband died, bringing her son with her. His grandfather was also a widow with a daughter. As a result, the two became a family, and the half-siblings also became a family, and then Yang Jiefang was born. Yang Jiefang immediately retorted, "That's not right! My mother is from the Zhao family, how can I be considered an outsider? I have the right to inherit the land my grandfather left behind."

Zhao Changgui finally realized what was going on and agreed, "That's right. Uncle Yang is both the Zhao family's adopted son and their son-in-law. How can he be considered an outsider? Besides, what does their land have to do with your family? Your family is just greedy by nature. You're used to robbing other people's things and can't stand seeing other people have good things."

Seeing that Zhao Jinyuan had been rebuffed, Yang Jiefang lost interest in continuing the conversation. He instructed Zhao Changgui and the Tie brothers to keep a close eye on the man before leaving. Outside, Zhao Changming was already waiting. Yang Jiefang asked, "Changming, has anything gone wrong?" Zhao Changming replied, "Not yet. Brother Yang, the Zheng family has quite a few good things here, and everyone has reserved them. We need a plan for how to divide them." The current situation is that Qinglong Village is small but capable, and they are wary of each other from the Zhao Family Village, neither daring to make the first move. To maintain this balance, Yang Jiefang has to step in and take charge.

Yang Jiefang followed Zhao Changming to the backyard, where a large quantity of grain was indeed stored, including wheat, millet, corn, sorghum, and other varieties. Among them was milled wheat flour, which had already been taken to the kitchen. Wang Dali and Chen Ergou had slaughtered a large black dog and were currently skinning it in the kitchen, preparing to stew it for a dog meat noodle soup. The money and valuables seized from Zhao Jinyuan's house were also gathered here, mainly cloth, cotton, gold and silver jewelry, and silver dollars and copper coins. There weren't many silver dollars, only a little over two hundred; the copper coins filled an entire box, weighing at least two or three hundred pounds, but they weren't worth much. In those days, the exchange rate between silver dollars and copper coins was roughly one to one thousand. The purity and size of the copper coins cast in different regions varied, causing some fluctuation in this ratio, but the difference was not significant. Yang Jiefang frowned and said, "How come Zhao Jinyuan's family only has so little money? Have you searched everywhere?" Yan Donglai replied, "Landlords usually like to hide their wealth underground, which outsiders generally can't find. Besides, it's nighttime now, making it even harder to find. Unless... we make them give it back themselves." Zhao Changming retorted, "Our Zhao Family Village is located in a low-lying area; you won't encounter water after digging only a few feet. It's unlikely that it's hidden underground."

Yang Jiefang asked again, "Did you find any account books or IOUs?" Everyone shook their heads. Zhao Changming said, "None of us can read, so even if we saw them, we wouldn't recognize them. However, I had someone take everything with writing on it to the study." Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Take me to see it." Zhao Changming led the way. When they passed a room, they heard someone crying softly inside. He explained, "I locked all the women in their house inside. Brother Yang, you can seek revenge on Zhao Jinyuan, but please don't touch their women!" Yang Jiefang replied, "Don't worry! I'm not that kind of person, and I've already restrained my friends. Anyone who dares to touch the women, I will never forgive them!" Zhao Changming secretly breathed a sigh of relief and, carrying a lantern, led Yang Jiefang to the study.

The study was filled with books, as well as stationery such as writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Yang Jiefang searched around but found nothing, including account books. This further confirmed his suspicion that Zhao Jinyuan's family had a secret stash of money that hadn't been discovered. Since he couldn't find it, he decided to stop searching and just ask Zhao Jinyuan and his brother.

Upon returning to the front hall, Zhao Jinyuan saw Zhao Changming beside Yang Jiefang and immediately launched into a tirade: "You treacherous bastard! How dare you commit such a heinous act! You are unworthy of being a descendant of the Zhao family!" Zhao Changming lowered his head, remaining silent and refusing to look at him, clearly feeling some remorse for his actions. Zhao Changgui, standing nearby, flew into a rage and slapped Zhao Jinyuan across the face, yelling, "What kind of time is this to try and scare people?" Zhao Jinyuan obediently shut his mouth.

Yang Jiefang went directly to Zhao Yinyuan and said, "Your family forcibly occupied my land, and I want it back. Is that unreasonable?" Zhao Yinyuan nodded blankly. Yang Jiefang asked, "Where is my land deed? Find it for me." Zhao Yinyuan glanced at Zhao Jinyuan, shook his head, and remained silent. Yang Jiefang said, "You're in charge of all your family's accounts, you can't possibly not know where they are, can you? Your shaking your head means you don't want to give them to me, right? Don't look at your brother anymore, he's dead. Whether you live or die is up to you." Zhao Yinyuan asked, "If I bring them out, will you let my whole family go?" Yang Jiefang frowned and said, "Don't try to negotiate with me! You don't have that kind of leverage right now. You should think about your children; they're still young. Don't you want them to be sold into prostitution too? Hey, whose idea was that? Selling my sister is one thing, but why did you sell me too?"

Wang Sanlaizi, standing nearby, immediately interjected, "I know that. We hadn't decided what to do with you yet, but that human trafficker took a liking to you. He said you were too delicate-looking and suitable to be a husband, so he bought you along with the other person." Good heavens, a correct answer gets a reward! Yang Jiefang kicked Wang Sanlaizi aside. Wang Sanlaizi muttered under his breath but dared not retaliate.

Yang Jiefang said, "Zhao Yinyuan, you're different from your brother. He's the mastermind, and he's doomed. You don't have to cooperate with me, but you have to think about the consequences—you can't afford them!" Zhao Yinyuan took a deep breath and replied, "Okay, I'll go get it for you. Neither of you should follow!" Yang Jiefang's expression changed, and he said sternly, "You think you're so great?" Zhao Yinyuan thought it was impossible, sighed, and said, "I'll take you." The two brothers were now tied to chairs, and Zhao Changgui stepped forward to untie them. Zhao Yinyuan stretched his limbs, took one last look at Zhao Jinyuan, and turned to leave.

Yang Jiefang and Zhao Changming followed behind, led to the study. The room had just been searched, but no ledgers or deeds were found, nor any hidden doors. Zhao Yinyuan then propped up a ladder from the corner, pointed upwards, and said, "There's an attic up there. There's a hidden bolt; it's usually impossible for someone unfamiliar with it to open." Yang Jiefang looked up; the floorboards were wooden, and he didn't find any hidden doors. He then told Zhao Yinyuan to go up and open it. Zhao Yinyuan set up the ladder and climbed upwards using both hands and feet. Zhao Changming held a lamp in one hand and held the ladder for him with the other. Yang Jiefang stood below, watching carefully. He didn't know how Zhao Yinyuan operated it, but after a moment of groping, he suddenly pushed upwards with force. With a creak, the floorboards were lifted, creating a hole. Zhao Yinyuan pushed the wooden planks aside and stretched his upper body up. Yang Jiefang was delighted and was about to tell Zhao Yinyuan to come down when he saw Zhao Yinyuan pull back down, revealing a pistol in his hand, which he pointed at Yang Jiefang.

Yang Jiefang and Zhao Changming were both taken aback by what they saw; however, their reactions differed. Yang Jiefang quickly retreated, hiding behind a bookshelf, and swiftly drew his pistol. Zhao Changming, gripping the stairs with his right hand, suddenly pulled forward, causing the ladder to slip and fall. Zhao Yinyuan lost his footing, his entire body leaning backward, and he fell to the ground, his gun falling to the side before he could even fire. Zhao Changming quickly picked up the pistol, only to find the safety already off, and thought to himself, "That was close." This Zhao Yinyuan usually seemed so refined; who knew he could handle a gun? When Yang Jiefang and Zhao Changming went forward to check, they saw that Zhao Yinyuan had hit the back of his head on the stone foundation of the wall when he fell, blood gushing out, his eyes wide open, his mouth and nose full of blood, and he quickly died. Yang Jiefang glanced at Zhao Changming and felt a wave of fear wash over him. Zhao Changming murmured, "Did I kill someone?" Yang Jiefang comforted him, "Brother Changming, he fell to his death on his own. It has nothing to do with you." Although it was a bit of self-deception, it made Zhao Changming feel a little better.