How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Perhaps it was because the man spoke in a rough and gruff voice, but to Song Fu, the man's words sounded somewhat accusatory, so he said in a flustered manner, "My name is Wu Fu, and I came here to find my relatives. I am very grateful to the old lady for giving me a bowl of water."

The burly man who asked the question gave an "oh" and said in a muffled voice, "Mother, what good deed are you doing now? Our family isn't rich either."

The plump old woman slapped her son, making her hand ache. "You fool! I'm just trying to accumulate good fortune for you all. You don't know what's good for you. What's wrong with doing good deeds? A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings. That's what that old scholar taught us. He always tells people to do good deeds."

As the others approached, Song Fu finally got a good look at them. These four burly men were all over eight feet tall, robust and muscular. Even in late autumn, they were wearing shirts that exposed their arms, their hard muscles like lumps of iron. With each step they took, the floor tiles seemed to shake. Standing in a row, they looked like a mountain blocking the way.

The older woman chuckled sheepishly and punched her son, saying, "Hehe, listen to your mother, eldest, second, and third sons, go inside and help your mother cook."

"Oh," the young men said, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, and strode confidently into the kitchen, which was just a large stove built under the eaves. They lit the fire with firewood, took the rice from the plump old woman, and poured it into the pot without even checking the amount. But the plump old woman seemed to be used to it, perhaps she had already measured out the amount for several people.

The eldest brother was quite displeased to see that Song Fu hadn't left yet, so he urged him, "Why aren't you leaving? My family doesn't have any extra food for you."

Song Fu was taken aback, then quickly cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I see that you heroes are all traveling, so I would like to ask you about someone."

The eldest son was unhappy that Song Fu was watching him cook, so he urged, "Then tell us quickly, our family still needs to eat."

In those days, no family had a surplus of food, so the eldest brother's words were understandable. Song Fu immediately said, "Xin Laohei is a long-time resident here. Have you heard of him?"

"Never heard of it, you'd better get out of here." The boss dismissed him swiftly as soon as he finished speaking.

Having no other choice, Song Fu could only cup his hands in greeting and get up to leave.

His father opened his mouth as if he had something to say, but in the end he didn't say anything.

The family across the street opened their door with a creak and called out to Song Fu, "Wait a minute, I know." The person was a woman, speaking in a soft, delicate voice, as if she would suffocate if she took another breath. Song Fu turned around and asked, "Hello, where is Xin Laohei?"

The woman seemed a little unwell. Standing at the door, she looked hesitant and tugged at her clothes, saying shyly, "What good would it do me to tell you?"

The voice was too soft for Song Fu to hear clearly at first, so he asked again, "What? Could you please say it again?"

The woman glanced at the father and son across the street, her expression pleading for help. The men didn't even give her a second glance, though. She stamped her foot and said to Song Fu, who was dressed in tattered clothes, "Come here, I'll tell you quietly."

Song Fu hesitated for a moment. The woman was leaning against the door. If he went over to talk to her, it would seem too abrupt. He didn't know if there was anyone else in her house. If he went over rashly, he was afraid that people would gossip. Therefore, he was in a dilemma and hesitated to go forward.

Seeing him hesitate, the woman became anxious. "If you can give me half a pancake, I'll tell you where Xin Laohei is."

Song Fu had no choice but to say, "Okay, but you have to really tell me."

The woman seemed somewhat skeptical. "You're not much better than a beggar, how could you possibly have any bread?"

Song Fujian firmly replied, "Yes."

The woman then made a condition, "I want a white flour pancake, this big." She gestured with her hand to indicate the size, which was about the size of two adult men's palms.

Song Fu agreed anyway. The eldest son of the fat aunt's family seemed to be unable to stand it any longer and was about to speak, but was pulled back by the second son, and after thinking about it, he shut up.

The woman held out her hand. "I want to check it. Show me your cake."

Song Fu wouldn't carry any biscuits with him, so he painstakingly pulled out a dime from his pocket. "I'm out of food, here's this dime for you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the sword was snatched away from him.

The woman clutched the one-cent coin tightly, her lips pursed in disdain. "Fine, fine, I'll take the loss and do you a favor reluctantly."

The plump old woman couldn't stand it anymore and said, "You can buy six catties of rice for a dime. How can you take it? Give it back to them. I'll give you a flatbread instead."

The woman immediately slipped into the house, poked her head out, and said, "Don't try to bully me. It was given to me, not stolen."

"Hey, you clearly stole it, I saw it with both eyes."

"Hmph," the woman said, slamming the door shut.

The plump old woman was about to rush up and hit someone, but the men held her back tightly, saying, "Don't cause trouble, let her be, we'll ignore her."

"Pah, shameless! He's perfectly capable but doesn't look for work. He just begs and cheats all day long. He's a disgrace."

Still not satisfied, he waited for Song Fu to say, "You young man, you look like you've been to school, can't you tell she's a coward?"

Song Fu scratched his head sheepishly, "Auntie, I... I didn't think that much about it. She didn't seem like a bad person."

"Hmph, you men, all you care about is appearances, you're all bewitched by beauties." She said, glaring fiercely at her four grown men.

The group of people were all humiliated by what they said, and the fat old woman became even angrier, "I don't have a daughter either, no one is close to me, it's all you guys who come to collect debts."

Song Fu listened awkwardly as people scolded his son, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Unable to get a word in edgewise, he bowed again and went to the frail woman's door.

He knocked on her door and said, "Big sister, please tell me where Xin Laohei is. I don't need the money; consider it payment."

The woman opened the door a crack and saw Song Fu standing outside looking anxious. She couldn't help but feel a little smug and said, "Then you have to give me another penny, no, two pennies. No one else knows about this except me."

Song Fu said with a bitter face, "I... I'm not exactly rich either. You just took the money, so you should have told me where Xin Laohei is."

"Me, take your money? What a joke! Who saw that? Don't talk nonsense."

“I saw it,” said the eldest son of the plump woman’s family. “You either return the money or tell them right now, or don’t blame me for being impolite.”

The woman swallowed hard, quite unconvinced, and said, "You roughneck, you really are a country bumpkin, all you know is brute force."

"What's wrong with country folk? Country folk are more sensible and less greedy than you."

“That’s right,” the fat aunt’s brothers all agreed. Seeing that the eldest brother was right, they all chimed in.

The woman, still mindful of the others living in the same courtyard, reluctantly said, "There it is."

He pointed in a direction with lightning speed and then immediately withdrew his hand.

Since no one could see clearly, they angrily shouted, "Which direction? If you're going to say it, say it properly!"

The woman immediately screamed, "Murder! Murder! The Shi family father and son are going to kill someone!"

The plump old woman took off her shoe and threw it at him hard, yelling, "Shut up! If you say another word, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Song Fu quickly stopped her, "Don't worry, Auntie, I've seen it clearly. I'll go find it myself. Please don't tire yourself out."

The plump old woman said with exasperation, "She's just trying to fool you. Don't believe her. Get your money back and find someone reliable."

Song Fu was an imposter, so how could she be allowed to actually go looking for him? Therefore, she stopped her, saying, "To tell you the truth, this is how I ended up in this state, misled by someone. I originally had some money... but at least I found him. My family is right in front of me, so I have to go and try my luck."

His eyes revealed sadness and anticipation, which the plump old lady couldn't bear to break, so she said, "If you're willing, then be willing. Anyway, it's not my money."

Song Fu clasped his hands in farewell and headed in the direction the woman had pointed.

The third son of the Shi family watched Song Fu walk away before saying, "That woman got a dime just by saying a few words, but you, Mother, gave her water and spoke up for her, and you didn't get a single penny."

Just as the plump aunt was about to start her meal, upon hearing this, she slapped the third son's hand, which was stealing food, with her chopsticks. "Go away, go away! Do good deeds and don't worry about the future. Don't you know that? You should read more books."

The third brother said, "Did someone else teach you that? What's the use of just talking if you can't write?"

The plump old woman retorted, "So what? It's already difficult enough for someone to be reasonable. Back in the day, your grandfather worked odd jobs at the tutor's house, and I learned a lot from watching him from outside the window..."

"Okay, okay, I know, please stop talking." The third brother quickly covered his ears. He had heard about the fat aunt eavesdropping on the students' studies at the private school while she was working a thousand times since he was a child, and he didn't want to hear it again.

Therefore, although the plump old lady was not very literate, she could occasionally come up with a few lines of poetry. She often thought that she was different from other village women and that she was somewhat cultured.

Since marrying Old Man Shi, she gave birth to three sons in quick succession, securing her position and never having to work in the fields. Her days were filled with household chores. Before, her husband would help her, but as her sons grew up, they took over the housework. All she had to do was manage the grain and mend clothes. All the men in the family doted on her, which often made her the object of jealousy, as evidenced by her neighbor across the street.

The third son retorted to his mother, and Old Man Shi immediately stated his position, "Your mother is right. Without your mother's insight, we wouldn't have come to the city and been able to buy three rooms. We'll listen to your mother."

Seeing her husband's support, the plump woman became even more smug. She gave each person a bowl and invited the whole family to eat.

The door across the hall opened a crack, and the fat old lady and her family were eating their meal peacefully, chatting about what they had seen and heard that day. The old lady spat on the ground and said, "A family of pigs, eating all day long. No family eats dinner like this. Bah!"

Song Fu was unaware of what had happened in the courtyard after he left; he was preoccupied with figuring out how to return to Cheng Ping's house without any trouble.

Those in the alley who could afford it might have dinner, while most of those who couldn't would gather together to chat and pass the time, or go home to sleep. Seeing a stranger all felt very novel.

Song Fu swallowed uncomfortably, looking at the people along the way with a fawning expression, forcing them to avert their gaze, afraid that he would ask for something.

After asking around and stumbling along the way, they finally stood at the gate of Cheng Ping's house just before the last glimmer of light disappeared.

"Oh dear, how could it not be there? This isn't Old Man Xin's house, my uncle, where have you gone..."

The Cheng family was having dinner when they heard a commotion outside. Mrs. Cheng listened carefully for a while and wondered, "What's all this noise in front of our door?"

Cheng Ping strained his ears to listen and vaguely heard something about "Xin Laohei," which made his heart skip a beat. He immediately put down his chopsticks and came out.

As soon as he came out, he saw a young man in tattered clothes sitting on the ground, wailing and crying. His words were full of despair at not being able to find his relatives. Cheng Ping impatiently shooed him away, "Go away, go beg for food at someone else's house. My family doesn't have any extra food."

With tears in his eyes, Song Fu said, "Grandpa, I'm not a beggar, I'm here to find my relatives."

Cheng Ping didn't care what he was doing there. Crying and shouting in front of his own door was unacceptable, so he grabbed him and pushed him aside. "Did you find him? If you didn't, he's just a beggar. Get lost. Going to someone else's house to mourn is bad luck."

He picked up a bit of dust from Song Fu's clothes and immediately started wiping it off with obvious disgust. Seeing that Song Fu still wasn't leaving, he tried to shoo him away, saying, "Are you leaving or not? If you don't, I'll beat you up."

Song Fu cowered in fear, covering his head with his hands, terrified that Cheng Ping would slap him and make him sick.

It turned out that Cheng Ping wasn't tall, of medium build, but he was broad-shouldered and burly, with a face full of fleshy muscles that made him look like a ruthless man. That's why he could intimidate prisoners; with just one glare, the timid would immediately confess.

People around him usually didn't dare to mess with him, but people are naturally inclined to sympathize with the weak. Song Fu looked pitiful, as if Cheng Ping were a bully, so they couldn't help but feel some sympathy for him. Although they wouldn't do anything to help, they were willing to say a few words.

An elderly woman, relying on her seniority, bravely stepped forward and said tremblingly, "Lord Cheng, you can't do this. We've all seen this child's journey to find his family."

"That's right," others chimed in. Encouraged, the old woman continued, "When you're successful, you should help others; when you're unsuccessful, you should cultivate your own virtue. Warden Cheng, you're more capable than any of us. Please help this poor child."

Cheng Ping stroked his chin as he listened to the chatter of the crowd. He then made a grabbing motion in the air and shouted, "Stop! Anyone who sympathizes with him, go home. Farewell."

After saying that, he was about to leave, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Just as Cheng Ping was about to enter the house, Song Fu's weak voice came, "Excuse me, do you know Xin Laohei?"

Cheng Ping stopped abruptly, as if recalling something, and turned to ask, "Which Xin Laohei are you talking about?"

Song Fu quickly crawled over and said, "Xin Laohei is from Wujiapo. He runs a buying and selling business. He only has one older sister who got married a long time ago. He has no children of his own, only me as his nephew."

Cheng Ping looked Song Fu up and down. "Are you sure?"

Song Fu quickly nodded, "Yes, everything I said is true."