Chapter 127: Scumbags Are Everywhere

Liu Liwa led the girls out quietly. By Xiuzhu’s state, she wouldn’t take her own life for at least the next two days. She still held onto her last bit of hope, though even that hope was starting to shake. She just didn’t want to believe it.

“Which of you knows that blacksmith Wang Erdao? What is he really thinking? Xiuzhu is going crazy,” Cuiping asked with concern. Although they all worked together, they rarely talked about specific customers, so no one knew much about Wang Erdao.

All the girls shook their heads. They never thought one of their sisters would fall for a customer. Things like mutual love leading to redemption or eloping were just stories from romance books or spicy novels. Or, in later times, some scumbags even tricked working girls out of their hard-earned money and fragile feelings. Or some former working girls would pretend to be innocent to trick naive young men into marriage…

In short, nobody believed that the blacksmith Wang Erdao truly had feelings for Xiuzhu. Nor did they believe he would come back to marry her. Maybe Wang Erdao really liked Xiuzhu, but there was a saying in this era: There are three hardest trades in the world — being a boatman, a blacksmith, or selling tofu. These three jobs were tough and had low social status. Most importantly, they paid very little.

Weapons were strictly controlled these days. No household could have more than two kitchen knives. Blacksmith shops mainly made hoes and shovels. Some farming families even passed these tools down as heirlooms. A single hoe could last several generations. So business was very poor for blacksmith shops. Five hundred silver taels for redemption — even if Wang Erdao’s ancestors had been blacksmiths for eight generations, they probably couldn’t have saved that much.

After talking it over, everyone thought Xiuzhu had been deceived. Some girls couldn’t help but start cursing Wang Erdao, calling him a scumbag who even tricked pleasure house girls. Just then, someone suddenly stopped nearby and interrupted, “Sisters, do you also know Wang Erdao?”

Huh? Everyone turned and saw a chubby man speaking. His round face was shiny and oily, and his eyes were narrowed into slits. He looked quite cute. Most people here knew him — the fat cook from the kitchen. Nobody knew his real name; they all called him Wang Laoer. He had been at Intoxication Pavilion for many years, starting as an apprentice. Later he was in charge of cooking for the girls, and he was quite skilled. Now he was the head chef at Intoxication Pavilion. Usually when he saved on ingredients, he would make extra dishes for the girls. So everyone turned a blind eye to him peeping into the girls’ rooms at night.

“Wang Laoer, do you know Wang Erdao?” a girl immediately asked, worried about Xiuzhu.

The chubby Wang Laoer nodded. “If it’s Wang Erdao from the blacksmith shop on West Street, then I know him. Our families are neighbors. We grew up playing together.”

“Haha, he is Wang Erdao, you are Wang Laoer. You two together make a ‘well’!” Liu Liwa laughed as he stood up.

Now Liu Liwa was becoming famous in Intoxication Pavilion. Many rich guests asked for him by name, sometimes even more than for the most popular girls. Even the Madam showed him respect. He was practically the grassroots king of Intoxication Pavilion. The fat guy was no exception. However, this was his first time interacting with Liu Liwa, so he immediately greeted him respectfully, “Brother Xiaoqi, this humble one pays respects to you. I just don’t understand what Brother Xiaoqi means by this ‘well’?”

Haha, Wang Erdao and Wang Laoer together made a ‘well’ — looking horizontally or vertically, it’s all ‘two’!

Liu Liwa chuckled inwardly but naturally didn’t explain it to him. He waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing, I was just talking casually. Since you know Wang Erdao and grew up together, tell us about him — what kind of person is he, his character, family background, and such.”

Wang Laoer was stunned, not understanding why this rising star of the pleasure house was asking about a blacksmith. Some girls were growing impatient, but Liu Liwa stopped them with a look. He asked calmly, “Don’t overthink it. We’re just asking casually. We heard Wang Erdao is the most skilled craftsman in Linyu County, and we wanted to patronize him. You see, Miss Cuiping just redeemed herself and wants to do some tailoring work in the future. She was thinking of asking Wang Erdao to make some scissors and other sewing tools.”

“Oh, I see.” The fat guy understood. Aside from his usual habit of peeping at girls bathing and changing clothes, which was a bit creepy, he was actually quite simple-minded. So simple that he didn’t even protect his friend, saying bluntly, “Brother Xiaoqi, if you want large iron tools, I advise you not to go to Wang Erdao. Although his ancestors were blacksmiths for eight generations, his skills are really mediocre. He can only make scissors; he can’t even make proper kitchen knives. Originally that blacksmith shop was his family’s heritage, but by his generation, his father’s apprentice actually became the shopkeeper. He could only work as an assistant, earning just a few copper coins a month. The most annoying thing is that guy is addicted to gambling. He loses every time he gambles, and often comes to borrow silver from me.”

Whoa… Nobody expected this fat guy to reveal such shocking inside information. Seeing the girls gritting their teeth, the fat guy asked nervously, “Sisters, you’re so angry — did you also lend that bastard some silver?”

“Thanks, fatty. Luckily you told us Wang Erdao’s skills are poor, otherwise we would have been cheated out of our silver for nothing.” Liu Liwa patted his shoulder. “Oh, by the way, fatty, you’re a cook. You must know which restaurants in town are good. Recently I made a little money. How about we go for a drink later?”

Hearing that Liu Liwa wanted to treat him to drinks, the fat guy immediately became flustered. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. How could I let Brother Xiaoqi treat me? But if we’re talking about the best restaurant in town, that would be Xu’s Restaurant where my master works as head chef. If Brother Xiaoqi is interested, I can take you there. It happens to be on the same street as Wang Erdao’s blacksmith shop.”

“Good, good. You go do your work first. I’ll come find you when it’s mealtime.” Liu Liwa was very pleased — this suited his plans perfectly.

After sending the fat guy away, the girls were already furious, their anger boiling over. They gritted their silver teeth, just waiting for the order to go beat up Wang Erdao. If Liu Liwa hadn’t stopped them in time, Wang Erdao would have become the first person to die from a group beating by pleasure house girls.

“Sisters, don’t get excited.” Liu Liwa said with a smile. “We all heard what the fat guy just said. Based on his introduction, Wang Erdao is definitely a scammer. I’m as angry as you are, and I also want to beat him to vent. But have you thought about this — Xiuzhu is completely under his spell. She’s waiting for him almost obsessively, determined to marry no one else. If we tell her the truth now, Xiuzhu definitely won’t believe it. Even if she did believe, she might go crazy on the spot or even try to kill herself. We’re here to help her, not harm her.”

“Brother Xiaoqi, do you have a better idea?” Miss Yanhong looked at Liu Liwa’s sly smile and boldly guessed. The girls hadn’t known him for long, but they already understood him quite well. Whenever he showed such a confident smile, people around him would be influenced and feel an unexplainable trust in him.

And Liu Liwa had never let anyone down. He snapped his fingers and said with full confidence, “That’s right, I do have a plan. Not only will it not break Xiuzhu’s heart, it will actually fulfill her wishes. It will make that Wang Erdao willingly carry the red wedding sedan and marry her properly. And he will serve Xiuzhu honestly, gently, and thoughtfully for the rest of his life!”