Li Laocai's Misfortune, Qin Xuemei Asks for Recommendation Votes

Li Laocai's body tilted, and his fat bulk rolled down from the ridge between the fields. He wiped a hand across the blood and immediately let out a pig-slaughtering scream that made all who heard it wince.

"Master!"

"Master, are you all right? How could there be nails here? Heaven!"

Chen Pu and another sturdy servant turned pale with fright. Wary of the nails beneath their feet, they went down the ridge to help Li Laocai up, only to discover that a nail had pierced his right foot, driven through the sole of his shoe and into his foot, blood streaming everywhere.

What was more, a Rusted Iron Nail was stuck near his buttock. A small wooden chip was fitted around the nailhead; it must have been buried in the earth to secure the nail, and it was still smeared with mud.

Blood gushed out, staining Li Laocai's brocade robe red.

Chen Pu and the sturdy servant panicked at the sight of blood all over the ground.

"Ah!"

"Quick, take me... I'm going to Hundred Herbs Hall to find Doctor Bai. Ouch, it hurts so much!"

At this moment, Li Laocai could neither sit nor stand. He lay on his side on the ground, howling in pain.

"Quick, quick, quick! Carry Master to Hundred Herbs Hall!"

Chen Pu gave an order to the sturdy servant beside him. The two of them half carried and half supported Li Laocai away. Not far from them, hidden amid the dead grass, lay a palm-sized Money Pouch the same color as the grass. It would have been impossible to spot without looking carefully.

"Hmm?"

"That old bastard stepped right into it! Feels great!"

"Hmph! This is only the appetizer. He actually dared scheme against me! How could I let this go without killing him?"

Qin Wang hid in the thatch by the earthen bank and watched the Li Family servants carry Li Laocai toward Hundred Herbs Hall in the market. He immediately strode toward the spot where Li Laocai had been stabbed.

Not long after.

Qin Wang arrived at the place where the nails had been buried. After scanning the area, he spotted an earth-yellow Money Pouch in a thick clump of dead grass. Its mouth was tied shut with string, and his eyes immediately lit up. "Found it!"

Qin Wang picked up the Money Pouch and tucked it into his chest. After collecting the remaining eight iron nails, he headed for the woods in the opposite direction.

This was behind the market.

Once Li Laocai recovered his senses and discovered that the Money Pouch was gone, he would surely investigate who had appeared on that field ridge where the nails had been buried. Although Qin Wang had worn a black hat to cover half his face and a bulky cotton coat that concealed his appearance, it was still not safe enough.

It would be best to take a wide detour home without arousing suspicion.

Behind Qingniu Town lay a stretch of hills.

About eight li from Qingniu Town was a graveyard that few people visited in ordinary times.

Most of Qingniu Town's residents were buried here after death. Maple trees three or four zhang tall grew all around it, while the ground was carpeted with rotting leaves that gave off a decayed stench.

Seeing that no one was around, Qin Wang sat beneath a thick maple tree and eagerly took out the Money Pouch. He tore open its binding string and found it filled with loose silver. After counting it, his eyes lit up at once. "Eighteen taels of loose silver! Feels great! Added to the three taels I already had, that makes twenty-one taels of silver! Now I have the entrance fee for the martial arts school!"

Qin Wang carefully put the loose silver into his chest, then secretly buried Li Laocai's Money Pouch. Only after clearing away all traces did he rise and continue taking a detour back.

Li Family Manor was located southwest of Qingniu Town.

It covered six or seven mu and had four courtyards, surrounded by walls more than a zhang high. The grounds were spacious, with artificial hills, lotus ponds, pavilions, and all kinds of ornamental trees. It was tranquil and elegant.

Li Family Manor alone had more than twenty servants and maids, as well as four guards.

In the second courtyard, inside a classically styled side room.

"Oww~~~"

"Which damned bastard put nails on the field ridge? It hurts me to death, oww!"

Li Laocai lay facedown on the couch, groaning and cursing the person who had buried the nails. Two layers of cotton quilts covered him, leaving only his head exposed. The doors and windows were open for ventilation, and a brazier of charcoal sat in the middle of the room.

Three maidservants waited nervously at his bedside.

After the doctor from Hundred Herbs Hall had pulled out the nails and bandaged him, he prescribed several packets of herbal medicine and told him not to go outside after returning home, only to keep warm.

"Master, I took three men and searched around that field ridge several times, but we still could not find your Money Pouch."

At that moment, Steward Chen Pu entered the room and respectfully said, "However, I asked several households near the field ridge. During the period after you were injured, five people passed by that spot. Three were tenant farmers from Qingniu Town, while the other two could not be identified clearly."

"Keep looking!"

"Find those five people and question them thoroughly! The Money Pouch must be recovered!"

Li Laocai's eyes widened as he rebuked him.

That was eighteen taels of silver—enough to buy nearly three maids and servants. Losing it just like that was practically cutting flesh from his body!

"Yes, Master!"

Chen Pu respectfully acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

"How could I be so unlucky!"

"Oww."

Li Laocai watched Chen Pu's retreating back, his eyes filled with gloom. Nails had pierced both his foot and his buttock, and now he had lost his silver as well. His chest felt so stifled that he could barely breathe.

"Master, Granny Yan wishes to see you. She is waiting in the front hall."

Just then, a maidservant in green entered and spoke respectfully.

"Granny Yan? All of you, leave. Let her come in!"

Li Laocai recalled his agreement with Granny Yan. Over the years, he had earned quite a bit of silver through her channel.

Yan Yun County City.

The laundry room of the Chen Family, one of the Four Great Families.

This was a courtyard near the rear of Chen Family Mansion, roughly a hundred zhang in circumference. Bamboo poles for drying clothes stood everywhere, most of them hung with garments of every color. Ten young girls dressed in coarse hemp clothes were pounding and washing dirty clothing in large wooden basins before them.

In the basins beside them were clothes that had been wrung dry, along with washing paddles and soapberries.

"Sister Xuemei, were you sold here too because your family had too many mouths to feed?"

At that moment, one skinny girl looked at the girl beside her, who was washing clothes with her head lowered, and asked.

"I came here willingly."

Qin Xuemei glanced at Xiao Zi, who had spoken. Worry showed in her eyes. She had been gone for nearly two months now. She wondered how her younger brother was doing. Six hundred coins should have been enough to get through the winter, but would he know how to take care of himself?

With their land gone, what would he do in the future?

"Willingly? Why?"

Confusion filled Xiao Zi's eyes.

Her parents had sold her to the Chen Family because they could not afford to feed three children. Otherwise, who would willingly become a lowly Laundry Slave?

"Mm. If I sold myself, my younger brother could live."

Though Qin Xuemei spoke, her hands never stopped working. She said quietly, "Xiao Zi, don't talk while working. If you fail to finish your quota, you won't get food, and you'll be whipped. Also, be especially careful with expensive clothes. If you ruin them, the consequences will be severe."

The Chen Family had many people, and they changed out of many clothes every day. Aside from washing clothes, the ten laundry maids had other tasks to complete every day. They were almost never idle, and even ran all the way when going to the latrine.

Failing to finish their tasks meant punishments of hunger and whippings.

That was considered mild.

They had to be especially careful when washing the clothes of young masters, young ladies, and madams. If they damaged them, not only would they be beaten, they would also have to pay compensation. Qin Xuemei had heard that two laundry maids had previously been beaten to death for ruining one of First Madam's garments.

She and Xiao Zi had only filled the vacancies they left behind.

"Oh, I understand."

Xiao Zi's expression tightened. She did not dare speak again and lowered her head to work. She had only been here for three days, and Qin Xuemei was the only person she could talk to. None of the other laundry girls spoke.