The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 404: Pleasure

The sky was dimly lit.

Hong Jiu squatted in a ditch near Shanxi Lane, regardless of whether the stream of water flowing through thousands of households was dirty or not. He stretched out his arm and used a broken clay jar to scoop up one after another, scrubbing from head to foot.

The skin that had been rubbed was almost torn, and it was reflected in the green stream. He gathered his messy hair neatly and realized that he had already looked like a dog. Only then did he straighten his back with satisfaction.

Of course, this was just that he was satisfied with himself. In fact, his messy and tattered clothes, no matter how much he washed them, he couldn’t escape his identity as a ”beggar.”

That was right, Hong Jiu was a beggar and one of the most famous beggars near Shanxi Lane.

The reason he could become a ”famous beggar” was because he was lazier than others, but relying on his eloquent and clever mouth, he could always have a good harvest and live a hundred times more nourishing than others.

“Brothers Jiu, Brothers Jiu!”

At this moment, two little beggars flew over like flies. Before they could get close, one of them, aged fourteen or fifteen, picked up a broken bowl covered in a wooden board and proudly said, "Brother Jiu, listen to this voice; it's lovable.”

“You’ve got it?”

Hong Jiu couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard the words. He strode forward to meet the two of them, staring at the broken bowl with burning eyes as if he were looking at a treasure trove.

“Of course! Brother, if I take action, can there still be a runner?”

The little beggar boasted and carefully opened a gap, only to see a magpie poking its head out of the bowl, shouting incessantly, Chirp, chirp.

“With it, we can all work together.”

Hong Jiu laughed and reached out to grab the magpie out of the bowl. He then tied it with a straw rope and hugged it in his arms. He raised his hand and said, "Let's go; let me take you both to pleasure.”

“Let’s go.”

The two little beggars both cheered and followed Hong Jiu through the streets to reach an inconspicuous courtyard door.

Hong Jiu stopped and made a silent gesture. He then took out the flower magpie in his arms, stroked its feather, and murmured, "Good buddy, you should work hard today. Otherwise, if I can't get the wedding money, I will have to sacrifice you.”

During the conversation, the two little beggars had already squatted side by side in the corner of the wall. Hong Jiu was also polite and climbed onto their shoulders to the top of the wall, placing the magpie on the wall and pressing the straw rope tied to the magpie under the tiles.

After setting up the mechanism, he laid down on the wall and looked inside a few times. He saw a few red double happiness stickers on the window of the inner room and jumped down with joy. He smiled and said, "Er Zi, you really are capable. You're indeed marrying today.”

Er Zi rubbed his shoulders and proudly displayed, "Isn't that right? I heard this Old Lady say with my ears, can there be any fake?”

The little beggar next to him also competed for praise and said, "These are all easy to me. If I hadn't discovered two beautiful girls hidden in this house first and had high-ranking officials come to visit them now and then, would you have come specifically to inquire about the news?”

“But you said she was from ”another mansion” at that time. If it weren't for me investigating and understanding, then the sister would have been a concubine to be married, wouldn't you have missed it?”

“Alright, enough.”

Seeing the two of them arguing, Hong Jiu scolded with some impatience, "Before the magpie calls out, you two scumbags started to argue endlessly.”

Two little beggars quickly stopped talking.

But after a while, they heard a few chirp from the wall, with a voice sharp and loud.

Hong Jiu's eyes also lit up, and he quickly gestured to the two little beggars to avoid them. He then took out a pair of bamboo boards from his arms and waited for the magpie to chirp a few more times before coming to the door:

“My bamboo board was clattering. This family is not simple; there have been magpies chirping for a long time. With the magpie singing, there will be good things.”

He sang rhythmically there. Inside, a woman heard the movement and opened the door, looking into a gap. However, she saw a white-faced beggar standing outside and couldn't help but wonder, "You're such a good beggar. How could you come begging before dawn?”

Hong Jiu collapsed his shoulders and sang obsequiously with a smile on his face. "The magpie branches are chirping, and it must be a noble person who wants to make a fortune. It's better to make a fortune early than late, and it's even more important to hurry up early for good luck.”

Today was originally the day of great celebration for this family, and Hong Jiu was full of auspicious words. The woman didn't want to force him to leave. She was wondering how to give away some leftover food and vegetables when someone inside asked, "Nanny Wu, who's there?”

“Madam, he is a beggar. He said he heard a magpie calling in our house and rushed to congratulate our family.”

As she spoke, a neatly dressed middle-aged woman appeared inside and looked at Hong Jiu in surprise. Before she could even speak, Hong Jiu sang happily again, "Look at this room door divided left and right, and there comes a blessed person. The sky is full, and happiness and longevity do not end; the earth is round, and wealth and glory cannot be fully enjoyed.”

The Old Lady couldn't help but chuckle when she heard him speak so sweetly. She finally married her daughter to a wealthy family and went back to the house for the first time. She took over two taels of silver and threw them to Hong Jiu, saying, "I'll give you these for the lucky words as a reward.”

Hong Jiu took the silver in his hand and couldn't help but smile. He knelt on the ground with a loud thud and said in a crisp voice, "Thank you, Madam! If you go into business, you will earn the gold and silver to fill your warehouse; if you marry your children off, you are destined to have many grandchildren.”

The latter remark, however, echoed the Old Lady’s thoughts, so she said with a smile, "What a sweet mouth. Nanny Wu, reward him with the half pot of chicken soup we left yesterday, and give him some more white flour and buns!"

As she spoke, she returned to the courtyard without hesitation.

“Thank you for your reward, thank you for your reward.”

Hong Jiu kowtowed two times in joy, holding the broken pottery pot in his hands, waiting for the woman to give away half a pot of chicken soup and several big white buns lit with vermilion. He was grateful again.

“Brother Jiu, this time we made it!”

When Nanny Wu also returned to the courtyard, the two little beggars happily approached and stared at the pottery pot of chicken soup with shining eyes, their saliva dripping uncontrollably.

“Look at the achievements of both of you…”

Hong Jiu glared and raised his hand in high spirits, saying, "Let's go back to the temple and ask Niu'er to heat this chicken soup. Let's also cook meat.”

The two little beggars cheered and were about to leave with Hong Jiu. However, Hong Jiu suddenly stopped walking and looked back at the corner of the wall, saying, "Wait a moment. Since that Maggie has helped us, we can't leave…”

“Hong Jiu!”

Before Hong Jiu could finish speaking, someone suddenly let out a cold roar from the slanted corner. Hong Jiu followed the sound and saw four beggars suddenly appear in the alley ahead. The leader, with a large waist and a wooden stick, was missing half of his left ear.

This person was not someone else, but he was the most powerful beggar, Deaf Boss, near Shanxi Lane!

Bad luck!

How could they be blocked by this guy?!

Hong Jiu cursed unlucky in his heart, secretly winking at the two little beggars while laughing happily, "Hey, isn't this the Deaf Boss? What brings you here?”

As he spoke, he seemed to be about to greet him, but he turned around and ran with two little beggars!

Just as soon as he took two steps, Hong Jiu realized that there were still five beggars eagerly blocking behind him.

Seeing the attack, Hong Jiu knew that he was doomed. He simply turned around and sent the chicken soup and buns forward. He said aloud, "Deaf Boss, I’m defeated by you. Take the things away, Brother, treat it as an honor to you!"

The Deaf Boss sneered and said disdainfully, "Cut off your nonsense and play around. Do you think I didn't see that silver?”

After a pause, he sneered again and said, "But I came today not for any money, but to establish rules for you and let you know who is the boss of Shanxi Lane.”

As he spoke, he waved his mallet and said, "Brothers, give this bastard some lessons.”

At this command, nine beggars immediately trapped Hong Jiu and surrounded him, and they saw sticks like rain, chicken soup flying, and several white flour buns rolling back and forth on the ground.”

Although Hong Jiu's mouth was sharp and his eyes were lively, his body was notoriously thin. One-on-one, he was not an opponent, let alone being bullied more than he was.

In the blink of an eye, he was knocked down to the ground, but he insisted on protecting the two little beggars, gritting his teeth and not saying a word!

“Enough!”

The Deaf Boss saw that he was almost done, so he called off his subordinates and searched Hong Jiu's arms to take away the silver coins. Only then did he proudly say, "Little thief~, I will teach you to be good today, and when you get the silver money in the future, remember to send it to me. I don't want all of it from you, just in the ratio of 80 to 20 percent.”

As he spoke, he stepped on Hong Jiu's spine again and sneered, "If you don't want to hand it to me, that's okay. If I find out about you once, I'll break one of your fingers. When all ten fingers are broken, I'll disable your bloody dog paw.”

After speaking, he saw Hong Jiu lying on top of the two little beggars in a state of bloodshed, still silent. The Deaf Boss couldn't help but feel angry again.

With a signal, a subordinate immediately stepped forward and fixed Hong Jiu's left hand on the ground.

The Deaf Boss lifted the mallet in his hand and said with a cruel smile, "Since you broke the rules for the first time today, I will leave a mark and a long memory for you first.”

The two little beggars were already frightened and started crying, pleading in a sharp voice, "Deaf Boss, please forgive our Brother Jiu this time.”

Spit!

The Deaf Boss disdainfully spat thick phlegm on Hong Jiu's body and cursed, "What is he? How dare you call him Brother Jiu in front of me?! Just for this, and I will leave a mark on him.”

As he spoke, he swung the stick around and was about to hit Hong Jiu's tail finger!

Clang~

At this moment, Nanny Wu suddenly pushed the door open and saw the mess outside. Hong Jiu was pressed down on the ground and she quickly called out, "What are you doing? Release that person quickly!”

If it were to be replaced by an ordinary beggar and be scolded like this, their hearts would have been afraid long ago.

Who knew that the Deaf Boss was so arrogant that he turned his head and pointed a stick at Nanny Wu, cursing, "Old Baba, whose pants are not securely fastened, and let you leak out?”

A few beggars around burst into laughter when they heard the words.

Nanny Wu instinctively shrank back when she saw the large number of them, but then remembered something again. She stood up straight and jumped out, crossed her waist, and cursed, "What a dog that doesn't have long eyes! My Second Lady is going to marry the ”Divine Judgement Lord Sun” today. If you cause trouble for the happy day, be careful, the Sun family will skin you alive.”

As soon as the Deaf Boss heard the words the ”Divine Judgement Lord Sun,” even his spine softened. He didn’t dare to shout anymore. He apologized several times and then flew away like a fly.

His men, however, were reluctant to part with the rewards on the ground. They scrambled to pick up buns and chicken, and then they went off with the Deaf Boss.

At this moment, Hong Jiu also got up with the help of his two younger brothers and arched his hand at Nanny Wu, saying, "Auntie's kindness in saving lives is unforgettable to Hong Jiu.”

“You sound like someone who has read a book, but why do you have to be a beggar?”

Nanny Wu murmured. Seeing his head broken and bleeding, she couldn’t bear it after all. So she turned back and took some buns again and sighed, "The good chicken soup has been spoiled, and now only these buns are left."

Hong Jiu was once again grateful, and when Nanny Wu returned to the courtyard, he didn't rush to leave. Instead, he gritted his teeth and climbed up to the wall, releasing the magpie and limping away.

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