Among the onlookers were those who knew water. Thinking that saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda, they quickly jumped in. They did not notice the master-servant relationship, and whoever was closer went to rescue them first.
Grabbing one of the servants, the servant struggled. He accidentally got his head pulled into the water and swallowed several mouthfuls. He was somewhat annoyed. He had come with good intentions to save someone, but instead, he almost lost his own life.
The servant was also helpless. He had reached his limit, and if no one else saved him, he would sink into the water. But thinking of his mistress's ruthlessness, if something happened to the young master, he would only have death as an option. He could only shout loudly, "Save the young master!"
This shout was disastrous. It caused him to swallow more water, and he sank directly.
Fortunately, a few more people came down at this time. Each person pulled one of them ashore, otherwise, by the time he rescued their so-called young master and then went to rescue the servant, it would have been too late.
Among the few, Young Master Zhou had the weakest body and fell in first. When he was pulled up, he was already somewhat unconscious. Fortunately, there was a doctor in the crowd. The doctor turned him over, pressed him a few times, and after he vomited a few mouthfuls of water, he woke up.
Some who recognized them and were quick-witted hurried to the Zhou mansion to report the news. Madam Zhou, upon receiving the message, rushed over in a panic. Seeing her son in such a state, she was heartbroken and immediately ordered people to carry him back.
She sent people to inquire around, but no one knew how her son had fallen. Eager to know her son's condition, Madam Zhou could only return unwillingly, knowing there would be other days.
After returning to the mansion, she learned that he was only frightened and not seriously injured, which made Madam Zhou breathe a sigh of relief. She asked about the situation at the time. Young Master Zhou could not explain anything clearly, only feeling that someone had pushed him, and he had fallen into the water. As for who it was, he really hadn't noticed.
At that moment, Xu Yijie, with an unknown burst of strength, had directly pushed him down. Taking advantage of the crowd's slow reaction, he quickly left. He waited anxiously for a day and, seeing no one come looking for him, cautiously went out.
During this day, thanks to the little beggar who feared he would go hungry and secretly brought him leftovers from small eateries, he also told him that he couldn't come every day and advised him to fend for himself and quickly find a way to survive.
Xu Yijie remained noncommittal to his words. Did he not want to live a good life? But who would want someone in his state? Besides, he couldn't do manual labor for others.
Madam Zhou remained unwilling and sent people to inquire again, still with no success. Her first thought was Wu Caiwei.
In this city, she was the only one who had a mortal enmity with her and could accomplish things so silently. Thinking of this, she hated him. She had been low-key enough and had not troubled her, yet she had troubled her first. Thinking of how she had almost lost her son, she felt she couldn't just wait for death. This time her son had escaped by luck, but what about next time? Su Dan Novel Network
It was Wu Caiwei who heard about Young Master Zhou falling into the water. She intuitively felt that if Madam Zhou could find the culprit, it would be better. If she couldn't, she would definitely blame it on herself. It seemed she still had to find a way to deal with the Zhou family, otherwise, she would always be in an uneasy state.
Fortunately, Ouyang Chen had left her a few capable people when he left, fearing that if something happened, there would be no one to help. At this time, they came in handy.
Two people were dispatched from Xu Yijie and Madam Zhou respectively to monitor them and report any anomalies promptly.
Soon, she discovered that Xu Yijie was indeed a strange person. He often inquired about Young Master Zhou's affairs and did not think about earning money himself. Instead, he waited for the little beggar he had helped before to bring him food every day. The little beggar felt that this situation could not go on, so he told him that he would no longer bring him food and advised him to fend for himself.
As a result, Xu Yijie went to where the little beggar worked and claimed to be his friend. The little beggar had no choice but to spend his own money to buy him food, telling him not to bother him anymore.
Who knew that he was like a piece of sticky toffee, impossible to shake off once you were stuck to him. He would go to him every mealtime. If he didn't give him food, he would cause a commotion in the restaurant. The little beggar saw the boss's impatient look several times and, fearing he would be fired, could only give him a few copper coins to send him away and then quickly apologize to the boss.
Once or twice was understandable, but every time it was like this, the boss felt that although this person was quite diligent and knew how to please, he caused a lot of trouble. In the end, he reluctantly said, "Little Liu, business in the small restaurant is not as good as before. My wife and I can handle it. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come to work. I'll settle your wages shortly."
Upon hearing this, the little beggar froze and quickly pleaded, "Boss, I will definitely be more careful and work harder in the future. Please don't fire me."
The boss sighed and said helplessly, "I don't want to do this, but you are constantly causing trouble. You make a fuss every mealtime. Haven't you noticed that my business has been affected in the past few days? We also need to eat. If this continues, my business will be ruined, and if we can't even make ends meet, how can we hire you? You should leave quickly and stay away from that person in the future."
The little beggar stood rooted to the spot, speechless, and could only dejectedly pack his belongings and leave.
The shopkeeper was kind enough to pay him all his wages for all these days, giving him some time to adjust. However, this time he planned to stay far away from Xu Yijie.
When it was time for a meal, Xu Yijie went to find the little beggar as usual, only to be told that he had already left. He was stunned. What would he do for lunch?
He shamelessly asked the shopkeeper for food again. After so many days, the boss had seen how shameless this person was from the little beggar. He quickly extended his hand and said, "If you pay, we have all kinds of dishes here. Of course, if you come to our store as you usually do and make a scene without regard for anything, then we will seek justice from the county magistrate."
Xu Yijie immediately backed down and could only leave dejectedly. Walking on the street, his stomach rumbled with hunger, causing him great discomfort.
At this moment, he thought of Wu Caiwei again. As soon as they met, Wu Caiwei ordered her men to beat him up without a word.
The pain in his body reminded him that he was truly desperate. Last time, pretending to be a beggar, he had money and could buy food with his own money when he couldn't beg. He didn't feel how difficult life was. This time, having truly become a beggar, he realized how hard life was. Sometimes, he couldn't even get a steamed bun or a copper coin in a day. After eating one meal, he would worry about the next.
Sometimes, if he begged for a little more money or things, and other beggars saw it, when they returned at night, their belongings would be robbed, and they would also be beaten.
He had had enough of such a life. From the bundle he brought, he took out a cleaver and sharpened it on a stone whenever he had free time.