Chapter 28: The Pedantic Scholar

The scholar thought she was a weak and stuttering woman, and wanted to protect her.

Who would have thought this little stutterer was so ruthless, using boiling oil to burn someone until they screamed in agony.

Seeing the young man on the ground clutching his hand and howling, the scholar felt a chill in his heart.

Lin Ruanruan had already put down the large ladle in her hand and walked to the young man.

Looking down at him, her eyes were cold.

"You wicked woman, you won't die a good death!" The young man, burned by the oil, still didn't learn his lesson and glared at Lin Ruanruan, cursing her.

Lin Ruanruan sneered, squatted down, and slapped him across the face.

He was just relying on his ability to talk and curse. Now, every time the young man cursed, she rewarded him with a slap.

The young man was startled but continued to curse a few more times.

After several rounds, one side of his face was swollen like a pig's head.

A young man being beaten by a little stutterer without fighting back would ruin his reputation if word got out.

It wasn't that he didn't want to fight back; first, his hand was burned and he couldn't exert any strength, and second, Lin Ruanruan had one knee pressed firmly against his chest, making any struggle more painful.

The other vendors, seeing how ruthless Lin Ruanruan was, dared not approach. Every slap she gave made their hearts tremble, feeling the sting on their own faces.

Even the onlookers, seeing Lin Ruanruan's wide-armed slaps, felt the pain from afar.

The young man was stubborn, and even though his face was swollen, he kept cursing until he was too tired and his lips only moved silently.

Seeing this, the scholar hurriedly pulled Lin Ruanruan up from the ground.

"That's enough. I thought you were a timid girl who needed protection, but you are quite fierce."

The scholar's words carried no blame but a hint of guilt.

"Tha... thank... you," Lin Ruanruan stuttered, expressing her gratitude.

She was somewhat touched by his kindness.

The scholar smiled awkwardly and said no more.

Lin Ruanruan understood he thought she was meddling too much.

People around were still talking, pointing fingers, mostly commenting on how fierce she was.

She didn't care and looked coldly at the remaining vendors, a cruel smile on her lips.

Aunt Fu and the others, feeling a chill down their spines, quietly stepped back to leave.

"St... st... stop," Lin Ruanruan ordered coldly.

This time, despite her stutter, no one dared to laugh.

Aunt Fu and the others turned to look at her, fear in their eyes.

Lin Ruanruan lightly pointed to the ground, "Ca... ca... carry him."

She wasn't pointing anywhere else but to the man on the ground, too weak to even cry out.

The vendors, planning to escape, were forced to comply.

They had no choice but to carry the nearly unconscious man back to Lin Ruanruan's stall.

If you listened closely, you could still hear the man weakly cursing and threatening.

"Wicked woman, you will die a terrible death."

"Just wait, Brother Dong won't let you off."

Lin Ruanruan didn't hear this. Even the vendors carrying him couldn't make out his words clearly.

With the troublemakers gone, the onlookers gradually dispersed.

Changping Town was remote, and fights were not uncommon. As long as no one died, the authorities usually didn't intervene.

But even if the authorities didn't come, her business was ruined for the day.

Seeing the fearful looks from passersby, Lin Ruanruan knew they wouldn't buy anything from her now.

It was already past noon, and it was almost time to prepare dinner. Fortunately, she didn't have much left. There was only enough potatoes for one pot and just two bowls of venison left.

In contrast, it was the deer offal, which she had the least of, that remained the most.

The scholar was still brushing the dust off his clothes and checking his folding fan repeatedly to ensure it wasn't damaged, then he let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing his somewhat silly expression, Lin Ruannan found it amusing.

Well, he did come to help her. Although he didn't actually help, she still owed him a favor.

The venison and offal couldn't be finished by her and Bai Cheng'an alone, so she decided to give some to the scholar as a thank-you gift.

Thinking this, she naturally acted on it.

She filled two oil-paper bags with deer offal from the wooden bucket, tied them together with the bowl of venison, and also packed a bag of seasoned potatoes. She handed all these items to the scholar.

"Th-th-thank you," Lin Ruannan stuttered as she thanked him, but this time she had a smile on her face.

The scholar had been pushed hard by the young man when he tried to help her. She hadn't noticed at the time, but now she saw that his worn-out shoes had a new hole in them.

Whether the hole was there originally or caused by the push, Lin Ruannan felt a bit guilty.

She thought for a moment and then pulled out twenty copper coins from her pocket.

"This...this...for buying...shoes," she said, pushing the coins into the scholar's hand.

"Huh?" The scholar was first bewildered by the pile of items she handed over and then, seeing so many copper coins, his previously dull eyes lit up.

"Take...take it," Lin Ruannan said with a smile.

Although she still had quite a bit of food unsold, today's business had been generally good. After paying for the jade pendant, she still had plenty left. Compensating the scholar with a pair of shoes wasn't much for her.

"All this, for me?" The scholar finally came to his senses. Faced with so many things, his voice trembled.

Lin Ruannan nodded, pushing the items into his hands before turning back to pack up her stall.

"I appreciate your kindness, but I cannot accept these," the scholar said.

His eyes shone with desire, but he bit his lip and pushed the items back to her.

Lin Ruannan turned around, her eyes questioning. It was clear he really wanted these things.

Could it be that the scholar was trying to play hard to get, hoping to trick her into giving him more?

"I know you're thanking me, but you've already thanked me twice. I've accepted that. Please take these things back. I didn't really help you, so I cannot accept these gifts without earning them," the scholar said firmly.

Seeing his steadfast expression and hearing his resolute tone, Lin Ruannan realized he was sincere.

She pouted, placed the items on the ground, and walked away.

Once she gave something away, she wouldn't take it back.

Whether the scholar accepted or not was his own decision.