PCJ – Chapter 87 Beaten Up

“Jiaohua, come out!”

When Zhang Enzhong ran to call Zhang Jiaohua to the door, it was still dark outside. Naturally, Zhang Jiaohua was still in the midst of his dreams. At this time, it was when little brats slept the most soundly. Even if you shouted, or even thundered, it might not necessarily wake them up.

Zhang Youping and his wife naturally were awakened by the sudden noise.

Zhang Youping quickly got up, hastily put on his clothes, and opened the door. He was a bit puzzled why Enzhong had come so early. Could it be that something happened to Jiaohua outside? He had only gone to the Qigao family to bridge the gap yesterday and came back. He had been proud all day because he had earned twenty bucks. The Qigao family was indeed generous this time, unexpectedly putting twenty bucks in the red envelope.

“Enzhong, why are you shouting so early? My son is still growing. If you wake him up and it affects his growth, and he ends up short like you, who will I find to blame?” Zhang Youping was also annoyed. What’s the matter, you don’t know to wait until dawn to come over? What could be so urgent at this hour?

“How tall your son grows has nothing to do with me. He’s not my offspring,” Zhang Enzhong said impatiently.

“Damn it, you’re looking for trouble, huh?” Zhang Youping was awakened early in the morning and was already angry. He didn’t expect Zhang Enzhong to take advantage of this opportunity to provoke a verbal conflict. Annoyed, Zhang Youping clenched his fists and charged towards Zhang Enzhong.

Zhang Enzhong took several steps back, only to stumble over a bamboo broom lying in the courtyard, and ended up sitting on the ground.

“With your appearance, you still dare to act tough in front of me,” Zhang Youping said, seeing Zhang Enzhong’s weakness, and he lost interest in fighting.

“This morning, I ruined a pot of tofu. It’s all because of Jiaohua,” Zhang Enzhong said angrily.

“Oh, your tofu went bad, what does that have to do with Jiaohua?” Zhang Youping was getting irritated. He had just been awakened early in the morning, and now Zhang Enzhong was taking advantage of the situation to blame his son. How come whenever something bad happens, it’s always blamed on his son?

“Yesterday, when the Qigao family bridged the gap, your son put a curse on me, saying that from now on, whenever my family makes tofu, it will only turn into tofu residue.” Zhang Enzhong said indignantly.

“If my son said your family’s tofu won’t turn out but just become tofu residue, and you believe him, why don’t you believe him if he says your son is the offspring of a pig?” Zhang Youping was getting angry.

“Anyway, let Jiaohua come out. He must lift this curse. Otherwise, I won’t let your family live in peace,” Zhang Enzhong said anxiously, forgetting that he was now a sheep talking to a lion. As a result, tragedy struck.

Zhang Youping had already wanted to teach Zhang Enzhong a lesson, and Zhang Enzhong gave him the opportunity. Without saying a word, Zhang Youping knocked Zhang Enzhong down to the ground and slapped him twice, directly disorienting Zhang Enzhong.

“Zhang Enzhong, I’ll give you twenty-four guts. See how you’ll disturb our family’s peace!” Zhang Youping pointed directly at Zhang Enzhong’s nose.

Zhang Enzhong was trembling with fear, having been occasionally scolded by Zhang Youping since childhood. Whenever he saw Zhang Youping, he felt scared. After Zhang Youping got married, his temper improved a lot. Zhang Enzhong had almost forgotten the feeling of being scolded when he was young. Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare to come to Zhang Youping’s house and touch Zhang Youping’s scales.

Liu Qiaoye came out and quickly pulled the men apart. “Can’t you talk properly?”

Only then did Zhang Youping let go of Zhang Enzhong. “This bastard ruined a pot of tofu and blamed it on my son.”

“Enzhong, if your tofu didn’t turn out well, how can you blame my son?” Liu Qiaoye was also displeased. If she had known, she wouldn’t have let the man release Zhang Enzhong so quickly.

“When Jiaohua was bridging the gap at the Qigao family yesterday, I made a joke with him. Jiaohua casually said a word, saying that from now on, my family’s tofu won’t turn out but just become tofu residue. Although it was just a joke, he said it when he invited the master. This word became a curse. I didn’t pay attention to it before. When the tofu went bad, I remembered it. I came to find Jiaohua today because I want him to lift this curse. Otherwise, I won’t be able to do my tofu business in the future.” Zhang Enzhong explained the whole thing truthfully.

“Then it’s your own fault. He didn’t provoke or offend you. When someone else was bridging the gap, you, an adult, went over to join in the fun. Did you want to become a relative of the Qigao family?” Zhang Youping laughed. This guy deserved it.

“Who goes to watch when there’s nothing to do? Am I not going over there just to sell tofu?” Zhang Enzhong explained. “I just went to watch for a while. When I saw everyone having a good time, I made a joke with Jiaohua. Jiaohua also said it casually. I know he didn’t mean any harm, but I really got affected.”

“Why didn’t you explain it properly to us? This matter could have been cleared up. You came over early in the morning and scared people, making them think something bad happened to Jiaohua.” Zhang Youping looked down on Zhang Enzhong a bit.

“I…” Zhang Enzhong realized he had come over in a fit of anger after ruining a pot of tofu, and now he had been beaten twice. He finally realized the situation.

Zhang Jiaohua was called out by Liu Qiaoye at seven o’clock. Seeing Zhang Enzhong sitting in the living room, he thought they were having tofu for breakfast. For the kids, tofu was a delicious dish second only to meat. If fresh soybean tofu was skillfully made into delicious and spicy mapo tofu by a skillful mother, its deliciousness would be upgraded completely. This taste might be hidden in the children’s memories forever. Many years later, they would still reminisce about this childhood taste.

“Mom, are we having tofu for breakfast today?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“Forget it. Your Uncle Enzhong ruined all the tofu he made today. Son, you say, did you really curse Enzhong Uncle yesterday?” Zhang Youping asked.

“No, I don’t remember saying anything,” Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head.

“Why didn’t you say it earlier? When you were bridging the gap, I made a joke with you, and you said that from now on, I can only make tofu residue instead of tofu. Do you remember?” Zhang Enzhong quickly interjected.

“I think I said it. But I didn’t curse him,” Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head.

“You didn’t curse him, but when you were making an offering to the gods, you didn’t take it seriously, but the gods did,” Zhang Enzhong said tearfully.

“It serves you right. Before, you tricked me into picking firewood for you, saying that when you make tofu, you’ll save me a bowl of soft tofu. When I went to your house, you said you forgot or that the tofu had gone bad. Are you going to trick me again in the future?” Zhang Jiaohua laughed.

“Jiaohua, Uncle was wrong. Can you help out and lift this curse? I’ll save you a bowl of soft tofu every day from now on,” Zhang Enzhong said with a smile.

“Enzhong, actually my son was just joking. If your tofu didn’t turn out well, it might not necessarily be because of my son’s words. Why don’t you go back and try again?” Zhang Youping said.

“I wasted several liters of soybeans today. If I try again and it still fails, I’ll be at a loss,” Zhang Enzhong almost cried.