Zhang Xiaolong, feeling disheartened, followed Zhang Cai with the fabric in hand. He was planning to check out the farming tools in the roadside shops when a sudden sound of drums and gongs rang out. Zhang Xiaohua heard it and excitedly said, "Dad, quickly, the big play is about to begin, let's go watch it first."
At the same moment Zhang Xiaohua called Zhang Cai, the crowd at the market also heard the drumming. Everyone flocked towards it. Zhang Cai hastily summoned Xiao Long and Xiao Hu, and followed the flow of people quickly moving towards it.
It was a tradition of Lu Town's New Year to set up a large stage in one corner of the market. A theater troupe would perform on it every day until the market closed. For farmers who lacked entertainment, this was one of the highlights of New Year. No wonder Xiao Hua was so excited.
By the time the Zhang family arrived at the stage, the play had already begun. The stage was surrounded by people, three layers deep, but fortunately, the stage was high enough that those in front did not obstruct their view. Although there were many people watching the play, they were silent, attentive, unlike the hustle and bustle earlier at the shops.
The play was a popular folk tale that everyone watched with rapt attention, and Zhang Xiaolong gradually forgot his earlier regret.
Just as everyone was enjoying the spectacle, a commotion suddenly broke out on the other side of the stage and grew louder. Many people were in between, so the conversation wasn't clear. However, Zhang Xiaohua could tell the voice of the girl speaking was familiar. Could it be someone from their village? A tree nearby offered a good view, so Zhang Xiaohua quickly climbed up. One glance confirmed it—they were indeed familiar faces. He loudly told Zhang Xiaolong, "Big Brother, it's the sister who helped us choose clothes earlier! She's in trouble."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaolong didn't even wait to tell Zhang Cai. He quickly pushed his way through the crowd towards the other side of the stage. Zhang Cai also quickly pulled Zhang Xiaohu and called out to Zhang Xiaohua, who was coming down from the tree, to follow along.
When Zhang Xiaolong finally pushed through the crowd to the other side of the stage, the scene before him made his blood boil.
The stage was built against a tall wall. Underneath it now were two lonely, young girls, huddled together with faces flushed scarlet. Two small parcels were discarded nearby, from which some bits of clothing spilled out—presumably the clothes they had just bought at the fabric shop. Before them stood two short, fat men with folding fans, clad in flashy clothes. They were mumbling to themselves while making advances towards the girls, who were darting around under the tall wall. Standing around the two men were seven or eight tall, burly retainers dressed in rough clothing. They had formed a barrier to separate the crowd watching the play. Some of these ferocious-looking retainers were grinning and enjoying their masters' vile behavior, while some were giving threatening glances towards the crowd, ready to prevent anyone from intervening. Although many wanted to aid the bullied village girls, they were intimidated by the menacing formation. They could only watch helplessly.
After rushing over, Zhang Xiaolong saw their formation and was figuring out a plan of action. However, when he noticed one of the village girls looking helplessly for assistance, even though it wasn't directed towards him, he couldn't wait to charge forward regardless of the risk. Just at this moment, someone behind him held him back. Looking back, he saw his family had followed him. Zhang Cai was holding his arm. Panicked, Zhang Xiaolong said, "Dad..."
Zhang Cai said in a low voice, "Xiao Long, don't be impulsive, we can't beat them."
Zhang Xiaolong said, "But if we don't help, those two girls will be bullied."
Zhang Xiaohua also said, "Yeah, Dad, that sister just helped us."
Zhang Cai said, "Helping is fine, but we can't get ourselves into trouble if we can't help. Look at that man in black clothes holding a big sword."
The Zhang brothers followed their father's gaze and indeed, standing next to the retainers was a tall man in black tightly dressed, left hand holding a large sword, crossed arms resting on his chest, leaning against a tree with eyes half-closed, as if asleep. He must be the bodyguard of those two disgusting sons.
It seemed that many people were afraid to step forward, mostly because of the bodyguard's sword.
What should they do? Zhang Xiaolong was getting anxious too.
As Zhang Xiaolong hesitated, the situation by the high wall worsened. The two short, fat men had separated the village girls and were dragging them forcefully toward an alley around the corner of the tall wall. Zhang Xiaolong couldn't bear it any longer. He forcefully shook off Zhang Cai's hand and ran over. The group of bullies assumed the crowd nearby was too scared and grouped towards the alley to watch their "good show", not expecting someone to rush over at this time. Zhang Xiaolong reached the girls, reached out to grab their arms and pulled them towards him. The two chubby men couldn't compete with the strength of someone who labored in the fields all day and were pulled off balance. In their surprise, Zhang Xiaolong loudly asked, "What are you trying to do?"
The two pudgy men looked annoyed as their prey was snatched from them. Their eyes met, and one of them in an orange outfit said, "We're not doing anything. Who are you? What are you doing?"