Liu and Wang Dali together brought two unscathed square tables to block the battered front door of Yuelai Inn.
Yang Ge dragged a stool under the stairs, leaned against the wall, and slowly sat down...
"Where exactly were you injured?"
Holding a lantern, Liu walked up to Yang Ge and examined him with a deeply worried expression, "If it's not good, we should still fetch the doctor. After all, the night patrol officials have already been taken care of, and they won't trouble us anymore!"
Wang Dali, resembling a quail, timidly followed behind him, the excitement and indifference he had at closing time now completely gone...
Yang Ge shook his head and said with effort, "Just some punches and kicks, nothing serious. Let me rest… resting will make it better."
Pausing, he said in a low, embarrassed voice, "I've caused you trouble again. Please calculate the damage to the inn tonight and the expenses you managed earlier with the officials; I'll find a way to repay you."
"What are you talking about!"
Liu, somewhat annoyed, chided softly, "If you hadn't shielded Yuelai Inn from trouble, how could you have ended up in this disaster? If you still consider me your employer, then don't bring up money again!"
Yang Ge smiled and didn't pursue the matter further, but he observed the damaged items in the front hall, roughly estimating Liu's losses for the evening…
This money…
He could make a case either way for paying it.
Or for not paying it.
If Liu asked for it, even if he paid, he certainly wouldn't feel happy about it.
But the more Liu refused, the more he wanted to pay, as not paying would leave him feeling uneasy.
Liu, consumed with worry, didn't notice the change in Yang Ge's expression and muttered to himself, "After tonight's disturbance, is this matter considered resolved?"
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Ge softly replied, "According to common sense… yes!"
Just as a look of relief began to appear on Liu's aging face, he heard Yang Ge continue, "But given how these people couldn't wait even one night, I fear this matter won't be easily settled."
Even then, although Liu had to admit that Yang Ge's words made sense, he scowled and retorted irritably, "Curse of a crow!"
Yang Ge chuckled awkwardly and touched his nose.
Looking troubled, Liu paced back and forth a couple of times and then couldn't help asking, "So what should we do next?"
After thinking about it, Yang Ge answered, "I believe I managed to focus most of the hostility on that villain tonight, and the remaining attention should also be on me."
"That way, the inn can legitimately close for repairs and upgrades, and you and Dali can go home without worry, as there should be no one left to bother you!"
"I also won't need to keep guarding the inn and can consider hiding somewhere else!"
"Perhaps after some time, this incident will blow over."
His words were meant to reassure Liu, and they sounded very optimistic.
Yet his thoughts about the possible future developments of the matter were pessimistic.
Otherwise he wouldn't suddenly suggest finding a new place to hide… If trouble came knocking again, it wouldn't involve Yuelai Inn anymore, right?
Liu nodded repeatedly after listening, thinking Yang Ge made good sense.
Finally, he suddenly turned around and slapped Wang Dali's head askew, "Look at this young man's brains and then at yourself—an empty head just to appear taller, is it?"
Wang Dali's face flushed crimson, but he clutched his head and didn't dare make a sound.
After chastising Wang Dali, Liu felt somewhat relieved and turned back to look at Yang Ge, "You mentioned you want to change places, where will you go? Did you give away all your payment to your poor relatives?"
Yang Ge shook his head, "Don't worry about that, I'll have no problem with food and shelter!"
Liu: "Shouldn't we worry? You'd go stay in some shabby place and tarnish the Liu family's reputation?"
Yang Ge hastily argued, "I still have money, the wages you paid me, I've saved a part of it..."
Shopkeeper Liu waved his hand to stop his argument and said, with no room for rebuttal, "You are a decent person, we can't be heartless!"
"Over on Chaimen Street, we have a vacant single-door courtyard, which hasn't been tended to for many years. It would be good for you to go there and help us fix it up, lest one day it collapses and we wouldn't even know..."
"For the first two months, we won't charge you any rent, consider it your wages for fixing up the courtyard."
"If you continue to work here, we will deduct thirty coins from your wages for rent every month."
"If one day you stop working here, you will need to pay us seventy coins a month for rent, we will take the room if you miss a single coin."
"Don't be like an old woman, hesitant and muttering. Be straightforward. At dawn, we'll take you over to see the courtyard and find a witness to seal the deal!"
The old man, although not as meticulously astute as Yang Ge, understood the twists and turns in between.
But the scale in his heart was clear.
Who was genuinely considering his well-being.
And who was only thinking about themselves.
The old man's heart was as clear as a polished mirror!
Yang Ge could hear the little calculations in Shopkeeper Liu's words, but he genuinely appreciated Liu pulling him out at a time like this.
He only wanted to clear the debts of gratitude he owed.
But these favors...
Why did they seem to be piling up even more?
...
The small courtyard was indeed very small.
Other than the sole advantage of having a private entrance and courtyard, everything else was a drawback!
Not to mention the low, simple, and old wooden house, the courtyard was filled with all kinds of discarded junk, at first glance, it looked like a garbage-filled slum.
The lighting was also poor, with only a bit of sunlight slanting into the house during sunset. To live here normally without being affected, lamps had to be lit during the day.
What's worse, there was no toilet in the courtyard, only chamber pots and buckets could be relied upon for sanitary needs, making taking a bath very difficult!
Yet even so, when Yang Ge put down his own name on the lease agreement, his mind still drifted for a moment.
After bidding farewell to Shopkeeper Liu, he returned alone to the courtyard, closed the door, and sat among the piles of junk, lost in thought for a long time... His unbridled emotions tugged at his thoughts, traveling back and forth through time and space.
One moment was his warm three-bedroom apartment.
Another was the dilapidated small courtyard before him.
It seemed that only at this moment did he finally return to his senses, asking himself, 'Yang Ge, Yang Ge, how did you end up here?'
It was not until the sun started to move westward, and a beam of sunlight passed over the courtyard wall and lit up his eyes, that he got up and pushed the door to go out.
When he returned to the small courtyard again, he brought with him a round-headed, fluffy little puppy.
He carefully closed and bolted the courtyard door.
Then he bent down and gently put the little puppy on the ground.
The puppy, looking around with its glossy, black eyes, saw the unfamiliar place and timidly retreated back to Yang Ge's feet.
Yang Ge gently stroked its plump little head, patiently encouraging it to move forward, and whispered softly: "Huang, don't be afraid. From now on, this will be your home..."