Chapter 111: The Heaven’s Way of Retribution

"I want to host a banquet, but it's so sudden, I haven't prepared anything!" Zhao Dongkui scratched his head with a sheepish grin.

"You rascal, don't go acting modest with me." Village Chief Zhao knew exactly what Zhao Dongkui meant. After taking a few puffs of his long-stemmed pipe, he said, "Alright, I'll take care of the arrangements for you. You don't need to worry about hiring the cooks or the help; you just need to provide the money for the feast."

If it were any other village, hosting a banquet on such short notice would be impossible. But Laowu Village was an exception because the market was located right within the village, and even more specifically, right at Zhao Dongkui’s doorstep.

As long as there was money, buying ingredients and supplies would be incredibly fast.

"Good! Good!" Zhao Dongkui, aware of these advantages, nodded repeatedly.

Village Chief Zhao chuckled and headed toward the market.

"Wife," Zhao Dongkui looked at Liu Dongju.

"I only have two hundred yuan on me. Is that enough?" Liu Dongju asked with a smile.

"Enough, it's enough!" Zhao Dongkui replied quickly.

After all, one could always buy items on credit at the market when hosting a banquet. It wouldn't be too late to pay once the gift money from guests was collected.

"Then I'll go get it for you." Liu Dongju wiped her hands on a rag and was about to head to the backyard when she suddenly froze.

Zhao Dongkui was also surprised. He saw the children—Xiao Budian, Guazi, Zhao Jing, Lan Lan, and others who had been playing by the roadside—suddenly running excitedly toward the home of Zhao Liang in the distance.

Zhao Liang's house was already packed with villagers watching the commotion, and the sound of shouting and discussion was growing louder.

"What's going on?" Zhao Dongkui asked Liu Dongju.

"How would I know?" Liu Dongju frowned slightly. "Should we go over and take a look?"

"Alright!" Fearing something bad had happened at Zhao Liang's, Zhao Dongkui quickly took the lead and ran over, with Liu Dongju following behind.

Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, Zhao Jianzhong, and the others who had been tiling the roof noticed something was amiss as well. After a brief discussion, they climbed down and headed straight for Zhao Liang's house.

...

At the entrance to Zhao Liang's house, over a hundred people had gathered.

However, Zhao Liang was fine, and his family was safe.

What surprised Liu Dongju and the others was that the one in trouble was actually Ma Changjun, the barefoot doctor from Daohua Village.

Ma Changjun was tied to a flatbed cart, wearing a wooden pillory around his neck and a pig-slaughtering cage over his lower body. He looked absolutely miserable.

Standing nearby, the burly Zhao Gou wielded a bamboo switch. With every word he spoke, he lashed out at Ma Changjun's face. Ma Changjun howled in pain, bright red blood streaming down his face.

Yet, no one stepped in to stop it; instead, they clapped and cheered.

As it turned out, after Zhao Gou's mother, Zhong Ping, had been rushed to the major city hospital, the diagnosis confirmed exactly what the old beggar Xie Zhongquan had said: her condition was caused by taking the wrong medication. If she had been sent even one day later, she would have been beyond saving and likely died on the way.

Upon learning this, Zhao Gou was initially furious, roaring that he would take Ma Changjun's life. But he had been restrained by "Lion-Head" Xie, who didn't want Zhao Gou to throw his life away.

After calming Zhao Gou down, they came up with today's plan: parading Ma Changjun through the market to expose his crimes publicly.

Of course, before doing this, Lion-Head Xie had used his connections to clear the matter with the authorities, ensuring things wouldn't spiral out of control. He had also guaranteed that Zhao Gou wouldn't actually kill Ma Changjun. Once Zhao Gou’s rage was vented, the man would be handed over to the proper law enforcement agencies to be dealt with according to the law.

When Liu Dongju learned the truth, she was thrilled. She knew how Ma Changjun had previously tried to swindle Kang Fuchuan, and if Liu Xing hadn't seen through it in time, it would have been another tragedy.

Zhao Dongkui, Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, Zhao Jianzhong, Zhao Liang, and the other villagers of Laowu Village also felt a sense of justice being served. One by one, they picked up stones from the ground and hurled them at the shameless man.

Lion-Head Xie, fearing a fatality, quickly shouted, "Everyone, stop! Don't beat him to death, or we'll be in big trouble!"

"That's right, curse him, throw rotten eggs at him, but don't kill him!" Zhao Gou, knowing Lion-Head Xie was helping him, also shouted at the top of his lungs.

With that, the indignant villagers regained their composure and curbed their rage, instead pointing fingers and hurling insults at Ma Changjun. The scene was chaotic and noisy.

Zhao Gou continued to lash out with the bamboo switch until Ma Changjun was a bloody mess, at which point he finally stopped.

Xiao Budian, having found a rotten egg from somewhere, gave a grunt and threw it at Ma Changjun’s head. It hit his right eye perfectly, and the foul, yellow liquid oozed into his mouth.

Ma Changjun, who had been feigning unconsciousness, couldn't help but retch when he tasted the rotten egg, vomiting his morning meal of rice and pork all over the cart.

Seeing Ma Changjun living so well, Zhao Gou was infuriated and began lashing him again.

Seeing the crowd growing larger, Zhao Liang pulled the cart and began moving slowly down the street. "Come and see, everyone! This is the fate of a doctor who harms people for the sake of conscience-less money!"

Zhao Gou followed behind, rhythmically swinging the bamboo switch. The onlookers trailed along, whispering and debating among themselves.

Before long, the crowd swelled to nearly a thousand people.

Only then did Ma Changjun feel true terror. He feared that public outrage might lead to him being beaten to death on the spot. In such a situation, the law often struggled to hold individuals accountable, and his death would be in vain. If that happened, the money he had "worked so hard" to swindle over the years would just benefit his wife at home.

Guazi, Xiao Budian, Zhao Jing, and Lan Lan wanted to keep watching, but Liu Dongju stopped them. "All of you, go back! Don't get caught up in this. What if you get snatched by human traffickers?"

It wasn't just idle talk; in the past, some outsiders had used such crowds to distract villagers and kidnap several children during market days. If it weren't for the responsible officers at the Donghe Police Station who managed to track the children down, several families would have been torn apart.

Guazi knew the history and understood the gravity of the situation. She obediently pulled Xiao Budian and Zhao Jing along behind Liu Dongju, and the other children followed suit. After all, no matter how exciting the spectacle was, it wasn't as good as the pork at Xiao Budian’s house. Missing that would be a true regret.

Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, Zhao Jianzhong, Nie Sun, Nie Quan, and the other craftsmen helping with the construction didn't stay to watch the chaos either. After a brief chat, they returned to finish tiling the roof. However, on their way back, they couldn't help but feel delighted at Ma Changjun's plight, some even laughing out loud. It was a perfect example of the saying: "The way of heaven is a cycle; who has heaven ever spared?"

...

Liu Xing was in the backyard making shoes for Ding Lan, completely unaware of the scene at the market. It wasn't until Guazi and Xiao Budian came back to tell him excitedly that he learned Ma Changjun had been paraded through the streets by the local tyrant, Zhao Gou.

He was initially worried that Zhao Gou might do something foolish and kill the man, but after hearing from Liu Dongju that Lion-Head Xie and other officials were present, he felt relieved. He knew that since Lion-Head Xie was Zhao Gou's older brother, he wouldn't let him do anything illegal. The parade itself was likely Lion-Head Xie's arrangement—meant to serve as a warning to others.

"Brother, brother! Since brother-in-law is hosting a banquet tonight, will there be a head-bowl dish?" After finishing her story about Ma Changjun, Guazi shifted the topic to food.

"You only ever think about eating," Liu Xing said with a smile. "A village banquet will certainly have the head-bowl dish. But now there's a bit of a problem; we need to notify Mom and Dad to come."

"Mm, mm!" Guazi nodded happily. If their parents didn't show up for the banquet, the people of Laowu Village would surely gossip.

Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Xing stood up and brushed the rubber scraps off his clothes. "I'll have to ride my bike back. If Mom and Dad miss the meal time, it won't be good."

"Remember to herd the cows later!" Liu Xing instructed Guazi.

"Okay!" Guazi agreed.

Liu Dongju, walking into the backyard, heard this and smiled. "Little brother, you don't need to go back. Mom asked me about the banquet last time she was here; she's definitely on her way."

The implication was that she had already arranged it with their mother, Zhou Qiuxiang. Regardless of whether there was a banquet or not, she would be coming this afternoon.

"That's good, then." Liu Xing let out a sigh of relief. If he had to make the trip back and forth, he would be exhausted.