Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life-Chapter 67: Conflict

"I heard that paper is only slightly better than grass paper, all hype and nothing more!"

Young Master Wei? 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Su Ming's gaze swept over the jade pendant hanging from the man's waist, carved with the character "Wei".

Zhao Rui's face flushed red in an instant.

Looking down on the villagers himself was one thing, but being publicly mocked as a "country bumpkin" by someone from the town was another matter entirely.

He slammed the table and stood up abruptly. "Who are you calling a bumpkin?!"

This shout instantly silenced the entire main hall.

All eyes focused on this corner.

That Young Master Wei clearly hadn't expected anyone to dare contradict him to his face. He was stunned for a moment, then the corner of his mouth curled into a mocking sneer.

"Oh, so there's one here who's in a hurry to claim the title?" He looked Zhao Rui up and down, his gaze as if looking at a yapping mongrel. "What, did I hit a nerve?"

"You!" Zhao Rui trembled with rage, pointing at the other, but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Su Ming immediately stood up, placing a hand on Zhao Rui's shoulder and forcibly pressing him back into his seat.

He cupped his hands towards Young Master Wei, neither servile nor overbearing. "Young master, my friend is young and has a fiery temper. Please do not take offense."

As he spoke, he quietly activated the Aura Concealment Art, reducing his own presence to the minimum, as if he were merely an insignificant shadow.

Young Master Wei's gaze shifted from the furious Zhao Rui to Su Ming's calm face.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You at least know how to speak properly." His gaze swept over Su Ming, finally settling on his faded, coarse cloth gown. The contempt in his eyes grew thicker.

Humiliation.

Barefaced humiliation.

Zhao Rui's eyes instantly reddened, as if he was about to pounce and fight to the death.

Su Ming's hand pressing on him increased its force, his knuckles turning white.

"Master, what do we do?" Su Ming asked rapidly in his mind.

"Endure!" Lin Yu's voice was as cold as ice. "He's deliberately trying to provoke you! If you start a fight here, you'll definitely be the ones who suffer! Who is he? Clearly someone with some influence in the town! Who are you? Two students with no background or roots! Endure it, find an opportunity and leave!"

Su Ming took a deep breath, his face still maintaining its calm.

"Young master's lesson is correct. We will leave now and not disturb your enjoyment."

As he spoke, he took out a few dozen copper coins from his robe, placed them on the table, and pulled Zhao Rui up to leave.

"Halt!" Young Master Wei's voice came from behind them. "Did I say you could leave?"

Young Master Wei's voice was like a cold whip, lashing through the stagnant air.

Su Ming's footsteps halted. Zhao Rui, whose arm he was pulling, stood rigid, panting heavily, his eyes completely bloodshot.

The gaze of everyone in Tian Xiang Pavilion was focused on this corner, weaving an invisible net of onlookers, schadenfreude, and indifference.

Young Master Wei unhurriedly picked up his teacup, blew on the floating tea leaves, his eyelids drooping, not looking at them.

"You contradict me and think you can just walk away? Since when did this Qingshi Town allow country folk to come and go as they please?" His voice wasn't loud, but each word carried a sting. "Come here, kowtow, and apologize. If I'm in a good mood, I might just let you off."

Zhao Rui's nails dug into his palms. Kowtow? His father was the Village Chief! He could strut around Su Family Village as he pleased! When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

Su Ming's hand on his arm tightened even more. He could feel the trembling of Zhao Rui's body. It wasn't fear; it was anger and humiliation scorching his reason.

"Endure it, disciple! A little impatience spoils great plans! We have to swallow this loss for now!" Lin Yu's voice was urgent.

Just as Su Ming was rapidly weighing in his mind whether to tear the facade completely or submit temporarily, a clear, gentle voice sounded from the staircase.

"Brother Wei, such a temper. Who has offended you?"

Everyone looked towards the sound. Zhou Yulin was walking down the stairs, dressed in a moon-white gown, his face wearing his usual, slightly aloof gentle smile. A young page boy followed behind him.

Seeing Zhou Yulin, the arrogance on Young Master Wei's face receded somewhat, but his tone still wasn't exactly polite. "So it's Brother Yulin. It's nothing. Just teaching two country boys who don't know the rules, lest they sully the grounds of Tian Xiang Pavilion."

Zhou Yulin's gaze swept over Su Ming and Zhao Rui, lingering on Su Ming's face for a moment with a hint of surprise, then looked back at Young Master Wei and smiled. "I'm afraid Brother Wei is mistaken. This Zhao Rui is a relative from my second uncle's side. If we count it, he should call me cousin."

As his words fell, a few faint intakes of breath sounded in the main hall.

Young Master Wei's expression changed slightly. A relative of the Zhou family? Even if he'd heard they were just poor relatives, when you beat a dog, you still have to consider its master's face.

Without waiting for his reaction, Zhou Yulin looked at Su Ming, his tone becoming even more earnest. "As for this Brother Su Ming, he helped me greatly some time ago and gave me quite some inspiration in my studies. He is a friend of mine, Zhou Yulin."

He enunciated the word "friend" clearly.

Young Master Wei's face completely fell. Zhou Yulin personally stepping in, pointing out one as a relative and the other as a "friend", carried a completely different weight. For the sake of a momentary verbal victory, it wasn't worth truly clashing with the Zhou family's direct heir.

He gave a dry laugh twice, taking the offered way out. "Oh? So they are Brother Zhou's relatives and friend? Truly, the floodwaters have rushed into the Dragon King's temple. Since Brother Zhou has spoken, let it be." He waved his hand, as if shooing away flies. "You may go."

His attitude remained disdainful, but he had ultimately stepped aside.

Zhao Rui, dragged by Su Ming, almost stumbled to the ground.

Su Ming cupped his hands solemnly towards Zhou Yulin. "Thank you, Brother Zhou, for resolving the situation."

Zhou Yulin gave a slight nod, his smile faint. "It was a small effort. Brother Su, if you have time, you are welcome to visit my home."

Su Ming thanked him again, said no more, and pulled the dazed Zhao Rui, quickly leaving Tian Xiang Pavilion.

Only after walking out of that bustling street and merging into the noisy crowds of the West District did Zhao Rui suddenly shake off Su Ming's hand. His face alternated between green and white. He stewed for a long moment, then spat fiercely.

"Damn it! What a piece of trash! Flaunting his family's stinking money!"

Su Ming didn't speak, just walked silently. The sunlight shone on him, but couldn't dispel that icy feeling of humiliation. Power. In this world, without power, even quietly eating a meal was a luxury.

"Thanks have been given, pleasantries have been heard. Disciple, time to think about serious matters." Lin Yu's voice broke the silence, carrying a kind of cold, hard reality.

"Zhou Yulin stepped forward today. Three parts were for that thin thread of family sentiment, seven parts were for your 'help'."

Su Ming acknowledged with a mental *hmm*.

"That bastard surnamed Wei, though his mouth stinks, was right about one thing—your paper is now a piece of fat meat, its aroma has already wafted out." Lin Yu's voice became extremely serious.

"That idiot Zhao Dequan, expanding the workshop? Hiring more hands? He's afraid your Su Family Village won't die fast enough! Right now, it's probably not just the county magistrate's advisor. Anyone in Qingshi Town with any connections has their eyes fixed on Su Family Village."