Mrs. Thompson Gets Beaten Again

Lily Evans gave a faint smile. Since this was a business secret, she had no intention of casually revealing it. She was willing to tell Mason Zhang, a trusted neighbor, but she wasn’t about to play the good Samaritan and let Zhang Ming in on it too. Instead, she laughed it off and smoothly changed the topic.

After the tenants had eaten and drunk their fill, they happily headed home. Lily Evans and Lucky were about to leave as well, but just as they stepped out of the private room, Manager Zhang personally came over and said to Lily, "Madam Lily, our master just mentioned that he’ll be coming to Greenfield City next month. He asked that you make sure to visit Savory House when he’s here."

"Oh, alright, I’ll be sure to remember." Lily Evans thought it was about time she met the big boss.

Manager Zhang rubbed his hands in a mysterious manner and chuckled, "Madam Lily, our boss’s surname is Zhao, and he’s... well, you’ll see for yourself when you meet him at Savory House."

"Oh? Alright, I’m actually quite curious to meet the big boss and talk business." Lily Evans raised an eyebrow. The boss was so mysterious—even Lily was getting more intrigued about what kind of person ran Savory House.

When they returned to Clearwater Village and just reached the entrance, they heard John Thompson’s loud curses: "What a shameless woman—she even went to Savory House for a free meal! Why didn’t she just stuff herself to death? Ten taels of silver! I’ll beat her to death!"

The messenger from Savory House wasn’t bothered at all. He grinned and said, "Anyway, I’ve brought you the news. If you want to buy her freedom, bring the silver. If not, we’ll just keep her to work off the debt."

John Thompson was so angry his eyes nearly popped out. He jumped and cursed, "Pah! You want me to buy her back? That wretched woman isn’t worth ten taels! If I had ten taels, I’d rather buy a young girl than redeem her!"

John Thompson was practically fuming. Seeing this, Lily Evans decided to take a detour—better not risk getting bitten by a mad dog.

Though John Thompson shouted about not buying her back and didn’t care whether Mrs. Thompson lived or died, he was still thinking about Charlie Thompson, his only son. Angry as he was, after cursing, he followed the messenger from Savory House.

Mrs. Thompson waited anxiously for ages, and finally, John Thompson showed up. She burst into tears, wailing, "Oh my husband, you’ve finally come to bail me out!"

"Bail you out? My foot!" John Thompson kicked Mrs. Thompson square in the chest, then slapped her hard. "You’ve got some nerve, huh? Dine-and-dash at Savory House—why don’t you just sprout wings and eat dragon meat in the sky!"

Mrs. Thompson wailed from the beating. John Thompson told them to let Charlie Thompson go, then told the staff, "I’m taking my son, but you can keep this wretch to work off her debt!"

Mrs. Thompson clung to John Thompson’s leg, crying, "You can’t just leave me here!"

"What else do you expect? Ten taels of silver—you think you’re worth that much?" John Thompson was so angry he was about to explode.

Savory House was a legitimate business and knew how to handle freeloaders. In the end, they signed a contract with Mrs. Thompson, making her work at Savory House every day for a year to pay off her debt.

Both sides signed and pressed their thumbprints, making the contract official. If Mrs. Thompson broke the deal, Savory House could report her to the authorities and have her arrested.

John Thompson stormed home with his wife, and of course, Mrs. Thompson couldn’t escape another round of his vicious beatings.

This time, Mrs. Thompson was badly hurt, lying on the bed groaning and grinding her teeth. "It’s all that wretched Lily Evans’s fault! Lily Evans, just you wait—I won’t let you off!"

Meanwhile, Lily Evans was sitting on the kang with Margaret Evans and Lucky, happily counting the rent they’d just collected.

"Mom, we’ll have enough money to build our house soon!" Lily Evans calculated—she was earning much faster than she’d expected. That big house was right around the corner!

"Once the Evans family finishes building theirs, we’ll start ours!" Margaret Evans leaned cheerfully against the bedhead. "It’s spring planting season, so everyone in the village is busy. The Evans family insists on building now—who knows what they’re thinking."

Lucky grinned, "It doesn’t matter what they do. As long as we’re together, everything’s fine!"