"Mr. Bull!" Liu Er shouted, looking dejected, his voice so loud and agitated that it not only got into the ears of Boer himself—he coincidentally was nearby—and he was so frightened that he didn't even bother to put on his hat, and rushed into the courtyard—a rare and noteworthy circumstance, which proved that even a parish officer, under some sudden and strong stimulus, would appear to be at a loss and forget his personal dignity for a while.

"Oh, sir," Liu Er said, "Yongchang, sir—Yongchang, he—"

"What?" Mr. Bull interjected eagerly, his metallic eyes flashing with joy. "He didn't run away, did he? He didn't slip away, did he? ”

"No, sir, no, he didn't slip, but he went crazy." Noah replied, "Sir, he wanted to kill me, and then he wanted to kill the proprietress again." Oh! It hurts me! See how much it hurts. At this point, Liu Er twisted his body and made various postures, like an eel, so that Mr. Bull could understand that Yongchang's bloody atrocities had caused him severe internal injuries and that he was now enduring the most severe pain.

Liu Er saw that Mr. Bull was completely stunned by the news he had reported, so he shouted that he was beaten all over his body, and his voice was ten times louder than just now, which enhanced the original effect. He saw a gentleman in a white vest walking through the courtyard, and he expected that he would easily attract the gentleman and arouse his righteous indignation. His lamentations grew more and more miserable.

The gentleman's attention was quickly grabbed, and he had barely taken three steps when he turned around angrily and asked the little bastard what he was howling, and why Mr. Bull didn't give him some color, which might well have made the series of howls come true.

"Sir, this is the apprentice of the coffin shop," replied Mr. Bull, "and he was almost killed—sir, by a little—by Yongchang. ”

"Is that really the case?" The gentleman in the white vest stopped abruptly and said loudly, "I already knew. From the very beginning I sensed a strange omen, that sooner or later the brazen little savage would be hanged. ”

"The boss went out, or he might have killed him," Liu Er replied, "He said he wanted to do that." ”

"Huh? He said he wanted to do that," the gentleman in the white vest asked.

"Yes, sir." Liu Er replied, "Sir, the proprietress would like to ask if Mr. Bull can find time to go and give him a slap right away—because the boss is not at home." ”

"Of course, my child, of course," the white vest gentleman smiled kindly and patted Liu Er, who was taller than himself, on the head, "You are a good child—a very well-behaved child. This ocean is for you. Bull, you take your cane to the old historian's house, and you can see that it is done, Bull, don't spare him. ”

"Oh, I won't spare him, don't worry." The officer replied as he arranged the ribbon of wax wrapped around the end of the cane, which the diocese had used exclusively to carry out the flogging.

"I also told Lao Shi not to let him go. You can't subdue him without a few scars and whip marks. The white vest gentleman said.

"I remember, sir." The officer replied. At this time, Mr. Bull had already put on his hat and his cane was tidied up, and the owner of these two things was very satisfied, so he went straight to Lao Shi's coffin shop with Liu Er.

On this side, the situation is still not improving. Lao Shi hasn't come back yet, and Yongchang is kicking the door of the cellar vigorously, and his sharpness has not diminished at all.

Since they had spoken so terrible of the murderous Yongchang, Mr. Bull thought it better to negotiate before opening the door and entering.

He kicked the door outside as an opening remark, then put his mouth to the keyhole and called out in a deep and weighty voice: "Yongchang!"

"Open the door and let me out!" Yongchang replied inside.

"Yongchang, do you hear the voice?" Mr. Bull said.

"I hear you."

"Aren't you afraid? Didn't you even shudder when I spoke?" asked Mr. Bull.

"Don't be afraid!" Yongchang replied resolutely.

The answer was so different from what Mr. Bull had expected and what he had always received that he was taken aback.

He stepped back from the keyhole, straightened up, and looked at the three men standing next to him in astonishment, without squeaking.

"Oh, Mr. Bull, you see, he must be mad," said the old lady, "and no child dares to speak to you like that, not even half of it. ”

"It's not madness," replied Bull, who pondered for a moment, "it's meat. ”

"What?" Old Mrs. Shi screamed.

"It's a matter of meat," replied Bull in a serious manner, "you have fed him too much, and have cultivated in him a false flesh and soul, which is grossly disproportionate to his status. What do they want flesh or soul for? It's more than enough to keep their flesh alive. If you had given him all the grains, that would never have happened. ”

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Old Mrs. Shi cried out in a lost voice, and her eyes looked up at the ceiling of the kitchen reverently. "Good intentions are not rewarded."

The old lady Shi's kindness to Yongchang was to generously give him all kinds of dirty leftovers that no one else would eat.

In the face of Mr. Bull's harsh rebukes, she was gentle and self-giving.

"As far as I can see, the only thing that can be done at present is to keep him in the cellar for a day or two, and then let him out when he is too hungry to have a few branches, and from now on until he is full, he will only give him a nest to eat." This child was born from a humble background and was born with a monkey anxious look. ”

At this point, Yongchang heard that the next taunt would be directed at his mother, so he began to kick the door again, muffling all the other voices.

At this juncture, Lao Shi returned. They told Yongchang about his crimes one by one, picked out the words that could arouse his anger the most, and added fuel to the fire. When the boss heard this, he immediately opened the cellar, grabbed Yongchang's collar, and dragged the rebellious apprentice out in the blink of an eye.

Yongchang's shirt had been torn when he had been beaten earlier, his face was blue and purple, scratched in many places, and his hair was unkempt on his forehead.

However, his flushed face did not disappear, and as soon as he was pulled out of the place of detention, his eyes widened, staring at Noah fearlessly, and he did not seem to be discouraged at all.

"Look at you bunny, you've done a good job, haven't you?" Lao Shi grabbed him, and it was a slap in the face.

"He scolded my mother."

"Okay, what if you scold, you ungrateful little bastard? Your mother deserves it, and I don't think I scolded enough. ”

"She's not like that."

"She is."

"You're lying!"

Old Mrs. Shi cried loudly, tears pouring down.

Faced with his wife's torrential tears, Lao Shi had to have a showdown. Every experienced reader will surely conclude that if he hesitates to punish Yongchang severely, according to the precedent of conjugal disputes, he can only be regarded as a brute, an unsympathetic husband, and a rough man; By the standards of manhood, it can only be considered a poor fake.

In any case, the flood of tears made him helpless, and he immediately beat Yongchang with his fists and feet, so that even the old lady herself felt satisfied, and Mr. Bull had no need to use the cane of the diocese.

For the rest of the day, Yongchang was locked up in the kitchen, with only one nest head to keep him company.

At night, the old Mrs. Shi first talked outside the door for a long time, the compliment was by no means to commemorate Yongchang's mother, Liu Er spoke coldly on the side, pointing and pointing, and then the old Mrs. Shi took a look into the room and ordered Yongchang to go back to the miserable and terrible bed upstairs.

The coffin shop hall in the black hole was desolate and dead, and Yongchang stayed here alone, and it was only at this moment that he poured out the feelings that this day's experience might arouse in a child's heart.

He had listened to the mockery of the people with a look of contempt, and endured the whipping without saying a word, because he could feel a growing dignity in himself, and with this dignity he persevered until the end, even if he was roasted alive by them on the fire, he would not scream.

However, at this time, no one in the four places saw or heard, Yongchang knelt on the ground, covered his face with his hands, and cried - it is human nature to cry - but how many people would pour tears in front of God at such a young age!