The Ultimate Holdout

"Ding Zihu, are you tearing down this tavern or not?" "I'm not..." "You're not?! Then don't blame me, Wu Lai, for being ruthless." Wu Lai picked up a cleaver... and started chopping! Chopping! Chopping! The sounds outside were absolutely horrifying and unnerving... Constable A: "Chief Zhan, what do we do?" Zhan Zijing lowered his head, pretending to ponder. "Hmm! Looks like today isn't a good day for a forced demolition. Let's come back another time!" Constable B was speechless. Why did it always turn out like this whenever they came back?! That night... "Wu Lai, go easier on the chopping next time. The vegetables you chopped up today are all unusable." "Fine, next time I'll chop pork bones instead." "Mm. Oh, by the way, Zijing invited me to a poetry gathering this evening. I said yes." "...I've decided not to chop pork bones. Next time, I'm chopping Zhan Zijing instead!" "..." In short, a scholar inherits the family business. Just as things are running smoothly and business is booming, he runs into a forced demolition. Then the constable and the scoundrel both get involved... and in the end, he becomes the ultimate holdout against demolition. See how the strongest holdout in ancient times protects his home and shop, and finds a love like no other! For some reason, the brainless author wrote the prologue in a serious-drama style... Feel free to skip it and start with Chapter One... Since Chapter One isn't written yet, you can turn around and leave.