Chapter 45: Even Livelier Than The Vegetable Market
Shi Tou lifted his foot and went up to meet him, “What happened?”
“Lin… Lin…” Li Xiaoshan supported his knees with his hands, panting as he said, “The Lin Family came back.”
Shang Wan scooped a ladle of water and handed it to him, “Drink some water first to catch your breath, then speak slowly.”
Xiao Huan looked at the water ladle and found it familiar. Wasn’t this the one used for that group of monkeys?
Li Xiaoshan took the water ladle without noticing anything, drank while glancing at Shi Tou’s chicken nest head, and asked curiously, “Brother Shi Tou, how did your hair become like this?”
“You don’t understand, this is a symbol of good affection.” Shi Tou casually ruffled it with his hand, feeling quite pleased with himself, “You want it but don’t have it.”
Li Xiaoshan: “…”
No, he didn’t want it at all! If his hair became like this, his brother would beat him to death.
Seeing his breathing calm down, Shang Wan asked, “The Lin Family came back, and then what?”
“They quarreled with the villagers.”
Shang Wan had already heard the quarreling noise but hadn’t paid close attention, and then asked, “What were they quarreling about?”
“The Village Chief wouldn’t reason.” Li Xiaoshan clenched his fists, somewhat agitated, “The Village Chief said that the work-point system Uncle Wu and the others came up with without waiting for him to return and discuss was reckless, seizing his authority. He wants to tell the Village Head and drive Uncle Wu’s family out of the village.”
“Uncle Liu helped Uncle Wu say a couple of words, and the Village Chief said he would drive out the Liu Family too, to avoid them raising another Liu Hu to harm our village.”
Lu Chengjing suddenly interjected, “But didn’t the villagers tell him that Liu Hu was taken away by the officials?”
“No.” Li Xiaoshan shook his head, “Everyone didn’t have time to say it.”
Shang Wan glanced at Lu Chengjing, saw him with eyes downcast as if pondering something, and then asked Li Xiaoshan, “What else did they quarrel about?”
“Aunt Liu wouldn’t reason either.” Li Xiaoshan said indignantly, “She said the villagers took her family’s silver, a full thirty taels, and was clamoring to catch the thief.”
Shi Tou asked, “Who does she suspect stole it?”
“No one, she just said it was the villagers who stole it.” Li Xiaoshan drooped his face, “When they came back, the lock on the Lin Family’s front door was still hanging there. Everyone was busy with their own affairs and no one had gone in at all.”
Xiao Huan puzzled, “They started quarreling, why did you come find my sister?”
Li Xiaoshan glanced at Lu Chengjing and said in a muffled voice, “The Village Chief said the method was proposed by the Xiucai Scholar, and wants to… wants to…”
“Drive our whole family out of the village too.” Shang Wan finished his words for him.
Li Xiaoshan nodded and spoke his mind, “Sister, I don’t want you to move away.”
This was also the reason he anxiously ran to find Shang Wan; he felt that in the village, only Shang Wan could deal with the Lin Family.
“Whether we move or not, what the Lin Family says doesn’t count.” Shang Wan reached out to rub the kid’s head, thinking to herself that wielding a chicken feather as if it were an arrow of command, as if Elm Tree Village was ruled by his Lin Family?
Li Xiaoshan perked up upon hearing this, grinned wide with even his back molars showing.
Shang Wan glanced at the several piles of things her family had cleared out, and whistled toward the mountain forest.
Moments later, wolf howls rose one after another in the mountain forest, scaring a crowd of small animals into trembling.
“Let’s go, go watch the excitement together, and see just how much official might this Village Chief Lin has.”
Shang Wan took Yuan Yuan from Lu Chengjing’s arms, Shi Tou stepped forward to carry Lu Chengjing on his back, Xiao Huan tucked the kitchen knife into the back of her waist. Their momentum while walking didn’t seem like going to watch the fun, but rather like going to start a group fight.
Li Xiaoshan inexplicably straightened his back too, raised his chin, and walked with a domineering splayed gait.
When the group arrived at the center of the commotion, that is, under the old elm tree, the quarrel between both sides had already entered a white-hot stage.
Liu Shi was like a fighting cock with red eyes from urgency, hands on hips firing at the whole village, cursing in the ugliest way.
Several aunts couldn’t stand it and cursed back at her. Zhou Shi and Chen Guifang naturally couldn’t just watch idly, helping their mother-in-law curse. The wives from the aunts’ families saw this and also stepped forward to help.
Both sides went back and forth, escalating from personal attacks to each other’s ancestors for eighteen generations. Shang Wan watched with eyes wide open, even wanting to grab some sunflower seeds.
Yuan Yuan was woken by the noise, rubbed her eyes with small hands, and her chubby little face rubbed back and forth against Shang Wan’s neck.
“Good girl, keep sleeping.” Shang Wan gently patted the little one’s back. The rubbing little meatball gradually quieted down. She looked down and sure enough, she had fallen asleep again.
Shang Wan continued watching the play, thinking that if they had the kung fu to curse, they might as well just fight outright for a more satisfying result. Unexpectedly, both sides really got heated, rolled up sleeves, grabbed each other’s hair and clothes, and instantly tumbled together.
Now that hands were thrown, others naturally couldn’t just watch. They all surged forward—some pulling apart, some helping out—creating utter chaos in an instant, even livelier than the vegetable market entrance.
Shi Tou, not minding adding fuel to the fire while watching, cheered on Aunt Zhou and Aunt Yao from the side.
Xiao Huan coldly eyed Village Chief Lin, her right hand several times reaching for the kitchen knife behind her.
Lin Jianshui had always guarded Village Chief Lin’s side, giving Xiao Huan no opportunity. Xiao Huan could only reluctantly give up the plan to give Village Chief Lin a knife.
“Stop it, stop fighting!” Old Man Wu and several others were so anxious their faces flushed red, shouting loudly, “Pull them apart! Hurry and pull them apart! We’re all from the same village—what can’t be sat down and talked out properly?”
“Everyone stop!” Old Man Liu anxiously shouted for his son, “Big one, hurry and pull your Aunt Zhou away!”
Lu Chengjing sat on Shi Tou’s back, expressionless as he watched the clamor before him, suddenly covering his mouth for a yawn.
Shang Wan secretly raised her brows. Watching the excitement bored this one already?
“Enough!” Village Chief Lin bellowed with a darkened face, his voice nearly cracking.
The scene immediately quieted. Those pulling fights took the chance to drag apart the hot-headed ones.
Liu Shi’s hair was all grabbed loose, her face not only with palm prints but also several nail scratches, who knows who scratched them.
She flung off the support of her two daughters-in-law and sat on the ground wailing and wiping tears.
Aunt Zhou’s hair was also half torn loose. She was held by her two sons but still stuck her head out to spit at Liu Shi.
“As if only your family has two sons? The whole village saw it—no one entered your house. Who knows if you secretly took it to aid your maternal family home, and now slandering us here? Pfft!”
“Zhou Yingchun, you’re talking nonsense!”
“Me talking nonsense?” Aunt Zhou sneered, “On the tenth of last month, Xiao He Village had a big market. You stealthily asked someone to take things to your maternal family home—I saw it with my own two eyes. Such a big bundle—who knows if you hid the silver inside?”
Hearing this, Village Chief Lin’s gaze immediately scraped toward Liu Shi like a knife.
Liu Shi shrank her neck, a flash of guilt in her eyes, but she still quibbled, “I didn’t go out that day—you mistook me.”
“Mom, that day I drove the donkey cart to send you there, did you forget?” Lin Jianshui said, “You even said not to tell Dad…”
His words paused. Done for, done for—how did it slip out like that?
Liu Shi: “…”
Why didn’t she just strangle this club? Was there ever a son who pitted his own mother like this?
“I did send things home, but they were all old clothes, no silver.” Liu Shi didn’t dare quibble further and looked toward Village Chief Lin, “Boss, the silver was all kept by you. Even if I wanted to give it to my maternal family home, I couldn’t.”
Village Chief Lin’s face was overcast.
“We found evidence!” Lin Jianshan and his group strode over, holding up a jade pendant with excellent water quality in his hand.
Today’s second round PK is over, thank you treasures for your support and recommendation votes~
