The entire dinner was a joyful affair. Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue indulged to their hearts' content, letting out occasional sounds of satisfied laughter.
Xiao Shanshan's mood improved considerably, and she joined in by gnawing on a large braised pig's trotter.
Only Xiao Weiguo sat there with a silly grin from start to finish.
The scene before him filled his heart with an indescribable sense of peace. Wasn't this unprecedented atmosphere of family warmth precisely what he had been searching for all the latter half of his life?
"Xiao Jiang, slow down. Watch out for the bones. You're about to lose all your teeth, so why are you still eating so fast?"
Xiao Jiang, who was right in the middle of losing his baby teeth, grinned at him with a big gap in his mouth and buried his head right back into his food.
"Xiao Yue, have a chicken leg. It's delicious."
Xiao Weiguo broke a large drumstick off the roast chicken and handed it to his little sister.
Xiao Yue took it, holding a large drumstick in her left hand and half a pig's trotter in her right, torn over which one to eat first.
Looking at everything before him, even the unpalatable bowl of plain rice porridge in front of Xiao Weiguo suddenly tasted incomparably sweet.
After dinner, the two little ones climbed onto the heated brick bed, clutching their round little bellies and groaning softly.
While Xiao Shanshan cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, Xiao Weiguo stood up and spoke to his sister.
"Shanshan, I'm going over to Xiao Changsuo's place to return that money. I'll be right back."
Fearing he might upset his sister, he didn't dare mention the word "betrothal gift."
"Mmm."
Xiao Shanshan gave a soft acknowledgment and said nothing more.
Stepping outside, the sky had grown completely dark. It was less than a five-minute walk to Xiao Changsuo's house, and Xiao Weiguo soon arrived at his front door.
The main room was still lit, and shadows flickered through the large glass windows. The spacious house with its red bricks and dark tiles looked exceptionally bright.
Compared to the three-room adobe house Xiao Weiguo's family had built themselves, it was in an entirely different league.
Xiao Changsuo's family was considered quite well-off among the neighboring villages. Aside from being the village head himself, both of his sons had been assigned jobs in the township. His older son, Xiao Feng, was the deputy director of the agricultural machinery station, and his younger son, Xiao Lian, was an inspector at the grain station.
In that era, both held real power, and few people within a radius of ten miles dared to cross his family.Xiao Weiguo had deeply offended Xiao Changsuo this time, and knowing Xiao Changsuo's personality, he understood the man would certainly not let him off easily.
Still, he did not care; he would simply deal with whatever came his way. He refused to believe that with decades of foresight ahead of this era, he could not outfight a mere Xiao Changsuo.
"I just hope you know what's good for you!"
Thinking this, Xiao Weiguo raised his hand and knocked on the door of Xiao Changsuo's house.
"Who is it?"
The person who came to open the door was Xiao Changsuo's second daughter-in-law, Fu Xiaolian.
This woman walked with a swaying, exaggerated gait, her hair permed into large, flowing waves.
When she saw that the visitor outside was Xiao Weiguo, an expression of disgust appeared on her face.
"What are you here for? Let me tell you right now, asking to borrow money is no use."
Knowing that Xiao Weiguo was usually idle and wasted no opportunity to borrow money from all around, she assumed he was down to his last meal and had come running to her house to beg for cash.
Xiao Weiguo frowned and said coldly, "I'm here to see the village chief. Tell him to come out."
"Even if you want to see my father, he's not going to lend you anything! Get lost!"
Fu Xiaolian practically jumped, her voice rising several pitches as the look of disgust on her face intensified.
Looking at this woman who resembled a wild vixen, Xiao Weiguo had the urge to walk up and slap her a few times.
However, since he was here today to repay a debt and wanted to avoid any complications concerning his younger sister, he ignored Fu Xiaolian, shoved her aside with a wave of his hand, and walked toward the main house.
At that moment, the door of the main house opened, and the light illuminated the entire courtyard.
Xiao Changsuo walked out from inside.
"Xiaolian, who are you arguing with in the middle of the night?"
When he clearly saw that the visitor was Xiao Weiguo, his expression instantly turned gloomy.
He could not forget how that morning, Xiao Weiguo had acted like a plague god brandishing a kitchen knife and forced him to call off the engagement.
In all his life, that was the first time he had ever lost face in public, and he regarded it as an utter humiliation.
Throughout the entire day, he had brainstormed no less than a hundred ways to bring about Xiao Weiguo's ruin.To his surprise, before he could even deal with this good-for-nothing, the scoundrel had shown up at his doorstep on his own.
"What are you here for?"
Xiao Changsuo asked in a deep voice.
"Regretting it? Let me tell you, it's too late. Even if your sister, that bitch, agreed now, our family wouldn't want her anymore. Do you have any idea how many people are dying to marry into my family? Daring to go against me—just wait, sooner or later I'll make you see what I'm made of."
Hearing him hurl insults at his sister, Xiao Weiguo felt a surge of anger he could no longer suppress.
He raised his hand and dealt Xiao Changsuo a resounding slap across the face.
The two men were standing face to face, and Xiao Weiguo's blow was both swift and vicious, leaving Xiao Changsuo no time to react at all.
Staggering, Xiao Changsuo nearly fell to the ground.
Half of his face instantly swelled up red, and his head buzzed loudly.
Staring hard at Xiao Weiguo in disbelief, he shrieked:
"Eldest, Second! Get out here right now and beat this turtle's egg to death!"
With bloodshot eyes, he hopped up and down, pointing a trembling finger at Xiao Weiguo.
Hearing the commotion, his two sons rushed out from the room. Seeing that the Old Master had been struck, they flew into a rage, rolling up their sleeves as they lunged forward to attack Xiao Weiguo together.
Quick as lightning, Xiao Weiguo grabbed a shovel from the side and swung it high, bringing it down with a loud *thwack* right into the dirt in front of the two brothers.
"Come on, step forward and try it! See if I dare to kill the lot of you! I'm just a worthless wretch with one cheap life—do you think I'm scared of you?"
With a fierce, murderous glare in his eyes, Xiao Weiguo stared them down ruthlessly.
This stunt was the classic move of a barefoot man who had nothing to fear from one wearing shoes. He was already a notorious good-for-nothing and local ruffian; which decent person would be willing to risk their life against a lunatic like him?
He had nobody, and he didn't even care about his own younger siblings—was he someone they could afford to mess with?
Intimidated by this display, Xiao Feng and Xiao Lian froze in their tracks. Moving forward was out of the question, but retreating felt shameful.
The fierce momentum with which they had rushed out vanished completely in an instant.
Simultaneously, they turned to look at Xiao Changsuo, hoping the Old Master would call the shots.
Having lived for decades, how could Xiao Changsuo fail to read the current situation? If he really let his two sons risk their lives fighting this scoundrel to the death, he wasn't willing to make that gamble. What were his sons, anyway? State cadres. Was it worth it?
Yet, having been slapped in the face by this brat in broad daylight, how could he possibly swallow this anger?
Trembling all over, he pointed a shaking finger at Xiao Weiguo, his lips quivering as he sputtered:
"You... you... you..."
"My ass!"
Xiao Weiguo let out a cold, contemptuous snort.
Plucking two hundred yuan from his pocket, he hurled the bills directly into Xiao Changsuo's face.
"I've paid you back. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. If you ever dare to bother me again, see if I don't wipe out your entire family!"
The colorful, multi-denominational banknotes fluttered down and scattered all over the ground. Without even sparing them a glance, Xiao Weiguo turned on his heel and walked away.
Xiao Changsuo was so furious he nearly passed out.
"Turtle's egg! You turtle's egg! You just wait for me!"
Acting as if he hadn't heard a thing, Xiao Weiguo left Xiao Changsuo's house without once looking back.
Xiao Feng stepped forward to steady his father, comforting him: "Dad, it's not worth lowering yourself to his level. There will be plenty of ways to deal with him later—don't let him upset you."
Xiao Changsuo glanced at him, then looked over at his second son, Xiao Lian.
"Cowards, both of you!"
He cursed angrily, clutching his face as he turned to walk away.
"Dad!"
The second son, Xiao Lian, called out to him.
"The brat's family is so poor they don't even have pants to wear—where did he get this much money all of a sudden?"
At these words, Xiao Changsuo's eyes lit up, and he stopped in his tracks.
Second was right. Given how low Xiao Weiguo had sunk, it was impossible that any sucker would lend him so much money. So where had the cash come from? If he hadn't stolen it, he must have robbed it.
The old man sneered coldly.
"Eldest, find someone tomorrow to look into where he got that money. I refuse to believe we can't ruin him."