Chapter 121: The Zhao Family

Chapter 121: The Zhao Family

The gate of the Zhao family's courtyard shook violently as it was kicked repeatedly. Fang Cui Liu and Old Lady Zhao hid inside, peering out through a half-open window at the commotion outside. The loud noises outside had turned their hearts, which were already filled with jealousy and resentment, into a state of unease.

Earlier, they had heard laughter from the neighboring courtyard, commands to wash vegetables and slice meat. Even though the voices weren't as lively as those from other households, it still made them feel deeply uncomfortable.

Old Lady Zhao had bullied the Li family for longer than Fang Cui Liu had been alive, even scolding Li He's father and grandmother. She had always looked down on Li Mei's marriage with a crooked eye and nose, spitting or sniffling every morning outside the Li family's door.

Today, however, the Li family was filled with joy, something she couldn't bear. So, she fetched a scoop of fecal water from the backyard, determined to stir up trouble.

Those who associated with the Li family weren't from the major clans in the village; most looked down upon the Li family's impoverished appearance and couldn't offer decent gifts. Naturally, people wouldn't want to associate with them.

Moreover, the Li family didn't have many relatives in the village. Who would stand up for them?

Due to her age, Old Lady Zhao lacked the strength in her arms, so without a word, she signaled her daughter-in-law, Fang Cui Liu, to do the deed.

Fang Cui Liu was seething with anger. Her son Xiao Ji couldn't find a match no matter what, but now the poorer Li family had a cause for celebration before them. This was unbearable.

She eavesdropped from behind the wall, listening to the Li family washing vegetables in their courtyard and counting the dishes. Her fury reached its peak, and she grabbed the scoop of feces, ignoring all else.

No matter how good the food or meat, she wouldn't let the Li family taste even a single hair!

Zhao Xiao Zhi wiped his nose with his sleeve beside her. Due to his short stature, he could only peek through the window crack, seeing the gate shake and hearing continuous curses. Terrified, he shrank back, hiding behind his mother and grandmother, not daring to move his usually lively eyes.

He looked very much like Zhao Xiao Ji, having learned from his family since childhood. Their temperaments were similar, and at just five years old, he already bullied other children of the same age when adults weren't around. Even seeing someone older like Li Bao'er, he dared to spit at them, relying on the fact that the eight-year-old Li Bao'er couldn't beat his sixteen-year-old brother, Zhao Xiao Ji.

Fang Cui Liu and Old Lady Zhao exchanged a glance, realizing that today's incident might be difficult to resolve. Both blamed each other silently, their faces growing uglier by the second. They didn't dare make a sound, hoping that pretending no one was home would make the outsiders eventually leave.

As for the wailing cries from the other side of the courtyard wall, they ignored them completely. They weren't afraid of the Li family but worried about the people outside who were cursing nonstop after being splashed with fecal water.

The commotion at the Zhao family's door had long attracted others from the village. Anyone who wasn't working in the fields or out had gathered around, regardless of age.

Upon learning that the Zhao family had poured feces on the Li family and even drenched some helpers, many spat curses in anger. On such a joyful day, to deliberately ruin someone's happiness was truly despicable.

As March began, work in the fields increased. Those who remained at home were mostly the elderly, weak, women, and children. Therefore, everyone merely helped by yelling from outside the gate.

Li He carried a table out from his western neighbor's house. By nature, he was honest and taciturn. Li Bao'er held several stools in both hands. Seeing the scene before them, both were momentarily stunned.

After hearing an explanation, they hurriedly rushed home. Upon entering, they saw Fang Xiao Zhi's pitiful state, covered in fecal water. Li He trembled with rage, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Gu Lan Yu returned from outside the village, carrying a basket of pig feed. Seeing the crowd, he was curious and asked Gu Lan Xing beside him, "What's going on? It looks like it's happening at the Zhao family's door. Isn't it Li Mei's wedding day today?"

Gu Lan Xing had encountered him while cutting grass and was unaware of the situation. Looking over, he shook his head dumbly. "Who knows?"

As they approached, they squeezed through the crowd, discovering Miao Qiu Lian amidst the shouts of four or five people.

Gu Lan Yu quickly stepped forward to ask, "Mother, what happened?"

As soon as he spoke, he smelled a stench of feces. Looking at his mother's back, which was covered in black stains, and noticing similar marks on the bodies and heads of the other aunties and grandmothers, he had a hunch about what had occurred.

Miao Qiu Lian cursed angrily, "Bastard! We were just washing vegetables in our courtyard when the Zhao family poured feces over from the other side of the wall. Filthy old thing! Nobody will have a good day today!"

As she spoke, she kicked the Zhao family's front gate, causing it to rattle violently. However, the latch inside remained unbroken.

Hearing this, how could Gu Lan Yu not be furious? Remembering that he had seen Zhao Jin Tong, his brother, and Zhao Xiao Ji heading to the fields in the morning, he beckoned Gu Lan Xing over and whispered two sentences in his cousin's ear. Gu Lan Xing put down his bamboo basket and ran out of the village.

"Mother, I'll go call Second Brother and the others," Gu Lan Yu picked up Gu Lan Xing's basket and quickly headed home. Today, he was determined to get justice.

Before crossing the Li family's threshold, he glanced inside and indeed saw Gu Lan Shi there. Li Mei and her mother were sobbing pitifully.

"Brother Lan Shi," Gu Lan Yu paused at the door.

Gu Lan Shi couldn't console the two crying women, and Li He was too enraged. Li Bao'er, being small, struggled to help his father sit down. The courtyard was in chaos.

Hearing Doggy call him, Gu Lan Shi hurried out.

Gu Lan Yu immediately noticed two black patches on his brother's trouser legs and shoes, not large but clearly also fecal water.

Following his brother's gaze, Gu Lan Shi realized he had been hit as well. The courtyard reeked of feces, and two pots of vegetables had been ruined. He hadn't even noticed the smell on himself.

This was the clean outfit he had specially changed into for today. Instantly, his anger flared.

"Is Brother Yan at home?" Gu Lan Yu clenched his teeth in frustration. He didn't mention the Li family, who were the unluckiest of all. Out of the few people who had come to celebrate, two had been splashed. This was truly outrageous.

Gu Lan Shi knew what he intended to do and nodded. "Yes, Grandma is also on the mountain behind."

"Alright, I'll call Second Brother. I don't know if Eldest Brother has gone to the fields yet." Before Gu Lan Yu could finish speaking, he was already moving forward.

Gu Lan Shi glanced at the four members of the Li family in the courtyard. With Li He present, he couldn't approach to comfort them. Everyone was gathered outside the Zhao family's door, watching the spectacle.

Looking at the crowd, he didn't know whom to call for help.

Seeing his third uncle, Gu Tie Qiao, and third aunt, Zhou Dong Qin, entering the village with their hoes, he felt relieved. He hurried over and briefly explained what had happened, asking them to help console Li He and Fang Xiao Zhi. His third uncle and aunt were roughly the same age as Li He, making them more suitable to provide comfort than a junior like him.

Gu Tie Qiao and Zhou Dong Qin were kind-hearted people. Although they didn't have much interaction with the Li family, they never looked down on them and could chat amicably when they met. Hearing this, they entered the Li family's home to offer consolation.

Old Lady Sun, who had been watching the commotion, felt genuine sympathy for the Li family's plight. She followed them in, seeing Fang Xiao Zhi's miserable state. She cursed the Zhao family and helped to console her, fearing that Fang Xiao Zhi might faint from crying.

In the fields,

Zhao Jin Tong, Zhao Jin Shui, and Zhao Xiao Ji were weeding when they suddenly heard someone calling them. Turning around, they saw Gu Lan Xing standing at the edge of the field.

Due to his animosity towards Gu Lan Xing, Zhao Xiao Ji frowned, wondering what this guy wanted.

"It's bad! There's a fire! Hurry back to put it out!" Gu Lan Xing yelled at the top of his lungs at the edge of the field.

Zhao Jintong's heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly asked, "My home?"

"Indeed!" Gu Lanzheng told a bald-faced lie with his eyes wide open, not showing the slightest hint of anxiety on his face but rather harboring animosity towards the Zhao family.

As for the Li family, there was no need to mention them; they weren't too close to him. However, his Aunt Qiulian had always been kind to him since he was young, and whenever he visited, she would always stuff him with food. If he didn't give the Zhao family a good thrashing today, he'd feel guilty towards his Fourth Aunt.

From a distance, coupled with the fact that all three members of the Zhao family were somewhat flustered, they didn't notice his gaze as they hurriedly ran back home.

Upon entering the village, before they even got close, Zhao Jintong indeed saw a large crowd gathered in front of his house, but there was no sign of fire or smoke. Instead, he heard people yelling curses.

His heart jolted, and he immediately stopped in his tracks, looking at the scene with suspicion, wanting to ask Gu Lanzheng for clarification. But to his surprise, the boy had run ahead faster than them and was already out of sight.

Someone must have spotted them, for a shout rang out, and the crowd turned to look in their direction. The hearts of the three Zhao family members pounded nervously.

"Oh, the living Yama is here."

Suddenly, someone blurted out in shock, revealing what was on their mind. They quickly lowered their voice, ducking their head and trying to blend into the crowd, fearful of being identified as the one who spoke.

Gu Lanshi actually heard it, but before his marriage, his mother had called Pei Yan the 'living Yama'. Besides, he was currently enraged by the Zhao family's humiliation, so he chose to ignore the comment.

Not only Pei Yan, but Gu Lanhe and Fang Honghua had also arrived. Seeing the stains on Gu Lanshi and Miao Qiulian's clothes, Fang Honghua raised her voice and cursed, "Old不死thing! Come out if you dare!"

Because Liu Guihua had also come to help at the Li family, Zhou Ping and Zhou Shitou rushed over in anger upon hearing the news. Seeing that Liu Guihua had been lucky enough to avoid being doused with feces, their pent-up anger subsided slightly.

"Was this done by the Zhao family?" Pei Yan stood in front of Gu Lanshi, his gaze fixed on the stains on his pants and shoes.

Gu Lanshi was seething with anger and didn't hold back any details as he quickly explained, "It was thrown from the Zhao family's side. Now they're pretending to be dead and silent, but who would really leave their house unattended and have the door bolted from the inside?"

Due to his anger, his voice wasn't low, and everyone around heard him. They all nodded in understanding, and those who had long been fed up with the Zhao family directly yelled curses at them, "Pretend to be dead, your mother! If there's really no one there, how could a ghost have bolted the door from the inside?"

This round of curses made the faces of the three Zhao family members twitch, but they dared not make a sound.

Pei Yan, being tall, had already spotted the three Zhao family members standing in the crowd. He looked straight at them but didn't immediately attack. Instead, he walked to the Zhao family's doorstep, gesturing for Miao Qiulian and the others to move aside. Then, he kicked open the door of the Zhao family's house with one foot.

As the wooden door bolt broke, Fang Cuiqiu nearly lost her soul in fright and, like a turtle retreating into its shell, immediately closed the window, though it was unclear whom she was trying to deceive.

The sound of the window closing with a "slap" instead revealed that there was someone inside.

Before the window closed, Old Lady Zhao saw Pei Yan at the door, who seemed like a god of death to her. She was so frightened that her eyes rolled back, and she almost fainted, losing her balance and sitting down on the ground.

The manure scoop was still lying on the ground in the courtyard. After Fang Cuiqiu had thrown the manure, she heard that several people were coming to cause trouble and was so scared that she didn't bother to clean up. She and Old Lady Zhao had shut the courtyard gate and rushed into the room to hide. Neither of them thought to pick up the scoop, which became solid evidence.

With the door open, Pei Yan didn't need to lift a finger. Miao Qiulian and the others, who had been doused with manure, were more than ready to take action.

They had been working peacefully when they were suddenly splashed with manure, covering themselves in bad luck. The women and men were furious and rushed straight into the house, dragging Fang Cuiqiu and Old Lady Zhao out by pulling and beating them.

Both Gu Lanshi and Miao Qiulian had been doused, and they had previous conflicts, so old and new grudges piled up together. Even Fang Honghua joined in the beating.

Zhao Xiaozhi cried and screamed in fear beside them, but no one paid attention to him.

Fang Cuiqiu's hair was disheveled, and blood flowed from her nose. In pain, she lost her composure and fought back against these few people, but she was alone and couldn't match the strength of several hands.

Old Lady Zhao, being elderly, couldn't withstand the beating. Afraid that she might die and cause trouble, she was only slapped and spat on by Fang Honghua, who pulled her hair.

When Gu Lanshi saw the manure on his mother's back and glanced at the stains on his own shoes and pants—his clothes were fine, but the shoes were new ones made last year that he hadn't worn many times—he was so angry that he kicked Fang Cuiqiu twice from behind.

Being young and having been protected by his older brothers and sisters since childhood, he didn't have the same fighting spirit as Fang Honghua and Miao Qiulian. Soon, he was pushed out again.

Not just him, even Miao Qiulian and the others couldn't match Fang Honghua's ferocity. Though she was old, she still beat Old Lady Zhao without giving her a chance to fight back. She even took off her shoe and slapped Old Lady Zhao's face with the sole, cursing, "For bullying people! Today, I'll peel off your old face."

Seeing these two being dealt with, Pei Yan didn't intervene. He pulled Gu Lanshi away a few steps and said, "It's good that you're here."

Gu Lanshi was still furious. Little Mei had cried so much earlier, and tomorrow was supposed to be a day of great joy, all ruined by these two.

"Don't worry, none of the Zhao family will escape." Pei Yan lightly pressed his shoulder, offering a word of comfort before walking away. Passing by the woodshed, he picked up the broom leaning against the wall, stepped on it to break off the bristles, and left with the sturdy handle.

As soon as he went outside, the crowd watching fell silent inexplicably.

No one else dared to step forward, except for Gu Lanyu and the others, who blocked the retreat of the Zhao family's men.

"It wasn't me who threw it," Zhao Xiaojie said in fear as he saw Pei Yan approaching, hastily trying to clear himself.

Pei Yan didn't bother with him and went straight for Zhao Jintong, who subconsciously dodged but was still hit on the upper arm. He had been beaten by Pei Yan before, and now he was left with nothing but fear, only able to run.

Zhao Jinshui was the same; he didn't even have the courage to fight back. Forget the Gu family, Pei Yan alone could beat them senseless. They were terrified.

As Pei Yan started fighting, Gu Lanyu and the others also pounced, and after a few struggles, they pinned Zhao Xiaojie and Zhao Jinshui to the ground.

Even if Zhao Jintong was strong and had honed some fighting skills in his youth, they were no match for Pei Yan.

Without needing any fancy moves, Pei Yan suppressed him solely with his strength. Zhao Jintong was knocked to the ground and pressed down before he could react. Pei Yan raised his fist and began beating him mercilessly. Zhao Jintong couldn't even protect his head and face.

Afraid that Fang Honghua would seriously injure Old Lady Zhao, Gu Lanshi hurriedly pulled her away. Fang Honghua was alright, with only some dirt on her body. Looking at Old Lady Zhao lying on the ground, she had been beaten so badly that she couldn't even speak, her head and body covered in dirt.

He heard the commotion outside and, having taken his revenge, the anger in his heart subsided. He quickly tried to persuade Miao Qiulian, "Mother, Auntie, that's enough, let go. We're different from them; we don't get involved in unlucky matters. What if you accidentally kill her."

Miao Qiulian reluctantly released Fang Cuiqiu's collar, throwing the shoe in her hand to the ground with a "slap" and putting it back on.

Fang Cuiqiu, being young, was quite resilient. Seeing that she still had the strength to cry and scream, Gu Lanshi hurriedly walked outside. Just as he came out, he saw Pei Yan holding the broom handle, breaking one of Zhao Jintong's arms with it.

Seeing that he had completely passed out, Pei Yan threw the broom handle on the ground with a "clang". Just as he turned around, he saw Gu Lanshi. His eyes flickered with a slight look of unease, wondering if he had gone too far.

Before Gu Lanshi could approach, suddenly, Li He rushed out of the Li family's house with a kitchen knife in hand. His arm was shaking, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Gu Tieqiao and Zhou Dongqin chased after him, even Old Man Sun ran out, repeatedly shouting, "Quick, quick, put down the knife."

No matter how much they had been wronged, murder was a capital offense. Xiao Zhi cried as she chased after him, still covered in manure. Tomorrow was Little Mei's wedding day; they couldn't let a happy occasion turn into a tragedy.

Li He appeared to be in a daze. Everyone wanted to grab the knife from him, but they hesitated due to the sharpness of the blade, afraid of getting hurt in the process.

Pei Yan picked up the broomstick he had thrown on the ground earlier and swiftly approached Li He, striking him on the arm with it. Li He, in pain, dropped the kitchen knife he was holding, and Gu Tieqiao, quick as a flash, immediately scooped it up.

"Zhao! I'll fight you to the death!" Li He's eyes were filled with tears as he shouted hoarsely, his face flushed red from anger, as he tried to charge into the Zhao family's home but was held back by the crowd.

Decades of pent-up frustration erupted at this moment. Sobbing uncontrollably, he had been bullied all his life, even during the joyous occasion of his own child's wedding, which was marred by further bullying.

With a voice like a broken bellows, he yelled, "It's my brother Mei's wedding day, a day of great happiness, ruined by your doing."

The crowd repeatedly restrained him until someone informed him that the entire Zhao family had been beaten. Seeing the Zhao men lying on the ground with his own eyes, he stood there, stunned.

Deep down, he knew that if he acted alone, he would only end up beaten by the Zhao brothers. But he was determined to make a stand, to drag them down with him, even if it meant taking a beating. He was resolved to confront the Zhao family, and if it came to it, he would die, but he wouldn't let the Zhao family off easy.

*

The Zhao family suffered a significant loss, with only Zhou Xiao'e, Oujinshui's husband, being spared from the fray. He had taken their two children back to his mother's house early in the morning. Upon returning, they found the family in a sorry state, and upon hearing that Pei Yan was responsible for the beating, he felt a chill run down his spine. He was grateful that he hadn't been home today, thus avoiding this disaster.

In the countryside, where dirt roads were common, getting covered in dust during a fight was inevitable. Pei Yan and Gu Lanshi were inside changing their clothes.

They hadn't noticed anything amiss on their way back, but now, Gu Lanshi could distinctly smell the stench of sewage. His mood soured, and he cursed, "Wicked and heartless, no one will shed a tear when they're dead."

Pei Yan placed the shoes he had changed out of on top of the pile of dirty clothes and said, "After tasting their own medicine this time, I doubt they'll dare to bully the Li family again."

Gu Lanshi felt somewhat relieved and sighed, saying, "Brother Mei finally arranged a marriage, almost ready to send her off, I wonder if news of this has reached the other side."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Hopefully, they'll proceed with the wedding tomorrow as planned. It was the Zhao family who started the trouble, not Brother Mei's family. If they're reasonable, they shouldn't call off the engagement."

"Hmm, we'll just have to see what they think. Ignorance is bliss," Pei Yan agreed.

Hearing that the family in Quanshui Village wasn't wealthy and that their son was quite a bit older than Brother Mei, it seemed unlikely that they would easily call off the wedding after going through so much trouble to arrange it.

Noticing that Gu Lanshi looked a little tired, he gathered the dirty clothes and shoes, saying, "Rest here, I'll go wash these."

Sewage was different from other things; if not cleaned promptly, it left an unpleasant feeling. Gu Lanshi followed him, saying, "Let's go together. We can finish washing sooner and rest afterward."

Earlier, when they returned, Pei Yan had sent the well-diggers home, fearing that Gu Lanshi might feel uncomfortable. They would be more at ease alone at home.

"Alright," Pei Yan agreed. He carried the clothes to the wooden basin in the courtyard and placed them inside. Holding the basin, Gu Lanshi took the laundry stick and wild soap nuts. The two locked the door and headed toward the river.