Chapter 178: By the Riverbank

Chapter 178: By the Riverbank

The reeds by the riverbank swayed gently in the wind, their dry yellow stalks rustling softly.

The river meandered, its surface not completely frozen; the water flowed, carrying ice chunks downstream.

Gu Lanshi approached with a bamboo basket on his back and a small hoe in hand. Upon reaching the reeds, he placed the basket on the ground, took out the hemp rope and sickle inside, and squatted down to dig up the reed roots with the hoe.

As soon as late autumn arrived, many people came to cut reeds. Near the village, there weren't many reeds left.

Today, he had brought hemp rope, planning to walk further along the river to cut some more reeds. Every year, his family dried a lot of vegetables, so having extra reed mats would make drying anything more convenient.

Huahua hurried over from behind, circling around him twice. Hearing voices nearby, it raised its head to look warily in that direction, its ears perked up sharply.

Yesterday, when he went to collect firewood in the mountains, he had taken Dahai with him, letting it run free for a while. After a day of wild running, today, Huahua was chosen to come out.

With chickens and ducks at home needing supervision, all three dogs couldn't be let out at once. It was better to take them out in turns for a stroll.

Today, Pei Yan had gone to the mountains again to search for snakes. With nothing to do at home, after tidying up the west room, he decided to come out to dig up some reed roots and conveniently carry a bundle of reeds back.

Seeing no danger, Huahua walked upstream along the riverbank, sniffing around as it went. There was a bit of wet mud by the riverbank, and after accidentally stepping into it, it whined and ran back to show Gu Lanshi the mud on its paw.

Gu Lanshi was busy digging up reed roots and assumed Huahua was just playing, so he ignored it. However, Huahua stretched out its front paw, its butt sticking out behind, insistently presenting its right front paw to him.

"Being picky for no reason," Gu Lanshi scolded with a smile upon understanding. He stood up, picked up a few dry reed leaves, and wiped the wet mud off its paw.

The mud had just stuck on, making it relatively easy to wipe off, but it was impossible to get it perfectly clean. After a few haphazard wipes, Gu Lanshi threw away the reed leaves in his hand and said, "Alright, alright, it's clean."

Huahua tilted its head to look at its paw. The fur that had touched the wet mud still had some mud specks, but it was much better than before. Seemingly satisfied, it whined once more and ran off to play elsewhere.

Each dog at home was smarter than the next, and their personalities were quite different. In terms of cleanliness, Huahua far surpassed Huazai and Dahai. After rain, it didn't like walking on muddy paths; if it had to, it would quickly run past or choose areas without water, as if afraid of getting its paws dirty with mud and water. Only during snowfall did it run wildly in the snow with Huazai.

Gu Lanshi didn't bother with it, knowing that letting it out was for play, so why restrict it?

The dug-up reed roots came with clumps of mud attached. He shook off the short stumps against the ground and then tossed them into the bamboo basket. While he was busy, he suddenly heard a few curses coming from nearby. He subconsciously looked up.

Xu Rui'er was being chased by two boys, stumbling as she ran, heading straight toward him. But before she reached him, she tripped over a dried vine on the ground and fell flat, even flinging her bamboo basket away, which rolled several times after landing.

"Woof—"

Hearing the commotion, Huahua barked twice and rushed over directly, staring warily at those few people. Since they weren't at home, where it would have to guard the house, it didn't bark wildly.

Gu Lanshi recognized the ones chasing Xu Rui'er as Lin Dengwa and Yang Xiaosheng. There should have been Lin Luer as well, but he wasn't in sight today. Gu Lanshi wondered if he was scared from being bitten last time.

After falling, Xu Rui'er turned back and saw that the two were about to catch up. She got up and ran forward, not forgetting her bamboo basket.

Lin Dengwa and Yang Xiaosheng were a few years older than Xu Rui'er, yet they bullied this lonely child. Gu Lanshi couldn't bear to watch and shouted, "Rui'er, come here."

"Mind your own business, grandpa!"

Lin Dengwa usually had a hot temper and a bad heart. Arguing and cursing others was common for him. He wasn't even afraid of women and husbands; only elder men could stop him.

He was solely focused on beating Xu Rui'er to avenge his brother Luer. Seeing a dual-gendered person in front of him, he spat out a curse without thinking, only realizing afterward that it was Gu Lanshi.

Gu Lanshi's husband was not someone to be trifled with. Even his father wouldn't dare provoke him.

Xu Rui'er hadn't initially seen who was ahead, only wanting to run away.

Lin Dengwa and Yang Xiaosheng were two against one, and he couldn't fight them. Moreover, these two were worse than Lin Luer. Remembering his brother's words, he didn't want to get beaten, but the path back to the village was blocked by those two. He couldn't run to Grandfather's house to complain, so he could only run in this direction. He hadn't expected the person ahead to be Gu Lanshi.

Due to previous events, he naturally trusted Gu Lanshi. Without hesitation, he ran over.

Seeing Lin Dengwa's mouth spew "grandpa" repeatedly, Gu Lanshi felt a surge of anger. He cursed, "What skill does it take to bully a kid? Don't you think about how many years older you are than him? Just because you've eaten a few more years' worth of food doesn't make you invincible, you black-hearted scoundrel!"

"Woof!"

Huahua seemed to be helping Gu Lanshi build up his courage.

Where had Lin Dengwa ever been scolded by a young husband? Usually, he was the one cursing others. Wanting to retort, he had genuine concerns deep down.

Seeing Yang Xiaosheng beside him, he could only put on a brave face, spitting on the ground and cursing, "Grandpa won't bother with a dual-gendered person. Today, I'll let you surnamed Xu off cheaply."

As soon as the words left his mouth, feeling his confidence bolstered, but his heart still pounded nervously. What if Pei Yan came looking for trouble? Instantly, he regretted his actions.

"Smack!"

Before he could think of a countermeasure, a slap landed on the back of his head, followed by a "smack" sound as Yang Xiaosheng was also struck.

A burst of rage surged through Lin Dengwa's heart. He turned around, raising his fist to strike, but Gu Lanyu struck his arm with a stick.

Hua Xishuang and Zhu Ge'er were lagging behind. Seeing the fight break out, Zhu Ge'er pulled his little sister-in-law's arm, walking toward Gu Lanshi while keeping a safe distance to avoid getting hurt.

"Will something happen?" Hua Xishuang was worried, her brows furrowed tightly, fearing that Doggy would suffer a loss.

At home, she was the youngest, protected by her older siblings and doted on by her parents. She rarely played with the village boys, only associating with girls and dual-gendered people, so she had never witnessed a fight.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Lin Dengwa and Yang Xiaosheng are cowards," Zhu Ge'er reassured her. Compared to being bullied to tears by Zhao Xiaoji two years ago, his tone now exuded the calmness of someone who had seen major events.

Gu Lanyu sneered, grabbing Lin Dengwa by the collar and slapping him hard across the face a few times. He grabbed the back of his neck and asked, "Little bastard, who are you calling grandpa?"

Lin Dengwa didn't dare retaliate. The Gus were fine; at most, he'd get beaten up. But Pei Yan, that fearsome demon, was behind him. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, unable to utter a word.

Yang Xiaosheng didn't dare breathe loudly beside him. He had an older brother named Yang Gaosheng, who used to hang out with Zhao Xiaoji. And he, following his brother, only knew how to bully others.

After the Pei family beat the Zhao family so badly, Zhao Xiaoji never dared to act tough and bully people in the village again. Even his brother and he didn't dare confront the Gus of the same age, not expecting to have such bad luck today.

Forget Pei Yan; even just Gu Lanyu was someone his brother Yang Gaosheng wouldn't dare provoke. In the past, Gu Lanyu and Gu Lanxing had teamed up to beat Zhao Xiaoji, and he knew that they were not to be trifled with.

Moreover, Gu Lanyu was a head taller than the two of them and had a stick in his hand. It was clear that they couldn't win in a fight.

Fortunately, he hadn't cursed out loud; Yang Xiaosheng silently rejoiced in his heart.

"You were quite the tough guy just now, weren't you? Acting all high and mighty with who, huh?" Gu Lanyu released Lin Dengwa's neck and kicked him over, sending him crashing to the ground.

The other was younger than him, so he didn't really hit him, but he threatened, "If I catch you again, it won't just be a kick. Scram."

Yang Xiaosheng didn't dare make a sound. He wanted to run first, but felt it would be unrighteous. If Lin Dengwa spread the word, it wouldn't sound good. So, he waited until Lin Dengwa got up before they both ran off together.

"I'm telling you two, don't you dare bully Rui'er in the future! Or else, it'll be a beating every time we see you," Gu Lan Shi warned, using his brother's presence to intimidate them.

"Did you hear that!" Gu Lanyu shouted.

Lin Dengwa and Yang Xiaosheng felt their luck had run out, unable to utter a word. They only nodded vigorously before running off again.

Seeing how different they were from their arrogant pursuit of Xu Rui'er earlier, Gu Lan Shi couldn't help but chuckle, cursing, "Softies who only know how to pick on the weak."

Xu Rui'er, seeing the two run far away, came back to her senses as if waking from a daze.

"That's enough, dust yourself off. They probably won't hit you again," said Gu Lan Shi.

He truly pitied Xu Rui'er, living alone without her brother at home, being bullied. So, he continued, "Next time, if they dare hit you again, come to the back mountain. I'll let your Brother Pei Yan deal with them."

Those few rotten half-grown boys only knew how to bully the weak. The other village kids had parents; why didn't these three dare to bully them?

Lin Dengwa had looked like he dared not provoke Dog earlier, likely not even needing Pei Yan to act, just a scare would have been enough.

"Uh-huh!" Xu Rui'er nodded emphatically. She knew, the Living Hell wasn't someone to mess with. Suddenly, something heavy inside her seemed to loosen.

Ever since Xu Qier started working, she had often been bullied by those few. Seeing hope of not getting beaten suddenly, how could she not be happy?

"What are you digging for?" asked Gu Lan Shi.

Xu Rui'er replied, "Reed roots."

Gu Lan Shi said, "This is medicinal. Dried, it can be sold. Are you trying to make some money?"

"Mm-hmm." Xu Rui'er nodded.

There weren't many reed roots nearby. Gu Lan Shi smiled and said, "Then dig here in peace. They won't dare come again."

He picked up his basket and said to Zhu Ge'er and the others, "I'm going upstream to cut some reeds. What about you guys?"

"Together," said Gu Lanyu.

Zhu Ge'er walked along, smiling as he revealed, "Dad burned the bed too hot the other night, burning the reed mat black underneath. Mom told us to go cut some reeds, and when we're free, make another reed mat."

So that was it. Gu Lan Shi also smiled.