Chapter 439: Teaching the Bullies a Lesson

Chapter 439 Teaching the Bullies a Lesson

"You can't do this! I didn't break that stuff!" Yu Dahai's confidence wavered as he faced the group.

"And cut the 'sister and brother' crap! I'm her real brother!"

"Who you callin’ ‘old man,’ huh?"

Before Yu Dahai could finish, Gao Tianyang decked him.

Yu Dahai tried to fight back but quickly realized he was no match.

Hai Yan’s mom, who’d finally shut up earlier, started wailing again at the sight of her son being beaten.

"Hai Yan! How can you just stand there and watch your brother get hit? You got no shame?"

Hai Yan shot her a cold look. "Was he wrong? Yu Dahai broke things in my store—he has to pay for them."

A Bang stepped in front of her, shielding her, ready to block any sudden attack.

Hai Yan's mother flounced down, slapping her legs. "Woe is me! My own daughter dares to demand money from her mother! I don’t want to live anymore!"

Gao Tianyang saw this act coming.

Folks these days think a little crying would get them off the hook.

"Quit the act, lady," Gao Tianyang said sharply. "Do you really want your son to end up in jail? Rounding up a gang to stir shit is a serious crime under the law."

Hai Yan’s mom choked back her wailing.

"Officer, he didn’t mean no harm! Don’t take it to heart!"

Yu Dahai, pinned to the ground with his arm twisted, writhed helplessly.

"Mom, do something! Help me!"

Gao Tianyang applied a little more pressure, making Yu Dahai squeal like a hog.

"If you want this settled, fine—pay up."

Hai Yan's mother immediately looked at Hai Yan, but the latter refused to meet her gaze, wordlessly backing Gao Tianyang's demand.

Cursing under her breath, the old woman dug out a few crumpled bills from her pocket.

A jumble of loose coins—hardly enough to cover the damages.

"That’s all I have! It’s from selling crabs recently. I don’t have any more!"

Gao Tianyang sneered. "Flat broke but still trashing other people’s property? You’re gettin’ off easy this time. Next time, money won’t solve it."

Meanwhile, Hai Yan's father had already bolted, scared shitless.

With no other choice, Hai Yan’s mom and Yu Dahai shuffled off like whipped dogs.

Only after her family had left did Hai Yan turn to Gao Tianyang. "Thank you, Comrade Gao. Guys like my bro only speak fist language—they’re all bark till someone bites back."

Though Gao Tianyang had driven them away for now, Hai Yan wasn’t exactly celebrating.

Her parents only backed off today because they saw they couldn't push their agenda with witnesses present.

Once Gao Tianyang and the others leave, her parents will surely come back.

Gao Tianyang comforted Hai Yan, "Sister Hai Yan, I thought only your brother was a jerk—I didn't expect your parents to be like this too. But don't be afraid. If your brother dares to pull any stunts, we'll make sure he gets what's coming to him this time."

Gao Tianyang wasn't joking when he mentioned sending Yu Dahai to jail earlier.

They were in the military and had no business interfering in island affairs.

But the island had its own police station.

The people there were responsible for maintaining public order.

A troublemaker like Yu Dahai has definitely pulled a few offenses—once the police station kept an eye on him, they'll nail him easy.

Gao Tianyang's only worry now was that Hai Yan might get cold feet, so he asked her directly.

Hai Yan said firmly, "I won't waver, even if my brother ends up in jail."

Gao Tianyang replied, "Good. That's what I needed to hear."

Sure enough, within two days, Yu Dahai was hauled into the police station for his involvement in a brawl on the island.

The Yu parents were too busy trying to spring their son to mess with arranging a marriage for Hai Yan.

Moreover, the family that had previously agreed to the marriage got cold feet out of nowhere.

Their excuse was that they couldn't accept a troublemaker like Yu Dahai as a brother-in-law.

But this was clearly nonsense—they had been the ones who approached Yu Dahai with the marriage proposal in the first place.

The man was nearly forty, one of the few well-off guys on the island because he owned a boat, and he had offered a high bride price for Hai Yan because of her beauty.

The sudden change of heart had Hai Yan's parents scratching their heads.

But they were all bark and no bite—they didn't dare argue with the man.

Besides, their son was still in custody.

In the end, they coughed up 200 bucks to the cops to bail Yu Dahai out.

Tells you everything, the parents weren't broke—they just didn't want to spend money on their daughter.

...

When Ye Xiaoxiao heard that Yu Dahai had spent a few days in jail, she remarked, "Comrade Hai Yan should be able to catch a break for a few nights. But what about later? Does he even realize why he got into trouble this time? He wouldn't be stupid enough to mess with the small shop again, would he?"

"Oh, he'll figure it out."

Lu Hanchuan said with confidence.

Yu Dahai was a piece of work—Lu Hanchuan felt no guilt about putting him in his place.

"As long as that family stops being leeches, that's enough."

Ye Xiaoxiao was scattering chicken feed, noticing that the yard stank to high heaven since they started raising chickens.

It was because there were too many of them—she'd chop a few once they fattened up a bit more.

The only silver lining was that some hens had already started laying eggs.

The chickens Mayor Cao sent had already been raised for four months, old enough to lay eggs.

Ye Xiaoxiao seemed to have a natural talent for raising chickens—none had died after the move, and they adjusted just fine, growing quite quickly.

When Ye Xiaoxiao came out in the morning, she checked the eggs in the coop.

She was thrilled—they could finally enjoy fresh eggs.

"Oh, I’ve decided to look for a job," Ye Xiaoxiao said to Lu Hanchuan.

"Here on the island?"

Lu Hanchuan’s first thought was that, other than medical work, there were no suitable jobs for Xiao Xiao on the island.

But upon closer consideration, he realized that if Xiao Xiao were to find work, it would definitely be related to medicine.

"The military helps spouses find work. What about the army clinic?"

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head. "Is the army clinic busy?"

She really wanted to treat more patients. Compared to treating injuries in the military, treating islanders would be more fulfilling.

"It’s going to get busy very soon."

There was more to Lu Hanchuan’s words.

"Maybe I should try it?"

Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t stay at home forever. With the house in order, she was ready to focus on work.

"Sure, just come home if it doesn’t work out."

Not that Lu Hanchuan doubted Xiao Xiao for a second.

Whether abroad or in the northwest, Xiao Xiao might come off as naive, but her social skills were excellent—she always clicked with people who shared her values.

"I’ll be just fine."

Ye Xiaoxiao dumped the last of the feed from the basin into the coop and went back to wash it.

Back at the military compound’s entrance, a long-unseen friend had quietly arrived.