Chapter 40: Face as Red as a Tomato, Almost Dying

“That day, Li Baobei brought two little boys to snatch a March puff from a young girl in Kaoshan Village.”

“The young girl had worked hard to pick it, but when she refused to give it, Li Baobei hit her!”

“I happened to pass by and stepped in to stop it.” Su Niannian spoke in a calm and unhurried tone, telling the story gently.

The villagers could actually guess what had happened. They knew Li Baobei all too well.

It was impossible to be beaten without a reason.

“But so what? He was just borrowing some wild fruit from the kids in Kaoshan Village to eat. You went and hit a child?” Li Dashi’s eyes shifted, and she spoke up.

Su Niannian couldn’t help but glance at Li Dashi. This person sure was quick-witted.

“Borrowing some wild fruit to eat?” Su Niannian couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Does it look like the little girl was being pinned to the ground and beaten by three boys older than her just because she was lending him some fruit?”

“Let’s not even mention that. Did you ask your Li Baobei if he wanted me to hit him?”

“The other two kids who were there can testify.” Su Niannian said indifferently.

Of course, she also wondered what she would do if those two children didn’t admit to it.

Originally, Li Dashi thought that this new educated youth, knowing she was from the village chief’s family, would swallow her pride and settle things peacefully to ensure she could live a stable life in Kaoshan Village. She expected Su Niannian to apologize and settle the matter by paying.

But to her surprise, this young educated youth had quite a temper. She had already made it clear, yet Su Niannian still dared to contradict her.

Naturally, Li Dashi wouldn’t let Su Niannian call in the two children as witnesses. After all, her son had truly said those words.

Li Dashi knew this, and if those two children were called in as witnesses, the young girl from the Gu family who had been bullied would likely come as well. By then, the situation would escalate, and it would be difficult to handle.

She only wanted to extort a little money, never intending to make the matter bigger than it needed to be.

“The male educated youth already helped you admit your mistake earlier. Why are you still quibbling now?”

“My Li Baobei’s head hurts now and needs ten yuan for medical expenses, plus five yuan for the pants. You need to apologize to me right now and compensate me with fifteen yuan. Then we’ll consider this matter closed!” Li Dashi knew this needed to be settled quickly.

Li Dashi immediately demanded fifteen yuan. In the countryside, fifteen yuan was not a small amount.

For a strong laborer, after a full day’s work, if they weren’t trading for food, the money they earned in exchange for work points would be only about ten or twenty yuan, which was considered a lot.

The surrounding villagers gasped when they heard that Li Dashi was trying to extort fifteen yuan from Su Niannian.

The villagers couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious for Su Niannian.

As for Li Dashi, she naturally couldn’t bring in any more witnesses or investigate further.

If she could get her father-in-law involved, there was no way to dispute that she was in the right.

At this moment, Village Chief Li also looked at Su Niannian with a serious expression.

He felt that Su Niannian was quite out of line and couldn’t help but wonder how his youngest son could be so captivated by her appearance.

Such a woman would never be allowed to enter their home.

She was already standing there, and yet instead of quickly handing over the money to resolve the matter, she was still arguing—this simply showed she didn’t take the village chief seriously!

“Male educated youth?”

“I’m not familiar with him, and he doesn’t speak for me.” Su Niannian didn’t even glance at Lu Xingguang.

At this moment, Lu Xingguang felt embarrassed.

“You’re truly impossible!” Zhao Sulan, standing nearby, immediately became displeased.

Originally, she was already unhappy that Lu Xingguang had spoken up for Su Niannian, but now, she never expected that Su Niannian wouldn’t even appreciate it.

She truly didn’t know how to appreciate kindness!

The situation had reached an impasse. Su Niannian wasn’t someone who could easily be intimidated, while Li Dashi was already set on extorting her.

It was at this moment that Li Ergou arrived, bringing with him the two boys who had been with Li Baobei that day.

Gu Ningning was also brought along.

When the incident had occurred earlier, Gu Nan had already asked Li Ergou and two other men from the village to go and bring people over.

This matter needed to be thoroughly explained.

At this point, only Li Baobei was missing.

Li Baobei was slowly walking toward the threshing ground.

He originally didn’t want to come, but the messenger said that his grandfather, the village chief, had called for him.

Although Li Baobei was bold outside, he didn’t dare disobey his grandfather’s orders, so he reluctantly made his way over.

By the time Li Baobei reached the threshing ground, he saw his mother glare at him.

“You came?” Li Dashi was surprised to see Li Baobei arrive.

Li Baobei was about to explain that his grandfather had sent someone to call him.

However, just as he spoke, a peanut slipped down his throat.

It got stuck in his windpipe, and his face immediately turned bright red.

Originally, both Li Dashi and the village chief had hoped that Li Baobei’s arrival would be timed right. This way, they could use the excuse of not wanting to delay the villagers’ work to quickly pressure Su Niannian into apologizing and paying.

Now that all the witnesses had arrived, things were becoming more complicated.

However, as long as the main person, Li Baobei, didn’t speak up, they could still twist the situation and make black appear white.

But then…

“Baobei, what happened to you?” Li Dash saw that something had gotten stuck in Li Baobei’s throat, and his face was turning red.

She was so panicked that she couldn’t think straight.

On the other side, the village chief, Li Guofu, was also equally anxious.

He hurried over to join Li Dashi in checking on his grandson’s condition.

At this moment, Li Baobei’s face was bright red, one hand pointing to his throat, while the other clutched his mother’s clothes.

Seeing Li Baobei like this, his mother immediately became anxious and lost all composure.

Tears were already welling up in her eyes.

No matter what, a child is a mother’s lifeline—how could she not be worried?

On the other side, Li Guofu was still calm and composed, thinking on his feet.

“Don’t worry, stay calm,” Su Niannian said softly, then gently patted Li Baobei’s back.

She took a quick look at his condition and confirmed that he wasn’t fully choking, just had a peanut stuck, and it wasn’t too serious.

“Take a deep breath, relax,” Su Niannian instructed. She had seen similar situations before and knew how to handle them.

She quickly patted Li Baobei’s back a few times to help him cough out the peanut that had lodged in his throat.

“What are you doing? Don’t touch my baby!!” Li Dashi, seeing Su Niannian approaching, immediately tried to push her away, fearing she would harm Li Baobei.

Song Zhaodi, who was closest, quickly stepped forward and pulled Su Niannian behind her.

At the same time, Gu Nan also stood up.

“If you don’t want your precious son to die, let me have a look at him.”

“He won’t make it to the county hospital in time.”

Su Niannian remained calm, her voice steady as she spoke.

Li Dashi didn’t believe that Su Niannian would have the good intentions to save her son.

But seeing Li Baobei’s face turning redder and redder, she became frantic, like an ant on a hot pan.

Li Guofu, at this moment, remained silent, because he didn’t believe that Su Niannian, a young girl, could save anyone.

He was just anxiously looking outside the threshing field, waiting for Zhou Daniu to hurry up and bring the tractor over.

In Kaoshan Village, there used to be a barefoot doctor, but he passed away last year…

Now, when someone in the village falls ill, they can only send them to the county hospital.

The county town was not close. If the tractor was driven fast, it would take about an hour to get there; the ox cart would take two hours.

That’s why Li Guofu urged Zhou Daniu to hurry and bring the tractor over.

However, seeing Li Baobei in his current condition, it seemed like he wouldn’t make it to the county hospital in time.

Just as he was still uncertain, Su Niannian whispered something in Song Zhaodi’s ear.