The Vicious Man

           Trigger warning; depiction of child abuse in the chapter.

“Father, please stop talking…” Before anyone else could speak, Huang Sigou screamed, wasn’t this pushing him to a dead end?

　　”Humph, if you had made up your mind earlier, your son wouldn’t have gone astray!” said an elder who was very disappointed with his son. It was too late to put on a show now.

　　”Since Uncle Huang wants to hear it, let’s hear what Huang Sigou did in the middle of the night.”

   The head of the village also couldn’t stand the couple’s behavior. Fortunately, Feng Xiaozi and his men sent the people in the middle of the night, the village head directly got a confession out of him and asked Huang Sigou to sign it. Of course, Feng Xiaozi’s methods and Hu Langzhong’s punishment were indispensable.

　　The head of the village took out the document signed by Huang Sigou and handed it to a literate young man next to him, asking him to read it on the spot.

　　Huang Sigou admitted that he wanted to sneak into the house in the middle of the night to steal the money. He had heard from others that Tang Chunming had done big business with Jinji Restaurant and often received silver. Tang Chunming was a ger at home and could not resist. He would definitely hand over the silver obediently. However, he had just climbed into the yard and had not yet entered the house when his leg was broken by a wild horse kept in the yard, and then he was bitten on the butt by a dog.

　　Huang’s father’s face turned red and blue, and he didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t even raise his head to face his husband, he couldn’t take back what he said, let alone dare to look at others’ faces.

    They must be laughing at him, he turned around and got up. He saw the pole standing at the foot of the wall, ran over, took it in his hand, and snarled: “There’s no need for the village to deal with it. I will break the other leg of this r**cal today so that he can’t run out and do evil again!”

　　How could the Huang family’s husband let his precious son be beaten? Seeing that his husband was about to rush over to beat his son with the pole, he stopped crying and rushed over to pounce on his son, cursing: 

   “You dare to hit my son and see, Si Gou already has a broken leg. If you break his other leg, will he live? Poor Si’er, you are the only child left to your mother. If you had a brother who survived, you and your son would not have fallen to this point. Master, if you dare to hit my son, I will fight you to the d**th. Anyway, I don’t want to live without my son!”

　　Like a crazy person, he got up again and rushed towards Huang’s father, scratching his man with her hands like a madman. Huang’s father was holding a carrying pole in his hand, and he couldn’t use the pole to deal with his husband, so he quickly lost the upper hand.

   Soon, his face and neck were scratched with bloody marks from his nails, the two wrestled on the ground, and the dust was blown up.

　　Their little grandson was thrown aside and started crying in fear, like a cat.

　　Veins throbbed on the foreheads of the elders, they had brought shame to someone else’s home and in front of the whole village. The headman was so angry that he picked up something and threw it at them, shouting, “Go back to your own home if you want to fight.”

   “ Even if you kill or maim him, it’s none of our business, as for Huang Sigou, send him directly to the government office. Anyway, you two don’t want to discipline him, and you can’t do it well!”

　　Those who knew the couple well figured out they were acting like this just to let the elders give Huang Sigou a lighter sentence. If Huang’s father really intended to beat his son, can he really be stopped by his husband? He acted like that knowing his husband would stop him. They are doing it for others to see so one can blame them. Ultimately, it would be best if the matter was left unresolved, which would be what the Huang couple wants best.

　　After being threatened, the couple stopped fighting and sat on the ground in embarrassment.

     Huang’s family husband cried and wailed, “You can’t bully people like this. Si’er, tell mother, did they force you to admit it? This person’s heart was crooked when he saw others making money. It’s my Huang family’s fault that we are so poor that we can’t pay the money.”

 “What you say doesn’t count, we can’t even protect our last son, this ger is shady and flirts with men all day long. Otherwise, how could my son run to his house? Bah! He is a shameless person who the Zhao family drove out…”

　　Huang Sigou curled up on the ground with his face covered, and except for the occasional groan, he silently let his mother protect him.

　　The Huang husband did not say that his son’s behavior was improper and that his hands and feet were dirty, but he threw dirty water at Tang Chunming. If this statement is true, Tang Chunming will be drowned in the villagers’ spit.

   The people in the yard looked at Huang’s husband throwing a tantrum as if he were an idiot, no one would confuse right and wrong like this.

　　A loud “bang” choked the Huang husband’s crying in his throat, and the stool under the man’s butt suddenly burst into pieces. Many people stepped back in fear,  exposing Li Feng. 

     Looking at the fragments on the ground, even the village head wanted to pat his chest. He didn’t even see it clearly or know how Feng Xiaozi broke the solid stool into pieces.

   But he had no sympathy for the Huang family’s husband, he deserved it! How much hatred did he have for Ming’er to slander him like this? Although he had always been against Feng Xiaozi and Ming’ger’s relationship and felt a little uncomfortable, he also knew that if Ming’ger didn’t have a child to burden him, he would be the best marriage partner.

   Moreover, he knew the ins and outs between him and Feng Xiaozi, it was obvious that Feng Xiaozi had taken a fancy to Ming’er at some point. As for Ming’ger, he rarely left the house since he separated from the Zhao family.

　　The enraged  Li Feng approached step by step, Huang Sigou saw that something was wrong and secretly looked outside. He was so scared that he almost wet his pants, his mother was so horrified that his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He wanted to hide but had nowhere to retreat, he spoke tremblingly: “You…what do you want to do…the village head and the elders are all here…”

　　Even the village head and the elders were frightened by Li Feng’s violent aura. Other people in the village couldn’t help but step back, thinking that they would never mess with this vicious man Li Feng. What his uncle said was absolutely right, it would be better to let Mingge’er look after such a vicious man.

　　”Village head, clan leaders, I intended to show some mercy to our Pingshan Village and let the matter be handled internally in the village, but someone forced me to be ruthless.”

  “That’s fine, I will directly send him to the government office and ask the government what the sentence should be for burglary in the middle of the night. Also, I will take care of this leg on behalf of your Huang family.”

　　As he said that, he stepped on Huang Sigou’s intact leg with one foot. With a snap, Huang Sigou, unable to dodge, screamed and rolled on the bedboard, falling to the ground, this dangerous man had broken his leg!

　　Seeing that Huang’s father wanted to step forward and say something, Li Feng stared at him coldly and stopped him: “If you can’t do it, then I will do it, just go to the government office and sue me!

    Huang’s father couldn’t utter a word.

   Huang’s mother wanted to use the same trick again, but he was so frightened that he trembled.

　　The courtyard outside the village head’s house was already crowded with people, some were hoping that the Huang couple would make a big scene so that they could watch the show and occasionally add fuel to the fire to make things worse.

  It would be best if Tang Chunming could no longer live in this village. However, when they saw this scene and Li Feng looking coldly outside the courtyard, some people felt guilty, thinking their thoughts had been exposed. They did not dare to stay any longer and fled in shame.

　　Tang Chunrong came out and bowed to the head of the village and the elders, saying, “My attitude is the same as Brother Li Feng’s, originally, I didn’t want to embarrass everyone in Pingshan Village because it is only one village away from our Zhenshan Village, so I wanted to solve it privately, I didn’t expect this…” 

     He pointed at the Huang family’s husband and couldn’t curse, in the end, he blushed. “Not only did you not reflect on your mistakes, but you threw dirty water on others. You want to force my brother to death, in this case, it is better to let the government deal with it.”

  “Is it the the thief who committed the crime in the middle of the night who’s in the wrong, or is it that other people’s families who earned a little money and encouraged people to commit crime? Shouldn’t the rich families in the village and the big families in the town reflect on themselves first and wonder if they should make such a fortune!”

　　Tang Chunrong was very angry, if his brother were still as soft-hearted as before, these words would drive his brother to death. As a man of the Tang family and his brother’s Di Di, he wanted to seek justice for his brother even if he was young.

　　People inside and outside the courtyard were suddenly buzzing, thinking that what the young man said was very reasonable. In the same village, some families were relatively well-off.

   It was not that Huang Sigou had not come to steal chickens and dogs from them, but it was just a small theft. Even if he were caught, he would not pursue the matter after Huang’s husband made a scene.

  They just let it go and call it bad luck for their family, they would be more vigilant in the future. Some people also said that the Huang family was pitiful, so they should turn a blind eye to it if they did not steal much. 

  Anyway, your family is considered good, if you do some good deeds to accumulate virtue, the people Huang Sigou disturbed were outraged.

　　Is it their fault for living a good life? This is outrageous, the Huang family’s husband takes advantage of his pitiful family background and cries all day. He cannot be beaten, so they have to restrain themselves.

　　Now that someone has said these words, they can’t wait to applaud and shout “Good job”. After all, the little guy is educated, and what he said makes them feel relieved. Why didn’t they think of this before? After all, educated people have a better understanding.

　　The village head and the elders looked at each other and put on bitter smiles, these words hit them in the heart, they had to deal with the Huang family. Otherwise, who would dare to stay in the village after their livelihood improved? Would anyone be willing to lead the rest of the village to prosper together? If they didn’t deal with them, it would discourage others.

　　”Let me speak truthfully,” Uncle Zhao Liu, who never spoke on village affairs, stepped out this time. “What kind of person is Brother Ming? Except for those jealous people, who bad-mouth him? Brother Ming made a fortune without bothering anyone. I bought some vegetable seedlings from Brother Ming and sent them to the town to sell daily.”

  “I was able to make a little money because of him, ask yourself, who is willing to tell others about their wealth? Isn’t it enough for Brother Ming to do this? Should we in Pingshan Village force Tang Chunming out of the village and cut off everyone’s wealth because of this person who can’t distinguish right from wrong?”

　　”Uncle Zhao, have you made money? Can we still buy vegetable seedlings from Brother Ming in the future?” Someone outside the yard immediately asked.

　　Li Feng and Tang Chunrong looked at each other. Li Feng, who had suppressed his anger, replied on behalf of Uncle Zhao Liu: “Ming’ger has never stopped people from buying vegetables. It’s just that those who want to get vegetable seedlings for free should not come to our door.”

　　”Doesn’t anyone in the village know whether I made any money? People saw me selling vegetables in town.” Uncle Zhao Liu also said.

　　The voices of discussion inside and outside the courtyard became louder. Naturally, someone indeed saw Uncle Zhao Liu in town. Moreover, the people who went to the market town to sell vegetables with him also saw it.

   Not only were Uncle Zhao Liu’s vegetables more expensive than theirs, but they also sold out very quickly. People were waiting at the market, and they would be sold out in the blink of an eye.

　　Recently, some people have seen that his eldest grandson is dressed better than before, and his usually sad face now has more smiles. If you claim that he doesn’t make money, no one would believe it.

　　Some people regretted that they should not have listened to the gossip in the village. They said that Ming, ger was only interested in money and even wanted to make money from his fellow villagers with worthless vegetable seedlings.

    At that time, they believed that any extra vegetable seedlings grown by a family should be casually given away. No one cared about selling them, even those stingy families would just say a few words behind their backs. So everyone kept silent and waited to see other their jokes. 

Suprisingly, several families close to Ming’ger made money, which made them jealous and they regretted that they had trusted the wrong person.

　　Unexpectedly, Ming’ger didn’t care about what they did and said before, and they could buy vegetable seedlings from him again. Seeing that the crops in his field were growing better than others, and the harvest being plentiful, they wanted to get some seeds from Ming’ger.

    But in this case, they had to do justice for Ming’ger and not let him suffer a loss, because they still wanted to make money together.

　　As a result, everyone looked at the Huang family of three with even more hostility. With a rascal like Huang Sigou around, who would dare to make a fortune in the future?

　　”Uncle Liu is ​​right. Huang Sigou has not done anything good over the years.  Old Huang also knows whether he has done anything wrong or not!”

　　”What the young man from the Tang family said makes more sense. No one in the village can live in peace if there is a family like this, they should have been driven out long ago.”

　　”Yes, the Huang family has done so many immoral things, aren’t they afraid of retribution? Back then, a good ger married into the Huang family, but in the end, she was tortured to d**th by them.”

　　”Village head, clan elders, you can’t continue pardoning them. Our Pingshan Village cannot tolerate a family that ruins the village’s reputation. Who will dare to marry into our Pingshan Village in the future?”

　　The voices denouncing the Huang family were getting louder and louder, and some people even spat on them. Uncle Zhao had already retreated to the back with a smug smile, he deliberately stirred up everyone’s emotions.

   Someone had already asked about his family’s vegetable sales, and he had also asked Ming’ger if he would still sell them if someone came to buy vegetable seedlings in the future. Ming’ger said he would sell them to whoever paid, that’s why he stood up and said those words.

　　Good people should be rewarded, and bad people should be punished! Thinking of those people in the Zhao family, Uncle Zhao Liu’s eyes became gloomy again.

　　The Huang couple were dumbfounded, they had never expected that they would suddenly become the target of condemnation by the whole village. Moreover, it seemed that they would be driven out of Pingshan Village.

   How could this be possible? How could they live after leaving Pingshan Village? At this moment, the Huang couple remembered their little grandson and quickly hugged him who was crying in the corner: “You are going to force our family to d**th, my poor little grandson has lost his mother and is not welcomed by others. Are you so cruel to watch my poor little grandson die?”

　　”You are just remembering that you have a grandson? Everyone in the village knows how you treated your grandson before. If you had that intention, would you have raised the child to be so thin? You have mistreated the child and now blaming others.” No one was saying anything good for the Huang family now, and someone pointed it out immediately.

　　That’s right after Huang Sigou’s husband died of childbirth complications, he was considered unlucky by Huang’s husband and they even disliked his newborn child. Moreover, this little grandson was not a boy, but a little ger, which made him even less pleasing to the Huang couple. 

   It was God’s blessing that he could survive in such a family, didn’t they see how their son treated their little grandson? Or did anyone fear that the child would be stepped on by others and so took him to the side?

　　“You guys…” Huang’s Mother almost fainted, he quickly forced the child to kneel, pressed his head, and said, “Hurry up and beg the uncles and grandfathers to let your father go. Your father knows he was wrong and he won’t dare to do it again…”

　　The child was so frightened that he cried loudly, and some soft-hearted people could not bear to look at him and turned their heads away. However, they were unwilling to let the Huang family go, so they all looked at the village head and the elders.

　　”Why are you crying, you c**sed child? It’s all because of you, a j**x. You brought bad luck to your father since you were born…” While scolding him, he pinched the child’s mouth, scaring the child so much that he choked on his cries and hiccuped.

　　”That’s enough!” The village head was furious. “Why are you beating the child? If you have the ability, why don’t you teach your son a lesson? Last time, you were told that if your son does bad things again, he will get out of the village. Now, your Huang family should take your son and leave Pingshan Village. Pingshan Village does not welcome people like you!”

　　”What?!” screamed Huang’s Mother.

　　Huang’s father was utterly shocked and sat on the ground without any reaction.

　　Huang Sigou looked around blankly.

　　Li Feng was quite satisfied with the result, although he wanted to throw this man into the government office, he couldn’t help but give face to the village head. Besides, once such people left the village, he would never let them appear in front of Ming’ger again to be an eyesore.

　　Although Tang Chunrong felt a little soft-hearted when he saw the child, he couldn’t let the people who harmed his brother continue to stay in the village for the sake of the child. Who knows what else they will do? If they make trouble in front of his brother again, he doesn’t dare to think about it. His brother was pregnant now, and if something happened, it would be two lives. So he had to turn his eyes away and harden his heart.

　　Dashan patted Tang Chunrong on the shoulder and said that it was the right thing to do. If they sympathized with the Huang family at this time, it would only make them more audacious. No matter how much the Huang family elders begged and cried, even the village elders were unwilling to plead for them this time.

   Moreover, the Huang family promised to leave Pingshan Village if something bad happened again. They should be thankful that nothing happened to Tang Chunming, otherwise, Li Feng would not let them go so easily.

　　The third uncle of the Zhao family, who always had a good reputation, did not come this time, just because the village head did not agree to speak up for the Zhao family. The third uncle even got angry and said, 

“If you have something to do, don’t ask me to come. If you insist on me speaking up, you, then you have to speak up for the Zhao family and get things done.” 

“Now the Zhao family is being forced by the Shen family to the point where they want to hide. This is not the first time the Shen family has come to smash things.”

　　The Huang family didn’t want to leave, so the village head personally escorted them. 

      As for Huang Sigou’s leg that was broken by Li Feng, the Huang family wanted to make a fuss about it, but Li Feng walked quietly to Huang Sigou, and when he was so scared that he wanted to shrink back and beg for mercy, he screamed again, and with a click, the dislocated leg was reconnected, and Huang Sigou almost fainted from the pain.

　　Li Feng finally threatened: “If I see you again, I will just cut off your arms next time!”

　　The Huang family was driven out of Pingshan Village, but the matter did not end there.

　　The village head called Zhang Lanhua’s husband over and told him the role his husband played in the incident. It turned out that according to Huang Sigou’s confession, the reason why he had such evil intentions was because of Zhang Lanhua’s instigation.

　　Huang Sigou had indeed always coveted Zhang Lanhua and always wanted to find a chance to take advantage of him, but Zhang Lanhua had always avoided Huang Sigou because his husband was very jealous and couldn’t stand seeing him flirting with other men.

    If he knew, he would beat him up, so he had always avoided Huang Sigou, although Zhang Lanhua had some feelings for Huang Sigou before, now seeing that he was getting more and more miserable, and even his previously acceptable had become hunched and wretched because of his temperament. 

    Zhang Lanhua’s feelings had long since disappeared, and he avoided him every time he tried to get close to him.

^[1] TL’s note: I wish the the Child won’t suffer because of the Huang Family’s mistakes.