“Don’t…” Lan Qingshuang was terrified, her eyes wide with horror, but she was too far away to intervene.

“Waaah…”

【Bad guys, bullying baby.】

Tears welled in the little one’s eyes just as a large foot was about to land on her.

Suddenly, the troublemaker’s ankle inexplicably throbbed with pain. His knee buckled, and he fell backward onto the kang, the back of his head hitting the edge of the bed frame. Stars danced before his eyes from the pain.

“Damn…”

Seizing the opportunity, Lan Qingshuang lunged forward and struck him with a sickle.

The dull, rusty blade didn’t cut deep, but the pain was intense. The boy’s eyes burned crimson as he roared, “Ah… you bitch…”

He flung the sickle back at her.

As he tried to attack again, Lan Qingshuang grabbed his hair and slapped him repeatedly.

A mother’s strength is formidable. Weak as she was, in that moment, Lan Qingshuang seemed invincible.

The boy was beaten without any chance to fight back, his rage boiling over.

“What are you all standing around for? Beat her! Beat this shameless bitch to death!”

The other boys, who had already fled the room, grew fearful when they saw blood. They had only come for supplies and to play harmless pranks—they never intended things to turn violent.

Lan Qingshuang’s ferocity was truly terrifying.

They hesitated, afraid to approach.

The leader snarled, “Whoever dares to back off now, I’ll make sure they pay for it later!”

A chill ran down their spines, and they rushed forward to restrain Lan Qingshuang.

Outnumbered, Lan Qingshuang was quickly overpowered by the boys.

The leader picked up the sickle and swung it toward Lan Qingshuang’s face.

“Awoo…”

【Big bad guy, big misfortune.】

“Thud…” The leader tripped over his own feet and fell flat, his forehead striking the sickle and splitting open a gash. Blood gushed out.

The other boys turned pale with fright and hurried to help him up.

“Boss, let’s get out of here! We need to get you to the clinic, or you’ll die!”

Fuming, the leader shoved them away and lunged at Lan Qingshuang again.

But after just one step, he stepped on the broken pieces of a bowl he had shattered earlier. Shards pierced the sole of his foot, and he howled in agony.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Dong Muxiang, who had brought Dong Dazhuang with her, saw unfamiliar children at the door and questioned them suspiciously.

Guilt-ridden, the boys hastily dragged their leader away and fled without looking back.

Realizing something was wrong, Dong Muxiang didn’t dare chase after them with her young nephew in tow. Instead, she rushed inside to check on the situation.

The room looked as though it had been ransacked—which, in fact, it had.

Little Fuman was wailing amidst a pile of torn clothes, her tiny voice already hoarse from crying.

Lan Qingshuang lay collapsed in a corner, struggling desperately to get up.

“Sister Lan?”

Dong Muxiang’s hands trembled with shock as she ran over to help.

“Sister, are you okay? Where are you hurt?”

Lan Qingshuang waved her hand weakly. “Fuman… check on Fuman.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Dazhuang, go check on your sister quickly!”

Dong Dazhuang hurriedly toddled over to the kang and climbed up. He dug through the pile of debris and found little Fuman.

The baby was crying hysterically but unharmed.

“Sister is okay, Auntie! Auntie, sister is okay!”

The little chubby boy imitated the adults, lifting Fuman carefully and patting her gently. “Don’t cry, sister. Your big brother is here. Big brother will protect you. Don’t be scared.”

“Waaah…”

【Mom, mom, want mom…】

The little one couldn’t stop crying.

Lan Qingshuang comforted her urgently, “Be good, Fuman. Don’t cry. Mom is okay, Mom is fine…”

Her voice grew weaker and weaker until she finally lost consciousness.

Dong Muxiang gasped in horror. “Blood…”

In the mountains.

“Hold on.” Ye Zhoushan stopped the group.

“What’s wrong?” Everyone halted and turned to look at him.

Ye Zhoushan scanned the disheveled forest: “Nothing serious, it’s just that we shouldn’t go any further.”

“Even if we continue, we won’t find the cause.”

“But we can rest assured—the wild boars probably won’t come down the mountain again.”

“Everything’s been calm along the way back. There were no stray boars on the path, which means they were just momentarily panicked and have already settled down by the time we returned.”

“It’s been several days without any further chaos, so it seems the reason for the disturbance is gone.”

The forest deeper in was indeed dense, and no one really wanted to press on. When Ye Zhoushan called for a stop, they readily agreed.

Zhao Qianjin also couldn’t bear the responsibility for so many people. It seemed the wild boars really wouldn’t come down again.

“Alright then, let’s head back. If we come across anything worthwhile on the way, we can gather it too.”

The group instantly cheered up. The mountains were full of resources, especially in these deep areas where few people ventured.

It was a pity it wasn’t autumn—otherwise, such a remote spot would surely be abundant with wild harvests.

They retraced their path, but without the caution they’d had on the way in. Everyone hoped to bag a pheasant or rabbit, but luck wasn’t on their side—they didn’t even catch a glimpse of one.

Perhaps the earlier wild boar rampage had scared everything away.

However, they did come across a tall orange tree laden with bright yellow fruit.

At least it was something to eat, and no one turned up their nose at it. After tasting the sweet, juicy oranges, they were delighted.

They picked every single one—over a hundred pounds in total. Divided among the group, each person got more than ten pounds, which was quite satisfying.

The men either took off their jackets or gathered tough grass and leaves to weave makeshift bags, each finding their own way to carry the oranges as they continued downhill. They also gathered dry firewood along the way.

By the time the bustling group reached the foot of the mountain, it was around two in the afternoon.

Dongzi, who had been waiting at the base, rushed up to Ye Zhoushan as soon as he saw the crowd: “Uncle Ye, this morning a bunch of boys from who knows where raided your house and stole things.”

“Aunt Lan was injured and bleeding badly. The commune clinic wouldn’t take her, so they had to send her to the county hospital. You should go check on her right away.”

The cheerful group fell silent. Ye Zhoushan swayed, nearly fainting on the spot. He opened his mouth but found himself unable to speak.

Zhao Qianjin quickly asked on his behalf: “What about Fuman? Was she hurt?”

“Little Fuman is fine, but she wouldn’t stop crying. Grandma Deng had no choice but to have someone send her to the county town along with Aunt Lan.”

Zhao Qianjin was burning with questions but knew now wasn’t the time. He patted Ye Zhoushan’s shoulder: “Don’t panic. Since she’s been taken to the hospital, she’ll be alright.”

“First, come with me to get some money. Without money, nothing can be done.”

“You also need to pack some changes of clothes for both of them. They left in a hurry, so they probably didn’t bring anything.”

Ye Zhoushan nodded with trembling hands and followed Zhao Qianjin home.

Zhao’s mother, Grandma Deng, and wife, Ge Xiu, had both gone along to the hospital. Their daughters-in-law mentioned that they had taken all the household money with them, though it was unclear if it would be enough.

As they spoke, several of the men who had gone up the mountain earlier returned home and then came back, bringing money and food.

“Brother Ye, we don’t have much to offer, but please accept this as a token of our support. Don’t hesitate to let us know if you need anything—we’ll help however we can.”

Ye Zhoushan’s throat tightened with emotion: “Thank you.”

Suppressing his trembling, he took a deep breath: “Uncle, everyone, I suspect there’s something illegal deep in the mountains.”

“I saw unusual marks on the trees and peculiar residues on the ground. I stopped everyone from going further because I was worried about potential dangers.”

“I also didn’t think it was safe to discuss it on the mountain, so I planned to explain in detail after we returned. But now I can’t stay—I have to ask you to report this to the police.”

“I also need to go to the Ye family old house. Thank you all.”

After leaving these words, Ye Zhoushan hurried off to the Ye family old residence.

The group was left bewildered by the sudden news. What kind of illegal substance could be deep in the mountains? They turned to Zhao Qianjin for answers.