Chapter 21.3

Old Lady Li returned home with her family.

She extended her hand to her second son, her mean face full of joy, “Give it to me, I’ll keep the money.”

Although reluctant, her second son handed over the twenty yuan, praising her, “Mom, you’re amazing. Even that fierce Zhou Yao got played by you.”

Old Lady Li hummed proudly, “I told you, ginger gets spicier with age! A young kid like him thinks he can outsmart me? He’s too green!”

Her children and daughters-in-law flattered her.

“Mom, should we continue?” someone asked the key question, “Didn’t Zhou Yao say he’d refund half the money if anyone damaged the crops again?”

Of course, they should continue!

Old Lady Li was also very cautious. She instructed her grandchildren to follow Zhou Yao and see where he went.

Before dinner, the children returned, chattering about their observations.

Old Lady Li, overwhelmed by the noise, shouted for silence and pointed to the loudest grandchild, “You speak.”

“He went to Uncle Wen’s house, had a big argument, and said if they messed around again, he wouldn’t let them off!” The grandchild expressed himself well, and Old Lady Li smiled with satisfaction.

“Tonight, we will continue. This time everyone goes! I want that kid to refund all the money and give us the land!” Her eyes gleamed with greed.

That night, the moon was hidden by thick clouds, leaving no light. As the night deepened, the village fell silent, everyone in deep sleep.

In the pitch-black field, several shadowy figures crept in, carrying tools to destroy the crops.

“Who’s there!!”

A sudden bright light shone down, illuminating the field and catching the culprits red-handed.

Before Li Mingjin could react, Zhou Yao, like a leopard, lunged and started pummeling the men with his fists, each blow landing solidly.

“Ouch! It hurts! Stop, stop, it hurts, you’re killing us!”

“Don’t hit, let’s talk, don’t use force—”

Satisfied after venting his anger, Zhou Yao finally stopped when Li Mingjin arrived to pull him off, coldly glaring at the culprits.

Old Lady Li was already scared stiff, sitting in the field with a sickle in her hand.

Zhou Yao smiled at them, “Did you really think my money was that easy to take?”

He then stepped back, leaving the matter to Li Mingjin, retreating to stand beside Wen Yue.

Wen Yue was stunned. She hadn’t expected the culprits to be Old Lady Li and her family instead of her uncle’s family. So their daytime accusations were just a case of the thief crying thief?

How shameless!

Wen Yue recalled how Zhou Yao had mysteriously told her after dinner not to rush to bed because he wanted to show her a play.

At the time, she was puzzled, wondering what kind of play it would be since there was no outdoor movie showing in the village.

She hadn’t expected this kind of play.

She moved closer to Zhou Yao, her slender arm tightly against his strong one, whispering, “They went too far, ruining the crops and blaming us. We need to get back the twenty yuan we gave them. Twenty yuan can buy a lot of things!”

In the dark night, Zhou Yao could still see the clear indignation on the girl’s face beside him.

The night breeze was quite refreshing.

Zhou Yao smirked and agreed, “Alright.”

Over there, Li Mingjin was sternly reprimanding the Li family. With his father being the village head and catching the Li family red-handed, they were too scared to utter a word.

Old Lady Li was at a loss, her heart sinking. How did they get caught? How was Zhou Yao there? And worse, why was Li Mingjin there too?

If Li Mingjin wasn’t there, she could shamelessly deny everything, but Li Mingjin, being the son of the village head…

“Old Lady Li, what you did was despicable. Destroying your own crops and blaming Zhou Yao. Just for damaging the crops alone, we could hold a big criticism meeting and publicly denounce your entire family!”

Li Mingjin was furious, “Those are crops, our lifeblood! Do you know how much food you destroyed? Look at the state of the fields!”

Destroying crops was no small matter.

Even being scolded by a junior, Old Lady Li didn’t dare make a sound.

Li Mingjin continued, “Give Zhou Yao his money back!”

Old Lady Li panicked, “Why should we give it back?” Once it was in her pocket, there was no way she would return it.

“You destroyed the crops and made Zhou Yao pay you. Aren’t you ashamed?” Li Mingjin was amused by her shamelessness. “If you don’t return it, I’ll tell my dad to cancel your deal with Zhou Yao, refund the 580 yuan, and give the remaining 50 as his compensation.”

Old Lady Li was even more reluctant to agree!

But faced with Li Mingjin’s threat, she begrudgingly handed back the 20 yuan, seething with anger.

Failing to get any profit, they had ruined their crops too! Those crops were bought with their money!

Old Lady Li was so furious that she fainted, eyes rolling back.

The Li family was startled, rushing to her side and pinching her philtrum to wake her up. Their cries echoed through the night, causing the village dogs to bark.

It was quite frightening.

Wen Yue couldn’t help but move closer to Zhou Yao.

Zhou Yao looked down at her, “What’s wrong?”

Embarrassed to admit she was scared, Wen Yue rubbed her eyes and said she was tired and wanted to go home and sleep.

Zhou Yao patted Li Mingjin’s shoulder, “Thanks, brother. I’ll treat you to dinner another day. It’s late, I’ll take my wife home to sleep.”

Li Mingjin nodded in agreement.

The night was pitch dark, and Zhou Yao’s flashlight was the only light source. The surroundings were swallowed by darkness, with the sounds of frogs and insects echoing. Occasionally, there were other strange noises.

Wen Yue couldn’t help but recall the horror movies her friends made her watch, feeling her fear rise and her face turn pale.

Zhou Yao noticed something was wrong, “Are you scared?”

Wen Yue bit her lip, her voice trembling, “No, what is there to be scared of?”

“Really?” Zhou Yao raised an eyebrow, quickening his pace, his long legs swiftly widening the gap between them.

Just then, Wen Yue heard footsteps behind her, and her imagination conjured up an image of a ghost in blue opera robes with disheveled hair and a pale face. Terrified, she sprinted forward.

Hearing the commotion, Zhou Yao turned, somewhat smug, “You said you weren’t scared, but you’re running…”

Before he could finish, the petite figure crashed into his arms, trembling slightly.

Zhou Yao felt his heart skip a beat. He paused for a moment before gently patting her back.

“Why are you so timid?”

Just as he started to comfort her, Ren Yeliang’s voice called out.

“Brother, sister-in-law, what are you doing here? Weren’t you going home to sleep?”

Seeing someone, Wen Yue quickly pushed Zhou Yao away, pursed her red lips, maintained a calm expression, and spoke incoherently: “I am going back, I will leave after getting some fresh air. The wind is quite cool at night.”

“That’s true.” Ren Yeliang agreed, not sensing anything amiss, “But don’t stay out too long, or you’ll catch a cold. Sister-in-law, you should go home and sleep. It’s late.”

Wen Yue nodded, “Okay, you guys go to bed too. Goodbye.”

Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao also said their goodbyes.

At the fork in the road, Fang Shitao hesitated and then asked, “Did you notice that our brother looked a bit off?”

Ren Yeliang sighed, “With all the stuff the Li family pulled, who wouldn’t be upset?”

Fang Shitao replied, “But I feel like Brother Yao’s anger was directed at us.”

Ren Yeliang was surprised, “No way, we didn’t do anything wrong. You’re overthinking it.”

Fang Shitao was convinced, “Oh.”

Meanwhile, watching Wen Yue take the flashlight from his hand and walk ahead, Zhou Yao’s lips formed a straight line. He thought he might need to find an opportunity to straighten out his troublesome little brothers.