Chapter 29

Looking at Ding Xiaodie and her father, Dabao and Erbao were so moved their eyes turned red with emotion, choking up to the point that they couldn’t utter a single word.

“Don’t worry, brothers. We will definitely bring Uncle Laifu back,” Ding Xiaodie’s heart was also sour, but she had the qualities of a policewoman—becoming even stronger in such situations. She would never cry along with them.

Just then—

Creak!

One door after another opened on the street—one household, then two, then three…

Countless homes opened their doors, and from each one, a man stepped out.

“Dabao, Erbao, we’re coming too.”

“That’s right. We must rescue the village chief.”

“Count me in.”

Every man coming out was holding a weapon. Some had been scolded awake by Wang Dafeng, others had clearly understood what was going on but hadn’t stepped up until they saw others take the lead.

And some… had no choice but to come out.

Take the brothers Ding Rong and Ding De, for example.

In this kind of situation, if they didn’t step forward, they’d have a hard time explaining themselves afterward.

As the old saying goes, many hands make light work. When everyone’s thinking in the same direction, morale rises quickly.

Dabao and Erbao were so touched they dropped to their knees with a thud, saying, “We thank all of you, uncles and elders!”

But just as the emotional atmosphere reached its peak, Wang Dafeng’s voice rang out again:

“Thank them? What are you thanking them for? They owe your dad! Oh, and I was just about to ask—where are my two sons? Don’t tell me they’re too scared to come out? Hah, not bad, at least they look like men today. Alright, alright, Dabao, Erbao, stop kneeling, get up and lead everyone to save your father!”

“Yes!”

Dabao and Erbao, without even realizing it, had followed Wang Dafeng’s command. They got up, wiped their tears hard, and with Ding Xiaodie and her father, led the group at the front to go rescue their dad.

Meanwhile, the Ding brothers, Ding Rong and Ding De, muttered as they walked:

“What did that old lady mean just now?”
“She was provoking us, afraid we wouldn’t help the third brother save his father. That old hag is clearly on their side now. You think she really cares about us? Keep dreaming.”

The brothers gritted their teeth. That old witch was really playing favorites.

At the same time, they each secretly planned in their hearts: if a real fight breaks out, they’d just find somewhere to hide. No way they’re actually going to fight. They’re not stupid.

So the group marched mightily across the main street, took a turn, and followed the side road ahead.

The sun was blazing overhead, and everyone was drenched in sweat, but their spirits remained high.

However, as they kept walking… confusion set in.

There were so many streets in town, and all they saw was the village chief turning a corner with the horse riders. What happened after that?

Beyond the corner was a three-way intersection—and now no one knew which road to take.

Ding Xiaodie started to panic silently. Was fate playing a joke? They had finally gathered this momentum—would it really just fall apart because of a road?

Ding Gui, being a businessman, always planned ahead. His thoughts were exactly the same as his daughter’s.

They needed to come up with a solution.

Dabao and Erbao could only look at him with wide, hopeful eyes. In their minds, any man who could raise such a smart girl like Xiaodie must be the most incredible person in the whole village.

Alright, time to risk it!

Ding Gui gritted his teeth and smacked his forehead. “Everyone, calm down. Let’s split into three teams. If after half an hour we still haven’t found anything, we’ll return here and regroup.”

“Split into three? Wouldn’t that weaken our numbers?”

The moment they heard about splitting up, Ding De—the troublemaker—was the first to speak up.

Ding Xiaodie immediately shot back, “Second Uncle, if you’re scared, go home first. The uncles and elders of our Gouzi Gully aren’t cowards.”

“Hah, you little brat, what did you say?” Ding De’s face turned the color of pig liver amid the group’s laughter.

Meanwhile, Ding Rong quietly took everything in, thinking to himself, Xiaodie really has changed. With the old lady backing her, she’s a different person now.

Not only did that cowardly third brother of his dare to step up and give the group instructions, now even this young girl was standing tall and talking back.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted, “The village chief!! The chief is back!!”

Everyone’s attention had been on Ding De and Xiaodie, but now all heads whipped toward the three-way intersection.

Sure enough, it was Village Chief Laifu.

He had returned safe and sound—not even a scratch on him. He was even puffing on his pipe, though his expression was grave, as if deep in thought.

Suddenly they heard two voices shout: “Dad!” “Dad!”

Laifu, deep in thought, was startled. He looked up and saw that most of the village men were standing not far away, watching him. That startled him again.

In a flash, his two sons ran up to him. “Dad, are you okay?” “Waaah!”

Laifu finally snapped out of it and hurriedly patted Dabao’s shoulder and Er Bao’s back. “Don’t cry, don’t cry, I’m fine. I’m fine.”

Hearing him say that, the two brothers finally stopped sobbing.

They had never gone through something like this before—it had truly scared them out of their wits.

Ding Xiaodie and the other villagers also quietly let out sighs of relief.

“What’s going on? Where were you headed?” the village chief asked, confused as to where the men were planning to go.

Just as Ding Gui was about to speak, Ding Rong dashed out of the crowd with a sorrowful expression.

“Village Chief! We were just about to go rescue you! We heard you were taken away by bad guys. Are you hurt?”

Villagers: “…”

He sure rushed forward fast when it came to taking credit.

Hearing that they had come to rescue him, Laifu was a bit moved. He raised his hand. “Don’t worry, there were no bad guys, and they didn’t hurt me. I’m sorry you all had to come out in this heat. Let’s go home for now. When the sun sets, let’s have a village-wide meeting out on the street.”

With that, he walked off still deep in thought, like he had something to say but was keeping it to himself.

It looked like… something was about to happen.

Ding Xiaodie and Ding Gui exchanged glances and silently followed the group back to the main street. Since the village chief was fine, everyone dispersed and returned to their homes.

“What happened? Did the chief say anything?”

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Xiu immediately ran out to ask. All the village men had left, and only the elderly, women, and children remained on the street. She hadn’t been able to focus on cooking and had been keeping watch by the window the whole time.

Wang Dafeng, on the other hand, had been staring straight at that fat rabbit the whole time—almost like she was ready to take a bite out of it raw.

But seeing her daughter-in-law watching from the window, Wang Dafeng surprisingly held back today. Normally, Zhang Xiu would’ve already been scolded several times by now.

So why was she suddenly able to hold back today?

Wang Dafeng squinted her old eyes and reflected. Finally, she found the reason—it was because her daughter-in-law had calmly and respectfully comforted the village chief’s wife, Madam Yang.

In that moment, Zhang Xiu had shown both kindness and courage. None of the others dared to step forward—but she did so without hesitation.

Wang Dafeng had to admit… she had been a little moved.