Chapter 59

Li Changjiu's face fell; thinking of the gleaming silver, he could only grit his teeth and continue speaking.

"My brother died early, leaving behind this pitiful child, Zhao Di. We worked hard to raise her and even found her a good husband's family—how could we possibly be called 'shameless'?"

Li Po Po jumped up, both hands extending index fingers, continually pointing at Li Changjiu's head: "Just say it, just say it, you shameless family."

Li Guang unusually didn't puff on his dry tobacco, rose and shouted at Li Po Po: "Old Lady Li, we haven't offended you, have we? What does this have to do with you?"

Before Li Po Po could speak, Uncle Jiang Cai stepped forward and said: "A whole family bullying my nephew's wife alone—before that might have been forgiven, but now are the Jiang family people also something you can bully?"

As Uncle Jiang Cai's words fell, the villagers began to echo, looking as if they wanted to chop Li Guang into pieces.

Li Guang knew that to undo the bell you need the person who tied it; ultimately the matter had to be settled with Li Xinyue, so he put on a stern face and said to Li Xinyue in the crowd.

"Zhao Di, what others say doesn't count; you have to speak up."

As soon as his words fell, Li Guang widened his eyes and glared fixedly at Li Xinyue, as if she dared to utter a "no," he would strike her the next moment.

The former Zhao Di used to fear Li Guang's appearance the most, for every time she saw him she inevitably suffered a beating.

Li Xinyue also understood Li Guang's intention; unfortunately she was immune to it, but she still had to pretend.

Thus Li Xinyue first showed a fearful expression, then struggled to squeeze out two tears: "Don't hit me—you've hit me for over ten years, isn't that enough?"

These words directly lit the powder keg; Uncle Jiang Cai raised his fist to strike Li Guang's face, but fortunately the people nearby grabbed him in time.

Seeing her chance to shine again, Granny Li's mouth churned out words like a motor, amplified by her loud voice, and for a moment she overwhelmed the crowd single‑handedly.

Standing outside the crowd, Jiang Jinshi still didn't understand what had happened; as soon as he arrived, he saw Li Xinyue wiping tears over there.

He drew his woodcutter's knife from his waist and pushed into the crowd.

Someone sharp‑eyed spotted Jiang Jinshi and shouted loudly, "The Jiang family's little ten has come—make way!"

Hearing this, the crowd turned their heads at once and immediately cleared a path for Jiang Jinshi, after all he was the main party.

Jiang Jinshiyi said nothing, grabbed his woodcutter's knife and hurried toward Li Changjiu.

Just as the crowd made way, they suddenly sensed something wrong; the village chief on the side hurriedly called out, "Hold onto little ten, don't cause trouble!"

But they were still a step too slow; Jiang Jinshi brought down his knife viciously, straight for Li Changjiu's forehead.

Thud!

The blow landed on the wooden door behind Li Changjiu, the entire blade sinking into the wood.

Li Changjiu fumbled to dodge the blow, breaking out in a cold sweat all over.

Although their wooden door isn't thick, chopping into it like that still takes some strength—this shows that the Jiang boy had no intention of holding back; he was aiming to split his head open.

If Jiang Jinshi knew what Li Changjiu was thinking, he'd surely laugh his head off.

If he really meant not to hold back, could you dodge that blow? Even Xiang Yu would have to come back from the dead to take a hit for himself.

Moreover, if he were serious, why strike you first? He'd have nothing to dodge if he went after Li Guang, that old immortal.

Seeing the villagers behind him almost arrived, Jiang Jinshiyi pulled out the woodcutter's knife stuck in the door and shouted.

"What if I die? Dare to bully my family—I'll send your whole clan down first."

In his previous life, the first principle Jiang Jinshi grasped was: the timid fear the bold, the bold fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the shameless.

Even if you're just putting on a show of boldness, you must do so; constant compromise only makes people treat you like a soft persimmon to be squeezed.

Uncle Jiang Cai grabbed Jiang Jinshi's right hand holding the knife and shouted, "Little ten, don't be impulsive—it's not that serious."

The people nearby also chimed in: "Yeah! His family will bring retribution on non‑humans; little ten, don't drag yourself into something not worth it."

Jiang Jinshi then pretended to struggle a couple of times before reluctantly letting go of the woodcutter's knife in his hand.

Li Xinyue in the crowd let out a long sigh of relief, not knowing why Jiang Jinshi had come back at this critical moment, merely not expecting that this bookish blockhead still had some hot blood.

Not only was Li Changjiu frightened, but even Li Guang, who had lived many years, rarely saw such a headstrong youth; for a moment none dared to speak, fearing Jiang Jinshi would strike again.

Li Ergou naturally dared not speak either, after all his father and grandfather had backed down.

Seeing that Li Changjiu's family remained silent, the crowd hurriedly pulled Jiang Jinshi away; of course, when leaving he had to leave a harsh warning—that's the way of the jianghu.

"Remember this! With everyone here, if you dare bully my wife again, you'd better keep one eye open when your whole family sleeps."

The other side backed down, and I also let out my harsh words; basically today's matter is settled.

Before the village chief, Jiang Jinshi repeatedly promised that as long as Li Changjiu's family didn't cause trouble, he would never seek trouble with them; only then did Jiang Jinshi and Li Xinyue set off for home.

At this moment Jiang Jinshi's face held no trace of aggression; he asked Li Xinyue with a kindly expression.

"What happened?"

Li Xinyue's gaze toward Jiang Jinshi was somewhat evasive; only slowly did she reveal the full story.

After Li Xinyue discovered and sold wild ginseng for fifty taels of silver, the Li Changjiu household began scheming over that fifty‑tael sum.

Last time, Li Guang didn't get a share of the wild boar, which kept him awake for several nights; this time he certainly won't let it go.

Later one afternoon, Li Guang brought his whole family to find Li Xinyue, just as she was returning from buying cloth in the city.

Several people opened their mouths demanding silver, which Li Xinyue could not possibly give.

Smart Li Ergou suggested taking the cloth instead, so the family proceeded as if openly robbing, carrying off the four bolts of cloth Li Xinyue had just bought.

Li Xinyue didn't stop them, just stood by watching; but the Li Changjiu family thought she was doing it out of fear.

After the family had just left, Li Xinyue went to find the village chief to report the matter to the authorities.

Knowing that Da Jiang Cun, under the village chief's leadership these years, had never seen such blatant robbery, the village chief then led the villagers to pressure the Li Changjiu household, saying that if they didn't hand over the goods, he would bind the whole family and take them to the county office.

Seeing the situation blow up, Li Guang had no choice but to bow his head and return the cloth he had just gotten.

After that, neither the family nor anyone else bothered Li Xinyue again; today it's because Li Xinyue paid villagers to help repair the house.

Since house repairs aren't strenuous work, Li Xinyue offered fifteen cash coins per person.

Who would have thought that too many people showed up, finishing the job before afternoon; the crowd, feeling a bit embarrassed with the money, tentatively asked Li Xinyue if there was anything else to do.

Li Xinyue clapped her hands, hit on a good idea: add another five cash coins per person, and have everyone go to the Li Changjiu household to help her vent by shouting abuse.

Thus the villagers happily took their money and went to the Li Changjiu household to heap insults; the loudest among them, Granny Li, received an extra five cash coins from Li Xinyue in private.

Hearing the full account, Jiang Jinshiyi stared blankly, then couldn't help but say.

Next time there's such a good thing, count me in—I don't want money, I can even pay to scold!