Chapter 76: Family Affection

Just as Ye Xinyu said, there is no overnight grudge between father and son; even if the two are not biologically related, the affection of several decades is better than that of blood.

The father and son, who had not seen each other for several years, now both felt as if a lifetime had passed, and they embraced in silence.

"Dad, what happened to your hand?" A moment later, inside that tin shack, Chen Yu was somewhat shocked.

The tin shack was merely a place to block the sun; it leaked wind from all sides, and it was extremely cramped inside, with daily necessities almost filling the entire room.

"It's nothing, I just tripped by accident. Xiaoyu, this... is this your wife?" Chen Wenzhong was very happy that Chen Yu had returned; he looked Ye Xinyu over, secretly happy for his son.

"Yes, Father, this is Ye Xinyu, your daughter-in-law. She is already a few months pregnant; it won't be long before you can hold your grandson," Chen Yu said with a smile.

"Really? Good, that's wonderful! I can hold my grandson. If your mother knew this from beyond the grave, she would be very happy too," Chen Wenzhong said excitedly.

Chen Yu's adoptive mother had already passed away when his father found him, and his father had never remarried all these years.

"Dad, why don't you move to Fengling and live with us?" Ye Xinyu said with a smile.

"Move to Fengling? No, I'm doing just fine here. As long as you two are living happily, that's enough. Besides, I'm not used to the city," Chen Wenzhong said, grinning from ear to ear.

Ye Xinyu was beautiful and spoke in a proper and graceful manner; every gesture of hers revealed a refined upbringing, and he was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law.

"Dad, what happened to the house at home?" Chen Yu asked. "Is someone in the village bullying you?"

"No, the house collapsed on its own from years of disrepair. Anyway, I've leased a few greenhouses here to grow medicinal herbs, so I just built a shack to live here," a flash of unhappiness crossed Chen Wenzhong's eyes, but he covered it up immediately.

"Old Chen, are you in the house?" Just at this moment, a loud, coarse voice rang out from outside: "If you're home, get out here quickly! Do you think you can hide from this?"

Chen Wenzhong's expression changed slightly, and he hurried out; Chen Yu and Ye Xinyu followed him out as well.

They saw several people standing outside, led by a burly man. He was Li Xing, a hoodlum in the village. This guy had five or six brothers and was a local bully who often oppressed men and bullied women.

"Old Chen, since you're here today, let's get this settled. The six greenhouses you leased, totaling sixteen mu of land, have been requisitioned by the village. We'll compensate you one hundred yuan per mu," Li Xing took out a contract: "If there's no problem, sign it."

"Li Xing, I have a contract for the land I leased. The five-year contract hasn't expired yet, and I won't accept any land requisition," Chen Wenzhong said angrily: "One hundred yuan compensation per mu? Why don't you just go rob someone?"

"Let me tell you, Chen, the one hundred yuan per mu compensation is something I fought for on your behalf. Don't be ungrateful. Now the village wants to build a new medicinal herb cultivation base; you have to agree whether you want to or not," Li Xing sneered.

"A new cultivation base? You five brothers are using that as an excuse to forcibly occupy other people's land to grow your own herbs. Do you have any shame left? Li Xing, I'll give you a piece of advice: Heaven is watching what people do; don't go too far," Chen Wenzhong said angrily.

"Old Chen, are you planning to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit?" Li Xing grinned: "Do you believe that I can flatten this dog kennel you're living in right now and break your other hand too?"

"You... do you have no regard for the law?" Chen Wenzhong's hands trembled with anger. People in the countryside bully the widowed and lonely; these people had bullied him plenty over the years while his son was out of touch.

"The law? Haha, you're talking to me about the law here? We five brothers are the law," Li Xing laughed loudly: "Lao Er, Lao San, give this old thing a taste of our power."

"Alright." The brothers behind Li Xing stepped forward, ready to take action.

"Was it you who broke my father's hand?" Chen Yu, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

Because he had disappeared for several years, his father had become a lonely widower, oppressed by the village bullies, and even his own uncle, his father's biological brother, had helped outsiders.

Chen Yu felt very guilty. If he hadn't had such a tense relationship with his father, his father wouldn't have suffered like this, nor would he have been reduced to having his ancestral home torn down to build a warehouse.

"That's right, I did it. Are you Chen Yu?" Li Xing was stunned for a moment, then he recognized Chen Yu.

"I am Chen Yu. Are you sure that this hand of my father's was broken by you?" Chen Yu raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"Haha, it really is Chen Yu. You squandered your father's family fortune and went off to live a life of debauchery, and now you know how to feel sorry for your father? You'd better persuade your father to sign, or else I'll deal with you too," Li Xing sneered.

"Husband, don't be impulsive. We can report this to the police," Ye Xinyu said with a look of anger.

"Yo, you even brought a wife back? Damn, you've got good luck, kid; your wife is so pretty," Li Xing's eyes lit up when he saw Ye Xinyu.

This guy was a lecher by nature; he had bullied many widows in the village, and seeing a beautiful woman made his eyes go straight. He licked his lips and said, "A woman this pretty must be quite something in bed."

"Big Brother, why waste words with him? Chen Yu is just a piece of trash. It's perfect that we can deal with both father and son today." Li Xing's third brother was hot-tempered; he stepped forward to grab Chen Yu.

Whoosh... A heavy punch struck the chest of Li's third brother. The third brother spat out a mouthful of blood with a 'pfft' and his body fell backward rapidly.

With a thud, his tall frame fell heavily to the ground. He didn't even have time to groan before he lay on the ground, unconscious.

"Lao San, Lao San..." The Li brothers were shocked. They turned back and roared at Chen Yu: "I'll kill you!"

Slap... A slap sent Li Xing flying. Chen Yu kicked Li's second brother away and took care of the remaining two with a punch and a palm. The five Li brothers were all lying on the ground.

"Xiaoyu, don't take action," Chen Wenzhong was startled.

"Dad, go inside and rest for a while. I'll handle today's matters," Chen Yu sneered.

"But..." Chen Wenzhong was terrified that things would escalate.

"Dad, let's go inside. Don't worry, Chen Yu can handle it well," Ye Xinyu persuaded her father-in-law and walked inside.

"Chen Yu, you piece of trash, I'm going to kill you!" Li Xing's face was swollen on one side, his teeth shattered all over the floor. He struggled to crawl up, wanting to risk his life against Chen Yu.

Chen Yu grabbed him by the throat and lifted his entire body into the air.

"Was it you who broke my father's arm? Was it you who occupied the herb field? Was it you who tore down the ancestral home?" Chen Yu's voice, as if from Hell, rang in Li Xing's ears: "Do you believe me? I can make your Li family disappear from this village completely."

"Cough, cough... Chen Yu, let's talk this over. We're all fellow villagers. Let me go, help, help!" Li Xing was choked by Chen Yu until he was nearly suffocated. He suddenly felt that Chen Yu really dared to kill him.