Chapter 12: I've Harvested Your Family's Wheat

Having just finished exchanging pleasantries with a group of people, Gu Xixi whispered, "The story of you slapping that cow to death with one palm has already spread throughout the village."

These past two days you haven't really gone out, so when they see you they can't help being curious.

Mu Nan Zhao directly saw through her worry, saying, "Don't worry, I never take the initiative to provoke a dispute."

Exactly, you only silently let others meet disaster; Gu Xixi silently agreed in her heart.

Zhang Shen and the eight hired workers arrived at the wheat field first.

Gu Lao San brought his whole family, plus a few youngsters from Gu Daye and Gu Erye's households, each holding farm tools to block the road, confronting Zhang Shen and the others.

"Whoever dares to touch the wheat in the field today, don't blame us for what's in our hands!"

Zhang Shen stood with hands on hips, neck outstretched, saying, "So what if we do?"

"Go ahead and hit me on the head if you dare!"

"These few mu of land belong to our family's Xixi; you refuse to pay rent and still want to keep occupying it? No matter how far this goes, we're in the right!"

Liu Shi, having someone to back her, rushed up to Zhang Shen, baring her teeth and claws, shouting, "Gu Xixi is good-for-nothing; when her father was alive, when did she ever work the fields? Can she plow? Can she plant? Do you even know how much grain a mu of land yields?!"

"This..." Zhang Shen was left speechless.

Although she always supported Xixi in everything, Liu Shi's words had also worried her.

Liu Shi snorted triumphantly, "The wages she set are obviously the clueless babble of a child who doesn't know a thing."

"It's just that you've hired a lot of people lately, making a showy formation. You lot, listen to my advice: disperse early, or you'll be working for nothing for months."

Zhang Shen saw the workers' expressions hinting at hesitation, and quickly shouted, "Don't listen to her nonsense!"

"This person doesn't want us to farm; she's deliberately sabotaging us!"

Chen Dafu spotted Xixi at a glance and said, "The landlord's here; we'll just follow the landlord's orders!"

Liu Shi and Zhang Shen were arguing loudly; by the time Xixi walked over, she had heard every word.

She stood before the crowd, gave a light smile, and said, "The wages for the people I hired are none of your concern, Aunt Zhang."

"The contract was witnessed by villagers earlier, and everyone left their handprints. As long as they work as agreed, if I can't pay the wages, I'll sell my house and land to make up for it."

"Or do you think I could abandon this family business and run away?"

"Instead, it's you three uncles and aunts blocking us, trying to delay the farming season so that I and these workers have nothing to eat?"

The eight hired workers' eyes instantly sharpened; "Exactly."

"If the landlord can't get the land back, we can't farm; with no work to do, we naturally won't get those sky‑high wages!"

They glanced at each other, knowing what to do, each picking up a sickle or hoe and quickly stepping forward to press in.

"Move aside, move aside! Time to work!"

Eight strapping young men, once they adopt a forward‑charging stance, leave the opposition only able to retreat step by step.

Liu Shi bellowed at the top of her lungs, "They're just youngsters; what are you afraid of? Hurry up and go stop them!"

However, those nephews and nieces were only there to help boost the numbers; they gained no real benefit, so why would they risk their lives for Gu Lao San's wheat?

Soon, only Gu Lao San's family of four remained, having retreated to the edge of the wheat field.

Chen Dafu had already brought two people, leapt over them and started cutting the wheat.

Watching the bluish‑green wheat fall stalk by stalk, Gu Lao San and Liu Shi felt their hearts twisted like a knife.

"Don't cut it! Don't cut it!"

"Anyone who dares to move, I'll fight you to the death!!"

No matter how they wailed, shouted, or cursed, the workers didn't respond; since the landlord hadn't spoken, they just kept their heads down and worked.

Gu Lao San's family tried to block them, but they could stop one person yet not eight at once.

Watching Gu Lao San run about like a headless fly, bumping into everything.

Gu Tiezhu had no choice but to walk to the field's edge and offer an apologetic smile to Gu Xixi.

"May I have a word with you, sister?"

Xixi caught Mu Nan Zhao's playful glance, then turned serious and said, "Let's talk right here; Chen Fang has nothing to hide."

Gu Tiezhu glared at Mu Nan Zhao, then reluctantly began, "My parents are being a bit stubborn about this; out of respect for me, let's just let it go for today."

"Rest assured, I'll definitely persuade them when I get home."

"Otherwise, letting outsiders see us like this would harm your reputation."

Gu Xixi laughed.

Since she had another plan for dealing with Gu Tiezhu and didn't want to break face just yet, she swallowed her disgust and said softly, "I've already given my third uncle nearly two days to think it over."

"It's not that I don't want to give my cousin face; it's that my third uncle is leaving me no way to survive."

The workers labored ever faster, and a large swath of wheat had already fallen.

Gu Lao San's angry shouts gradually turned into desperate howls.

Liu Shi lay on the ground, beating her chest and wailing, "Heaven, open your eyes and strike down that heartless bastard! The man cuckolded your (beep), you black‑hearted, rotten‑lunged wretch, helping him ruin us…"

The curses grew ever fouler, comparable to an uncleaned pit latrine left for years.

Gu Tiezhu felt a bit embarrassed, "They just feel sorry for the crops and are flustered; Xixi, don't take it to heart."

Gu Xixi, however, remained perfectly calm.

"Let Aunt Zhang's anger run its course; let her be."

In other words, whatever needs to be done still needs to be done.

Gu Tiezhu felt helpless, and fearing his parents would suffer loss, he had no choice but to run back into the wheat field.

Liu Shi rolled all over the ground, refusing to get up.

Gu Tiezhu had to bend over and whisper, "She's dead set on fixing us."

"Today we can't beat her; besides, the rent she's asking isn't much, so we might as well pay her and save this wheat."

Gu Lao San was also wavering now.

After harvesting the wheat and deducting the rent, he still had a profit.

But if the wheat were all harvested, the seeds he'd sown and his half‑year of work would all come to nothing.

Liu Shi, tears in her eyes, said fiercely, "I just can't swallow this anger; at worst I'll fight her to the death—neither of us will live!"

"What's the point of fighting to the death?" Gu Tiezhu chuckled. "You want to live a long life—follow me and we'll have good days."

Gu Lao San sensed something from the conversation and asked, "Do you have a method?"

Gu Tiezhu said confidently, "That little girl is not ordinary to me."

"Once I have her under control..."

He let out a few wicked chuckles, "A few mu of land is nothing—just wait for your son's good news."

The three exchanged a glance, and Liu Shi stopped crying.

Gu Lao San spat hard on the ground, yielding to a junior, as if he didn't care about his old face.

"Great‑niece, tell them to stop right now! I'm going home to get grain to send to you!!"

Gu Xixi hadn't yet answered when a graceful figure in a pink dress came running from the path.

Gu Qingye, like a startled fawn, stumbled over to Xixi and grabbed her hand.

"Xixi sis, I heard from the neighbors that our family had started fighting—that's how I found out something was wrong."

"It's all my fault; when I met that mad cow last time, I was really scared and accidentally shoved you, making you angry. I'll make amends—you can hit or scold me as you like, just don't make things hard for my parents."

Gu Xixi slowly pulled her hand back; a cold smile flickered at the corner of her mouth and vanished.