"Dad!" Xiaobao rushed to the middle - aged man in surprise. The middle - aged man bent down and picked him up.
"Xiaobao! Look what Dad has brought back for you?"
The middle - aged man held Xiaobao in one arm and took out something wrapped in an oil - paper bag from his bosom.
Xiaobao slowly unwrapped the oil - paper bag. This kind of bag was waterproof and could be used to store other things. As soon as the bag was opened, a sweet smell wafted out.
"It's maltose!" Xiaobao exclaimed in delight.
But this delight soon turned into worry. "Dad, I don't like candy. Don't buy it for me in the future, okay?"
Hearing this, Aunt Li's eyes welled up with tears. If it had been before, she might really have believed that Xiaobao didn't like candy. But today, she understood that Xiaobao had grown up. Saying he didn't like it was actually because he felt sorry for them!
Other kids always pestered their parents to buy them all kinds of delicious food, but her poor child had been wronging himself for the sake of the family. Xiaobao was not even five years old!
Su Yanke also had mixed feelings in her heart.
"Ah? Xiaobao doesn't like it? Then what does Xiaobao want to eat? Dad will go and buy it for you tomorrow!"
The middle - aged man obviously didn't understand Xiaobao's real thoughts. After all, who could resist the temptation of delicious food at such a young age? So he naturally didn't doubt the truth of Xiaobao's words.
"Lao Ji! Xiaobao likes this. Buy this next time!" Aunt Li stepped forward, stroked Xiaobao's little head, and said gently.
"Mom!" Xiaobao looked at her pitifully, hoping that Aunt Li would change her mind.
"Xiaobao's mom? But Xiaobao said he..." Lao Ji was also a bit confused. The child said he didn't like it, so why did his wife still ask him to buy it?
Before Lao Ji could finish his words, a shrill curse came from outside the door.
"Which bitch dared to bully a child! Ji, come out quickly. Don't force me to break in!"
"The second daughter - in - law of the village head's family? Why did she suddenly come to our house?"
Lao Ji often worked on the village head's construction site, so he was familiar with this woman's voice. Everyone knew how shrewish this woman was. As soon as Lao Ji heard those vulgar words, he could tell it was her.
"Second daughter - in - law, what nonsense are you talking about in front of my door?"
Lao Ji put Xiaobao down and quickly went out to stop the woman from swearing, for fear that it would have a bad influence on Xiaobao.
"Don't pretend! Look at the red marks on my Xinggui. It was your family who beat him! Pay up! Pay me quickly!"
Regardless of the cold night, the woman directly took off the black and fat boy's clothes in public, showing his upper body. There was a small red mark on his left arm. This kind of situation was very common among children. When they were playing, they might accidentally bump into something and leave such marks.
The villagers who were watching the scene were also speechless. If they had to pay for such a minor injury, the parents of the naughty kids here would have spent all their money over the years, while the parents of the more well - behaved kids would have made a fortune.
"You... How can you be so unreasonable? You're talking nonsense. We didn't even see your son today. How could we have bullied him?" Lao Ji was so angry that he stuttered.
With Aunt Li's help, Su Yanke also came to the gate. Hearing this, she was about to say something, but the woman spoke first.
The woman was sharp - eyed and immediately saw Su Yanke standing by the door. Although Su Yanke covered her eyes with a white silk ribbon, her other facial features, figure, and charm couldn't be hidden. Out of a woman's jealousy, the woman's hostility towards Su Yanke increased a lot.
"Is it you, you seductress? You're such an adult, yet you still have the nerve to bully a child. Aren't you ashamed?"
After saying that, the woman squinted at Su Yanke up and down, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Looking at your appearance, you're not married yet, are you? At your age and still not married, you must be from a brothel. No one wants you!"
As she said this, the woman covered her mouth and made a disgusted expression, as if this was an established fact.
Aunt Li was so angry that her body trembled. She knew that these words were extremely harmful to an unmarried woman.
Su Yanke remained calm from beginning to end, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Su Yanke's reaction further irritated the woman.
Although Xiaobao didn't understand the exact meaning of the woman's words, he could tell that others had obviously disliked Su Yanke just now.
Xiaobao immediately stood in front of Su Yanke, opened his arms to protect her, and said to everyone, "You're not allowed to say bad things about Jie Jie. You're a bad woman. I hate you, hum!"
Xiaobao's words hit the woman's sore spot. She was so angry that she wanted to step forward and slap Xiaobao.
Su Yanke reacted quickly. She quickly picked up Xiaobao and dodged to the side.
The woman missed her attack and wanted to step forward again. Su Yanke still had a few of the stones she had crushed before on her. She directly hit the woman's immobilization acupoint with a stone.
"What... What kind of sorcery did you cast on me? Why can't I move?" the woman exclaimed in panic.
"You witch! You should be burned to death and then drowned in the pond!" The woman's mind completely collapsed, and she began to maliciously slander Su Yanke out of revenge. Her voice was shrill and ear - piercing.
Su Yanke was annoyed by the noise. Without hesitation, she also hit the woman's mute acupoint.
This completely scared the on - looking villagers. Before, when the second daughter - in - law of the village head's family said she couldn't move, they thought she was acting to extort more money, so they didn't take it seriously.
But now, seeing that the woman who had been scolding just now couldn't make a sound, they began to believe it. Coupled with what the woman had said about sorcery, they all felt a little scared.
Su Yanke saw the villagers take a few steps back and roughly guessed the reason.
Su Yanke didn't care about other people's attitudes, but she cared about what Aunt Li's family thought. She wondered if they would be afraid of her.
Thinking like this, Su Yanke subconsciously looked back to see Aunt Li's reaction. But when she did, her pupils shrank.
She saw Uncle Lao Ji walking towards her angrily. At this moment, Su Yanke had mixed feelings in her heart. Although she could have dodged, her body felt heavy, and she couldn't move her feet.
Su Yanke was ready to accept all the malice, but Uncle Lao Ji walked past her and went straight out of the door.
Su Yanke looked back in confusion and saw Uncle Lao Ji punch the woman hard in the face. The woman couldn't move and was hit hard. She quickly fell to the ground. Blood immediately appeared at the corner of her mouth, and her face soon swelled up.
Uncle Lao Ji's action not only shocked the on - looking villagers but also left Su Yanke stunned.
What was going on?
Wang Xinggui was also stunned by Uncle Lao Ji's sudden attack and could only stand there stupidly.
Uncle Lao Ji's anger hadn't subsided after the punch. It seemed that he wanted to punch a few more times. Aunt Li, who knew her husband's temper best, quickly stepped forward and hugged him.
"Don't hit her anymore, Xiaobao's dad. Calm down. If you keep hitting, she'll die!"
"This woman is so hateful. Does she really think we're easy to bully? Hasn't Xiaobao suffered enough over the years?"
Seeing that the woman on the ground seemed to want to say something, Su Yanke stepped forward and untied her mute acupoint.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't hit me. I know I was wrong!"
The woman seemed to have a conditioned - reflex reaction to such a beating. Now her face was pale, and her eyes were tightly closed. Wang Xinggui beside her also looked like he was used to it.
This scene made Su Yanke's heart feel cold. It seemed that the black and fat boy, Wang Xinggui, was already used to violence at such a young age, and his family was "largely to blame".
Uncle Lao Ji's rationality returned a bit when he heard the woman's pleas for mercy.
So many people gathered together, which was very conspicuous in this remote small village. Soon, several people from the village head's family came over when they heard the news.
"Lao Ji! Do you not want to work anymore! How dare you bully us?" The eldest son of the village head's family roared. The on - looking villagers quickly made way for them.
"Yes. If you don't want to work, then you can just..." Before the word "go" could come out, the second son of the village head's family saw Su Yanke and his eyes lit up.
"What's your name, miss?" the second son said obsequiously to Su Yanke.
"Second brother! Don't be so lust - struck at this time!" The eldest brother gave the second brother a warning look and then said to Uncle Lao Ji, "No matter who is right or wrong in this matter, now that you've injured the second daughter - in - law, are you going to pay the medical expenses or not?"
Su Yanke understood it clearly. It seemed that this whole family was unreasonable. So did they still need to reason with them?
"You don't have to pay the medical expenses. As long as this young lady comes to be my concubine, this matter will be over, and your job will also be safe!" The second son said lecherously, looking at Su Yanke.
"You're daydreaming! It's impossible!" Uncle Lao Ji's face turned red with anger because of these shameless people.
"Lao Ji, don't be in a hurry to refuse. Think about it. Actually, this matter won't do you any harm. I heard before that you saved someone on the back mountain. I guess it's this young lady. You see, you're her savior. She won't refuse to help with such a small thing, right?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I saved her voluntarily. Don't impose your dirty thoughts on everyone!"
"Fine, fine, fine. Since you don't listen to my advice, then pay the money and get out of our workshop. Let's see how you're going to support your family!"
"Good. Anyway, I don't want to work in your workshop anymore. And this money..."
"We don't have to pay it either!" Su Yanke took over the conversation.
As soon as she said this, the eldest brother was dissatisfied. "Why not?"