"On what grounds?" Su Yanke turned back and retorted to the eldest son of the village head.
Su Yanke pointed at the woman on the ground. "Just because she's perfectly fine!"
"Heh, you say she's fine and she is? I could say she's seriously injured!" The eldest son of the village head sneered at Su Yanke.
Su Yanke said calmly, "If you don't believe me, call the... doctor to examine her!"
The eldest son of the village head said indifferently, "Fine!" Then he ordered a villager beside him, "You, go and fetch Doctor Liu to take a look."
"Doctor Liu is one of the best doctors in this county. Let's see how you can still deny it!"
Hearing this, Uncle Lao Ji frowned. He wasn't sure how hard he had hit, but looking at the woman's facial injury, it seemed that the bone was hurt?
Xiaobao also stepped forward worriedly and grabbed the corner of Su Yanke's clothes. Su Yanke sensed something unusual. She bent down slightly and felt the warm and familiar touch, the soft and smooth hair. It was Xiaobao's little head.
"Xiaobao, do you trust sister?" Su Yanke asked softly.
Xiaobao nodded heavily. "Yes, I trust you!"
Just as Su Yanke was about to lose her patience with the second son of the village head and was on the verge of taking action, Doctor Liu finally arrived.
"Doctor Liu, please give us a testimony!"
The eldest son of the village head briefly explained to Doctor Liu what he needed to testify later.
After listening, Doctor Liu nodded to show that he understood. When he passed by Su Yanke, he gave her a complex look.
Su Yanke only felt that Doctor Liu's footsteps paused slightly, but she didn't know it was because of her.
After Doctor Liu examined for a while, the second son of the village head couldn't wait any longer. Seeing Doctor Liu raise his head, he was too impatient to even wait for Doctor Liu to stand up. He asked in a hurry,
"Doctor Liu, is she seriously injured?"
The eldest son of the village head scolded him, saying that he should respect Doctor Liu. Doctor Liu obviously didn't care about this. He just waved his hand and said,
"She does have injuries..."
Uncle Lao Ji's face instantly turned deathly pale. Aunt Li's face also lost all color. Only Xiaobao looked at Su Yanke firmly, his face unchanged. It was hard to tell whether Xiaobao fully trusted Su Yanke or was just too young to understand what this meant.
"Lao Ji! Did you hear that? Let's see what else you have to say now!" The second son of the village head looked at Uncle Lao Ji triumphantly. After saying that, his lecherous eyes blatantly scanned Su Yanke's body.
"Lao Ji, the conditions we agreed on before still stand. You'd better think this through now. Do you want to let your wife and children suffer from hunger for someone who is not willing to marry, or do you want to agree to our conditions? If you do, we can act as if nothing has happened!"
Uncle Lao Ji clenched his fists tightly, making a cracking sound. Aunt Li also stepped forward at this moment and held Uncle Lao Ji's fist. She shook her head slightly, indicating that she wasn't afraid. Xiaobao also shouted, "Xiaobao isn't afraid either!"
Uncle Lao Ji looked at his wife and child. His eyes were red. He adjusted his emotions and then let out a low growl from the depths of his throat to the group of people from the village head's family. "Dream on!"
This voice was hoarse and deep, making Su Yanke's heart burn when she heard it. How lucky she was to meet such lovely people!
Just as the atmosphere was about to freeze, a voice suddenly rang out.
"No, listen to me! The injuries I mentioned are old injuries!" Doctor Liu quickly interrupted him.
Old injuries?
The second son of the village head was stunned when he heard this. What? The injuries weren't caused by Uncle Lao Ji? They were from her old problems?
Uncle Lao Ji also didn't react for a moment. What did it mean?
A faint, almost invisible, strange arc appeared at the corner of Su Yanke's mouth.
Previously, when everyone's attention was attracted by the quarrel between Uncle Lao Ji and the people from the village head's family, she secretly cast an illusion on the woman on the ground. She wrapped the injured area on her face with spiritual energy. Even if Hua Tuo came to examine, he wouldn't be able to find anything.
"Since there are no injuries, shouldn't we also settle the score?"
"Settle... what score?" The second son of the village head looked at Su Yanke blankly.
"You don't know anything? Then what did you come here for? Didn't you even understand the cause of this incident?"
Su Yanke's three deadly questions left those people speechless. They were used to being overbearing on weekdays. How would they bother to understand right from wrong? As long as they were villagers in this village, who wouldn't give them face?
So when they heard that the second daughter-in-law had been bullied, they came without asking a single question.
Now being asked like this by Su Yanke, it seemed that there was something else behind this?
"What's the cause?" The second son of the village head looked at Su Yanke blankly.
Xiaobao walked to Su Yanke's side and stretched out his little hand, indicating that he was willing to face the harm or ridicule.
Su Yanke sensed Xiaobao's intention. After a moment of silence, she said, "This is a problem among the children themselves. Let the children solve it by themselves. Adults should leave some space for the children."
After hearing this, the others fell silent. What did a child know? Wasn't everything arranged by adults?
Those people just watched coldly, eager to watch the show. For Uncle Lao Ji, this was actually a great opportunity. But this woman, who seemed so out of place, actually let this opportunity slip away!
Su Yanke didn't care what the others thought. She knew that the person who tied the knot should untie it. This was Xiaobao's knot, and he needed to untie it by himself. Otherwise, this kind of inferiority complex would accompany him for the rest of his life.
Xiaobao was also very brave because he had the support of his parents and the protection of Su Yanke behind him. He was loved and protected!
Xiaobao walked up to Wang Xinggui. Due to malnutrition, Xiaobao looked a few years younger than children of the same age as him. So he looked extremely thin standing next to Wang Xinggui.
"Wang Xinggui! I'm not a sickly child! I'm in good health! I won't be bullied by you anymore. Just wait and see. When I grow up, I will definitely protect those who are bullied by you!" Xiaobao got more and more excited as he spoke. In the end, he was almost shouting.
Wang Xinggui was also stunned by Xiaobao's momentum. After all, he was just a child now. He looked at the people behind Xiaobao and then turned to look at his own. There was no one. His father hadn't even glanced at him from beginning to end. His eyes couldn't help but turn red.
But Wang Xinggui stubbornly raised his head, not wanting the tears to fall.
After the matter was resolved, the people from the village head's family had no reason to stay and could only leave reluctantly.
The crowd saw that there was no more show to watch. Coupled with the cold weather, they all dispersed soon.
Su Yanke pulled Xiaobao and went into the house with Aunt Li and the others.
Uncle Lao Ji looked at Aunt Li as if he had something to say but hesitated. After all, Aunt Li and he had been husband and wife for so many years. She naturally knew what he was thinking now.
Aunt Li stepped forward and patted his shoulder. She said gently, "Let's eat first, or the food will get cold!"
With Aunt Li's help, Su Yanke also took her seat.
The sweet and glutinous pumpkin exploded on Su Yanke's taste buds. This was the first time Su Yanke felt the preciousness of food.
Aunt Li saw Su Yanke take several mouthfuls. The corner of her mouth also twitched slightly. She had noticed before that Su Yanke didn't like the bran rice. But now Su Yanke was still a patient. She couldn't not eat, could she?
So Aunt Li cut a small piece from the remaining pumpkins at home and gave them to Xiaobao and Su Yanke.
While eating, Uncle Lao Ji seemed to have made up his mind. He said, "I won't go to the workshop anymore in the future. Starting tomorrow, I'll go chop firewood and sell it in the city to exchange for some sulfur charcoal. It's getting colder and colder!"
Su Yanke was a little confused. Couldn't wood also be used for heating? Why did they have to use charcoal?
Su Yanke asked her question. Uncle Lao Ji sighed and said,
"Mainly because matches are expensive. There is plenty of wood, but you need to use fire every time you burn wood. Sulfur charcoal is not ordinary charcoal. It can burn all night without adding anything. If you add some in the morning, it can burn all day.
"The most important thing is that sulfur charcoal doesn't produce smoke. If you burn wood, the whole room will be filled with smoke. It's very irritating."
"Don't you have stoves?"
"Stove? What's that?"
Su Yanke was a little confused. There were no stoves here? And she had never heard of sulfur charcoal before. What kind of world was this?
After hearing this, an idea popped into Su Yanke's mind.
Su Yanke briefly described the structure and usage of the stove to Uncle Lao Ji. Uncle Lao Ji was one of the best blacksmiths in this village. Just by Su Yanke's description, he could form a rough structure of the stove in his mind.
Su Yanke didn't have much hope at first. She was even going to use the recovered spiritual power tonight to force her eyes to see temporarily.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Lao Ji was so amazing.
Su Yanke took a few more mouthfuls of food and said, "Now that the problem of the burning place is solved, the next problem is the fuel!"
Su Yanke asked Uncle Lao Ji to bring a piece of wood to the center of the yard. Uncle Lao Ji did as he was told.
Su Yanke took out the Fire Soul Talisman from her pocket. Xiaobao was very curious about this yellow - red paper talisman. His eyes were fixed on it.
"Miss Ayan, I've put it here. What are you going to do with it?" Uncle Lao Ji patted the sawdust on his hands.
Su Yanke slightly raised the corner of her mouth and said, "Watch and don't make a sound!"
Su Yanke activated her spiritual power. The Fire Soul Talisman gradually became brighter. Su Yanke whispered an order, "Go!" Instantly, the piece of wood in the center of the yard burst into flames out of thin air.
The whole family of Uncle Lao Ji was stunned. They stood there in a daze for a while before quickly running to the center of the yard to take a closer look, for fear that they were hallucinating.
But the warm temperature clearly told them that this was not an illusion. It was really fire!
Uncle Lao Ji and Aunt Li looked at each other. They both saw disbelief in each other's eyes.
Aunt Li asked Su Yanke in a trembling voice, "Who on earth are you? Could you be... the legendary immortal?"