Free Web NovelChapter 188: Chapter 163: I, Zhang Zhanshan, Thank You
Even though he was late, Zhao Youcai’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
Zhang Zhanhe and Xu Guohua lifted the stretcher, and the surrounding villagers quickly parted, clearing a path for them.
But just then, Zhao Youcai, Li Dayong, and Li Ruhai blocked that very path.
Zhao Youcai looked at Zhang Zhanshan coldly and said, "Zhang Zhanshan, you’re just going to leave like that?"
Seeing that the dispute had died down, many people had already started to disperse. Some villagers had even walked two or three meters away.
But as soon as they heard Zhao Youcai’s voice, everyone gathered around again.
Many of the older folks hadn’t forgotten the years of ’72 and ’73, when intense struggles had raged throughout the village.
And the two of them, Zhao Youcai and Zhang Zhanshan, were like a dragon fighting a tiger. The intensity of their verbal sparring surpassed the physical brawls of others.
It wasn’t until recent years, as things gradually settled down, the Forest Farm reopened, and everyone from top to bottom united to support the development of the Divine Land, that the two of them spent most of their time peacefully working their jobs, engaging only in a few skirmishes from afar.
After all these years, Zhao Ergudong and Zhang Dayinbi were clashing once again. The Yong’an Village crowd’s thirst for drama instantly skyrocketed.
Blocked by Zhao Youcai, Zhang Zhanshan cursed inwardly. ’I’m in the wrong. What is there to say?’
’If I had a leg to stand on, why would I have let Zhao Jun argue me into silence just now?’
Besides, when Zhang Zhanhe and Xu Guohua lifted the stretcher, it inevitably jostled Zhang Laibao. The movement of his legs instantly pulled at his wound.
"Ahhh..."
Hearing Zhang Laibao’s pained cry, Zhang Zhanshan grew even more anxious. He knew that regardless of how severe the injury was, a wound in *that* area couldn’t be handled by the village clinic. They had to get him to the hospital in the town immediately.
The argument with Zhao Jun and the others had already wasted a good amount of time. If they delayed any longer, his son might truly be beyond help.
"Zhao Youcai, I don’t have time for you today. Just you wait until I get back."
Zhang Zhanshan thought he could just drop a harsh threat and then rush Zhang Laibao to the clinic.
But he should have known better. How could Zhao Youcai possibly let him get his way?
"Zhang Zhanshan!" Zhao Youcai roared. "If you don’t make things clear today, just you try taking one step!"
With that, Zhao Youcai, along with Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, the Lin Brothers, and the three men from the Li family—a father and his sons—surrounded and blocked Zhang Zhanshan’s party.
"Zhao Youcai." Zhang Zhanshan’s heart was burning with anxiety, but he knew it was useless to argue with Zhao Youcai. His only option now was to bow his head and back down.
Zhang Zhanshan said, "My son needs to go to the hospital today. Can whatever you have to say wait until I get back?"
For Zhang Zhanshan, this was already him being conciliatory, but Zhao Youcai retorted, "No! The whole village knows you’re a piece of work, Zhang Zhanshan. If you don’t clear things up today, no one from your family is going anywhere!"
"Zhanshan," Xu Meihua whispered, grabbing his arm. "Hurry up. Don’t delay our son’s treatment."
Zhang Zhanshan shrugged her off. ’She’s anxious? You think I’m not? But what good does getting worked up do?’
"Zhao Youcai, what do you want me to say?" Zhang Zhanshan knew that no matter how anxious he was, he had to do as Zhao Youcai demanded and clarify the situation. Otherwise, his son wouldn’t even make it to the hospital.
Zhao Youcai said, "What to say? You’re going to tell me clearly whether or not this injury of Zhang Laibao’s is my son and Baoyu’s fault."
"That’s it?" Zhang Zhanshan said angrily. "What time do you think it is? Why are we talking about this now?"
At this point, Zhang Zhanshan looked at Zhao Guofeng beside him and said, "Brother Zhao, say something!"
"Sigh!" Zhao Guofeng sighed softly at his words, walked over to Zhao Youcai’s side, and said, "Youcai, look at the state that kid is in. Maybe we should..."
Zhao Youcai grabbed Zhao Guofeng’s cotton-padded sleeve with his right hand, pointed his left index finger at Zhang Zhanshan’s nose, and said to Zhao Guofeng with his head cocked, "You know what a malicious son of a bitch this guy is. I won’t have my son save his little bastard whelp, only for him to turn around and screw us over later."
Zhang Zhanshan flew into a rage. "You’re not malicious? You’re calling me malicious! Who’s trying to screw you over?"
"You are," Zhao Youcai said. "For years, all you’ve thought about is how to mess with me. My dog got poisoned yesterday, and I suspect it was you!"
At these words, Zhang Zhanshan’s heart jolted. But he knew he couldn’t admit to this even if it killed him, or he really wouldn’t be leaving today.
So, Zhang Zhanshan retorted sarcastically, "Your own son Zhao Jun said it himself this morning—your dog ate a dead rat. You’re going to blame that on me too?"
Zhao Youcai’s expression darkened, but it was an act. He had to pretend he didn’t know that Zhang Zhanshan had come to poison Hua Xiao’Er yesterday. Otherwise, the story of Zhang Laibao being bitten by the badger today would get complicated.
Just then, Zhao Guofeng tried to mediate again. "Youcai, however we adults bicker, we shouldn’t let it affect the children, right?"
As he spoke, Zhao Guofeng shot a look at Zhang Zhanshan, signaling, ’You want me to speak up for you, you need to show some sort of attitude.’
Zhang Zhanshan clenched his jaw so hard his cheekbones bulged. It had to be said, the man was tough; he stubbornly remained silent.
Seeing this, Zhao Guofeng was so angry he laughed. He nodded and said, "I can’t handle this. I’m leaving."
"Brother Zhao!" Zhang Zhanshan finally spoke up. "You’re the Village Chief. You call the shots."
"What do you mean I call the shots?" Zhao Guofeng said, looking askance at Zhang Zhanshan. "Elder Zhang, given the feud between your two families, for their son to save your son... what do you want me to say? Just do whatever they ask of you."
"I..."
"’I’ what?" Zhao Guofeng shook his head. "If you keep fucking dragging this out, your Laibao is done for!"
Zhang Zhanshan steeled himself, clenched his jaw, and said to Zhao Youcai, "Let my son go to the clinic first. We’ll stay here. Whatever you say, goes."
Zhao Youcai stepped aside and waved a hand at Zhao Jun and the others. The crowd parted.
Zhang Zhanshan then signaled to Zhang Zhanhe and Xu Guohua. The two men hastily carried the stretcher toward the clinic, with Zhao Hui, Wang Chunli, and Zhang Laifa following along.
But Zhang Zhanshan stopped Xu Meihua. "Go home and get money," he instructed her. "Bring all of it. Then you follow them to the hospital."
"What about you?" Xu Meihua asked.
Zhang Zhanshan was the head of the family. If something serious happened at the hospital, Xu Meihua wouldn’t dare make any decisions without him there.
Zhang Zhanshan shot a fierce glare at Zhao Youcai and said, "You guys go on ahead. I’ll find a ride and follow in a bit."
"Then be quick," Xu Meihua urged, before taking off at a jog toward home.
Now, Zhang Zhanshan was the only one from the Zhang Family left.
But with Zhang Laibao gone, Zhang Zhanshan seemed to have a massive weight lifted from his shoulders. He looked at Zhao Youcai, jutted out his chin, and said, "Alright, spit it out. What do you want?"
Zhao Youcai laughed. "You’d better think carefully. Your son hasn’t even left the village yet. You believe I can stop him, don’t you?"
Zhang Zhanshan’s face fell, and he instinctively glanced toward Zhao Guofeng.
Just then, Zhao Youcai pointed at Zhang Zhanshan and said to Zhao Guofeng, "Guofeng, I only let his kid go out of respect for you. And I’m telling you now, if anything happens to any of our families in the future, I’m holding him responsible. And when that time comes, don’t you dare try to stop me."
Hearing this, Zhao Guofeng looked at Zhang Zhanshan and said, "Elder Zhang, you’re the one who asked me to get involved today. Let’s not talk about who’s right or wrong, but since this is how it’s been settled, you can’t go looking for trouble later. Otherwise, I’m washing my hands of you."
Zhao Guofeng’s words sent a chill down Zhang Zhanshan’s spine.
You had to understand, Zhao Guofeng wasn’t just the Village Chief; he was also the Director of Security. On this small patch of land that was Yong’an Village, his word was law.
Moreover, Zhao Guofeng’s meaning had been crystal clear. If Zhang Zhanshan were to harm them behind their backs in the future and they came looking for him, whether they beat him to death or crippled him, he’d have to take it.
There was no reason to doubt Zhao Guofeng’s words. If anything happened in Yong’an Village, he was the only one with the authority to report it up the chain. If he refused to get involved and you went to the Government Office, they would just tell you to go back and report it to the Director of Security.
On any other day, no matter how good his relationship with Zhao Youcai was, Zhao Guofeng would have had to be impartial.
But today, Zhang Zhanshan had been caught red-handed, so it was out of his control.
Zhang Zhanshan knew he had lost. He gave a frank nod, cupped his fists toward Zhao Guofeng, and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhao. I understand."
With that, Zhang Zhanshan turned to leave.
"Stop!"
Zhang Zhanshan snapped his head up, glaring at Zhao Youcai with eyes that seemed to breathe fire. He gritted his teeth and asked, "What more do you want?" freewebnøvel.coɱ
Zhao Youcai snorted, a cold smirk on his face. "Zhang Zhanshan, oh, Zhang Zhanshan, you’re becoming more of a failure by the day! My son and Baoyu saved your Zhang Laibao, and you’re just going to walk away without so much as a peep?"
Zhang Zhanshan pursed his lips, the muscles in his face tensing before relaxing. He raised his cupped fists toward Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu. "The Zhao family’s boy, the Li family’s boy, I, Zhang Zhanshan, thank you." As he spoke, he gave a deep bow.
Then, he straightened up and walked away.
This time, no one stopped him.
Watching Zhang Zhanshan leave, Zhao Guofeng waved at the onlookers. "Alright, alright, everyone break it up. Get back to what you were doing."
The crowd scattered in an instant. Zhao Guofeng noticed several badgers still on the ground. He looked at Zhao Jun and asked, "Young man, give me two of those badgers."
"Uncle Zhao, take as many as you want." Zhao Jun ran over and picked up two bundles of badgers. Each bundle contained two badgers tied together with a rope.
Zhao Guofeng sized them up and asked with a smile, "Which one of these mongrels bit Zhang Laibao?" ƒreewebɳovel.com
Zhao Jun took a look and held up the two in his left hand. "These two. This biggest one here."
"Then I’ll take these two." Zhao Guofeng added, "Picking the big ones."
With that, he took the two badgers, handed them to Zhao Jinshan behind him, and said, "Hasn’t your grandma been nagging every day about wanting some badger oil? Now you’ve got it."
