Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 50

Chapter 50

The next day, Ye Xi took the embroidered quilt covers to Mrs. Wang in the village. Before he even reached her house, he saw the villagers gathered together, chattering.

Before Ye Xi could figure out what was happening, Li Ran hurried over.

“Sister-in-law, did something happen?” Ye Xi asked.

Li Ran exclaimed, fuming with anger. “Li-ge’er, someone came to Li-ge’er’s house.”

“Who?” Ye Xi blinked.

“Li San the butcher’s family, those hooligans, they came to Li-ge’er’s house to cause trouble.”

Ye Xi frowned. “Are they blaming Li-ge’er for something?”

Li Ran was so angry she wanted to grab a cleaver and fight for Li-ge’er. “Yes! I heard a commotion at Li-ge’er’s house early this morning, so I peeked into their courtyard and saw Li Xi’s parents, brother, and sister-in-law all there, refusing to leave, cursing and yelling, demanding that Li-ge’er break off all contact with their second son, Li Xi. Those shameless people!”

Ye Xi quickly said, “Sister-in-law, let’s go to Li-ge’er’s house and see.”

Before they even reached his house, they saw several people crowding Li-ge’er’s courtyard. Li Xi’s mother was even sitting at the entrance, legs crossed, cracking melon seeds, blocking the door.

Li-ge’er was trapped inside, furious and wanting to hit someone. His mother was locked in another room, unable to call for help.

Li Xi’s mother threw a handful of melon seed shells on the ground. “You, Liu family’s vixen, bewitching our second son and making him turn against us and demand separation, you have no conscience!”

Li-ge’er retorted, “You bunch of leeches, always sucking Li Xi dry! You’re a family of bloodsuckers, always bullying your second son. Now that he wants to separate from you, you’re blaming me? Even without me, he wouldn’t be able to tolerate you any longer!”

Li Xi’s elder brother and sister-in-law blocked the courtyard. They didn’t want Li Xi to separate from the family, as he was the strongest and most capable worker, the one supporting the family. If he separated, the hard labor would fall on the elder brother.

The youngest son felt the same. He was Mother Li’s favorite, and she often gave him money secretly. Most of the Li family’s income came from Li Xi, who worked as a butcher and sold meat at the market. Even the farm work was left undone until Li Xi had time.

Now that Li Xi was determined to separate, they panicked and rushed to Li-ge’er’s house to cause trouble.

Li Xi’s elder brother shouted, “Liu family’s young man, if you really want to marry my brother, then convince him not to separate from the family, you’ll be family once you marry into our Li family.”

His wife added, “Yes, don’t try to instigate our second son to separate from the family, that’s unconscionable! His parents are still alive, how can a son separate from his family while his parents are still living?”

Li-ge’er banged on the door inside, wanting to rush out and tear their mouths apart.

Li Ran and Ye Xi saw the scene outside, and Li Ran gritted her teeth, wanting to go back and get a knife to deal with these heartless people.

“I’m going to slaughter them with my butcher knife today, how dare they lock people inside! Do they think they can do whatever they want in our village?!”

Ye Xi pulled his sister-in-law back and said calmly, “Sister-in-law, the Li family is a bunch of hooligans, you’ll be at a disadvantage if you fight them. Go back and get my brother and husband, and also inform Li Xi.”

Li Ran nodded. “Yes, let’s get more people.”

Ye Xi said, “We also need to inform the village chief and the government officials. This separation issue has dragged on long enough, let’s make a big fuss today and settle it once and for all. Otherwise, they’ll keep causing trouble for Li-ge’er. It’s better to cut it clean!”

Soon, Lin Jiangshan and Ye Shan arrived, carrying axes. Both were strong men, and when they pushed open the fence gate of Li-ge’er’s house and stood there, they looked intimidating.

Li Xi’s younger brother was about to curse when he saw Lin Jiangshan’s dark face and muscular build, and he immediately swallowed his words, standing up hesitantly. “Who… who are you? Don’t meddle in our affairs.”

Lin Jiangshan didn’t say anything, just swung his axe at the fence post, his eyes fierce. “You dare to come to our village and block someone’s door? Then don’t blame us for doing the same to you!”

Ye Shan stood beside him, holding the butcher knife Li Ran had stuffed into his hand earlier, the blade gleaming sharply. “You dare to come to my aunt’s house and cause trouble? You won’t be leaving so easily today.”

Li Xi’s elder brother stood up, his flabby body trying to look imposing. “This is not our fault, it’s your brother! He’s instigating our second son to separate from the family! Is that something a decent person would do?”

His wife hid behind him and added, “Yes, he’s a jinx, a troublemaker!”

Ye Xi spat and rushed into the courtyard. “You heartless leeches, you don’t even think about how you’ve treated Li Xi, and now you’re blaming others and causing trouble for my friend, you’re truly shameless!”

Mother Li rolled up her sleeves, about to hit Ye Xi. She was a butcher and didn’t believe she couldn’t handle a delicate young man. “You little shit, I’ll tear your mouth apart today, so you can’t speak anymore nonsense!”

Li Ran pulled Ye Xi behind her, pushed Mother Li away, and tripped her. Mother Li fell to the ground, landing on her backside.

Li Ran patted her hands, looked down at her, and spat. “I’ve been handling pigs and butchering meat since I was young, you’re no match for me in strength, you old hag. You don’t have the guts to fight me!”

Ye Xi quickly went to the main room, removed the wooden bar blocking the door, and let Li-ge’er out.

“Xi-ge’er, Sister-in-law Ran, you’re here! These bastards locked me and my mother in the house, I’m so angry, I’m going to chop them up with a butcher knife today!”

Li-ge’er was also furious and went to the kitchen to get a knife, scaring Li Xi’s younger brother and sister-in-law, who shrunk back in fear.

Ye Xi stopped him. “Don’t lose your head, if we fight them, we’ll be in the wrong, even if we’re right. The village chief and the government officials will be here soon, it’s better for us to appear weak and wronged for now.”

Li Ran also wanted to fight them like Li-ge’er, but Xi-ge’er always had good ideas, so she calmed herself down. “Yes, listen to Xi-ge’er, my husband and brother-in-law are here now, they can’t run away.”

Ye Shan and Lin Jiangshan blocked the courtyard entrance, and the Li family didn’t dare to approach, only cursing and yelling with red faces.

After a while, a figure came running. It was Li Xi, the second son of the Li family.

He had heard that his parents, brother, and sister-in-law had come to Shanxiu Village and were causing trouble for Li-ge’er, so he rushed over, ignoring everything else.

He arrived to see his family indeed gathered in Li-ge’er’s courtyard, and Li-ge’er was beside them, his face red with anger.

“I apologize,” Li Xi said to Ye Shan and Lin Jiangshan first. His family had caused such a scene, and he had to apologize even if he wasn’t involved.

Lin Jiangshan said in a deep voice, “Li Xi, it’s useless to apologize to us. They came to cause trouble for Li-ge’er, a young man living with his mother alone, they’ve been wronged and frightened, you should apologize to them.”

Li Xi agreed and entered the courtyard, looking at Li-ge’er’s angry, red eyes, feeling a pang of guilt. He pursed his lips several times before whispering, “Li-ge’er, I…”

“I’m sorry.”

Li-ge’er angrily turned his head away, refusing to look at him.

Li Xi then turned to his arrogant and domineering parents, brother, sister-in-law, younger brother, and sister-in-law, their faces now disgusting to him.

“Mother, you tricked me into leaving today just to cause trouble for Li-ge’er’s family, how ridiculous! Even now, you still think that someone else instigated me to separate from the family!”

Mother Li said angrily, “If it wasn’t that little bitch, then who? Our family has always been harmonious, what’s wrong with our life? You’re blinded by infatuation, determined to separate from the family. Your father and I are still alive! You want to live on your own?!”

Li Xi felt a chill in his heart at her words and sneered. “Always harmonious? That’s because I’ve always tolerated you, wanting our family to live in peace. Why are you turning against me now?”

He glanced at his lazy elder brother and sister-in-law, and his greedy younger brother and sister-in-law. “It’s because the one who has always been taken advantage of is no longer willing to tolerate it, so this life is no longer tolerable!”

Father Li tried to assert his authority as the head of the household and scolded, “Second son, you can get married, but you can’t separate from the family!”

Li Xi’s face darkened, and he said firmly, “I must separate from this family! I need to get away from you, I can’t live a good life with you!”

“You… ungrateful!” Li Xi’s elder brother shouted angrily, wanting to rush forward.

Just then, Liu Xiufeng arrived with the village chief and the government officials.

“What’s the reason for reporting to the authorities?” the official asked sternly.

Li-ge’er quickly said, “Officer, these bandits are blocking my door! They locked me and my mother in the house!”

Liu Xiufeng went to check on Li-ge’er’s mother, who was frightened.

The official looked at the people in the courtyard. “Is that true?”

Mother Li shrunk back, not daring to admit it. “We just came for a visit. My second son and this young man were discussing marriage, we just came to take a look, it’s not about blocking the door.”

Ye Xi sneered. “Officer, who locks people in their house during a visit? Who knows if they came to rob us? My sister-in-law and I happened to pass by and saw it. If no one had seen it, wouldn’t they have gotten away with it? We’re witnesses!”