Chapter 8: Chaos and Triumph for the Yan Family

Chapter 8: Chickens Flying and Dogs Jumping: The Yan Family Wins

Despite his quiet voice, his strength was surprisingly formidable. Liu Jinhua, yelping in pain as he grabbed her sore spot, let out cries of "aiyo, aiyo" and cursed him repeatedly, calling him a "little wretch."

Wen Xi, not good at cursing, timidly retorted, "Then you're an old hag."

Chen Lanfang shook herself out of her daze and, seizing the moment while he held Liu Jinhua, gave her two more ringing slaps to the face.

That old woman had indeed besmirched his reputation in front of everyone, so she had it coming. With that thought, Wen Xi quietly clawed at Liu Jinhua a few more times.

As for Zhao Shoutian, the instigator of it all, Wen Xi knew he couldn't win in a direct confrontation. Looking around, he found a broom standing in the corner, picked it up with shaking hands, and whacked Zhao Shoutian a few times from behind.

Zhao Shoutian, already beaten to a pulp by Yan Wangchun, turned around furiously when he saw that even a weakling like Wen Xi dared to sneak-attack him. "I'll beat you to death, you piece of trash!" he snarled.

Wen Xi struck and ran off, not about to stand there and let him hit back.

Yan Wangchun grabbed him by the collar just in time. "I'll beat you to death first."

Wen Xi, scared out of his wits by Zhao Shoutian's fierce look, his heart pounding, waited until he wasn't looking, then looped around and returned with the broom, whacking him hard with it again.

Zhao Shoutian ran around in a panic, covering his head. "You piece of trash, just you wait..."

Wen Xi shot the same words back at him. "You hit a young man; you're the lowlife."

Li Wan and He Jin had Lin Xuemei handled, no help needed. After giving Zhao Shoutian a piece of his mind, Wen Xi went to help Chen Lanfang beat Liu Jinhua.

That old hag only used low-down, dirty tricks and was a real shrew; if he didn't help, his mother-in-law would definitely get the short end of the stick.

The Zhao men's strength was nothing compared to the Yan men's, and Lin Xuemei and Liu Jinhua, two against two, couldn't hold their own either. It was supposed to be a fight, but really it was just the Zhao family getting a one-sided beating.

In the scuffle, someone kicked the Zhao family's chicken coop over, and the chickens, scared out of their wits, flew everywhere in a panic. Yan Wangchun gave the groaning Zhao Shoutian a kick, then reached out and, quick as a flash, grabbed a flapping hen.

Yan Fuqiu copied him and caught one too.

The brothers said without a hint of guilt, "You stole our rabbit and beat our people, so these two chickens are your apology gift. If you come mess with our family again, forget the chickens—you won't keep a single animal."

They only had five chickens in the whole household, and they couldn't even bear to eat them themselves. Liu Jinhua wasn't about to let them take them. Hopping and hollering like a shaman in a trance, she chased after the Yan brothers, scratching and clawing at them.

The Yan men, no matter what, had more scruples than Zhao Shoutian. They couldn't very well hit an old woman like Liu Jinhua, so they just ran all over the yard holding the hens.

Zhao Gengnian, the headman of Daoxiang Village, arrived and saw this mess, and shouted angrily, "Everyone, stop right now!"

At his shout, the pursuers in the yard halted.

Liu Jinhua, hair all over the place, had a sly look and ran straight to Zhao Gengnian, crying and shouting, "Third Grandpa, you've got to stand up for us! The Yan family are a bunch of animals—they came to our house and started trouble for no reason, beat our whole family like this, and now they're stealing our chickens. They don't respect you as headman at all."

Chen Lanfang spat, "You thieving shrew, you'd twist black into white with a flick of your tongue. Our family doesn't stoop to such shamelessness like some. Don't think just because the headman is your kin you can spout nonsense in front of all these neighbors."

"You've got a glib tongue and can say whatever you please. Who knows if your boy's face wasn't bruised somewhere on his own, then you came to extort us because you think we're easy targets." With backing, Liu Jinhua spoke with more confidence.

Tiezhu and Tao'er, who should have been home, suddenly popped out from behind Zhao Gengnian. "That's a lie! He did it—we both saw it."

"Yeah, we saw it. Uncle Zhao Jinbao hit him, and they stole Tiezhu's rabbit too."

The group of kids who had been playing by the river all came forward to testify.

Liu Jinhua waved them off. "Shoo, shoo, what do you brats know? Say another word and I'll tear your mouths."

Chen Lanfang pulled the two children close to protect them. "Didn't I tell you to stay home and look after Third Uncle? Why did you come?"

Tiezhu shouted, "Third Uncle told us to come!"

"Enough, enough, I know what's going on. No more talking." The cacophony made Zhao Gengnian's ears ring, and his irritation grew.

The Zhao Dahe family, relying on their kinship with him, had caused trouble more than once, and he always had to clean up after them. This time, they'd really lost their minds, picking a fight with the Yan family. Didn't they realize Yan Shichang and his wife weren't the type to be pushed around?

Not to mention their youngest son was a scholar who could read—his wits were a thousand times sharper than theirs.

Earlier, Yan Shichang's eldest grandson, Tiezhu, had delivered a letter to his house. The letter explained the cause of the conflict between the Yan and Zhao families, ending with a hope that he would handle the matter fairly.

Zhao Gengnian recognized the handwriting as Yan Fengan's, who had once written spring couplets for him.

The script was clear and beautiful, not the work of a fool. When he asked Tiezhu, he learned that Yan Fengan's illness had mostly recovered and he would soon be able to move about.

Though the letter was tactfully worded, its message was plain: "My husband was hit, and I'm backing him up. You, as headman, figure it out."

Zhao Gengnian didn't want to offend the Yan family, but since he and Zhao Dahe were kin, showing any bias would invite criticism from the Zhao clan behind his back.

He planned to assess the situation upon arrival, but on the way, he ran into Yan Shichang's granddaughter, Tao'er. The tiny girl was sharp as a tack, gathering a group of kids from the riverbank to serve as witnesses for their family.

Kids wouldn't understand such matters; likely the scholar Yan thought words alone were insufficient and had her find witnesses.

Zhao Gengnian shook his head inwardly. With both witnesses and evidence, the Zhao family couldn't blame him for not helping.

His original plan was to have Zhao Shoutian apologize to Wen Xi and pay some silver to settle it, but the current situation made it hard to bring up compensation.

The Yan family had nothing but slightly messy hair and dusty clothes—no harm done. The Zhao family, by contrast, was a mess of swollen faces and bruises, looking seriously injured.

Zhao Dahe limped over to complain. "Uncle, look what those black-hearted Yans did to us! You've got to demand justice for us."

Zhao Gengnian shot him a glare. "The trouble started with your Zhao Shoutian. What justice can I demand for you?"

After scolding Zhao Dahe, he turned to Yan Shichang. "Zhao Shoutian did wrong, no doubt, but your family didn't have to hit so hard. We're all from the same village—settle things with words, not fists. What does a brawl look like?"

What should have been a simple problem had become a mess where he didn't know whose side to take.

Yan Shichang, having vented most of his anger, replied, "Since you've come, I'll drop the matter out of respect for you. It ends here."

It sounded like he was doing Zhao Gengnian a great favor, but both sides needed this way out, and Zhao Gengnian had no reason to refuse.

He waved his hand. "Your third son is worried, so head on back." Then he barked at the onlookers outside, "What are you staring at? Get going! You're all like fools who can't even break up a fight—this village's reputation will be ruined by you lot."

The crowd muttered, thinking that if anyone was ruining the village's reputation, it was the Zhao family, not them, who minded their own business.

Seeing the Yan family about to make off with the two chickens, Liu Jinhua started to wail again, but Zhao Gengnian shot her a cold, hard look. "Either give up the chickens or pay up—your choice."

Liu Jinhua threw a tantrum, refusing to offer any compensation.

The Yan family paid her no mind and turned to leave with the chickens. Just then, Tiezhu anxiously tugged at Yan Wangchun's arm. "Dad, what about my rabbit? I want that back too."

It was the first rabbit he'd ever caught; he wouldn't give it up easily.

Yan Wangchun quickly turned back. "Right, the rabbit!"

Zhao Jinbao, hiding inside the house, had been scared out of his wits by the fight. Hearing this, he tossed the dead rabbit out from the room and cried, "Mom, Dad, I'm scared—make them leave!"

What child wouldn't be frightened by such a scene? Lin Xuemei wiped her tears and went inside to comfort him. Only after the Yan family left did she start cursing. "I was cursed the day I married into this Zhao family. Every man in this house is useless. They do nothing but loaf around and bring trouble. Damn it all, why did I end up with such people?"

Zhao Zhangshun pretended to scold from inside. "What are you saying?"

He shot a glance at Zhao Shoutian and yelled, "You too—it's bad enough you usually go around messing with other people's kids, but now you've gone and messed with your own nephew."

"If it weren't for your family's Jinbao trying to snatch someone's rabbit, would I have gotten into a fight with them? Now you're acting all high and mighty in front of me—where was all that big talk when the fists were flying?" Zhao Shoutian clutched his swollen cheek, without a shred of respect for his older brother.

Zhao Zhangshun shot him a dirty look but said nothing.

In the end, the two brothers ended up arguing with each other, and Liu Jinhua wailed that she was cursed, while cursing the Yan family for being ruthless and black-hearted.

Zhao Dahe, as shameless as ever, blamed everyone, even his own kinsman Zhao Gengnian, for not backing him up.

One scene after another played out like a circus, nearly making Zhao Gengnian laugh in exasperation.

As far as he was concerned, the Yans hadn't hit them hard enough—that's why they still had the energy to whine and moan. Yan Fengan had passed the county exam at sixteen and was sure to pass the provincial exam sooner or later. Their two families weren't close enough for him to risk offending the Yans over a pack of clueless fools.

At dusk, the red sun slowly sank in the west, smoke from cooking fires drifted up from the village homes, and in the cool rustling breeze, voices drifted from outside the Yan family's courtyard gate.

"This time, let's see which blind fool dares to come looking for trouble at our place."

With so many people around, Chen Lanfang didn't dare show too much smugness—she only let that satisfied look show once she was almost home. For the sake of Yan Fengan's future, she and Yan Shichang had always been careful in the village, avoiding conflict unless absolutely necessary.

Lately, one misfortune after another had befallen their family, and the villagers were all waiting to see them make fools of themselves. The Yans had been holding in a bellyful of anger with no outlet, and just then, some clueless fool had to go and run right into them.

What was that Zhao Dahe family anyway? A pack of groveling, hypocritical scum daring to bully them—did they really think the Yans were pushovers?

Just thinking about how the Zhao family had been beaten so bad they were picking their teeth up off the ground filled Chen Lanfang with glee.

Her gaze swept over her family and finally landed on Wen Xi. She nodded in satisfaction. "Everyone did well today. You've all worked hard—tonight I'll cook something nice for you myself."

Li Wan chimed in with a smile, "Mother's cooking is the best in the house—we're in for a real treat tonight."

He Jin licked his lips and clung to Chen Lanfang's arm, coaxing, "Mother, I want to eat spicy rabbit pot."

"Alright, alright, whatever you say—but the rabbit was found by Tiezhu, so I'll have to ask my good grandson first."

If it had been alive, Tiezhu would have kept the rabbit and cared for it with all his heart, not letting anyone harm a single hair on it. But since it was already dead, it would be a waste not to eat it. Reluctantly, Tiezhu handed the rabbit to Chen Lanfang and urged, "Grandma, you have to make it taste really good."

Li Wan tapped his head. "You little foodie, don't you trust Grandma's cooking? Just wait and get ready for a feast."

Hearing their chatter, even Wen Xi couldn't help secretly looking forward to dinner tonight.