Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 242

Zhao Da'e glanced at Zhao Tiesheng, sighed, and didn't know what to say. Luckily, she was in a good mood, otherwise she really would have argued with him.

But also to avoid arguing, Zhao Da'e said to Zhao Tiesheng, "My great-grandfather's family has some people here, a hunting team, and they're eating right now. Why don't you go over and have a free meal? Nobody cooks for you at home anyway."

Zhao Tiesheng remained unmoved.

Zhao Da'e sighed, went to the window of the west room of the old house, and peeked inside: Holy crap! Zhao Tiegang was asleep.

hiss……

All he does every day is drink, eat, and sleep.

That's so "cool" it makes people envious and jealous.

Zhao Da'e knocked on the window, but Zhao Tiegang inside did not respond.

Zhao Da'e pushed the door open and went in, then immediately covered his nose with his hand: Ugh... this smell...

Zhao Da'e braced himself and went into the house, nudging Zhao Tiegang: "Third Uncle, get up, get up."

Zhao Tiegang was still half asleep. Luckily, he had a high alcohol tolerance, otherwise he wouldn't have woken up. He opened his eyes halfway, stared blankly for a while, and asked, "What's wrong, Big Goose?"

"Did you ask me about my uncle's brick-moving business?" Zhao Da'e asked, frowning.

"Oh dear, I forgot," Zhao Tiegang replied truthfully.

Zhao Tiegang had completely forgotten about asking Zhao Da'e's uncle to haul bricks after drinking too much alcohol.

"So when are you planning to go? Next spring?" Zhao Da'e said unhappily, "You have to go for half a day. After you go to my aunt's house, you can go to Tiezhuzi's house for a free meal. Don't forget the important business. First, we need to haul bricks, and in a few days we need to go to the back of the mountain to get some red sand. We need to get everything done before the New Year, otherwise we'll have to wait until the first month of the lunar calendar to start working!"

According to local custom in Dongtaizi, people generally do not work from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month (the Little New Year) until the 16th day of the first lunar month.

This custom has lasted for countless years and can be considered a kind of conventional moral rule.

Basically, the general rule is that from the Little New Year to around the Lantern Festival, every household enters New Year's mode. Unless there's something particularly urgent, everyone basically starts to completely relax and hibernate.

It's always during the Lunar New Year...

Therefore, it's impossible to haul bricks during the first month of the lunar calendar, let alone ask someone for a favor, which makes things even more difficult.

"Third Uncle, take this seriously. Go to my aunt's house this afternoon after you've sobered up and get this done. Otherwise, we might not be able to start work in the spring. I plan to get it started in the first month of the lunar calendar when it gets warmer. Besides, there's still a lot of work to be done."

Zhao Tiegang agreed, and then fell asleep again.

Zhao Da'e grumbled a few words, then came out with a pinched nose.

As soon as I entered the yard, I heard shouting and yelling from ahead. Judging from the situation, it seemed like the children were fighting.

Zhao Da'e frowned: Where did Zhao Yongbo go? Wasn't that the kid who can't fight?

There are a lot of naughty kids in the village, and fighting is a common occurrence.

However, when kids fight, they usually finish in the morning and are fine again in the afternoon, and generally no one cares.

Zhao Yongbo had no one to play with at home. Zhao Tiegang was drunk all the time, and Zhang Cuilan had run away, so there was even less anyone to take care of Zhao Yongbo.

Although Zhao Tingxu and Wang Guixiang are grandparents, they can only argue. They're useless in everything else. Theoretically, they should treat Zhao Yongbo a hundred or a thousand times better than Zhao Dage, but in reality, one of them is often not at home, and the other stays indoors all the time.

I often don't cook.

So their kindness towards their eldest grandson was basically just talk.

He might say he likes it, and he might like it in his heart, but it's all useless. It's all just empty talk. That's why Zhao Da'e was able to easily bribe Zhao Yongbo.

If Zhao Yongbo's grandparents had been exceptionally kind to him, treating him to the best of everything, and buying him whatever he wanted, wouldn't Zhao Yongbo not have turned against them so easily?

Seeing that Zhao Yongbo wasn't in the yard either, Zhao Da'e asked Zhao Tiesheng, "Where's my little brother?"

Zhao Tiesheng paused for a moment, then said, "It seems like he just went out to play with candied hawthorns."

Zhao Da'e frowned even more deeply.

Then Zhao Da'e quickly ran out the door, and as soon as he stepped out, he saw Zhao Yongbo running back from the front street, howling and crying loudly as he ran.

When Zhao Yongbo reached Zhao Dage, he cried and said, "Big sister, they hit me and stole my candied hawthorn."

Zhao Da'e looked at Zhao Yongbo, whose face was swollen like a meat bun, obviously having been beaten. He was covered in dirt, his cotton-padded jacket was torn, revealing the cotton inside, and the back of his hand was rubbed raw, with a layer of skin seemingly gone, and bleeding.

"What's the matter?"

"Well... it was Xiaobaozi and his friends. Big sister, you bought me some candied hawthorns, so I was eating them while I went out to play with them. They tried to take my candied hawthorns, and when I refused, they hit me," Zhao Yongbo said, crying. "Then I said, 'I don't want this candied hawthorn anymore. I still have twenty skewers at home. I'll just feed this one to the dog...'...and then they all beat me up."

"Does it hurt?" Zhao Da'e looked at Zhao Yongbo's hand; a layer of skin was gone, and although there wasn't much bleeding, it looked painful. Looking at his face, it was even more unrecognizable.

Kids usually fight by wrestling or something, but they do fight quite often.

Zhao Da'e had gotten into fights when he was a kid, but this was the first time he had ever seen Zhao Yongbo get beaten up so badly.

It's only because the child is young that he looks like this; otherwise, he would have been slapped dozens of times in the face.

This isn't just kids fighting; this is bullying.

Although Zhao Yongbo played with them, he was still quite young, only four or five years old. Zhao Yongbo was bright and learned to speak and walk earlier than other children, but he was weaker in both height and physique.

Moreover, while other people's children can at least have a proper meal, Zhao Yongbo is basically an orphan now, with no one to care for him, and he sometimes goes hungry and sometimes eats nothing.

That's just how things are at home. The only one left who gets to eat properly is Zhao Da'e...

If Zhang Cuilan were home, Zhao Da'e would never have bothered with her business. Even if Zhao Yongbo were beaten, Zhao Da'e wouldn't have said a word.

Since Zhang Cuilan wasn't home, Zhao Da'e felt that Zhao Yongbo had been beaten up rather pitifully. So he said, "Little brother, go home, grab your weapons, and fight them back."

So Zhao Dage and Zhao Yongbo ran home and grabbed a wooden stick.

The trees had just been planted at home. Zhao Tiesheng was chopping firewood in the front yard. There was a pile of relatively straight wooden sticks next to him. Zhao Da'e picked one up, and Zhao Yongbo also picked one up, and they were about to walk outside.

Zhao Tiesheng asked in confusion, "Where are you two going?"

Zhao Yongbo still had tears in his eyes, but now he was extremely excited. Finally, someone was going to avenge him. So he shouted, "Go beat Xiao Baozi! I'm going to beat him to death!"

Zhao Tiesheng was taken aback: "You got into a fight? Don't fight with a wooden stick, what if you poke someone's eye and blind them?"

Zhao Da'e nodded: "Don't worry, little brother, just hit his thigh later."

Zhao Yongbo nodded immediately.

Before Zhao Tiesheng could react, Zhao Dage and Zhao Yongbo had already run out.

"How many people are there, Xiao Baozi and his group?" Zhao Da'e asked.

Before a fight breaks out, you need to figure out how many people are on the other side.

“There were four or five, but the ones who hit me were Xiao Baozi and his little brother Xiao Liangzi,” Zhao Yongbo said.

Zhao Da'e narrowed his eyes. Xiao Liangzi was Xiao Baozi's second uncle's child, and he was seven or eight years old. It seemed that these two brothers were deliberately bullying Zhao Yongbo.

"Where is it?"

"Right in front of Xiaobaozi's house."

Zhao Da'e was stunned for a moment: "It's right in front of Xiao Baozi's house, and his parents didn't come out to do anything about it?"

After all, the kids were fighting like this right in front of their house. Zhao Da'e could hear it from far away, but Xiao Baozi's parents didn't hear it?

Simply incredible.

"I don't know, I didn't see his parents. I only saw his eldest sister, second sister, and third sister," Zhao Yongbo replied.

"Nobody cares anywhere?" Zhao Da'e's expression grew increasingly grim.

“His older sisters took sides, otherwise I wouldn’t have let Xiaobao and his brother ride on me and beat me up…” Zhao Yongbo said, feeling aggrieved.

He's never been treated like this in his entire life.

Zhao Yongbo felt that he hadn't done anything wrong. They were having a good time together, playing together every day. Although they sometimes fought, it wasn't a frequent occurrence.

Zhao Yongbo's personality is still somewhat like Zhang Cuilan's. He's a bit cold-blooded, but even so, he never hit Xiao Baozi and his brother.

After all, Xiao Baozi is already eight or nine years old, and there are two of them, plus someone taking sides. Zhao Yongbo is left with no choice but to take the beating.

But what angered Zhao Yongbo the most wasn't just being beaten. He was often bullied when playing, but this time Xiao Baozi said: "Zhao Yongbo, you go home and bring me all the candied hawthorns, or I'll beat you until you beg for mercy."

Zhao Yongbo is of a higher generation than Xiao Baozi. Generally speaking, his family tells him that Xiao Baozi is his nephew. Naturally, Zhao Yongbo cannot call Xiao Baozi his ancestor.

So Zhao Yongbo, who didn't want to give out the candied hawthorns but also wouldn't back down, got a good beating.

Zhao Yongbo was beaten for more than ten minutes, until he was too weak to fight back. Otherwise, if Xiao Baozi hadn't been paying attention, Zhao Yongbo might have thrown up a handful of dirt, causing Xiao Baozi to squint, and Zhao Yongbo would still have been getting beaten.

"Also, big sister. Xiao Baozi said everyone in our family deserves a beating. He also said that you were lucky enough to beat him up last time because he wasn't paying attention. He'll keep an eye on you from now on and beat you to death."

Zhao Da'e said coldly, "Look how capable he is. Give him a good beating later."

Zhao Da'e didn't suspect Zhao Yongbo of lying. After all, the last time Zhao Da'e went home, she got into a fight with Xiao Baozi on the way, so Xiao Baozi held a grudge and wanted to get revenge on Zhao Da'e, which Zhao Da'e knew.

He's just a little kid who's only a few years old, and he thinks he can get revenge? What a pipe dream!

The two quickly arrived at Xiaobaozi's house on the front street, but Xiaobaozi wasn't at his house; he was playing in front of several neighbors' houses downstairs.

Zhao Da'e squinted and ran towards Xiao Baozi.

Zhao Yongbo, dragging a stick along, followed after them.

When Xiao Baozi saw Zhao Da'e coming with a stick, he and Xiao Liangzi quickly ran home.

but……

He ran home, and right there he was, face to face with Zhao Da'e!

Without saying a word, Zhao Da'e struck Xiao Baozi on the thigh with a stick. Xiao Baozi screamed and fell to the ground.

Zhao Yongbo ran up from behind and hit Xiaobaozi on the head with a stick.

The next second, blood appeared on Xiaobaozi's face.

Little Baozi covered his head, saw that he was bleeding, and ran home screaming in pain.

Zhao Da'e was stunned. Before she could even deal with him, she let him go.

"Little brother, hit my thigh next time. Don't hit my head, hitting my head can cause serious injury."

Although Zhao Da'e knew that Zhao Yongbo's blow wasn't very strong—after all, how much strength could a four-year-old child have—the wooden stick had branches that scratched Xiao Baozi, causing his head to bleed.

Xiao Baozi ran away, but Xiao Liangzi was still there. Zhao Da'e rushed over to grab Xiao Liangzi, but just as he got close, the stick was snatched away.

Zhao Da'e looked up and saw that the person who had snatched the stick was Xiao Baozi's father, Zhao Yongyuan.

Before Zhao Da'e could say anything, Zhao Yongyuan went up and slapped him across the face.

Zhao Da'e immediately felt a ringing in his ears.

Zhao Yongbo was then also thrown to the ground.

Zhao Da'e paused for a moment, squinted his eyes and said nothing: "Hehe, you watch the show when your son beats someone up, but you come out when your son gets beaten up?"

The kids are fighting, and you, the adult, are getting involved.

"Why did you hit my little treasure? His head is bleeding!" Zhao Yongyuan scolded, his face contorted with rage.

Zhao Da'e pointed at Zhao Yongyuan and said, "When kids fight, do adults take sides?"

"You think you're right to hit someone? Look what you've done to Xiaobaozi, his head is all cracked, you good-for-nothing..." Zhao Yongyuan still wanted to come over and hit Zhao Da'e.

Zhao Da'e pulled Zhao Yongbo along: "Little brother, start crying now..."

Zhao Yongbo let out a loud scream and started wailing.

Zhao Yongyuan was stunned for a moment, and when he looked again, Zhao Da'e had already disappeared.

Zhao Da'e ran home in a flash, ignoring Zhao Tiesheng's questions from behind, and went straight to the east room of the old house, kicked the door open, and went inside.

Wang Guixiang was completely bewildered. Just as she was about to curse, Zhao Da'e walked right past her and went into the inner room.

Zhao Tingxu had drunk some wine at noon and was leaning against the headboard smoking.

"Grandpa, Grandpa... Old Deng, get up!!!"

Zhao Tingxu: ? ? ?

What the hell? ? ?

Grandpa's perfectly fine, so why is she calling me "Old Deng" without saying a word? This girl is outrageous!

"My little brother got into a fight..." Zhao Da'e recounted what had just happened: "Damn it, a few of us got into a fight, and Zhao Yongyuan, who's over forty, beat up me and my little brother. My little brother's lip is all swollen!!!"

Upon hearing Zhao Da'e's words, Zhao Tingxu, instead of being angry because Zhao Da'e had just called him "Old Deng," immediately retorted, "What the hell? Kids fighting, and this adult is hitting them? There's no law at all! Those kids in his family, they're just like my grandpa..."

Zhao Tingxu's father and Zhao Yongyuan's great-grandfather were brothers. Zhao Tingxu's father was the fourth son, and Zhao Yongyuan's great-grandfather was the eldest son.

From Zhao Tingxu's perspective, they're not beyond the fifth degree of kinship; they're quite close.

Besides, it's perfectly normal for kids to fight, and it's normal to call their parents. But it's really unheard of for an adult to physically assault someone. If an adult does lay a hand on someone, the nature of the situation changes.