Chapter 37 To strike a snake, strike its vital spot.

Liu Zhixia took out a hardwood stick that she had prepared in advance from her space, appeared silently behind Wang Laizi, and delivered a clean and swift blow to the back of his head!

"Thump!"

Wang Laizi didn't even utter a sound; his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight down.

She coldly kicked him with her toe to make sure the good-for-nothing was completely unconscious before turning around and knocking on her brother's and younger brother's doors.

“Gotcha.” Liu Zhixia said succinctly.

The two brothers were still a little sleepy, but when she led them to the backyard and they saw Wang Laizi lying on the ground and the pile of flammable materials next to him, their faces instantly turned black!

"That son of a bitch, he actually dared to set fire to this place!" Liu Xiangyang was so angry that his veins bulged.

Liu Xuejun was even more eager to get started: "Sister! Tie him up and send him to the brigade! This time he's caught red-handed, he's definitely going to jail!"

“No.” Liu Zhixia shook her head. “To strike a snake, you must strike its vital spot. Sending it directly to the authorities would be too easy on Gu Mansheng, who is behind it all.”

Liu Xuejun asked, puzzled, "Then what can we do? We can't just keep an eye on him every day, can we?"

Liu Zhixia smiled smugly, her eyes gleaming mischievously: "So, I'm going to make him avoid anyone from the Liu family from now on. Come on, follow me up the mountain!"

The two brothers carried Wang Laizi and followed Liu Zhixia all the way to the grave of the old lady of the Liu family in the dark.

After throwing the man in front of the grave, Liu Zhixia told the two brothers to retreat to a distance.

She pinched Wang Laizi's philtrum and saw him slowly wake up, still in a daze. She immediately whispered in his ear in a sinister, eerie tone, "Wang—Lai—zi—, if you dare burn down my house, I'll drag you to hell—!"

Before she could finish speaking, she raised the stick and struck him hard again!

Wang Laizi had just opened his eyes when everything went black, and he completely lost consciousness.

The two brothers in the distance exchanged a glance, and both saw two words in each other's eyes: "It's satisfying!"

The next day, sure enough, rumors spread throughout the brigade that Wang Laizi had "seen a ghost in the middle of the night."

These days, nobody believes in ghosts and demons; everyone thinks he's talking nonsense.

Wang Laizi was sitting on the edge of the field, bragging to someone, when Zhang Xiuying rushed over, hands on her hips, pointing her finger at his nose and cursing, "My old woman loved Zhixia the most when she was alive! You heartless bastard, if you dare to touch her, I'll be the first to not let you off the hook! Let me tell you, next time I won't just send you a warning in a dream, I'll come directly to take your dog's life!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Laizi looked as if he had seen a ghost, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant!

Those around them were dumbfounded.

Because many other people had said similar things to Wang Laizi, just like Zhang Xiuying, and Wang Laizi would always act like a scoundrel with a grin.

But today, he was so scared that he didn't dare to say a word and ran away as fast as he could!

Could he have really encountered something in the mountains?

Wang Laizi hadn't run far when Gu Mansheng stopped him.

"Useless! What happened to what you promised? Why is Liu Zhixia still perfectly fine?"

"Grandma, I really did set a fire! But I... I encountered a ghost!" Wang Laizi cried, his face contorted with grief.

"A ghost?" Gu Mansheng scoffed. "I think you're all bravado, but not lust! Let me tell you, if this doesn't work out, we're done!"

Thinking of Gu Mansheng's allure that night, Wang Laizi steeled his resolve and gritted his teeth, saying, "Fine! I'll think of another way! Give me some time; I need to find a Taoist priest to draw a talisman, and then I'll give it another try!"

"You'd better hurry!" Gu Mansheng gave him a disgusted look and turned to leave.

Zhao Dongmei had just picked up her dropped items from the bushes when she saw the person walk away, and then slowly crawled out of the bushes.

Looking in the direction Gu Mansheng left, his eyes were cold and complicated.

Set the house on fire?

This capitalist's daughter has a heart more venomous than a snake!

Just then, Liu Zhixia and Xu Zhihong returned from the mountains, carrying wild vegetables and chatting and laughing.

Upon seeing Zhao Dongmei, the two greeted each other warmly.

Xu Zhihong joked, "Dongmei, standing here in a daze, who are you waiting for?"

Zhao Dongmei snapped out of her reverie, glanced thoughtfully at Liu Zhixia, and then shook her head: "It's nothing. Are you getting ready to go back? Let's go together."

Xu Zhihong nodded: "Yes, we've dug up enough for us to eat today."

She turned to Liu Zhixia: "Comrade Liu, let's make another appointment next time."

Liu Zhixia smiled and nodded: "Okay, let's do it together next time."

After saying that, Liu Zhixia picked up her basket and turned to go home.

Watching her retreating figure, Zhao Dongmei turned to Xu Zhihong and asked, "Have you been getting quite close to her lately?"

Xu Zhihong nodded with a smile: "Yes. I've found that Comrade Liu is a very nice person, kind-hearted. Before, I saw her always chasing after Lu Huaiyuan and ignoring us, so I thought she looked down on people. Now I realize that she's just timid."

After hearing this, Zhao Dongmei sneered: "Her? Cowardly? I don't think so."

Xu Zhihong took Zhao Dongmei's arm and said, "I think you have some prejudice against Comrade Liu! As the great man said, we should be realistic and not be prejudiced. Besides, you've had good luck following Comrade Liu! Look, the wild vegetables we dug today are so fresh and delicious!"

Zhao Dongmei glanced at the wild vegetables in the basket, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"Yeah……"

She paused for a moment before saying, "That's true, I haven't heard of her having any bad habits. Maybe... I'm just prejudiced."

The pickled vegetables are ready.

Liu Zhixia opened the jar and took a little for her family to try.

The moment it was tasted, the whole family gave it rave reviews.

Even the most discerning Shen Hongmei was speechless this time, instead looking on with anticipation: "This will definitely sell! Little sister, your craftsmanship is amazing! It's even better than last year's!"

Liu Zhixia smiled and said, "That's right, the water from the mountains and the vegetables grown there are good for the soil."

"Alright!" Zhang Xiuying's face darkened, and she immediately lowered her voice, "Don't tell anyone about this! If anyone asks, just say you're a good cook!"

She was terrified that her daughter would let something slip and give others leverage against them, especially Lu Jianping, who was hoping for trouble to happen to their family.

Liu Zhixia quickly covered her mouth: "Okay, Mom, I won't mention it anymore. Tomorrow, my older brother and I will go to town to sell them. You can take care of yourselves for lunch."

“No problem,” Zhang Xiuying said. “Once we’ve finished the work in the fields, your father and I don’t plan to clear any more wasteland. We want to find some other work to earn money and try to pay off our debts this year.”

"Then let's all work hard and live a good life!"

The family members all wore long-lost, hopeful smiles.

In the afternoon, Liu Zhixia and Shen Hongmei divided the pickled vegetables into small jars, filling a total of twenty-one jars, and prepared to test the waters first.

To make it easier to sample the food, she took a machete and cut down a bamboo stalk to make bamboo skewers.

When Liu Xiangyang got home and saw this, he immediately went over and picked up the bamboo pole.

"Little sister, why are you cutting this?"

"I'll be selling pickled vegetables tomorrow, and I want people to have a taste. It's unhygienic to eat with your hands, and it's disgusting to share a bite with chopsticks. I'll make them into bamboo skewers, one skewer per piece of pickled vegetable, clean and convenient."

Liu Xiangyang gave her a thumbs up: "Little sister, you're so smart! I never thought of that!"

Liu Shouren patted his son on the shoulder: "Stop talking nonsense, let's do this, you and I!"

While preparing dinner, the father and son quickly shaved a large bunch of bamboo skewers and tied them with rope for easy carrying.