“Those guys looked menacing and didn’t seem like respectable businessmen. Plus, I just saw a really long scar on one of their hands! Even though ice shoveling is a dangerous business, how could someone get such a long scar?”

Niu Da thought it made a lot of sense, so he took another path.

In the afternoon, Niu Yong and Xiao Heng returned with several other children from the village who had taken the exam.

Chen Yu put all the ice she bought into the lobby, along with a few cantaloupes and melons from the town, and the lobby immediately became much cooler.

Gradually, they forgot about the out-of-towners selling ice at Butcher Wang's shop.

When two members of the Niu family passed the imperial examinations and became scholars, some people were envious and others were jealous, but everyone knew that the Niu family had bought a lot of ice.

Several farm women had just returned from working in the fields, and it was incredibly hot. One woman, who was four or five years older than Chen Yu, said in a somewhat envious tone:

"Aunt Cui, Sister Li, Little Sister Mo, did you see Niu Da and his wife loading half a truckload of ice just now?"

She fanned herself and plopped down on the grass.

The old woman, known as Aunt Cui, said, "I saw it, but he covered it with something. How do you know it's ice? In this sweltering heat, where would they get so much ice?"

Mo's younger sister said, "It looks like ice. When Sister Wang and I were working here just now, their oxcart passed by, and it was quite refreshing!"

"Why is their family buying so much ice? Could it be something good?"

Several families in Niushan Village were setting off firecrackers.

The firecrackers crackled and popped.

"They're setting off firecrackers! Let's go see!" The first to speak was Sister Wang. Several women hurried along, and seeing a crowd gathered in front of the Niu family's house, they asked:

"Sister, what's going on at their house? It's not a holiday, so why are they setting off so many firecrackers and putting up couplets on their door?"

She was asking about Madam Tan, who replied, "They have two scholars in their family! The Niu family's life here is getting better and better!"

"That's wonderful news! It's so hot today, let's go in and congratulate them!" said Sister Wang.

These women weren't particularly close to Shen Yu, but they weren't exactly enemies either.

Dozens of people suddenly rushed in, making Shen Yu feel rather uncomfortable, but she had no choice but to greet them.

Mo Xiaomei was a newlywed who married a young man named Niu Pei'er from the village. Their home was quite far away. In all her seventeen years of life, she had never seen so many ice blocks or eaten such refreshing fruits in the summer. She thought to herself, "The Niu family is really different now that they have money!"

I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Niu Da and Niu Yong were busy greeting the guests who came to offer their congratulations. They hadn't originally planned to hold a banquet, so they were inevitably a little at a loss for what to do.

Mo Xiaomei looked at the two brothers, Niu Da and Niu Yong. Although Niu Da already had several children, and his skin was somewhat dark from years of hard work, he was thirty years old. However, his appearance and features were still quite handsome, and his dark skin added to his masculine charm.

Sixteen-year-old Niu Yong was quite handsome and fair-skinned, with the air of a refined gentleman. Mo Xiaomei, who was also quite pretty, couldn't help but regret that she had married too early.

She looked at Chen Yu again. Although she was pretty, she was still an "old woman" at the age of twenty-seven. In Mo Xiaomei's eyes, she was an old woman.

Little Fu Bao's small eyes darted back and forth between Mo Xiao Mei and her mother, as if she had some mischievous idea.

"Niu Da, have you heard about what happened last night?" Xiao Niu Li asked, pulling Niu Da aside.

"What's up?"

"Such a big thing happened in town, and you didn't know?" Xiao Niu Li said.

"Although Jia Dafu's family moved, they still have an old house, right? Jia Dafu's mother and brother's family are still in the old house, along with seven or eight servants. Last night, more than ten members of the family were gone. Not only were all their money and antiques looted, but I heard that the women inside all died from ruptured anuses, and even Jia Dafu's three-year-old niece wasn't spared." "That scene was terrifying! Didn't you hear about it when you went to town?"

"Well, everyone who went to town today was more concerned about whose family had produced a scholar; nobody was really discussing this!" "What does 'anal rupture' mean?"

"This is just what men and women do! I wonder who did it! This town is probably not safe these days. Your house is so big, and you have so many women in your family, but so few people in your household. You should be careful!"

Niu Li said.

Niu Da frowned slightly: "Thank you for reminding me, brother!"

The guests who came to offer their congratulations only ate some chilled fruits and left, leaving only Niu Da's family.

Niu Da told his family about it.

Little Fu Bao squinted his eyes and smiled, "Daddy, don't be afraid, don't be afraid! They can't get in! Little Fu Bao is a little lucky star!"

Niu Da patted Xiao Fubao's head, assuming she was just trying to comfort him.

Xiao Heng said, "Father, I think we should bring those two dogs from the vegetable garden over. They could even serve as guard dogs!" He continued, "Since we live in the village, if a thug tries to break in and rob us, the villagers probably won't just stand by and do nothing."

Niu Yongdao said, "I don't think they'll come. If they do, they'll be the ones who suffer!"

Sure enough, in the pitch-black night, accompanied by the chirping of cicadas, a group of people wearing masks and night clothes that matched the darkness stealthily sneaked into Niushan Village.

"I heard there's a wealthy family in Niushan Village, but I don't know where they live. I do know their shop, though. I killed the night watchman tonight, and that's how I managed to steal this much money!" said the leader of the bandits.

Among the dozen or so henchmen following behind him was a young man who had witnessed his boss commit murder and was trembling with fear the entire way.

"Brother, didn't we say before that we would only rob money and not kill people?"

"It's not like this is the first time we've done this, why are you still so cowardly? You little brat, last night when we told you to go on the operation, you pretended to be sick at home. Now that we've got the government under control, what are you afraid of? You're not planning to become a traitor, are you?"

"That's what the eldest brother said."

Another man in black said, "Boss, he's just young and doesn't know how to handle things. Once he pulls off this job, he'll be bolder and won't be afraid of trouble anymore!"

Another man in black said, "Brother, wait a minute, haven't we been here before?"

The eldest brother, who was in charge, said:

"I think I've been here before!"

Seven or eight men, their footsteps firm and powerful, clearly skilled in martial arts, exclaimed, "This is really strange! There's no fog here, and there are only a few roads. How come we can't get out? It's like a ghost!"

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