Chapter 76 You're a Good Bird

Seeing that Bai Zilin remained silent, Village Chief Wu assumed he had taken it to heart and continued, "Think about it. Given your family's situation, and hers being an orphan with no family, what if you encounter difficulties in the future? How can you manage without family support? If you marry my Xincao and become my son-in-law, we'll be family. No matter what difficulties you encounter in the future, your uncle will always be there to support you. I can say that as my son-in-law, you're like half a son. You'll be able to walk around Erdaogou Village with your head held high, and no one will dare to bully you."

“You just finished building your house, and Liu Ye has already built hers. I bet you paid for it, right? She’s obviously taking advantage of you. Can’t you see what kind of person she is? If it were my Xincao, she would never do such a thing. Think about it carefully, and see if what I’m saying makes sense. Don’t let Liu Ye fool you again!”

Bai Zilin couldn't listen anymore: "Village Chief Wu, I appreciate your kindness, but I can't agree to the marriage. Liu Ye and I were betrothed since childhood, and I know her very well. She's not the kind of person you're describing. I built the house for her willingly, and it will be our shared home in the future. There's no question of anyone deceiving anyone."

Village Chief Wu was furious that Bai Zilin was so ungrateful for his blunt refusal and even argued with him. He gritted his teeth and nodded, "Fine, I'm the one who bit the hand that feeds me. Just pretend I didn't say anything about the marriage proposal. No need to send anything, I'm busy at home!"

Village Chief Wu angrily flung his sleeves and turned to leave. Bai Zilin curled his lip in disdain, but still escorted Village Chief Wu to the door before slamming the gate shut behind him.

Village Chief Bai turned around and glared fiercely at Bai Zilin's house. He spat on the ground and gritted his teeth, cursing, "Bai Zilin, you just wait! You look down on my daughter, but I look down on you too! Humph! You've offended me, and I'll make sure you suffer!"

Village Chief Wu looked at Bai Zilin's house and grinned wickedly. "Hmph, go ahead and build it. It'll all be for me!"

After seeing Village Chief Wu off, Bai Zilin went straight to the kitchen. He saw Liu Ye making noodles, so he went to wash the pot and boil water.

Liu Ye asked curiously, "Brother Bai, what's Village Chief Wu here for?"

Bai Zilin sighed and said, "He came to propose marriage to his daughter. He said his daughter had taken a liking to me, but I rejected her. Don't worry. Sigh, now I've offended Village Chief Wu again. I'm really worried about you being alone in the village. Why don't you go to the town and stay at an inn? It's safer for you to stay at the main inn than in the village, and I'll feel more at ease then."

When Liu Ye heard what that was all about, she thought, "If we have a house but don't stay at an inn, then what's the point of building the house? Besides, we can't hide forever. If we offend Village Chief Wu, so be it. We're not afraid at all: 'No need. I'll stay in the village. If anyone dares to bully me, I'll take a knife and chop them up. Let them come if they're not afraid of death!'"

"However, hehehe, Brother Bai, you're really attracting a lot of attention. First there was Zhang Fang, then Wang Dani, and now the village chief's daughter has taken a liking to you too. You've fallen into a pile of peach blossoms."

Bai Zilin shook his head helplessly. He didn't want so many unwanted suitors; he only needed her. "Alright, I know you're headstrong and won't listen to me. Well, you should also be careful of Village Chief Wu. That old man is no good!"

Liu Ye thought to herself, "I'm not a good person either. If anyone dares to bully me, I'll become a bad person, a ruthless killer, and chop off their legs and their heads! If the authorities arrest me, I'll run into the mountains and hide in my space for the rest of my life. Anyway, I have food and drink in my space, so I'll never starve. It's just that I might be a little lonely."

Village Chief Wu returned home with a dark face. His wife, Granny Wu, immediately realized that his marriage proposal had failed: "Husband, did Hunter Bai not agree?"

Enraged, Village Chief Wu threw off his shoes, climbed onto the kang (heated brick bed), sat cross-legged, and sulked: "No, that bastard Bai Zilin actually looks down on our daughter. No, he doesn't respect me, the village chief, so he won't agree to the marriage. That son of a bitch, I already have a plan to deal with him, so don't ask around!"

As expected, Granny Wu replied, "I know, husband. Our son has brought back some wine from town. I'll fry some eggs for you two tonight, and you can have a couple of drinks."

Village Chief Wu immediately nodded with a happy expression: "Changgui is back. By the way, isn't he going south with his employer the day after tomorrow?"

Granny Wu said with a smile, "That's right, they can earn 25 taels of silver in one trip, which is more than last year. Their boss is really generous. When Changgui comes back from the south this time, I will arrange a wife for him. The daughter of Old Wang in our east end is quite good. Alright, alright, blah blah blah..."

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wu quickly told her to stop: "What Wang family girl, Zhang family girl? They're all dirt poor and destitute. They're not good enough for our family. Oh, don't worry about it. I already have someone in mind."

When Granny Wu heard this, she was about to ask who it was when she was glared at fiercely by Village Chief Wu, which frightened her so much that she quickly went to cook.

With a wicked grin, Village Chief Hao crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Don't let his noble appearance fool you; he's actually smarter and more resourceful than me, and he even knows kung fu. He can scale any wall, no matter how high! Hmph! Once his son returns from the south, he'll have him sleep with Liu Ye, and then he'll devise a plan to send that ungrateful Bai Zilin to jail. His house and his land will be his!

Bai Zilin, who was eating noodles, suddenly felt an itch in his nose. He quickly turned his back and sneezed twice: "Achoo, achoo, one sneeze and someone will think, two sneezes and someone will curse. It must be Village Chief Wu cursing me!"

Liu Ye added another mouthful of noodles to his bowl: "I've finished eating, Brother Bai, you've eaten too. You know what, I've never seen what Village Chief Wu's daughter looks like. I heard she's the village beauty. Someone who's worthy of the village beauty must be pretty, at least not like Zhang Fang..."

"I've met Village Chief Wu's son. I think his name is Wu Changgui. He's not ugly, and he looks honest and unassuming, the kind of person you wouldn't kick out a fart from. But you never know. As the old saying goes, you can draw the skin and flesh but not the bones; you can know a person's face but not their heart. After all, he has a father like Village Chief Wu. He's been influenced by him since he was a child. It's very unlikely that he'll be a good person."

"Pfft!" Bai Zilin pulled the noodles that had been spat out of his nose and threw them on the table, suppressing a laugh as he asked, "So, in your eyes, am I a good bird or a bad bird?"

Liu Ye looked at him seriously and said, "Brother Bai, you're a good bird."

"Hahaha, hahaha, yes, my bird is good, hahaha, hahaha, I'm a good bird..." Bai Zilin clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he was doubled over.

Seeing him laughing like that, Liu Ye touched her nose in bewilderment. Was what she said really that funny?