Chapter 96 Helper, what's the matter? Wait for me to come back.
"ah--!"
Lei Shan let out a scream even louder than his wife's when she was thrown away. He covered his face, which was almost twisted from the blow, in disbelief, and glared at her angrily: "You dare hit me—!?"
The surrounding villagers/disaster victims were thinking to themselves, "Didn't you ask to be hit?"
They had never seen anyone make such an outrageous request before.
Lei Yan was just fulfilling your perverted demands.
"Lei, Yan!!!"
Lei Shan spat out a mouthful of blood, his expression contorted as he got up and charged at Lei Yan in a fit of rage.
After Lei Yan awakened his superpower, he became much stronger and was not afraid of being unable to defeat Lei Shan.
Unexpectedly, before Lei Yan could throw another punch, the aggressive Lei Shan suddenly staggered and fell flat on his face with a 'bang' to everyone's bewildered expressions.
Villagers: ? ? ? Is this some kind of staged accident scam?
Lei Yan was also startled. He looked suspiciously at the foot of Lei Mountain and noticed that a small section of vine had appeared there at some point.
Lei Shan probably tripped over those vines just now...
wrong.
Lei Yan went over and touched Lei Shan, finding that he had been knocked unconscious.
Lei Yan: "..."
Is it that crispy?
While still clutching her buttocks and groaning, Zhao realized something was wrong and shouted anxiously to Lei Shan, "Husband, what's wrong? Get up!"
Once Lei Yan confirmed that Lei Shan wasn't faking unconsciousness, he dragged the man out and threw him in front of Zhao Shi, coldly warning, "Take him and get out of here before I make a move! Don't bother us again."
"How dare you speak like that—" Zhao looked up and cursed angrily, but shrank back when she met Lei Yan's cold gaze.
Suddenly realizing that no one would be there to support her after Lei Shan fainted, Zhao's voice weakened.
“Your older brother is so heavy, how can I move him? He fainted at your house, why don’t you help him inside to rest, and we’ll leave when he wakes up…”
Lei Yan felt increasingly annoyed as he watched Zhao Shi's eyes gleam more and more as she spoke.
Looking up, he saw a man in the group of disaster victims who was about the same size as Lei Shan. He picked a radish that looked similar from the vegetable garden and handed it to the man.
“Take him back to your cave, and the radish is yours.”
The man's eyes lit up, and he quickly took the radish, patting his chest and promising, "Leave it to me."
He didn't mind the dirt, stuffed the muddy radish into his clothes, tightened his belt, and, amidst Zhao's exclamation, hoisted Lei Shan onto his back and strode away.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Zhao looked back at Lei Yan and his wife, who had cold faces, and Lu Chen, who was making faces behind them. She stomped her feet in frustration and left with the words "You just wait" before hurrying off to chase after them.
Lu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
They're finally gone.
·
At the same time, while everyone else's attention was drawn to Lei Shan and his wife, Zhou quietly made her way to Giant Wood Square.
When she arrived, Xiao Fangyuan was playing with other children at the entrance of the cave.
When Zhou saw her grandson, her eyes lit up. She called out "Yuanyuan" and rushed into the cave.
The women, who were preparing breakfast, immediately became alert upon hearing the noise. "What are you doing!"
The person who recognized Zhou shouted, "Sister-in-law Liu! Liu Yu! Come quick, someone is trying to rob your Fangyuan!"
The Liu family rushed out of the cave and saw Zhou Shi being blocked by the other women in the village, still stubbornly calling out Fang Yuan's name. They were so angry that their faces turned blue.
After Liu Yu took Fang Yuan back, Aunt Liu and Zhou Shi got into another fight.
Zhu Qiao'er, the daughter-in-law of the Liu family, has been married into the family for almost two years but has not yet given birth to a son or daughter. Their family only has Fang Yuan as their grandson. When they discovered that the Fang family was trying to take the child away, the Liu family felt like they wanted to tear Zhou Shi to pieces.
But for the Fang family now, Fang Yuan is their last hope for continuing their family line, and also their bargaining chip to restrain the Liu family.
Even though Zhou's face was scratched raw, she still insisted on taking Fang Yuan away. If he refused, she would make a scene and act like a rogue.
When Li Tie received the news and came to mediate, he was extremely annoyed by the disturbance.
The argument lasted for almost an hour before Zhou was forcibly driven away by the villagers.
Even so, the Liu family was still both angry and fearful.
Liu Daxi said with a stern face, "From today onwards, Yuanyuan must never be left alone, and it's best if she doesn't leave the cave, lest the Fang family still won't give up."
Aunt Liu was filled with hatred, but she still comforted Fang Yuan's frightened daughter, who was anxiously holding her, saying, "Keep an eye on the child! Don't worry, I will never let the Fang family take Yuan Yuan away!"
Liu Yuqiang smiled and said, "Thank you, Mother."
She had initially felt conflicted about Fang Hu, but now she couldn't care less about that man anymore.
She absolutely cannot lose Yuanyuan.
Liu Yu gritted her teeth. If the Fang family came again, she would fight them to the death!
·
Li Tie asked Lei Yan and the other man with a worried expression, "Have you contacted Lu Xuan? Have you told him about the people who came into the mountains?"
The two shook their heads.
Lei Yan said, "It's not easy for Ah Xuan to collect supplies all by himself. We don't want him to worry about these trivial matters."
Li Tie frowned and said, "I tried to contact him before, but he didn't answer my calls. I thought maybe he had run into some trouble."
Lei Yan and Lu Qing exchanged a glance, their expressions subtle.
Lu Qing said tactfully, "With Ah Xuan's abilities, nothing will happen to him."
Li Tie: "..." So he deliberately ignored his calls?
Li Tie was speechless, but at the same time he seemed to vaguely understand what Lu Xuan meant.
Ultimately, he is the village chief.
If it's a natural disaster that can't be handled, that's one thing, but what can Lu Xuan do if it's a man-made disaster brought about by the disaster victims?
These were not Lu Xuan's responsibilities in the first place.
Li Tie sighed deeply.
He understood the reasoning, but deep down he couldn't help but hope that Lu Xuan could come back soon.
It would be best to show the vampire vines like they did to intimidate the villagers back then, and scare the disaster victims into submission, which would save him a lot of trouble.
...
The disaster victims, who had been causing a ruckus in the morning, did not come back to cause trouble in the evening because they went to catch fish at the waterfall.
Just as Li Tie was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he learned early the next morning that the disaster victims had returned.
Li Tie felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and almost cursed.
Fortunately, this time it is the relatively vulnerable middle-aged and elderly people who have returned, and teenagers who have no elders to rely on.
They weren't there to take advantage of others; they just hoped to find some work and earn a living.
Li Tie finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that they were not the same people as Lei Shan and his group. He didn't make things difficult for them and took them in as previously agreed.
The hired disaster victims were mentally prepared to be exploited to the point of exhaustion, but once they actually started working, they found that the situation was much better than they had expected.
No, it should be great!
Water can be drawn directly from the bamboo water pipes adjacent to the fields;
Dry ice smoke was used to cool the surrounding area while weeding;
When you get tired, you can take a break, and during the break you can even drink chilled mung bean soup or plum juice!
The villagers also provided them with a meal. The food was not as good as what the villagers ate themselves, but it had rice, vegetables, and soup. The soup was even meat soup, which could replenish their oil and moisture!
They figured that with such good benefits, there wouldn't be any extra compensation.
When they left after a busy day, everyone received a pound of coarse grains and a large apple/pear.
The fruits in the villagers' hands tasted excellent. The apples and pears were quite large, and one was enough to fill someone with a small appetite. Moreover, these two kinds of fruits could be stored for a longer time than other fruits. Although they were fruits, they could be used as life-saving food in critical moments.
When they returned to the cave, the workers all looked dazed.
The others, seeing this, thought they had been tricked by the people of Yunlu Village.
The disaster victims who were helping out shared their experiences of the day, and then showed them their wages.
Other disaster victims: "!!!"
Weren't they supposed to be treated like cattle and horses? Why are they eating even better than before the disaster?
The disaster victims, who had been frugal and reluctant to eat too much even after settling down, were starting to break down.
Uncle Xu pressed on, "Besides food, have you discovered any other important secrets?"
The disaster victims who were working looked at each other in bewilderment.
They're there to work; it's annoying to pry into other people's secrets.
but……
Many things don't actually need to be investigated. The people of Yunxulu Village didn't intend to hide anything, perhaps because they couldn't hide it?
Therefore, the disaster victims easily understood why the people of Yunlu Village could still work outside with such high spirits in such hot weather.
Bio-clothing and cooling patches that can lower body temperature!
There's also a magical refrigerator that can freeze ice cubes!
An air conditioner that can keep the entire cave cool as spring!
They even have a magical space where they can store supplies!
"How is that possible!" Fang Dahe, Uncle Xu and the others were both shocked and disdainful.
Uncle Xu scoffed, "This is getting more and more outrageous. We did encounter some people from Yunlu Village who gave us those ice patches, but how could we possibly have such amazing treasures as refrigerators, air conditioners, and the magic of 'hidden universes in sleeves'? Are they trying to make fools of us?"
Even if they did, what right would the people of Yunlu Village have to possess them?
The disaster victims who were helping out said unhappily, "We saw Zhang Chengming and Xiong Mao use their spatial rings to collect things with our own eyes, there's no way it's fake."
Aunt Xu said, "Perhaps it's just some kind of smokescreen."
"Can a trick really hide buckets and buckets of chilled mung bean soup? We're not stupid, do you think we wouldn't be able to tell?"
The helpers knew that Uncle Xu and the others didn't get along with the people of Yunlu Village, and they didn't want to get entangled with them. They just continued talking to the other people who didn't care much: "Didn't you wonder why those crops looked like they had grown for two months? It's said that Lu Xuan used magic to speed up their growth."
"It's a pity that Lu Xuan went out alone. When he comes back, we may be able to see with our own eyes the scene of him using magic to make crops grow faster."
The helper sighed, "We barely have a chance to survive, yet they dare to venture into the deep mountains all by themselves. There's really no comparison."
Zhou, clutching the wound on her face, spat and cursed, "What kind of magic is this? I think it's just a bunch of charlatans!"
On the surface, Aunt Xu and Madam Zhao were just as disdainful as Madam Zhou, but in their hearts, they couldn't help but have some unsettling thoughts.
They would certainly be unhappy if they were asked to do odd jobs for the people of Yunlu Village, only to be met with their hostility and receive meager compensation.
But what if they could farm the land themselves?
If the people of Yunlu Village can grow it, there's no reason why they can't grow it too, right?
As for how to cultivate the land without farming tools and where to get the seeds, of course they would borrow them from the people of Yunlu Village!
The people of Yunlu Village didn't want them to take advantage of them for nothing; they thought they could at least farm the land themselves.
At worst, they can simply return double the amount of seeds that Yunlu Village lent them when the harvest is plentiful.
...
The idea was good, but when they eagerly approached Li Tie, he flatly refused to lend them the tools.
Uncle Xu and the others angrily retorted, "We've already decided to rely on ourselves, so why isn't Village Chief Li willing to lend us a hand? Are you only satisfied when you see us starve to death?"
Li Tie said coldly, "You should be able to tell that the tools we are using are not ordinary items. We obtained them by exchanging supplies, and we cannot lend them out without his permission."
These entrenching tools are not only used as farm implements; they can also be disassembled to reveal knives or even small flashlights—they have many functions.
If these disaster victims break the items, can they afford to compensate them?
He even doubted whether he could get such a good item back after lending it out.
Besides, now we're borrowing tools and seeds, but later we'll need Lu Xuan's help to induce labor?
If they don't induce growth, the seeds won't grow at all. But Lu Xuan is asked to induce growth, since they are not from Yunlu Village. Why should they?
Fang Dahe said impatiently, "Who knows when Lu Xuan will come back? What's wrong with lending us the tools first? We're not going to run away. We'll just tell him when he gets back."
“No.” Li Tie’s attitude was firm. “We must wait for Lu Xuan to come back so he can make a decision.”
Uncle Xu was angry, "What's wrong with making an exception for such a small matter!"
Li Tie reiterated his previous statement: "Wait for him to come back."
"What is it that you want me to come back?" Lu Xuan's voice suddenly came from above, startling the people on both sides.
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