Oddities
Zhou Lexing went to the black market again. The county-level supply and marketing cooperative's building materials counter sold cement and tiles, but these were scarce goods that required ration coupons.
As soon as he entered the abandoned house, Li Gou Dan spotted him with sharp eyes and immediately scurried over, saying, "Brother, you're here! What do you want this time? Anything you ask for, I promise I'll get it for you!"
These black market vendors, besides acting as middlemen, also connect people with information and sell business.
Zhou Lexing finalized the deal with him and also inquired about the steel and door panels.
"Steel is a specialized commodity, and it might be difficult to get some in a short time. But, do you need a large quantity?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lexing suddenly realized that steel was not something ordinary people could easily buy these days.
If he were to openly carry the steel home, he might actually get himself into trouble. Thinking of this, Zhou Lexing shook his head.
"No need, just get me a sturdy door panel. Also, I need some broken glass."
Li Gou Dan thought for a moment and said, "The door panel is fine, but I need to go and ask about the broken glass."
Seeing Zhou Lexing nod, he smiled broadly. After agreeing on the time and place for delivery, he excitedly left the dilapidated house one after the other with Zhou Lexing.
Zhou Lexing spent 56 yuan on cement and tiles, and also borrowed a handcart, pushing it all the way back to Lao Yang's tractor.
Old Yang was waiting in the car when he saw him suddenly bring all these things over. He was surprised and asked, "What happened? Where in the house did this collapse?"
Zhou Lexing readily chimed in, "Last time, Zhou Laozhuang made up some excuse to cause a scene at my house, so it needs some repairs."
Zhou Lexing didn't hold back and pinned another blame on Zhou Laozhuang.
Old Yang was furious when he heard this. The news had already spread throughout Zhoujia Village, but he didn't expect that this old geezer from Zhoulaozhuang would not only cause trouble but also dare to vandalize things: "Does Zhoulaozhuang think this is still the old society?! I think the village chief is senile. He can cover up this kind of thing. What if everyone follows suit in the future? Sigh, he really gets more and more irrational as he gets older."
Although Old Yang is a generation younger than the village chief, given his current age, he still carries enough weight to occasionally exchange a few words with the village chief as a peer.
He had already made up his mind and was thinking about how to explain this to the village chief when he heard Zhou Lexing ask a question.
"I remember Zhoulaozhuang is in the town now?"
Old Yang's expression turned subtle: "Le Xing, don't ruin yourself for some scum."
Old Yang had figured it out a few days ago.
That's probably where all those rumors in the village came from. Zhou Lexing had to stand up for his family in order to protect them, but he didn't expect to be used by those wicked people to tarnish his reputation. How is he going to ever get married now?!
What a vicious bunch of wicked people!
Zhou Lexing had no idea that Lao Yang had already made excuses for the original owner's past words and actions, and he didn't say anything more when he heard this.
He never intended to deal with Zhou Laozhuang in town. He wanted to let the other side completely lower their guard during their rest and recuperation, and then deliver a fatal blow in a familiar environment. This was the only way to effectively choke the villain.
Seeing that Zhou Lexing remained silent, Old Yang couldn't help but add, "Don't underestimate this old man. He's incredibly vicious, you don't know? He even killed his wife. During the famine, that poor woman was pregnant, but because she refused to go back to her parents' home to ask for food, she was beaten to death. Then he claimed that she had fallen and died on her own. Who would believe that? The commotion, tsk tsk tsk, that kind of person is like a leech. Once they latch on, they'll try to suck your marrow dry. You can't exactly kill that old bastard too, can you?"
"To put it bluntly, that guy's practically dead. If you act impulsively, you might end up being buried with him and spending the rest of your life behind bars."
Zhou Lexing's eyes flickered, but he reassured Old Yang, "Don't worry, I won't act impulsively."
Zhou Lexing and Lao Yang waited for a moment, and then the efficient Li Gou Dan and a few brothers carried the door panel over. In addition to the door panel, Li Gou Dan also stuffed half a sack of broken glass into his bag and winked at him: "Brother, this is for you. Come back for more business!"
Old Yang didn't notice this at all; he was busy cursing, almost cursing all of Zhou Laozhuang's ancestors for eighteen generations.
Those heartless and treacherous people from Zhou Laozhuang! They even smashed someone's door!
After Zhou Lexing and Li Gou Dan settled the payment and goods, the tractor did not linger and quickly drove the goods on the truck towards Zhoujia Village.
"Lexing, you must have spent a lot of money on this trip?" Old Yang asked cautiously as he parked the car. Before Zhou Lexing could answer, he added a few more words to make sure Zhou Lexing didn't misunderstand: "Uncle Yang is asking you these questions for no other reason than I think that old man Zhou Laozhuang bears a lot of responsibility for this matter. We can't just let the village chief wipe the slate clean. What do you think of this arrangement?"
“I’ll go see the village chief tomorrow. Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a tractor driver. The village chief’s son still calls me ‘uncle.’ I helped him with his wedding back then. Anyway, I can’t stand by and watch this. I have to have a serious talk with the village chief about this. Even if I don’t let that Zhou family from Old Man Zhou go to jail for their terrible behavior, I at least have to make him pay you back. Look, look, just this door panel alone, I estimate it’s worth 20 yuan. Actually, there’s plenty of wood on the mountain, and I know some experienced craftsmen. If you’re not in a hurry, I can arrange something for you…”
"Hey, look at me, I get old and talkative, so don't blame your Uncle Yang for meddling."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lexing knew that his earlier words about not acting impulsively had not reassured Lao Yang. Lao Yang was probably still afraid that he would do something reckless, so he decided to help him stand up for himself.
He shook his head seriously: "Uncle Yang, please don't say that. I know you mean well, and I'll keep that in mind. But it's really unnecessary and won't hurt you."
He certainly wouldn't let the Zhou family off the hook, it's just that the time wasn't right yet, and there was no need to involve unrelated people.
Zhou Lexing readily agreed to lower Old Yang's seniority by one level. After all, given the age difference between the two, it wouldn't be too much for him to call him "Master," but one should always address others according to their preferences.
Old Yang was displeased upon hearing this: "You don't trust your uncle?!"
Zhou Lexing: "How could that be? Uncle Yang, I know your abilities, so success will naturally be achieved. It's just that the Zhou family is a troublemaker, and you've gotten yourself into trouble too."
Old Yang waved his hand, unwilling to listen to this: "In the village, do you think I, Old Yang, am afraid of those old peasants?! Those people are just bastards! If they want to leave the village, they'll have to rely on me. Do you think I can't handle them?!"
Seeing that his face was red with anger, Zhou Lexing knew that he was stubborn and was afraid that he might make things worse. After thinking for a moment, he changed his mind and said, "Okay. Then I'll leave this to Uncle Yang."
Hearing Zhou Lexing's solemn reply, Old Yang felt relieved and finally smiled: "It's alright, your Uncle Yang will take care of it for you. Just wait for news at home!"
Although Zhou Lexing relented, he still added something.
"Just mention it briefly, don't take it too seriously. If you get sick from getting upset over this, waste too much time, or lose favors, then that would be my fault."
Old Yang waved his hand: "Hey! What's with all this nonsense! Alright, alright, I'll get you a cart."
He seemed extremely uncomfortable with the words of concern and politeness spoken by others, and hurried off to borrow a cart.
Zhou Lexing watched Lao Yang's figure walk away with a smile, without chasing after him.
This Zhoujia Village isn't just full of scoundrels. Zhou Lexing thought to himself, and as he turned his gaze to the side, he caught sight of several familiar, furtive figures.
Zhou Lexing narrowed his eyes, confirming his target: the original owner's underlings who had been quiet for a few days.
He thought for a moment, then instead of calling out to anyone, he simply walked around the dirt road in their direction.
"...Are you sure? What if the boss turns around and we all die?" The long-haired man, Li Cheng, sounded rather sinister.
"Is it really that exaggerated? That kid is so timid, he looks like a gust of wind could blow him away. What does the boss value in him? How could he possibly kill us for this guy?" This was said by Zhou Xiaoxiao, the youngest of them all.
“You don’t understand,” Liu Hainan and Li Dagang shook their heads, feigning profundity. “You didn’t see how the boss treated him last time. Can you believe he fed him water?”
The group fell into an awkward silence for a moment before Zhou Bobo, whose face was still bruised and had a middle parting, hesitated before asking, "Is he seriously ill or what? Why is the boss giving him water?"
Zhou Xiaobing, the mushroom-headed man, also looked grave: "He's perfectly fine. The boss just likes to give him water."
Another silence fell, and Zhou Lexing's forehead twitched.
The leader they were talking about was clearly him, so the other person who was easily blown away by the wind must be Gu Jiansheng.
When did he feed Gu Jiansheng water? And what's wrong with feeding him water? It wasn't like he fed him mouth-to-mouth, so what's so surprising?
What kind of trouble are these kids up to now?
"Anyway, the eldest brother hasn't been in Zhoujia Village these past two days, and I don't think Gu Xiaozi has gone out either. It won't be easy for us to catch him." Zhou Xiaoxiao didn't quite understand what his older brothers' overly serious expressions meant. He instinctively kept silent along with everyone else, but couldn't help speaking up to continue the previous topic.
"Are you really sure? When I was keeping an eye on him the other day, the boss was always hanging out with him. Could it be that he was also staying at Gu's place like the other day, which you didn't see?"
Those brats, he was helping Gu Jiansheng make cabinets at his house!
How come in their mouths it's like the two of them did something shameful?!
Wait a minute, these kids actually dared to tail him! And they even tried to harm Gu Jiansheng, they've got some nerve!
Zhou Lexing was inwardly grumbling, while Zhou Xiaoxiao, repeatedly questioned, was also getting angry: "If you don't believe me, go see for yourself! I've been squatting from morning till night, my skin is practically peeling off from the sun, but the boss didn't go, so he didn't go!"
Li Dagang tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, it's been a common occurrence for the boss to be away from home every few days. This is a good thing! It means there's still a possibility that the boss can go back to the way things were before!"
Zhou Lexing: "..." Why does this sound so off to him?
Zhou Bobo chimed in, "That makes sense. Once the boss is away from home, he can stay away for half a month at a time. We shouldn't just keep an eye on Gu Xiaozi; we should also check if the boss has come home. If the boss is really not home, this period will be perfect for us to make our move."
"How about we all go over there tomorrow and take a look? If it's a good opportunity, we can just take action. We're only going to teach him a lesson anyway, so we don't want things to get complicated and the boss might come back for a surprise attack."
Zhou Bobo's words received unanimous agreement from everyone.
Zhou Lexing stood behind the collapsed old house, thought for a moment, and without disturbing them, turned around and went back to the tractor. Just then, Old Yang had already pushed the cart over, so he quickly went over to lend a hand. He then loaded the items from the truck bed onto the cart one by one, pushed the cart around, and went home.
Zhou Yuanxiang was also surprised to see these things: "Weren't you supposed to be helping repair cars today? Why did you bring these things back?"
Zhou Lexing: "Yes, the car is fixed. I'll buy some things and tidy up the house."
He pointed to the items on the cart and roughly explained his thought process.
First, repair the roofs of both houses that need repairing with those tiles. Then, break the rest and use cement to create artificial thorns on the top of the wall, along with rubble and broken glass. Anyone who tries to climb over them will suffer serious injury.
The door panel was cut in half, one half for each family to use as the outer door, and the top half was made of bamboo to resemble a railing. This way, they could see clearly who was coming and ensure the safety of their family members.
“I’ve thought it all out. If Aunt Lan is superstitious about this, we can use this door panel ourselves. I’ll cut a window in it and it will work.”
Looking at these things, Zhou Yuanxiang was speechless for a moment. It felt as if her child, who was not even as tall as her knees before, had suddenly grown into a tall and strong young man overnight. This feeling of astonishment and emotion was mixed with an indescribable sense of gratitude and bittersweetness.
After enduring most of her life, it seems she has finally seen a glimmer of hope.
Looking at Zhou Ma's expression, Zhou Lexing asked, as if unsure of her attitude, "Are you angry?"
Zhou Ma choked on her words, the tears welling up in her eyes abruptly stopped: "...You talk the most! Now that everything is bought, hurry up and get things done, don't just leave it piled up in the yard."
"Well, I'll go to Teacher Chen's house first to pick up Shusheng. If you're hungry, go to the kitchen and get some cornbread. We're having minced meat and eggplant tonight, so don't touch anything in the kitchen!"
Ever since Zhou Lexing chopped up the kitchen knife, the kitchen has become his forbidden zone. He is strictly forbidden from touching anything except occasionally going in to touch some food.
Zhou Lexing could easily see his mother's emotion and unease. The older generation always expresses their emotions subtly, even within their own family.
He didn't call him out on it, but simply drawled out, "I know—"
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