The thought of this made him so angry that his liver ached.
"Ji Yanchen! A man should act like a man!"
"Look at the state you've become! Spending your wife's money and living in her house, you're ruining the image of Willow Grove!"
Li Youcai suddenly raised his voice, attracting the attention of several villagers passing by.
"Do you know what people from Wangjiazhuang are saying about us today? They're saying that the men of Liushugou will all have to rely on women to support them from now on! Aren't you ashamed?!"
His voice grew louder and louder, as if he wanted the whole village to hear it on purpose.
Before Ji Yanchen could speak, Zi Xi came out of the kitchen with a spatula and blocked his way.
Her cheeks were flushed from the heat, and her wisps of hair were damp with sweat, clinging to her fair skin, but her eyes were as cold as ice.
"Captain Li, Yan Chen and I are a legally married couple. How we spend our money is none of anyone else's business."
"Or is Captain Li so free that he has to worry about how every household in the village makes a living?!"
Zi Xi's voice wasn't loud, but it made Li Youcai subconsciously take a half step back.
"Besides, don't you all know what kind of life Yan Chen has been living all these years? Now you're saying he's ruined his image?!"
She took two steps forward, the spatula gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Li Youcai opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.
He knew how the villagers viewed Ji Yanchen, but that was no excuse for him to tarnish the village's reputation!
"Hey, I'm not trying to be mean, but Captain, it's just that! What business is it of yours how a young couple lives their life?"
Aunt Zhang, who was watching, suddenly interrupted while holding a melon seed.
"Yes, everyone lives their own lives behind closed doors, why should you care how they live?"
"Besides, Ji is so capable! Last time my roof was leaking, he was the one who fixed it!"
Granny Wang chimed in.
Li Youcai's face turned pale and then flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He came here today specifically to teach Ji Yanchen a lesson, but he didn't expect to be outmaneuvered and become a laughing stock in front of the villagers.
His rough fingers unconsciously rubbed the hem of his Zhongshan suit. Just as he was about to say something to save face, a series of urgent shouts suddenly came from afar.
"Oh no! The tractor has overturned into the ditch! Captain, come quick!"
A teenager came stumbling along, his face covered in mud and his trousers mostly wet.
Li Youcai's face turned deathly pale.
That tractor was a treasure just allocated by the commune; it was a Dongfanghong-28, which cost a lot of money to buy.
If he really gets hurt, he can forget about being the captain!
He stomped his foot hard, no longer caring about reprimanding Ji Yanchen, and ran after the boy who brought the news. His brand-new liberation shoes splashed mud on the ground, but he didn't even care.
Zi Xi gently nudged Ji Yanchen: "Why don't you go help too?"
Ji Yanchen nodded, carefully placed the "double happiness" character in his hand on the windowsill, glanced back to make sure it wouldn't be blown away by the wind, and then strode after him.
His tall, slender figure quickly disappeared into the dusty village road.
The accident occurred near the irrigation canal at the east end of the village.
Several young men stood helplessly by the ditch, where a brand-new tractor lay crookedly, its front wheels still spinning.
Li Youcai was so anxious that he jumped up and down, pointing at the young men who had caused the trouble and cursing them.
Ji Yanchen, who had run over, jumped into the ditch without saying a word.
The mud and water instantly reached his knees, but he didn't even flinch as he bent down to check the condition of the tractor.
The oil stains quickly stained his white shirt, but his slender fingers deftly manipulated the parts, his movements as practiced as if he had repaired them many times before.
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