Back home, the kitchen light was still on. Jiang Xiuying and Ren Hongmei were talking quietly.
"Xiao Kuo is back!" Ren Hongmei smiled when she saw Xu Kuo, but then she noticed what he was carrying. "This...this is...wild boar meat?!"
Jiang Xiuying also came over, her face full of surprise: "Where did you get wild boar meat? It's very precious these days!"
Xu Kuo simply explained, "I happened to see it when I went to the warehouse at night, and I tidied it up as I went."
"I just tidied it up..." Ren Hongmei clicked her tongue, looking at the fresh pork still streaked with blood, then at her son's calm face, feeling both proud and moved. Her son was truly becoming more and more capable!
On the dinner table, there was a dish of wild boar stewed with cabbage, its aroma filling the air and making everyone's mouths water.
While eating, Ren Hongmei looked at Xu Kuo, hesitated, and finally sighed: "Xiao Kuo... about what happened between your brother Jianguo and brother Jianjun today... sigh, I know they did wrong and made you suffer."
Xu Kuo ate his rice without saying a word.
“But…but they are your brothers after all,” Ren Hongmei’s voice lowered, with a hint of pleading, “For your mother’s sake, in the future…if you can help them, please lend them a hand, okay? We can’t just watch their whole family starve to death…”
Xu Kuo raised his head, looked at the expectation and worry in his mother's eyes, remained silent for a moment, and finally nodded.
"I understand, Mom."
He could disown his two older brothers, but he couldn't ignore his mother's feelings. However, he could help, but how he helped would depend on their own actions.
With Xu Kuo's approval, Ren Hongmei breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on her face.
The night grew deeper.
Two furtive figures, using the faint starlight, crept along the wall like mice until they reached the vicinity of the warehouse. It was none other than the Xu brothers, Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun.
"Brother, this is it! Xu Kuo must have hidden all his vegetables in here!" Xu Jianjun lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with greed, and pointed to the outline of the warehouse not far away.
Xu Jianguo licked his chapped lips, nodded, and felt a surge of jealousy and resentment. Why did Xu Kuo get to eat and drink well while they had to starve and be scolded?! Today, he was determined to get his hands on those vegetables! He refused to believe that Xu Kuo could hide them in the sky!
The two men looked around to make sure no one was watching, then crouched low and cautiously made their way towards the warehouse door. They had scouted the area during the day and knew which window was the easiest to pry open.
However, they hadn't taken more than a few steps when Xu Jianjun suddenly lost his footing!
"ah--!"
A short scream rang out! He instantly lost his balance and plummeted straight down!
"Jianjun?!" Xu Jianguo was startled. He was about to reach out to pull him when his own foot suddenly sank into the ground!
"Thump!"
Ouch! My back!
Immediately afterward, another scream rang out! Xu Jianguo followed in his brother's footsteps, falling heavily to the bottom of the pit. He grimaced in pain, feeling as if his bones were about to shatter!
The two brothers fell into a shallow pit with steep, slippery walls, and they couldn't climb out anytime soon.
"Brother! Brother, how are you?!" Xu Jianjun cried out in terror, completely disoriented from the fall.
"It hurts so much... Who the hell dug this hole?!" Xu Jianguo clutched his waist, cursing loudly, his voice filled with pain and anger.
In the dark trap, only the brothers' cries and wails remained, sounding exceptionally clear in the silent night.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking.
Xu Kuo, along with Niu Erbao and the others, walked towards the warehouse, chatting and laughing, preparing to take the vegetables to town.
"Brother Kuo, do you think we can still sell out so quickly today?"
"Definitely! Who wouldn't want Brother Kuo's food!"
Everyone was in high spirits and full of anticipation for today's business.
Before they even reached the warehouse door, faint groans and cries for help drifted over.
"...Help me..."
"...Is anyone there... willing to help us out...?"
The voice was intermittent, filled with pain and weakness.
"Huh? What's that sound?" Xu Kuo paused, his brows furrowing.
Niu Erbao listened intently, "It sounds like... it's coming from the warehouse?"
The group immediately became alert and quickened their pace, heading towards the source of the sound. Soon, they discovered a pit covered by weeds in an inconspicuous corner on the side of the warehouse.
The groans were coming from the bottom of the pit!
The group of people peeled back the camouflage and peered down, only to be stunned.
At the bottom of the pit, Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun, brothers covered in dust and dressed in rags, were supporting each other, their faces showing pain and dishevelment. When they saw the head emerging from the edge of the pit, they were first stunned, then their faces showed a mixture of surprise, joy, and embarrassment.
"It's...it's Xiao Kuo..." Xu Jianguo forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"What are you doing here?" Xu Kuo stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at them, his voice icy and devoid of any warmth. He knew perfectly well what good these two could possibly be up to in the middle of the night.
Stared at by Xu Kuo's sharp gaze, Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun immediately felt guilty, their eyes darting around.
"I...we...we were just passing by..." Xu Jianguo stammered, making up a lie. "It was too dark, we couldn't see the road clearly, and we accidentally fell down..."
"Yes, yes! Xiao Kuo, hurry... hurry and pull us up! This pit is quite deep..." Xu Jianjun quickly chimed in, a fawning smile on his face, while rubbing his sore arm.
The surrounding villagers looked at the two brothers, and recalling what had happened yesterday, they all understood. Their faces showed disdain and mockery.
Passing by? You're kidding me! What are you doing passing by a warehouse in the middle of the night? You were probably trying to steal something, but you fell into a trap! Serves you right!
Xu Kuo snorted coldly, too lazy to expose their clumsy lies.
"Just passing by?" he said slowly, his voice tinged with mockery. "You guys certainly know how to pick places to pass by."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two men's faces, which were filled with guilt and greed, and his tone suddenly turned cold.
“Last night, Mom pleaded for you, asking me to help you out of consideration for our family ties. I was thinking of leaving you some vegetables today so you could earn some money and not go hungry.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun's eyes lit up, their faces instantly filled with ecstasy and hope!
Xu Kuo actually helped them?!
However, Xu Kuo's next words were like a cold wind in December, instantly freezing their hopes.
“But now it seems…” Xu Kuo’s eyes sharpened, scraping across their faces like knives, “You are truly incorrigible! You’re hopeless!”
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't take it! You had to resort to these crooked ideas!" Xu Kuo's voice was filled with disappointment and anger. "You even wanted to steal my vegetables?!"
"I'm telling you, the vegetables that were originally intended for you, now, there's not a single vegetable left!"
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