"Third Uncle, what do you want me to do? I want money!"
Ma Tiannian suddenly shouted fiercely and kicked over the stone block he was standing on.
With a clang, the stone block rolled several times on the ground until it hit a pillar of the pavilion and came to a stop.
Ma Xiaolan was all too familiar with Ma Tiannian's emotions. Usually, when Ma Tiannian started to get ruthless, he was destined to be beaten again, and at this time, Ma Tiannian would strike harder than at other times.
Ma Xiaolan tensed up with fear, her fists clenched, her arms pressed tightly against her body, her lips pursed, her teeth clenched, and the muscles on her face tensed up.
"Poor child..."
The village head's wife was also in the crowd. Seeing him like this, she felt sorry for him and quickly came over, put her arm around Ma Xiaolan's shoulder, and whispered comforting words in his ear. She then put her arm around him and hid behind the village head.
"...Don't be afraid, your third grandfather is here. Your father won't dare to hit you. Don't be afraid, child."
The village head's surname was Li, and he was the third son in his family, so his peers and elders often called him Li San, while the younger generation addressed him according to their respective seniority.
"Third Uncle, all I want is money. Give me money and I won't do anything."
The village head was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but he didn't know what to do.
"Lazybones," the village head turned around and said softly, "when did your father come back?"
“Today, but I don’t know when I got back. My mother asked me to go to town to buy needles and thread this morning. I went out after breakfast and just got back. I saw everyone running this way, so I followed them. When I saw my father there, I… I hid…”
Su Yun'er was nearby and heard Ma Xiaolan's words. Something came to her mind, and she glanced at Ma Tiannian, noticing a brownish-red mark on his cuff that looked like blood.
"Little Lazy, where's your mother?" Su Yun'er asked.
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft; she didn't try to lower it, so everyone around her could hear it.
There was another commotion in the crowd, but no one saw Lin Moniang.
Actually, if Lin Moniang were here, she would have rushed out as soon as she saw Ma Xiaolan.
"broken!"
The village head and Ma Xiaolan reacted at the same time. The village head shouted "Damn it!" and slapped his thigh. Ma Xiaolan had already rushed out like the wind.
"Quick! You few, go check on the Ma family!" The village headman pointed to a few strong men and urged them repeatedly.
Some villagers also ran to the Ma family's house.
The remaining villagers became even more nervous.
Su Yun'er and the village head and his wife exchanged a glance, both reading worry in each other's eyes.
A hint of nervousness flashed across Ma Tiannian's face at first, but after his gaze met Su Yun'er's, his expression immediately changed to one of nonchalance. He cleared his throat, shifted his posture, and sat down with an indifferent look on his face.
"Young widow, look at yourself! If you had given me the money earlier, none of this would have happened, would it?"
“Ma Tiannian, you don’t need to tell me these things, and I won’t tell you who is right and who is wrong. Reason can only be explained to reasonable people. Someone like you is not worth my time to waste.”
Su Yun'er had no intention of arguing with this person. Anyone in the village could see who started it and who hurt whom.
Ma Tiannian is a scoundrel who only wants to extort money. Trying to reason with a scoundrel is like asking for a heart attack.
Today's problem is how to prevent Ma Tiannian from harming the well water, and how to ensure that this murderous talent will never dare to do such things again.
The people who went to the Ma family haven't returned yet, and the small square is silent.
"Third Uncle," Su Yun'er whispered to the village head, "even if we can stop Ma Tiannian from poisoning us today, we might not be able to stop him every time. I won't give him the money. If I give it to him once, he'll do it again and again, it'll never end. So we have to deal with this scoundrel once and for all today."
The village head sighed, looking annoyed.
“I used to be acquainted with his father, but who would have thought that this good-for-nothing son would grow up to be such a scoundrel.”
Ma Tiannian also heard the village head's heartbroken words.
He cried out, "Third Uncle! My father entrusted you with taking care of me before he died, but now my son has been wronged, and you won't stand up for me!"
"Father~ Mother~, your child misses you so much! If you were here, you would never let your child suffer such injustice!" Ma Tiannian stretched out his arms dramatically, looked up at the sky and shouted a few words, even pretending to wipe the corner of his eye with his finger.
Su Yun'er could tell he was faking it, but some villagers actually believed him.
“Village head, I think Ma Tiannian is pitiful. His family is so poor that they can’t even afford to eat. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have resorted to such a desperate measure.”
"You still believe him? He squanders every penny of money in the family on drinking, gambling, and whoring. When has he ever cared about the lives of Mo Niang and Xiao Lan?"
"Oh, that's right. My house and his house aren't very close, and I often hear the sounds of them beating and scolding each other's wives and children."
"Get out, get out! What's it to you?" Ma Tiannian spat.
"Tch, Ma Tiannian, if you missed your parents so much, they would be very moved if they knew in the afterlife. They would miss you too and not be able to bear leaving you alone in the world to suffer. Why don't you find a crooked tree tonight and go down to find your parents?" Su Yun'er sneered.
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
Ma Tiannian's actions just now were like those of an idiot, trying to gain sympathy? Su Yun'er would never let him have his way.
Just then, several of the people who had run to the Ma family's house returned.
Panting, he said, "Village head... Village head... Something terrible has happened."
"What's wrong?"
"Lin...Lin Mo...Lin Mo's mother..."
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