A Good Country Wife
Chapter 393 - 387_1

Chapter 393: Chapter 387_1

"Whose reckless child is this, not watching where he’s going, barreling through like a headless fly?" Zhao Erhu cursed irritably as he hurriedly put down what he was holding and helped Lin Yue get up. He normally wouldn’t be so aggressive, picking a fight with a kid in clothes, but who asked for this little boy to bump into his own wife, and it seemed that his little wife took quite a hard fall, so Zhao Erhu couldn’t help but start scolding."

The little boy knew he was at fault and wanted to apologize to the pretty sister in front of him, but when Zhao Erhu shouted like that, he got really angry, "You’re the one not watching where you’re going! I am one of the gallant men from Longhu Mountain. Dare to speak to me like this, and I’ll make sure you learn your lesson."

While speaking, the little boy picked up the bundle that had fallen to the ground during the collision. He seemed to be about eight or nine years old, clever and mischievous. His clothes were somewhat worn, clearly not the child of a wealthy family, but his tone was full of bravado. Clearly, he admired the bandits of Longhu Mountain greatly, which was why he kept calling himself ’One of the gallant men from Longhu Mountain’."

Everyone in Longmen Town knew the score, but they all conducted their business in secret. If the government caught wind of such talk, it would be a serious crime. Who knows who this little boy really is, daring to speak so carelessly about such taboo subjects? His family hasn’t instructed him properly. If someone with ill intentions overheard him, there could be serious trouble."

"You bump into someone and still have the nerve to talk back? Believe it or not, I will beat you up!" Zhao Erhu, seeing that the little boy was not only unapologetic but also talking back, was getting quite annoyed.

"Bullying the young because you’re older, shameless! Go ahead and hit me! I will definitely have my brothers take revenge for me." The little boy was indeed tough, speaking boldly, not in the least bit scared by Zhao Erhu. Indeed, he had guts, for even at home, Dalang and the others were somewhat intimidated by Zhao Erhu.

Lin Yue dusted off the dirt from her clothes and quickly stepped in to mediate, "Alright, stop fighting! Brother Erhu, don’t worry, I just fell lightly, I’m fine. He’s just a child and ran into me by accident. Why pick a quarrel with him?"

"Little guy, why the rush? Where’s your family? You can’t just blurt out stuff like that, otherwise, if someone from the government heard it, they could lock you up, understand?"

The little boy obviously responded better to a soft approach. Seeing Lin Yue speak so softly and reasonably, he lowered his defenses at once; his own brother had warned him as much. He had only spoken the way he did because he had lost his temper earlier.

"Big sister, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it, I was just running too fast and ran into you. But this uncle is really annoying." The little boy quickly admitted his mistake and apologized to Lin Yue, though his attitude towards Zhao Erhu was still unfriendly.

Zhao Erhu, listening on the side as the little boy called Lin Yue sister and him uncle, kept a sour look on his face. Was he really that old? His little wife often called him an old man too, making it seem like she was criticizing him for being older. This wouldn’t do.

"Little fella, don’t be mad. The uncle was just worried about your sister, so he spoke harshly. Big sister apologizes to you too."

"Forget it. I, Chang Xiaohu, am always magnanimous towards adults. I won’t stoop to his level." The kid said loftily, somewhat amusing Lin Yue. Lin Yue wanted to say more, but the little boy was in a hurry to leave, "Sister, there are bad guys chasing after me. I need to get going quick. We’ll meet again!"

Chang Xiaohu was about to make a swift escape, but his delay had cost him precious time. After running just a few steps, someone caught him.

"Stinky kid, we finally caught you. You actually dared to play tricks on us, did you think you could get away?" A few ferocious men caught up with Chang Xiaohu, and the one leading them grabbed his collar and lifted him up.

"You big villain, what do you want to do? If you dare to bully me, my brothers won’t let you off!" Chang Xiaohu, now caught, threatened the men with harsh words, trying to intimidate them.

The men clearly didn’t take Chang Xiaohu’s threats seriously, treating his warning as a joke. They had been ruling Nanshan Town for years; why would they be afraid of a mere boy? Still, it was strange—they had never seen this kid around town before and had no idea where he had suddenly popped up from. Of course, this slight curiosity was not going to stop them; he was just a poor kid, after all, nothing to fear.

"Tsks, talking about brothers? You’re so young, your fuzz hasn’t even grown in fully yet. Could it be that you’re planning to bring a gang of brats to seek revenge on us? We brothers aren’t vegetarian—we won’t go easy on you just because you’re young. Speak! Are you going to pay the silver or not?" the man holding Chang Xiaohu said with a malicious tone.

"Go to hell with your protection fee. I haven’t even robbed you of your silver yet, and here you are eyeing me up. I’ll finish you off!"

Lin Yue found the little boy’s words and actions somewhat amusing, although it wasn’t the right occasion. It made one wonder what kind of family raised such a child. It was enough to give someone a headache. Could he really be a little bandit from the hills?

With the boy creating such a fuss, more onlookers gathered. Listening to their comments, Lin Yue roughly understood what was going on.

It turned out that these evil-looking men were local thugs of Nanshan Town. Every day, anyone doing business or setting up street stalls in the town had to pay them fees. That day, the little boy had also brought a few things to sell at the market and was likewise asked by these thugs for protection money. Not having sold much, and being just a kid, he had no silver coin to pay up. Moreover, he was a haughty and defiant little ruffian who audaciously clashed with the hooligans. Relying on his young age and some tricks up his sleeve, he had given the goons a hard time before making a run for it. Lin Yue could guess the rest.

Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue both felt indignant upon hearing this. These thugs were despicable, targeting such a young child for extortion. It wasn’t about the protection fee; they were probably trying to take advantage of the boy’s youth to seize his goods—truly contemptible.

But though they were outraged, Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue weren’t the type to leap before looking, especially in unfamiliar territory. Even if Zhao Erhu possessed some martial arts skills, facing off against several hooligans alone was not in his favor, not to mention Lin Yue was with him. They didn’t want to inadvertently invite trouble.

The other onlookers also felt the thugs were going too far but none dared to intervene, probably sharing the same sentiment as Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue. They didn’t want to attract trouble and could only mutter softly, "Tsk, these guys are insanely heartless to not even spare such a small child."