The group discussed until nearly eleven o'clock before heading home.
After everyone left, Er Gouzi couldn't help asking, "Zhu Zi Ge, I don't get it. Why ambush him halfway?"
"If Liu Yusheng doesn't know we did it, won't he just come looking for trouble again?"
"You think Liu Yusheng's dumb enough not to know it's us?" Liu Tiezhu countered.
Hearing this, Er Gouzi grew even more puzzled. "Then why bother covering our faces to ambush him? Isn't that pointless?"
Liu Tiezhu said, "I want him to know it's us, but without any proof."
"It's almost New Year's. You want to end up in jail?"
"Without evidence, and since he started the trouble, he'll have to swallow this bitter pill."
Er Gouzi thought it over for a moment, then immediately gave Liu Tiezhu a thumbs-up.
The next day, after breakfast, Liu Tieshan took Huang Xiumei and Yaoyao to her parents' house.
Before leaving, Liu Tieshan repeatedly urged, "Make sure you talk things out with Liu Yusheng properly. Don't blow this up."
Liu Tiezhu nodded. After seeing off his brother and sister-in-law, he wrapped himself in a thick cotton coat, grabbed a wooden stick, and headed toward the village entrance.
At the village entrance, Er Gouzi and the others were already waiting.
Everyone followed yesterday's plan, wearing cotton masks and holding wooden sticks.
"Let's go."
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand, and everyone fell in step behind him.
Twenty minutes later, the ten of them arrived at a small eucalyptus grove.
This was the only way into Liu Family Village, surrounded by dense eucalyptus trees—the perfect spot to ambush Liu Yusheng.
Beside the grove was a rice field piled with dry straw stacks, which could keep them warm.
The ten split into two groups and hid inside the straw piles.
About forty minutes later, six big men approached from the distance, led by Liu Yusheng.
To pull off this shakedown, he'd specifically brought thugs from town.
These thugs were seasoned fighters, easily taking on two men each.
"Zhu Zi Ge, look, that bastard Liu Yusheng is bringing people over."
Er Gouzi rubbed his fists, excitement written all over his face.
"Remember, avoid the head, but hit everywhere else like there's no tomorrow."
Hearing this, everyone tightened their grip on their wooden sticks.
"Those bastards are definitely town thugs."
"Daring to cause trouble in the countryside—we'll show them this isn't their playground."
A few minutes later, Liu Yusheng and his crew entered the eucalyptus path, less than ten meters from Liu Tiezhu's group.
"Liu Yusheng, don't screw with me. Can that kid really cough up eight bucks?"
Thug leader Zhang Qiang said.
"Don't worry, Qiang Ge. Other families might not have it, but that kid definitely does."
"The other day I went to his place, you know what I saw them eating?"
"They were having chicken! Damn near made me drool."
Liu Yusheng rubbed his hands, a sly grin on his face.
"Damn, I haven't even had chicken. Looks like that kid's rolling in dough."
"Once we're in, you keep quiet. Let me handle the talk."
"I didn't come all this way to go back empty-handed."
Zhang Qiang grumbled, planning to demand a huge sum.
Just as they were scheming how to extort money, Liu Tiezhu and his men burst out.
Seeing so many people suddenly appear, all holding wooden sticks, Zhang Qiang's face went pale.
They backed up a few steps and said, "Brothers, I'm Zhang Qiang from town. Those who respect me call me Qiang Ge."
"What's the meaning of blocking our path?"
"What's the meaning?" Liu Tiezhu pointed at Liu Yusheng. "We're here to beat you up. Think we're inviting you to dinner?"
At that, Er Gouzi and the others immediately attacked.
With a swing of a wooden stick, one thug hit the ground instantly.
The others didn't hesitate, charging in and swinging their sticks wildly.
The thugs weren't stupid—they turned and ran.
They'd thought this would be a quick trip, so they hadn't brought anything.
Facing ten wooden sticks, even seasoned fighters couldn't hold their ground.
"Wait, you've got the wrong guys!"
"I've got no beef with you, why are you hitting me?"
Zhang Qiang shouted as he ran.
"I just feel like it."
Er Gouzi cursed, landing a solid blow on his back.
The other thugs, exhausted and knowing they couldn't escape, gave up and started brawling with Yang Zhihui and the others.
On the other side, Liu Yusheng, bruised and swollen, ran for his life, gasping for air.
He was Liu Tiezhu's main target.
In just a few minutes, he'd taken seven hits to the body and several to the legs, wincing in pain but too scared to stop.
He could tell the guy was aiming to cripple him.
If he stopped, it'd be a disaster.
"Brother, let's talk this out. Isn't there some misunderstanding?"
Liu Yusheng yelled as he sprinted.
Liu Tiezhu, wearing a cotton hat and mask, wasn't immediately recognizable.
"Talk my ass."
Liu Tiezhu caught up and whacked Liu Yusheng's back leg again.
"Ow! My dear mother!"
Liu Yusheng screamed, his speed picking up.
Adrenaline surged, filling him with strength.
"Damn!"
Watching Liu Yusheng bolt dozens of meters ahead, Liu Tiezhu was stunned.
But he wasn't about to let the bastard off. Gritting his teeth, he chased after him.
The two ran, one after the other, for about two hundred meters.
Liu Yusheng couldn't run anymore. Foaming at the mouth, he collapsed by a field, twitching.
In the dead of winter, the air was thin, and his sprint had left his heart struggling to keep up.
Liu Tiezhu wasn't in great shape either, panting heavily.
He reached Liu Yusheng and raised his stick again.
"You like shaking people down, you bastard?"
"I'll give you a shake!"
With that, Liu Tiezhu's stick came down without mercy.
His goal was to put Liu Yusheng in bed for a month.
That way, he wouldn't have a chance to cause trouble again.
After ten minutes, Liu Yusheng curled up, writhing and moaning.
Seeing it was enough, Liu Tiezhu stopped.
He regrouped with Er Gouzi and the others, told them to keep quiet about it, and handed out meat.
After they left, Liu Tiezhu called Er Gouzi home, grabbed a compound crossbow, and headed to the cornfield.
They met up again an hour later.
"Gouzi, we've only got two hours today, no need to split up."
Liu Tiezhu pointed at the corn stalks a hundred meters away.
"See that pile of dry corn stalks? I didn't check that area yesterday—there's bound to be game there."
"We'll sweep through from here, take down as many as we can."
Er Gouzi nodded and followed behind Liu Tiezhu.
The two moved side by side, working in perfect sync.
Within thirty meters, they'd killed eleven pheasants.
Any that flew off landed just a few meters away.
With the compound crossbow's precise scope, those escapees were quickly taken down.
Half an hour later, their net bags went from eleven pheasants to twenty.
The cornfield was incredibly rich in resources.
With the compound crossbow, they never had to worry about meat.
After bagging the last pheasant, they planned to move to another spot.
Just then, several piles of corn stalks flew into the air, followed by a pig's squeal that stopped them in their tracks.
Er Gouzi, sharp-eyed, pointed at the spot, his face lighting up.
"Holy crap, Zhu Zi Ge, it's that beast from last time."