Being ridden and slapped in front of his younger brother was a sheer humiliation! Yang Hua felt like dying and secretly vowed to get his revenge later. "Get the hell out of here. If I ever see you again, I'll beat you every time." Liu Tiezhu released Yang Hua and warned coldly.
Hearing this, the terrified Yang Mingkai was the first to flee. Yang Hua glared viciously at Liu Tiezhu a few times before reluctantly leaving. Er Gouzi kicked Yang Haifeng, who was lying on the ground. "Hey, dumbass." "Your big brother and your buddy are gone. You planning to sleep here?"
At that, Yang Mingkai scrambled up and bolted away in an instant. "Damn it, those idiots sure run fast." Watching Yang Mingkai's retreating figure, Er Gouzi couldn't help but curse with a laugh. Liu Tiezhu walked over to Big Sweet Potato and checked it carefully. The dog's hind leg had been hit by a bamboo arrow. Luckily, it hadn't pierced the flesh, only scraped off a large patch of skin. Liu Tiezhu took out some cotton cloth to bandage Big Sweet Potato, then called Er Gouzi to head back.
When they got home, Second Uncle and Big Brother had already returned. Seeing Liu Tiezhu carrying the injured Big Sweet Potato with a grim face, everyone's focus shifted away from the game. "What happened? How did Big Sweet Potato get hurt?" Second Uncle pulled Er Gouzi aside and asked. "Ran into three big idiots. They almost killed Big Sweet Potato." "Brother Zhu got into a fight with them." Er Gouzi didn't hide anything and told the whole story about the cassava field.
After hearing it, Second Uncle clapped his hands in approval. "Good beating! Those bastards deserved it." "Gouzi, were there black goats and wild boars in the cassava field?" "How did you catch them?" Liu Tieshan asked. At this, Er Gouzi grinned. "All thanks to the hounds. Brother Zhu and I were just helpers." A few minutes later, he recounted in detail how the hounds had surrounded the black goat and wild boar.
Second Uncle and Liu Tieshan stood with their mouths open, stunned for a long moment before snapping out of it. "These dogs can really hunt?" After a while, Second Uncle finally recovered from his shock. Er Gouzi nodded. "Of course." "Brother Zhu said these hounds are still young. Once they all grow to about thirty-five pounds, they can take down adult wild boars."
After finishing the talk about the hounds, everyone helped process the wild boar and black goat. Second Uncle cut out the goat kidneys and a rack of ribs, telling Liu Tiezhu to take them to Yang Haitian to help him recover. Goat kidneys were a great tonic, able to replenish some of the blood Yang Haitian had lost. Though Yang Haitian could walk around these days, he still couldn't do heavy work and needed a good boost.
By the time Liu Tiezhu reached Yang Haitian's house, it was already dark. Yang Yulan, who was cooking in the kitchen, heard it was Liu Tiezhu and immediately dropped her work to pour him a cup of hot water. "See, a daughter's heart leaves the home. When do I ever get this treatment?" Yang Haitian teased his sister, but his eyes lit up when he spotted the goat kidneys in Liu Tiezhu's hands. "Zhu, where did you get these?" Goat kidneys were a prized item, selling for one and a half yuan per pound on the market. Wild goat kidneys were even pricier, going for over two yuan a pound. The kidneys in Liu Tiezhu's hand were a fiery red, clearly wild.
Liu Tiezhu handed the goat kidneys and ribs to Yang Yulan and said, "Got them from the black goat in the cassava field near the thorn forest." "A black goat from the cassava field?" Yang Haitian's eyes widened in disbelief. Black goats were as fast as leopards—how could anyone catch one? Liu Tiezhu replied, "Yeah, caught it in the cassava field." "My pack of hounds did the hunting." "Besides the black goat, we also got a young wild boar."
Yang Haitian was stunned. "These hounds are incredible. This is the first time I've heard of dogs hunting." "You need to train them well. They'll definitely help you bag big game in the mountains." "I'll train them. I almost lost my lead dog today," Liu Tiezhu said. "What happened? Did the wild boar hurt it?" Liu Tiezhu waved his hand. "No, it was human." "That scumbag Yang Hua from your village shot my lead dog with an arrow." "If I hadn't shown up in time, that bastard would've killed all my hounds and made dog stew."
Hearing this, Yang Haitian tensed up immediately. "That troublemaker didn't clash with you, did he? How did you get your lead dog back?" Yang Hua was a notorious thug in Yang Family Village. Anyone who crossed him could never find peace. That scumbag was full of dirty tricks, specializing in underhanded deeds. Things like setting off firecrackers at people's houses in the middle of the night, dumping slop, banging gongs and drums—you name it. In short, if you could think of it, he'd done it. Once, a villager who didn't believe it gave Yang Hua a harsh lesson. For six whole months, Yang Hua did nothing but dump slop on that family's house every night, forcing them to apologize and pay compensation before he stopped. After that, everyone in the village avoided Yang Hua. No one wanted to offend such a shameless troublemaker.
"I beat him up and demanded one yuan and eighty cents in compensation," Liu Tiezhu said honestly. "What? You beat him?" Yang Haitian's face turned pale. Liu Tiezhu asked, "What's wrong, Brother Tian? Shouldn't that bastard be taught a lesson?" "Zhu, you don't know how shameless that scumbag Yang Hua is." Yang Haitian sighed and told Liu Tiezhu everything Yang Hua had done in Yang Family Village.
After hearing Yang Haitian's explanation, Liu Tiezhu remained unfazed. "Brother Tian, don't worry." "If he dares to cause trouble at my place, I'll deal with him." A troublemaker like that—if he came, he'd regret it.
They chatted for half an hour, and Yang Yulan had prepared a lavish meal. Goat kidney stewed with white radish, stir-fried wild chicken, bamboo shoots with chicken gizzards, and beefsteak fungus soup with goat leg. Yang Haitian was in high spirits and brought out some bamboo-green wine, pouring two cups. "It's cold out. Let's have a little drink." Liu Tiezhu didn't stand on ceremony. He clinked glasses with Yang Haitian and took a sip. The bamboo-green wine was sweet at first, then slightly spicy. Its alcohol content was similar to burn liquor, but it went down smoothly, without the harsh burn. "Brother Tian, this is good stuff—way better than burn liquor." Setting down the cup, Liu Tiezhu praised it without reservation. "Good, then drink up." "I've got twelve bottles at home, all saved up. You can take them all back later." Yang Haitian reached for the bottle to pour more, but Yang Yulan stopped him. "Brother, are you trying to get Zhu drunk?" "You've just recovered and shouldn't drink too much either." With that, Yang Yulan ignored the two men's expressions and took the bamboo-green wine away. Yang Haitian gave a wry smile and could only urge Liu Tiezhu to eat more.
They finished dinner around seven, and Liu Tiezhu left Yang Family Village carrying the bamboo-green wine Yang Haitian had given him. "Damn it, heaven must have opened its eyes." "Who'd have thought I'd run into you, you big idiot, right here." At the village entrance, Yang Hua blocked Liu Tiezhu's path with two men, grinning from ear to ear.