"Brother Yuru, you're really putting me in a tough spot."
"Where am I supposed to get eight bucks at this hour?"
Liu Tieshan frowned, his stomach churning with suppressed anger. If it weren't for his younger brother's marriage, he wouldn't want to deal with a stubborn piece of work like Liu Yusheng for even a second.
"Am I putting you in a tough spot?" Liu Yusheng glanced at Liu Tieshan with a look of disdain. "Can't even come up with eight bucks—how can my sister be happy marrying into a family like this?"
"This..." Liu Tieshan was at a loss for words.
"Since you think your sister won't be happy marrying in, go back and tell Liu Yuru that I, Liu Tiezhu, can't reach the heights of the Liu family. If there's nothing else, you can leave and don't bother coming to my house again."
Liu Tiezhu walked up to Liu Yusheng and said coldly.
"Liu Tiezhu, what do you mean by that?"
Liu Yusheng shot to his feet, his face flushed red with anger.
Just then, Huang Xiumei brought out the cooked bamboo chicken porridge. The rich aroma instantly made Liu Yusheng swallow his saliva. Seeing this, he sat back down. Bamboo chicken porridge—this was good stuff. He'd been gambling all night and was hungry; he couldn't miss this breakfast.
"Sister-in-law, you've got great skills. Get me a bowl. Oh, and I'll need to pack some up to take back to my dad later."
With that, Liu Yusheng didn't stand on ceremony, taking the bamboo chicken porridge and placing it in front of him.
Liu Tiezhu didn't give Liu Yusheng any face, reaching out and pressing down on the big pot. "Liu Yusheng, you really don't see yourself as an outsider, do you?" Liu Yusheng wanted to freeload and even pack leftovers to take home—treating their whole family like a cash cow.
Liu Yusheng's pride was wounded, and he glared fiercely at Liu Tiezhu. "Liu Tiezhu, what's your problem? You haven't even married my sister yet, and you're already treating your brother-in-law like this?"
"Liu Tieshan, didn't you hear what I said? I can't reach Liu Yuru's level, and I don't plan to marry her. Now get the hell out of here."
Liu Tiezhu pointed at the front door, giving Liu Yusheng no face at all.
"Liu Tiezhu, I'm not leaving today. What are you gonna do about it? You coward, daring to yell at me—you've lost your mind."
Liu Yusheng slammed the table, putting on a tough act, convinced Liu Tiezhu wouldn't dare do anything to him.
Hearing Liu Yusheng curse his mother, Liu Tieshan's face immediately darkened, and his fists clenched into balls. Before he could lose his temper, Liu Tiezhu grabbed a stool.
"I'll curse your ancestors! In my house, you think you can act tough, you son of a bitch? I'll show you who the real coward is today."
With that, Liu Tiezhu swung the stool at Liu Yusheng without hesitation.
Now Liu Yusheng was scared and quickly dodged. He'd been so bold because he was sure Liu Tiezhu wouldn't dare fight back. He never expected the usually docile Liu Tiezhu to suddenly become so fierce.
Missing with the first stool, Liu Tiezhu grabbed another one. Liu Yusheng, now enraged, also picked up a stool.
Beside them, Liu Tieshan roared and grabbed a stool too, his face red as he shouted at Liu Yusheng, "Liu Yusheng, are you done? Do you really think the Liu family is easy to bully?"
Just as the tension peaked, the courtyard gate opened, and Liu Ergou walked in. Seeing the scene, without a word, he pulled out a hatchet tucked at his waist and charged over.
"I'll curse your uncle! Liu Yusheng, you dare mess with my brother? I'll chop you up, you bastard!"
Liu Ergou's shout scared Liu Yusheng badly. As the saying goes, the fierce fear the ruthless, the ruthless fear the reckless, the reckless fear the desperate, and the desperate fear the foolish. Liu Ergou was that kind of stubborn fool. No matter how tough Liu Yusheng was, facing such a fool, he had to back down.
"Ergou, what do you think you're doing? This is between me and them—why are you butting in?"
Seeing Liu Ergou's red eyes, Liu Yusheng felt uneasy.
"I'll curse your mother! You playing dumb with me?"
Liu Ergou cursed, then kicked Liu Yusheng hard in the lower back. "Get the hell out of here now, or I'll chop you up. Don't think I'm joking, you bastard. I'm still a minor—if I chop you, it won't be a big deal."
Hearing Liu Ergou's threat, Liu Yusheng's face turned black with rage. Gritting his teeth, he shot Liu Ergou a few vicious glares. Finally, he threw down his stool and stormed off in anger.
"Damn it, if you dare come looking for trouble again, I'll go to the Liu family myself and break your dog legs. Don't think I'm joking, you bastard—if you cause trouble, I'll go all out."
As Liu Yusheng walked out the door, Liu Ergou didn't forget to add a threat.
After Liu Yusheng left, Liu Tieshan frowned, his face full of worry. "What do we do now? With things like this, your marriage to Liu Yuru is definitely off."
Liu Tiezhu put the stool back and said, "Brother, what good people can a family like the Lius raise? I never planned to marry Liu Yuru."
Liu Ergou chimed in, "Zhu-ge's right. With a brother like that, how good can the sister be? If you ask me, Liu Amei from our village is pretty good—thick waist, big butt—she'll definitely bring prosperity to the family line. Zhu-ge, if you marry her, tsk tsk..."
"Get lost."
Liu Tiezhu rolled his eyes and kicked Liu Ergou hard in the butt. Thinking of Liu Amei—five feet tall and a hundred and fifty pounds—Liu Tiezhu's skin crawled with goosebumps.
"Uncle Zhu doesn't want to marry Sister Amei. Uncle Ergou, since you say Sister Amei is so great, why don't you marry her?"
Yaoyao blinked her lively eyes, her childish voice instantly sparking laughter all around. The tense, oppressive atmosphere lightened because of Yaoyao's words.
The pot of bamboo chicken porridge was polished off by the four of them. After resting for half an hour, Liu Tiezhu saw it was about time and packed up with Liu Ergou to head out. Before leaving, worried that Liu Yusheng might come back to cause trouble, he specifically told his brother not to open the door if he saw Liu Yusheng again.
The two reached the foot of the mountain an hour later. Liu Ergou roughly figured out the direction and pointed to a eucalyptus grove not far away.
"Zhu-ge, behind that eucalyptus grove is an abandoned sweet potato field. There are often stupid roe deer showing up there. I've run into them several times, but I've never been able to catch one."
Liu Tiezhu checked the distance—about a kilometer away. Walking there would take another few dozen minutes. The road was hard to travel in the heavy snow, and at the foot of the mountain, with dense trees and weeds, there might be venomous snakes and such, so they had to be careful.
"Follow me and watch for my signals."
Liu Tiezhu said, then took the lead to clear the path.
They reached the eucalyptus grove forty minutes later. As soon as they stepped in, Liu Tiezhu noticed movement not far away. A rustling sound came from the thick snow—the noise of an animal moving. Based on his experience, the animal making that sound was either a rabbit or a roe deer. He quickly crouched down, pulled out his compound crossbow, and signaled Liu Ergou behind him to get low.
Liu Tiezhu signaled a few times, but Liu Ergou didn't react.
"Gouzi, what's wrong?"
Liu Tiezhu frowned and turned around. He saw Liu Ergou's face had gone pale with fear, his right hand trembling as he pointed ahead.
"Zhu... Zhu-ge... a... ahead..."