A few minutes later, Liu Houxing was dragged back like a dead dog by Er Gouzi.
Lights came on in the courtyard, and Second Uncle and the others all woke up.
Huang Xiumei, afraid of scaring Yaoyao, quickly closed the bedroom door.
Second Uncle and Big Brother, worried that Liu Tiezhu might suffer a loss, wrapped themselves in cotton coats, grabbed wooden sticks, and hurried over.
A drop of blood stained the ground near the wall. Ma Ge and Zhang Donghai were huddled together, their faces pale with fear.
Both of them had heard of Liu Tiezhu's ruthlessness.
Now that they were in his hands, they had no idea what fate awaited them.
"Brother Zhu, let's talk this out."
As he spoke, Ma Ge dropped to his knees with a thud, being the first to surrender.
At this moment, the best move he could think of was to cozy up to Liu Tiezhu.
Zhang Donghai wasn't slow either; he followed Ma Ge and knelt down.
"You know me?" Liu Tiezhu asked, frowning.
"I do... no, I don't..."
Er Gouzi tossed Liu Houxing in front of them and threatened coldly, "Damn it, do you know him or not?"
"Do you need a few beatings to spill the truth?"
"I don't know him, but I've heard Liu Yangshan talk about you guys."
Before Ma Ge could speak, Zhang Donghai blurted everything out.
"Damn it."
"Liu Yangshan, you sneaky bastard, playing dirty, huh?"
Liu Tiezhu's face darkened as he cursed coldly.
He had suspected Liu Yangshan might be scheming behind his back.
But he didn't expect that bastard to strike so soon with underhanded tactics.
Er Gouzi said coldly, "That son of a bitch never learns from his mistakes."
"If he starts it, don't blame us for finishing it."
"Right, right, it was all that bastard Liu Yangshan's idea that we came to steal..."
Smack...
Before Ma Ge could finish, Liu Tiezhu slapped him across the face.
"Can we settle this tonight?"
Liu Tiezhu fixed his gaze on Ma Ge's face.
"Yes, we can."
Ma Ge, scared out of his wits, nodded frantically.
"Will you come again?"
Ma Ge raised three fingers: "I swear, if I ever come again, I'm a son of a bitch."
"You said it yourself."
Liu Tiezhu shot Ma Ge a glare, then backhanded Zhang Donghai across the face.
"Big brother, don't hit me, let's talk this out."
Zhang Donghai waved his hands frantically, shouting in terror.
"Will you come again?"
Zhang Donghai quickly replied, "No, I wouldn't dare even if you paid me."
"Good. Remember your words."
"Next time you come, it won't be a slap—it'll be this."
Liu Tiezhu warned, then pulled the trigger on the compound crossbow in his hand. The bamboo arrow pierced the mud wall, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Seeing this, Ma Ge and the others swallowed hard, their eyes filled with deep terror.
If that thing had been aimed at them just now, they'd probably be meeting their ancestors by now.
"Get lost."
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand. The three of them, relieved, helped each other up and scrambled out of the yard.
"Gouzi, we're going to town tomorrow."
"Damn it, since Liu Yangshan dug his own grave, let's help him lie in it."
Liu Tiezhu's tone was icy.
He never believed in that crap about a gentleman taking ten years to get revenge.
Ten years? By then, the food's cold, and what's the point of revenge?
His motto was: settle the score on the spot.
"Zhu, are you planning to tell Liu Xiaoming about Liu Yangshan and Yang Xiaoli?" Second Uncle asked.
"Yeah. That bastard tried to ruin our family—I won't let him off easy."
Liu Tiezhu didn't hide his intentions and said it outright.
He had already given Liu Yangshan a chance before.
But Liu Yangshan still wanted to destroy him—that was unforgivable.
Second Uncle sighed and didn't try to dissuade Liu Tiezhu further.
Liu Tieshan opened his mouth but ultimately held back his words.
Since Liu Yangshan had come after them, Liu Tiezhu's retaliation was understandable.
Seeing that his elder brother and father weren't going to stop him, Er Gouzi grinned, eagerly anticipating the scene of Liu Xiaoming confronting Liu Yangshan.
Although Liu Xiaoming was over fifty, he had two sons, Liu Chengdong and Liu Chengshi.
Both were hot-blooded young men who wouldn't tolerate Liu Yangshan having an affair with their mother.
Once word got out, if they didn't demand justice, how could the three of them hold their heads up in the family?
The next day, Er Gouzi got up early.
He was so excited about seeing Liu Xiaoming go after Liu Yangshan that he couldn't sleep all night.
After breakfast, Liu Tiezhu canceled his original plan to go into the mountains. Instead, he took Er Gouzi and drove the mule cart to town.
An hour later, they arrived at Liu Xiaoming's grocery store.
Because of the cold weather, the store was empty.
Liu Xiaoming sat alone on a wooden chair, wrapped in a thick cotton coat, dozing off.
"Uncle Ming, Uncle Ming..."
Er Gouzi called out twice before Liu Xiaoming opened his bleary eyes.
"Gouzi, Zhu, what brings you here?"
"Need something? I'll get it for you."
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand and said, "Uncle, we're not here to buy anything."
"There's something I need to tell you."
Liu Xiaoming was taken aback. "What is it? Why all the secrecy, and you had to come all this way?"
"Aunt Yang... she's been with Liu Yangshan from our village."
"I didn't want to say anything, but if word gets out, it won't be good for you, Uncle..."
Before Liu Tiezhu could finish, Liu Xiaoming clenched his fists and interrupted angrily.
"Zhu, is this true?"
"That bitch is really messing around with that bastard Liu Yangshan?"
"Uncle Ming, would I joke about something like this?"
"The neighbors already know. I was worried the news would spread further, so I came to tell you."
"If you don't believe me, sneak back tonight and see for yourself," Liu Tiezhu said.
He was sure Liu Yangshan's lust wouldn't fade, and he'd keep hooking up with Yang Xiaoli.
When they were caught red-handed, Liu Xiaoming would probably tear Liu Yangshan apart.
"No wonder I asked that bitch to mind the store, and she kept making excuses."
"So she's been cheating on me behind my back. I'm going back to kill that bastard Liu Yangshan."
"And that bitch—I'll drown her in a pig cage."
Liu Xiaoming gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tight, his eyes bloodshot.
No man wants to be cuckolded.
It's a man's unbreakable bottom line.
Especially in the 1980s, a time of conservative thinking.
"Uncle Ming, if there's nothing else, we'll head back."
"Just don't let it slip that we told you."
As they left, Liu Tiezhu reminded him.
"Uncle Ming isn't that kind of person. I won't do anything to hurt a good heart."
Liu Xiaoming promised, patting his chest.
Once they were out of the grocery store, Er Gouzi couldn't help but laugh.
"Brother Zhu, I suddenly feel like you're too wicked."
"Wicked?" Liu Tiezhu smiled. "Against a bastard like Liu Yangshan, you have to be wicked."
"True. That bastard never learns, so he's got no one to blame."
"I wonder if Liu Xiaoming will grab a knife and kill them both when he catches Liu Yangshan and his wife in the act tonight."
Liu Tiezhu said, "I don't know if Liu Xiaoming will kill Liu Yangshan."
"But Liu Yangshan will either die or lose a layer of skin—that's for sure."