Chapter 123: The Couplets

During the logging season, in order to prevent poaching and illegal logging, the forest protection personnel are stationed in the lumberyard. Although their primary role isn't to handle public security, they do have the authority to enforce security due to the complex composition of people coming and going during the winter. However, they generally don't intervene in civil disputes.

At this moment, seeing the handcuffs as soon as the other party entered, Li Xian frowned. He immediately realized that Liu Guangsheng had probably suffered some loss and sought his father for help.

Although Liu's position wasn't very high, in the small realm of the lumberyard, his word still carried weight. Especially since the accountant managed the guesthouse and the canteen accounts, everything had to go through him.

With this power, the local forest protection personnel generally maintained good relations with him.

Presumably, these forest protection people were summoned by Accountant Liu.

The forest protection officers are quite severe; whether it's catching illegal logging, timber measurement fraud, or unauthorized land clearance in autumn, they handle it ruthlessly.

Generally, even the most arrogant lumberyard workers would fear them when they see their green uniforms.

However, at this moment, facing the glaring handcuffs, Li Xian felt no sense of danger at all. Instead, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Wasn't it you who hit someone? Be serious!" The leader of the group, seeing Li Xian's unusually cheerful expression, shouted loudly. "And who else? Come out and stand up!"

Seeing the other party approaching to grab his arm, Li Xian took a big step back into the room.

On the kang, Wu Shengli was sitting with a handful of melon seeds, observing the people who rushed in.

When Li Xian retreated into the room, several people followed in and immediately surrounded him, preparing to forcibly take him away. Unexpectedly, as soon as the forest protection officers touched Li Xian, a handful of melon seeds were thrown right at their faces.

"Hey?!" The leader of the group, furious, pointed at the kang and yelled, "Are you resisting? Is this resisting the law?!"

"Resisting your grandma's leg!" The response was a string of foul curses.

Initially, the leader didn't pay much attention to the kang, but this familiar angry curse startled him so much that he shivered all over. "Wu Wu Wu Wu Wu… Wu…"

…

A few minutes later, the fierce forest protection team that had seemed like wolves and tigers was now lined up, standing stiffly by the edge of the kang.

"Meng Qingwei, you've really made progress," Wu Shengli said, sitting cross-legged on the kang, munching on melon seeds and throwing the shells at the leader.

"Taking people's money and coming here to settle things for them?"

The team leader Meng Qingwei stood straight and replied, "Report, old section chief, no!"

In response, he received a handful of melon seed shells thrown at his face. "Did you drink their alcohol?"

Meng Qingwei, who was as burly as a bear, awkwardly smiled and bent over like a child who had done something wrong, "Uh…"

Wu Shengli snickered and pointed at Li Xian, "Do you know who this is?"

Meng Qingwei shook his head.

"This is my adopted son who will take care of me in my old age! Meng Qingwei, do you want me to invite you for a drink and plead with you to let my son go?"

"Eh!" Meng Qingwei repeatedly waved his hand, "Old section chief, you should just give me a beating! Don't belittle me with little talks. I have no confidence…"

"Get lost!" Wu Shengli pointed at the door, "Whoever sent you here, go back and find them. If they told you to deal with my son, then you do as they say! I'll stay here until after the New Year. I want to see how you handle this."

"Yes!"

Meng Qingwei stood straight, waved at his dejected team members, and after exchanging New Year's greetings with Wu Shengli and promising to visit again, hurriedly left.

Watching the group leave the courtyard, Li Xian grinned and walked over to Wu Shengli. "Godfather!"

Hearing Li Xian call him that for the first time, Wu Shengli was stunned and then moved to tears, "Hey! Kid, I told you that calling me godfather wouldn't be in vain, right? Hey, look, it's already come in handy!"

Li Xian nodded vigorously, "Yeah! Much more useful than a little dog!"

Duang!

Li You smacked the back of his head, "Why are you talking to your godfather like that?"

Seeing Li Xian being knocked onto the kang, Wu Shengli felt distressed, "Big brother, how could you hit my adopted son like that?!"

"Hey!"

Nearby, Li Daoyun exhaled a puff of smoke.

At Accountant Liu's house.

The family was frantically calling on spirits and burning soul-binding charms for Liu Bao, who had been beaten into a pig's head and scared speechless after returning home.

The soul-binding charm is a unique thing in Northeast rural areas; it's basically a talisman written by a practitioner. When a child is frightened, the charm is waved three times over their head and then burned.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't; it's very random, but families with children usually have a stack prepared.

Liu Accountant's influence in the lumberyard was significant, so when the neighbors heard that Liu Bao had suffered a loss from the old Li family, they all came to visit.

There were those who criticized the old Li family for being heartless and others who provided various folk remedies to summon the soul. The house was bustling with activity during the New Year.

Among the clamor of relatives, Liu Guangsheng spat on the ground and said to the silent Liu Accountant, "Dad, leave the child here today. I'll go over to the guesthouse later to find Old Meng and the others! Damn it, if we don't make Li Xian's head bubble today, this matter won't end!"

"Don't be reckless. Li Lao Er might have some connections we don't know about. He could have connections with some leaders in the bureau," Liu Accountant, though also fuming, remained clear-headed. "Don't take action yourself; let Old Meng and his team handle it."

Looking at his usually lively son's dumbfounded state, Liu Guangsheng felt pained and frustrated. Thinking of the big loss he had just suffered, he was burning with anger.

"Afraid of him?! What can they do? Unless they don't want to stay in the lumberyard anymore!"

As he spoke, the door was suddenly yanked open. Meng Qingwei walked in with a stern face.

"Old Meng! Did you bring Li Xian back?" Seeing Meng Qingwei enter, Liu Guangsheng's heart lifted, and he immediately asked.

Meng Qingwei, expressionless, shook his head.

"Damn it! You haven't gone yet?" Liu Guangsheng became anxious.

Just as he was about to urge him, he saw Meng Qingwei pull out a pair of handcuffs, which he attached to Liu Guangsheng's hands amid his astonishment. Without further ado, Meng Qingwei, under the shocked eyes of everyone in the room, dragged the disheveled Liu Guangsheng out.

After a while, Liu Accountant's wife sat down on the ground, crying out, "Old Liu! What's going on?"

On the side, Liu Accountant, with a pale face, swayed and then collapsed to the ground with a thud—he was overwhelmed with anger and fainted.

The Liu family became even more chaotic.

…

Li Pi ran around in vain, unable to find Wang Qinghe and the others. He called Xu Bing's pager at the checkpoint but didn't get a return call, so he just went home.

Zou Ni prepared a meal and warmed up some liquor. Finally, the family had a peaceful dinner together.

Early the next morning, Li Xian got up early. After he finished washing up, he saw Wu Shengli already skillfully approaching Li Daoyun, just like he used to at the retirement home.

Old Wu was obviously very interested in Li Daoyun, discussing his past banditry activities. At home, Li Daoyun, who was always mumbling to himself, seemed quite pleased to have someone to talk to.

Seeing these two lively characters enjoying themselves in the cold courtyard, Li Xian was both amused and helpless.

He hadn't had a chance to thoroughly check the house after returning yesterday because of the commotion.

The big yellow dog in the kennel still recognized him. Seeing his master who often threw bones for it in the summer return, it wagged its tail and turned in circles, making the iron chain around its neck rattle.

The pigpen next to the doghouse was in worse shape. Originally, there had been two big fat pigs, but due to the New Year, one had been slaughtered. Only one pig, with a black ring on its ear, remained alone in the pen, feeling lonely.

After eating pig's head meat last night, Li Xian felt quite uncomfortable looking at the remaining pig.

He walked up to the pigpen, whistled at the big pig, and sighed, "It's tough for you too, having lost your companion during the New Year. But don't worry, after the New Year, I'll still invite Wang Qinghe and Xu Bing to a meal. I'll send you off then, alright?"

Whether the big pig understood or not, it let out a mournful cry, its small eyes wide with fear, as it shuffled its short legs and squeezed into the corner of the pen, trembling

 in the presence of the grinning Li Xian.

Li Xian chuckled and, seeing the empty pigpen, decided to make it festive. He went back inside, took out a brush and ink, cut the red paper, and wrote a couplet.

Then, he carried the bean curd soup that Zou Ni had just made that morning and pasted the couplet onto the pigpen.

Seeing Li Xian putting up the couplet on the pigpen, Li Daoyun and Wu Shengli laughed heartily.

"Didn't you say you'll slaughter the pig after the New Year? Why go through the trouble now?" Wu Shengli asked, stretching his neck.

Li Xian smiled and didn't respond.

On the side, Li Daoyun looked at the couplet and nodded, "People enjoy prosperity and boundless joy; pigs root at the grand gate with surplus every year. The writing is average, but the meaning is good. Grandson, add a horizontal scroll."

"What should the horizontal scroll say, Grandpa?" Li Xian asked with a smile after posting the couplet.

Li Daoyun thought for a moment, "Just 'Blessings Fill the House'."

"Got it!" Li Xian complied and wrote the horizontal scroll to place above the pigpen.

The pigpen looked festive, while the doghouse seemed rather desolate. Li Xian cut more paper and, with bold strokes, wrote a message for the doghouse: "Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof, woof woof woof woof woof woof woof,旺旺旺旺."

Now, there wasn't a single place in the yard without festive decorations.

Seeing there was no more place to put up couplets in the courtyard, Li Xian suddenly remembered something.

Although the previous night had passed peacefully, he still needed to address the matter with Accountant Liu properly.

Thinking of this, he went back inside, wrote another couplet, and without taking anything else, tucked the couplet under his arm, called the sleepy Li Pi who hadn't brushed his teeth yet, and left the courtyard.

"Grandson, where are you going?" Li Daoyun asked as he saw his two grandsons heading out, holding his large pipe.

"I'm going to New Year's greetings at Accountant Liu's house!"

Outside the door, Li Xian answered loudly.