Chapter 125: Why Make Things Difficult for the Second Brother?

Amidst the shouting and cursing, Li Xian's first thought was to find some help.

He looked around the yard for a while and examined his seventy-six-year-old father, Li Daoyun, his brother Li You, who had never fought and had only pushed their father into a ditch, the somewhat capable Wu Shengli who wasn't really suited for this kind of situation, and Li Pi, who was only slightly taller than a doghouse.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the big yellow dog.

Ignoring the tugging of Li Jie behind him, he walked directly to the doghouse, unchained the big yellow dog whose weight had been steadily increasing since the summer house renovation, making it fatter and stronger, though still only about two circles smaller than a pig.

The dog wasn't particularly good—just a local mongrel. But it had an impressive ability to guard the house and loved to meddle in things. Not only did it bark at any strangers who came near their home, but it also barked at any disturbance in the neighborhood at night.

In a way, it was like the neighborhood watch auntie among dogs.

Well, Li You had originally gotten a female dog to have puppies.

Nevertheless, Li Xian wrapped the dog chain around his arm, and his demeanor immediately became more imposing. With the fierce dog in hand, he felt braver.

He waved to his family members, who had already stepped outside, "There are too many of them, so stay inside and hide."

Then, he led the big yellow dog to the front gate of the yard.

Liu Guangfa, shouting angrily, spat on the door when he saw Li Xian coming out with the dog. "Li Lao Er, you've got some guts, huh? Tell me, what's going to happen today?"

Outside the gate, a large crowd was gathered. The front row consisted of over twenty young men, many of whom Li Xian knew. However, these young workers were managed by the Youth League in the lumberyard, and their participation in work and progress had to be approved by the Youth League.

So even if Li Xian knew them, it was pointless—they weren't likely to side with him in this situation.

Behind these young men were the neighbors of the Liu family. They didn't carry any weapons and were just there to support the Liu family.

Seeing Li Xian come out, these people immediately began pointing and shouting.

This commotion had already attracted the attention of nearby neighbors. Although they generally had a good relationship with the Li family, Accountant Liu held significant power in the lumberyard, and most people wouldn't dare offend him. Those who wanted to help only stood in their own yards, shouting about "New Year" and "Harmony," which no one paid any attention to.

Amid the noise, Li Xian stood firm in front of the broken iron gate and smiled at the sight. The gate wasn't locked, so if the other side wanted to rush in, they could. This showed that they still had some reservations.

Feeling reassured, he looked Liu Guangfa up and down and said, "Liu Lao Er, what's your intention here?"

"What's my intention? My elder brother is still being held by your people! I don't care if my father is too old to deal with you; I, Liu Guangfa, won't stand for this. If my elder brother doesn't come back home in good condition today, I'll make sure you pay!"

"Right, no way!" Several young men behind him shouted.

Seeing their impressive demeanor but noticing they didn't even dare enter the yard, Li Xian shook his head, "Liu Lao Er, are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me? You want me to release your brother, but do you know what your brother was planning to do to me yesterday? Heh."

Liu Guangfa was momentarily speechless.

In the past few days, he had been busy with the team at the lumberyard, only coming down from the mountain early this morning. His family had already informed him of the situation.

Helping relatives is one thing, but if he didn't get this matter sorted out, his family's face would be ruined in the lumberyard.

To save face, especially in a closed-off environment like the lumberyard, reputation sometimes mattered more than anything.

Seeing Liu Guangfa unable to argue and only cursing in anger, Li Xian shook his head.

In terms of combat power, the Li family only had him and the dog now. They had an elderly grandfather and a young kid, so against Liu Guangfa's twenty-something strong youths plus possibly fifty or sixty supporters, they were clearly outmatched.

But Liu Guangfa chose to argue with words rather than engage in a physical fight—wasn't this showing off a skill he didn't have?

Sigh, looking like a king but being just a bronze-level warrior.

Li Xian looked at Liu Lao Er, who was about his age, and smiled slightly. "As I said before, go back and tell your father. No need for him to apologize or kneel. Just come over, pay a New Year's visit, promise not to use underhanded methods in the future, and your elder brother will come back home today."

With that, he ignored Liu Guangfa and, with the big yellow dog still showing its teeth, turned and went back into the yard.

He was certain that Liu Lao Er, apart from making some noise outside the yard, wouldn't cause much trouble. After all, the Forest Protection Section's change of attitude last night should have had some effect.

Just as he was feeling pleased with himself for having used words and demeanor to win the first round, there was suddenly a loud commotion from the road.

"What are you trying to do? I'm asking you what you want to do around my elder brother's house?! Brothers, grab your weapons!"

As Li Xian turned around from the yard, he saw Xu Bing, wearing a military coat and rubber boots, rushing over with seven or eight people.

Xu Bing was quick to act. Before Li Xian could even call him, he grabbed a piece of firewood from the roadside and, without hesitation, charged at the crowd.

Liu Guangfa, who was still chopping at the gate with his axe, didn't even have time to react before Xu Bing knocked him into the ditch with a piece of firewood.

Seeing the deputy leader being beaten, the twenty or so young men were enraged. They picked up shovels and axes, cursing and shouting, and started fighting Xu Bing and his group.

What had been a somewhat controlled situation suddenly escalated into chaos!

Li Xian slapped his thigh and quickly ran over.

But seeing the two sides in a bloody brawl, intervening with just himself and a dog would likely lead to disaster.

After all, he wasn't a legendary Taoist.

He could only stand at the gate, shouting for them to stop, but in the midst of the melee, no one paid him any attention.

At this moment, a loud shout rang out from outside the crowd.

"Do you all want to die? Everyone, calm down!"

Hearing this powerful voice, the young men from the lumberyard paused. When they saw a middle-aged man in a coat and a Liberation hat pushing through the crowd, they immediately stepped back and cleared a path.

The newcomer was Gao Ming's father, Gao Dayi, the head of the 86th Lumberyard.

With the two groups separated, Li Xian immediately went up and pulled Xu Bing and the others aside. He surveyed the situation and felt slightly relieved.

Fortunately, it was winter, and everyone was dressed in thick fur hats, big coats, and multiple layers of cotton pants.

Although these were standard winter outfits for the lumberyard, in a fight of this magnitude, they were akin to level three helmets and armor.

Although it looked chaotic, there was little real damage.

On the side, after stopping the young men, Gao Dayi frowned and looked at Li Xian.

"Li Lao Er, you've become quite the figure. Last night you had the Forest Protection Section's Liu family's elder detained, and this morning you caused trouble for Accountant Liu. Now you're bringing outsiders to attack your own villagers. Li Lao Er, you think you're a big shot now, don't you? You're not taking our lumberyard or me seriously?"

Hearing this, Li Xian frowned. The words were not only unpleasant but also off the mark.

"Uncle Gao, it's not quite like that." He tied the big yellow dog to the side of the gate and blocked Li You and the others who tried to refute him, "Everything should be reasonable. Why was Liu Guangsheng detained? It was because he sent people to trouble me. Why did the fight start earlier? Because Liu Guangfa brought people to block our gate. And why did Liu Lao Er and Liu Da Ge end up at odds yesterday afternoon? As the manager, don't you know the details?"

Gao Dayi's expression darkened.

Although Accountant Liu managed the finances, who could bypass the top leader in the lumberyard?

The lumberyard relied on timber for survival. Everyone did.

Gao Dayi's expression shifted slightly. He wasn't ready to argue over this.

Even if he didn't fully understand, he couldn't argue it out.

He waved his hand, "Stop talking nonsense. Go speak with the Forest Protection Section and get Liu Lao Da released. We'll call it even. The 89th Lumberyard isn't just your own home. If you continue to stir up trouble like this, I'll deal with you. All the trouble you've caused won't make a difference if you go to Director Xu. I'm not afraid!"

Li Xian smiled and already had a few

 points in his mind.

When the top leaders don't see eye to eye, it's nonsense.

It seems he has indeed offended quite a few people in the timber business.

"Then you can do whatever you want. As I said, let Accountant Liu come over to pay a New Year's visit, and this matter will be resolved." With that, he turned and walked back into the yard.

At that moment, two cars turned off the main road and honked a few times at the crowd. The driver of the lead car rolled down the window and peered out.

Seeing the aggressive crowd, he blinked.