Chapter 16: The Posture of Complaining

The moonlight was cold and clear, the night breeze slightly cool, the air so still it was frightening.

Lin Nianhe, like someone who had narrowly escaped death, patted his chest, "Good thing I set a mouse trap, otherwise I really would've been at a disadvantage!"

He peeked his head out from behind Wen Lan, looking at the thug who lay beaten and sneered, "You're just lucky. My nail board isn't finished yet, otherwise... hehe!"

The onlookers watched Lin Nianhe with complicated expressions. Those with ill intentions unconsciously hugged themselves, glad they had only thought about doing something but hadn't acted on it yet.

This Educated Youth Lin looked so delicate and easy to bully, but who would have expected he was not someone to be messed with!

Li Dahe furrowed his brows in frustration, wanting to kick this creeper of female Educated Youth's wall, but, seeing no proper place to kick, he could only say, "First, remove the mouse traps from his body!"

Any more struggling and the man would be done for.

A few strong young men stepped forward to take off the mouse traps, perhaps out of disdain for the thug, or maybe to show they had no ill intentions, they weren't gentle at all, causing him to wail even more horribly than before from the added pain.

After a full five or six minutes of torment, all the mouse traps were finally removed.

Li Dahe shone a flashlight on the thug's face, and only then did everyone see his true face clearly.

"Zhao Zhuangshi?"

Hearing Li Dahe call out the thug's name, Lin Nianhe immediately frowned.

He had heard of this man's notorious reputation; just yesterday Aunt Li had specifically spoken about him when gossiping.

Zhao Zhuangshi was a well-known ne'er-do-well in the village, idling about all day, either stealing chickens and dogs or harassing young girls and married women.

His father died early, leaving only a fierce mother protective of her son. As Zhao Zhuangshi himself was tall and strong, he ran rampant in the village with no one daring to confront him.

Only the team leader sometimes couldn't stand it and would speak up. But even Li Dahe could not say too much, for fear of Widow Zhao creating a scene at his home.

Seeing that it was Zhao Zhuangshi, Li Dahe felt a headache coming on, sensing his hair thinning even further.

"My boy!"

A shrill scream once again echoed over the Educated Youth Corps; Widow Zhao in a patched black shirt threw herself beside Zhao Zhuangshi. Seeing that Zhao Zhuangshi was just crying from the pain, she rolled up her sleeves and lunged at Lin Nianhe:

"You heartless little wench! How dare you set a mouse trap to hurt my son! You fatherless girl, I'll teach you a good lesson!"

Lin Nianhe's eyes darkened, he pushed away Wen Lan who was ready to fight, broke free from Wang Shumei's grip, and met Widow Zhao head-on.

He must fight this battle himself!

Lin Nianhe's physical fitness wasn't as it was in his previous life, but the fighting experience etched in his brain was enough; his skills were still very useful.

He grabbed Widow Zhao's outstretched wrist with his right hand, and with a deft small capture technique, he had her under control.

Wen Lan was shocked by Lin Nianhe's maneuver as she was about to turn back to help. She stared at him with wide eyes, her gaze filled with fervor.

The other villagers all inhaled sharply, looking at Lin Nianhe in disbelief.

Lin Nianhe ignored their stares, kicking Widow Zhao's behind, sending her tumbling onto her son Zhao Zhuangshi, who was still lying on the ground groaning.

"Ow—"

Zhao Zhuangshi was already sore all over from the mouse traps, and with his mother's weight crashing onto him, he immediately curled up like a shrimp.

Widow Zhao also tumbled hard and struggled to get up. After checking on her oldest son, her eyes darted around before she started howling while sitting on the ground and slapping her thigh: "God! I can't live like this anymore! An Educated Youth is beating people up!"

Widow Zhao slapped her thigh hard, making a loud smacking sound, prompting Wang Shumei to instinctively want to rub her own legs.

The villagers watched the shameless Widow Zhao, the corners of their mouths twitching.

They sympathized with Lin Nianhe, but they truly didn't dare to stick their necks out.

Who could live in peace after getting targeted by these rough mother and son? With elders above and children below, they had to consider their own households.

Li Dahe smoothed his hair and walked forward with determination.

Others could be quails, but he couldn't just stand by!

Being the brigade commander was tough...

Lin Nianhe noticed the conflicted expression on Li Dahe's face and immediately understood his concerns.

She stepped forward, speaking before Li Dahe could open his mouth: "My mousetrap was placed in my own yard. Your son clumsily stepped on my mousetrap after wandering over. I haven't even asked him to compensate for my loss, yet you're the one accusing me first."

Widow Zhao's crying stopped abruptly as she stared intently at Lin Nianhe with eyes wide open, like a vengeful ghost: "What did you say? You want me to pay you? Have you no shame?"

Lin Nianhe dusted her hands off and said coolly, "Don't want to compensate? Fine, then let's report this to the Public Security. I'll pay for your son's medical bills, and you pay for my mousetrap. Oh right, I also have to ask the comrades at Public Security, what's the punishment for a hoodlum climbing over the walls of a female Educated Youth's house in the middle of the night?"

Widow Zhao choked, swallowing all her retorts.

She scrambled up from the ground, pulling Zhao Zhuangshi up as well, shaking her head repeatedly: "We won't report this to Public Security, no reporting! My son just had too much to drink and took the wrong path, I'll just chalk it up to bad luck, we won't ask for your compensation, okay?"

"I may chalk it up to bad luck, but I certainly won't," Lin Nianhe raised her chin, a sly glint in her eyes, "I was sound asleep when suddenly I was scared awake..."

As she spoke, she suddenly grasped her chest and leaned towards Wang Shumei's direction, saying "Ow, my chest hurts... I can't take it, I need to go to the hospital..."

Wang Shumei reacted quickly, stepping forward to catch Lin Nianhe.

As soon as Lin Nianhe leaned into Wang Shumei's arms, they both staggered, nearly falling over together, looking pitiful.

The cold wind blew in gusts, causing Lin Nianhe to sneeze loudly.

This perfectly timed sneeze startled Widow Zhao, and seeing Lin Nianhe's frail figure, her mind was overrun with the thought of losing money.

Compensating her was out of the question, absolutely impossible!

Widow Zhao immediately began to jump and make a scene: "You just hit me too! I'm in pain! I need to go to the hospital too!"

"Just give it up!"

Yu Xiangqin stepped forward, hands on hips, rolling her eyes at Widow Zhao: "You're jumping three feet high, you don't look injured at all!"

Widow Zhao then realized she had the wrong posture for playing the victim and grabbed Zhao Zhuangshi: "But my son's injuries are real, aren't they?"

"He brought it on himself!" Li Dahe barked angrily, giving her a piercing look as a warning, "Old Zhao Family, if you keep making baseless accusations, I'll really report this to Public Security!"

Widow Zhao closed her mouth sheepishly, muttering softly, "I don't have money to pay her anyhow..."

Li Dahe gave her a sideways glance and said to Zhao Zhuangshi, who had been hiding behind Widow Zhao, "Starting tomorrow, you're going to clean the cattle shed. If you dare to slack off or play tricks, we're reporting this to Public Security!"

Zhao Zhuangshi instinctively wanted to refuse, but before he could say a word, he heard Lin Nianhe on the other side mumbling, "Sister Shumei, am I going to die... quickly help me back to my room to write my will, I need to tell my parents that I was scared to death, and murder demands life for life..."