Chapter 4: 4. Chapter 4: The Solution

Chapter 4: A Solution

At the critical moment, a man stepped in front of Su Tai.

"A group of men ganging up on a woman—have you no shame! Who taught you to be like this?" Shen Yi glared at Xiong Dao and his cohorts with a dark expression.

He was tall and imposing, his face cold and stern. His natural air of authority immediately intimidated Xiong Dao’s group.

Su Tai was furious. Relying on someone to stand up for her, she didn't even bother to check who it was before raising her wooden club and swinging it at the men who had beaten Su Zhan. "I’ll beat you bastards to death, you little punks! See how you like bullying my brother."

Shen Yi never expected Su Tai to be so fierce; his composure faltered for a moment.

"Ow, ow, ow! Cousin, help me!" Xiong Dao and the others were forced to scramble and dodge in all directions by Su Tai’s wild swinging, and in the chaos, they were even accidentally struck by others involved in the brawl.

Xiong Dao, in particular, who was trying to reach Xiong Kai for help, was struck solidly in the back by a club and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Su Zhan was startled. Fearing that someone might be killed, he quickly pulled the frantic Su Tai back.

Shen Yi turned around and realized the siblings had vanished. When he looked back again, he saw the Township Head, Su Changfu, arriving with men, so he quietly slipped away.

"What is all this commotion!" Su Changfu roared. The people fighting gradually stopped. While some still grumbled and cursed in frustration, no one dared to continue swinging their clubs.

Only then did Xiong Kai’s uncle notice his son lying on the ground. He screamed like a madman, "My son! My son!"

Xiong Kai’s expression shifted. He rushed over to pick up Xiong Dao, glaring fiercely at the people around him. "Who did this?"

Everyone stepped back, looking at each other, but no one spoke.

Su Changfu trotted over and shouted angrily, "Why aren't you taking him to the town clinic yet! Bringing children to a brawl—do you all have a death wish?"

The Xiong clan members were too ashamed to lift their heads. The main reason Xiong Dao and the others had come today was to take advantage of the situation to vent their anger for Xiong Kai; the fact that they were just half-grown boys made the situation even harder to justify.

Xiong Kai’s uncle was a mess of tears and snot, urging Xiong Kai to hurry and take Xiong Dao to a doctor.

Xiong Kai hesitated, but seeing his uncle on the verge of a breakdown, he gritted his teeth and left with his people.

With the Xiong family gone, Su Changfu turned his gaze to Gao Zhi, the village head of Ximen Village, his face full of displeasure. "They were causing trouble and you didn't stop them? Or did you lead them here to stir up trouble yourself?"

Gao Zhi’s face twitched. He was furious inside, but he had to put on a fawning smile. "Township Head! This really has nothing to do with me! By the time I chased after them, they were already locked in a fight. I wanted to make them stop, but my words carry no weight—no one listened! Besides, this is Dongmen Village’s territory. Su Changxi must have arrived before me; why don't you ask him why he didn't stop it?"

"Hey! Didn't I try to stop it? You were the ones being unreasonable and starting the fight, you shameless old man!" Su Changxi retorted bluntly.

The people from Ximen Village were incensed, shouting all at once, "It was clearly you who secretly diverted the water and caused our village’s stream to dry up! You must give us an explanation!"

"Who saw it? Who saw it?" Su Changxi played the rogue.

The Ximen Village crowd was once again driven to fury, ready to lash out.

Su Changfu glared at his troublesome younger brother and said in a deep voice, "Enough! Everyone shut your mouths. Things have reached this point; it’s more practical to find a way to get water. Looking at the situation, whether Dongmen Village secretly diverted water or not, the Little Pebble River will be completely dry within two days."

At these words, everyone fell silent, the ferocity on their faces replaced by worry.

Many looked around, whispering, "We’ve already searched everywhere we could for water. I’m afraid we’ll have to walk a full day to the Canglan River to fetch water from now on."

Many thought this, but few voiced it. The Canglan River was extremely far away; a round trip took three days, they couldn't carry much water at once, and they might encounter other dangers on the road. It wasn't a good solution.

Zeng Kuan, the village head of Zhongmen Village, finally spoke up. "If there’s no other way, we’ll have to go into the mountains, find a damp spot, and dig a well. Maybe we can get some water that way."

Gao Zhi frowned in displeasure. "That’s easy to say, but digging a well costs a lot of money! Who has that kind of silver these days? And what if only one village manages to find water? How will that be settled?"

Su Changxi widened his eyes and said as if it were obvious, "Naturally, whichever village digs it gets the water."

Gao Zhi sneered, "That’s not a fair deal! What if we spend the money and effort but find nothing, and our villagers' stored water runs out? Wouldn't that be a death sentence? In my opinion, it’s more practical to go to the Canglan River and just endure it."

Su Changxi curled his lip. "Go if you want to; no one is stopping you."

Gao Zhi was choked with anger and let out a heavy huff.

Seeing that everyone had their own ideas, Su Changfu spoke unhurriedly, "In that case, go do what you need to do and stop gathering to cause trouble! Gao Zhi, that injured child is from your village, right? If he actually dies, you can forget about being village head."

Gao Zhi’s expression changed, and he hurriedly abandoned the crowd and rushed toward the town.

With the village head gone, the villagers of Ximen Village left one after another, though they continued to mutter curses under their breath.

With those troublemakers gone, everyone’s mood improved slightly.

Zeng Kuan looked at Su Changxi with concern. "Do you really agree with my plan?"

Su Changxi sighed helplessly, his expression gloomy. "What else can I do if I don't agree? It wasn't easy to talk with that old bastard Gao Zhi around. Now that it’s just our two villages, I have nothing to hide. I’ve been measuring the Little Pebble River every day, and the water level is dropping faster each day. At this rate, the stream will dry up today, which is why I told the villagers to drain the remaining water overnight—every little bit helps."

"I knew you were being sly!" Zeng Kuan was speechless, though he understood Su Changxi’s actions; he would have done the same.

Because they decided to dig a well, the men from the two villages gathered to discuss the most cost-effective and labor-saving methods.

By this time, Su Tai had already been pulled home by Su Zhan to hide.

"Big Sister, you aren't hurt, are you?" Su Zhan panted, his eyes full of worry as he looked at Su Tai.

Su Tai shook her head. "Don't worry, they didn't even touch a single hair on my head. On the contrary, those bastards took several hits from my club. I’d say I got my revenge for you."

Su Zhan sighed helplessly. "Big Sister, I don't need you to stand up for me. Just take good care of yourself. I don't know what the situation is like over there now, or if that Xiong Dao was beaten to death. I have to go take a look secretly. Stay home and don't run around, okay?"

Su Tai nodded obediently. She looked at the sky outside, guessing that by the time Su Zhan got there, things would have calmed down and no major trouble would occur.

The most urgent task was to find a way to unlock the Space-Time Gate; otherwise, the entire village would fall into a survival crisis.

With that thought, after Su Zhan left, she immediately took a wicker basket to the creek. Those small creek stones wouldn't fetch a good price, so she turned her attention to the large creek stones weighing dozens of pounds. Perhaps those were worth more.

(End of chapter)