Chapter 17: What's Wrong?

Seeing that Chu Dashan was truly intending to hang himself at the entrance, Chu Xuan shouted toward the kitchen, "Xiaofeng, hurry and call a few villagers over to watch the spectacle. If this Grandpa Chu breaks our main gate, he can serve as a witness."

Chu Feng had just finished the housework and nimbly ran out of the kitchen, "Alright, I'm on it!"

He was indeed somewhat afraid of Chu Dashan, but with his sister there, he could boldly walk right past him.

The moment Chu Dashan saw Chu Feng, he felt the boy had grown fatter and fairer. Had it only been a few days since the family split, how could the change be this drastic?

It seemed Chu Xuan had quite a bit of money on her.

As for wanting compensation from his eldest son—not a chance!

"Xiaofeng, don't you know how to greet your grandfather?"

His tone was laced with authority.

Chu Feng didn't look at him; instead, he looked toward Chu Xuan.

Chu Xuan gave a half-smile, "Xiaofeng, you must be polite. Hurry and greet Grandpa Chu!"

Chu Feng cooperated perfectly, "Hello, Grandpa Chu!"

This greeting was so sudden it made Chu Dashan choke.

Chu Dashan clutched his ribs, enduring the pain.

"Xiaofeng, you used to listen to your grandparents more than anyone, but now you've been taught to be lawless by your sister! Do you even remember your own surname is Chu?"

Chu Feng made a face at him, said nothing, and ran off to call people...

At that moment, with no one else passing by, Chu Dashan's eyes darted around. Immediately after, he sat on the ground, slowly lay down, and kicked off both his cloth shoes.

He put on a pathetic display as if he had been beaten down.

Chu Xuan saw right through him; Chu Dashan was trying to play the rogue.

If he wanted to extort people, she knew how to do it too.

She stepped forward and picked up Chu Dashan's cloth shoes.

She pressed several footprints onto her own body, especially over her heart area.

Having finished this, she tossed the shoes near Chu Dashan's feet.

Mimicking Chu Dashan's mannerisms, she lay down on the ground outside the courtyard gate.

"Grandpa Chu, is this just a competition to see who is more miserable? There are no footprints on your body, so people will only believe me!"

Chu Dashan scrambled up from the ground, his hands trembling, "Chu Xuan, you unprincipled girl! I'll beat you to death!"

He picked up the shoes from the ground and swung them at Chu Xuan.

Chu Xuan dodged with difficulty.

This scene was witnessed exactly as the villagers rushed over to watch the commotion.

Seeing is believing; everyone assumed Chu Dashan was beating Chu Xuan.

They stepped forward to restrain him.

"Look at what you've done to Chu Xuan!"

"Can this girl even get back up?"

"Poor thing! She was beaten before the family split, and now she's being beaten after the split. Will she ever have a peaceful life?"

Chu Dashan knew he couldn't explain himself, so he decided to go all out.

"If Chu Xuan doesn't agree to go to the security team to bring her grandmother and second uncle back, I'll hang myself right here at the gate!"

He threw the hemp rope toward the door frame.

He succeeded on the first try.

After tying the knot, he gave the rope a hard tug. Before he could even loop it around his neck, the door frame snapped, and the main gate collapsed into the courtyard.

Chu Feng ran to Chu Xuan's side, his eyes filled with heartache, "Sister, what happened to you? Did Chu Dashan hit you?"

Chu Xuan responded weakly, "Yes! He kicked me several times in the chest... Don't mind me, go call the security team first. Tell them someone came to destroy our gate. I don't want compensation; I only want them arrested!"

Chu Dashan was stunned, "I didn't..."

It was useless to say anything now; so many eyes had seen it.

If he didn't give the eldest son's compensation to Chu Xuan, not only would he fail to save his wife and second son, but he would end up behind bars himself.

Only now did he realize that Chu Xuan was no longer that chubby, simpleton from before.

One moment of carelessness and she had schemed him.

Chu Dashan was filled with regret.

However, asking him for money was out of the question!

He remained incredibly stubborn, "Chu Xuan, if you think you can squeeze money out of me, you'll have to wait until your next life! I'd rather be arrested! Being in jail sounds great! At least there's food!"

Upon hearing about this, Wang Depin rushed over. Seeing the shattered gate and the footprints on Chu Xuan, he did not hesitate to call the security team.

Ultimately, the matter ended with Chu Dashan being taken away.

Even after being arrested, Chu Dashan still refused to pay compensation, declaring that even if he rotted in prison, he wouldn't pay a single cent.

When Chu Xuan heard this, she gave a cold laugh. If Chu Dashan's family wouldn't give her the money, then it would just benefit certain thieves—like Qiu Daguang and his wife.

Currently, Chu Dashan's house was empty. Given the nature of Qiu Daguang and his wife, they would definitely sneak over to scavenge.

Evil is met with evil.

Let them torment each other!

At seven o'clock the next morning, while out foraging by the sea, Chu Xuan saw Qiu Daguang and his wife discussing a trip to the county department store with great excitement. She guessed they had succeeded.

After picking up two buckets of clams, Chu Xuan brought them home, not intending to sell them.

The construction team would arrive tomorrow to build the house, and she would need to provide lunch; stir-fried clams would be a good dish.

She asked her younger brother for fifty yuan, gave him instructions, and went to the town to shop.

Around three in the afternoon, Chu Xuan returned to the village with her supplies and heard that Chu Dashan's house had been burglarized.

It was discovered by Feng Chunhua's brother, Feng Ti.

The security personnel were currently investigating the case and had already traced it to Qiu Daguang and his wife.

Chu Xuan did not go to watch the commotion.

The tide would recede at seven tonight, and she planned to go foraging; she needed to rest well at home for now.

Around six in the afternoon, Chu Xuan woke up, and Chu Feng thoughtfully had prepared dinner.

Stir-fried clams, tomato and scrambled eggs, steamed rice, and millet porridge.

After dinner, Chu Xuan took her flashlight and foraging tools and headed out.

By the time she reached the beach, over a dozen people were already there picking clams.

Chu Xuan didn't pick clams; instead, she walked toward the rock piles.

She had found good catches in that area several times before.

Upon arriving, she searched between the rocks and found three octopuses, each weighing about a pound.

She felt quite happy.

However, she was happy too soon. An hour passed, and the bucket still only contained those three octopuses.

Just as she was hesitating whether to return to the beach to pick clams, a familiar man's voice drifted over.

"Chu Xuan, out foraging again! How's your luck today?"

It was Mu Chenze.

The light from his flashlight shone into her bucket.

Chu Xuan responded with a hint of disappointment, "Not great. As you can see, I only caught three octopuses."

Mu Chenze's flashlight shone toward the newly exposed beach, "Huh? I thought I saw something jumping over there just now."

Chu Xuan saw it too and immediately became interested, "There might be fish. Why don't you go check?"

"No thanks. I'm just out for a walk because I'm bored; I have no interest in foraging."

Leaving those words behind, Mu Chenze departed.

Chu Xuan carefully picked her way across the rocks toward the area where the fish might be.

She searched carefully with her flashlight. She didn't see any fish, but she saw dozens of prawns.

They were long, laterally compressed, and somewhat shuttle-shaped; they were quite plump this season.

It had been a long time since she had eaten them; they would be delicious simply boiled in water.

With no one else competing for them, she gathered all the prawns into her bucket in less than fifteen minutes.

Seeing the tide coming in, Chu Xuan carried her bucket and headed home happily.

At that moment, Qin Mahua was muttering in the kitchen, "Huh? I remember Xiao Ze brought back a full bucket of fish and shrimp, so why isn't the bucket full now? Could a cat have stolen them? I'll have to keep it covered from now on!"

Walking toward home, Mu Chenze couldn't help but sneeze. *Who is talking about me? Could it be Chu Xuan?*

Judging by her appearance, she shouldn't have been injured in her confrontation with Chu Dashan.

After returning home, Chu Xuan looked at the prawns in her bucket, thought of the previous hairtail, and suddenly felt that something was not quite right...

(End of Chapter)