Chapter 247: Impatience

Chapter 247: Chapter 247: Impatience

Emerging from the cave entrance—which was already well-hidden and had been fortified by Gu Nuan Nuan with a Mist Array—Zhang Minzhen was mesmerized by the sight before her. Birds were returning to their nests as dusk fell, and in the distance, she could see wisps of cooking smoke rising from the direction of the village. She quietly tugged on Zhang Wei Qiang’s sleeve and whispered, "Brother, what do you think the chances are that we’ll run into them on our way back?"

"At least ninety percent," Zhang Wei Qiang replied without hesitation.

"Ugh, I figured as much..." Zhang Minzhen rolled her eyes and sighed. "If only they could put this much dedication into something worthwhile."

"Everyone chooses their own path in life. If they’re willing to waste their energy on pointless things, there’s no need for you to be sighing over it." A sharp glint flashed in Zhang Wei Qiang’s eyes. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "As for them, they can’t stir up any real trouble."

Lihua Village, in front of the Zhang family’s main gate.

Four filthy, disheveled figures reeked of a foul stench. If not for the two brand-new bicycles parked incongruously beside them, anyone would have mistaken them for beggars. They were slumped listlessly against the wall, some chewing on grass roots, others tearing blades of grass to pieces, littering the ground with clippings and dirt.

"We’ve been waiting for four days. Where on earth did they go? Maybe... maybe we should just go home and come back to check in a few days?" Fang Juxian couldn’t stand her own filth and the misery of sleeping outdoors any longer. They were lucky it hadn’t rained, or they would have been forced to go back whether they liked it or not.

Hearing this, Zhang Weihong and Zhang Weimin hesitated. Four days and three nights of waiting had pushed them to their limit. Impatience crept onto their faces at the thought of how much longer this could go on. The four of them had lost count of how many times they’d bickered and blamed one another. Zhang Weihong and Zhang Weimin were particularly furious with Fang Juxian and Guo Xiuying, who had fumbled their chance on the first day and only made things worse.

"No! We’ve waited this long. They might even be back tonight. If we leave now, won’t these past few days of hardship have been for nothing?" Upon hearing Fang Juxian speak, Guo Xiuying instinctively contradicted her, shaking her head in firm disagreement.

"If they were coming back, they’d be back by now! For all we know, the whole family went to the city. What if they stay there for a week or two? Are we supposed to just sit here like idiots and wait that long?" Guo Xiuying’s opposition instantly solidified Fang Juxian’s wavering resolve to leave. She leaped to her feet, planted her hands on her hips, and jabbed a finger at Guo Xiuying. "If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have had to go through all this!"

"How can you blame only me? You’re the one who pissed off Mom and our sister-in-law first!" Guo Xiuying shot back, jumping to her feet with an equally aggressive stance.

"I’m going back with Third Brother. If you two want to keep fighting, you can stay here and do it yourselves." Zhang Weihong spat out the grass root in his mouth. "Pah!" He shot to his feet and roared at the two women in frustration, then gave them both a vicious glare before grabbing Zhang Weimin and turning to get his bicycle.

He’d had enough.

’Not only was he waking up frozen in the middle of the night, but for three meals a day, all they ate were tiny, underdeveloped potatoes dug from the little vegetable garden by the gate—potatoes so small they were barely a mouthful. He shot a disgusted look at the far end of the garden, now a ruined mess of dug-up dirt. He’d never endured such hardship, not even during the absolute worst times of his childhood. Back then, his parents would risk venturing into the mountains for food. What they brought back was barely enough to fill their bellies, but at least it was varied. Not like this monotonous diet.’

’Hmph. And this time, thanks to these two women, he, Zhang Weihong, had experienced the worst suffering imaginable.’

Seeing Zhang Weihong storm off toward his bicycle, Zhang Weimin instinctively followed. Fang Juxian and Guo Xiuying panicked. No longer daring to argue, they were terrified the two men would actually leave them behind. They rushed over and scrambled onto the back racks of the bicycles. With sullen expressions, the four of them rode out of Lihua Village, completely failing to notice a car parked on the roadside just a short distance away.

In the car, Gu Nuan Nuan glanced at the four who barely looked human anymore. Then, she swept her Divine Sense over her family’s gate and frowned.

Luo Xiaohu watched until their backs vanished from sight, then restarted the car, clicking his tongue as he complained, "Ms. Nuannuan, how does someone even manage to get into such a sorry state..." He trailed off as they pulled up to the house. He stared at the scene before them: the small vegetable patch was completely ruined, pockmarked with holes; the ground was littered with torn leaves, dirt, and grass roots; the remains of a fire—a pile of black ashes and half-burnt branches—were scattered everywhere. And on the door and walls were black smudges—handprints, palm prints, and even footprints...

His mouth fell open and his eyes widened into saucers.

"This is just—"

Luo Xiaohu slammed his fist on the steering wheel, finally letting a curse explode from his lips: "Sons. Of. Bitches."

It wasn’t just Luo Xiaohu who was enraged by the scene. When Zhang Dazhuang and the others returned shortly after, they too were shocked, their expressions turning grim.

Seeing the potatoes he had meticulously cared for over the last few months—potatoes that were just about ready for harvest—completely destroyed, Zhang Dazhuang laughed from pure rage. "Well, that’s a new one. What those four did has really opened my eyes."

Just as they were seething with anger, Han Shouye, the party secretary of Lihua Village, strolled over with his hands clasped behind his back. He surveyed the scene, glanced at Luo Xiaohu’s car and the assembled family, then addressed Zhang Dazhuang with a look of understanding. "You’ve all just returned from a few days in the city, haven’t you? Ahem, now don’t get the wrong idea. This mess at your gate wasn’t caused by anyone from our village. And it wasn’t some random riffraff passing through, either. We wouldn’t let an outsider just wander in and destroy property like this, would we? This... well, you might not believe me, but it was actually your second and third sons, along with their wives. I guess they didn’t know you were in the city but had some urgent business, so they insisted on waiting here for several days and nights."

Han Shouye’s sympathetic gaze swept over what was left of the potato patch. Having briefly explained the actions of Zhang Weihong, Zhang Weimin, and the two women, he didn’t linger and quickly departed.

That’s right—he had come over specifically to explain the situation.

’There was no helping it. The Zhang family was the village’s God of Wealth now, rich and powerful, and many local families depended on them to make a living. For them to leave for a few days and come back to this mess... as a village official, he couldn’t just pretend he hadn’t seen a thing, could he? What if the Zhang family didn’t know the truth and assumed the villagers of Lihua Village had done this out of spite?’

"This is utterly disgraceful," Wen Xiu muttered, watching Han Shouye’s retreating figure. She took out her key, unlocked the gate, and went inside first.

"Dad, how about I handle this?" Zhang Wei Qiang said, his eyes on the gate. A plan was already forming in his mind. "It’s not right for them to keep coming here and disturbing you over and over."

"Fine," Zhang Dazhuang agreed without hesitation. He was choked with anger just thinking about his two good-for-nothing sons. "We’ve been so busy these past few months. Who has the energy to keep dealing with their nonsense? Handle it however you see fit. And when you’re done, you don’t need to make a special trip to tell us about it. I’m sick of hearing anything about them."

Zhang Wei Qiang nodded in acceptance. No one knew what methods he used, but just as promised, Zhang Dazhuang and the others never saw Zhang Weihong’s group in Lihua Village again.