As Li Haochen relentlessly pursued, getting closer and closer, Li Linfeng began to panic. He quickly grabbed his phone to call for help, "Brother Hai, come save me quickly! Someone is chasing me in a boat, trying to ram me to death! Hurry to the beach, quickly..."
Li Linfeng was scared, very scared, his body trembling. He was approaching the beach but dared not slow down, his mind a blank as he let his airship rush onto the sand.
"Bang~"
The fishing boat crashed onto the beach, sending Li Linfeng flying. Fortunately, it was soft sand; otherwise, he would have broken a few bones even if he didn't die. The boat dug a trench over ten meters long in the sand. Its outboard motor's propeller was still spinning from inertia, and the hull seemed fine. Only the canopy on the control console was flipped.
Meanwhile, the Starry Sky's performance was superior. At the critical moment, Li Haochen executed a full lock turn. The impressiveness of the JY500 was immediately evident; during the wide turn, the tilt was only 5 degrees. He made a large circle and returned to face Li Linfeng on the beach.
At this moment, many people from the surrounding area came to watch. Seven or eight burly young men, carrying bamboo poles and wooden clubs, walked over to help Li Linfeng up and looked coldly at Li Haochen on the boat. "Fengzi, are you okay?"
"Brother Hai, I'm fine, just a minor scratch. It's that son of a bitch Li Haochen. Let's go teach him a lesson." With Li Linhai and the others backing him up, Li Linfeng became bolder, shouting as he went to attack Li Haochen.
"Li Haochen?" Li Linhai recalled the incident when Li Haochen had gone to their village alone with a knife. He was truly a reckless youth who feared nothing. Recalling it now, he felt a bit scared. "Fengzi, did you do something to provoke him?"
"Not really, just called him a 'surviving runt.' Who knew he was so overly sensitive."
Li Linhai really wanted to go up and slap this brat. After all, they were from the same village and were cousins. If he didn't show support, he wouldn't be able to get by later.
Li Haochen's eyes turned red. With a swish, he leaped from the boat into the sea, splashing water everywhere. Li Linfeng, startled, hid behind Li Linhai, trembling.
"Damn it, Li Linfeng, get over here!"
Li Haochen, clenching his fists, walked step by step onto the beach. Li Linhai and the others stood ready, holding their bamboo poles. News of what was happening had already spread. Li Dehai and the others, who were preparing for the family banquet that evening, had received the news and had all dropped their work, grabbing carrying poles and hoes, and heading towards the beach in a mighty rush. Even the great-grandfather Li Shuren, at ninety years old, hobbled along with his cane. The villagers of Lijia Village, upon hearing the news, also rushed over.
"Li Haochen, what do you want? Stop right there." Li Linhai raised his bamboo pole at Li Haochen, feigning composure as he shouted.
"Li Linhai, get out of the way. This doesn't concern you. Li Linfeng, come out! See if I don't smash your mouth in."
Facing the seven or eight youths armed with bamboo poles, Li Haochen showed no fear. His eyes were red, his fists clenched, and he walked forward step by step, his gaze fixed only on Li Linfeng.
Li Linhai and the others retreated a couple of steps, their palms sweating as they tightly gripped their bamboo poles. Conflict was imminent.
At this moment, Li Haochen's uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters rushed over, their faces filled with indignation.
"Who dares to bully our Haochen?"
A powerful, resonant male voice rang out from the crowd. Li Dehai, holding a carrying pole, charged forward, shielding Li Haochen behind him, and looked coldly at Li Linhai and the others. "Hai Zi, don't think you can bully people just because your village has more people. I'll risk my life today to show you."
"That's right! Anyone who dares to bully the men of our Li family will be made to taste dung!" Speaking with fierce determination was Li Haochen's eldest aunt, Li Suli. She stood with her hands on her hips, a long bamboo scoop for carrying manure water slung over her shoulder, truly a woman of exceptional valor.
Li Dehai and the others' arrival brought Li Haochen back to a slight sense of clarity. Looking at their broad backs, he felt an immense sense of peace, and tears involuntarily flowed down his cheeks. "Uncle, Auntie, I'm fine."
"Xiao... Xiao Sun."
Another weak, aged voice came from behind. Upon seeing it, Li Haochen, forgetting his tears, quickly ran over to support him. "Great Grandfather, why did you come running? Come, let's go home."
Li Shuren did not reply to Li Haochen. He looked up and assessed him. "Hmm, spirited. Great Grandfather can't even reach your head when he raises his hand anymore. Heh heh, wait here, Great Grandfather will get justice for you."
With that, Li Shuren laboriously raised his cane and hit Li Linhai a few times. Of course, at his age, the force of the blows was not great. "Xiao Hai, have you gone mad? I'm not dead yet, are you trying to push me into my coffin?"
"Uh, Grandpa Li, how would I dare? It's this scoundrel, he's got a loose tongue and said something he shouldn't have. Isn't he going to come over and apologize quickly?"
Li Linhai certainly didn't dare to do anything excessive, or his grandfather would kick him out of the house. Although his grandfather and Li Shuren had argued fiercely their whole lives, seeming to be enemies, they were closer than brothers. Every year, they would visit at the same time to argue and bicker, and his grandfather would be happy for the entire day if he found out Li Shuren was still alive.
Although Li Linfeng was a rogue, he knew how to read the situation. By then, the beach was already surrounded by villagers of Lijia Village, old and young. Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, he had no choice but to lower his voice and meekly walk over. "Um, Haochen, I didn't brush my teeth just now, and my mouth was stinky and I said some bad things. I'm sorry."
Li Haochen wished he could go up and beat him severely, but doing so would escalate the conflict, and any mishap would make him regret it for the rest of his life. Moreover, his cousin's wedding was imminent, and there were some relatives from the upper village. Thus, he did not press the issue further.
"Get lost now, and don't let me see you bullying people again, understand?"
After Li Haochen spoke, Li Linhai and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Just as they turned to leave, Li Haochen called out again, "Wait."
Li Haochen turned and walked back towards the Starry Sky. He climbed back on board and returned to the beach two minutes later, tossing a stack of cash. "One matter at a time. I damaged your boat, so here's ten thousand, I'll compensate you. Take it and go."
Li Linfeng grabbed the money and ran, not even looking back at Li Linhai and the others, moving incredibly fast, as if afraid they would ask him to share the money.
"Let's go, home."
Li Dehai patted Li Haochen's shoulder, smiling happily.
"Uncle, wait, there are still many things to move. Uncle Dejun, Uncle Zijian, come help us."
Li Haochen nimbly ran back to the boat. Li Dehai and about seven or eight other people received the cargo from below the boat, carrying boxes down one by one. There were quite a lot of them, and it took all of them five trips to carry everything onto the beach.
Looking at the boxes piled up like a small mountain, Li Dehai chided, "Going home is fine, but why did you buy so much stuff? Have you become extravagant after winning a million prize?"
"Uncle, don't worry. You know me, would I do something foolish like showing off? These are just inexpensive trinkets, don't worry."
"You're not lying to me?"
"No... not at all, hehe!"