"We're not afraid of the Red Gang anymore," Grandpa Huang said, standing beside Zhang Liunian, signaling their defiance.
Zhang Liunian turned and smiled, "Work hard."
Meanwhile, Brother Tang and Qian Fei, upon hearing that Zhang Liunian had wiped out the Red Gang, were furious enough to have smoke practically billowing from their heads.
"I underestimated him. To think he had the guts to take down the Red Gang with those cowards. It seems I need to find a real expert, or he'll think he's invincible," Brother Tang said, smashing a bottle in anger. He then stood up and began planning who to send against Zhang Liunian.
After much thought, he settled on Ding Xiaoyue from South City. That woman had a penchant for handsome men and was as strong as an ox. In South City, no one could match her. If Zhang Liunian met her, he would either become her man or her defeated opponent. The thought made Brother Tang excited.
"Brother Tang, who are you planning to send to deal with Zhang Liunian?" Qian Fei asked anxiously, seeing Brother Tang fall into a long silence. He couldn't stand the thought of Zhang Liunian living a happy life.
Scum like Zhang Liunian didn't deserve a good life. What they were before, they should remain for all eternity. He would not allow Zhang Liunian to prosper, absolutely not.
"Ding Xiaoyue. I just don't know where she is, so it will take some time to find her," Brother Tang said, now worried about where to look for Ding Xiaoyue. That woman was always chasing handsome men; who knew where she was now.
"Ding Xiaoyue? The director of the supply and marketing cooperative's daughter?" Qian Fei had also heard of Ding Xiaoyue's reputation. It was unavoidable, as the Ding family in South City was on par with the Tang family and belonged to their social circle. Therefore, he knew Ding Xiaoyue quite well. He'd heard she was incredibly ugly, a super-strong woman, and fond of handsome men. To avoid her gaze, Qian Fei had never met her, fearing she might take a liking to him and he'd end up marrying into the Ding family, a prospect that would surely lead to him being cuckolded countless times. However, her strength was widely rumored throughout South City. They said she was undefeated in South City, though everyone knew there was some exaggeration involved.
"Who else would dare to be called Ding Xiaoyue?"
"If it's her, she can definitely defeat Zhang Liunian. She might even end up with him, hehe..."
Brother Tang understood the implication in his words and was immediately pleased. If Ding Xiaoyue could "end up with" Zhang Liunian, they would certainly celebrate with fireworks.
"Brother Tang, has the matter of Daming Lake been handled?"
"I've asked Third Uncle to help me. Zhang Liunian definitely won't be able to sell crayfish tomorrow."
"Even if he manages to sell them, I'll have people lock up their shop."
"Well done."
"..."
Unaware of all this, Zhang Liunian was on his way back to the county town. He saw Li Qi and Qian Xueli being intimate, eventually embracing each other.
Zhang Liunian, sitting on the tractor, had just looked away when he saw Du Ziteng watching with great interest, even making "tsk tsk" sounds and cheering them on.
"Oh my, openly hugging and kissing in broad daylight. Shameless."
Du Ziteng's words instantly provoked dissatisfaction in Li Qi and Qian Xueli. But their dissatisfaction was useless, as the tractor simply passed by them without stopping.
Looking at Du Ziteng, Zhang Liunian was reminded of him and Qian Xueli together. He blurted out, "What do you think of that girl?"
To his surprise, Du Ziteng replied, "She's not as good-looking as San Niu."
"..."
What nonsense was this? San Niu was nowhere near as pretty as Qian Xueli. How could he lie with his eyes open?
"Cousin?" Upon arriving at the crayfish shop, his fourth cousin happily ran up, affectionately calling out to Zhang Liunian.
"Mhm, fourth cousin, are you getting used to it? Can you manage?" Zhang Liunian jumped off the tractor and asked with concern.
Liu Si Niu indicated she felt no pressure and was capable.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Liunian felt relieved. He then checked the business situation of the crayfish shop and was surprised to find they had sold over three hundred jin today.
"Cousin, starting today, people who set up stalls have come to buy our crayfish. Some people also asked if we buy crayfish. Do we?" Liu San Niu handed all the money to Zhang Liunian and reported her work.
"Yes, eight fen per jin for those under a finger's length, and one mao per jin for those above a finger's length. These crayfish will be kept separately. After we collect them, we'll sell them for two mao per jin. Make sure to clarify they are not from Daming Lake."
"I've noted it down."
After assigning tasks, Zhang Liunian got on the tractor and headed home.
Upon returning to the village, a representative from the eighteen uncles helping with the house construction came to say they wanted to bring their sons to his new house as apprentices, without asking for wages from Zhang Liunian. Hearing them mention this, Zhang Liunian suddenly had a different idea, but it was only a fleeting thought. He smiled and agreed.
After dinner, Zhang Liunian wanted to have a good chat with his wife, but because his younger sister had just gotten married and no one was available to look after Hua Bao, he had to coax their daughter to sleep first.
"Daddy, let's play string games. Hua Bao just learned this from Da Mao. Look." Hua Bao, holding a piece of yarn, ran into Zhang Liunian's arms, tied the ends of the string together, put it on Zhang Liunian's hands, and then used her small hands to form various shapes.
Zhang Liunian watched his daughter lovingly, thinking he wouldn't be needed. However, his daughter insisted he learn too.
"Hua Bao, Daddy is an adult, he can't play this kind of game." Zhang Liunian refused. He had been watching his daughter the whole time and hadn't noticed how she did it.
"Da Mao's daddy can do it. My daddy is much better than his daddy, he can definitely do it."
"..." Zhang Liunian was speechless. But for his daughter, he had to learn diligently. In the end, he actually managed to create new patterns, turning the original four jumping rope techniques into eight, making Hua Bao hug him excitedly and exclaim, "Daddy is so amazing, Daddy is the most amazing, he can even invent things. Da Mao's daddy isn't as amazing as my daddy."
Zhang Liunian played with his daughter for a long time before Hua Bao finally fell asleep.
After putting his daughter down, Zhang Liunian looked at his wife, who had been diligently doing needlework opposite him. He leaned over and circled her from behind, resting his chin on her fragrant shoulder and looking at the view ahead. "Tell me, what did Second Brother say today?"
Jiang Qingqing's body stiffened slightly, unsure if it was from his breath or his action. She put down her needlework and moved the basket of thread aside. "Nothing."
"You really won't tell me?" Zhang Liunian reached out, hooked a strand of hair from her ear, and blew a puff of hot air towards her rosy ear.
Jiang Qingqing wriggled uncomfortably and turned to stop him. Their eyes met, their breaths mingling, their lips only a finger's width apart.
Seeing her offer herself, Zhang Liunian raised an eyebrow and moved forward, accurately capturing her fragrant lips. He pressed and claimed them. After a long while, Jiang Qingqing melted like spring water, leaning into Zhang Liunian's embrace, gasping for breath.
"He said your cooperation with the South City Food Factory was obtained by attracting Second Sister's elder sister," Jiang Qingqing, dazed by her man's kiss, said with her large eyes swirling like autumn water.
"He's talking utter nonsense!" Zhang Liunian cursed, his voice filled with rage. His second brother was indeed incompatible with him. In any lifetime, he only knew how to drag him down and smear him with dirt. He shouldn't have let him off so easily last time. He should have kicked him hard, leaving him bedridden.