American Farmers: Facing a Cutoff at the Start

"That's strange, the road was perfectly clear this morning, not even a single twig was on it, it was spotless."

Old Frank sighed as he took off his gloves:

"I thought that bastard would escalate his actions, but it turns out he's a coward."

He turned to look at Fett, who had just come out of the house:

"Fett, you went out for a walk last night, did you find anything?"

Without wasting any words, Fett took out his phone, opened the video file, and handed it to old Frank.

"See for yourself."

In the video, Johnny's terrified and distorted face under the bright lights, along with the messy, disgusting pig excrement on the ground, were clearly displayed in front of the two old men.

"F**K!"

The moment old Frank saw that face clearly, his eyes widened like saucers, and the veins on his neck suddenly bulged out.

"It's that bastard Johnny?!"

He shoved the phone back into Fett's hand and turned to rush toward the double-barreled shotgun hanging on the wall:

"I'm going to blow up his pickup truck right now!"

"Let's see how he'll carry shit now!"

"Don't be impulsive, Frank!"

Roy reacted quickly, rushing forward and grabbing old Frank's waist from behind, dragging him back with all his might.

Fett quickly snatched the gun from old Frank's hand, saying, "Dad! Don't rush, watch the video first. I didn't let him off easily last night!"

As he spoke, he raised his phone again and shoved the screen right in front of old Frank's face.

Old Frank, panting heavily, stared at the video for a long time. Seeing Johnny sitting shivering and looking miserable in the pile of excrement, the fire in his chest slowly subsided.

Seeing this, Fett put away his phone and said, "As long as we have this video, unless he completely loses all sense of shame, he will definitely not dare to openly hinder us for the time being."

"Right now is the crucial time to make money. It's better to avoid trouble and focus on business."

Roy released his grip, took a breath, and chimed in, "Fett's right, why turn down money?"

Old Frank straightened his disheveled clothes and grunted, "Fine."

"But this isn't over yet. Once I'm done with this busy period, I'm going to settle this score with him properly."

"Then let's hurry up and get ready, they'll probably be here soon." Fett glanced out the window.

Old Frank nodded, regaining his usual efficiency: "The people I called your Uncle Roy should be here by now."

"With them, we should be able to get through today."

……

As the sun sets behind the horizon, the farm transforms into a bustling market day.

Only when night completely enveloped the land and the last two red taillights disappeared at the end of the road did the noise subside like the receding tide.

Fett leaned against the garage door frame and rubbed his cheek hard.

Having maintained that "sunny and tough guy" smile all day, his facial muscles were now sore and stiff.

In the yard, old Frank and Roy sat slumped on the porch steps, panting heavily, their boots covered in thick mud.

Aunt Rachel was leaning against a pillar, gently massaging her lower back.

Fett looked down at himself; his blue flannel shirt was no longer recognizable as its original color, completely covered with fine, pale yellow sawdust, as if it had rolled in a pile of flour.

"Don't move."

A slightly hoarse voice rang out in front of me.

Leila walked over.

She wasn't much better off; by the end of the day, her throat was so sore she could barely speak, her once-smooth braids were a bit disheveled, and a few stray hairs clung to her sweaty forehead.

She took a handkerchief out of her pocket, stood on tiptoe, and gently wiped Fett's brow bone and forehead.

Wood shavings fell in a soft rustling sound.

"Look at you, your hair and eyebrows are all white, you look like a seventy or eighty-year-old man," Leila teased with a laugh.

Fett looked at her slightly chapped lips. "Is your throat alright?"

Leila coughed twice, covering her mouth. "Cough...not good, I talked too much today."

Fett noticed the unusual thing about Lyra's hand, reached out and grabbed the hand that Lyra was about to pull back.

"Huh?" Leila instinctively tried to shrink back, but Fett held her tightly.

Fett spread out her palm and examined it carefully in the dim light of the garage.

At this moment, there are several tiny red dots on the originally pink fingertips of my thumb and index finger.

"Does it hurt?" Fett asked in a low voice, gently rubbing his thumb over the tiny wounds, careful not to apply too much pressure.

"A little."

Leila turned her head away in a fluster, glancing at the elders under the porch, her cheeks flushing in the night: "Dad, they're all here... let go."

Ignoring her protests, Fett pulled Leila along, and under the watchful eyes of several elders, quickly crossed the porch and pushed open the door to the house.

Turn on the tap, and icy water gushes out.

Lyra's slender, white fingers, like a freshly peeled scallion, were being held tightly by Fett and rinsed under the running water.

After rinsing it clean, Fett took out iodine and band-aids from the cabinet.

He pulled over a chair for Leila to sit down, then squatted down in front of her, using a cotton swab to apply iodine solution little by little to her swollen fingertips.

After treating Lyra's injury, Fett looked at the bandage on the base of his palm, which was already soaked with sweat and had become dirty, and smiled wryly: "Perfect, I need to change my bandage too."

"I'll do it."

Leila snatched the scissors and gestured for Fett to sit down.

With her head bowed and her expression focused, she carefully cut open the dirty bandage with incredibly gentle movements.

The gauze peeled off layer by layer.

"what?"

Leila blinked in surprise.

The scab on the base of Fetter's palm had even curled up at the edges, revealing the newly grown, pink and healthy skin underneath.

There was no redness or swelling, and no oozing; the recovery was surprisingly good.

"It's...almost healed?" She couldn't help but gently poke the scab with her fingertip. "Are you a lizard person? You're healing so fast!"

As she spoke, she suddenly leaned closer, her hazel eyes fixed intently on Fett's eyes.

"It's not vertical pupils, is it?"

Fett deliberately squinted, lowered his voice, and slightly stuck out the tip of his tongue, making a hissing sound.

"You found out..."

He leaned close to Lyra's ear, his voice deliberately low, echoing in the dim, quiet room:

"Now I'll have no choice but to take you back to the swamp to incubate my eggs."

Leila paused for a second. Although she knew he was joking, his deep tone still gave her a strange chill.

She reached out and lightly punched his chest, playfully scolding him:

"Don't scare me!"

"I...I'm really scared!"

As she spoke, she subconsciously shrank her neck and looked around nervously.

The surrounding darkness seemed to come alive, and the shadows elongated by the light in the corners of the walls seemed to be stirring restlessly.

She glanced out the window instinctively, and in that instant, a blurry black shadow silently flashed across the windowpane.

"F...Fett!"

Her voice trembled slightly, and she gripped Fett's sleeve tightly, involuntarily shrinking closer to him.

"There's something outside the window! Really!"

"And... listen, why is it completely silent outside? Weren't Dad and the others just chatting a moment ago?"

Yup!

Fett immediately became alert.

The lively laughter and chatter outside had vanished completely at some point.