Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

Silence fell instantly.

Zhao Da'e looked at her son as if she were nailed to the spot.

Zhao Chunyan held up the kitchen knife and opened her mouth.

Lin Wanqiu grabbed Su Yuehe's sleeve, incredulous.

The three children were completely stunned.

Liu Bei glanced at the broken tiles, overturned water vat, and kicked wooden stick in the yard.

The scene was chaotic.

He walked to the courtyard gate and called out, "Hey! Come in!"

When Wang Mazi was causing trouble, Fan Ha'er wanted to rush in to help, but before he could put his things down, screams came from inside.

When he peeked out again, Wang Mazi and his group had already disappeared.

"Brother Bei, are you done playing already?"

"Stop talking nonsense and bring your things in."

Fan Ha'er carried the two snakeskin bags into the yard.

Liu Bei squatted down, untied the bag, and began taking things out one by one.

Rice, a full 100 jin (50 kg).

Three catties of brown sugar.

Salt, two bags.

Soy sauce, vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise.

Chuanbei Loquat Syrup.

Black Chicken and White Phoenix Pills.

Three brand-new plastic sandals—red, yellow, and blue.

Two bags of White Rabbit milk candy.

Finally, six packs of sanitary napkins.

The items were laid out one by one on the ground in the yard, like a small stall.

The whole family was dumbfounded.

Zhao Da'e opened her mouth for a long time but couldn't utter a single word.

Zhao Chunyan was the first to come to her senses.

He slammed the cleaver against the doorframe, then walked forward.

"Liu Bei! Confess!"

"Where did these things come from?"

"Was it stolen?"

Before Liu Bei could explain, Fan Ha'er became agitated.

"Sister-in-law! Brother Bei didn't steal! He bought all of these with his own money! I saw him pick them out one by one at the supply and marketing cooperative. The saleswoman even asked Brother Bei if he was using them himself—"

"Shut up." Liu Bei covered his mouth.

Just as he was about to explain, a series of hurried footsteps and noises suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Make way! Make way, everyone!"

Where is Wang Mazi? Where is he?

The villagers who had been watching the commotion outside the gate automatically made way for them.

Village Party Secretary Fan Sanyuan arrived with five or six strong men, who were carrying hoes and carrying poles, looking quite menacing.

"Did Wang Mazi and his gang disappear before finally showing up? What perfect timing!"

Liu Bei was speechless.

Soon, Fan Sanyuan stepped through the courtyard gate, looked around, and even peeked into the side room.

"Where's Wang Mazi? I haven't seen him."

Liu Bei said calmly, "I chased them away."

Fan Sanyuan was stunned for a moment, then somewhat surprised.

"You chased them away? You're all alone?"

"Um."

Fan Sanyuan was silent for two seconds, then stepped forward and patted Liu Bei on the shoulder.

"Liu Bei, you're something else. You used to be idle and never did anything productive. Everyone in the village was disgusted. But these past few days you've been hunting wolves and beating up Wang Mazi. You've changed your ways."

"Hmm! Very good! As the saying goes, a prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold. Keep it up!"

After speaking, Fan Sanyuan's gaze inadvertently swept over the pile of items on the ground.

One hundred catties of rice.

Three catties of brown sugar.

Brand new plastic sandals.

White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

Fan Sanyuan's expression changed slightly: "Liu Bei, where did these things come from? It couldn't be...?"

"It wasn't stolen," Liu Bei said. "The wolf pelt sold for seventy, the pangolin scales for five, and the aquatic products for one hundred and eight. They were bought from Chen Shunzi's shop in town. Uncle Fan Sanyuan, if you don't believe me, you can go and ask."

Fan Sanyuan turned his head and looked at Zhao Da'e again.

"Sister-in-law Da'e, your son... has changed."

"You're in luck."

After saying that, Fan Sanyuan left with his men.

The group of strong men following behind him, the tall, thin villager at the very back stared at the White Rabbit candy on the ground for a good five or six seconds, his Adam's apple bobbing several times, before finally reluctantly turning his gaze away and following Fan Sanyuan away.

After everyone had left, Zhao Da'e finally came to her senses.

"Explain everything to me from beginning to end. Explain where every single penny came from and how it was spent."

Liu Bei recounted everything in detail.

Fan Ha'er nodded repeatedly beside him: "Auntie, everything Brother Bei said is true! Brother Bei's technique for catching eels is amazing. He can flick the water and the eels will crawl out on their own. He's even better than my dad—"

Liu Bei glared at him.

Fan Ha'er swallowed back the words "hit my mother".

After listening, Zhao Da'e walked to the bag of rice and rubbed her fingers between the grains of rice.

it is true.

The white rice isn't cornmeal or dark cornbread; it's real, whole grain rice.

Her eyes suddenly reddened.

"Alright. As long as it wasn't stolen." Zhao Da'e turned her back, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and said in a harsh voice, "What are you standing there for? Move the stuff inside! Are you going to leave it piled up in the yard to attract flies?"

Zhao Chunyan stood aside, her expression shifting from doubt to shock, from shock to wavering, and then back to her stubbornness.

"Hmph. Who knows if you and Fan Ha'er conspired beforehand? Can you believe what he says? He can't even tell the difference between fighting and that kind of thing."

Liu Bei ignored Zhao Chunyan.

He knew that getting her to give in was harder than getting a sow to fly, and he couldn't rush it.

He took two packs of sanitary napkins out of the bag and walked up to Su Yuehe.

Su Yuehe leaned against Lin Wanqiu, her face still showing a trace of the fear of surviving a disaster.

She stared at what Liu Bei was holding, and froze.

Her face flushed red instantly.

"Here are yours. Two packs." Liu Bei shoved the sanitary napkins directly into her hand. "Don't use those cloth bags anymore, they're bad for your health."

Su Yuehe lowered her head, holding the two packs of sanitary napkins in both hands, her ten fingers trembling.

She wanted to say something, but her lips moved several times without uttering a single word.

Zhao Chunyan's gaze fell on the two packs of sanitary napkins, and her pupils contracted slightly.

After glancing at it, a glint flashed in Lin Wanqiu's eyes.

Liu Bei turned around, took out two more packets, and walked up to Lin Wanqiu.

"Late Autumn, Yours."

"Me...I got a share too?"

Lin Wanqiu looked completely surprised.

"You're my eldest daughter-in-law. Of course you're entitled to a share."

After saying that, Liu Bei stuffed two packs of sanitary napkins into Lin Wanqiu's hands.

"Two packs left, they should be mine!"

Zhao Chunyan waited, eyeing the last two packs.

But Liu Bei turned around and went to move the rice.

Zhao Chunyan's face changed instantly.

"Liu Bei!"

Liu Bei stopped in his tracks. "What's wrong?"

"And me?"

"What?"

"Why don't I have one?" Zhao Chunyan raised her voice. "Yuehe has one! Wanqiu has one! Why don't I?"

Looking at Zhao Chunyan's face, which was both angry and anxious, Liu Bei smiled.

He pulled out the last two packs of sanitary napkins and handed them to Zhao Chunyan.

"That's exactly what I've been waiting to hear."

Zhao Chunyan was stunned at first, then realized that she had been tricked by Liu Bei.

"Liu Bei, you bastard! You did this on purpose!"

She reached out to grab it, but Liu Bei raised his hand above his head. Zhao Chunyan couldn't reach it, so she stood on tiptoe to grab it, and Liu Bei took another step back.

"Should we give it to them or not?"

"Her moan is lovely."

"You're dreaming!"

Zhao Chunyan lunged forward suddenly, and Liu Bei lost his balance, staggering back two steps. He instinctively reached out to grab Zhao Chunyan's waist to prevent them from falling together, but his right hand went astray.

It veered off course in the wrong direction.

The two of them froze at the same time.

Su Yuehe and the others were also stunned.

Zhao Chunyan glanced down at the location of Liu Bei's hand, then looked up at Liu Bei's face.

Liu Bei quickly released his grip and explained.

"Chunyan, I didn't mean to—"

"Clap clap clap clap!"

Wow! Brother Bei is amazing!

Fan Ha'er suddenly started clapping.

"Brother Bei, are you wrestling with your wife? I want to play too! I'm strong! Come here, sister-in-law, I'll give you a hug too—"

"Get lost!" Liu Bei kicked Fan Ha'er in the butt.

Fan Ha'er staggered forward three steps, but instead of getting angry, she turned around and grinned, "Brother Bei, you're not being fair! Hugging your wife in broad daylight, and then not letting others hug her after you're done, that's so selfish!"

"Try saying that again?"

"I knew it!" Fan Ha'er scratched the back of his head, then gave a serious thumbs-up. "Brother Bei, your technique is better than my dad's! When my dad spanked my mom, his technique was nowhere near as smooth as yours!"

"..."

"puff!"

Zhao Da'e burst out laughing.

Lin Wanqiu turned her back.

Su Yuehe lowered her head, her face flushed red.

Zhao Chunyan's face first flushed red, then turned ashen, and finally—

"Fan Ha'er!!! Get the hell out of here!!!"

Fan Ha'er shrank back in fright and turned to run out of the courtyard gate.

"Brother Bei! You and your wife take your time! Don't rush! I'll go back and ask my dad if he has any other good positions..."

"Bang!"

A worn-out shoe flew out and hit Fan Ha'er squarely on the forehead.

"Brother Bei, why did you hit me on the head? Did I say something wrong?"

Fan Ha'er touched his forehead, looking puzzled.

"..."

"I'll let you off this time! Humph!"

Zhao Chunyan snatched the two packs of sanitary napkins, turned around, and went into the house.

As she reached the door, she abruptly stopped, turned around, and glared fiercely at Liu Bei.

"If you touch me again, I'll break your hand!"

"Bang!"

The door closed.

Liu Bei touched his nose, looking quite helpless.

Zhao Da'e walked over and slapped Liu Bei on the back of the head.

"What are you standing there for? Where are the children? Didn't you buy anything for them?"

"Yes, of course I bought them. Mom, look, there are sandals, there are..."

Liu Bei took out his sandals, and out of the corner of his eye, he secretly glanced at the window of Zhao Chunyan's room.

Zhao Chunyan pulled her head back, sat on the edge of the bed, and clutched the two packs of sanitary napkins in her hand.

She looked at the words on the packaging several times before finally stuffing the item under her pillow.

After sitting for a while, she lifted the pillow and took another look.

It's confirmed that it's still there.

She bit her lip and pressed the pillow back down.

"You beast! A man going to buy sanitary napkins? Shameless! Humph!"

……

Meanwhile, on the dirt road at the village entrance, Wang Mazi, clutching his swollen wrist, limped towards the town.

His three henchmen behind him were all seriously injured.

Suddenly, Wang Mazi stopped, glanced back in the direction of the Liu family, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

"Liu Bei, you just wait!"