Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

"Impossible! Weren't they arrested? Brother Northwest, what's next?"

Zhao Liuzhi's mouth opened into an "O" shape.

"You're asking me? How would I know?"

Fan Xibei's face turned pale and then red, and he took a half step back.

After jumping off the oxcart, Liu Bei strode towards the crowd.

"Xiao Bei!" Zhao Da'e dropped the mallet and rushed over first, touching her son from left to right, turning up his collar to look at his neck, and rolling up his sleeves to look at his arms.

"Are you hurt? Does it hurt? Let Mom see!"

"Mom, I'm fine." Liu Bei smiled. "Not a single hair on my head is missing."

Zhao Da'e looked her up and down three times, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was unharmed.

Then she turned around, squatted down, and hugged Niannian and Liu Bao in her arms, touching their faces and wiping away their tears.

"My goodness...Grandma was so scared..."

Su Yuehe threw away the thin wooden stick in her hand and stumbled over to hug Niannian.

"mom!"

Niannian buried her face in her arms and burst into tears again.

Zhao Chunyan dropped her wood-chopping knife and rushed to Liu Bao, cupping her son's face in her hands and looking at him from left to right.

"Baby! Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Are you still coughing?"

"I'm not coughing anymore," Liu Bao shook his head.

Zhao Chunyan felt a lump in her throat and hugged her son tightly.

Lin Wanqiu put down the bamboo pole and walked up to Panpan.

Panpan was still holding the new clothes in her arms, looking up at her mother.

Lin Wanqiu didn't speak, but reached out and brushed the stray hairs on her daughter's forehead behind her ear.

Panpan's lips moved slightly, "Mom, my younger brother and sister are fine."

Lin Wanqiu nodded. "Yes. It's good that you're back."

Chen Qiaolan also squeezed through the crowd and grabbed Fan Shuanzhu, looking him up and down. "Honey, are you alright? You really weren't arrested?"

"Catch my ass." Fan Shuanzhu glared at her.

Chen Qiaolan breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at Fan Ha'er, grabbing his ear and yelling, "Where have you been, you brat? You've worried your mother to death!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Mom, be gentle! Don't pull it too hard! I need this ear to hear my future wife!"

At the same time, Liu Bei had already walked through the crowd to Fan Xibei and Zhao Liuzhi.

"What's wrong?"

Are you disappointed?

"A pleasant surprise?"

"Surprised?"

"I—" Fan Xibei had just opened his mouth.

"Snapped!"

Liu Bei raised his hand and slapped Fan Xibei across the left cheek.

"..."

Fan Xibei was completely stunned by the slap.

"Liu Bei! You dare hit someone!" Zhao Liu pointed at Liu Bei's nose and cursed, "Are you fucking crazy? To lay a hand on someone in front of the whole village? Believe it or not—"

"Snapped!"

Liu Bei slapped Fan Xibei across the right cheek again.

"You—" Zhao Liuzhi froze for a second, "Liu Bei! If you hit Brother Northwest again, believe me, I'll—"

"Snapped!"

Liu Bei slapped Fan Xibei again.

Zhao Liuzhi, enraged, yelled, "Liu Bei, I'll fuck you—"

"Snapped!"

Liu Bei slapped Fan Xibei for the fourth time.

"..."

Fan Xibei's face was swollen like a pig's head, and his ears were ringing.

He suddenly realized a pattern: every time Zhao Liuzhi cursed, he would get slapped.

If this continued, Liu Bei would slap his face raw today, so he roared in fury.

"Zhao Liuzhi! Shut the hell up!"

"Brother Northwest, I'm here to stand up for you—"

"Snapped!"

Liu Bei's fifth slap landed on Fan Xibei's other cheek.

"Shut up!!!" Fan Xibei was almost in tears, pointing at Zhao Liuzhi and cursing, "Try uttering another fart! If you fart, I'll slap you! Are you doing this on purpose? Are you helping me or hurting me? If you're really helping me, stop talking and get to work. Get to work, understand?"

"Brother Northwest, you're right, I—I was wrong!"

"I won't let you get beaten up for nothing! Liu Bei, you dare hit my Northwest Brother, I'll beat you up—"

Just as Zhao Liuzhi was about to make a move, Fan Ha'er suddenly rushed over from the side, grabbed Zhao Liuzhi's crotch with one hand, and squeezed it tightly with his five fingers.

"Click~"

One move, like a monkey ripping out a heart, and then—

Zhao Liuzhi curled up like a shrimp, clutching his crotch with both hands as he collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

The entire room fell silent.

The men all gasped and instinctively squeezed their legs together.

"My balls! My balls are broken..." Zhao Liuzhi's face was flushed, veins bulging on his forehead, and he was rolling on the ground in pain.

His finger trembled as he pointed at Fan Ha'er, "You...you wait! I'm calling the police! I'll have them arrest you! I'll put you in jail!"

Liu Bei squatted down, looked at Zhao Liuzhi, and smiled.

"Call the police? Sure. Go ahead."

"When the police arrive, the first thing I'll tell them is that you two have falsely accused me and Uncle Shuanzhu of speculation and profiteering. You've damaged our reputation and caused our whole family great distress. We'll demand compensation for emotional distress and lost wages, one by one."

"Besides, you made a false report. Six people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau went to the market for nothing, wasting public resources. Guess who the police will punish?"

"Besides—" Liu Bei patted Fan Ha'er on the shoulder, "Ha'er's an idiot, the whole village knows that. An idiot doesn't have to take responsibility for murder, let alone just pinching your balls. Go ahead and report it. I'm waiting."

"..."

Zhao Liuzhi's mouth was agape, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Fan Xibei also fell silent.

Liu Bei is right. If they really report it to the police, he and Zhao Liuzhi will be the first to suffer.

"Never mind...never mind," Fan Xibei squeezed out the two words through gritted teeth.

"What do you mean 'forget'? I don't count—" Zhao Liuzhi still tried to struggle.

"That's enough!"

Just then, a furious roar rang out.

The villagers looked over and saw that the roaring man was Fan Sanyuan, the village party secretary. One by one, they automatically made way for him.

Village Party Secretary Fan Sanyuan, dressed in a gray Zhongshan suit and smoking a cigarette, slowly walked over.

His face wore his usual smile, but his eyes held no hint of amusement.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Village Party Secretary Fan Sanyuan slapped Zhao Liuzhi three times in quick succession across the face.

"You deserve it!!!"

"..."

Zhao Liuzhi was completely stunned by the pain.

Then, Fan Sanyuan turned to Fan Xibei, his smile vanished, and slapped him three more times.

"You shameful thing. You've completely disgraced me, Fan Sanyuan."

Fan Xibei covered his face, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. "Uncle, I—"

"Uncle what? Aren't you going to apologize to him?" Fan Sanyuan spat out his cigarette butt and put his hands behind his back.

"What? We were the ones who got beaten up, and we're expected to apologize to them? Why should we?"

Zhao Liuzhi clutched his crotch, extremely unwilling.

Fan Xibei also remained silent.

"You don't want to apologize, huh?" Fan Sanyuan's tone remained calm. "Fine. From now on, if anything happens in the village, neither of you should come to me. Especially you, Fan Xibei—don't acknowledge me as your uncle anymore."

"What?"

Fan Xibei's body trembled.

My uncle is the village party secretary.

This relationship was his only powerful backing, allowing him to act with impunity in the village.

Without this foundation, he is nothing.

"I...I'm sorry." Fan Xibei lowered his head and forced out three words through gritted teeth.

Zhao Liuzhi glanced at Fan Sanyuan's expression and said, "I'm sorry."

Fan Sanyuan's gaze then turned to Liu Bei and his son Fan Shuanzhu, and the smile that had disappeared from his face returned.

"Xiao Bei, we're all family, it's just a misunderstanding. If you need anything in the future, feel free to come to your uncle."

"Thank you, Uncle Sanyuan." Liu Bei nodded.

"Alright! Everyone, disperse!" Fan Sanyuan waved to the villagers and turned to leave.

Fan Xibei and Zhao Liuzhi slunk away at the end of the alley.

……

on the way home.

Lin Wanqiu held Panpan's hand, Su Yuehe hugged Niannian, and Zhao Chunyan pulled Liu Bao along.

The three women chatted and laughed, their tense expressions completely dissipating.

After arriving home, Zhao Da'e went into the yard first.

Liu Bei unloaded the bundle from the oxcart and first took out the black blouse with a dark floral pattern and the dark gray trousers, handing them to Zhao Da'e.

"Mom, I bought this for you."

Zhao Da'e took a look and immediately frowned. "You're wasting money again! We need to save up to build a house, why are you buying these things?"

She said that, but her fingers touched the fabric three times and she even compared it to herself.

"It fits quite well..."

Liu Bei took out a navy blue dress with white polka dots from his bundle and walked up to Lin Wanqiu.

"Late Autumn, this one is yours."

Lin Wanqiu took the dress and squeezed the fabric.

"Thanks."

When Su Yuehe accepted the light green cotton dress, she whispered, "Thank you...and thank you for finding Niannian."

Liu Bei shook his head. "Niannian is my daughter. It's only right for a father to save his own daughter."

Su Yuehe's eyelashes trembled, and she pursed her lips without saying anything more.

Finally, he handed the dark red khaki skirt to Zhao Chunyan.

"Chunyan, this is yours!"

Zhao Chunyan took it and opened her lips twice.

Those two gestures were clearly brewing up some sarcastic remark.

But after trying to utter a single word for a long time, she couldn't get it out.

Finally, Zhao Chunyan picked up her skirt, turned around, and went into the house.

Seeing that Zhao Chunyan didn't say anything harsh to him for the first time,

Liu Bei, on the contrary, felt a little uncomfortable.

However, he didn't think much of it. After distributing the gifts, he handed over a few crucian carp, black carp, and two turtles to Zhao Da'e.

Zhao Da'e happily carried the fish and turtle into the kitchen.

Then, Liu Bei took out the remaining fifty yuan from his shirt pocket and walked up to Lin Wanqiu.

"Here's what I made selling fish today. I have fifty dollars left over, keep it."

Lin Wanqiu extended her hand.

The moment he handed her the money, his fingers brushed against her palm.

Lin Wanqiu's fingers twitched slightly.

She looked down at the money in her palm, then looked up at Liu Bei.

The man's hands were warmer than usual today.

After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear,

"My door will not be closed tonight."

"We'll leave you a crack."