Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

"You didn't come here to fight?"

Fan Ha'er paused for a moment, his fierce expression freezing.

The machete and kitchen knife in Zhao Chunyan's hands also stopped in mid-air.

Lin Wanqiu slowly lowered the hoe a few inches.

Although Su Yuehe's hand gripping the wooden stick was still trembling, she had already blinked several times.

All eyes in the room turned to the lean man.

"Then what are you doing here?" Village Party Secretary Fan Sanyuan was the first to blurt out, "A dozen or so people came all this way, not to fight, but to come on vacation?"

"Of course not!"

After saying that, the lean man looked at Liu Bei for three seconds and then suddenly bent his knees.

"thump!"

The next moment, he knelt straight down in front of Liu Bei in front of everyone in Fanjiacun.

"What?"

The villagers of Fanjiacun were bewildered.

"thump!"

"thump!"

"thump!"

Immediately afterwards, the dozen or so men from Aijiashan Village behind the lean man knelt down one after another, like dominoes.

"..."

The entire hall fell silent instantly.

Village Party Secretary Fan Sanyuan's eyes were wide open like copper bells, and he opened his mouth several times but couldn't utter a single word.

"Clang!"

Zhao Chunyan dropped the machete in her hand to the ground.

Lin Wanqiu planted the hoe on the ground and stood there, stunned, holding the handle.

Su Yuehe's wooden stick also drooped down, her mouth slightly open.

Chen Qiaolan went even further, opening her mouth wide enough to fit a large egg.

Just a moment ago she was urging Liu Bei to run away, and now he's kneeling on the ground?

"What... what's going on?" She turned to look at Zhao Da'e, who was also looking at her. The two women stared at each other, completely bewildered.

Fan Ha'er held up a gun, pointing it at a group of kneeling people, creating an extremely awkward scene.

"Three of the animals in our Aijiashan Village were given to us by Brother Liu Bei," the lean man explained, raising his head. "Yesterday afternoon, our village sent seven hunters up the mountain to hunt. They encountered a monster they had never seen before at Sanlipo. Of the seven, four died and three were injured."

"The one who was most seriously injured was named Ai Sanzhu. His stomach was ripped open by that beast, and his intestines were spilling out. The other two, one had a broken arm, and the other's face was slashed and bloodied by claws. The three of them fought desperately to reach the foot of the mountain and met the Liu Bei brothers."

"It was Liu Bei's brothers who had someone take them to the town's health center."

"The doctor said that if we had waited another 15 minutes, the blood would have dried up and Ai Sanzhu would have died."

"Furthermore, on our way here, we saw two young men pulling a monster in a horse-drawn cart towards the county town. When we asked, we learned that the beast that killed four people in our Aijiashan Village was also killed by the Liu Bei brothers."

After finishing his sentence, the lean man kowtowed to Liu Bei.

"Bang!"

"Brother Liu Bei, for saving our lives and avenging the killing of the beast, all 183 people of our Aijia Mountain Village are eternally grateful. Please accept our three bows!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

More than a dozen heads hit the ground at the same time.

One bow.

Second bow.

Three bows.

Suddenly, the entire room fell silent, so quiet that you could hear someone breathing.

At this moment, everyone's eyes fell on Liu Bei.

Zhao Chunyan was stunned and incredulous.

Lin Wanqiu pursed her lips tightly, a faint smile appearing on her face.

Su Yuehe leaned the wooden stick against the wall, crossed her hands in front of her, and quietly watched Liu Bei's back.

Zhao Da'e stood behind the door frame, watching this scene, her cloudy old eyes suddenly welling up with tears. She deliberately turned her head away and quickly wiped them away.

"Old man, did you hear that? Our son saved a life!!!"

Zhao Da'e was very excited, gratified, and happy.

"If you weren't here to fight, you should have said so earlier!"

Just then, Fan Ha'er also lowered his gun:

"You made me regret saying I wanted to sleep with your wives, daughters, and granddaughters! I feel so bad about that!"

"..."

The air in the entire venue froze again.

"Click~"

Chen Qiaolan rushed forward and quickly grabbed Fan Ha'er's ear with one hand.

"You idiot! You've completely disgraced your mother! Tell me, who taught you this nonsense?"

"Ouch! Ouch! Mother! It hurts, it hurts—" Fan Ha'er cried out in pain as she bent over, "Mother, who else could I learn from? Of course, it was my father who taught me... My father beats you every night, I see it all clearly..."

"Snapped!"

Chen Qiaolan slapped Fan Ha'er on the forehead with her other hand: "Say one more word and I'll kill you when we get back!"

"Pfft~"

The surrounding villagers finally couldn't hold back their laughter and burst into laughter.

Chen Qiaolan's face turned bright red; she wished she could dig a hole and bury herself and her son together.

It was so embarrassing, she quickly turned around and faced away from the crowd.

Fan Ha'er rubbed his bright red ears and muttered, "What did I say wrong... I just wanted to sleep with a few girls... What's the big deal..."

"Ahem!" Liu Bei coughed twice, interrupting Fan Ha'er, "Alright, Ha'er, stop talking!"

After saying that, he took two steps forward and helped the lean man up from the ground.

"Uncle, get up. All of you, get up quickly."

He pulled up all the villagers from Aijiashan Village one by one.

"I only lent a helping hand yesterday, it's nothing. As for that monster, it was the one that rushed out to its death first, it has nothing to do with me. I don't deserve such a big gift from you."

The lean man patted the dirt off his knees, looked up at Liu Bei, and said, "You're a genuine person."

Liu Bei smiled and asked, "Have you found the bodies of those people on the mountain?"

"Found it. It was placed at the crossroads leading to our village; it wasn't brought into your Fan Family Village."

"Please accept my condolences," Liu Bei said.

The lean man cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Liu Bei, my name is Ai Changhe, and I am the village chief of Aijia Mountain Village. We, the Aijia Mountain Village, will remember this kindness. If you ever need anything in the future, just let us know. From today onwards, you, Liu Bei, are a friend of the entire Aijia Mountain Village."

"Okay." Liu Bei nodded. "Be careful on your way back."

Ai Changhe bowed again, then turned and left with a dozen or so villagers.

They stopped at the mourning hall at the village entrance, bowed deeply to the two altars covered with white cloth, and then continued walking out of the village.

Liu Bei watched them walk away.

Village Party Secretary Fan Sanyuan stepped forward, his expression complex.

He patted Liu Bei on the shoulder, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just chuckled, shook his head, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

The villagers gradually dispersed, but as they left, each one or two would glance at Liu Bei.

Someone gave him a thumbs up.

Someone patted his arm and said, "Well done."

An old lady passing by muttered, "That boy from the Liu family is different from before."

Next to the altar at the village entrance, Fan Xibei and Zhao Liuzhi were still kneeling on the ground.

Fan Xibei's head was drooping, but his eyes were slanted, his gaze fixed upwards on Liu Bei's direction.

Both went hunting in the mountains, but when he led his men into the mountains, two of them died, and he was so frightened that he climbed up a tree and couldn't get down.

But Liu Bei was met with the entire village kneeling down to express their gratitude.

On what grounds?

He hadn't even entered the mountain; he had just happened to encounter the injured person at the foot of the mountain! How did he become a great benefactor?

Fan Xibei clenched his teeth so hard they were grinding, and the veins on his temples throbbed.

Zhao Liuzhi knelt beside him, secretly glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Her lips moved, but in the end, she didn't dare to say anything.

……

After the scare, Liu Bei led his family back to the courtyard.

It was already eight o'clock in the morning. The sun had crossed the eastern ridge, and its rays streamed into the courtyard, making everyone feel warm and cozy.

Liu Bei sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard. He had been up all night and was only now feeling a little tired.

"Don't move yet. I'll boil some water for your bath!"

After saying that, Lin Wanqiu started boiling water.

The flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, and the water quickly began to steam. She used a wooden ladle to scoop the water into the wooden bucket, one spoonful at a time.

Zhao Chunyan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching Liu Bei, and suddenly blurted out, "Liu Bei, you were pretty impressive today. A dozen people knelt and kowtowed to you, weren't you so proud of yourself that you were practically snotting up your nose?"

"Instead of wasting time on beauty, you might as well get some more sleep," Liu Bei said with his eyes closed.

"Hmph! You're really getting cocky!"

Zhao Chunyan rolled her eyes, snorted, and turned to go into her room.

Just then, Lin Wanqiu walked over. "Liu Bei, the water's ready for you. Go wash up! I'll scrub your back while I'm at it!"

"Hmm?" Liu Bei's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at Lin Wanqiu. "You'll rub it for me?"

"If it wasn't me, who else could it be?" Lin Wanqiu nodded. "What? You don't want to?"