Zhang Xiao'e rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and pointed it at them. Trembling with fear and tears streaming down her face, she said, "I'm not afraid of you! I'll fight you to the death!"
Four against three.
The situation was instantly reversed.
Zhao Dabao's previously arrogant demeanor was immediately suppressed.
Zhao Yi's smile vanished. "Third brother, are you really going to break off all pretense of civility?"
"You came to my house to cause trouble, you're the ones who initiated this falling out!" Zhao Zheng said coldly. "From today onwards, we will not only separate our family, but also sever our brotherly relationship."
He loudly proclaimed, "I ask all my neighbors to bear witness that from today onwards, I, Zhao Zheng, sever all ties with Zhao Wei, Zhao Yi, and Zhao Feng, both as brothers and sisters."
"My son is dead, and they won't come to his funeral. From this day forward, we shall never see each other again!"
"You, you..." Zhao Yi was also stunned, pointing at Zhao Zheng but unable to speak.
Zhao Feng acted as if she were meeting her third brother for the first time, saying, "Third brother, don't be too excited. I came here mainly to see you..."
Why didn't you come to my son's funeral?
"I was beaten bloody by the boss, why didn't you come to see me when I was dying?"
"Now you're coming over here to feign compassion?"
Zhao Zheng pointed at her and said, word by word, "You get out of here too. If you dare to curse my daughter-in-law again, I'll chop up that bastard you kept at home. Don't think I don't know that it was born from you and that other man!"
Zhao Feng gasped for breath and jumped up, yelling, "You're talking nonsense!"
This is her biggest secret; how could Zhao Zheng possibly know?
"What nonsense! If that child really belonged to your in-laws, why would they let someone else raise their son?"
"I'm giving you face, so you should know when to stop. Otherwise, I'll make sure you never have the face to show your face in public again!"
Zhao Feng was both angry and helpless.
Looking at Zhao Zheng, she said, "Fine, fine, if I had known you were such an ingrate, I shouldn't have bothered with you."
"You'll get your comeuppance sooner or later if you abandon your brothers and sisters!"
Feeling the probing gazes of those around her, she couldn't stay any longer and couldn't wait to go back and confront her mother.
With Zhao Feng gone, Zhao Yi lost his confidence. He had originally wanted his second sister to keep Zhao Zheng in check.
Avoid taking action if possible.
As long as Zhao Zheng listens to orders, things will remain the same as before.
If he doesn't listen, then take advantage of Zhao Zheng's inattention and beat him into submission.
But to his surprise, Zhao Zheng actually carried an axe with him and summoned Liu Tieniu with a shout.
This time, they not only failed to subdue Zhao Zheng, but also completely broke off relations, and their brotherhood came to an end.
"Zhaodi, Xiao'e, put the knife back."
Zhao Zheng tucked the axe into his waistband and then said to Liu Tieniu, "Tieniu, well done. You're allowed to have an extra meal today."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao." Liu Tieniu chuckled, now he could have a full meal again.
"Old Yan, come with me to the village home to sign the documents," Zhao Zhengdao said.
Old Man Yan nodded, looking at Zhao Zheng, and felt a strange sense of fear in his heart.
She didn't dare walk near him.
Xu Youde looked at Zhao Zheng, feeling quite displeased. "Third son, is this alright? Planning to hire farmhands again?"
"Yes, I need someone to help me receive the goods. I can't handle it all by myself. I also need someone to help escort the goods," Zhao Zheng said with a smile.
"Don't forget your uncle when you make your fortune," Xu Youde said, and then began writing documents.
"I would never dare to forget you, no matter who else I am," Zhao Zheng replied casually.
With Xu Youde as a witness, Yan Dali pressed his fingerprint.
"It's a one-month probation period, with one meal provided. If you don't meet the requirements, I can fire you directly. The economy is bad right now, and I can't afford to pay you wages. I'll pay you wages when the economy improves," Zhao Zheng said.
"No problem." Old Yan nodded. "Old Zhao, I'm entrusting my son to you from now on."
"Don't worry, I will definitely treat Dali like my own son," Zhao Zheng said with a smile.
With two more thugs in the house, we now have some security, but that's not enough.
After returning home.
Zhao Zheng instructed Yan Dali to do the work, mainly to build the courtyard wall with adobe bricks.
Yan Dali also put in a lot of effort to showcase himself.
This made Liu Tieniu feel a strong sense of threat, and he insisted on chopping wood despite his injuries.
The two young men were also secretly competing with each other.
This is something Zhao Zheng was happy to see.
At noon, Yang Zhaodi cooked millet porridge, which was quite thick.
Although it's not as good as yesterday's millet rice with meat, it's still better than what 99% of the people in the village are eating.
Liu Tieniu began to eat heartily.
Yan Dali was starving, his stomach practically sticking to his back. When he saw the millet porridge so thick that chopsticks could be stuck in it, his eyes bulged out. "No rice bran added at all, just pure millet?"
"Wow, is Uncle Zhao's family really that rich?"
Sitting under the eaves, Liu Tieniu sneered, "That's nothing! Uncle Zhao is very generous. If you work hard, he'll let you eat your fill of millet rice, let alone thick porridge!"
Yan Dali didn't believe it at all; these days, even small landlords only drank porridge.
Millet rice?
I wouldn't even dare to think about it.
His mother was even stingier. She would make rice bran porridge with tree bark powder, and give him only a tiny bit of millet, along with pickled vegetables. It looked thick, but after eating it, he felt weak all over and his stomach was bloated. It was incredibly uncomfortable.
Zhao Zheng happily drank his porridge. He had gotten tired of eating meat and vegetables these past few days, so he occasionally had some multigrain porridge to soothe his stomach!
After they finished eating, Zhao Zheng made Liu Tieniu wash the dishes, and he forbade Zhaodi and Xiao'e from doing such rough work anymore.
In the afternoon, Zhao Zheng arrived at the village entrance and called all the members of Team Eight.
It's not training; it's an attempt to expand into the market.
Just as I was about to speak, the old women and men at the village entrance started talking all at once, as if they had seen something extraordinary.
Zhao Zheng looked closely and saw Wu Yueying leading two children, one on each side, walking towards the village.
"Yueying, why did you bring Huahua and Xiaocao back?"
Will the Zhong family agree to let them come back?
Wu Yueying replied with a smile, "I redeemed the flowers and grass."
Everyone was stunned by these words.
"Wasn't it just sold to the Zhong family? How come it's been redeemed already?"
"Where did you get the money to ransom them?"
Wu Yueying didn't explain. Her gaze had already been fixed on Zhao Zheng. She then took her two daughters' hands and quickly walked through the crowd to Zhao Zheng. "Children, kowtow to your Master Zhao!"
Hua Hua and Xiao Cao knew that they were able to escape because of Grandpa Zhao, so they immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Grandpa Zhao!"
Wu Yueying also knelt down, tears of joy streaming down her face, "Thank you, Uncle Zhao..."
"Get up, get up quickly!" Zhao Zheng hurriedly helped the mother and her two daughters up. "It's good that you're back. From now on, live a good life!"
This scene left everyone stunned.
"Why is Yueying kneeling before Zhao Laosan with her child? Did he give her the money to redeem her child?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. I was there when Wang Dazhi signed the documents. He got three taels of silver from selling the child, but to redeem the child, he needed fifteen taels of silver. Where would Zhao Laosan get so much money?"