Liu Tieniu, wielding a kitchen knife, deftly skinned a rabbit at the doorway.
This scene was witnessed by Liu's wife. When she saw the big, fat rabbit in her son's hand, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She immediately called her husband, who was lying on the bed, over and said, "Dad, look what Tie Niu is holding!"
Liu Laosi got up, looked closely, and was stunned. "That's... a rabbit?"
"Dad, did my second brother catch a rabbit?" Liu Tielu hurriedly got up and said anxiously, "Tell my second brother to bring it back!"
Liu Tieniu deliberately killed the man near his own window so that his parents would find out.
"Wow, this rabbit is so fat, it must weigh at least five pounds. Uncle Zhao is good at chopping wood, and he's even better at hunting than Hunter Ma!"
"What? It's a rabbit that Zhao Laosan hunted?" Liu Laosi was incredulous. He then pushed open the window and whispered, "Tie Niu, cut some rabbit meat and throw it over!"
"What?"
"I said, cut some rabbit meat over, Zhao Laosan won't find out!" Liu Laosi said with longing in his eyes.
"Want to eat rabbit meat?" Liu Tieniu asked with a half-smile.
Old Liu nodded vigorously, "Yes!"
Liu Tielu's mouth watered at the sight of rabbit meat. "Brother, I want to eat rabbit meat!"
"Tie Niu, your mother is hungry. How about you cut her a piece of meat?" Wang's wife said, licking her lips.
"If you want to eat, catch your own. There are plenty of them all over Jinji Mountain!" Liu Tieniu put the slaughtered rabbit into a wooden basin, leaving them not even a hair.
"You..." Old Liu's face twisted with rage, "You unfilial son!"
Wang's wife was also furious and cursed, "You short-lived wretch! If I had known you would end up like this, I would have preferred to give birth to a radish rather than you!"
Liu Tielu sighed deeply, "Dad, I'm hungry!"
"Hold it in!" Liu Laosi angrily closed the window, lay back on the bed, but his mind was filled with the image of that fat rabbit, and he felt inexplicably regretful.
Meanwhile, Yan Dali was plucking feathers from a pheasant, feeling extremely annoyed. "Why should I pluck feathers while he kills a rabbit?"
Not only were the chicken feathers hard to pluck, but the water was also scalding hot. The chilblains on his hands were painful and itchy, and he was almost going crazy.
Thinking of this, he had a sudden inspiration. He hid some of the contents of the chicken's belly into his pocket, then put the cleaned chicken inside. "Uncle, the pheasant is ready!"
Suddenly, Liu Tieniu appeared in front of him, looking at him coldly, "Take the things out!"
Yan Dali was startled. "Wh-what is that?"
"Don't make me say it twice, just take it out now!"
"Are you crazy? What did I take?" Yan Dali felt very guilty and tried to go into the house past Liu Tieniu.
Liu Tieniu roared, "Take out the chicken innards you're hiding in your pocket! Who gave you the guts to steal from the boss?"
The noise was so loud that it blew Zhao Zheng out of the house.
"Tie Niu, what's going on?"
"Uncle, he's stealing pheasant entrails and planning to take them home!" Liu Tieniu shouted angrily.
"Uncle Zhao, I didn't!" Yan Dali almost hated Liu Tieniu to the core.
"Nothing to say! I saw it clearly!" Liu Tieniu took the wooden basin from his hand and turned the chicken's belly inside out. "This is the chicken heart, this is the chicken liver..."
After counting, Liu Tieniu was stunned. "Nothing is missing?"
Yan Dali sneered, "Just say you want to slander me. How could I possibly steal anything from Uncle Zhao's house?"
Liu Tieniu frowned. "What did you hide in your pocket? Open it and let me see!"
"Why should I show you something I didn't hide?" Yan Dali snatched the wooden basin from Liu Tieniu's hand. "Uncle Zhao, you have to stand up for me!"
Zhao Zhengdao said, "Tie Niu might have misread it. Since it's not there, let's just forget about it."
Upon hearing this, Yan Dali said smugly to Liu Tieniu, "Watch your eyes from now on, don't you dare slander me!"
Liu Tieniu knew that Yan Dali had always been unconvinced by him, and if he didn't expose him today, he would definitely become even more arrogant in the future!
Uncle Zhao treated him like his own son and nephew, how could he let Yan Dali steal things?
Thinking of this, he pounced on Yan Dali from behind, and while he wasn't looking, he pulled out what Yan Dali had hidden in his pocket. "Haha, I knew it, you must have hidden something, Uncle Zhao, I found it..."
Yan Dali panicked because Zhao Zheng came out again and saw the not-too-long piece of chicken entrails in Liu Tieniu's hand.
"Uncle, I..."
"Dali, I've always trusted you. Is this how you deceive me?" Zhao Zheng stood inside the door, his hands behind his back, his eyes full of disappointment. "It's one thing to be lazy, but to be dishonest is unacceptable. Which employer would dare to keep you? Go back. Don't come back tomorrow."
Yan Dali panicked, "Uncle Zhao, I'm sorry, I was just confused for a moment and couldn't help myself, so I cut off a piece of chicken intestine. I'll never do it again!"
He knelt on the ground, pleading incessantly.
Liu Tieniu, however, was triumphant. "Uncle Zhao, this kind of sleazy person should be publicly shamed throughout the village so everyone can see what kind of son the Yan family has raised!"
"Liu Tieniu!!!" Yan Dali glared at him, his hatred reaching its peak.
"Staring at me won't do any good, you thief!"
Zhang Xiao'e and Wu Yueying came out and frowned when they saw this scene.
Stealing from your employer is a major taboo. Even if you get your hands and feet broken by your employer, it's your own fault, and no one will sympathize with you.
"Uncle Zhao, I beg you, I promise I'll never do it again. You can hit me, you can punish me, I'll accept it all, just don't let me leave!" Yan Dali pleaded.
Zhao Zheng squinted for a while before saying, "Since you've come to work for my family, you should act like one. It's one thing to be dishonest, but you also don't obey the team leader's orders. Who would want someone like you?"
"Without rules, there can be no order. Since you are willing to be punished, I will give you a chance!"
As he spoke, Zhao Zheng took out a bamboo cane from his house and handed it to Niu Dali, saying, "Give him a hundred lashes to teach him a lesson. If there's a next time, break his hand and throw him out of the Zhao family!"
"From now on, anyone who misbehaves while working at home, beat them severely. If they get injured or killed, I'll take responsibility!"
"Yes, Uncle Zhao!" Liu Tieniu took the bamboo board with both hands, walked up to Yan Dali, and said, "Stretch out your hand!"
Yan Dali was furious. He never expected Zhao Laosan to actually do it, and even to have Liu Tieniu do it.
However, he accepted being caught stealing and being punished. He didn't hate Zhao Laosan, but he hated Liu Tieniu to the core.
He lowered his voice and said, "Liu Tieniu, you'd better go easy on me!"
"Threatening me?" Liu Tieniu sneered, raised the bamboo stick in his hand high, and brought it down heavily.
Snap!
With just one slap, Yan Dali's palm went numb. A sharp pain shot through him, and his expression changed drastically. "Ah, Liu Tieniu, you fucking hit me hard!"
Liu Tieniu was secretly thrilled, but his face remained cold. "Straighten your arms out for me!"