By now, a large crowd had gathered nearby to watch—at least several dozen people.
Men and women, young and old alike.
From appearances alone, the slender and slightly shorter Xu Tongdao seemed to be at a disadvantage in front of Xu Jinshan.
At least, that was how it looked at first glance.
But only Xu Jinshan himself could feel the resolve and hardness coming from the Xu Tongdao standing before him.
Faced with Xu Jinshan's shouting, Xu Tongdao remained unmoved. He stared coldly into Xu Jinshan's eyes and asked only one question:
"Are you returning them or not?"
Under the gaze of the crowd and amid the buzzing discussion, Xu Jinshan's anger flared. His face flushed red as he suddenly raised his hand and swung at Xu Tongdao's face.
"Are you looking to die?!"
Xu Tongdao finally took a step back.
He was young and quick.
With that single step back, he avoided Xu Jinshan's slap.
With the counter between them, Xu Jinshan couldn't rush over to continue the attack.
Xu Tongdao didn't go berserk either, charging in to fight Xu Jinshan to the death.
Yes, he was here to establish authority—but unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of truly risking his life. It wasn't worth it. Before his rebirth, he had been nearly forty years old; he wasn't that impulsive anymore.
He also believed Xu Jinshan had no intention of risking his life either.
So Xu Tongdao looked coldly at the flushed Xu Jinshan behind the counter. His gaze dropped again, sweeping across the counter until he spotted a fruit knife.
He stepped forward, pinched the blade, and extended the handle toward Xu Jinshan.
Coldly, he said, "Want to play tough? Then take the knife and stab me. I guarantee I won't move. Come on—stab me. If you don't, you're a coward. And if you don't, then everything you took from my house must be returned. Otherwise, I won't let your family off. Are you stabbing me or not?"
As the last words left his mouth, Xu Tongdao pushed the knife handle even closer to Xu Jinshan.
At that moment, the crowd watching from nearby erupted.
"Hey! Hey! You can't use a knife! Absolutely can't use a knife!"
"Jinshan, don't do anything stupid! You can't stoop to a child's level!"
"Xiao Dao! Xiao Dao, have you gone crazy? Put the knife down!"
…
Some people wanted to rush in to stop it, but seeing the knife in Xu Tongdao's hand, they didn't dare get too close, afraid of being hurt by accident.
The one in the most difficult position—the one truly stuck—was Xu Jinshan behind the counter.
Seeing the knife handle already shoved in front of him, his face grew even redder. He ground his teeth and glared at Xu Tongdao. His right hand twitched, itching to teach this kid a brutal lesson.
But amid the overlapping voices of persuasion from the crowd, and the panicked cries and pulling from his wife Wang Cuihua behind him, his restless right hand never dared to actually grab the knife.
Just as the old rural saying went: the ruthless fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who don't fear death.
At some point, Xu Tongdao's sister Ge Yuzhu had also run over. Standing at the front of the crowd, she saw the scene and turned pale, crying out with a sobbing voice:
"Big brother! Big brother, come back! Big brother… big brother…"
Xu Tongdao heard her.
But he didn't turn his head.
How could establishing authority be abandoned halfway?
He had already judged that Xu Jinshan lacked the courage to risk his life.
If it were a young man around his own age standing there, Xu Tongdao would never have dared shove a knife handle at him and provoke him like this.
Young hotheads, once blood rushed to their heads, could do anything without considering consequences.
But someone like Xu Jinshan—a middle-aged man, and a shrewd one at that—was far more cautious.
"I'll return them! I'll return them! Xiao Dao, put the knife down! I'll give everything back, isn't that enough? I'm begging you, you little ancestor… you've really gone mad…"
Wang Cuihua finally couldn't hold out anymore. She rushed forward, shouting words of surrender while hurriedly dragging back the red-faced, thick-necked Xu Jinshan.
Xu Jinshan's expression was terrible—anyone could see he was about to explode with rage—but he forcibly restrained himself. He neither said anything more threatening nor objected to returning the items.
Soon after—
Xu Tongdao emerged from Xu Jinshan's house with a television in his arms, his face cold.
Xu Jinshan, having lost all face, was nowhere to be seen—likely hiding in a room, stewing in his anger.
The men and women watching nearby looked at Xu Tongdao with mixed expressions, murmuring among themselves.
Ge Yuzhu, tears still on her face, stumbled forward in a hurried trot.
"Big brother, big brother, are you alright?"
Xu Tongdao stood beneath the convenience shop's rain awning and slightly lifted his chin, signaling toward the umbrella he had leaned against the wall earlier.
He instructed his sister, "Bring the umbrella over. Hold it for me."
It was still drizzling outside. If the television got soaked, it would be ruined.
"Ah—okay!"
Ge Yuzhu obediently ran over to fetch the umbrella and held it over Xu Tongdao.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the gathered crowd, the siblings headed toward the back of the village—one carrying the television, the other holding the umbrella.
"That kid Xiao Dao is kind of scary…"
"That brat is ruthless."
"Where's his younger brother, Xiao Lu? That kid's temper is even worse—why didn't he come?"
"Tonglu went to the fields to catch fish. I saw him earlier carrying a fish spear…"
"Good thing little Tonglu didn't come along. He's even more impulsive than his older brother. If he'd come too, things might've gotten completely out of hand…"
…
Xu Tongdao heard some of the murmurs, but not all of them. He didn't look to see who was speaking.
He understood his younger brother Xu Tonglu better than any of them.
They weren't wrong—if his brother had come along earlier, things could have spiraled out of control.
That kid did extremely well in school, but his temper was explosive.
Once he went all out, he truly didn't care about consequences.
That was precisely why Xu Tongdao had decided to come alone to confront Xu Jinshan.
Today's timing was perfect.
Their mother had gone to guard the dike and wasn't home. His younger brother had gone out to catch fish and wasn't home either. At home, there was only him—and Ge Yuzhu, who couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.
Otherwise, if their mother had been home, she would definitely have tried to stop him.
And if Xu Tonglu had been home, he would certainly have followed along—weapon in hand.
"Big brother, let's just bring the television home and stop there, okay? Don't go to anyone else's house. I'm scared…"
On the way back, Ge Yuzhu pleaded softly while holding the umbrella.
Xu Tongdao glanced at her and sighed lightly. "Yuzhu, there are some things you don't understand. Don't worry about them. Relax—I know my limits."
Ge Yuzhu's face scrunched up. "Big brother, Mom already said to let it go. Can't you just let it go this time? Please…"
Xu Tongdao shook his head. "No. Don't try to persuade me anymore. Some things can be yielded on—this isn't one of them. You'll understand someday."
Ge Yuzhu wanted to keep persuading him.
She was truly afraid.
Afraid that when her brother went to the next house to demand things back, he would get beaten.
But how could she possibly stop Xu Tongdao?
As soon as they delivered the television back home, he took the umbrella and headed out again.
As he left, he turned back and warned his sister to stay home and watch the house—and not to follow him under any circumstances.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup