After leaving Yu Nian’an’s house, Yu Dingguo, nursing the burn on his arm, decided to first stop by the town clinic. The scorching sun overhead only seemed to fuel the anger burning in his chest.
That insolent little girl how dare she confront him head-on!
Truly, she had no fear of consequences. Yu Dingguo couldn’t shake the feeling that she was the type to go all the way to a fight-to-the-death scenario.
His eyes darkened as he glanced back toward Yu Nian’an’s house. If she was ruthless, he wouldn’t be bound by mercy.
After walking about two li (roughly a mile) from the village, he was parched. He stopped at a shallow stream by the roadside, squatting to take a drink. Just as he bent down, something suddenly leapt out of the nearby reeds a “bear” sending him tumbling into the water.
Seeing him flounder, the “bear” suddenly burst into laughter, clapping and giggling like a fool.
Yu Dingguo looked more closely no bear at all, just the village idiot from next door: Wang Yaozu.
It was midsummer, yet he wore a thick coat. His hair was a mess, and his bulky frame made him look convincingly like a bear.
This infuriated Yu Dingguo. He scrambled out of the water, fists raised, and swung at Wang Yaozu’s head. Soon enough, blood appeared.
Wang Yaozu no longer found it funny. He collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly. Yu Dingguo was about to give him another hit to vent his frustration when he suddenly remembered Wang Yaozu’s family situation.
It was like someone bringing a pillow just as you dozed off.
Thinking of what he needed to do, Yu Dingguo immediately switched to a friendly smile. He crouched down to help Wang Yaozu up and spoke gently to him.
“Yaozu, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”
He asked three times, but Wang Yaozu didn’t understand these words, only muttering vaguely, “Grandma… Grandma…”
Yu Dingguo’s eyes flickered. He leaned closer and coaxed him, “Come on, let’s find Grandma. I’ll take you to Grandma.”
This time, Wang Yaozu understood. He grabbed Yu Dingguo’s sleeve and nodded vigorously.
On the way to the neighboring village, passersby noticed the lost fool being brought back and offered to guide Yu Dingguo to the Wang household.
As soon as they entered the yard, a deep, trembling voice rang out, tinged with crying: “My poor big grandson, you’ve finally come back!”
Yu Dingguo looked up to see an elderly woman, her hair white, frame thin, running out of the dilapidated house. The moment she saw Wang Yaozu, her eyes fell on the wound on his head.
She screamed even louder, then turned toward Yu Dingguo her expression changed in an instant.
“Did you hit the wound on my big grandson’s head?”
Yu Dingguo couldn’t help thinking the old lady had a sharp eye, but on the surface, he put on a displeased expression. “Auntie, I was trying to do a good deed, bringing your grandson back safely how come you accuse me like this?”
But the old lady didn’t care about his tone at all. Upon hearing him, she became even more aggressive than before.
“My grandson went missing for so long, and the first person we find is you! If not you, then who else could it be! I don’t care! Such a big gash you need to pay! And you must take my grandson to the county hospital!”
Faced with her unreasonable demands, Yu Dingguo was not an easy man to deal with either. The two of them began arguing in the yard.
The commotion caught the attention of the neighbors. Some knew the old lady’s temper and quietly slipped away to fetch her family.
Wang Yaozu had gone missing that morning. Remembering the old lady’s age, they had left her at home, while Wang Yaozu’s son, daughter-in-law, and eldest granddaughter went from house to house searching. They were just about to leave the village to look further when someone came running back.
“The Wang family, you can go home now. Your fool of a son has been found.”
The messenger had accidentally called Wang Yaozu by his usual nickname, but everyone’s focus was on finding him, so no one paid attention.
Upon hearing that he had been found, Wang Yaozu’s son, Wang Jianjun, ran straight home, leaving his wife and daughter behind.
The daughter-in-law thanked the messenger and followed after him.
Only the eldest daughter, Wang Zhaonan, lagged behind, walking slowly, her expression showing displeasure.
The family returned just in time. Had they been a little later, Yu Dingguo’s fist might have landed on the old lady he truly had never seen someone so shameless.
The moment the old lady saw her son, her expression changed. She slapped her thigh and sat down on the ground. “Ah, my son! You’ve finally come back! Some outsider from who knows which village beat Yaozu and even tried to bully this old lady!”
Hearing this, Yu Dingguo felt a throbbing pain in his forehead. If he had known, he would have just vented on Wang Yaozu earlier and been done with it.
The daughter-in-law who had caught up entered the yard, smiling apologetically. She crouched and said, “Mother, let’s talk calmly about this.” Then she reached out, gently holding the old lady’s arm.
Unexpectedly, the old lady shoved her to the ground.
“You jinx! You come back and don’t even ask about Yaozu? Where were you pretending to do a good deed for your Old Man Mother?”
After saying that, she couldn’t resist giving her a little poke.
The daughter-in-law’s smile froze for a moment but quickly adjusted, moving to the side to check on her son’s injuries.
Wang Zhaonan, who had just arrived, glanced at the situation in the yard and quietly went over to Wang Yaozu, speaking to him softly with concern.
The old lady glared at her granddaughter for a moment, then turned her attention back to Yu Dingguo. Now that the rest of the family was back, she felt more confident shouting at him, clearly determined not to let the matter go without an explanation.
Wang Jianjun stood by without intervening. Yu Dingguo could tell that in this household, the old lady was in charge. Rolling his eyes, he let out a somewhat resigned sigh and said, “Grandma, when I found Yaozu, his head was already like this. No matter what, he’s technically my relative, so how could I possibly have done this?”
The old lady immediately retorted, “What relative are you to this family?”
“How is that not a relative? I’m your granddaughter’s cousin, so naturally, I’m Yaozu’s older brother too, right?”
When he said this, Wang Jianjun’s wife and their daughter exchanged glances and then discreetly moved aside.
The old lady looked confused. “Granddaughter? Where did I get a granddaughter? If you don’t want to pay, just say so stop pretending to be close!”
Yu Dingguo clenched his eyes in frustration, took a deep breath, and reminded himself of the reason he had come here, forcing himself to suppress his impatience.
At that moment, Wang Jianjun, who had been silent all along, seemed to remember something. He walked over to his mother and murmured a few words quietly.
Seeing this, Yu Dingguo quickly seized the opportunity and added, “It’s just a coincidence my cousin’s family is building a house. After helping them out, I ran into Yaozu’s younger brother.”
“Building a house?”
The old lady wasn’t stupid. Upon hearing this, her sharp eyes immediately picked up the key information, a spark flashing in them.
When she spoke again, the fierce attitude from before had vanished, replaced by a broad smile as she cheerfully walked toward Yu Dingguo.
“Oh, what a fuss this has been! Today we’re lucky you, her cousin, were here. Why don’t you stay for a meal?”
Without waiting for his reaction, she pulled him toward the house while simultaneously instructing her daughter-in-law and granddaughter to start preparing the food.