The Lian Yue and Lian Hai families rushed back upon hearing that the Dai family’s old lady had passed away, fearing that Dai’s family might come to fight over the kids. They were worried that she and Lianshan would suffer, so they traveled all the way back, which touched Shuzhen deeply. The Dai family arrived the evening before and took the first bus home early the next morning to put on their pathetic act. They hadn’t even had a chance to surprise their brother and sister-in-law before they ended up brawling a bit. Talking about this, Lian Yue raised an eyebrow proudly, "As a sister, I think I’m way better than that bitch Dai Weijuan. Just wait, Saozi, after we graduate, we’ll come back immediately. Forget about hometown development; at least there’s strength in numbers, and we’ll stick together. You and my brother are really a great pair when it comes to seed research. Serious research projects benefit people nationwide. But when it comes to fighting, you’re really more than a little lacking! There’s no point in reasoning with those shameless people. In situations , you should learn from me, slap them twice first, then talk when they’ve been beaten into submission..." Lian Yue, always the bold one and never backing down, talked about fighting with great detail. She felt that her sister-in-law’s posturing but not taking action was a bit low, so she couldn’t help but critique a bit. Shuzhen, having delivered a poignant blow of her own without actually hitting anyone, listened quietly to her sister-in-law’s feisty lecture. Whether it was useful or not was one thing, but the genuine concern from a sister-in-law was indeed comforting! The grown-ups were chatting animatedly after a long separation. The kids, too, hadn’t played together for months and were gleeful upon meeting, running up hills and rivers, climbing trees, and catching fish, with an infectious energy. But, with so many kids, disputes were bound to arise—words that grown-ups might dismiss as trivial sparking off major clashes among them. Coincidentally, a group of teenagers from the neighboring village happened to be at the same creek where Lian En often took his younger siblings to fish and catch shrimp. Li Feng, always nagged by his parents to emulate the ever-excellent Lian En, had a bit of a chip on his shoulder towards him. Meeting by chance, he decided to defeat Lian En in his area of expertise. Next time his parents criticized him, he wanted to at least be able to say Lian En was not as good as him at swimming and fishing. But just as he had everything planned out, Lian En refused to compete, stating he was looking after the younger ones. Despite being taunted and insulted for a long time, Lian En didn’t rise to the provocation, which only fueled Li Feng’s stubbornness. With arms akimbo and finger pointing, he spat venomously, "You’re just a bastard from the Dai family; it’s only because your father Lianshan’s too dull that you can stay in the Liu village and act so high and mighty!" "Yeah, Brother Feng is giving you respect; you should take it!" "We’re not like those weaklings from the Liu village who suck up to you, you little bastard..." With Li Feng starting off, his usual lackeys added fuel to the fire, making their insults even worse. Furious, Chenchen charged forward, "Dare insult my brother and dad, I’ll beat you to death!" Whenever words fail, it’s fists that speak. Lian Xi, Lian Rui, Ning Kang, Jianjun, Xinzhi, Xinyue rushed forward to help, brothers in arms, knowing that in critical moments they must stand up regardless of right or wrong, ensuring their kin weren’t wronged. By the time the instigator Lian En put down little Xinqing and ran over, the fight was already wrapping up. The little ones, with the element of surprise and unity, managed to beat the four twelve or thirteen-year-olds to a pulp—their noses and mouths bleeding, and their arms and faces scratched, ending up bruised and battered. The unluckiest was Li Feng, who had a massive lump on his forehead, thanks to Xinzhi’s relatively weaker strength. If the stone had been thrown harder, Li Feng might have had his skull cracked open. "That’ll teach you to watch your mouth; badmouthing my brother Lian En again? I’ll beat you to death!" Jiajia clenched his fists in a threatening gesture, and the little ones behind him waved theirs, saying, "Insult my brother/En again, and we’ll beat you to death!" Normally, by this point, one would realize that discretion is the better part of valor. But Li Feng, as the sole descendant of three generations, was indulged as a child and had gotten everything he wanted. Except for being nagged to study harder and look up to Lian En, the rest of his wishes were always granted. Over time, this naturally made him a little tyrant. For him, admitting defeat was always worse than being beaten. He spat on the ground, "Just because it’s true, I can’t say it? Your brother is just a bastard brought to the Lian family in your mom’s belly!" As those words left his mouth, he received another round of thrashing. After thoroughly beating the stubborn kid, Lian En’s headache began. He aimed to watch over the kids, but they ended up causing a huge mess because of him. How would he explain this to his parents, uncle, aunt, and second uncle? "Don’t worry, Brother Lian En, we were protecting you. This is absolutely a case of sticking up for a brother, the height of loyalty. My mom will definitely buy me canned food and pat my shoulder, saying I’ve grown up and can handle things. She won’t say anything else, rest assured!" For the Ning family, raised with a spirit of a wolf, fighting was never a big deal. With a proper reason, not only would there be no punishment, there would be rewards and praise. The little ones looked at Ning Kang in awe and envy, as if asking: Do you really have such privileges, or are you just bragging? "Hey, you don’t believe? Just wait and see what it means to see with your own eyes!" Ning Kang boasted confidently, unabashed by his tattered clothes after the group fight, he headed to his uncle’s house. Just as he did, he ran into Liu Feng’s grandma and mom, who were there to seek justice for their child. When the old lady sat down and started sobbing, Jiajia pushed Ning Kang forward, signaling that the moment of truth had arrived!
