Rebirth Counterattack with Space

"Good grief."

Both hands reached out to snatch the bottle of liquor from the second uncle Lu’s hand, but Xie Dahu was quicker and held it tightly in his arms.

Xie Jianye shouted anxiously, "Be careful not to drop it. These things sell for eight yuan a bottle at the supply and marketing cooperative and are often out of stock. Damn, how many years has it been since I tasted this? When we had the celebration feast, there were dozens of people and only one bottle, and it took ages for my luck to come to get just a little taste, a flavor I’ll never forget for my entire life."

"You’ve tasted it," Dahu retorted, "I didn’t even get a sip, who should I cry to? No, tonight, I’ll have to invite brother Lu and his wife for dinner at my house, just the three of us. There’s not much liquor, not enough for so many people." Xie Dahu held onto the bottle even tighter, fearing it would be shared among others.

"You really are hopeless, making such a fuss over a bottle of liquor. Have some ambition," Xie Jianye looked at Xie Dahu with disdain.

Xie Dahu was startled, who had just been fighting with him for the drink?

Xie Dahu was about to retort when he saw Xie Jianye turn and speak to Xie Lao Si.

"Xie Lao Si, we didn’t come here today just to have a meal. We are serving the people, this is a new society, we shouldn’t take even a needle or a thread from the common folks. Let’s drop the dinner invitation, or else we won’t be pleased. Tonight, we’ll eat at Dahu’s. Our relationship with elder brother Lu is personal, it has nothing to do with having a meal or not."

"I’m telling you, this guy..."

Xie Dahu clicked his tongue; no matter how unwilling, he couldn’t help but admire the eloquence. But as beautifully as it was said, the underlying message was the same—afraid of there being too many people and the liquor being divided among them.

"Brother Lu, tonight we’ll drink until we drop, and you and your wife don’t worry about the dark and lengthy road home. I’ll have my youngest drive you back in a donkey cart." Xie Dahu saw hesitation on second auntie Lu’s face and immediately sought to alleviate her concerns.

Xie Dahu’s youngest wasn’t a professional cart-driver in the village, but that didn’t affect his ability to drive one.

"Agreed." This time, uncle Lu didn’t decline but agreed readily. Auntie Lu also smiled and nodded, "I haven’t seen my sister-in-law in a long time either."

"Yes, my old lady often mentions your sister-in-law too," Xie Dahu laughed.

Meanwhile, Xie Lao Si, as well as Tian Xiaoju, Xie Changgen, and Lin Meizhu hiding behind, Lin Meizhu’s relatives, and Xie Jiang and Xie Changgen who were Lu Aijiao’s and Lu Aimei’s sons-in-law, including Lu Aijiao and Lu Aimei themselves, were all shocked by the scene before them.

Especially the relatives of Lin Meizhu, who were locals, had never seen these two speak so amiably and warmly with anyone before. Normally, who wasn’t stern-faced and overly imposing? If they saw anyone doing something unsatisfactory, regardless of who it was, they would start scolding right away.

Even the most articulate Auntie Lin was now shrinking her neck, afraid to utter a word. They had just taken pride in intercepting the sugar water meant for uncle Lu and his party...

... What was this supposed to mean? If they had known... they really offended people badly this time...

It was all Lin Meizhu’s fault; how could she not know that her own sisters’ parents had such a relationship with the village’s secretary and chairman? And yet, she didn’t even mention a word and had enmity with someone’s daughter. Wasn’t she digging her own family’s grave in the village?

Lin’s parents, aunt, several brothers, and sisters-in-law all gave Lin Meizhu angry glances. Lin Meizhu shivered slightly, almost bursting into tears—could she be blamed? She genuinely didn’t know anything.

Just as everyone was shocked at the surprisingly good personal relationship between the second boss of the Lu family and the leaders of Xie village, Xie Jiang was the first to react. He came forward with a smile and said, "Then I’ll make a trip and let my aunt know."

He had barely finished speaking before swiftly turning around and leaving the Xie family’s courtyard.

"No need to go tell her..."

Dahu called out, but it was not enough to stop Xie Jiang’s strides. He sighed and smiled at the second boss of the Lu family and his wife, "Brother Lu, sister-in-law, your son-in-law sure is clever. But he thinks I was just speaking for the sake of appearances. Hahaha."

"It’s okay to have him run an extra trip; young people should move around a lot to get strong. Not like our generation, who don’t like to move once we grow old." The second boss appreciated Xie Jiang’s departing figure, withdrew his gaze, and felt somewhat comforted inside. Out of the two sons-in-law, at least one knew how to handle things.

Xie Jiang returned home first and briefly recited to his parents the conversation between his father-in-law and the village’s major secretary and the captain. Xie Qi and Luo Huizhen were both a bit dumbfounded; since when had their in-laws become so close to the village’s key leaders?

After so many years as in-laws, they knew nothing about it.

No wonder then, ever since their elder daughter-in-law entered their family, life in the village had become increasingly comfortable. In the production team, they were assigned lighter tasks, and their work points were marked higher. Even during the allocation of responsibility fields, they managed to take slightly more than others.

They mentioned that they didn’t have any special connections with the village cadres—could all of this have been for the sake of their father-in-law?

Luo Huizhen quickly reflected and felt relieved that, over the years, she had always treated her elder daughter-in-law kindly and never stirred up discord between the couple in front of her son.

In fact, she was fair to not just her elder daughter-in-law but also the younger one who was less influential from her natal family.

"Mom, don’t just stand there. Hurry and get something. My in-laws are dining at someone’s place tonight; we can’t let them eat and drink for nothing, right?" Xie Jiang saw that his mother was unmoved and couldn’t help but grow impatient.

"Right, right, right. I’ll go get some cured meat. There’s still a lot left from what your wife’s family brought." Luo Huizhen hurriedly responded and scurried into the kitchen. Soon after, she came out with a basket covered by a cloth, "I also put three jin of noodles in there."

Xie Jiang didn’t have time to say more and quickly took the basket and left.

Meanwhile, the property division at the Xie family was progressing smoothly.

Xie Jianye and Dahu were highly respected in the Xie village. This was partly due to their stern faces and fiery tempers, but also because they were generally fair and just in handling disputes between families, which made them trustworthy.

Birds of a feather flock together; the second boss had been friends with these two since before the Liberation, and although their private interactions weren’t as frequent after the Liberation, they weren’t estranged. After all, they often met at local meetings.

Both of the second boss’s daughters were married into Xie village, and he wouldn’t be foolish enough to alienate these two. Whenever Lu Aiguo had good items to deliver to Xie village, the second boss would also make it a point to visit now and then.

Tian Xiaoju and Lin Meizhu, despite being initially intimidated by the village secretary and the captain’s long-standing influence, still fought for their interests, albeit much more restrained than their original bold demands. Xie Changgen remained silent throughout.

Lin’s parents were silent from start to finish. Of course, even if many from Lin’s family came, only Lin Meizhu’s parents were significant enough to have a seat.

Lin’s maternal aunt had initially wanted to sit down. But when Dahu gave her a sidelong glance and brusquely questioned whether she intended to replace either Lin Meizhu’s father or mother, Lin Meizhu’s parents didn’t dare make a peep and remained seated. She had no choice but to get up, feeling quite embarrassed, and sulked in the corner.