The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Dinner was a lively affair. Sun Jiaming, Li Zhi, and Dingzi drank quite a bit with Lin Shan.

They drank heartily and were in high spirits, talking and drinking for nearly two hours before the party finally wound down.

After seeing Lin Shan off, Chen Fengjiao couldn’t stop crying. Lin Sui’er watched Gu’er. Their group had previously ganged up on their aunt’s family, but now that they were gone, her dislike for Gu’er resurfaced.

Gu’er stayed with Chen Fengjiao for a little longer. ’She must be feeling awful,’ Gu’er thought, so she comforted her for a while and promised she would visit often.

Soon, Gu’er, Sun Jiaming, and the others left as well. Li Zhi gave them a ride, and they all made a plan: Gu’er and Sun Jiaming would take Zheng Zhongshan for a medical check-up, while Li Zhi and Dingzi would find someone to make contact with Zheng Daniu’s village.

「A few days later」

They met at Gu’er’s house, as Li Zhi and Dingzi weren’t living in the area yet while their own place was still being renovated.

"The doctor said Brother Zhongshan’s illness is a chronic condition that’s been there for years, so it’s not easy to cure. But it’s not life-threatening. As long as he recuperates properly, gets enough nutrition, avoids strenuous labor, and doesn’t get overly stressed, he can recover. So there’s no need to worry. It’s not nearly as serious as my aunt thought, and it’s nothing like what the doctor in their village said about him not having long to live. That’s just not true."

Gu’er was the first to report, starting with Zheng Zhongshan’s condition.

Lin Shuying secretly wiped away a tear. When Lin Shan had left, she had felt uneasy. After seeing how Gu’er treated Liu Yue Mei’s family, she had been genuinely afraid that Gu’er would ignore them too. But she never expected Gu’er to be so considerate of family. Despite being a newlywed with Sun Jiaming, Gu’er had taken her and Zhongshan to a major hospital for a check-up. Worried about an inaccurate diagnosis, they even went to several hospitals, but all the doctors said more or less the same thing: Zhongshan’s illness required nursing. With two years of proper care, he could recover and be just like a normal person. She was truly happy to hear that. She had been so scared it was just as the people in her village said—that Zhongshan wouldn’t live another two years.

"Dingzi and I looked up a lot of our army buddies, but none of them were from that area," Li Zhi said, giving his report. "So, I had my dad ask his old army buddies. It took some effort, but he finally found one who’s in the police department in the city over there. He went to check out the situation. Everything Auntie said is true. That widow is living in the house now, and she’s pregnant. Everyone knows about it, but since Auntie is an outsider, they all side with their fellow villager, so no one is doing anything. It’s a pretty backward place. Even if we sue Zheng Daniu, it won’t do much good. My dad’s army buddy suggests we go with a large group of people to negotiate with Zheng Daniu and get him to agree to a divorce, with Auntie getting custody of the child. But he told us we absolutely have to be prepared. He said that when something happens there, the locals all swarm together. If we go with too few people, we won’t be able to handle them."

Li Zhi finished laying out the situation.

Gu’er nodded. She’d heard of situations like this. ’There was that story about the police driving their car into a village to arrest a criminal, but the villagers wouldn’t allow it. They surrounded the police car, refused to let them make the arrest, and even ended up beating one of the officers to death. So pitifully ignorant.’

"Auntie, is it really like that over there?" Sun Jiaming asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Li Zhi; he just figured Lin Shuying would know the situation best.

Lin Shuying nodded. "Yes. Last time, there was a wife in the village whose husband was also cheating on her. She said one thing to him, and he beat her. In a fit of anger, she drank poison and died. Her family came to settle the score with the husband. It was clearly the husband’s fault for driving his wife to her death, but he just called a few of his kinsmen and they beat her family and drove them away. Her family came back with more people, but the husband just called even more men to fight them. Zheng Daniu went to help, too. They fought several times, and her family never got the upper hand. They all have an agreement: if anyone’s family has a problem, everyone will jump in. They won’t let outsiders bully a fellow villager."

When Lin Shuying finished, the group exchanged glances. ’So it really is like that.’ This was going to be difficult. They had anticipated it, though. Many villages and hamlets were like this—the residents might fight among themselves, even to the point of drawing blood, but when an outside issue arose, they would all band together.

"Then where are we going to find enough people?" Sun Jiaming asked everyone. "We can’t just take everyone from the mall, can we? The biggest problem would be the elderly and the children. If they get involved, it’ll be hard for us to do anything."

’Bringing people from the mall is unrealistic,’ Gu’er was thinking about this too. ’Dingzi is a great fighter, and Sun Jiaming and Li Zhi can each handle several opponents, but that won’t solve the core problem. Once they’re in the village, just as Jia Ming said, they can fight back against the men. But what if a bunch of old ladies and wives show up? Could Dingzi and the others still lay a hand on them? They’d be completely on the defensive.’

"It’s a shame our army buddies are scattered all over the country," Li Zhi lamented. "Otherwise, I’d call them all up. We’d roll in with a truckload of guys, all carrying weapons. Let’s see if they’d still dare to make a move then."

Gu’er proposed two solutions. "We could try to lure Zheng Daniu out of the village. Once he’s on his own, things will be much easier to handle. We could even force him to finalize the divorce with Auntie. The other option is to go to the city and find a group of police officers. I wonder if they have armed police there? If so, we could find someone to hire a truckful of them to go with us. Even if they don’t get involved, their presence alone would be a deterrent. I bet the villagers would think twice before trying anything."

"The second one is better!" Li Zhi immediately agreed with Gu’er’s second plan. "Let’s find some people. We’ll hire them to go with us. Get a whole truckload of police! I don’t believe they’d actually dare to make a move with a truck full of cops there."

Dingzi nodded as well.

Sun Jiaming also thought it was feasible. Deep down, ordinary people were still intimidated by officials and the police. They weren’t going there to do anything illegal, just to make sure no one acted rashly so they could resolve the issue with Zheng Daniu.

"But... but would the police really help us?" Lin Shuying’s mouth fell open. The things these young people were saying sounded so wild to her; she’d never even dared to imagine such a plan. "We don’t know anyone there. And besides, would they help us for free? We’d at least have to treat them to a meal and buy them some gifts or something... Th-that would cost so much money!"

"Don’t worry, Auntie," Li Zhi said, patting his chest. "Leave this to me."

’Any problem that can be solved with money is an easy one,’ he thought. With his dad’s army buddy helping out, he figured it wouldn’t be a major issue.

"Well, then... Auntie thanks you in advance," Lin Shuying said gratefully. "Whether it works out or not, Auntie thanks all of you."

"Auntie, now you’re being too formal," said Li Zhi, who, being the talkative one, was usually the first to reply. "We’re all family. You’re Gu’er’s aunt, so you’re our aunt too."

At that moment, Lin Shuying no longer found Li Zhi to be too talkative. Instead, she just thought he was incredibly kind and helpful. ’What a pity,’ she sighed inwardly, ’my own daughter isn’t good enough for him.’

While Lin Shuying was lost in her thoughts, Gu’er, Jia Ming, and Li Zhi continued their discussion. They decided that once Gu’er and Jia Ming were past their newlywed phase, they would all make a trip to Zheng Daniu’s village and get this matter settled once and for all.

***

*Wishing you a happy reunion under the full moon. Don’t forget to eat mooncakes and enjoy the moonlight, everyone!*