Wolf-Raised Cub with a Space: Surviving the Disaster Years

For several days straight, Wang Qiao’er had been in Xitai Village, spreading nasty rumors about Shen Ningning everywhere.

Villages situated close to one another often shared family ties.

Because of this, when Grandma Qin finished her dinner and strolled down from the mountain for a walk in Xiangyun Village, she was pulled aside by Granny Chen and a few of her elderly friends.

"Grandma Ningning, you have no idea how vicious Fu Gui’s mother has been."

"She had the gall to call Ningning a little bastard and even said that Aunt Qin was right to hit her back then."

"She’s also saying Ningning latches onto anyone, trying to call any man she meets ’Dad.’"

Grandma Qin was furious. "How dare she say that about my Ningning?"

Shen Ningning had been at the private school for the past couple of days, so the carriage wasn’t at home.

Without a second thought, Grandma Qin had Granny Chen’s son, Chen Ye, come over. They borrowed an ox-cart from the village chief and headed straight for Xitai Village.

It was dusk by the time they arrived. Grandma Qin stormed through the village, asking for directions until she found Wang Qiao’er’s house.

The courtyard gate was shut tight.

Grandma Qin pounded on the door. "Fu Gui’s mother, get out here!"

"You dare to pick on my Ningning just because she’s a child? If you’ve got the guts, say it to my face and see if I don’t skin you alive!"

For a long time, no one came to open the door.

In the courtyard across the way, Wu Zuchang heard the commotion and ambled over to his gate to watch curiously.

Grandma Qin’s shouting attracted the attention of the neighbors.

"That must be Shen Ningning’s grandmother, right?"

The onlookers tried to placate her. "Grandma Ningning, stop banging on the door! They’re not home."

Wu Zuchang quickly ran out. "She is in there! I just saw someone go in."

Hearing this, Grandma Qin yanked on the door with even more force. "Fu Gui’s mother, come out! You dare to spread lies but not to face me?"

Knowing this was his little sister’s grandmother, Wu Zuchang walked over with a goofy grin. "I’ll get her to come out."

With that, as everyone watched, he climbed up the courtyard wall and dropped down inside. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Grandma Qin was a little surprised.

A villager yelled, "Hey, Wu, get your son out of there! Be careful, or Wang Qiao’er will come back and accuse him of stealing!"

"Stop yelling. Wu and his wife went to the next village to visit relatives."

Qian Siniang and her family had recently received a lot of grain but refused to share any of it, which had long made them the target of jealousy and resentment.

So, another villager said sarcastically, "What’s there to be afraid of? The Wu family is loaded. They’re rolling in silver. You think they’re scared of some scam from Wang Qiao’er?"

"He’s a simpleton. He just climbed the wall for fun. What would he know about stealing?"

The crowd roared with laughter.

But Grandma Qin felt something was wrong. She turned and called to Chen Ye, "Son, go get him out of there."

Suddenly!

The words had barely left her mouth when the door was yanked open from the inside.

A man, wearing only a shirt with his bottom half completely bare, rushed out with an ashen face.

The village women in the crowd shrieked and quickly covered their eyes.

Others hastily dragged their bewildered children home from the spectacle.

Grandma Qin was so shocked she turned away. "How indecent!"

Wu Zuchang chased after the man, laughing gleefully. "Don’t run! The little girl’s grandma is looking for you!"

He was tall and powerfully built. With a single lunge, he grabbed the man and pinned him to the ground.

The villagers took a closer look and gasped in astonishment. "Is... isn’t that the wealthy Mr. Ba from our village?"

Ba Deshun, who was also Wang Qiao’er’s distant cousin.

In his youth, Ba Deshun had been dirt poor. Then, by some stroke of rotten luck, the daughter of a minor sixth-rank official in the Capital City took a fancy to him and refused to marry anyone else.

After the wedding, he used his quick wits and his father-in-law’s backing to start a small textile business, achieving a modest amount of success.

He wasn’t fabulously wealthy, but his family wanted for nothing when it came to food, clothing, and shelter.

After that, he renovated his ancestral home back in Xitai Village, but he only returned to stay there occasionally.

Not long ago, he had arrived with a mother and son, and many villagers recognized Wang Qiao’er.

At the time, Ba Deshun claimed she was his cousin, saying she had been wronged by her husband’s family and had nowhere else to go, so he was taking her in.

The villagers didn’t think much of it, but they noticed Ba Deshun arriving by carriage several times, constantly buying food and clothes for Wang Qiao’er and her son. In private, everyone guessed she was his kept woman.

But now, seeing him pinned to the ground by Wu Zuchang with his bare backside exposed, the villagers’ suspicions were confirmed beyond a doubt!

Ba Deshun was already livid. He had been right in the heat of the moment when a big oaf suddenly burst in, scaring him half to death!

And now he was still pinned to the ground by Wu Zuchang.

"Wu Zuchang, get the hell off me!" he roared.

Wu Zuchang looked at him blankly. "That’s not right. The little girl’s grandma isn’t looking for you."

He then turned back toward the house.

The onlookers sensed things were about to get worse. Grandma Qin rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "Son, don’t go in. Let’s go home now."

However, Wang Qiao’er, who was hiding in a room, heard the commotion and thought Wu Zuchang was about to burst in.

She had no choice but to hastily throw on some clothes, running out while still fastening the buttons on her collar.

"What do you people think you’re doing?! Breaking into a private home in broad daylight! I’m going to the government to have you all arrested!"

As she spoke, Wang Qiao’er tossed a pair of pants to Ba Deshun. He used the fabric to cover himself before scrambling to his feet, his face ashen with rage.

Once he had rustled his way into his pants, he strode back out and pointed furiously at Grandma Qin.

"You’re the old hag who was pounding on the door, aren’t you?"

Chen Ye’s expression was ice-cold. He stepped in front of Grandma Qin, his aura menacing. "Who are you pointing at?"

’The Young Miss isn’t here,’ he thought. ’There’s no way I’m letting someone bully Grandma Qin on my watch.’

Ba Deshun was a full head shorter than Chen Ye. Staring into the man’s murderous eyes, his bravado instantly vanished.

The finger he’d been pointing at Grandma Qin shifted sideways, now aimed at Wu Zuchang, who was drooling and giggling foolishly nearby.

"Damn it! You thieving brat, you’re coming with me to the government! I’ll have your head for breaking into my house in broad daylight!"

Ba Deshun grabbed Wu Zuchang by the collar and started dragging him away.

Grandma Qin tried to stop him. "Let the boy go!"

Wu Zuchang, with his great strength, flung Ba Deshun’s hand away, his face turning red with distress. "Hurts."

Ba Deshun was nearly thrown to the ground, but a villager managed to catch him.

However, instead of being grateful, he glared at the person who had helped him up. "Get your filthy hands off me! What are you all still gawking at? Enjoying the show? Scram! All of you, scram!"

His words enraged the villagers who were watching the drama unfold.

"So shameless! Carrying on like that in broad daylight, all tangled up together," a more prudish village woman blurted out.

A few villagers stepped forward to mediate. "Mr. Ba, you can’t really blame anyone. They didn’t know what you two were up to in there."

Completely humiliated, Wang Qiao’er launched into a shrewish tirade. "What’s it to you? You’re just some dirt-poor loser who’s jealous because he can’t get a wife!"

The villager’s face darkened. "I was just trying to help! Why are you talking to me like that?"

Wang Qiao’er immediately tugged on Ba Deshun’s sleeve, whining, "Cousin~"

She put on a high, pinched voice. "You donated a bridge to Xitai Village the year before last, and now they dare to stand here and laugh at you."

Having earned a little silver, Ba Deshun had long since started to look down on these struggling villagers.

With Wang Qiao’er’s sweet-talking ringing in his ears, how could he not fly into a rage? What face would he have left otherwise?

So he glared at the villagers. "So what if I’m shameless? She’s my cousin, and she’s my woman! What are you going to do about it?"

The words were so crude that even Grandma Qin felt disgusted. Chen Ye’s brow furrowed.

Just then, a furious, youthful roar echoed from behind them—

"I’ll end your worthless life!"

Ba Deshun turned to see Deng Fugui. He’d apparently been standing nearby listening for a while, but that last sentence was the final straw.

He charged forward, lifted a leg, and kicked Ba Deshun squarely in the crotch.

"AGHHH—!" Ba Deshun’s bloodcurdling scream seemed to shake the very heavens.