The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1898 Ma Yang Gets a Violent Beating
Zhao Jun drove at breakneck speed and finally caught up with Li Baoyu and the others before they left the mountain area.

It was already 6:30 when the two cars entered Yong'an Village.

At this moment, the jeep in front stopped, and Zhao Jun, who was following behind, stepped on the brake with a slightly puzzled look.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Jun asked, pushing open the car window as he saw people getting out of the jeep.

"Brother-in-law, I'm heading home now." Ma Yang pointed to the alley leading to his house, then waved to Zhao Jun.

"Hey?" Li Ruhai, who was squeezed into the passenger seat with Jie Chen in the Jiefang truck, pushed open the window and shouted at Ma Yang, "Ma Lao Er, if you believe me, then don't go home."

"I'm not going home, I'm going to your house!" Ma Yang retorted irritably. Li Ruhai said, "If you don't believe me, just try it. You'll definitely get a beating when you get home!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun glanced sideways at Li Ruhai, thinking to himself that Li Ruhai was a real troublemaker. Ma Yang skipped school and went up the mountain with the Zhao family gang. Ma Dafu and his wife were already holding their breath, and if Ma Yang didn't come home after returning, they would be furious.

Just as Zhao Jun was about to speak, Ma Yang pointed at Li Ruhai and said, "Li, you blabbermouth, stop talking nonsense! I made a lot of money on this trip. Let's see who dares to hit me!"

"Xiao Yang..." Zhao Jun immediately sensed something was wrong. Even Zhao Jun himself wouldn't dare act so arrogantly at home, let alone Ma Yang. If Ma Yang acted like this when he got home, a beating would turn into a brutal beating.

"Brother-in-law," Ma Yang smiled at Zhao Jun and said, "We're not in time today, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'll ask Mom to cook a couple more dishes, and you and my sister can come back for dinner then."

Zhao Jun: "..."

Last time when Little White Dragon was brought up, this kid seemed to say the same thing, and then... Ma Dafu swung the triangular belt until his arm broke.

After Ma Yang finished speaking, he gave Zhao Jun a bright smile, then waved and ran into the alley.

“This child,” Xie Chen, who was sitting with Li Ruhai, remarked, “is a classic case of forgetting past mistakes.”

"Hehe." Li Ruhai couldn't help but laugh out loud, earning him a glare from Zhao Jun.

Two minutes later, Zhao Jun and his group returned to the Zhao family compound, where the family had already finished eating.

The few leftovers, along with the soup, were folded together and saved to feed the dog tomorrow morning; it wasn't dirty.

Even if Zhao Jun and his men didn't mind eating the leftovers, there wasn't enough for one person to eat.

Seeing Zhao Jun return, Wang Meilan was happier than anything else. She immediately asked Ma Ling to make hand-pulled noodles and egg sauce to welcome Zhao Jun and the others back.

In Northeast China, eating hand-pulled noodles isn't as complicated as in some other places where you have to prepare three days in advance and have more than a dozen kinds of toppings.

After all, due to the weather, no green vegetables are produced here for most of the year.

Back in May, the nights were cold, and the seedlings in the field didn't want to grow. It's only in the last few days that the cucumbers have started to flower, but they haven't even sprouted yet, so you can't even cut cucumber shreds.

However, there were vegetables with dipping sauce in Zhao's garden, so Yang Yufeng and Xu Chunyan went out to pick lettuce, cilantro, spinach, and radish greens.

The other three vegetables can be eaten raw, but the spinach must be blanched and then rinsed in cold water before being squeezed dry.

It was almost seven o'clock, so the food was prepared in a hurry. Wang Meilan and Ma Ling mixed the dough in two bowls, and after letting it rest for a few minutes, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law started rolling out the dough.

The dough is rolled out separately; it's always faster for two people to roll it out than for one.

After rolling it into a large sheet, sprinkle it with a thin layer of flour, roll it into a large roll, and then cut it.

As the cleaver clattered onto the cutting board, barking dogs echoed from behind the house.

The dog's barking sounded a bit strange, as if it didn't know the person who had just arrived.

It was getting dark, and without lighting any large lanterns, Zhao Jun stood by the window and saw a person stumbling along the path towards the house.

"Who's there?" Zhao Jun walked to the door and called out, "Who is it?"

"Brother-in-law!" The reply was choked with sobs, which not only stunned Zhao Jun, but also made Ma Ling, who was cutting noodles, pause in her cleaver.

Upon hearing that it was Ma Yang, Zhao Jun hurriedly went out to greet him. The two met in front of the house, and upon closer inspection, Zhao Jun's eyes widened suddenly, a faint look of astonishment spreading across them.

Ma Yang was shirtless, with a bloody welt on his face, and several bloody welts running across his arms and chest.

“Xiao Yang…” Zhao Jun knew without asking that Ma Yang had been beaten, and that he had been whipped with a triangular belt. But didn’t Ma Yang say that he had thrown the triangular belt into the latrine?
"Brother-in-law!" Ma Yang cried and threw himself into Zhao Jun's arms, the joy of seeing a loved one after such a great calamity unconsciously showing.

"This..." Zhao Jun was a little confused. At this moment, Ma Ling, who heard the wailing, gave the kitchen knife to Liu Lanying and came out of the house with Wang Meilan.

"Oh dear..." Ma Ling was about to say why her brother was running around shirtless when she saw the bloodstains on Ma Yang's body.

Ma Yang once said that Ma Ling didn't know how to take shelter when it rained, which was a bit much, but it was enough to show that Ma Ling wasn't very smart.

Before she could react, Ma Ling saw her brother beaten up like this and immediately shouted, "Who beat you up like this? I'm going to find him!"

As she spoke, Ma Ling shrugged her arms, shaking off Wang Meilan's hand that was pulling on her arm.

"Ah ha! Ah ha!" Ma Yang felt even more aggrieved when he heard Ma Ling speak up for him. He sobbed twice and turned to hug Ma Ling, but Zhao Jun hugged him tightly.

Held in Zhao Jun's arms, Ma Yang grinned at his sister and wailed, "Ah... Sister, Ma Dafu hit me!"

"Huh?" Ma Ling was stunned. At this moment, Wang Meilan nudged Ma Ling and said, "What is this child saying? My dear, quickly take him inside and find some of his brother-in-law's clothes for him to wear."

"Okay, Mom," Ma Ling replied, then slapped Ma Yang on the shoulder and said, "Stop howling! Aren't you ashamed?"

After entering through the door behind her, there was a group of people in an outer room. Several families gathered together every night, closer than one family, but her brother's current state was truly shameful.

"Ah! Ah! Ah..." Ma Yang gasped twice before his sobs gradually subsided. He instinctively tried to wipe his tears with his sleeve, but when he raised his arm, he realized that his upper body was bare, so he could only wipe his face haphazardly with his wrist.

"What a day!" Ma Ling took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the tears from Ma Yang's face before leading Ma Yang into the Zhao family home.

The moment Ma Yang entered the room, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. Everyone saw the injuries on Ma Yang's body, but no one said a word.

After all, this is Ma Ling's own brother, and Ma Ling has to save face.

Zhao Jun and Ma Ling led Ma Yang toward the west room. Li Ruhai subconsciously got up, wanting to follow and listen, but was stopped by Li Dayong with a look.

Li Ruhai chuckled awkwardly, sat back down on the stool, and pricked up his ears to eavesdrop. But Zhao Jun and Ma Ling led Ma Yang all the way to the west wing, located at the far end of the corridor; this was also Zhao Jun and Ma Ling's bedroom.

After the couple entered the house, they closed the door. Ma Ling got on the kang (a heated brick bed) and opened the closet to find clothes for Ma Yang. Zhao Jun gestured for Ma Yang to sit down on the edge of the kang.

As soon as his bottom touched the kang (a heated brick bed), Ma Yang complained, "As soon as I get home, even though I haven't done anything to them, they beat me!"

"Keep your voice down!" Ma Ling called out to Ma Yang, then said, "I don't believe that kind of thing. You didn't do anything, so why would Dad beat you?"

"Really, sis, why don't you believe me?" Ma Yang sobbed. "When I got home, Mom, Dad, my older brother, and my sister-in-law had already finished eating..."

Hearing Ma Yang's words, Zhao Jun understood why Ma Yang hadn't gone to Ma Sheng's house after being beaten up—it turned out that no one was home at Ma Sheng's house.

At this moment, Ma Yang said again, "When I got back, my mother asked me if I had eaten. I said I hadn't, and my mother said she would cook me some noodles."

As Ma Yang spoke, he took the cloth that Ma Ling tossed to him.

Zhao Jun, standing to the side, curled his lip. Judging from Ma Yang's words, he wasn't beaten as soon as he entered the house. Presumably, after these two days of processing, Ma Dafu and his wife's anger had subsided considerably.

As for why Ma Yang got beaten up again, it must be because he was being arrogant again.

"Ouch! It hurts..." Ma Yang cried out in pain as he put on the cloth shirt. It seemed that Ma Dafu had really gone all out. The cloth shirt touched the blood and made Ma Yang grimace.

But at this moment, Ma Yang wanted to complain more. He put on his cloth shirt and continued, "I said I wouldn't eat it. We ate noodles every day on the mountain, and now we're eating noodles again when we come back?"

Zhao Jun and Ma Ling exchanged a glance, and Ma Yang continued, "After that, my sister-in-law said there was leftover rice and she wanted to make me some porridge. Yesterday, my uncle came over, and Mom had half a can of luncheon meat left, saying I should eat it with it. I said I wouldn't eat it, that all the luncheon meat on the mountain was fed to the dogs."

Zhao Jun and Ma Ling: "..."

Being a picky eater is fine, but these words are really harsh. Besides, there's a right time to be picky. It's already seven o'clock, and some of the older folks in the village are already in bed. How could they possibly be cooking for us right now?

"Will Mom beat you after that?" Ma Ling asked. Ma Yang shook his head and said, "No, Mom asked me if I wanted to eat dry food. If I did, she would go to the corner store and buy me some steamed rice cakes."

Wang Cuihua must have felt sorry for her son, who had been away in the mountains for several days and returned covered in dust and dirt. She wanted to make sure Ma Yang ate something delicious.

Zhao Jun and Ma Ling didn't interrupt, waiting for Ma Yang to continue. Then they heard Ma Yang say, "Before I could even speak, Dad scolded me for being so cocky all day, and told Mom not to worry about me. He said I should eat whatever I want, or I'd starve to death if I didn't eat."

At this point, Ma Yang paused slightly, then raised his arm and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, saying, "I was immediately displeased when I heard what he said."

Zhao Jun and Ma Ling: "..."

“I threw the teacup on the kang table, and Dad asked me who I was hitting. I said I was rushing up the mountain to make money like crazy. As soon as I said that, Dad slapped me and shoved me into the kang.” Ma Yang said angrily, “I was still confused when he pulled me over, and then he found a tattered triangular belt somewhere, tore open my shirt and started whipping me. Look at how badly he whipped me.”

Hearing Ma Yang's words, neither Zhao Jun nor Ma Ling said a word. These days, family education is quite strict, and it's definitely not acceptable for children to throw tantrums at adults.

Especially during meals, if a child throws down their chopsticks or bowl, and an adult has a bad temper, they might just start fighting.

If the child has a good temper, they will usually ask, "Who are you hitting?" If the child still doesn't back down at this point, they will definitely get a good beating.

Ma Dafu was already angry with Ma Yang, but considering that his eldest daughter-in-law was there, he didn't immediately lash out. If Ma Yang had just played the innocent card, the matter of him sneaking up the mountain would have been forgotten.

As for the lies Li Ruhai spread, Ma Dafu, no matter how angry he was, wouldn't bring them up in public.

But Ma Yang's ungratefulness gave Ma Dafu the opportunity to settle both old and new scores.

Ma Dafu didn't hold back during the beating, whipping Ma Yang until he cried out in pain. Later, Ma Sheng couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Ma Dafu away, allowing Ma Yang to escape.

"Son!" Wang Meilan's voice came from outside. "The noodles are ready. Come out and eat with Xiaoyang."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun looked at Ma Yang and laughed, "My family eats noodles for dinner, but you eat noodles every day on the mountain. How can you not eat them?"

Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Ma Ling suppressed a laugh and playfully punched him with her little fist.

"Brother-in-law, don't tease me." Ma Yang said with a bitter face, "I'll eat anything you give me now."

"Serves you right!" Zhao Jun glanced at Ma Yang and said, "If you have this attitude when you go home, do you think Dad will beat you?"

"Alright, let's go out and eat, or the noodles will get soggy." Ma Ling felt sorry for her younger brother and stopped Zhao Jun from saying anything more.

As the three walked out, the sound of dogs barking came from behind the house again. The barking was quite intense, suggesting that the newcomers were not familiar with the dogs.

Before leaving, Zhao Youcai got up and called out to Ma Yang, "Little one, we didn't prepare anything special for the house today, so just have a bite to eat."

“It’s alright, Uncle,” Ma Yang said. “I’m not picky, I’m fine with anything.”

Hearing Ma Yang's words, Zhao Jun pursed his lips, pulled over a stool, and sat down.

Wang Meilan served the first bowl of noodles to Ma Yang, since he was a guest.

At this moment, Li Baoyu was pouring wine from a wine barrel. Although they were eating noodles, they still had to have a small drink.

Li Baoyu poured the first cup of wine and offered it to Xing San. Then, Li Baoyu saw Ma Yang staring blankly at him.

"Xiao Yang, are you still drinking?" Li Baoyu asked. Ma Yang replied, "Of course I have to drink, Brother Baoyu. Back on the mountain, we had to drink every day, didn't we?"

That's true. Although Ma Yang drank and lingered all night on the first day he went up the mountain, everyone made him drink less after that, but they didn't stop him from drinking altogether.

"Alright," Zhao Jun stopped Ma Yang and said, "After dinner, your sister and I will take you home, so you don't need to drink anymore."

Zhao Jun was thinking, "This kid looks so pathetic after drinking. If he says something incompetent when he gets home, Ma Dafu will beat him to death."

“It’s alright, brother-in-law,” Ma Yang said. “I’m not going back tonight. I’m going to stay at my older brother’s house.”

The child was old enough to understand that staying at the Zhao family's house was inconvenient, so he planned to go to Ma Sheng's house.

But as soon as Ma Yang finished speaking, the door was pulled open from the outside, and Ma Sheng followed Zhao Youcai into the house with a gloomy face.

"Big brother..." Ma Yang was taken aback when he saw Ma Sheng. At this moment, Ma Sheng said to Wang Meilan, "Auntie, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"What's the trouble? They're all our own kids." Wang Meilan said with a smile, "Shengzi, well... I cut the noodles and made the egg sauce, sit down and have some."

“I’ve finished eating, Auntie,” Ma Sheng said, pointing at Ma Yang. “I’ll come and take him back.”

Hearing Ma Sheng say this, everyone quickly stopped him. Ma Yang had already come all this way; he had to finish his meal before going back.

Ma Sheng was probably a little embarrassed, so he insisted on taking Ma Yang home until Zhao Jun said, "Brother, don't rush off. Sit down, I want to talk to you about something."