Divorcing your wife might feel good for a moment, but seeing me make money will make you regret it f

Xu Jian knew he couldn't show weakness now, so he said with a stern face, "I can give you the grain, but I must take the people with me."

Hui Niang gave Xu Jian a deep look, then pursed her lips and remained silent.

The leader raised his eyebrows and said angrily, "You have no choice. Just do as the brothers tell you to do."

The men behind him brandished their wooden sticks in a show of defiance.

Although Xu Jian had a knife and was strong, they outnumbered him and were not afraid of him.

What if I don't agree?

Xu Jian's face grew even colder. He took the strip of cloth from his waist and tightly wrapped the large cleaver around his hand.

As he made that move, the people blocking his way suddenly sprang into action.

"If you don't agree, brothers, we'll show you how much it hurts to be hit with this stick! Go!"

The leading man lunged at Hui Niang, while the others surrounded Xu Jiantuan.

The wooden stick was thrown at Xu Jian with all its might, without any particular method.

Xu Jian was a hunter who spent many years in the mountains and was very agile. The moment the men surrounded him, he fell to the ground and rolled out of the encirclement.

Then, he dodged and thrust his large cleaver back, aiming for the calves of the men.

Several of the people surrounding him fell down, clutching their calves and wailing.

Seeing that someone was injured, some of the others dared not step forward. The leader roared:

“We can’t pay him back. He has a knife. Do you think he’ll let us go? If we don’t kill him, he’ll send us to the authorities.”

The few who had been cowering just moments before suddenly gritted their teeth and pounced forward again.

Hui Niang roared, "Use fire!"

The leading man had already reached Hui Niang: "You should worry about yourself, little beauty. I'll take good care of you."

Xu Jian immediately understood Hui Niang's meaning. He jumped onto the oxcart and opened a bucket of lamp oil that he had bought in town.

He threw the contents of the bucket at the people rushing towards him. He then poured the remaining half-bucket at Hui Niang, before lighting a tinderbox and tossing it over.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The people who blocked the way were instantly engulfed by the fire snakes, falling to the ground and rolling around, trying to extinguish the flames on their bodies.

But clothes soaked in oil are not so easy to extinguish on their own, so some clever people started to take off their clothes.

The high temperature had already melted the clothes and skin together, but it was all in vain.

"Let's go quickly."

Xu Jian gestured for Hui Niang to get into the car.

Hui Niang picked up the carrying pole and gave the man who had just pounced on her a vicious whack. Only then did she feel relieved and climb onto the oxcart.

The two men walked away.

On the oxcart, Xu Jian said with lingering fear, "Luckily you came up with a solution, otherwise we might really not have been able to get away."

Hui Niang kept her head down and said in a muffled voice, "Don't you think my method is too vicious? I don't know if those people will survive."

Xu Jian shook his head: "How could that be? Didn't you hear what those people were saying?"

For that kind of beast, death is too good for him. I'll take you and your belongings back first, and then report it to the authorities.

Xu Jian's words touched Hui Niang, and she looked directly into Xu Jian's eyes.

Seeing that he wasn't lying, she withdrew her gaze and sat upright on the oxcart.

Xu Jian quickly drove the oxcart back home and unloaded the goods in the yard.

After instructing Hui Niang to tell her family what had happened, he quickly drove the oxcart to the yamen.

Xu Jian's family looked at him in a hurry and then looked at Hui Niang with suspicion.

Hui Niang briefly explained what had happened, and seeing that neither of them was injured, Wen Shi and Xu Qing were relieved.

Xu Gong was worried about Xu Jian being alone, so he chased after him.

With the two brothers by their side, Wen Shi and Xu Qing weren't too worried.

The group then discussed and started cooking the dishes they had prepared for the dinner the day before.

We need to process the pork first, otherwise the weather will turn bad.

"Pig trotters are used to stew with soybeans, hocks are used for braising, spare ribs are used for sweet and sour dishes, and this pork shoulder is best used for fried pork chops..."

As Xu Qing cut the pork, he recited it as if it were a treasure trove of knowledge.

Wen and Huiniang, who were helping out, couldn't help but drool as they listened.

"Girl, how do you know so much about pork?"

Xu Qing paused for a moment with the knife in his hand, then smoothly continued the cut. He mumbled something indistinctly:

"I asked Butcher Qian, otherwise what would I do with this half-pig?"

Wen nodded, then suddenly realized what she meant and exclaimed in surprise:

"Then we should go to Butcher Qian's house to buy pork! Butcher Qian told you how to process pork, and we haven't gone to patronize his business."

"Won't he be angry...? What if he goes and badmouths Bai Zhi?"

Xu Qing hadn't expected this. She just thought that since her older brother was going to deliver goods to town anyway, she could buy them on the way and save herself the trip.

Hearing her mother's worry, she could only say:

"I'll have my second brother go to Butcher Qian's house to buy half a pig later, and invite Baizhi to the feast tomorrow."

Wen: "Can we finish eating all this meat?"

Xu Qing kept working with her hands. In her previous life, she had watched many videos on Douyin explaining how to cut pork.

Seeing the other person's smooth knife skills, she had long wanted to try it herself, and now she was having a great time.

Without looking up, she said, "It's alright, Mother. We can make cured meat from the leftovers."

Besides, I've already told Zhao Da to call all the construction workers over.

If someone is too busy harvesting rice to leave home, a family member can come and eat at the feast.

Wen nodded, and after the group had divided the half-pig into pieces, Xu Jian and Xu Gong returned.

Wen asked first, "How is it?"

Xu Jian said with satisfaction, "The magistrate sent men to arrest those people. They even tried to turn the tables and accuse me of robbing them. Fortunately, the magistrate was very discerning."

Xu Gong: "I really don't know where they get the nerve. With their malnourished bodies, they dare to rob them? What's there to rob?"

They also said that the elder brother injured someone with a knife, but in the end the magistrate only ruled that the elder brother had acted in excessive self-defense.

We paid 100 coins to those who had serious burns, and they let us go.

Xu Qing nodded secretly. Since that was the case, she decided not to hold the magistrate accountable for pushing her out.

"The magistrate is truly a good official."

Wen sighed, then changed the subject and said:

"Second brother, go to Qianjia Village and buy half a pig. Also, invite Doctor Qian to a feast tomorrow."

Xu Gong smiled and agreed, took a sip of water, and went out again.

Because the roof beam raising ceremony is tomorrow, Xu Qing had Xu Jian tell all the shopkeepers today that there would be no milk tea delivery tomorrow, as he was taking a day off.

This afternoon, everyone had a rare moment of leisure, gathering together to drink tea, chat, and eat melon seeds, enjoying a relaxing afternoon.

When Xu Jian reported the incident to the authorities, he was seen by villagers from Xujia Village who were going to the yamen to collect sweet potato seeds.

Everyone witnessed the courtroom scene and the horrific state of the arrested robbers.

They kept gossiping on the way back to the village.

"I heard it was that servant in Xu Qing's household who ordered Xu Jian to set the fire. How vicious!"

"There's a saying: 'The most poisonous heart is a woman's.' Have you heard it? Even scholars say so. When a woman gets vicious, it's no joke."

"We just received a favor from Xu Qing, so let's not talk about her behind her back. What if she doesn't give us sweet potato seeds either?"

"What's there to be afraid of? We've already got it. She can't just snatch it back. Besides, it was issued by the county magistrate."

"But then again, Xu Jian is pretty amazing. Look how badly he chopped those guys up. You can even see the bones. Their legs are definitely ruined."

"People who seem honest usually are the scariest when they go crazy, so it's best if we don't mess with the Xu family in the future."

As the group walked and chatted, Xu Wulai, who was hiding behind them, looked increasingly grim.

If things continue like this, will he still be able to kidnap Xu Qing? But even if he doesn't kidnap Xu Qing, Old Man Shi will still go to Xu Qing to complain about him.

He was afraid he didn't have the ability to kidnap Xu Qing.

Xu Wulai was extremely conflicted.