Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Hearing the commotion, Liu Hong's father-in-law, with his pipe in his mouth, slowly walked out of the main room and shouted, "You think you're so great? You want to kill someone? Go ahead and try! I think my third son wasn't killed by a bull, but by you, you heartless woman!"

Grandma Liu Hong jumped up and down, clapping her hands and shouting, "You're a jinx, a wicked devil! I never agreed to this marriage in the first place, but you, you sly fox, bewitched my silly boy so much that he insisted on marrying you. Now look what's happened, he's been cursed to death by you, and he couldn't even raise his grandson! I've really wronged people so much, letting my son marry such a scourge!"

Liu Hong was so angry that her hands trembled. Without thinking, she threw the brick in her hand at her brother-in-law.

When Liu Hong's brother-in-law saw the brick flying towards him, he leaned to the side and raised one arm to block it. The brick hit his elbow hard, and he yelled, "Ah—!"

When Liu Hong's father-in-law saw his youngest son being beaten, he stuffed his pipe into his mouth, grabbed the ash rake used for cleaning the kang (a heated brick bed) that was leaning against the doorway, and swung it viciously at Liu Hong.

When Zhuan Di saw his grandfather coming at him with a gray rake, he was so frightened that he quickly got up and tried to use his small body to protect his mother.

Just as the gray rake was about to hit Liu Hong, a rough, calloused hand suddenly reached out from mid-air, grabbed the rake handle, and protected Liu Hong.

Grandpa Liu Hong pulled hard on the ash rake, but it didn't budge. He looked up at the owner of the hand and asked sternly, "Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"

Grandpa Ji snatched the rake from Grandpa Liu's hand, twirled it a few times in his hand, then gripped it tightly in his palm. He then took a cross step and chopped down, the rake head hitting the ground and the rake handle breaking in two.

Upon entering, Ji Yongling was amazed by the old man's simple yet powerful stick fighting skills.

"What a majestic old man from the Northwest!" she thought to herself.

Despite being nothing more than a gray rake and dressed in tattered clothes, the old man's stern face and resolute expression somehow made one feel that he was not a farmer from Niujiazhuang, but a chivalrous swordsman from the Northwest or an old general guarding the Northwest gate.

Suddenly, Ji Yongling's few remaining literary talents began to stir within him, and a few lines of poetry inexplicably came to mind.

"If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare to cross the Yin Mountains." "Generals die in a hundred battles, but brave soldiers return after ten years."

Unaware of Ji Yongling's inner thoughts, Old Master Ji threw the broken half of the gray rake handle in his hand in front of Eunuch Liu Hong and said in a deep voice, "The women of my Niujiazhuang marry into your family, not so you can beat, scold, or bully them at will!"

When Grandpa Liu saw that the thick gray rake handle had been so easily broken in two by Old Master Ji, he was so frightened that he took several steps back and mustered his courage to ask, "Who...who are you, old man?"

Grandma Liu Hong also realized what was happening and shouted, "Bandits are here! Bandits are here to rob us!"

Liu Hong's brother-in-law also covered his head and shouted, "Bandits! Bandits!"

At this moment, Liu Lü pulled the cart through the door, and Ji Manqing and the others also parked their mule carts and came in.

When Grandma Liu saw Liu Lü, she was so angry that she cursed, "You cowardly Liu Lü, you have no ability and you still dare to call for help! Let's see if you can leave my yard today!" After saying that, she picked up the hoe behind the gate and swung it like she was digging, aiming it at Liu Lü.

Just as Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing, who were standing next to Liu Lu, were about to make a move, Old Master Ji took a big step, grabbed the hoe handle in mid-air, and pushed back forcefully. Liu Hong's mother-in-law was pushed back two steps and fell to the ground with a thud.

Grandpa Ji held the hoe in his hand, his eyelids drooping slightly. He looked sharply at Granny Liu Hong and said in a voice full of pressure, "I want to see how you're going to keep Liu Lu from leaving today." After saying that, he dug down with the hoe, which landed right in front of Granny Liu Hong's foot, just half an inch away from piercing her instep.

Grandma Liu was so frightened by the hoe handle swinging in mid-air that she stumbled back a few steps. Once she was away from the hoe, she cried out loudly without backing down, "Oh no! Murder! Murder! Bandits are here to kill!"

Unfortunately, Liu Hong's courtyard was far from the cave dwellings where most of the villagers lived, so no matter how loud the noise was in the courtyard, no one else could hear it.

Ji Manqing crossed his arms and nudged Ji Manchuan with his elbow, saying, "Look at our father's aura, he'll live another twenty or thirty years without a problem."

Ji Manchuan gritted his teeth and slapped Ji Manqing on the back of the head: "Shut your mouth and stop talking nonsense!"

With trembling fingers, Grandpa Liu pointed at Old Master Ji and said, "You...you...old man, don't be so arrogant! This isn't your Niujiazhuang! If you keep acting arrogantly, you might not even be able to leave this village."

"You think you can do this?" Old Master Ji slightly raised his chin, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Liu Lu, get to the point!"

“Yes, Uncle Ji!” Liu Lu stepped forward and stood next to Old Master Ji, saying, “Aunt, Uncle. A gentleman’s word is as good as his bond. We agreed before that I would bring the two loads of wheat and two taels of silver today, and I will take my sister with me. Our two families will be on the verge of severing ties.”

As for Zhuan Di, I'm still her uncle. Whenever she wants to visit relatives at her uncle's house, my Liu family's door is always wide open for Zhuan Di.

Upon hearing this, Granny Liu stopped wailing, stood up, patted the yellow dust off her bottom, and said, "No way! You think you can take Liu Hong back with just two loads of wheat and two taels of silver? No way! You won't leave this house without three taels of silver." As she spoke, she lunged at Liu Hong.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Yongling turned around and suddenly stretched out her right foot, kicking Liu Hong's mother-in-law in the abdomen with perfect accuracy. Liu Hong's mother-in-law's body flew out with a scream and fell heavily to the ground.

“Oh dear, oh dear! Murder! Murder! Bandits are killing people—” Grandma Liu Hong’s voice was filled with pain.

"No wonder this yard stinks so much. Turns out there are two old geezers farting here with their eyes closed, making a lot of noise." Ji Manqing licked his back teeth, walked around a walnut tree as thick as an adult's arm next to the gate, and uprooted it, saying, "A person's character depends on their heart, and a tree's strength depends on its roots. This owner is heartless, and the tree's roots are rotten too. Might as well uproot it!"

Looking at the walnut tree that Ji Manqing had easily uprooted, revealing its thick, tangled roots, Liu Hong's father-in-law slapped his thigh in distress and cried out, "Bandits! Bandits!"