SWDnovel Chapter 118 Calling for Reinforcements
Chapter 118 Calling for Reinforcements
Back at his melon stall, Li Weimin was craning his neck and waiting.
"Wife, you're back!"
When Li Weimin saw the greasy steamed bun, his eyes almost popped out of his head, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard.
"Here you go!" Li Xiaotao tossed him two. "Eat them while they're hot, or the oil will solidify and they won't taste good."
Li Weimin held the steaming hot buns in both hands, so hot that he almost dropped them, but he couldn't bear to put them down.
He didn't care about his image and took a big bite with his mouth wide open.
The soft dough wraps around the generous meat filling. When you bite into it, the piping hot broth overflows into your mouth, so fragrant it's like your head is about to explode.
"Mmm...smells good! It smells so good!"
Li Weimin mumbled indistinctly, "Wife, you should eat too! This is even better than what my mom makes!"
Li Xiaotao also picked one up and took a bite. It was indeed good, with a generous filling and a good balance of lean and fatty meat.
The old woman selling steamed buns tried everything to persuade them, but seeing that the couple remained unmoved, she sighed, fanned herself with a palm leaf fan, and went back to her stall, muttering, "These young people nowadays, they won't shed a tear until they see the coffin."
Li Xiaotao swallowed the last bite of the steamed bun skin, took out a handkerchief from her pocket, and wiped her hands.
Instead of packing up her stall, her bright black eyes darted around the market.
The sun was blazing, and in the shady corner of the market, several teenagers were squatting, picking up coal scraps and scavenging for scraps.
One of them was a boy with a bowl cut hairstyle, who looked to be only six or seven years old.
Wearing an ill-fitting tank top, so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable, she stared longingly at the remaining half-eaten bun in Li Weimin's hand, her drool practically dripping down to her feet.
"Hey, kid, come here." Li Xiaotao waved to the boy with the bowl cut hair.
The child was startled and shrank back warily.
Without saying a word, Li Xiaotao took out a White Rabbit milk candy from her pocket.
She had deliberately put the candy in her pocket before leaving home, intending to save it for Li Weimin to enjoy on the way, but it came in handy now.
She unwrapped the candy, and the white candy was right in front of her.
The child swallowed hard, finally succumbing to the temptation, and reluctantly moved over.
"Want some?" Li Xiaotao waved the candy in front of him.
The child nodded vigorously, and his dark little hands reached out to grab it.
Li Xiaotao flicked her wrist, dodging the dirty hand, and smiled, "This candy isn't free; you have to run an errand for me."
"Where to?" the child asked in a clear, bright voice, his eyes fixed on the candy.
Li Xiaotao bent down, leaned close to the child's ear, and whispered an address, then added, "When you get to the door, just say you're looking for Xu Yuecheng and tell him to come here. If he asks who's looking for him, just say it's Old Li's family from Xiahe Village who sent him; it's urgent. Remember that?"
The child silently repeated it once, then nodded emphatically: "I've got it!"
"Okay, he's a clever one."
Li Xiaotao stuffed the candy into his mouth and then patted his head with her hand. "Hurry up, if you succeed, I'll treat you to meat buns later."
The child, with candy in his mouth and cheeks bulging, heard there would be meat buns to eat, and his two toes seemed to have wheels of fire as he darted into the crowd and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Li Weimin watched in stunned silence.
He stuffed the half-eaten bun into his mouth and asked indistinctly, "Wife, who are you sending that child to find? Who is Xu Yuecheng? I've never heard of him."
He racked his brains for a long time, but couldn't recall having such a relative in the surrounding area.
My brother-in-law's name is Xu Yuejin. Could this Xu Yuecheng be my brother-in-law's cousin?
Li Xiaotao straightened up, brushed the candy wrappers off her hands, and smiled, "Don't ask so many questions. Anyway, he's someone who can deal with that bald monk. Let's just stay here and sell our melons in peace. The sky won't fall."
Her confident demeanor made Li Weimin feel at ease.
He now blindly worships his wife; if she says everything is fine, then everything is definitely fine.
The two then continued selling melons.
Perhaps because of the commotion just now, the vendors around were glancing this way, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Time passed second by second, and the truckload of watermelons was almost empty, while the money bag was bulging like a big steamed bun.
Li Weimin was bending down to give a customer change when he suddenly felt that the surroundings had become quiet.
The previously noisy shouts seemed to have been paused, followed by a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps.
"Where's that wild woman from earlier? Get out here right now!" A loud, hoarse voice broke the silence.
Li Weimin's heart skipped a beat, and he almost dropped the coins in his hand.
He looked up and saw that the bald old man, Master Ma, had returned from the other side of the market.
His wrist, which had been pinched and injured by Li Xiaotao, was haphazardly wrapped with a few strips of cloth and hung around his neck, looking like a big rice dumpling.
Behind him followed seven or eight hooligans, each carrying either a wooden stick or a brick, looking as if they were about to demolish a house.
What's even more eye-catching is that there's a man in uniform walking next to Master Ma.
The man was in his thirties, wearing a peaked cap askew with the top button undone, revealing a section of his dark neck.
With an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, his hands behind his back, and a swaggering gait, he exuded an air of officialdom.
The surrounding crowd reacted as if they had seen a plague god, retreating several meters away in a flash, afraid of getting splattered with blood.
"Oh no, Captain Wu is here." The old lady selling steamed buns next door muttered under her breath, quickly covering her steamer tightly and hiding behind her stall, too ashamed to show her face.
Li Weimin felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
So many strong men, armed with weapons, plus that guy who looks like he works for the government... this scene is even more frightening than the old days when we fought landlords in the village.
His calves started to cramp uncontrollably, and he instinctively wanted to pull back.
But when I turned my head, I saw Li Xiaotao sitting calmly on the stool, holding the large cleaver for cutting melons, slowly wiping the watermelon juice off the blade with a rag.
My wife is still here!
The thought suddenly flashed through Li Weimin's mind.
He's a man, the pillar of the family. If he backs down now and lets his wife take the lead, then what kind of man is he?
"Don't...don't be afraid!" Li Weimin's teeth chattered, but he gritted his teeth and took a step forward, shielding Li Xiaotao with his thin little body.
Looking at the man in front of her, who was clearly terrified but stood firmly in her way, Li Xiaotao felt a warmth in her heart.
That fool actually seems quite convincing. At least I didn't misplace my trust.
"It's these two blind fools!"
Master Ma led his men to the stall, his intact finger pointing at Li Xiaotao, spitting as he shouted, "Captain Wu, it's this woman! Not only did she illegally occupy the road, but she also assaulted people! Look what she's done to my hand, she has to be arrested and severely punished!"
The uniformed man, referred to as Captain Wu, stopped, took the cigarette out of his mouth and held it in his hand, then looked the two men up and down with a slanted eye.
His gaze lingered for a moment on Li Xiaotao's pretty yet prickly face before he revealed a malicious smile.
"Oh ho, he's got some martial arts skills?"
Wu Bing spoke sarcastically, "Making trouble on my turf without even asking about the rules? Not only do you refuse to pay the land fee, but you also dare to injure Ma Kui. I think you want to go to jail."
"You...you're talking nonsense!"
Li Weimin, emboldened by who-knows-where, stubbornly shouted, "He clearly attacked first! And he tried to steal our melons! We were acting in self-defense!"
"justifiable defense?"
Wu Bing scoffed, "Kid, in this market, if I say you're causing trouble, you're causing trouble. If I say you acted in excessive self-defense, you're intentionally injuring someone!"
His face darkened, and his previous joking demeanor vanished, replaced by the thuggish air of a soldier.
"Come on! Smash this stall! You didn't even take the melons! Take them back to the station for a thorough interrogation, I want to see who gave you the guts!"
The group of idlers, who had been unable to contain themselves for a long time, rushed forward with a roar upon hearing this.
"Who dares!"