The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 26 A Small Test of Skill Was Quite Fierce

"It wasn't me, the mistress of the house," Liu said, wiping away tears. "It was my mother-in-law. She took the child away behind my back. I thought she had returned the child. I never knew she would do such a thing!"

Village Chief Lin's expression softened slightly; he knew that dragging someone down with him meant he wasn't completely stupid.

He feigned exasperation, "Foolish! Quickly find the person and get to the bottom of this!"

If this matter isn't clarified today, how will he maintain any authority as the village chief?

Liu's eyes darted around, and she stammered, "I...I don't know where she went."

"If you don't know, why don't you look for it!" Village Chief Lin was so angry he wanted to kick her.

The person who injured Chen San is very likely Shang Wan. Before we figure this out, how dare this stupid woman provoke Shang Wan? Does she want to be bedridden for the rest of her life?
Suddenly, Liu Dajia's son came running over, shouting as he ran, "Village chief, someone's been killed! You have to go to the riverbank to check!"

Upon hearing this, everyone disregarded the unresolved legal issues surrounding the Lin family and hurriedly ran to the riverbank.

Shang Wan followed Yuan Yuan, and when no one was looking, she dripped a drop of spiritual spring water onto each of Yuan Yuan's incisions and wrapped them with a clean handkerchief.

"It hurts." Yuanyuan raised her little hand, wanting Shang Wan to rub her eyes, a few tears still clinging to her eyelashes.

Shang Wan lowered her head and gently blew on it, then kissed her little one, "Good boy, it won't hurt in a little while."

"Mommy." The little baby nestled in Shang Wan's arms, pouting, "I can't find... me!"

Shang Wan was taken aback. She looked at Yuan Yuan and asked, "You ran away to find me?"

Yuanyuan nodded her little head firmly, her soft, sweet voice saying, "I want to be cold!"

Shang Wan's heart softened upon hearing this, and she leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. "Don't sneak out next time. If you really want to come out, you have to bring Xiao Hui with you."

When everyone arrived at the riverbank, Liu's wife, Wen, quickly brought over a washbasin.

She and Rong Niangzi came to the river to wash clothes. While they were washing, an old woman suddenly floated into the water, which startled them so much that they almost fell into the river.

After recovering from the shock, the two of them used a stick to paddle the old woman over and drag her ashore.

The old woman was truly pitiful; her face was scratched raw, she was covered in blood, her clothes were ripped to shreds by wild animals, and she had countless wounds, both large and small, from scratches and bites.

Lady Rong took off her outer garment and covered her with it.

“Qiu…Qiu…” Liu recognized the bracelet on the old lady’s wrist and cried out in disbelief, “Qiu Xiaofeng!”

Chen Guifang was startled, but upon closer inspection, she recognized her and immediately cried out as she rushed over, "Mother!"

The crowd was in an uproar.

"Oh my god, how did she become like this?"

"Those wounds are clearly inflicted by wild animals. Could it be that we fell into a wild animal's den?"

"Is he still breathing?"

Shang Wan glanced down at the little guy in her arms; the initial attempt had yielded pretty ferocious results.

Yuan Yuan, her round face scrunched up, pointed at Qiu Xiaofeng and shouted excitedly, "Bad guy! Bad guy!"

I slashed her with a knife, it hurt so much!
Everyone's attention was drawn to the baby's voice. The little one scrunched up his face like a bun, yelling "bad guy!" while shrinking into his mother's arms, clearly terrified.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mother is here." Shang Wan comforted him softly, wondering if the little brat understood that the old lady had become like this because of her.

However, even in this tragic situation, it was the old woman's own doing. If she hadn't thrown Yuanyuan into the mountains to be eaten by wild animals, she wouldn't have been attacked and killed by them.

Dr. Yuan was dragged to the riverbank by Zhang Er. Before he could catch his breath, he squatted down to check Qiu's pulse and breathing. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "Let her rest in peace as soon as possible."

"Mother!" Chen Guifang cried out in anguish, holding Qiu's body. "Don't leave me, Mother!" Lin Jianshui's eyes reddened as he stepped forward and whispered words of comfort.

Several women turned away and secretly wiped away their tears.

Just as Liu was about to cry out, Village Chief Lin glared at her and stopped her.

"Village Chief, my son found a wood-chopping knife, and there's blood on it." Wen handed the knife to Village Chief Lin. She didn't know what had happened to the Lin family, only guessing, "It must have been Old Lady Qiu who went up the mountain to chop firewood and was targeted by a wild animal..."

She sighed and didn't continue.

"Knife!" Yuan Yuan's eyes widened as she stared at the wood-chopping knife, her small body trembling. "Chop...the nest!"

"Waaah..." The little baby huddled in Shang Wan's arms, tears streaming down his face. "I'm scared! I'm scared!"

Everyone was stunned. Seeing her frightened reaction, they immediately understood that this was the weapon that had slashed Yuanyuan.

In an instant, the sympathy that had arisen in everyone's hearts for Qiu Xiaofeng's tragic death faded considerably.

If I hadn't harbored malicious intentions, how could I have suffered such a calamity? It's all retribution!
With a stern face, Village Chief Lin took the machete and said to Shang Wan, "I will definitely make the Chen family give an explanation for this matter."

Shang Wan curled her lip, taking advantage of the fact that the dead cannot speak to throw all the blame on the dead, she really had a good plan.

However, she doesn't mind watching the spectacle of dogs fighting each other.

Shang Wan said, "Village chief, please tell the Chen family that my Yuanyuan was injured and frightened, and suffered a great loss. Medical expenses, nutrition expenses, and compensation for mental distress are all due. Let's just say fifty taels, and deliver it to my house within three days. Otherwise, I don't mind coming to collect it in person."

This is clearly an outrageous demand!
Village Chief Lin's face turned ashen. He took two deep breaths to calm his anger. "The dead should be respected. Yuanyuan only injured her arm and is not in any danger of dying. You asked for fifty taels right off the bat. You are deliberately making things difficult for her. Aren't you worried about being known as mean and greedy?"

“Reputation can’t put food on the table.” Shang Wan waved her hand to indicate that she didn’t care. “Chen San has collected a lot of protection money over the years. Fifty taels is nothing to the Chen family.”

The villagers initially wanted to help mediate, but when they thought about the disgusting things Chen San had done in the village, they all gave up on the idea.

Village Chief Lin said with a dark face, "I will pass on the message. I hope you won't regret it."

The tone implied a threat.

"No need for the village chief to trouble himself." Shang Wan smiled, knowing she would only regret not asking for more.

Village Chief Lin turned his face away and asked the villagers to help carry Qiu Shi to the Chen family.

Qiu had three sons and two daughters. The first two were sons, but one died of illness and the other drowned. Chen San is now a cripple, and his funeral can only be handled by his daughter and son-in-law.

Chen Guifang and Lin Jianshui went to help prepare the coffin, burial clothes, paper money, and other funeral items.

After the villagers dispersed, Shang Wan asked Yuan Langzhong to go to his house to check on Yuan Yuan and Lu Chengjing's injuries.

Lu Chengjing and the other two waited at the entrance of the courtyard. One sat and two squatted. When they saw Shang Wan carrying Yuanyuan back, their hearts finally settled down, and their eyes shone brighter than the other.

"It's all my fault for not watching Yuanyuan properly." Seeing the injury on Yuanyuan's arm, Xiaohuan felt heartbroken and extremely guilty.

Shang Wan said, "It can be considered a blessing in disguise."

Xiao Huan asked in confusion, "What kind of blessing?"

Shang Wan didn't answer, but put the little guy who kept calling "Daddy" into Lu Chengjing's arms.

"I miss Daddy!" Yuanyuan pouted and kissed Lu Chengjing's face several times, smearing her father's face with saliva, before looking at him with starry eyes.

Daddy is so handsome!
Shangwan: Good boy, you have good taste!

(End of this chapter)