A god-tier fishing spot, anglers lined up to give me money.

"Brother, is your fishing spot actually profitable?"

"Don't worry at all. I wouldn't let you take any risks if I wasn't absolutely certain."

Yang Xiaojin paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay!"

Yang Xiaojin is the youngest of the three siblings and has the worst grades. Relatives openly or secretly criticize her grades and she started learning to be a chef early in junior high school. Yang Qi always silently encourages her from behind.

He didn't show favoritism because his second son, Yang Qinghui, had the best grades; he did a great job as the eldest son.

They were happy to keep the second and third siblings in line, because Yang Xiaojin and Yang Qinghui had never gotten along since they were little. Fighting, arguing, and tearing clothes were common occurrences for them.

Without Yang Qi's mediation, the two siblings would have torn the house apart.

Now, one of them has entered the workforce early, while the other is still studying at a prestigious university. Their relationship has improved, and they're still very good friends.

……

Soon, the food was ready, and Yang Xiaojin lifted the pot lid, releasing a burst of steam.

Pour the grilled fish into a large plate, keeping the fish whole. The side dishes are piled around it, and the red oil broth is bubbling away. A handful of cilantro and chopped green onions are sprinkled on top, giving it a bright color.

"Serve the food!"

Yang Xiaojin carried a large basin of grilled fish out.

Bowls and chopsticks were already set on the table in the main room.

Su Guanyin also cooked the selected vegetables: a plate of stir-fried sweet potato leaves, a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes... all with a home-style flavor.

Gu Caipang sat at the table with his hands on his knees, his eyes fixed on the pot of grilled fish, his mouth practically watering.

Besides grilled fish, there's also fish soup.

"Chef Yang, your skills are amazing!" Gu Cai Pang sniffed. "It smells so good, even better than that famous grilled fish restaurant in the provincial capital! I waited in line for two hours there, and when it came, the fish wasn't even fresh."

Yang Xiaojin took off her apron and draped it over the back of the chair, then sat down with a smile: "Then you'd better try it and see how it compares to those trendy online stores."

"Definitely strong!" Gu Cai Pang couldn't wait any longer. He reached out with his chopsticks and then pulled them back. He glanced at Su Guanyin and said with a grin, "Grandma, please go first."

"Eat, eat, eat! Don't just stand there!"

The way Su Guanyin was called "Grandma" smoothed out the wrinkles on her face. She picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks, chewed it, and nodded in admiration:

"Yes, Xiaojin's cooking skills have indeed improved; they're better than Xiaoqi's."

"Grandma, I don't like hearing you say that," Yang Qi said, holding a bowl beside her. "Is my cooking not good?"

Su Guanyin glanced at him and said, "What did you call that? You didn't even get rid of the fishy smell. Only you could stomach it."

Yang Xiaojin chuckled to himself, while Yang Qi was speechless, shoveling a mouthful of rice into his mouth and mumbling, "Eat, eat. Don't bring up the past. Everyone goes through a growth process."

Gu Cai Pang started eating, picking up a large piece of meat from the fish's belly, removing the bones, and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Mmm-hmm!"

Giving a thumbs up, "Chef Yang, your skills are comparable to a five-star chef! I love it!"

"That's an exaggeration." Yang Xiaojin said modestly, but the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

"No exaggeration, really no exaggeration," Gu Caipang said, picking up another bite with her chopsticks.

"I've eaten at so many restaurants, and your food is definitely in the top three. Seriously, I'm not kidding. If you run a farm stay and are the chef, you'll make a fortune."

Looking at his serious expression, Yang Qi couldn't help but tease him, "Fatty, didn't you say in the car that you're picky about food? You can't stand the food that most people cook?"

"That was just now, now is now," Gu Cai Pang retorted confidently, without a trace of guilt.

Yang Xiaojin laughed out loud: "If it's delicious, then eat more."

Yang picked up his chopsticks, trying to ease the tension, and placed a piece of fish in Su Guanyin's bowl, saying ingratiatingly, "Grandma, shall I get you a bowl of soup?"

Su Guanyin didn't even look up, refusing: "No need, I have my own hands."

"Well……"

Yang Qi's chopsticks froze in mid-air.

Gu Caipang quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, pretending not to hear anything, and lowered his head to eat heartily.

Yang Xiaojin suppressed a laugh, her eyes darting between Yang Qi and Su Guanyin.

She leaned closer and whispered in Yang Qi's ear, "Brother, did you make Grandma angry?"

Yang Qi's expression was unnatural. He was really embarrassed to bring up the fact that his blind date had failed and he had run away halfway through.

"Let's eat." Yang Qi picked up his bowl.

Yang Xiaojin gave him a meaningful look and didn't ask any further questions.

As the younger brother, he has that much sense; if he doesn't want to talk about something, asking won't help.

The meal was finished amidst Gu Cai Pang's continuous praise.

There was a gluttonous fat guy around, and this was a DVD.

Gu Cai Pang leaned back in his chair, patted his round belly, and let out a satisfied burp: "Chef Yang, are you making breakfast again tomorrow?"

Yang Xiaojin, who was clearing away the dishes, was amused by his words: "You wish!"

"I paid for it," Gu Caipang quickly said.

"I won't do that."

"Add more money."

Yang Xiaojin carried the bowl into the kitchen, her voice drifting out from there: "Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Gu Cai Pang chuckled and stood up. "I'll help..."

"Sit down. You're a guest, how can I let you do the work?" Yang Qi pressed down on Gu Caipang.

Su Guanyin chimed in, "Fatty, you can rest. Leave the dishwashing to the two brothers, no problem."

"Okay... then!"

Seeing this, Yang Qi nodded and was about to enter the kitchen when a series of dense footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

The mountain village was already quiet at night, with only the chirping of insects remaining. This chaotic noise, mixed with curses and shouts, was violent and jarring.

Yang Qi frowned, looked up at the doorway, and saw a group of more than a dozen people blocking his doorway.

Yang happy was leading the way, followed closely by Lai Feng, Yang Jinming, and Yang Hao.

There were also a dozen or so villagers who had gathered together to cause trouble during the day, all with unfriendly faces and fierce eyes.

Surrounded by the crowd and pushed to the front was the village chief, Yang Guocheng.

The old man's neck was red, his face was ashen, and his chest was rising and falling slightly. He was clearly being coerced and manipulated by this group of people all the way here, and he was both embarrassed and furious.

The people on both sides half-supported and half-pushed him, not letting him back even a step, completely using him as a shield.

Yang Qi's brows furrowed even more tightly.

etc.

Hearing the noise, Yang Xiaojin turned off the tap, walked out of the kitchen, and stood half a step behind Yang Qi, her expression tense.

"Brother, what's going on?"

"You, don't worry about it..." Yang Qi said through gritted teeth.

Inside the room, Su Guanyin's gaze fell heavily on the group of people who had come to the door.

Gu Cai Pang walked out of the house and stood against the door frame of the main room. The ease in his eyes completely disappeared, and he quietly stared at the people outside.

"Yang Qi, let's get this straight tonight, don't play dumb with us!" Yang happy stepped forward, his voice booming.

"The reservoir belongs to the entire village collectively. If you contract it and make money, we have no objection! But now the village wants to distribute the money and raise the contract fee, and you must comply! If there's no distribution of money and no price increase, this matter isn't over!"

"Yes, we must divide the money, we absolutely must divide the money."

"....."

"What a fine cent, and there's a price increase." Yang Qi clapped with a smile, not even glancing at Yang happy, his gaze fixed on Yang Guocheng, seeing through the whole situation at a glance.

This group of people has a very good plan.

They couldn't stand up for themselves by causing trouble, so they forcibly took the village chief hostage to come and support them.

If the village chief doesn't come, they spread rumors that the village officials are not doing their job. If the village chief comes and doesn't help them make trouble, they use his position to morally blackmail and pressure them.

Their intentions are despicable; they are clearly taking advantage of their numbers and seniority to extort money.

The way to deal with people like them is not to back down, but to be tough and stand your ground.

"Yang happy, people say that the older you get, the smarter you become, but you're the opposite. You keep going back to the wrong things and talking nonsense. If you have the guts, call the police and go to the High Court."

"I'd like to see if you're going to resort to shameless tactics or if my contract clearly states that you're causing trouble for no reason. If you're not afraid, then continue."

"You..." Yang happy was already being unreasonable. He immediately called the police and went to court, not following any expected procedure, which made Yang Xi very uneasy.

"What's wrong? Come on, I'm right here. Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"

Yang Qi spread his arms wide, remained motionless for a long time, and said disdainfully, "A bunch of trash."

He turned to look at his brother, his expression calm and unreadable: "Xiaojin, take Grandma and Fatty upstairs."

The scene was tense, with a group of people blocking the door and causing trouble. Yang Xiaojin felt a tightness in his chest, yet he was also confused. Hesitantly, he spoke, "Brother..."

"Go up." Yang Qi's tone became a bit more serious.

Yang Xiaojin could only turn to Su Guanyin and say, "Grandma, let's go upstairs and take shelter for a while."

Su Guanyin sat motionless, her originally gentle gaze turning sharp as a knife, sweeping past Yang Xiaojin and coldly over the group of troublemaking villagers outside the courtyard.

"Why should we avoid them? Are we in the wrong or what? They're bullying us, why should we avoid them?" Su Guanyin shook her head. "Xiaojin, you're still a bit too soft-hearted. Learn more from your brother."

"Remember, we don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either!!!"

The old lady slammed her teacup down, the porcelain cup making a crisp sound as it hit the table.

He strode to the door, pointed at the crowd outside, and exuded an imposing aura.

"A bunch of old geezers, with hands and feet, have no shame, blocking my door in the middle of the night trying to cause trouble? Let me tell you, I am Su Guanyin's grandson, and only I can speak and discipline him. It's not up to you outsiders to bully him!"

"You're all perfectly capable, yet you hang out with that piece of shit Yang happy. Do you think it's easy for my grandson to earn money? Besides, it's not like I didn't take you guys with me!"

"Can you really spend money that's been earned dishonestly? If you've done so many shady things, you'll choke on water at night. Get out!"

Yang Qi felt a surge of emotion, suppressed his turbulent feelings, turned to look at Yang Guocheng who was surrounded, and asked in a deep voice, "Village Chief, what do you mean by this?"

Yang Guocheng hung his head, his face full of shame, and remained silent for a long time.

Along the way, this group of people coerced and pestered him, even threatening to collectively report him for favoritism and bias towards outsiders if he didn't lead the way.

He was forced into this situation because he had no other choice.

After a few seconds of silence, the old man understood. He suddenly looked up, strode to Yang Qi's side, turned around to face the villagers, and spoke with a firm tone.

"Regarding the reservoir contract, Xiao Qi followed all the rules throughout the entire process. The contract is in black and white, with an annual contract fee of five thousand yuan, and there are no outstanding fees. It's all compliant and legal! Your demands for price increases and profit sharing are purely unreasonable, and I'm the first to disagree!"

The scene fell silent instantly.

No one expected that the village chief, whom they had been pressuring all the way, would actually turn against them in public and side with Yang Qi.

Yang Guocheng's voice rose again, each word ringing with conviction: "Those willing to join Xiao Qi in running agritourism businesses and making money together, I fully support! But those who only want to cause trouble, extort money, or create chaos, don't blame me, Yang Guocheng, for showing no mercy!"

"Good! How ruthless!"

Yang Xi's face turned pale with rage, his teeth clenched, and he took two steps forward, his fingers almost poking Yang Guocheng's face, his expression contorted with rage.

"Yang Guocheng, you deserve to be poor your whole life!"

"Making money with agritourism? I doubt it. It's a ton of trouble, though; you might even lose your life savings!"

He turned around, waved his hand, and roared, inciting the crowd behind him, "We need an explanation for what happened at the reservoir today! Either increase the contract fee, or the whole village gets a share of the profits! If we don't pay, no one will be allowed to fish in the reservoir tomorrow, and no one will be allowed to do business!"

"That's right, they'll block the road if they don't get a share of the money!"

"The reservoir belongs to the community, why should he alone enjoy all the benefits!"

"Tomorrow we'll block the village entrance completely, so nobody can get in! Let's see how he does business then!"

A dozen or so people started shouting and yelling, their voices rising rapidly. They blocked the doorway, pressing forward step by step, displaying an arrogant and unreasonable attitude.

Looking at the villagers who were taking the opportunity to cause trouble and demand exorbitant prices, Yang Qi's eyes turned completely cold.

At this moment, Gu Cai Pang leaned against the doorframe, exuding an imposing aura, and coldly said, "Gathering a crowd to block the door, creating disturbances, and maliciously obstructing legitimate business operations. You want to go to jail?"

Everyone looked at Gu Cai Pang. His aura was too strong. He was a completely different person from the invisible man just now. He had the air of a noble and superior person.

Seeing the stunned crowd, Gu Cai Pang waved his phone and laughed, "We have all the witnesses and evidence on site. If you cause any more trouble, I'll contact a lawyer and call the police to gather evidence. For disturbing the peace and maliciously obstructing construction, I can make you pay for it—"

Bankruptcy!

These words not only failed to intimidate the crowd, but instead completely ignited the arrogance of these old villagers.

"You fatso, you're from Yangjia Village, you're no outsider and have no right to tell us what to do."

Yang Hao sneered, his face full of disdain.

"Stop trying to scare us with the police and lawyers. We're all elderly people with one foot in the grave. What can the law do to us? Can it really put all of us old folks in jail?"

"Exactly!" Lai Feng immediately chimed in, puffing out her chest and acting like a rogue. "We're old, try touching us! If we bump into anything, get hurt, or even die from anger, can you, Yang Qi, afford to compensate us? If we die from anger, you'll be fully responsible!"

"Yes! We old folks aren't afraid of trouble!"

"Do young people still dare to act tough with us older generation?"

The crowd grew increasingly noisy and arrogant, displaying a completely shameless and unruly attitude, as if the law could not punish the masses and they were just wantonly causing trouble.

Yang Qi's eyes turned cold, and he was about to speak to quell the situation.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past behind me.

Su Guanyin could no longer bear to watch. She silently retreated to the back corridor, grabbed a bamboo broom from the corner of the wall, and with a sudden burst of strength, rushed out.

The old lady, usually kind and gentle, now had angry eyes, walked very fast, and exuded a terrifying aura.

The ordinary bamboo broom in her hand was like a weapon, rushing straight towards the group of troublemakers at the door with a whistling sound.

"A bunch of envious bastards, relying on their age to act tough. If they can't get their hands on my grandson, then they'll do it themselves!!!"

Su Guanyin's angry curses in dialect rang out one after another, "Xiao Qi works hard and earns money honestly, but you are all lazy and unwilling to work, so you all come here to extort money and cause trouble!"

"A bunch of ungrateful dogs, get out! You're not welcome in my house!"

The broom swept out with a strong gust of wind.

Caught off guard, Yang happy hurriedly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the broom that was hurtling towards him, his face instantly showing panic.

"Su Guanyin, how dare you lay a hand on me?!"

Before he finished speaking, the second broom swung down with tremendous force.

"So what if I hit you? I hit you anyway!" The old lady's eyes were sharp and unyielding; she wouldn't let go of Yang happy.

"I'm not dead yet! Who gives you the right to come and bully my grandson? You bunch of good-for-nothings, just waiting to die, all you do is enviously stir up trouble!"

Lai Feng couldn't dodge in time, and the broom swept hard across her calf. A sharp pain shot through her, and she screamed in agony, retreating repeatedly, almost losing her cloth shoes in the process.

Yang Jinming, Yang Hao, and their group were intimidated by the old woman's fearless demeanor and were forced to retreat repeatedly.

They only wanted to extort money and didn't want to cause any deaths. But seeing Su Guanyin's appearance, they were afraid that someone might accidentally die, so they could only try to evade the situation verbally.

The dozen or so people who had been blocking the door so aggressively just moments before were suddenly forced back to the village road in a sorry state, like ducks being herded.

Su Guanyin stood at the doorway, leaning on a broom, holding it horizontally in front of her, her back straight, exuding an imposing aura.

"You old fools, causing trouble in groups, looking for trouble. If you've got the guts, take this old woman down here today, or get out, all of you get out!"

A series of sharp and forceful curses left Gu Cai Pang speechless, silently giving her a thumbs up in his heart: Grandma is really fierce.

Yang happy was publicly humiliated by the old lady, his face flushed red, his fingers clenched tightly, and he pointed a trembling finger at Su Guanyin: "You, you crazy old woman! You're completely unreasonable!"

"Am I a crazy woman?" Su Guanyin raised her hand and lifted the broom again, as if to rush forward. "Try being stubborn again. Who's being unreasonable?"

Yang happy was so frightened that he retreated again, staggered, and almost tripped over a pebble on the roadside, looking extremely disheveled.

Having gained no advantage and lost all face tonight, he could only grit his teeth and threaten, "Fine, you just wait and see. This isn't over tonight, you'll see!"

After uttering these harsh words, Yang happy turned and left in anger.

Lai Feng followed behind, limping and muttering complaints and curses.

Yang Jinming and Yang Hao exchanged a glance. Seeing the leader running away, they didn't dare to linger and followed him away.

The remaining villagers, who had only followed the crowd, scattered like birds and beasts when they saw that all the leaders had run away.

The entrance area became deserted.

Yang Guocheng watched the fleeing figures of the crowd, let out a long breath, and felt most of the oppression and helplessness in his heart dissipate.

Su Guanyin slammed the broom heavily on the ground, tossed it casually into the corner of the courtyard gate, turned to look at Yang Qi, her brows furrowed:

"It's quiet now. Xiao Qi, what happened? Why did they come to cause trouble in the middle of the night?"

Yang Guocheng looked surprised: "You don't know the whole story, yet you dare to stand up for Xiao Qi so boldly?"

Su Guanyin glared at Yang Qi fiercely, her tone both angry and pained: "You brat, you dare to hide such a big thing from me! Explain yourself right now!"

"Grandma, why did you scold me too?" Yang Qi scratched his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"He deserves to be scolded!"

The old lady glared at her and said, "You've kept such a big thing from the family. Do you even respect me as your grandmother? What if something happens and we suffer losses? Those old bastards are so shameless."

Yang Qi didn't dare to argue back and honestly explained the whole story of how the reservoir contract was contracted, how the villagers were envious, how they demanded exorbitant prices, and how they banded together to cause trouble.

After hearing the whole story, Su Guanyin's face darkened completely, and she cursed in a low voice, "A bunch of filthy bastards, dogs who can't stand to see others doing well."

She paused for a few seconds, then immediately made a decision: "No, this can't be left like this. I'll call your dad, uncle, second uncle, and son-in-law, and have them all come back to support you! You can't handle so many elders making things difficult for you by yourself; it's too unfair!"

Yang Qi quickly waved his hand to stop them, his attitude firm: "Grandma, don't call them back. There's no need to trouble the family."

"This isn't a troublesome problem!" Su Guanyin said urgently.

"Milk."

Yang Qi looked at her seriously and said earnestly, "If I can't even handle these minor disputes and disturbances, how will I cope with bigger storms in the future? When the elders come back, they'll only argue and bicker, and won't solve the fundamental problem."

"I can handle this myself."

"Wouldn't it be better to give our family a surprise after Xiaojin and I have built up our agritourism and reservoir business and achieved success?"

Su Guanyin opened her mouth, but ultimately could not utter a rebuttal.

Looking at her composed and sensible grandson, her eyes filled with both heartache and pride. After a long silence, she slowly nodded: "It's good that you know what you're doing and how to behave. Grandma trusts you."

Yang Qi breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Yang Guocheng beside him, and quickly brought the matter back to the main topic.

"Village chief, how many households in the village have confirmed their willingness to start agritourism businesses?"

Yang Guocheng pondered for a moment: "There are only three households that are genuinely willing to work together and truly want to stick together: my family, your family, and Yang Youhe's family. Most of them are just watching and waiting to see if we can actually make money. The rest are Yang happy and his gang who are the ringleaders, determined to cause trouble and take advantage of the situation."

"Three households are fine too."

Yang Qi's eyes were firm. "Grandpa Village Chief, let's go to Grandpa Yang Youhe's house now and finalize the cooperation details tonight. Let's solidify the cooperation between our three families, set a good example, and make a name for ourselves."

"Okay." Yang Guocheng nodded decisively.

Yang Qi turned to Yang Xiaojin and instructed, "Xiaojin, come along and listen to the process. Tomorrow morning, we'll clean and tidy up the old house, Uncle's empty room, and the two cement squares in front of the door, just in case."

Yang Xiaojin nodded solemnly: "Okay, I'll get up early tomorrow to pack."

Yang Qi finally looked at Su Guanyin and softened his tone: "Grandma, go upstairs to take a shower and rest. Fatty will stay in my room tonight; there's air conditioning there."

Su Guanyin looked at him and gently instructed, "Be careful on the road and come back soon."

"Okay, don't leave the door locked, we'll be right back."

........