Here for the Show
When he got home, Bai Yao got busy.
Well, "busy" meant rinsing the dirty, unwashed bowls in his foot-washing water, then spending one fen to have the cornmeal and super pig feed he provided custom-made into steamed corn buns.
All that remained was to steam them in the kitchen in the corridor.
As for his lunch, the system's custom-made meat buns cost three fen apiece, and two were enough to fill him up.
The meat buns sold outside cost five fen each, and they required grain coupons too.
By that calculation, he had come out ahead. Clearly, his system offered pretty good value for money.
"Feels like even without any money, I could make a fortune just reselling things from the system."
Just as Bai Yao was happily lost in his fantasy, an impatient voice brought him back to his senses.
"Bai Yao, why is the meal so late today? Are you trying to starve me to death?"
At the sound of that voice, Bai Yao instinctively shuddered and wanted to curl up. This was the original owner's instinctive reaction to the person before him, and it made him hate his stepbrother even more.
If Li Meimei's abuse was verbal, then Li Qiang's was physical. He was the type to hit him every few days.
In the idiot's own words, Bai Yao had stolen Li Qiang's biological father, leaving him to be called a fatherless child throughout his childhood. So Bai Yao owed him.
Likewise, it was also because of this idiot that Bai Yao had learned his biological father, Li Dongxu, had entered the marriage under false pretenses and had cheated before the marriage.
"Hurry up and cook. Don't slack off, or I'll beat you to death."
Just then, Li Qiang added that before striding home to wait.
Hearing that, Bai Yao clenched his fists. Under the influence of the original owner's memories, he couldn't conceal the vicious glint in his eyes at all.
He had originally wanted to take his revenge slowly, like cutting flesh with a dull knife, but the anger burning in his heart was too strong now. He no longer felt like playing the long game.
"Just wait. Tonight, I'll deal with you first. This revenge, ten years in the making, will definitely leave you with a deep impression."
With that, Bai Yao scrapped his original plan. He would deal with this family swiftly.
Soon, the two heads of the household, Li Dongxu and Li Bailian, returned for lunch with their youngest son, Li Dabao. The way they chatted and laughed with their neighbors along the way was nothing like their true selves.
That was right. The homewrecker stepmother's name was Li Bailian. She worked at the subdistrict office, and she was also the main reason he had been signed up and prevented from giving them a taste of their own medicine.
But also for the sake of her good image in front of outsiders, the place arranged for him to go down to the countryside this time was the Northeast, which was considered a relatively good destination.
Seeing them return, Bai Yao gave the system a command in his mind.
"Mix another portion of super pig feed into the corn buns in the pot."
Since he no longer wanted to play the long game, he might as well speed up the revenge already underway.
The system deducted one fen, and the delicious pig-feed corn buns came out of the pot.
Lunch was served. Even though the only side dish was pickles, the family of four still wolfed it down.
As for Li Meimei, no one asked about her, and no one said to save her any.
They might not care about Li Meimei, but someone would make them care.
"Knock, knock, knock. Is Li Dongxu home? We're from the local police station."
The voice outside the door startled Bai Yao, and he turned his gaze toward the people at the table.
He had thought he might get to see some fun, but the four at the table kept shoveling food into their mouths without stopping, like the reincarnations of starving ghosts. Not one of them even raised their head.
Seeing that, Bai Yao had no choice but to get up and open the door himself so he wouldn't miss the fun.
As soon as he opened it, Bai Yao saw—a crowd.
Yes, a crowd. People who, like him, wanted to watch the fun.
Believing that shared enjoyment was better than enjoying something alone, Bai Yao had no intention of hiding anything. Blocking the doorway, he asked, "Comrade, Li Dongxu is home eating. May I ask what this is about?"
The older police officer didn't speak. After all, what they had to say was rather embarrassing for the family.
But the younger officer didn't give it that much thought. Hearing the question, he spoke up.
"Li Meimei is part of your family, right? She ate something bad and committed hooliganism against a number of men in the street. She's been detained. We came to notify you to come over and discuss with the victims' families how to handle this."
Those words stirred up a thousand waves.
The impact of that single statement nearly made the jaws of the surrounding neighbors drop.
Li Meimei, a woman, had committed hooliganism?!
And against a number of men?!
The next second, the crowd broke into a heated, chattering discussion.
Seeing that, Bai Yao was certain that for at least the next six months, Li Meimei's hooliganism would be the number one topic of heated discussion.
Suppressing his delight, Bai Yao put on a timely show of surprise, then muttered to himself in a voice that was neither too loud nor too quiet, "I knew it. A day like this was bound to come for her. Every day she went on about different boys'..."
He stopped at just the right moment, then pretended to glance around at everyone in a panic, as if terrified someone had heard him, and hurriedly changed the subject.
"Comrades, please come in. I can't make the decision on this."
As he spoke, Bai Yao hurriedly moved aside from the doorway he had been blocking and ushered the two men in.
But when he closed the door after they entered, he was very careless and failed to close it all the way.
The neighbors in the corridor looked at one another. In the end, not one of them left. Those nearby even quietly sidled up to the door to listen to the conversation inside.
The next second, Li Dongxu and Li Bailian's startled cries rang out from inside in unison.
"What?! My daughter/Meimei committed hooliganism?!"
"What?! She can't be executed! We'll settle it privately!"
A little while later, there was movement behind the door, and the eavesdropping neighbors hurriedly scattered.
Immediately afterward, they saw the entire Li family leave in a swarm.
The family had left, but the explosive gossip they left behind only grew more intense and spread farther and wider.
Bai Yao had naturally anticipated this outcome.
It was just that he felt he had underestimated how quickly people in this era spread such explosive gossip.
The girl's parents had only just found out, yet all along the way to the police station, they could hear people talking about Li Meimei seducing married men.
And the story grew more outrageous with each retelling.
Of course, Bai Yao was quite happy to hear it.
Before long, they arrived at the police station. When they met the group of people involved and their families, Bai Yao noticed that the looks his stepbrother Li Qiang exchanged with the wife of one broad-shouldered, thick-waisted man were not quite right.
"There's something going on! Something big!"
Bai Yao grew excited.
After that, he paid no attention whatsoever to Li Meimei's affairs and kept his eyes on Li Qiang the whole time.
Perhaps when luck came, nothing could stop it. Before long, he saw Li Qiang and the young wife leave one after the other.
Seeing that, he naturally followed them in secret.
As for Li Meimei, she was destined to end up a "wild chicken" anyway.
When he secretly followed them outside, he heard a remark.
"You rascal, you hooked up with me, and your sister hooked up with my husband. Do my husband and I really have you siblings so smitten with us?"
At those words, Bai Yao's eyes widened in shock.
Good grief, the way she put that was really... really frightening!
Just as he was waiting to hear Li Qiang's answer, he heard the sounds of kissing instead.
Bai Yao: ...
"That dogfucker!"
Cursing in his heart, Bai Yao turned and walked away.
In this situation, he wasn't the one who should have been there!