Losing his temper

After tossing and turning, Ye Huan had no idea what time he finally fell asleep. He only woke after nine in the morning. When he went downstairs, everyone was there. Outside, the wind and rain still showed no sign of stopping, though they had eased a little.

"Uncle!" Jingjing ran over to Ye Huan. He picked her up. "Have you had breakfast, Jingjing?"

"Yes! I ate with Great-Grandpa, Grandpa, and Grandma. I ate a whole big bun!" Jingjing told him, and only then did Ye Huan feel much better.

Ye Huan's mother had not needed to get up early to pick vegetables that day, and the heavy rain kept her from working outside, so she had steamed big meat buns that morning. With so many people and animals at home, she had also cooked a huge pot of rice porridge.

Ye Huan drank his porridge and ate his big meat buns, staring blankly at the wind and rain outside the door, his eyes unfocused.

Near noon, the wind and rain finally eased, but judging by the sky, another bout would probably come that night. Ye Huan's parents and Bai Jie hurried to the vegetable plots to check on things.

Losses were inevitable. They were just going to see how much was left and gather whatever was still good. There would be no problem eating it themselves.

Ye Huan told Jingjing to stay home and play with her great-grandpa, then went to the village office and called the village chief and several of the old men over to Bai Jie's home.

"If my sister-in-law hadn't called me, she and Jingjing would've died last night. I don't know how this village puts up with a family like that. I have just one thing to say today: if you don't let me settle this score, you can shove my partnership with the village up your asses. I don't give a fuck who you are." In a rare display, Ye Huan lost his temper.

His voice, loud enough to sound like an argument, drew over more villagers who had come outside. Their expressions darkened at the sight of Bai Jie's collapsed house. Ye Huan saw that Eighth Grandpa's family had come too, and he spotted Ye Gou.

He lunged over, grabbed Ye Gou by the collar, and dragged him all the way to the house. No one could talk him out of it. "If you're still a fucking human being, take a good look! This is what happened because you swallowed up hundreds of thousands that belonged to this mother and daughter. Why the hell should they keep indulging a maggot like you? Huh?"

"Xiao Huan, let Xiao Gou go. He's still young," Eighth Grandma said.

"I call you Eighth Grandpa and Eighth Grandma out of respect. Don't use your age to lord it over me. If you don't give me an answer today, just you watch." With that, Ye Huan slapped Ye Gou hard across the face.

Ye Gou was stunned. So was his wife, and Eighth Grandpa and Eighth Grandma were even more dumbfounded. Without caring how dirty the ground was, Eighth Grandma sat down and began to wail.

"Y-you have no right to hit me!" Ye Gou did not dare shout at Ye Huan.

"You're exactly the trash I'm hitting." Ye Huan kicked him again, sending him tumbling several times.

"I'm telling you, a hundred thousand. I'm not even taking it all. If I don't get a hundred thousand within three days, I'll kill you." Ye Huan spat at him.

Then he looked at Eighth Grandpa and Eighth Grandma. "Look at the fucking lengths your favoritism has gone to."

The village chief and the elders were frightened by Ye Huan too. He really was beating him! Looking at Ye Gou lying motionless on the ground like a dog, they were all afraid he might be beaten to death.

"I have no money. You might as well beat me to death." Ye Gou threw caution to the wind too. There was absolutely no way he would hand over the money.

"Fine. Remember what you said today." Ye Huan nodded, then looked at the village chief. "What does the village have to say?"

"Xiao Huan, could you...?" The village chief did not know what to say either. It was so much money, and with Ye Gou's character, he certainly would not hand it over.

"Fine, I understand. From this moment on, my agreement with the village is void. Go play by yourselves." Ye Huan waved a hand, then walked up to Ye Gou.

"You know I have a little money now. I'll find those street punks in town and give them ten thousand each to watch you every day. Every time they see you, they'll beat you. Whenever they see your wife, they'll harass her. I'll play this game with you."

"You wouldn't dare! Ye Huan, you wouldn't dare!" Ye Gou was dumbfounded, and his wife even more so.

"Just see if I dare. I've got plenty of money now anyway. I'll spend a hundred thousand or so a year just to screw with you, until you're completely ruined." With that, Ye Huan headed home without looking back.

He was disappointed in everyone, especially the village chief. He was too soft.

Once home, he told his grandpa what had happened. His grandpa nodded. "I'll take responsibility if anything happens. If it comes to it, we'll replace the village chief. Let's see who dares complain."

Hearing his grandpa's forceful words, Ye Huan nodded. He had spent all these years studying and working away from home, and he actually did not know many people in the village well. He did not care about saving anyone's face. If they would not let him settle this score, no one would have an easy time.

Yet before the afternoon even came, just after lunch ended, rumors spread through the village that Ye Huan had gotten together with the widow Bai Jie. Ye Huan wanted to kill someone, but his grandpa held him back.

Then the old man took a bamboo whip to Old Eighth's home. The village chief and several old men from the village tried pulling and dragging him back, only to be kicked down one by one.

"Anyone who stops me today will be my mortal enemy!" Ye Wuju kicked Old Eighth's front gate flying, went inside, and dragged him out. Taking out a hemp rope, he strung Old Eighth up on the big scholar tree by the entrance.

Then he went back inside and hauled Ye Gou out, hanging him from the tree as well. With the bamboo whip in hand, he lashed him again and again. The blows were vicious, splitting Ye Gou's skin and sending blood streaming down.

Old Eighth was not much better off. Two lashes across his body left him burning with pain. "Big Brother, I was wrong! I was wrong!"

"What did you do wrong?" Ye Huan's grandpa demanded, pointing the whip at him.

"I shouldn't have let Gouzi spout that nonsense. Please spare us. We really are going to die." Old Eighth truly feared this older cousin, feared him in his very bones. He had been beaten into that fear from childhood to adulthood.

"Your mouth is full of talk of thieves and whores! Your own sister-in-law suffered a disaster, and instead of lending a hand, you learned to sling mud at her! The Ye family has no beasts like you. Today, either I beat your whole family to death, or you get the hell out of Ye Family Village!" Ye Wuju was truly furious.

His grandson had clearly done a good deed and saved two lives, yet what had come of it? His own family had actually slung mud at him. With his temper, how could he tolerate that?

The village chief and the old men were scared witless too. How many years had it been since the Ye family last expelled anyone? And today...?

"What are you staring at? I'm not dead yet! Does my word mean nothing now?" Ye Wuju glared and brought the whip down on Ye Gou again, drawing a wretched scream.

Old Eighth's wife and Ye Gou's wife had cried until they could no longer make a sound, nor did they dare make one. In the Ye family, once this man lost his temper, no one dared try to talk him down.

Seeing this, the families with other surnames gained a deeper understanding of Ye Wuju's standing. Though he normally stayed out of things, the village could do nothing on major matters without his approval.

"And you, Daming. If you don't want to be village chief anymore, someone else can take over. You handled this business with Old Eighth very badly," the old man said with overwhelming authority.

"Ah..." The village chief, Ye Daming, did not dare say anything either. He could only heave a deep sigh.

"Big Brother, you can't drive us out! What could we do out there?" Old Eighth wailed. This time, he was truly panicking. After expulsion from the village came expulsion from the clan genealogy. Even with all the courage in the world, he would not dare risk that. How could he face his ancestors?