Driven out

"Then I'll beat him to death right now and see if your branch has a throne to inherit." The old man raised his whip.

"Don't hit him! Stop, big brother! You can't hit him anymore! Gouzi's frail-he really could die!" Eighth pleaded desperately, but Ye Wuju remained unmoved.

Seeing his eldest brother's expression, Eighth knew there was no room for discussion. He must have lost his mind. How had he agreed to let his younger grandson spread sexual rumors about his elder grandson's wife??

His eyes dimmed. "We'll move, big brother. Stop hitting him. We'll leave the village."

Ye Wuju put away the whip and snorted, then pointed at the other old men. "Look at yourselves. What the hell have you all become?" Then he turned and went home.

The old men lowered their heads in shame. The village chief had people release Eighth Uncle and Ye Gou and take them back inside, then hurried out to kneel before his eldest uncle, Ye Wuju.

Ye Wuju held the position of clan head in the village. Officially, their village was called Willow Tree Village, but they had always called it Ye Family Village.

Ye Wuju ignored him and sat drinking tea by himself. Ye Huan did not know what to say either. His own anger had not subsided, so he held Juanjuan and drank tea with his grandfather.

"There's more heavy rain coming tonight. Why are you kneeling here instead of making arrangements?" The old man finally spoke, mainly because the sight of him was irritating.

"Oh." The village chief, Ye Daming, rose and rubbed his knees. He was over fifty, after all.

"Your father died early, and you grew up with Dafa. I'm telling you this for the last time today: if you can't stand up for the villagers and uphold justice, you'd better let someone else be village chief sooner rather than later," Ye Wuju said.

"I understand, Eldest Uncle." The village chief nodded and went back to make arrangements. Once his eldest uncle's anger had passed, he would be fine.

Ye Wuju was his father's own eldest brother, his eldest uncle by blood. When Ye Daming was a few years old, his father had gone into the mountains and died, and his mother had run off too. It could be said that Ye Wuju had raised him. Ever since he was little, he had run around on the heels of Ye Huan's father.

If Ye Huan's father had not refused to be village chief, the position would never have fallen to him. Even after he had taken it, everyone had only supported him out of respect for Ye Wuju.

"I never thought the village would turn into this in just a few years. Sigh." Ye Huan watched his village chief uncle's retreating figure, speechless, and spoke to his grandfather.

"They went out and saw the world, and learned hypocrisy along the way. You're fine, I'm fine, everyone's fine. If you hadn't come back, I couldn't be bothered with them," his grandfather said.

Ye Huan nodded. His grandfather had frightened him today too. He had really lashed out with that bamboo whip. Ye Gou probably would not be getting out of bed for ten days to half a month.

"Don't be angry, Great-Grandpa. Have some candy." Jingjing unwrapped one of the White Rabbit milk candies Ye Huan had given her and popped it into her great-grandfather's mouth. Ye Wuju laughed heartily and bit into the candy.

"They're that old, yet they have less sense than a little baby. With my old temper, I'd have thrown them into the river one by one and drowned the whole damn lot."

Ye Huan smiled too. His grandfather truly had an imposing presence.

"Forget cooperating with the village this year. If you don't teach them a lesson, they won't remember it." His grandfather agreed with his grandson's approach too. There was no need to indulge them.

Many of the villagers now had nothing on their minds but getting rich. They had forgotten everything else.

"Mm. Until I'm satisfied, I won't cooperate with the village. It makes no difference to me. If they push me too far, I'll take you all away. With these skills of mine, where couldn't I get rich?" Ye Huan nodded. He really did not have deep feelings for the village.

His grandfather laughed in exasperation and tapped him on the head with his pipe.

Toward evening, heavy rain began falling again. Ye Huan's parents and Bai Jie had already returned to cook. Bai Jie had heard the rumors in the village too, and she came back to pack her things, planning to leave with Jingjing.

Ye Huan stopped her. "Where could you go now? My grandpa has driven Eighth Grandpa's family out of the village. Just stay here without worrying. When the construction crew comes, I'll talk to them about rebuilding your house. Uncle Village Chief said the village will subsidize part of it."

"But..." Bai Jie hesitated.

"No buts. Listen to me on this. They're just rumors. Why bother with them? You might not mind, but are you going to make Jingjing live in a thatched hut with you?" Ye Huan picked Jingjing up and sat down in the living room.

Bai Jie did not know what to do either. Ye Huan's mother brought the dishes to the table, saw the bundle in her hands, and went over to carry her things back to the room. "Time to eat. We're all from the same village. Who doesn't know who? I heard about it too late, or you'd have seen me go tear Gouzi's and his wife's mouths apart."

Dinner began. Ye Huan prepared food for the animals at home, especially Xiaobai's father, who ate quite a lot.

Then he ate and laughed with Jingjing, having a wonderful time. Bai Jie let go of the idea of leaving. Words of thanks were not enough for such great kindness; she could repay their family in the future.

"Half the vegetable patch is ruined, but the other half is all right. Once the rain stops, we'll replant some. There shouldn't be much of a problem. The watermelons and peaches are gone," his mother said.

"Mm. If they're gone, they're gone. There's nothing we can do about it. Once the weather clears, we'll deliver however much we have each day. They'll understand." Ye Huan nodded.

"Are we putting up greenhouses? If we wait until winter, it'll be too late," his father asked.

"Isn't it still early?" Ye Huan asked. "It's only August."

"We have to get them custom-made. You think they'll just have them ready when we go? They need to come measure the dimensions, then make and install them. It'll take at least two months. We've got quite a bit of land to cover," his father, Ye Dafa, said.

"Oh, all right, then. You've got the money, so go take a look. Remember, don't try to save money. If we're doing it, get good-quality ones. Otherwise, we'll never hear the end of the trouble." Ye Huan nodded. They would have them custom-made, then.

"All right. Next time we deliver vegetables, I'll look around the county town. If there's something suitable, I'll place the order." Ye Dafa nodded too. They had kept all the money from selling vegetables; their son did not want it.

Ye Huan still had several hundred thousand yuan on hand, and he had little to spend money on, so the money had remained with his parents. He had offered his grandfather a hundred thousand yuan, but his grandfather had refused, saying he had money.

Once Jingjing had eaten her fill and gone to watch television, Ye Huan drank with his grandfather. With the torrential rain and fierce winds over the past two days, there was nothing to do, so his parents went back to their room early to watch television after dinner. Ye Huan held Jingjing on his lap, slowly drinking and chatting with his grandfather. Bai Jie sat on the sofa watching television, occasionally brewing a cup of tea for his grandfather and Ye Huan.

This was the kind of atmosphere he liked: relaxed and comfortable, with no need to worry about making a living, his family healthy and himself happy.

Only when Jingjing could no longer stay awake and fell asleep in his arms did he carry her back to the bed in the little room. Bai Jie then went back to sleep, while Ye Huan continued drinking with his grandfather.

The two drank until almost ten before tidying up, and Ye Huan took his grandfather back to bed. Then he went upstairs, showered, and returned to his room to sleep. He had not gone into the space to cultivate yesterday, so he had to make up for it today.

His soul entered the space, and he saw that many of the vegetables were ripe. With a thought, he finished harvesting the ripe vegetables. With another thought, the soil was turned over. Then he sowed seeds and watered them, beginning another round of growth.