The sun shone high, clouds flitted across a cheerful sky. The day was beautiful,
but Yang Fan’s mood was anything but. Frustration etched on his face, he held an authentic village spade still coated with dirt. One strong swing could potentially whirl dung out!
“Third brother, why should the Tao family have the sole right to claim our ancestral mountain? Because they have money? Ridiculous! They even propose to give each household five thousand yuan for the tomb relocation costs. The audacity!”
Yang Ping, the younger cousin, followed him. He kept cursing the Tao family with such zest, it would even rival the village widow.
The ancestral mountain sat behind the Yang family village. It was flat and boasted excellent Fengshui*. Almost all the graves of the older generation were there.
But half a month ago, the Tao family, famed in the county for being rich, suddenly showed up with a contract claiming the mountain, and ordered all the tomb owners to relocate their ancestral graves within half a month.
Otherwise, the graves would be cleared off by the Tao family!
Half a month passed, but not a single villager was willing to move the graves. Who would disturb their ancestors' peace for a mere five thousand yuan?
Recently, the Tao family has begun to act aggressively, occasionally bringing excavators to level the mountain. Conflicts erupted between them and the villagers trying to protect their graves.
After returning home from school this morning, Yang Fan heard from his cousin that their fathers were again in a dispute with the Tao family on the ancestral mountain. Without a second thought, he grabbed a spade, ready to help.
"Damn it! Just wait and see, Tao family. I’ll beat the crap out of you!”
But not long after setting off, they ran into Yang Fan's mother, Zhang Sujun.
One with a spade and the other with a sickle, their appearance was completely unlike that of students. Zhang Sujun was instantly furious.
“You two, stop right there! What exactly are you planning to do?" Zhang Sujun stomped over with angry eyes.
*Note: Fengshui is a traditional Chinese concept linked to harmonizing individuals with their surrounding environment.
Yang Fan was just about to make up an excuse when Yang Ping, in his stupidity, blurted out, "Auntie, the Taos are causing trouble again. I and Fan are going to teach them a lesson!"
SMACK!
Before he could finish, Yang Sujun's hand had already made contact with his forehead, knocking him senseless.
"Get lost. Is this a matter for you children to meddle in? Yang Ping, have you even finished mowing the pig grass?"
"But Auntie," Yang Ping complained. "The pig grass can be cut in the afternoon, too. We should deal with the Taos first."
"Deal with my foot. Go cut the pig grass now. This is adults' business, you kids should not get involved. Got it? As for you, Yang Fan, what are you going to do with that hoe? Think you're tough, huh? Where's that vigor when it comes to studying? Go to the fields and dig up some sweet potatoes."
"Okay..." Faced with his strict mother, the once proud Yang Fan backed down instantly, turning around and walking away.
"Sigh, Third Brother, you'll just let her be like this?"
SMACK SMACK...
Two more deep slaps were heard from behind, and Yang Ping promptly shut up.
Everything seems to go wrong. Nowadays, even a countryman gets bullied at every turn. Such a stifled life!
Looking frustrated, Yang Fan hoisted his hoe on his shoulder and head to the village entrance. His sweet potato field was just at the edge of the village.
"Yang Fan?"
A voice came from ahead; a familiar, yet nauseating voice. It was Zhou Zheng, Yang Fan's classmate. This jerk, thanks to his wealthy family, often flaunted his wealth in class, causing envy and anger among his peers.
Yang Fan glanced over impatiently, only to be surprised to find Su Yi also there, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Zheng right at the entrance of the farmhouse restaurant. Was this a dinner date?
A flare of jealousy arose in Yang Fan's heart. He had always viewed Su Yi as his betrothed!
Su Yi’s father and Yang Fan's father were old comrades, having carried guns together in the past, with a close bond between them.
More than a decade ago, they had arranged a childhood engagament for Yang Fan and Su Yi. Although this seems quite uncertain now, Yang Fan had always considered Su Yi as his exclusive partner.
Today, Zhou Zheng's hair was slicked back shinily, and he was taking photos of Su Yi with his newly bought iPhone 7, his smile almost reaching his eyebrows.
Carrying a hoe, Yang Fan approached them with blazing anger, contemplating whether to smack Zhou Zheng with it, just as Zhou Zheng burst into laughter.
"Haha, Yang Fan, your outfit is really rustic. Are you going to dig sweet potatoes or a tunnel?"
Teased by Zhou Zheng, Yang Fan remembered that he had swapped into old clothes after returning home that morning, a green plaid shirt paired with bleached white jeans; It looked very rural no matter how you saw it.
Compared to Zhou Zheng and Su Yi's fancy outfits, he felt like a country bumpkin.
Even with his thick-skinned nature, he felt embarrassed in front of his crush.
He decided to ignore Zhou Zheng for now and planned to beat him up later on the school playground!
"Su Yi, have you eaten yet? If not, why not come to my place? My mom has been thinking of you." Yang Fan tried to display an unaffected smile towards Su Yi, not wanting her to detect his embarrassment.
Today, Su Yi was dressed in a white long dress, wearing a blue sun hat on her head. She was quiet and graceful. Next to Zhou Zheng, they looked like a golden boy and a jade girl, a sight that made Yang Fan envious.
"No need, we've already reserved a private room at the farmhouse restaurant. Su Yi has a delicate constitution, she can't handle the coarse food of your village."
Yang Fan instantly clenched his hoe, fuming at him: "Zhou Zheng, are you asking for a beating?"
Su Yi finally spoke, "Alright, stop arguing. Yang Fan, why not join us for the meal?"
Zhou Zheng toyed with his iPhone 7 in hand, smirked sardonically, and said, "You don't need to call him, Su Yi. He just burnt down the library yesterday. Do you think he can still have the appetite to eat? The teacher said if he doesn't compensate ten thousand yuan, he'll have to drop out of school."
Upon hearing this, both Yang Fan and Su Yi's faces flashed a glimpse of incongruous expressions, as if there was some hidden secret they shared.
Su Yi suddenly spoke in a strange tone, her cheeks even flushed slightly with embarrassment, "It's just ten thousand yuan. Are you so upset that you can't even eat?"
Su Yi looked puzzled. Her father had been somewhat successful in his business in recent years, with the family savings already in millions. Therefore, she didn't think that ten thousand yuan was a big deal.
Zhou Zheng laughed aloud, consciously raising his voice, "You just don't get it, Su Yi. For their rural family, ten thousand yuan is a huge amount of money. Don't believe me? Just ask him if his dad even has ten thousand yuan in savings!"
Yang Fan knew Zhou Zheng was deliberately humiliating him. But as much as he wanted to refute, he couldn’t. Should he stubbornly insist that his family has ten thousand yuan in savings? Wouldn't that be even more ridiculous?
"Zhou Zheng, even if your family is rich, the money is earned by your dad, not you. You have nothing to do with it. Don't show off here. Also, I heard that the reason the Tao family bought our ancestral mountain was your dad's instigation. You'd better watch out!"
Zhou Zheng sneered dismissively, "Humph, if you have the guts, go and take this matter up with my father. Am I supposed to be scared of you rabble?"
"Sure, we'll see!" Yang Fan didn't want to stay any longer. He was afraid he would not be able to refrain from beating this jerk in front of Su Yi.
"Country bumpkin!" Zhou Zheng muttered under his breath, then turned towards Su Yi with a gentle smile, "Su Yi, Young Master Zhang and the others should be arriving soon. Shall we go in and order first?"
Su Yi nodded and cast a glance at Yang Fan's departing figure before she turned to enter the restaurant.
Elsewhere, Yang Fan, who was seething with anger, shouldered his hoe and basket, heading to his sweet potato field to vent his frustrations by digging up the potatoes.
They were both students of senior class one. Why could Zhou Zheng invite Su Yi to dine in the restaurant while playing with his iPhone 7, while he could only dig potatoes here?
Apart from having a well-off father, in what aspect was Zhou Zheng superior to him? In terms of appearance and academic performance... well, let's not compare.
The thought of studying made Yang Fan even more frustrated. He ruthlessly swung his hoe at the farmland beneath his feet...
Pfft...
Who would have known that under this swing, the hoe went straight through the soil and struck a soft substance, gushing out a stream of crimson blood.
"What the hell, a rat?" Yang Fan was stunned for a moment, but something felt off. Rats are quite alert; how could one be bludgeoned to death by a hoe? And a rat couldn't possibly have so much blood, could it?
Out of curiosity, he hurriedly dug aside the soil, surprisingly revealing a large mysterious white object, about the size of a washbasin. At first glance, he thought it was a white mushroom, but which mushroom would bleed?
Fungus, meatball...
Yang Fan's mind was suddenly filled with a program he had seen on TV before, and an unimaginable term suddenly popped up. Could this be the legendary Lingzhi mushroom?
He hastily bent over to clear away the soil, forcefully lifting up the Lingzhi mushroom from the mud. But this force made the wound he accidentally got while cutting vegetables in the morning open again, a drop of fresh blood trickled down his fingers and dripped onto the wound of the Lingzhi mushroom.
At the next moment, an incredible scene took place. A dazzling array of light emanated from within the Lingzhi mushroom, followed by an exasperated voice that resounded in Yang Fan's mind.
"Damn it, taking advantage of my weakness and dripping blood for acknowledgement, despicable and shameless, your whole family will perish!"
Yang Fan jumped in shock, looking dumbfoundedly at the Lingzhi mushroom in his hands, "Are you the one talking, meatball?"
"Damn you, you are the meatball, your whole family will perish, I am Tai Sui!"
