Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Chapter 218 If no one criticizes me, I'm not worthy of being called a human being.

The tall, thin man held his rib fan with his other hand, tears streaming down his face from the pain.

When Zhang Changyao saw Guo Erluzi arrive, he finally opened his mouth and rubbed his cheeks.

"Ouch! My rib is broken, I can't take it anymore."

The tall, thin man also followed suit, slipping on the ground and pointing his head, and entered the house clutching his stomach.

Inside the room, Jian Tou was lying diagonally on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his belly in his arms, while Di Chuzi was half-squatting on the floor, sweat still dripping from his head.

Seeing the tall, thin man come in, they quickly moved closer together to make room for him.

Yang Wuni and Yang Deshan protected the child and Liao Zhi, and none of them spoke.

"What are you guys doing here?" Zhang Changyao asked as he entered the room, pointing to the people on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"What do you mean, 'Give us medical treatment' or we'll spend the New Year at your house'?"

The tall, thin man propped himself up with one hand and, half-lying down, told Zhang Changyao.

"Why should I treat you? You came to my house in the middle of the night to steal my donkey, and then broke into my home and vandalized it."

If you continue to stay on my kang (heated brick bed), I'll call the police station right now and have you arrested.

"How could you say such a thing? Don't you know how ugly and tacky things are?"

When did we steal your donkey? When did we vandalize or loot?

Jian Tou Ding's stomach pain subsided, and he suddenly sat up to argue with Zhang Changyao.

"My uncle went out to shovel snow, and you guys dragged him into the donkey pen. If you're not trying to steal the donkey, then what are you trying to do?"

As for looting and vandalism, that's another story. Look, you've even taken down the door of my house.

Pots and pans were thrown on the ground; what is this if not vandalism and looting?

As Zhang Changyao spoke, Yang Deshan immediately understood the meaning behind his words.

With a "smack," he knocked his cigarette basket to the ground, got down, picked up the door panel, and threw it in the middle of the ground.

The broom on the kang (a heated brick bed), and everything else placed on the mat, were all inevitably thrown to the ground.

He had also haphazardly placed the pots, pans, and dishes on the floor of the outer room.

The three people on the kang were dumbfounded by the situation, unable to understand Zhang Changyao and Yang Deshan's intentions.

"Let me tell you, you stole my chickens first, otherwise I wouldn't have come to your house."

"You beat us up like this; you've broken the law, no matter what."

The tall, thin man's ribs no longer hurt, and he looked at the scattered things on the ground with a nervous expression.

"Stealing chickens and dogs is not a crime; at worst, you'll just get a verbal warning."

Stealing donkeys and looting and vandalism are not such simple matters!

"It's almost Chinese New Year, and we can't get dumplings in prison, but we can drink as much dishwater as we want." Liao Zhi, who had been holding back for a while, finally chimed in.

"What do you mean by 'looting and vandalism'? How did we steal a donkey?" Di Chuliuzi said, half-kneeling as he spoke to Liao Zhi.

"Zhang Changyao, you should quickly tell Erluzi to report to the police station."

The injuries they sustained from being kicked while stealing the donkey, and the injuries we found from being beaten while stealing the donkey, are still there; this is the best proof.

My uncle was so scared by those bastards that he couldn't get out of bed.

"At such an advanced age, if anything were to happen to him, we wouldn't be able to celebrate the New Year."

Liao Zhi was afraid that Zhang Changyao wouldn't understand, so he gave him a hint.

"Uncle, does your chest still hurt? What will we do if something happens to you?"

Upon hearing Yang Wuni's dry sobs, Yang Deshan immediately lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), clutching his chest and crying out, "Ouch!"

"Uncle, keep an eye on these people, I'll go hitch up the cart right now."

I admit I stole the chicken, so what if I get a lecture for making such a mess of our house?

They're trying to steal donkeys again; we can't just let them get away with it.

Guo Erluzi also got into character, pushing open the door to go out and hitch up the cart.

"Brother-in-law, let's go back. It's not worth going to jail for a few chickens."

He slipped down to the ground, his crotch tucked between his legs, and clung to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) to discuss something with the tall, thin man.

"Your crotch's been kicked to shreds by that donkey. What are you going to do if we just leave like this?"

The tall, thin man looked worried and hesitated as he watched the slippery ground.

"Brother-in-law, I'm a bachelor, so this thing is as good as nothing. It's better to kick it to pieces so I won't have to worry about it."

"Big brother, we can't be blind to the difference in size. We'll be fine if we go home and rest for a few days."

The pointed-headed one also came down to the ground, helping to make a path for the tall, thin man.

Seeing that his two brothers were afraid of being sued, the tall, thin man got down from the ground without hesitation.

The three of them went into the yard to pick up the flashlight and the hen from the ground.

"Hey! You can take the flashlight, but you can leave the chick behind. I'm going to take the chick to the police station to turn myself in tomorrow."

Seeing that the men were terrified, Guo Erluzi immediately perked up.

She puffed out her chest, stepped on the chicken's wing with one foot, and wouldn't let the tall, thin guy take the chicken.

"Brother-in-law, let's not take the chicken. This family is unreasonable; we can't afford to offend them."

The man on the ground pulled on the collar of the tall, thin man, who reluctantly straightened up.

"That bastard is bullying us! You just wait, one day I'll show you what I'm capable of."

A few people went outside, and the tall, thin man cursed as he broke off a piece of the fence and threw it far away.

Inside the room, Zhang Changyao hugged Liao Zhi's face and kissed him, praising him for speaking so fluently.

Yang Wuni and Yang Deshan picked up the things that had been thrown on the ground and put them back in their original place.

Guo Erluzi carried several chickens into the house, placed them on the ground, and looked smug.

"Erluzi, come over here tomorrow morning. Now go home and get some sleep."

Zhang Changyao coldly pushed Guo Erluzi out of the house and closed the door without letting him hitch up his cart.

When Guo Erluzi heard that he was to come over tomorrow, he immediately beamed and hummed a little tune as he went home.

"Zhang Changyao, what do you want him to do tomorrow morning? That kid's got dirty hands, so don't bother with him anymore."

Yang Wuni stood with her hands on her hips at the door, and as soon as she saw Zhang Changyao enter the house, she began to scold him.

"Wu Ni, I don't want to associate with him, but we can't take his chicks."

We said those things to those people to scare them, to prevent them from trying to extort money from us.

Erluzi stole the chicken, and our family is partly responsible for that. He wanted to know which of Zhang the carpenter's daughters liked him.

They were too afraid to ask his mother for chicks, and too unwilling to spend money to buy them, so they left in a bad situation.

I'll go with him tomorrow and have him deliver the chicken to that person. Don't make things difficult for him.

Tell Zhang Juzui about it, and tell him that the daughter of Zhang the carpenter likes him.

Always remember that ill-gotten gains are not to be taken, for they will bring disaster and financial ruin.

We can't just stand by and watch someone go astray without offering a helping hand.

Those people were kicked and beaten by our family members and the donkey, and they were also very angry.

It's better to make enemies than to resolve them. It's best to take a step back and avoid making them hate you.

Zhang Changyao pushed Yang Wuni and made her sit on the kang (a heated brick bed) so that he could explain things to her.

"A hundred years of trivial matters, a hundred years of dust, bowing and lowering my head, I've fallen into vulgarity; the elderly crowds flutter by, and no one scolds me for being unworthy of being human."

Upon hearing Zhang Changyao's words, Liao Zhi couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

"My dear son, my dear son, the sky has fallen, the sky has fallen for your father."