The house before Zhang Yang was a dilapidated mud hut.
The yard was not large, and the fence, casually tied with straw, only reached Zhang Yang's chest.
As soon as he got out of the car.
Zhang Yang saw the scene inside.
At this moment.
Zhu Dongling and a boy about fifteen or sixteen years old.
And a pale-faced woman, embraced each other, sitting on the steps at the entrance of the mud hut.
Opposite them stood a middle-aged couple.
The clothes of this couple were very new, compared to the worn and faded clothes of Zhu Dongling's family.
They presented a stark contrast.
At this time, the shrewish woman standing opposite Zhu Dongling put her hands on her hips and shouted.
"You little brat, don't even think about keeping the money from selling the purple bamboo fruit to yourself. You have to give us half!"
"Second Aunt, this purple bamboo fruit was originally ours. Why should I share the money I earned from selling it with you?" Zhu Dongling refused loudly.
Spreading her hands, she stood in front of her younger brother and her sickly mother.
Despite her young age, she had the demeanor to shield her family from the wind and rain.
Her younger brother was not yet an adult, and her mother was frail due to illness.
Zhu Dongling, who had just turned twenty, had stepped up to shield her family from the storm in place of her deceased father.
"Oh, you little brat dare to talk back? You're asking for a beating." The shrewish woman took two steps forward and pushed Zhu Dongling to the ground.
Seeing this, Zhu Dongling's younger brother rushed forward and bit the shrewish woman's arm.
"Bad Second Aunt, I won't let you hurt my sister. I'll bite you to death."
The younger brother shouted, biting down hard, causing the shrewish woman to cry out in pain.
"That idiot, what are you still looking at? Come up and help me get the money! Otherwise, how will Zhu Qiang get married!"
The woman's husband's expression changed repeatedly upon hearing this.
In the end, unable to resist the temptation of money, he kicked out at Zhu Dongling's younger brother.
Seeing this, Zhu Dongling's weak mother, with strength she didn't know she had, rushed forward to embrace her child.
She wanted to use her back to shield her child from the kick.
"Mom!" Zhu Dongling, who was being held down by the shrewish woman, panicked and shouted.
Zhu Dongling tried to break free from the woman, but her strength was no match for the other.
Not only did she fail to break free, but her hair was also grabbed by the other party.
She was slapped hard, unable to protect herself.
Fortunately, Zhang Yang, who had just gotten out of the car, rushed over.
With a kick, he sent the man flying.
"You don't even spare the patient and the child. Are you a beast?" Zhang Yang cursed in a deep voice.
Then he hurried towards the shrewish woman, kicked her away, and rescued Zhu Dongling.
"Dongling, are you alright?" Zhang Yang asked.
Since entering, Zhang Yang had briefly observed that the situation of this family of three was quite miserable.
They were covered in dirt, and the exposed skin was injured.
Clearly.
Before he arrived, Zhu Dongling's family of three had already been bullied by the other party.
"It's you, Brother Zhang Yang!"
Seeing who had saved her, Zhu Dongling exclaimed in surprise.
The facade of strength she had maintained crumbled, and tears of grievance dripped down.
Zhang Yang patted her shoulder with some concern and asked.
"Don't cry yet. I'll help you. Tell me what happened first."
"Brother Zhang Yang, Second Aunt and Second Uncle are bullying people. They..."
Zhu Dongling, sobbing, recounted the whole story to Zhang Yang.
As Zhang Yang listened, his expression grew increasingly grim.
"I called you beasts just now, but that was flattering you!" Zhang Yang cursed.
As it turned out.
A while ago, Zhang Yang had bought all the purple bamboo fruit for eight thousand.
This was accidentally revealed by Zhu Dongling's younger brother.
So, Zhu Dongling's second aunt's family came to their door, wanting to share the money from selling the purple bamboo fruit.
However.
Zhu Dongling absolutely refused to share this money with them.
Because at the time of the family division.
When Zhu Dongling's father passed away, Zhu Dongling's second uncle's family forcibly occupied the new house that both families had jointly funded to build.
They unreasoningly drove Zhu Dongling's family to live in the old house.
They claimed the new house was to be kept for their son, Zhu Qiang, to get married.
Zhu Dongling's younger brother was still young, and there was no rush; he could build a house for himself later.
In response, Zhu Dongling argued with her mother, but her second uncle's family was unreasonable.
They directly beat them out and forcibly made them sign the family division agreement.
This purple bamboo tree was also in the agreement at the time, and it belonged to Zhu Dongling's family.
"Scum!" Zhang Yang's anger surged, and he cursed.
"Dongling, don't worry, I'll handle this for you."
With that, Zhang Yang walked towards Zhu Dongling's second uncle and aunt.
"Kid, who are you? This is my old Zhu family's business. Don't meddle!" The shrewish woman threatened Zhang Yang.
"I will meddle in this business!" Zhang Yang said in a deep voice.
Then, he raised his hand and slapped her hard.
*Slap!*
With this slap, Zhang Yang infused a trace of true qi.
He directly knocked out several of the shrewish woman's teeth.
"You dare to hit my wife! I'll fight you to the death!" Zhu Dongling's second uncle, seeing his wife being bullied, grabbed a nearby stick and charged at Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang's eyes turned cold, and he glared at the other party.
"You're no good either. Your elder brother passed away, and you should have taken care of his widow, but look at the heinous things you've done!"
After speaking.
Zhang Yang kicked him hard.
With this kick, Zhang Yang still held back, sending him spitting blood and howling on the ground.
One slap and one kick, he dealt with the two of them.
Zhu Dongling's younger brother clapped his hands and cheered.
"Yay, yay, Big Brother is so amazing. Bad Second Uncle and Second Aunt got their comeuppance."
"Brother, don't talk nonsense." Zhu Dongling glared at her brother and walked towards Zhang Yang with some worry.
"Brother Zhang Yang, why did you hit so hard? You should leave quickly, or else when they..."
"Where are there so many 'or else'? They are just two heartless scoundrels. You don't need to fear them." Zhang Yang said dismissively.
However, Zhu Dongling became even more anxious and worried.
"Brother Zhang Yang, Second Uncle's son is the captain of our village patrol team. He has more than ten men under him. If you don't leave now, they'll be here soon, and you won't be able to leave!"
Patrol captain?
He's not even a village official. Do I need to be afraid?
Zhang Yang shook his head dismissively.
At the same time, he felt a warmth in his heart. Zhu Dongling's family was already struggling to protect themselves, yet they were still thinking of him.
"If I leave, what will happen to your family?" Zhang Yang asked with a smile.
"We... we'll be fine. At worst, at worst, we'll get beaten up. If it really comes to it, we'll give them the money." Zhu Dongling said dejectedly after thinking.
After her father's death, her family had no one to rely on.
They were looked down upon in the village and even harmed by relatives. All their property was seized.
This led to her frail and sickly mother not taking her medicine for a period, which worsened her condition.
If Zhang Yang hadn't bought her purple bamboo fruit at a high price, even her younger brother might have had to drop out of school and come home.
However...
This world is just so cruel.
Without money or power, with weaker fists, to survive, one can only endure.
Zhang Yang's heart clenched inexplicably.
In Zhu Dongling, he saw a reflection of himself struggling in the old residential areas in the past.
Back then, wasn't he also living a difficult life just for a meal?
"Silly girl, I'll help you resolve this matter today." Zhang Yang patted Zhu Dongling's head with affection.
"Don't worry, with me here today, no one can bully you."
At this moment.
Zhu Dongling's second uncle and aunt also recovered and stood up, supporting each other.
The second aunt pointed at Zhu Dongling with displeasure and cursed.
"You ungrateful brat, you actually incited an outsider to beat your own family."
"I'm telling you, my husband and I won't take this beating for nothing. We want all the money you sold the purple bamboo fruit for, and we won't leave a cent for you."
Truly, the poor mountains and bad waters breed wicked people.
This was the first time Zhang Yang had encountered such heartless and unreasonable relatives.
"It seems the lesson I gave you earlier wasn't profound enough."
With that said.
Zhang Yang strode towards the couple.
"You... what do you want to do?"
"Kid, I'm warning you, don't mess around, or else..."
The couple, frightened, retreated.
"There is no 'or else.' Doesn't your village say that might makes right? Then I'll show you how big my fists are."
Zhang Yang said, walking towards them expressionlessly.
This terrified Zhu Dongling's second uncle and aunt.
Fortunately, at this moment.
More than ten young strong men arrived at the entrance.
"Stop right there! How dare you hurt my parents? I'll cripple you!"