Chapter Forty-Nine: His Leg Was Broken, That's All!

“You should have seen it—today when Secretary Xiu’e led people up the back mountain, and heard the person we beat up was Zhang Kang’s brother-in-law, her expression was something else.” Liansheng imitated Zhang Xiu’e, furrowing his brow and raising a finger, saying, “Why didn’t you break that lackey’s leg? Do it for me.”

“Heh, it was so satisfying, you have no idea.”

That evening, another group from the village went up to guard for the night, replacing Liansheng and the others. Aunt Yang cooked a few homestyle dishes and stewed a big fish that Leopard had caught from the hollow. They all sat beneath the tree roots, drinking and chatting.

Lowering his voice, Li Ergou asked, “Is our Secretary Xiu’e really so formidable now?”

Liansheng puffed out his chest, grinning, “Absolutely, she’s especially tough. A few days ago, some people came to make trouble—the police from the town even came. Secretary Xiu’e sent them all packing, didn’t give anyone a good face, no concessions at all!”

Li Ergou nodded, not daring to ask further. He was just thinking, if Secretary Xiu’e is truly so domineering, and if she ever learns of the things Village Chief Tang Long does outside, could she really keep him in check?

He certainly wouldn’t go around gossiping. Besides, that pretty young lady from the provincial capital called him ‘Brother Ergou’ with such respect—she clearly didn’t look down on him.

So, Li Ergou had a good impression of Yao Han Dong.

Zhang Xiu’e and Mountain Beast, along with several of the village’s capable women, didn’t join the men’s table but had their own and were deep in conversation.

Right now, besides the ‘village reform’ project underway, people still needed to guard the Ghost King Cave in the back mountain, and even the hollow couldn’t be left unattended. The men alone weren’t enough; they had to mobilize the women who could shoulder half the burden too!

“Sister Xiu’e, how are you going to handle that ‘Little Earth Dragon’?” When only the two of them remained, Mountain Beast grinned and whispered to Zhang Xiu’e.

Let go? When a woman falls for a man, it’s not so easy to let go. Mountain Beast could see that Zhang Xiu’e was not the kind to give up easily.

Zhang Xiu’e’s face reddened as she shot her a glare and whispered, “What ‘Little Earth Dragon’? You’d better speak nicely to him and don’t pick a fight. He’s the village chief of Yutou Village. If he doesn’t let you stay here, even I won’t be able to protect you.”

Why Mountain Beast liked staying in Yutou Village, Zhang Xiu’e didn’t know, nor did she care to find out. But she didn’t want anyone to disrespect Tang Long—not even if it was to defend her honor.

As the village chief, he ought to have authority; his dignity couldn’t be trampled at will.

Mountain Beast blinked. “Sister Xiu’e, are you out of your mind? He ran off to the provincial capital behind your back and did all sorts of unsavory things, yet you still take his side?”

Zhang Xiu’e shook her head calmly. “That’s not the point. Even if it is, that’s between the two of us. If you want to stay in Yutou Village, you can’t have conflict with Tang Long!”

She felt she needed to make this clear to Mountain Beast—public is public, private is private; she didn’t want to muddle the two.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stay out of it, alright? You, you’re all bark and no bite. I know exactly what’s in your heart even if you don’t say it. With your temperament, you’re bound to suffer sooner or later,” Mountain Beast muttered.

Zhang Xiu’e couldn’t help but laugh and scold, “You speak as if you know everything. All theory and no practice, have you ever tried yourself?”

“Biting the hand that feeds you!” Mountain Beast pretended to be angry, stood up, and went back inside.

Zhang Xiu’e knew Mountain Beast meant well, but some things, outsiders couldn’t help with. For example, when it came to Tang Long, how was she supposed to choose?

Leave? Make a scene? Or just not care?

If Tang Long were truly her man, there’d be nothing more to say. If her man went out and found a mistress, she’d raise hell. But the key was, their relationship wasn’t confirmed, and the woman Tang Long met in the provincial capital might not have come after her.

If you really worked it out, who was the third party here was still uncertain!

She might not even have made a fuss before the other woman came knocking, and by then, Zhang Xiu’e wouldn’t know how to explain herself.

Just as Tang Long said, he liked Zhang Xiu’e. Zhang Xiu’e admitted she liked him too. But liking someone is one thing; being together is another.

Even if Tang Long hadn’t gone to the provincial capital, how long could she and Tang Long last if they got together?

Being boyfriend and girlfriend—maybe. But what about after that?

Dating without marriage in mind is just playing around. Zhang Xiu’e and Tang Long were ready to date, but only that.

Love is between two people; marriage requires broader consideration. If she brought Tang Long home, what were the chances her family would accept him as her husband?

Zhang Xiu’e didn’t even dare imagine it!

Perhaps Tang Long’s trip to the provincial capital wasn’t a bad thing for her. When she was with him, she wouldn’t feel so uneasy or burdened.

People are selfish; no one is exempt. Zhang Xiu’e was the same—she had family and choices to face.

She wanted to try dating Tang Long for a while, but she’d never intended to spend her life with him.

Never!

Of course, maybe their relationship hadn’t reached the point where those thoughts were necessary. Some things have their order: first you date, then discuss marriage, only after marriage do you raise children. Get the order wrong and you end up marrying because of a child.

“Liansheng said you were especially impressive today—you didn’t let that ‘Young Master Rui’ make us Yutou villagers lose face at all,” Tang Long said as he came over and sat beside Zhang Xiu’e with a smile.

“Young Master Rui will be back,” Zhang Xiu’e replied quietly, sitting on a wooden stool, frowning. “I think he’s set his sights on the ‘Ghost King Cave’ in the back mountain.”

At the mention of Ghost King Cave, Tang Long recalled some things Wu Zhengyao had said in the car earlier and recounted them to Zhang Xiu’e.

Zhang Xiu’e’s eyes lit up, and she said happily, “Then there’s no time to lose. We should go to the county tomorrow and get all the paperwork for Ghost King Cave in order, to avoid trouble later on.”

If the ownership of Ghost King Cave wasn’t backed up by paperwork, it would always be a hidden danger.

Even though the cave was carved out of Yutou Village’s mountain, it might not actually belong to the village.

If the state didn’t recognize it, it would be a problem in the future!

Fortunately, the county had Wu Zhengyao, a reasonable official who could stand with Yutou Village.

If the county had the resources to develop Ghost King Cave and could use it to improve the villagers’ lives, Tang Long had no objection. The problem was, Ghost King Cave was too remote, and Taoyuan County had the will but not the power.

Rather than let outsiders ruin it—or even kill the goose that lays the golden eggs—it was better for Tang Long to lead the villagers and do it themselves.

At least, when it came to protecting Ghost King Cave, Yutou Village would not slack off!

Young Master Rui’s interest in the cave was obvious. Even if it didn’t draw many visitors now, on a good day they could sell a dozen or twenty tickets and make a few thousand yuan. That was small change. The real money was in the cave’s stalactites. If Young Master Rui was only interested in ticket sales, it wouldn’t be too much of a worry. But if he had bigger ambitions and didn’t care for ticket money, he might want to mine the stalactites and sell them.

Stalactites that took thousands or even millions of years to form—once you broke one off, there was one less forever.

If all the stalactites were stripped, leaving only a pitch-black cave, who would come to visit?

“If Young Master Rui comes back next time, what should we do?” Zhang Xiu’e looked at Tang Long, hoping he’d have a solution.

Tang Long just smiled, unconcerned, “What else? Just break his legs.”

Zhang Xiu’e rolled her eyes at him in annoyance, “Then next time, you do it.”

Tang Long grinned, “Alright!”

Zhang Xiu’e thought he was joking, not knowing that if Young Master Rui returned, Tang Long truly would break his legs—but that’s a story for another time.