pertwk Chapter 12 The Ancestral Grave is on Fire
Chapter 12 The Ancestral Grave is on Fire
"Shoot? Sure, I can shoot down planes."
Li Xiangyang patted his chest and said.
Li Zhenshan snatched the guns back from Li Xiangyang's hands.
She glanced at him sideways, her eyes full of disdain, and said:
"Stop talking nonsense. This gun is no joke."
You've forgotten?
Two years ago, I specifically taught you two brothers how to shoot. Xiangdong wasn't a good shot, but he could still fire it. You, on the other hand, were so loud and boisterous. The gun went off as soon as you got it, and you almost shot me.
"If you ever get your hands on a gun again, you'll be trembling."
As soon as Li Zhenshan finished speaking, a burst of laughter immediately erupted in the room.
The mature and composed persona that Li Xiangyang had painstakingly built up over the past few days collapsed instantly.
"Dad, why do you remember this so clearly?"
Li Xiangyang scratched his head in embarrassment.
In his previous life, he was indeed very afraid of handling guns when he was young, especially after that accidental discharge that nearly hit his father.
This also caused him to tremble involuntarily whenever he touched a gun during that period.
Terrorist gun.
But later, live-fire shooting ranges sprang up on the grasslands. Bored, he mustered up his courage to participate in the training and not only overcame his fear of guns.
He also developed excellent marksmanship.
"Dad, don't underestimate me. I'm not afraid of guns anymore!"
Li Xiangyang smirked, took the gun from Li Zhenshan's hand, and went outside. Everyone quickly hid behind doors or windows, peering out.
Some people were skeptical.
Li Xiangyang loaded the bullet, took up his gun, aimed, fired, and ejected the spent cartridge in one smooth motion.
Bang bang bang!
After three gunshots, three fist-thick branches from a pine tree 100 meters away from him fell down one after another.
"Excellent marksmanship!"
Brother Li Xiangdong immediately shouted it out.
The crowd paused for a moment, then burst into enthusiastic applause.
clap clap clap...
Inside the room, on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), Li Zhenshan could not see how Li Xiangyang was beating, but he could guess a thing or two from the enthusiastic applause.
His gaze was drawn to Li Xiangyang; he had brought him so many surprises these past few days.
This made him very happy.
"Sigh, once I feel better, I need to go and check on the Li family's ancestral graves. Judging from Xiangyang's behavior these past two days, the Li family's ancestral graves are probably not just emitting smoke; they're probably on fire."
After Li Xiangyang's demonstration, the whole family had no objections, and the right to use the gun would henceforth belong to Li Xiangyang.
This is also Li Xiangyang's plan for the next step.
As the snowstorm worsened and roads became congested, selling fish would definitely become impossible.
The elder brother would be responsible for managing the sheepfold at home, while he would go out and hunt wild animals to sell.
After all, this snow will continue until April or May next year.
Having been given a second chance at life, making money can't stop.
Before they knew it, it got dark again, and the family finished their meal and went back to their rooms.
Because they were worried about not having enough wood to burn, the brother's family stopped heating the kang (a heated brick bed) in the east room where they lived, and they shared the kang with their parents at night.
This might be hard to understand in other regions, especially for people in the south.
People might say that even though they're married, they still sleep on the same kang (heated brick bed) with their parents, but here it's an unavoidable necessity for survival.
In temperatures below -30 degrees Celsius, everything must give way to keeping warm.
In this cold winter, the most terrifying and unavoidable thing is going to the toilet in the middle of the night.
You can urinate in the chamber pot inside the house and empty it the next day, but if you need to defecate, you have to go to the dry toilet outside the yard.
"Xiangyang, what's wrong? Why aren't you getting on the bed?"
Liu Xiulan looked at Li Xiangyang, who was pacing back and forth in the room, and asked him a question.
"Don't talk, my stomach... is a little upset."
puff!
Liu Xiulan understood immediately and almost burst out laughing.
"It must be hard on you in the middle of the night."
Li Xiangyang waved his hand, trying his best to gather his emotions.
There are specific rules for using the toilet in Inner Mongolia during winter, which he learned from a lifetime of experience.
First: You absolutely must control it to the critical point before you go. If you go even a second too early, you won't be able to poop, and if you go even a second too late, you'll poop in your pants.
Second: Just one word: "Fast!" Try to keep it under 20 seconds. If it exceeds 20 seconds, hesitation will only lead to chaos.
Otherwise, if a cold wind blows, the sphincter muscles will contract, and the buttocks will freeze for nothing.
After 20 minutes of mental preparation, Li Xiangyang finally mustered up the courage to open the wooden door and rush out.
dong dong dong...
Li Xiangyang had just finished using the toilet and was about to run back to the house when there was a knock on the gate. He glanced over and saw that there were actually 5 or 6 people there.
"Hmm...? What are you doing in the middle of the night?"
"Hey, Xiangdong, Xiangyang, come open the door."
A familiar middle-aged male voice called out.
"Hey, who is it? It's the middle of the night."
Li Xiangyang pulled up his pants, shouted, and walked over. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was his second uncle, Li Zhenhai.
Several people followed behind, mostly cadres from the commune, including the secretary, Chen Guodong. There was also a young man, bound hand and foot, beaten black and blue; upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Donkey Testicles.
He instantly understood what was going on. It must be that Donkey Egg, that hillbilly, had been arrested, and since he couldn't explain himself, he simply implicated him.
but,
Li Xiangyang feigned surprise and asked:
"Second Uncle, Uncle Guodong, what are you all doing here so late at night? Ouch... isn't this Donkey Egg? How did he get beaten up like this?"
"What else do you want to ask? It's all your fault. You've ruined the reputation of the Li family."
Without saying a word, Second Uncle Li Zhenhai began to scold him.
Li Xiangyang was immediately displeased. What kind of bullshit second uncle was he? He didn't care about their family's well-being at all, just because he wanted to get his family's ranch.
They're already rushing to accuse him of theft when nothing's even started yet.
My temper flares up in an instant.
Just as I was about to retort, the kerosene lamp in the middle room lit up.
"Come on, let's go inside and talk about it. It's too cold outside."
When Chen Guodong saw that the lights were on inside, he immediately invited everyone inside. Before they went in, he patted Li Xiangyang on the shoulder to let him know not to be nervous.
Li Xiangyang understood and nodded.
It seems the little fish I gave away this afternoon wasn't a waste of money.
So he put on an indifferent expression and followed them into the middle room.
Upon entering the house, Li Zhenshan, Li Xiangdong, and their entire family were somewhat at a loss, worried that they had been discovered trying to catch fish by breaking through the ice to sell, but they were also unsure whether to confirm it.
I felt a little uneasy inside.
Seeing that Li Zhenhai was also there, Li Zhenshan, as the head of the family, mustered his courage and asked.
"What's wrong with my brother?"
"Brother, don't speak yet."
Li Zhenhai waved his hand, refusing to answer, and then kicked the donkey egg curled up on the ground.
"Hey, donkey egg, stop playing dead! Say what you just said at the commune again."
Donkey Egg broke down immediately after being kicked by Li Zhenhai, and began to sob and cry.
"It's not my fault, I really didn't steal any sheep, sob sob sob... I just saw Li Xiangyang go into the sheep pen, and I thought he was doing something inside, so I jumped in after him."
As soon as Donkey Egg finished speaking, everyone looked at Li Xiangyang.
"Xiangyang, what else do you have to say?" Li Zhenhai asked coldly.
"I have nothing to say."
Li Xiangyang shrugged and waved his hand.
"So you're admitting you were involved in the sheep theft, right?"
Li Zhenhai then asked.
"Sigh, Second Uncle, you can say whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. When did I ever steal a sheep?"
"Then why did you just say you had nothing to say?"
"I said I had nothing to say, but I never admitted to stealing sheep."
"Xiangyang...stop being silly. What did you do this afternoon? Did you go to steal sheep with Donkey Egg? Tell me properly. If not, the commune won't wrong you."
Chen Guodong offered his advice.
His words were also an indirect reminder to Li Xiangyang that he would stand up for him.
But Li Xiangyang didn't respond, even though he knew that Chen Guodong's question was intended to help him.
The burden of proof lies with the person making the claim.
If Li Xiangyang were to explain now, he would fall into the so-called self-proof trap, and the more he explained, the more suspicious people would become.
Therefore,
A smart person only attacks, never defends.