Listenting to Baozi’s words, Xiaofeng’s mouth twitched as she finally took a close look at the man in front of her wearing a leopard-print shirt. He was tall and thin, with small eyes and a solid build, his skin the color of wheat.
He appeared to be around thirty years old.
"Our village surnamed Tie, my name is Tie Bao. The lady was right, we indeed can’t continue in this line of work, otherwise, if authorities come checking, we all would be doomed. Seeing that the lady and her brother do legitimate business, may I ask what kind of business it is?" Tie Bao wiped the water off his face, grinning at them.
"Baozi," Mantou softly pulled Baozi aside, "you didn’t actually knock yourself silly, did you? I’m telling you, they are just a bit stronger, but if we call the villagers over, let’s see if they dare to show off their strength."
Ever heard that many hands make light work?
Ever heard that one punch can’t beat four hands?
Even if these two have exceptional abilities, they’re nothing if we unleash the whole village on them.
"What do you know?" Baozi glanced at the two people not far from them: "I still have two packs of laxatives at home, one pack is enough to ensure they won’t go anywhere tonight." They really think the people of Tiekou Village are easy to mess with, huh?
Upon hearing this, Mantou’s eyes lit up, thinking to himself that Baozi, despite being cowardly, wouldn’t actually ask for help in public without having a backup plan waiting for them.
"That’s a good idea, let’s do that." Mantou felt that being swung around earlier was nothing, now that they could soon get their revenge.
"Right, the dishes cooked by Baozi’s mom are famous. After you taste it, you’ll definitely want more. What are you all waiting for, come on, let’s take our guests to Baozi’s house." Mantou and Baozi’s sudden change of face confused the other three people.
But with the change in both of their attitudes, the three of them couldn’t just ask them outright what was going on; they had to play it by ear. If all else failed, they could lure them to Baozi’s house and then call the villagers to corner them.
The five of them each had their own thoughts.
Xiaofeng was too hungry to care about their thoughts; she was genuinely starving now, feeling as if her belly was stuck to her spine.
Baozi’s house was not far from the village entrance, just a few hundred meters away.
"Mom, Mom." Baozi started calling out as soon as he got home: "Mom, we have guests over for dinner, please get up quickly."
Instead of Baozi’s mom, Chunli, Baozi’s wife, emerged from the house first. Seeing the handsome man and beautiful woman in the house, she instantly lost all sense of sleepiness: "Oh, we have guests."
Why would there be guests today?
"The guests said they are hungry and want to eat, tell mom to get up and make some noodles or anything else to eat." It’s too late to cook, so they’ll have to make do with some noodles or vermicelli or something.
A woman in her fifties came out of the house, her hair tied up and her face marked by annoyance at being woken up: "You don’t do anything serious in the evening; you don’t sleep and keep us from sleeping too, huh?"
Listening to Baozi’s mom’s words, Xiaofeng’s mouth twitched, sensing that Baozi’s mom was very discontent with her son and his friends collecting road fees from drivers at night.
"Mom, we actually did something serious tonight," Baozi, unfazed, pointed to Xiaofeng and her brother, "Mom, this sibling pair said they were hungry and wanted to have some food at our place. Please cook something for them, and don’t worry, they will pay."
"How much could a few noodles possibly cost?" Baozi’s mom muttered as she went into the kitchen, then poked her head out momentarily: "Young lady, do you eat spicy food?"
Xiaofeng did not expect the aunt to be so friendly, and she smiled, "I can eat it."
"If you ask me, it’s better for pregnant women to eat something light," Baozi’s mom commented before retreating back into the kitchen.
They all looked at Xiaofeng’s belly. No way, she’s pregnant? How can they tell? She doesn’t look pregnant at all.
Ye Cheng remained relatively calm, "Auntie has been through it all, her eyes are truly sharp."
"My mom used to be a midwife." Chunli came out of the kitchen holding two bowls, pouring two bowls of boiling water: "So, she has a very accurate judgment about pregnant women."
So, she was a midwife, that explains it.
Baozi glanced outside, where his wife was chatting with someone, he touched his nose and headed to the kitchen. His mom was making soup. When she saw Baozi, she asked with annoyance, "Didn’t earn any dirty money tonight, planning to go the honest route?"
Baozi couldn’t be bothered with her, pulling a paper packet from his pocket and began to open it in front of his own mother.
Baozi’s mother had the surname Chen, everyone in the village called her Old Lady Chen. Seeing Baozi about to drug someone, she snatched the paper packet from his hand, her tone stern, "Baozi, you earn your dirty money at night, I turn a blind eye, but if you now plan to rob and potentially kill, mom can’t agree to that."
Baozi couldn’t help but laugh, whispered, "Mom, keep your voice down, it’s just laxatives, it won’t kill anyone."
Robbing and killing, his mother really overestimated him.
"Even laxatives are not okay. That girl is pregnant, a packet of laxatives could end up killing both her and the baby. Baozi, I’ve been a midwife my whole life, I don’t want to ruin my entire reputation in my old age." If it were anyone else, a packet of laxatives might just cause severe dehydration, but for a pregnant woman, it could cause a miscarriage.
Baozi hesitated upon hearing this, "Mom, I’ll just give it to the man, not the woman."
"That won’t do either. We finally have guests over, and you want to drug them, who taught you such manners?" Old Lady Chen disapproved as soon as she heard her son’s words, "Tonight, these two guests are mine, you better not mess with them."
Now when she goes out, people from the nearby villages say she’s like a bandit leader, the thought alone is infuriating to her.
"Mom, these two are no good people, look at me, it’s all their doing." Didn’t his mom see how wet he was?
Old Lady Chen glanced at him and burst into laughter before quickly putting on a stern face, "Stop talking nonsense, if you’re wet, go change your clothes. What are you doing standing in the kitchen, waiting for me to dry you off?"
Such a worry, dealing with him day in and day out.
Listening to his mom, Baozi was very frustrated, but he still didn’t want to give up, "Mom, the five of us are being bullied, if you keep siding with them, I won’t have any dignity left."
"You lost face the moment you started these shady dealings," Old Lady Chen snapped back, "Enough, get out, we finally have guests. What are you planning?"
"Baozi." Chunli called from outside, "What are you doing in there, hurry and bring out a plate of peanuts."
He couldn’t make his move while his mom was in the kitchen, he’d find another place.
"I’m warning you in advance." Old Lady Chen took out two eggs, "If you cause trouble tonight, you can forget you ever had me as your mother."
His mother knew all too well about her son’s tricks.