Like other wealthy men, they only dare to make sneaky moves in the dark and are too scared to openly bully or overwhelm him with their wealth.
Knowing that this person had significant backing, sharing the same status, surname, and lineage as rich men, they still had no intention of ingratiating themselves.
Hongji left with his daughters. Wanting to stop them but with no excuse to do so, he had also heard that the daughters were the instigators.
However, the ones blocked by a servant in front of him, these poor boys’ family members, were where he directed his anger.
He also saw that some of them were tenants of their land. The best tactic would be to forbid them from renting the land, to leave them without food, and to starve them.
"It turns out to be you. You can’t control your sons, you must be eating too well every year. Henceforth, your family no longer needs to rent our land starting this year."
Ye Zhiwei spoke thus, his brothers behind him also blazed with anger, pulling their daughters into the house while watching how Ye Zhiwei would deal with these poor people.
"Please, rich man, my child didn’t insult your Lady, our family is innocent!"
The man who spoke was one of Ye Jiaxing’s uncles, and the other men also spoke up, feeling wronged, all claiming their sons were innocent.
The male parents were not the only ones in a hurry; the women were too. Without the rich man leasing land to them, how could their families have enough food and drink without that piece of land?
Begging for mercy, they also slapped their own sons while speaking, feeling that their sons’ sense of loyalty had brought trouble to their family by losing their fields.
"Dad, Mom, stop hitting me, it hurts so much. We didn’t do anything wrong!"
The children’s stubborn attitude made it even harder for the parents in front of the rich man.
The upset parents glared angrily at Ye Jiaxing, as well as his father and mother.
Ye Jiaxing had stepped on a landmine, and his father and mother kept hitting him. He endured the pain and said to his parents, "Who lets those ugly girls insult others? Not only are they ugly, they also have filthy mouths."
"You still talk back, shut up! You waster!"
Ye Jiaxing was beaten even more painfully, not just his arms and head hurt, but also his buttocks. His father did not just hit these spots; he also kicked him.
He broke free from his father’s grip and, while running away, shouted, "I’m not wrong. It’s wrong for those ugly girls to insult others!"
Ye Zhiwei’s expression grew even darker. During the festive season, there were no servants to beat these people. While they pleaded painfully to rent and cultivate his fields, he showed complete refusal.
Ye Zhiwei, indifferent to their pleas, swept his sleeves and entered his home.
His other brothers had already pulled their daughters into the house, and Ye Zhiwei did not allow his two daughters to come out, although he knew it was his daughters who had started the trouble this time.
He was upset that his daughters got insulted. Instead of speaking up, the poor boys started hurling back insults, making him think his daughters were foolish.
Ye Zhiwei went back inside, not caring where his brothers took their daughters. He led his two daughters into a room first.
Sitting in the room, his gaze lingered on the bodies of his two daughters, the eldest not yet thirteen, yet her figure was already well-developed like that of an adult, and importantly, "overdeveloped."
Just now, he was unwilling for his daughters to be insulted by poor boys; now, looking quietly at them, they couldn’t deny what the poor boy had said, that ordinary people really couldn’t bear their figures.
The older daughter, under her father’s gaze, felt the anger from the earlier insult turn into tears, which seemed like a pear blossom in the rain on her face—not that it looked delicate or pitiable because of her round face.
"Daddy, you must avenge your daughter!"
At this moment she hadn’t forgotten her vengeful heart. Now, she wanted revenge not only against the poor boy who insulted her but also against those five sisters.
It was because she had invited those five sisters over today that she was insulted by a poor boy. A Miss like her had never been called ugly or fat before; now she had become the village joke, a subject for gossip in the future.
Ye Zhiwei felt his festive mood had been ruined. It all started with a petty quarrel among children, but now it had escalated to involve adults.
He knew that by acting , he would be criticized for lacking a generous heart. Children’s squabbles turned into adults taking revenge and bullying others, whether or not he was labeled as a bully, he accepted the accusation.
"How should I take revenge for you? Do people insult you for no reason? As for them daring to insult my daughters, none of the people who rent our land should think about farming it anymore."