PWE – Chapter 84 Building a New House

With Old Master Xiao present, Xiao Yongyi had no choice but to give in.

If he refused, he would be forced to leave the village—and once they left the village, they might as well be waiting to die.

So…

After sucking in a harsh breath, Xiao Yongyi finally said, “Whatever Old Master Xiao says goes. If you want us to sever ties… then we’ll sever them!”

After he finished, he felt a heavy blockage stuck in his chest, like a boulder pressing down, leaving him unbearably suffocated.

Hearing his words, Xiao Wange’s lips curved ever so slightly, a trace of a smile flashing across her face.

Her main purpose in coming today was to sever ties with Xiao Yongyi.

Although the law didn’t have a formal procedure for severing parent-child relations, as long as it was declared in front of the entire village, then in the future, whenever Xiao Yongyi wanted to come find her, he would first have to think twice. And the villagers likely wouldn’t allow him to bother her anyway.

The village chief and village secretary were genuinely happy for her.

This child finally saw light after so much suffering. After cutting ties with a father like Xiao Yongyi, she would no longer be beaten, nor would she need to hand over large sums of money to support that family.

They had heard that Wu Yueying recently went to her demanding 300 yuan! That couple were practically vampires. Asking for 300 yuan in a single breath—they really had the nerve.

Now things were finally resolved. With ties severed, if they wanted to continue eating meat and drinking alcohol like before, they’d have to earn the money themselves!

They were truly happy for Wange.

Old Master Xiao had someone draw up a written statement.

He made both Xiao Wange and Xiao Yongyi sign it.

That statement was basically a contract—once signed, even if Xiao Yongyi regretted it later, it wouldn’t matter.

After they finished signing, Doctor Mo arrived.

After checking over Wange and Zhaozhao’s “injuries,” his brows furrowed deeply as he scolded Xiao Yongyi and Wu Yueying, “If these facial wounds were any deeper, they’d be permanently disfigured! And look at this child’s waist—he’s so small, how could you strike his waist like that?! Aren’t you afraid of breaking it?!”

Doctor Mo was usually a very gentle man. Seeing him this angry meant the injuries looked extremely severe.

Xiao Yongyi felt terribly wronged. He opened his mouth to explain, “Doctor Mo, we didn’t hit them, we really didn’t, they—”

“Still lying at this point? Outrageous!” Old Master Xiao snapped, glaring at him.

Xiao Yongyi: “…” But he was telling the truth! The ones who actually needed treatment right now were him and Wu Yueying—they were the truly wronged ones!

Doctor Mo applied medicine to Wange and Zhaozhao. As for Wange’s other injuries, he couldn’t apply ointment in public, so he handed her the medicine to use once she got home.

Once finished, the village chief and secretary invited Wange and Zhaozhao to their homes for lunch. But after glancing at the sky, Wange predicted it would rain after noon, so she decided to head back quickly to avoid getting drenched. She politely declined.

Still, in gratitude, she offered them many heartfelt thanks with a warm smile.

After expressing her thanks, she left with Zhaozhao.

Xiao Yongyi glared viciously at their retreating figures. Then he turned to Doctor Mo and said, “Doctor Mo, I also have injuries on my face. Could you help apply medicine for me too?”

He pointed to the spot that hurt the most. That bruise stung terribly even with the lightest touch.

Doctor Mo’s face was cold. After glancing at Xiao Yongyi’s completely clear cheek, he frowned and said, “There’s nothing on your face. You don’t need medicine.”

“Doctor Mo, I really am injured! Really! Wange hit me—she had someone—”

“If you think you’re injured, then figure it out yourself! I’m not treating you.” Doctor Mo picked up his medical kit and walked out.

Xiao Yongyi: “…” The village chief must be blind. Doctor Mo was blind too! His injuries were so obvious—how could they all fail to see them?!

But remembering that Wange could even tame ghosts, he frowned secretly. Could it be that Wange did something to his face? Otherwise, why couldn’t anyone see his injuries?

The village chief and secretary had no desire to stay and look at the couple’s annoying faces any longer. They gave them a cold glance and left with Doctor Mo.

The onlooking villagers also quickly dispersed.

Old Master Xiao leaned on his cane, shot Xiao Yongyi a frigid look, and scolded, “Xiao Yongyi, you’ve utterly disgraced our Xiao family! Our family must’ve suffered eight lifetimes of bad luck to have a descendant like you!”

“Uncle, I—”

“Do as you wish from now on! Hmph!” Old Master Xiao snorted and left.

The other elders in their sixties and seventies also scolded him: “Wange must’ve suffered eight lifetimes of bad luck too, to end up with a father like you!”

Xiao Yongyi: “…”

He wanted to defend himself, but nothing he said now would matter.

He could only stand there with a dark and gloomy expression, watching them all leave.

Once only he and Wu Yueying remained in the courtyard—

Wu Yueying pressed a hand to her injured cheek and complained, “Wange is too much! She stole our money, then beat us, and on top of that, she framed us! Old man, how could she do this—”

“She did this because you pushed her into it!” Xiao Yongyi snapped, glaring at her with anger.

Wu Yueying froze. She stared at him. So now it’s all her fault? Hadn’t he also beaten and scolded that girl before? Now that things had turned ugly, he was dumping all the blame on her alone? Was he even a man?

Her expression soured. She didn’t argue further and turned to go inside. She had gotten ointment earlier from Doctor Mo—he couldn’t see her injuries, but she insisted, so he gave her a tube anyway.

Her face hurt so badly she didn’t even dare speak loudly—raising her voice made the wounds sting terribly.

After she went inside, Xiao Yongyi stood alone in the courtyard, his expression dark as storm clouds.

He had called Wange home today to scold her and demand money from her.

But who could have guessed things would escalate this far? Wange would probably never return now. And he himself would never be allowed into Danshui Village again. Their relationship was truly severed.

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Zhenqiang returned with his wife and child.

Because of what happened at the ditch, his wife had stormed off to her mother’s house. Early this morning, he had gone there and spent a long time persuading them before bringing them back.

Walking into the courtyard, he saw Xiao Yongyi sitting in the middle. He called out, “Dad…”

Looking around and not seeing his mother, he asked, “Where’s Mom? Isn’t she home?”

Xiao Yongyi was sitting there smoking dry tobacco.

He shouldn’t be smoking while injured, but he was so irritated that without the tobacco, he felt like he would suffocate.

He took a deep drag, glanced coldly at Zhenqiang, and then looked away without speaking.

Zhenqiang froze.

What was going on? Why was the old man acting like this?

Cradling his child, he hurried over and smiled politely. “Dad, what’s wrong? Did you fight with Mom? Ah, you know how she is—her mouth can get sharp. Please be patient with her, don’t take it to heart.”

Xiao Yongyi tightened his grip on the pipe and gave him another cold look, still refusing to answer.

Zhenqiang: “…” The old guy was acting strange. Normally even if he was angry, he would at least say something. But today…

“Dad, Zhenqiang and I want to discuss something with you,” said Lü Qiuying as she came forward, wearing a flattering smile.

She pretended not to notice how dark his face was and said, “Dad, we’ve decided to build a new house. We want to build it near the village entrance. The land there is flat and close to our fields. Living there would be far more comfortable. Dad, how about… we build a house there?”

Xiao Yongyi took another long drag.

He exhaled smoke and finally spoke, “Do you have money?!”

His voice was cold and dripping with sarcasm.

Lü Qiuying finally sensed something was wrong.

Her smile stiffened. “No. But even if we don’t have money, you have money, Dad. And even if you don’t, Wange does. Let me tell you—Wange is rich now. Really rich. I didn’t know this before, but she’s close with Boss Mu from the county. Do you know who Boss Mu is? He runs the biggest factory in the county—he’s loaded. I heard he’s driven to see Wange several times and seems to really appreciate her. And that wealthy Shi family in town? Apparently, they also have a good relationship with Wange. Dad, don’t you think—”

“Even if she has a mountain of money, it has nothing to do with me now! You want to build a house? Then figure it out yourselves!” Xiao Yongyi barked coldly, feeling even more stifled the moment he finished.

So Wange knew such big figures now? No wonder she acted so boldly—she had backing!

If their father-daughter ties weren’t severed, he could’ve asked her for money—probably a lot.

But now… forget money, he would be lucky if he ever saw her again.

Lü Qiuying’s eyes widened. “Dad, how can you say that? Wange is your daughter—how can her money have nothing to do with you? If you’re short on cash, just ask her—she’ll definitely give it!”