TNIBFT -Chapter 9 My CPU Is About to Burn Out

As soon as Xiao Jiang heard Ye Tian’s words, his whole body tensed. His small hands, which had been grinding peppercorns, froze. He quickly stood up, his red, frostbitten fingers nervously rubbing the hem of his clothes as he said in a small voice, “Big brother went to Uncle Fang’s house to work.”

“Big sister went to help villagers look after their children. Don’t worry—they’ll bring food back at noon. I can stay home too… I can do anything.”

After speaking hurriedly, Xiao Jiang glanced up at Ye Tian, afraid he might get angry.

Uncle Fang?

Ye Tian narrowed his eyes as the image of a young man surfaced in his mind—Fang Shenghu.

Before the Ye family fell into ruin, Fang Shenghu had been his personal guard. After the family was confiscated and exiled, Fang Shenghu followed Ye Tian to Sifang City. There, he married, had children, and, thanks to his martial skills, secured a job at the City Lord’s residence. His life was barely stable.

If not for Fang Shenghu’s support over the years, Ye Tian and the three children would have died countless times already.

Fang Shenghu was a good man, but…

Ye Tian felt a bit awkward.

The original Ye Tian had always acted superior in front of Fang Shenghu, frequently hurling insults and even calling him his “dog.” On top of that, since the three children were close to Fang Shenghu, Ye Tian often made sarcastic remarks. Sometimes, if the children went to see Fang Shenghu, they would even get beaten upon returning.

Over the years, Fang Shenghu had helped Ye Tian countless times, yet Ye Tian not only showed no gratitude but humiliated him to the point he could barely hold his head up. Worse still, he had even ruined several of Fang Shenghu’s potential marriages.

Thinking of all this, Ye Tian felt a headache coming on.

The original Ye Tian was truly a piece of trash—whoever treated him well ended up suffering for it.

Ye Tian wanted to find a time to thank Fang Shenghu for taking care of him all these years. After all, one should repay kindness.

“I’ll go visit your Uncle Fang when I have time,” Ye Tian said, somewhat guiltily.

But inwardly, he thought: Let’s talk about it later… actually going would be awkward as hell.

Xiao Jiang froze.

Visit Uncle Fang?

Was Ye Tian planning to cause trouble for him again? What should he do?

Xiao Jiang’s little face turned red with anxiety, and he hadn’t even recovered when—

“Achoo!”

Ye Tian’s sneeze rang out like thunder, startling Xiao Jiang so badly he shuddered, nearly wetting himself.

A strong, pungent smell filled the air. Ye Tian rubbed his nose and looked down, noticing a pile of crushed powder on the stone he had used to grind pepper the night before. He turned to the still-shaken Xiao Jiang.

“You ground this pepper powder?”

Xiao Jiang nodded.

Ye Tian crouched down and rubbed some between his fingers. “The grains are still too coarse. You can tell what it is at a glance—it doesn’t look very appealing either.”

“If we had a stone mill, it’d be much better—faster and higher quality.”

Hearing his hard work being criticized, Xiao Jiang lowered his head, his little face full of disappointment. But at least today, Ye Tian didn’t hit him over it.

Noticing Xiao Jiang’s mood, Ye Tian reached out and patted his small head. “But Xiao Jiang is already very impressive. Way better than your father—much better than the pepper powder I ground. You’ve done a great job.”

After receiving praise, Xiao Jiang looked up, his dark eyes shining. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Uncle Fang’s house has a stone mill.”

“Fang Shenghu?”

Ye Tian’s face darkened with black lines. Looks like he’d have to go pay a visit and express his thanks today after all.

…

Outside, the sun shone warmly.

But the thick snow showed no sign of melting. The moment he stepped out, the biting wind howled, making Ye Tian shiver all over.

He didn’t want to stay in this damn place for even a minute.

It was just too cold.

Ye Tian walked to the fork in the road and looked toward the path leading into the village. He felt a bit embarrassed. Although the ridiculous things from before weren’t done by him, other people didn’t know that.

“Xiao Jiang.”

A thought flashed through Ye Tian’s mind, and he called out to his cheap son. Hearing him, Xiao Jiang came running through the snow like a little penguin, his short legs moving quickly. His small face was red from the cold, and white mist puffed from his mouth as he looked up at Ye Tian.

Ye Tian asked, “Your Uncle Fang should have gone to work by now, right?”

Work?

Xiao Jiang froze, his little face full of confusion, his “CPU” practically overheating as he tried to understand what Ye Tian meant.

Ye Tian added, “I mean, he’s gone to work at the City Lord’s residence.”

Xiao Jiang nodded. “At this hour, he’s definitely already left.”

“Good, good that he’s gone.” Ye Tian nodded repeatedly before heading toward Fang Shenghu’s house.

Xiao Jiang followed behind him, his face full of suspicion. Why was Ye Tian asking about Uncle Fang? In the past, wasn’t it always when Uncle Fang was home that Ye Tian would come to ask for money?

After walking for about five minutes, Ye Tian was already panting heavily.

He had just been beaten yesterday, and his body hadn’t fully recovered. Not only did he ache all over, but even walking a few steps made his chest feel tight. Looking at the small square courtyard ahead, he saw a path shoveled through the snow, a few poultry kept in the corner, and thick curtains hanging over the doors and windows. Compared to his own home, Fang Shenghu’s place could be considered a normal household.

“Woof woof woof!”

“Woof!”

Just as Ye Tian was about to step into the yard, a big yellow dog suddenly lunged out from the corner, barking furiously at him. With bared teeth and a fierce posture, it looked ready to attack at any moment.

The old yellow dog was quite large—when it stood upright, it reached Ye Tian’s chest. Its sharp teeth and intimidating growls made it even more threatening.

Startled, Ye Tian grabbed a wooden stick by the door and pointed it at the dog. “Back off! Hurry and get back!”

Ye Tian had been bitten by a dog before and had been afraid of them ever since. He was so scared he was almost in tears. Acting on instinct, he picked up Xiao Jiang from behind and said nervously, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Dad will protect you.”

Xiao Jiang frowned slightly, looking at Ye Tian with a puzzled expression.

“Wuuu… wuuu…”

The big yellow dog crouched with its front paws on the ground, letting out low growls as if ready to pounce at any moment.

Xiao Jiang glanced at Ye Tian’s hand tightly gripping the stick—he could see it trembling slightly—as well as Ye Tian’s tense expression. He felt surprised. Ye Tian was actually afraid of Da Huang?

Normally, if Da Huang dared bark at him, Ye Tian would bark right back at the dog.

Ye Tian had really become strange!

Just then—

“Who’s outside?” a deep male voice called out.

The heavy curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man with a full beard stepped out. His hair was tied up, and he wore a black cotton coat and leather boots. When he saw that it was Ye Tian, Fang Shenghu’s expression changed, and he sized him up. “Ye Tian?”

Ye Tian gave an awkward smile. Seeing its owner, the big yellow dog put away its fangs and wagged its tail, standing beside Fang Shenghu.

Ye Tian put the wooden stick back where it was, suddenly unsure what to say.

Between men, nothing couldn’t be solved over a drink—but the problem was, Ye Tian didn’t even have money to buy alcohol right now.

“What are you here for?”

A young and cold voice rang out. Ye Yunting stepped out from behind Fang Shenghu. Seeing Ye Tian holding Xiao Jiang, he rushed forward, snatched Xiao Jiang away, and glared at Ye Tian with hatred. “No one here welcomes you!”

What, did this kid eat explosives or something?

Ye Tian was stunned. He was just about to scold Ye Yunting for showing no respect to his father in front of outsiders, but before he could speak, Ye Yunting coldly said: “Ye Tian, you’re really shameless. Yesterday you tried to sell Shuangxue, and last night you pretended to be nice to us. In reality, you just wanted to use the money from selling me to please Widow Zhang. And today you come to Uncle Fang’s house—what are you planning now?”

“What do you mean, selling Shuangxue?”